ahillig

Hey all! Been off of here for a while but I'm successfully maintaining so I went for a plastics consult. He is recommending an extended tummy tuck with liposuction of the flanks and muscle repair. Obviously, no insurance will cover all of that but I'm curious if anyone has had luck with BCBS Federal (Basic Option) approving that portion. Thanks!

Just wondering if anyone had any experience with getting an approval through FEP Blue. I have finished all of the requirements and my surgeons office is going to submit the request and curious as to what the turn around time is for the approval. Thanks!

I'm currently in the hospital because I believe I had some food stuck in my pouch. Yesterday at work I had leftovers from the previous nights dinner for lunch. Now, it went down just fine the night before. I ate about 4 small pieces of the grilled chicken, maybe 2 oz total, and from that point on I had nothing but excruciating pain and I would vomit every time I tried to drink so much as a sip of water. I only ever vomited a handful of times in the entire year since surgery it was always a one and done deal, I tolerated everything very well and never had strictures or anything like that so this was a bit ridiculous. I ended up leaving work (as an ER nurse) to go to the ER of the hospital I had my surgery done at and got a cocktail that relaxed things enough to let whatever was stuck pass. They admitted me because I was dehydrated and I still had residual pain in my upper belly. X-rays all showed that all pathways were clear so there isn't anything stuck anywhere else. I'm still here though because it hurts to drink more than 1-2tbsp at a time and I'm scared to try more because it hurts. Hopefully I can go home tomorrow, but while I'm here it's back to clear liquids. 😥 I have no clue what happened for things to get stuck but it felt awful. Never imagined I'd be here with these issues over a year out (August 2019 was my surgery).

So I'm still being held hostage. I am on full liquids now, but it takes me two hours to eat 2oz of soup and 2 oz of yogurt, that's the only way I don't have pain. X-rays and CT showed no obstruction so I'm having an EGD sometime tomorrow to see what my pouch looks like. They're thinking it might be pouchitis, yes it's a real thing apparently. They think that my severe vomiting the other day irritated it and that's what is causing the pain. I can drink about 2tbsp of water at a time now which is a vast improvement. Still get twinges of pain with anything in my stomach.

I hit my one year on 8/28, so crazy how fast time flies! Anyway, I exceeded the goal my surgeon set by two lbs on my official one year appointment. His goal for me was 175, I was 173, my lowest I recorded at home is 171. I went from 275 at my initial consult, 265 at my pre-op to now and it's insanely crazy how fast and how much I've lost. They said that women rarely lose 100% of their excess weight and even rarely do they do it in the first year so I'm thrilled! My only regret is not doing this sooner, I feel so amazing! Jeans: 24-->8 Tops 2/3XL-->M/L Bra: 42C-->36B/C I have also signed up for a half marathon! I'll be running the Disney Star Wars half in April and I cannot wait! My only "problem" to date is that I cannot tolerate pork well. Even the smallest amount makes my stomach hurt. It's also wreaked havoc on my period and not in a good way. I have suspected endometriosis so that could be playing a part as well but most of my problems in that regard have been since my bypass.

I had surgery 240 days ago, just shy of 8 months. Today, I hit the goal weight my surgeon set for me 175lbs, my personal goal weight is 160lbs. Never did I think I'd get to this point. I was always thinner growing up, through an abusive marriage and babies I gained a LOT of weight. My highest weight was over 300lbs at one point. I started this journey at 275lbs, my weight at my pre-op appointment was 265lbs. I finally feel like the outside matches the inside, even though I was morbidly obese my brain never registered that so I always felt thinner in my head (opposite of what is common). I can run a 5k on the treadmill in just over 34 mins, before it was over an hour! Went from a size 24 pants to a size 8, size 2XL shirt to a Medium!

Thank you! I am 5’8”.

I had my surgery on a Wednesday around noon and was discharged Friday afternoon. I could've gone home on the day after but was having problems peeing because of the scopolamine patch they put behind my ear for nausea. There was no way I could've gone home the day after, I just felt so awful.

I have only thrown up a couple times since surgery. For me it happens in stages, foamies then the immediate need to throw up or pass out. Very uncomfortable feeling for me. When I actually vomit it kinda just slides right on up and out, no violent heaving like before.

Had my 6 month follow up last week and I have lost a total of 85% of my excess weight! I have 13lbs left until my goal. My weight loss has completely stalled, I was stuck the majority of February and it finally started to break. Lost 2 inches over all despite only really losing a couple pounds. I was told to expect the weight loss to slow at this point. I need to get back on my game nutrition wise. Not eating a lot just not eating the best I can be. Some NSVs, I am now a size 10 in jeans and a medium in shirts! Prior to surgery I was a 22/24 in jeans and a 2XL-3XL in tops depending on the brand. Also, my CRP went from a 24 before surgery to an 8! Ideal level is 1 or below per my surgeon but he was so happy with the huge drop.

