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I'm about to that point! Still no word from either office.

This has probably been asked before, but I'm wondering how many grams of macronutrients do you aim for in each day post-op? I am still pre-op (hoping to submit this week to insurance). I've been told I need 60g of Protein each day, but what should I aim to stay at or under for fat and carbs? I was looking at daily recommendations from Health.gov (which I realize isn't targeted towards bariatric surgical patients), but based on their recommendations it would be something like this: Health.gov Recommendations: Fat: 20-35% Protein: 10-35% Carbs: 45-65% Fiber: 28g 34g fat = 20% (low range) 60g protein = 35% (high range) 77g carbs = 45% (low range) I plugged this info into a calculator and got the image attached. Just wondering how accurate or reflective this is to what others eat in a day post-op. Also, what do you aim to stay under for sodium? Thanks!

The blood work ordered from my surgeon came back with low B12 and D. My primary care has been giving me B12 injections and a vitamin D prescription since getting those results. I'll be submitting to insurance in about a week, so I'll let you know what I find out if no one responds before then!

The blood work ordered from my surgeon came back with low B12 and D. My primary care has been giving me B12 injections and a vitamin D prescription since getting those results. I'll be submitting to insurance in about a week, so I'll let you know what I find out if no one responds before then!

I've told some of my family (mom, dad, brother, cousin), but don't plan on telling anyone else. At work I'll just say I'm having a laparoscopic procedure and that I can't eat certain things afterwards. If people ask about the weight loss I'll just say it's from the surgery food restrictions.

I had my EGD today. I was the second to last appointment so I was starving and SO thirsty by the time I was actually rolled back. The procedure went well, but they found a polyp (and removed it) and I have inflammation/gastritis. Anyone else have similar findings? I should get final results in 1-2 weeks.

Hi all! I have my 3 month diet appointment today with my primary care, and my EGD on Friday with my surgeon. I have been missing a couple hours of work each week it seems for pre-surgery related appointments (nutrition, psych, lab work, primary care, etc.). How do you handle communicating your time out of the office with your employer? They haven't asked me directly why I have so many appointments lately, but I can tell they are starting to wonder. Once I get through these appointments I'll be submitting to insurance, so surgery might be sooner than later. I am also worried because my boss recently said no one can take vacation for the next month or so because we have a tight project deadline. I am on a year to year contract so I'm worried they won't renew my contract if I go on leave for a week or two for surgery (contracts are renewed in June). Any advice? How many days did you take off for surgery?

I work for a college, and they have guidelines for medical leave, which I'm familiar with because I had back surgery a year or so ago (I was in a different office and position at the time, but same university). I can go directly through HR for all paperwork, so only HR would know the reason behind my leave. I would probably just tell my direct supervisor that I am having surgery and will go through HR with the paperwork for medical leave. I'm hoping to only be out for a week, and depending on what days my surgeon operates on I would like the time off to span a weekend so I miss fewer working days. I'll be seeing my surgeon tomorrow for an EGD, so if there is time maybe I'll pick his brain about when his patients are typically able to go back to work. I'm probably stressing about this for no reason, and my employer would probably be more than OK with me missing work for surgery, it's just my first time in a year-to-year contract job, so that in itself is stressful because they can choose to not renew you without a reason.

Hi all, thanks for the feedback. My employer does know I've been missing work for medical appointments, and I'm not just skipping out, I let them know and use my accrued sick time or work early or later (I have like 6 weeks saved up). Also to take time off for surgery I would have to submit medical leave paperwork to HR, so HR would know I'm having weight loss surgery, just not my direct supervisor or coworkers. I guess the main issue right now is the project deadline at work. I'll have to see how insurance approval goes and decide if I should wait for summer or have surgery ASAP.

I have my EGD on Friday! One step closer to surgery.

I have Aetna, we are going to try submitting after 3 months. I don't really have any co-morbidities (and BMI <40), so depending on what Aetna says I will either 1) be approved, 2) retry for approval at 6 months, or 3) self-pay.

I had my nutritionist consult today. It went really well, she was really nice. Mainly discussed my current eating/health situation and then discussed what I would be eating once surgery is complete and my stomach is healed. The appointment was about 25 minutes. Unfortunately she was not covered by insurance, so I paid $150 out of pocket. Tomorrow morning I have my psych evaluation. My bariatric coordinator said it would be about an hour and a half. I'll update this post after my appt tomorrow! Once I finish these two appts I need to get an EGD. Then decide if I want to pay out of pocket and have surgery soon, or wait and likely get denied by insurance (BMI is under 40 and no real qualifying co-morbidities).

