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I would definitely try to get the surgery and consult done at a Bariatric Center of Excellence.

I was taking Bariatric Advantage too....switched to little pills you have to swallow....don't like those as well. Fixing to switch back to BA.

I didn't have that problem but it was mentioned before I left the hospital. The bariatric nurse warned me to expect the unexpected when it comes to BM's. She said some will experience constipation, some won't. I had the liquids in, liquids out, problem. Mention it to your surgeon but I wouldn't worry too much about it. Your intestinal system is going through a lot of changes. Hope you feel better soon!

Ok, so I went to the weight center in the fall of 2011 and went through all the classes, psych eval, nut, weigh ins, etc and paid my surgery track fee....Then found out that my husbands bcbs ppo national account had an exclusion on bariatric care. I even went and was was diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea, which i am glad i got the CPAP as I am sleeping better and my husband says I am not snooring as much as in the past, plus on this account! So, I wrote a 6 page letter outlining my history....Please don't worry after you read this, but when I was almost 20 I was crossing the strret in college, of course in the middle of the night with all the athletes before spring break trips for sports and I was hit by a 55 mile an hour car crossing the street. I broke my back, pelvic, had Filled up with fluid in my legs and the hip I was hit on, plus fracturing my skull and damaging my neck. No worries, I survived, but was told I would never be able to play sports like I did because of the injuries and were bad, but that didnt stop me. i learned to re-walk and care for myself....then the following season I wanted to just try to play soccer knowing I had ,issed softball all varsity sports, so I didnt want the driver to determine my fate.....Coach and the team were so excited to see me dressed.....I walked out on the field took one pass to me and as I crossed half field to kick it in the goal, which would have been easy for me....i kicked and felt a horrible pain through my body...shruuged it off, asked for another one thinking I could pass and low and behold body told me H..LL NO. I hugged the team and said sorry I just can't do this. The trainer drove me back to the lockers and that was the last time I was ever on the field until I had children...but before children I had surgeries to remove fluid off my hip and legs, but it will always be there. I was healthy at 180 lbs just not as muscular as I was in the past. So having children, wasnt sure that could happen based on the drs reports. So my husband was told this on our first date because I decided I didnt want him to get connected unless he was aware, yes he laughed...i already went through a long relationship and he was different than anyone I had ever been with..he says its because of the accident and I say its because he made me laugh. Ok, got preg for our first, deemed high risk...now the drama, the found a fibroid growing beside our baby...i was watched every week. Anyway was put on bed rest, the day of the c-section was def a comedy show, i had 2 surgeons in case I needed emergency hysteroctomy but when they said our new son was fine, they asked if they could take pictures of the fibroid as it was large, we asked them to remove it, but it was too dangerouse and I could die from blood los, etc so they tucked it back in my uterous and my life has never been the same. I couldnt loose the preg weight due to the pain on my back...so the dr told us if we wanted another child now or never...so they helped us get preg for our second...the fibroid grew, we ended up aving an emergency c-section 7 weeks early and our daughter was 5 lbs, again too dangerous so tucked fibroid back in. Anyways, i finally had enough....went in for an eval for the hysterectomy and after them saying no more and we couldnt get preg again, surprise of our lives we were. Thought we lost the baby cause I was bleeding and they didnt expect the baby to make it. A nurse at my work gave me shots to help me along....needless to say, our third was taken emergency c-section if you couldnt guess but she was over 8 lbs abd healthy...me on the other hand not so much....the re-oppened me that night as I had a major infection. I was then packec at home for months to heal, but we had our last baby...tubes tied as well. Now to heal, 2 yrs ago I had an ablasion to stop the horribly female cycles due to the fibroid, but it didnt help with the size....i am getting to my question, but figured you needed this background....so now its been 10 yrs, our son just turned 10 but had the fibroid for 11yrs, now its pushing on my bladder and I drip all the time, uterous is pushed uo as its inside the wall, constant back pain and it pushes on my pelvic and back.....so, this 6 pg letter was just captured in this paragraph...but it was to my husbands company as we would out there is an exclusion for weight loss. Needless to say, I self paid all the previous apts but stopped going as we wrote the letter to see if they would waive the exclusion...YES after 5 months of follow my husbands HR team overrode the exclusion and worked with BCBC to approve me. Now my letter said verticle sleeve, but they wrote a note that after review they approved the bypass......NOW what...they are working on how to notify the drs and Heres my question.....what are my chances of getting the sleeve? Can i loose over 100 lbs?? Also my uterous is enlarged so i am worried about bypass and only wanted sleeve! I dont know when I will be able to go back to the dr, but now that I have ben waiting and got the news wasnt sure what your thoughts are on getting them to agree to sleeve versus bypass. Thanks for listening! I read all the discussions and guess this is my largest post. Thanks again for your time.

