ChellNC

What's in that picture is my favorite. I don't like it with fruit but love it with cucumbers, tomatoes, garlic and everything but the bagel seasonings. Sometimes I add Ranch mix instead. Once I tried Good Culture brand I was ruined for all other cottage cheese brands.

A low fat mayo that you can tolerate. It may take trying a few before you find what you like. Another option is to use yogurt to replace all or some of the mayo. Good luck on your recovery.

@Megan Sadler how is it going with the Hashimoto's? I was diagnosed with it about 10 years ago.

Hi!

I'm in Asheville.

Thanks @ellie123! There were a few other insensitive things he said. I'm used to dealing with constant pain so for me to hurt that bad says something. I was reading your post about your weight loss to my husband because it made me feel great that I'm on par with you. Hehe. I did have a CT with contrast. It showed some inflammation so that probably had a lot to do with it. Also, I was struggling with constipation. I think my system was just being stubborn. Not sure what food actually caused it all but I'm doing soft foods for a few days again. Last Friday I moved on to solids and my body must have been shocked after not having solids for 2 months. Thanks for letting me whine.

Wednesday night was the night to start back on my RA meds so I could keep the same schedule. I wasn't able to start them because of how terrible I was feeling. Now I feel like I'm getting a cold. Ugh! I do NOT need to get sick right now. I've been trying to work back up to 50 hours a week but I've not had a week of more than 42 hours yet.

@ellie123 congrats on the great dr visit! Yesterday was 6 weeks for me and I've finally hit 20 lost since sx. Wednesday night I ended up in the ER. I got backed and food got stuck. I was in so much pain I was shaking uncontrollably by the time we got there. Thankfully everything started moving after being there for a bit. They still had me do a CT scan. But I had one of the worst experiences with a doctor that night. He was a TOTAL jerk! He said I shouldn't have gone to the ER. After the 3rd time saying that I told him I called my surgeon first and they told me if I felt like something was stuck that I needed to go to the ER. My husband who rarely loses his temper almost lost it on this guy. When my info is available online & I can see his name I'm filing a complaint with the hospital. He was THAT bad. Even the nurses were complaining about him.

Great job getting them to catch their mistake and to correct it. The insurance specialist or someone at the surgeon's office needs to ask Cigna to do a claims project & reprocess all claims since the incorrect update was added to their system. If they reprocess the claims correctly the hospital has no choice but to refund the patients.

Way to go @Megan Sadler!

Anyone else still struggling with low energy? Thursday will be 6 weeks since surgery for me and I'm still more tired than usual. Maybe I need to bump up my protein a bit more. My arthritis probably isn't helping in the least.

Thanks Matt. I didn't use the term since most people who don't working in healthcare or insurance don't know the term. Heck, some people who do work in these don't know what it means. UHC is making some changes to their policy effective 11/1 but their website isn't yet showing what those changes are. The link in the provider newsletter didn't work either. I'm hoping that for 2019 policies they remove the exclusion clauses so more UHC patients are covered for bariatric surgery.

It wasn't an easy stroll in the park for me either. My surgery took more than 3 hours and then I had an additional 3 hours in recovery where they kept me sedated for a while because my heart rate was too high. I got to my room after 9 pm so there was no walking for me that night or even the next morning. My body is used to pain but this was not easy. Now I'm struggling with energy. I don't seem to have enough.

My original authorization was only for 14 days but it was about a month before surgery. My doctor's office didn't have any issues getting the date adjusted. Wouldn't hurt to call your carrier to confirm. Just make sure you get the name of the person you speak with and even ask for a reference number. Good luck!

Today I actually read UHC's policy. If they do look at current BMI they will approve if you have certain other conditions like heart disease, uncontrolled high blood pressure, diabetes, etc.

It never hurts to call the prior authorization department to see how the process is going. I have a different insurance carrier but when I called to check the status of my auth it got pushed through that afternoon. I've heard of the same happening to others.

Thanks @ellie123! Nope, I'm not a vegetarian or vegan. I'm just trying to get my body to a healthier place. I couldn't fully give up meat or even dairy. Lately I've been eating "lots" 9f cheese. It's a great snack addition. Wednesday I start back my weekly injection for RA that tends to make me sick if I don't eat beef that day. It's so strange! When I have bloodwork I have to eat beef the day before and day of also otherwise I get sick. I don't have low iron so it's weird that I get sick from that. My energy level is so low still. I've got to do something to get it back up. Before surgery I was working an average of 50 hours a week (by my own choice). Now it's a struggle to get in 40. I don't like that one bit. Neither do our finances. I've seen lots of people eating eggs for protein but I'm allergic. My other food allergies aren't as severe but there's lots of foods I avoid. Recently I learned that non-antibiotic-free chicken causes my body lots of pain and makes it harder to move. I'm trying to pinpoint foods that make my pain and stiffness worse so I can eliminate them or at least eat them very rarely. I just want to be healthy and be able to grow old without a lot of issues.

Check with your doctor to be safe. My pouch is in that area & I've had a few bits of pain there.

@ellie123 did you become a vegan after this latest surgery? I'm shocked how well I've done during all the phases without meat. In the past if I didn't get enough protein from meat I'd pay for it. Now I'm trying to do some meat free meals on a regular basis.

My boobs have also gone flat. I swear they're getting longer too. Ughhhhh! Never thought I'd want a boob job but I want them back up on my chest after I lose all my weight and stay stable for a while. If they keep getting much longer they're going to be past my bellybutton before I know it! 😮😲😥

How does it calculate body fat just by standing on it? A small electric signal is sent through your body. The return rate is used for the calculations since it travels through fat, muscle, bone, water, etc. at different rates.

Mine are chewy orange but I don't remember the brand. That's a pretty strong reason to remember them! I'm going to have to make a point of doing better with getting in that 2nd dose.

I think I'll do better with pills.

That's cool.

Today I craved sweets SOOO bad and boy is it frustrating! My vitamins have been a struggle because I keep forgetting to take the 2nd dose. I got the bariatric chewables and boy are they nasty. I've got to push through these and get the pills or another brand. I keep reminding myself that if I take them twice a day like I should they'll run out much quicker. I won't allow myself to order more until these are mostly gone.