Sleeve1stFitNext

Congrats!!! March Sleevers here we come.

Congrats!!! March Sleevers here we come.

Talk to your surgeon about it. Do you have any comorbidities? This would help you.

That is a beautiful tattoo. From the ashes of our former selves, we rise to be whom we were meant to be. SUCH SYMBOLISM AND THOUGHT.

I am writing this to help those whom have United Health Care. Here are the following things to know and tips:

Before reading these tips, contact UHC for confirmation that Bariatric surgery is covered under your plan. Confirm the requirements. Confirm that your surgeon and his associated hospital is In-Network (if they are not, it will be like paying for the surgery without insurance). Make sure you have an understanding of what the insurance wants to see or have done.

1) You are eligible if you have a 40 BMI or Higher / Greater than 35 BMI with Co-Morbidity.

2) Once you find your surgeon, you will have to do 6 months worth of testing, dieting and education.

3) You will have to make 6 visits (once a month). This does not include your consultation.

4) One of your visits will be with a Psychological Evaluation. This will determine your surgeons view and the insurance company's view of your case. They take a look at your mental and emotional health. They ask about your family and your support systems. They may ask you how you feel about yourself. Stay away from the negative views you may have of your body. Understand that they have seen hundreds of people like you and may have some prejudice in regards to whether you will succeed or not. Remind them that you are a person, not a statistic and bring some human to your discussion.

5) Your surgeon may require you to keep an eating and exercise journal. I use MyFitnessPal and I have a FitBit.

6) You will be asked to do an EKG to see how strong your heart is.

7) You may be asked to do a sleep study. Depending on your surgeon, it can be a requirement. In my case, the insurance company denied it. They did not deem it as a necessity.

8) You will have to do an Ultrasound which is to see if you have any issues with your liver (fatty liver disease) or other organs.

9) The next thing is an endoscopy. This requires you to head to an outpatient clinic, be sedated and have a tube stuck down your throat. I learned that I had an hiatal hernia (where part of the stomach enters the diaphragm). This can cause you heart burn. Be aware of H. Pylori. This is a bacteria that can cause ulcers and heart burn as well. It takes a lot of antibiotics to cure. Be mindful that your throats will be sore and some sharp pains may occur as they most likely scrapped some samples from your digestive tract.

10) In between these visits, you will see an dietitian and nutritionist for further help. They will slowly walk you through changing your eating habits. Be honest with them. It is very important in the long run. Also try to keep your weight lost in small amounts. If you lose too much in a short period of time, the surgeon and insurance company will feel like you can lose the remaining weight alone.

11) Your last visit will consist of an overview. The surgeon will check your weight and may discuss further with you about your feelings towards the surgery. Hopefully you are approved by the surgeon. My surgeon was great during the process. I met with him more times than anyone else. He literally kept giving my information and sites to read to understand this tool.

12) They will then submit your information to the insurance company. Now it can take up to 2 - 6 weeks for approval. I was approved in one week.

My fellow UHC Members, I hope this assist you in your endeavors. 6 months will fly by so quickly you won't even realize it.

Remember education is the key to success.


Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

That is a beautiful tattoo. From the ashes of our former selves, we rise to be whom we were meant to be. SUCH SYMBOLISM AND THOUGHT.

Plastic Surgery (Skin removal, Some lifts). But this is only if it is needed.
If not, I will be getting some tattoos covered.

Greetings,
Both aspects are important. You can diet all you want, but without exercise, you will not be able to truly lose weight. I have eaten healthy but not exercised (minimum loss). I have exercised and not eaten healthy (minimum loss). Exercise and eating healthy (received a nice amount of loss before it stalled).
Now I am using the sleeve to help. I will be exercising and having the sleeve. I will not depend solely on the sleeve to lose the weight.
This is your decision and I think it is the best way. If you have not actively tried to lose weight the natural way and you are considering the sleeve as an easy way out, it may not work. This is not just a change of anatomy but a change of mind as well.