Can you switch doctors?? If not, your mom's got it right, you do you! I'll preface my experience with: I got my gastric sleeve in Mexico, no insurance/approval hoops to jump through. My doctor was cautiously on board with me having bariatric surgery, but was wary about the Mexico part. He gave me all kinds of horror stories, personal "aftermath" ones that had shown up at his office after assorted procedures abroad. Then he thought about it...said at least Tijuana was super-close to the US, and all of the horror stories (abcesses, drain infections, etc) were from getting plastics overseas. He wished me luck, and today he took out my stitches. He was impressed with how neat, clean, and minimally invasive the work was and said he looked forward to seeing me for my post-op blood workup.

Welcome Garciagiss! I can only speak from my experience. I contacted the Bariatric Clinic I chose and asked them what was required of me to get an appointment. First was a letter of referral from my PCP, second they wanted medical records from the past 3 years. I was then scheduled to attend an educational seminar and a visit with the nutritionist. After I completed all of those steps I was given an appointment with the surgeon for consultation. The last appointment before my surgery was a class given by the bariatric nurse. The whole process took about 6 months after making first contact with the clinic. This will vary greatly between the different bariatric groups, insurance requirements and hospitals. I wish you well on your journey, it's well worth all of the effort!

Has anyone have a bariatric mindset book and workbooks Sent from my U307AS using BariatricPal mobile app

Hey everyone, I'm 2 weeks post op and I'm beginning to experience the same trouble. I'm not vomiting, but I become very nauseated with the thought of putting anything in my mouth. This started 4 days ago. I'm not able to get my meals in and over the past 5 days I've spent so much money on things that I can't consume. I am able to drink Water but that's about it. I'm feeling so disgusted and my energy is slowly fading because I'm not able to get in my Protein. I'm scheduled to see my Bariatric Coordinator on Friday and I can't wait. I'm also not able to take my Vitamins. I definitely don't know what to do. I started puree today and I could only eat 1 baby spoon of my meat. Guys my sense of smell has also intensified. The smallest odor to others seems huge to me and it makes me nauseous. I don't like the way my husband smells either OMG! He smells horrible to me and I don't even know how to tell him without hurting his feelings. This is so crazy to me right now.

I am with Cigna too and am hoping to get approved soon too. The requirements for them are only as follows, right? 1) 3 months of doctor visits 2) Bariatric surgeon clearance 3) PCP clearance and letter of medical necessity 4) Meet once with a nutrionist 5) Clearance from a pyschiatrist 6) Meet BMI requirement Anything else I should be aware of?

YEP! Kind of like Bariatric Pal!

rThanks everyone, I know that I will be doing cardiology, pulmonology, nutrition, and psych at the bariatric center prior to surgery consult. I also have been doing medically supervised diet not through the bariatric center but through another dietician group for at least 6 months now with minimal results. I wonder if that time will help me shave some time off the wait time, either way I am just happy to be getting started.

I was sleeved on 11/9 after nearly 3 years of being banded (my band came out in August). I woke up from surgery and have been starving since. I know it's not head hunger - after nearly 3 years with the band, I know what head hunger is, and I know what it's like to not be hungry. It's not acid. It's not thirst - I'm drinking 100 ounces of Water daily. I'm on mushies/purees and it's still not helping. Today, I had my follow-up with my surgeon. He is not overly shocked I am hungry, but he was a bit surprised. He sent me for a upper GI to check my esophagus. He suspects dilation due to the damage from the band. If it is, it should just take a few more weeks to go back to normal. He said he can't promise, but he's 99.9% sure that within the next three weeks, I will feel satiation as my body adjusts to the band being gone, my hernia being fixed, and the rest of the scar tissue from the band finally removed. The doc that did the test, though, said there was no dilation, however, they also said my band wasn't slipped when it was, so they are not bariatric specialists (I'm not complaining or upset, just stating.) He did say my surgery was picture perfect (sans scar tissue and hernia), that I had a normal size stomach, that he went a bit tighter than normal, and he sees no reason it won't work long term. I also talked to a friend of mine who is a revision, and she said she literally cried the first three weeks she had her sleeve because she was so hungry. Then it got better, and now she loves it! She had it about 6 months ago, so I am hopeful I will be the same. Oh, and he cleared me to eat turkey tomorrow! He also suggested I drink some warm tea after I have a few bites of Protein to help add volume to my food to give me that sensation of fullness. So, I am not 100% convinced, but I feel 90% better about this whole thing. My other non-medical theory is my poor bowels are empty, as I still have diarrhea, and how could I feel full when they are empty?! LOL, I know it's a stupid theory, but I am adding it to my pile. And if I start losing weight again, I'd be even happier! Again, he reassured me this is normal, and according to his scale, I'm down an even 30 lbs. So, after all that, anyone hungry at first? Or still? Has it gone away? Gotten better? Thanks!