Just finished up with my psych evaluation. Not too bad. Just typical questions, health history, family history, job, school, etc. Then I took three tests - 1 for depression (none!), 1 about eating habits (emphasis on mindfulness), and one just kind of general medical/opinions/beliefs questions (like 50 questions). I see my primary care NP on Monday for my second dieting appt.

I scheduled my nutrition and psychiatric evaluation today. I am going through a center that can do both. The nutrition evaluation is 1.5 hours and the psych evaluation is 4 hours. Are those times close to what others have experienced? 4 hours seems long, but the receptionist said it might not take that long.

I wish I could do the psych eval online and by phone. I did end up canceling my original appts, and am going to go through my surgeon's office nutritionist and psychologist paying out of pocket. It will be $350 total.

Just heard back from my bariatric coordinator. If I go with their nutritionist and psychologist (paying out of pocket) the nutrition appt is 30 minutes and the psych is 1 hour. I think I'd rather do that since they will be sure to get the info needed for the surgeon and insurance. Weird how the appointment durations vary so greatly!

Thanks all for the feedback. I just put in a message with my bariatric surgery coordinator asking her opinion on the appointments and durations. They do offer these appointments through the surgeon's office, but are not covered by insurance. So if they vary greatly I will probably just pay out of pocket with the people through the surgeons office to make sure I get what is needed.

I'll likely be self pay also. It would be doubtful that insurance would approve if I tried, and timing is a consideration with work and school (6 months from now would not be ideal).

Hi all, My insurance does not require referrals, so I didn't talk to my primary care doctor about weight loss surgery prior to having a consult with the bariatric surgeon's office. At the initial consult with the bariatric surgeon's office though they indicated I would need to complete 6 months of medically supervised dieting with my primary care. Today I had an appointment with my primary care to start the 6 months of medically supervised dieting required by insurance. When I was explaining the insurance and surgeon office requirements it seemed like she had never dealt with weight loss surgery, and she seemed a bit unsure of what her role was in this whole thing. I tried my best to explain... and showed all the papers I had received from the surgeon's office. The surgeon's office also gave me forms for my primary care to fill out during each visit, and I'm worried not enough details was provided by my primary care (when she filled out the first of six forms today) to help my case for insurance to approve my surgery. Has anyone experienced anything like this? It is very unlikely that insurance will approve my surgery anyways, so I'm almost considering skipping the 6 months of dieting with my primary care and paying myself... But then I also worry my primary care doctor won't be able to provide care post-op if needed, since my impression is that they weren't familiar with the process for bariatric surgery and insurance requirements. My primary care doctor seemed supportive of my decision to pursue weight loss surgery, just not informed of the process... Any thoughts?

My bariatric doctor did not refer me to my primary care doctor. They referred me to a dietician that did my 6 monthly visits to get my insurance approval. The dietician visits were done over the phone and super helpful. She taught me so much about what to expect and helped me start some of the changes ahead of time. You should ask your bariatric doctor for a referral. Sent from my SM-J700T using the BariatricPal App That makes more sense to me - doing the 6 months of required dieting with a dietician... I don't know if it's insurance or the surgeon's office, but they told me to see my primary care for it

Post op would be done by the surgeon, but what I meant above was long term continued primary care. My primary care doctor should be aware of how to treat a patient that has undergone bariatric surgery (i.e. certain medications to avoid long term post-op, what Vitamin supplements are taken, etc.).

Love the plate! A neat idea.

Hello! Has anyone self-paid for a sleeve in Phoenix or Tucson (not looking to go to Mexico even though AZ is so close to the border)? If so what was the total cost, who was your surgeon, the office name, and the hospital where the surgery took place? Thanks!

Thanks all for the feedback. I am hoping to have surgery sooner than later (due to job issues, and a possible career change this summer), paying myself since insurance likely won't cover even if I do the 6 months of dieting anyways.

Another question - if I end up self-paying I'm assuming I would still need to see a psychologist and nutritionist for evaluations, get lab work and an EGD, but would I then not need to complete 6 months of medically supervised dieting?