Mine was switched last minute at my pre-op appointment. I was going to have the sleeve but my surgeon wasn't comfortable doing the sleeve with the level of acid reflux I had. Since my was done robotically they just had to call and verify the robot was available during the time my surgery was scheduled. He said it wouldn't affect the insurance approval and they just submitted the reason for the change to my insurance company and I got a letter a few days after my surgery approving the change. The biggest ordeal was the robot availability.

Just had my 6 month post op labs drawn and the B12 came back with a >2000 level, max for the lab is 911. I've looked it up and it's either really benign or super serious. Some studies suggest it's impossible to store too much B12 others say it could be related to liver issues or certain cancers. Most studies recommend a follow up blood draw before drawing any serious conclusions but I'm just curious if others have had this problem and what came of it.

I was prescribed hycet 7.5/325, which is essentially liquid Norco. I had a REALLY hard time with pills the first week so this was a god send.

Glad I'm not the only one that this has come back elevated on! It was just so weird to see it just under 300 before surgery and all of a sudden it's sky high.

If this is the case then why is it in every bariatric vitamin? The body definitely absorbs some of it orally otherwise bariatric vitamins wouldn't include it and it would be taken separately.

I'm only taking a bariatric multivitamin from celebrate that has B12 in it, as most if not all do. Everything else is coming back within normal ranges so I'm not worrying too much about it, I'll see what my surgeon says about it when I see him soon. Funny enough I'm kind of a jacka$$ when it comes to taking my vitamins, somedays I get all 3 capsules in but most days I only get one or two.

I'm 5 months post op and as of today, I only have 16lbs left until my goal! I see my surgeon for my 6 month post op visit in 4 weeks, fingers crossed I can be near, or at, goal when I see him again! It's so crazy going from a 2XL or 3XL to a large or medium top and large bottoms. I thoroughly enjoy shopping now and often go to stores just to try stuff on. I went to put on one of my favorite shirts yesterday that I haven't worn in about a month and it looked like a sack of potatoes on me. I've already had to resize my wedding rings and will probably have to do it one more time here soon, they're already starting to get loose again. I remember going shopping before hoping that I could find something in the largest size that fit, now I go to stores picking one thing in a couple sizes because I don't know which will fit better. I can tolerate most foods just fine, very few issues with dumping, some days I eat more than others. About the only foods I have guaranteed issues with is broccoli, cauliflower, and any amount of pork products, even just a half teaspoon of bacon bits scattered on low carb pizza I made at home screwed me up. I did have a minor surgery last week and had to get basic blood work (CBC) done for that and it looked identical to my pre-op CBC, can't wait to see what the rest look like in a couple weeks. I'm so happy I did the surgery, I feel amazing! I have been running as often as possible, although I'm benched for another week right now, and hit a sub 40 5K. I remember back when it would take me over an hour to walk/run a 5k. I could never run more than 45 seconds at a time, and now I'm running for 4-5 minute chunks.

I had the opposite problem. I was on an extended cycle birth control pill for endometriosis, can't have an IUD due to the shape of my uterus, and had my period 4 times in 3 months, not including the one that the pill pack plans. I bled for 18 days with one of them. I just had an endometrial ablation last week because of it. My OBGYN said that the weight loss should have helped curtail the bleeding.

There was nothing that came through the portal. I got a call from surgeons office that I was approved then got an approval letter about a week later.

I was told 6 months. I have a few refills though so I may just continue until I run out.

My out of pocket costs were just under $1000. I made sure to find a blue distinction center knowing I was looking at 1-2 nights in the hospital. It made my hospital copay go from $350 to $200. The grand total is copays from the visits with my surgeon, primary, preop testing, psych evaluation, EGD, and the actual surgery. I have the basic option BTW. I know with the standard your costs will be way more.

That's funny! Thankfully, my neighborhood is lacking in porch pirates. But, I've been selling my clothes on mercari, I've made about $300 so far!

I had no restrictions on sex after surgery! Topic never even came up. I think I was about a month out though my first time post op.

It depends, sometimes it's a carb loaded day like yesterday and other days not so much. I don't track the number of carbs I eat each day I just try to be mindful of what I'm eating. Most days I primarily eat protein other days I eat a bunch of carbs. Total calories for the day is usually 800-900, if that. I still eat very little and am not hungry, my nutritionist told me it's ok to not eat if I'm not feeling hungry.

I didn't have to do any pre-op diet. The only thing I had to do was liquids after noon on the day before surgery. My surgeon used a special liver retractor that made the pre-op liquid diet unnecessary. I did have to drink a NASTY high carb drink the morning of surgery so my body would have energy during and immediately after the surgery.