AmandaD.

Mine is also on June 7th! I’m not nervous yet but I have a feeling come Monday I’ll start freaking out haha. I only have to do liquid on the day before surgery, other than that no real pre op diet (thankfully) good luck!!

Mine is on 6/7, too! Gastric Bypass with HH surgery inpatient in Jacksonville, FL! Good luck 🙃

For those who are around 1 1/2 post op would you be ready to drive 5 hours to see friends and family for a long weekend? My surgery got moved to June 7th and I have a friends get together 5 hours away the weekend after. I’ll be 10 days post op. I know everyone’s post op is different but generally speaking???

Thankfully I only have a two week pre op diet that consists of eating low fat/ low carbs… but I can still eat until the day before where I have to do all liquids. I was told if the liver isn’t shrunk enough an additional cut needs to be made to physically move the liver over making room for the surgery. Good luck everyone in their pre op endeavors!

Hey, so I’m getting my RnY with HH surgery soon and some of you have spoken about having issues swallowing/drinking right after surgery. Is it more of a sore throat feeling or deeper down into the hernia/ stomach? I currently have a sore throat and it’s almost impossible for me to even sip water it hurts so bad… just wondering if that’s a possibility after surgery.

Just got rescheduled from May 22 to June 7th! Not very happy but I guess it gives an opportunity to lose more weight! Hope everyone’s surgery goes smoothly! I’m getting Gastric Bypass with Hiatal Hernia surgery.

Surgeons office called me AGAIN to change my surgery to June 7th. Not happy since I’ve been strict dieting, but at least I’ll lose more weight by surgery. Good luck to all of those getting surgery this month!!!

Hello! I just had my second office appointment after my endoscopy and my surgeon told me since my hiatal hernia is large he would have to do that surgery first and then a couple of months later he would do the gastric bypass surgery. I was expecting to do both at the same time and now this changes a lot due to time off, healing, etc. I was just wondering if anyone else has had two separate surgeries in their process and how it went? How long did you wait to have the actual gastric surgery? How was HH recovery vs the Gastric? Any information would be greatly appreciated! thank you!!

How is everyone sleeping? I have a 3&1 year old that comes in, in the middle of the night sometimes & i am terrified for them to crawl on me. Anyone try sleeping in a recliner the first few nights? Getting in and out of bed a real issue? Congrats on everyone’s journeys & good luck those coming up!!!

Hey everyone! I just got my surgery date for May 15th and assuming I would have more time I am in complete chaos getting everything together in two weeks! My husband is planning on taking a couple of days off when I get home from the hospital, but I keep going back and forth as to what is a good amount of time to keep him home with me? I know everyone is different, but I can't keep thinking of the horror stories of dehydration and those who can barely stand, and I just worry that would happen to me when I have no one around. I am taking a full six week off (I get fully paid through short term disability) so I am definitely going to be taking it easy, just wanted some advice from those who went through Gastric Bypass (with HH) surgery and how it went for you! Any advice would be helpful. Thank you!!

Hey! My surgery date changed from May 15th to May 22nd! Good luck to everyone this month!!!

My surgery was just scheduled for May 15th! A lot sooner than anticipated but I’ll take it.

Hello, I am at the very end of my process, just waiting for my processing team to look over my file and make sure it fits everything insurance is requiring. I just wondering how long it took all of you to go through your "processing" phase. Not how long it took insurance to approve, just how long it took your processing team to submit your prior authorization to insurance after everything was completed? I'm almost at two weeks and no one can tell me anything, but when I contact the insurance company they don't have it. Is this timing normal? Thank you!

Hello! I just had my second office appointment after my endoscopy and my surgeon told me since my hiatal hernia is large, he would have to do that surgery first and then a couple of months later he would do the gastric bypass surgery. I was expecting to do both at the same time and now this changes a lot due to time off, healing, etc. I was just wondering if anyone else has had two separate surgeries in their process and how it went? How long did you wait to have the actual gastric surgery? How was HH recovery vs the Gastric? Any information would be greatly appreciated! thank you!!