I started getting back on board today. I drank 70 oz of Water and I have yet to stop going to the bathroom. It is insane how hungry I do not feel because I am eating the right foods and drinking tons of Water. I noticed that the only times I thought I was hungry was when I was around junk food. It was hard to say no but I did. I am very proud. I hope to keep this up

Greetings,
Both aspects are important. You can diet all you want, but without exercise, you will not be able to truly lose weight. I have eaten healthy but not exercised (minimum loss). I have exercised and not eaten healthy (minimum loss). Exercise and eating healthy (received a nice amount of loss before it stalled).
Now I am using the sleeve to help. I will be exercising and having the sleeve. I will not depend solely on the sleeve to lose the weight.
This is your decision and I think it is the best way. If you have not actively tried to lose weight the natural way and you are considering the sleeve as an easy way out, it may not work. This is not just a change of anatomy but a change of mind as well.

I started getting back on board today. I drank 70 oz of Water and I have yet to stop going to the bathroom. It is insane how hungry I do not feel because I am eating the right foods and drinking tons of Water. I noticed that the only times I thought I was hungry was when I was around junk food. It was hard to say no but I did. I am very proud. I hope to keep this up

Greetings,
Both aspects are important. You can diet all you want, but without exercise, you will not be able to truly lose weight. I have eaten healthy but not exercised (minimum loss). I have exercised and not eaten healthy (minimum loss). Exercise and eating healthy (received a nice amount of loss before it stalled).
Now I am using the sleeve to help. I will be exercising and having the sleeve. I will not depend solely on the sleeve to lose the weight.
This is your decision and I think it is the best way. If you have not actively tried to lose weight the natural way and you are considering the sleeve as an easy way out, it may not work. This is not just a change of anatomy but a change of mind as well.

March 26th Sleever here.
My pre-op diet (3/14):
Breakfast: Protein shake
Snack: Cucumbers
Lunch: Protein
Snack: Lettuce
Dinner: Protein
Snack: Cucumbers
lol that will be my life for a while.

March 26th Sleever here.
My pre-op diet (3/14):
Breakfast: Protein shake
Snack: Cucumbers
Lunch: Protein
Snack: Lettuce
Dinner: Protein
Snack: Cucumbers
lol that will be my life for a while.

March 26th!!!

I started getting back on board today. I drank 70 oz of Water and I have yet to stop going to the bathroom. It is insane how hungry I do not feel because I am eating the right foods and drinking tons of Water. I noticed that the only times I thought I was hungry was when I was around junk food. It was hard to say no but I did. I am very proud. I hope to keep this up

I started getting back on board today. I drank 70 oz of Water and I have yet to stop going to the bathroom. It is insane how hungry I do not feel because I am eating the right foods and drinking tons of Water. I noticed that the only times I thought I was hungry was when I was around junk food. It was hard to say no but I did. I am very proud. I hope to keep this up

Don't give up. Think of the goal in the end. Pick a day that you start over. I mean completely over. You get back on track. My day is this Friday. I will not allow myself to keep going down this road. I picked Friday because I have off. I don't eat a lot of junk when I am off of work. I will use that time to cook and meal prep for the week.

Omg lol I am worried about my edges. I have fine hair and the worst thing is thinning fine hair. That was making me worry a lot about the procedure but I realized that I can buy hair but I cannot buy a new me and I cannot buy more time on this earth. I want to live the remaining years I have happy healthy and full of life as I can. That matters more.

I started getting back on board today. I drank 70 oz of Water and I have yet to stop going to the bathroom. It is insane how hungry I do not feel because I am eating the right foods and drinking tons of Water. I noticed that the only times I thought I was hungry was when I was around junk food. It was hard to say no but I did. I am very proud. I hope to keep this up

Are there any natural hair woman whom have gotten Bariatric surgery? I would like to know about your Hair loss and did your hair change.
After almost 4 years natural, I am just learning my hair and I am wondering will it change or fall out? If, so how long did it take to grow back?

This is a good question. My surgeon never mentioned a drain. I will speak to him about it on the 28th

Are there any natural hair woman whom have gotten Bariatric surgery? I would like to know about your Hair loss and did your hair change.
After almost 4 years natural, I am just learning my hair and I am wondering will it change or fall out? If, so how long did it take to grow back?

My surgery is March 26th and I am like eat it all!!! I don't know what happened to my discipline but once I got approved I have been hungry all the time. Idk what happened.

Don't give up. Think of the goal in the end. Pick a day that you start over. I mean completely over. You get back on track. My day is this Friday. I will not allow myself to keep going down this road. I picked Friday because I have off. I don't eat a lot of junk when I am off of work. I will use that time to cook and meal prep for the week.