I wonder, has anyone been approved for ins without co-morbidities but with BMI above 40? I'm in NY and insurers can't exclude bariatric surgery. I know that bmi above 40 meets NIH standards for WLS, but HAS someone actually gotten an ins co to pay? Is this a stupid question? I hope not! Barbara

Century ride, that’s impressive Keep your bariatric dietician informed on your cycling. They will need to know where you are at with training. (distance, calories burned, workouts per week) As your endurance increases, your dietician may change up your food plan. (don’t try to fuel like an athlete it can slow/stop your weight loss.) Once you get to your athletic zone and your weight is closer to goal, Consult your dietician and a sports medicine dietician. Some things to try for hydration. Isopure zero carb Protein Drink/water.. Protein and hydration all in one. Purchase single bottles is more cost effective. GNC or Vitamin Shoppe. http://www.theisopurecompany.com/product/isopurezerocarbrtd.html Nunn tabs. Saved me from dehydration https://nuunlife.com/pages/products?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI1d_e9J_d4QIVAcpkCh17CAltEAAYASAAEgI4cvD_BwE Hydration vest. it’s easier for me to take small sips on the bite straw during a race. I still cannot gulp. What works for me may not work for you. I never carb loaded until I was closer to goal. Some things I learned about fueling along the way. I only carb load and increase calories on half to full marathons. (I cycle to cross train) With a small stomach, it takes eating seven days pre-race to fuel glycogen stores. I eat low glycemic carbs with my protein. Find foods and hydration your stomach can tolerate. Your food tolerance may be different than mine I use liquid carbs (powder form add to water) I cary it in a baggy and add it in my running vest for fuel. I am carb sensitive. Carb loading is a necessary to stay healthy but, I will see a weight gain. I go back into weight loss mode after I recover.

Sleeved on 12/10/16. Dealing with severe depression for years and on Wellbutrin prior to surgery. My psych evaluation was very easy. 15 minute convo and leading questions about having a support network in place and managing your expectations. I stressed it to no end beforehand though, so I understand how you feel. It will go fine if you stay positive and even keeled. And the depression will improve dramatically within your first month after surgery if your experience is anything like mine. I stopped taking antidepressants, at least for now. That said, I explored bariatric surgery once before in 2014 with another surgeon. And I got as far as the psych evaluation in that program and he wouldn't clear me. At the time I was at my lowest depression and actually thought about suicide often. For his evaluation I had to do a two page questionnaire on my mental state before we spoke. I was brutally honest on the forms and it got me into trouble during the interview. He refused to give me the clearance and I was so discouraged that I gave up on all of it for 2 years. I thought being honest with "my doctor" would be fine, but his primary interest was actually protecting the program and the surgeon more than doing what was best for my health. He rationalized it that my emotional state could be too dangerous and risky after surgery if I experienced additional depression due to lack of ability to eat. I argued that the surgery was the best option to improve the depression and that he had a duty as a doctor to see that. He refused. My primary doctor yelled at me for being too open and honest about the depression. So just be careful what you say. Stay positive all the way. That you are eager to have this tool to help you reach your goals. Good luck! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Yeah, google bariatric surgery and the 3 week stall and you'll see you're not alone. :-D

Bariatric surgery should be compared to being pregnant!!! 1. My taste have changed not a good or bad thing 2. My belly feels like 80pounds 3. My moods are here and there 4. My cravings are outrageous 5. The worst is smells, they make me sooo nauseous Thought I'd put up how I have felt today bc it's been a trip of gas more gas and nausea. I didn't do anything out of ordinary but walk two times around the house and sip sip sip which I could have done to fast. Happy weekend y'all!!!! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I didn't intend to "turn mean". I remember what it was like. The fears, the history of failure (heck I'd even failed with a previous bariatric surgery!) . I had so much to lose, I too was at times scared that I'd miss the honeymoon period etc etc. It is just very hard to give rational reassurance when people are in such a high state of anxiety.