Hello! Currently in the process of getting everything completed for insurance and as I am getting to the half way mark I am starting to think about what I will need to buy to make my life easier when I come home from surgery. I see some other topics where people buy ounce cups, etc. to have on hand but I just wanted to know any other "hacks" or necessities that made your lives easier coming home. Doesn't have to be only food related, if anyone bought anything clothing, etc. either I would love the knowledge! What are the best tasting protein shakes/powders out there? I need to start ASAP substituting my lunch with a protein shake for my final two appointments. Thank you!

Hello! Semi-new here, just starting my journey and trying to get everything situated as much as possible. I am starting my journey in January after I choose/enroll in my job's insurance in October. I know the basic coverages for each insurance plan they offer, and (thankfully) they all offer bariatric coverage. I am having a hard time deciding on which to go with as I know they all have their own specific criteria. I am not having the best of luck getting further information on specifics from neither my workplace or the insurance companies on any specifics and they are both blaming the other party (my job stating the insurance company will have more info/insurance companies stating they need to know the exact policy from my job to give all the info)... I'm ready to pull my hair out as this seems like a huge decision to make going in blindly. I was just wondering if anyone has had any of these insurance companies and your general experience -- I know it depends on specific policies but just in terms of ease/customer service/questions answers/timeliness/billing with these insurance companies? I'll take any advice now to help with my decision! Thank you ☺️

Hello! I’ll be having the bypass surgery next year but I haven’t chosen a surgeon/specialist yet. Wanted to see if anyone had their surgery done in the Jacksonville, FL area and with who/experience… Thank you!

Hello! Just starting my journey in the new year and wanted to start getting everything together. Did anyone use short term disability for their surgery rather than just take vacation? I have limited vacation days next year so I am trying to weigh my options. I know FMLA is an option but that has no pay, so I was wondering if anyone chose short term disability and what the process was? Thank you!

Thank you! How long did you take? Do you request a certain amount of days/weeks that your Dr. agrees upon and then if you don’t need that much time get them to sign off on going back to work? I just hear different people saying you only need a week which seems silly to take short term dis if that’s the case, but you make a good point, you never know…

Jacksonville, FL Originally from New Hampshire

Thank you! I believe he is in network for my insurance - did you go through a 6 month program?

Thank you so much for that information! How do you figure out plan exclusions? I work for a large bank and in their little healthcare “breakdown” it shows Bariatric surgery is covered (in-network with “distinguished centers”) covering 80% after co pay/out of pocket max. With that I am assuming that because the “brochure” states it’s covered that means that all three options my job provides for medical insurance will cover it. My job only lists very minimum criteria (must have BMI over 35, dietician, Psych, etc.) nothing specific, no exclusions listed. I would love to figure all of this stuff out BEFORE I pick an insurance company/plan, but when I call my jobs HR they tell me I have to contact the specific insurance company and tell them the plan & when I call the insurance companies they state the need a “group number” from my job and cannot give me any information until they have it. I can’t even look for specialists/surgeons because no one will even tell me who’s in network. It all just seems crazy to me that no one can tell me ANYTHING.. I feel lost and stumped as to where to look next… do I wait for open enrollment and HOPE that there may be an HR rep that can give me more info or do I have to blindly pick an insurance to go with and hope that their criteria/exclusions aren’t too crazy? Or would it be the same criteria/exclusions across the board because that’s what my job puts into place? I probably sound crazy but I just don’t seem to understand the whole process. It seems like my job, the insurance company AND my specialist/surgeon will all have their own criteria to go by… I just wish I could get all that information (or atleast some of it) before hand… thank you for listening and anymore insight would be much appreciated! Congrats with almost being done with your pre op journey!! That must be so exciting!!!! Are you getting the sleeve or bypass? I’ll be doing the bypass because I have GERD. I’m terrified of the endoscopy ( I hateeee needles) the best of luck on your continued journey!!!

Ok, thank you for that information! Did you get your surgery done in a hospital setting or specialist with his own Bariatric practice? Seems like I just need to pick a insurance and hope for the best haha

Oh wow! That’s great. To be honest I used to have BCBS when I was pregnant and they royally messed up my claims so I am very hesitant of getting them again but I do wish for a smooth process! How did you know what their criteria was? Was it through your job that you had to figure that out or did you call BCBS and just let them know your plan name?? I’m trying to get a criteria and no one can give me specifics - they said they have to wait until I select the policy… but I have three insurance company options, I want to know BEFORE I choose, you know? Thank you for the information. This whole process is crazy haha