I discovered this site when I was trying to find other people like me, who are converting from the lap band to the sleeve. I was amazed to learn just how many of "us" there are! For so long I felt like a failure, and that I just didn't work hard enough, or that I just never learned how to use my tool. I got my lap band November 1st, 2010, and lost 17 pounds during the 2-week pre-op stage, and then another 5-10 pounds the first week post-op. But from there, I really had to work hard to lose anymore weight. I was going to the gym at least 3x per week, I was careful to follow all the rules about not eating/drinking, chewing slowly, but didn't have any restriction and was always hungry. My surgeon was only filling my band with .5 cc's of fluid at a time. Before I knew it, it was 3 years later and I'd only lost a total of 40 pounds (but that includes the 25 I dropped at the very beginning during add-on and the immediate weeks that followed), and I had about 8 cc's of fluid in my band that only holds 9 cc's! I couldn't eat hardly anything and was constantly getting food stuck. I was absolutely miserable, and too embarassed and frustrated to go back to the surgeon so I just dealt with it. Then, my employer added weight loss surgery to our covered benefits as of January, 2014 and I decided to look into whether it was possible to get the band removed and convert to the sleeve. My first appointment with the new surgeon /bariatric office was early March, and just yesterday I got the call from the hospital coordinators that I received approval from my insurance company. Now, I am just waiting for the surgeons office to finalize my chart, and I will have my surgery scheduled. I am both nervous and excited, and my biggest fear is that this procedure will also fail...but the more I come here to this site, and read all of your success stories, the more confident I get.

I wore something loose and comfortable to the hospital and wore the same outfit home. They gave me a bariatric gown and skid socks -- and frankly, it is just a lot easier to wear their stuff. The IV and monitors really would have made clothes from home and a bathrobe more trouble than it's worth. I really needed very little from home.

I was surprised that is took about 2 weeks to get the insurance OK. My GP had called the insurance before I began with the bariatric doctor and had is ok'd. After I had all my test results it was about 2 weeks. @DelongH you do have quite a bit going! Good luck with the move and the end of the year!

I don't take it anymore because I get enough from food but I original took bariatric advantage brand

I think what I'm ultimately worried about is the ketsosis turning into ketoacidosis. But I wasn't diabetic before the surgery, so it probably won't happen. I think you're right, in that I just need to worry about making sure I get as much of my daily requirements in for protient and Water. It has been nearly impossible to even get close, even with the protien shakes. I use the Bariatric Advantage protien powder. I've noticed the vanilla is excellent with just water, but the orange cream tastest better with half-milk, half-water. I'm experimenting with different protien powders at this point to try and get it all in, since yesterday was abysmal. All I can do is do better with each successive day. Thanks for replying and putting my fears to rest, James.

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Did anyone have gastric bypass and at the same time fix a hiatal and umbilical hernia. I have been fighting like crazy to avoid surgery and I know in my heart this is the surgery that will probably be the best thing in the world for me. FEAR has led me to believe it will be me who gets a stricture or me who has gallstones or me who has nausea and vomiting everyday or any other random negative thing. I suffer from anxiety and panic disorder and this is probably the 3rd time I have been in a Weight Center and every time the topic of bariatric surgery comes up, I fly right out the door. I was told today I have a small hiatal hernia and I feel like I have been given the final sign that it's time for me to "Grow Up" and realize it's what is best for me to do and have the surgery. I developed high blood pressure and chocked it up to "ok a pill will help," developed being pre-diabetic and put on metformin which does a job on my stomach and said "ok, this will prevent me from being diabetic(full blown). Now after being in the ER Monday night for a kidney stone, I was shown on the CT-Scan, a small hiatal hernia along with an umbilical hernia I developed a year ago. Sorry for the novel but I am at my lowest point and I needed someone to tell me "you can do this and come out ok". I know recovery is a tough road and it will require everything I have to not scare myself to death but I truly don't want to live this way anymore. I'm from Boston and will be at Mass General with some of the best doctors in the world yet the fear doesn't leave me, I'm sorry to vent and write a novel but I needed to write down what I'm feeling