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i have the Bariatric Advantage chewy bites and they are pretty tasty and easy to eat...

Misha, may I ask what, if any, information has been provided to you by your surgeon and / or dietician? Did they provide any post op guidelines around food, drink etc and to what volumes or measurements? This seems to be a question that is being avoided. If you went out of state or overseas for your surgery sometimes ongoing support and/or post-op programs is not given, and people do struggle. If no post op guidelines were given pre surgery or at the time of surgery , I assume such information is not going to be available to you and that it may be beneficial for you to seek out relevant information from other surgeons/clinics online. I have always found this website useful https://drjalil.com/bariatric-post-op-diet/, it may vary from other post-op guidelines elsewhere but that's the way it is, post-op programs do vary significantly.

I was extremely nervous about my visit. I saw the psychologist affiliated with the bariatric program at the hospital, even though I was given the option to see whatever psychologist I wanted-as long as he/she was certified. It was a lot of questions about previous weight, weight loss attempts, why I believed they failed, if I have a support system in place, and ALOT of questions about the surgery and diet/lifestyle changes afterwards. Basically, they are looking to make sure you have done your research and are mentally prepared for it all; do you understand what is going to happen/what the surgery entails. It went very well. I was VERY honest, and obviously answered correctly. I was "passed" by him, he gave his report to the surgeon, and I was submitted. Now just waiting to hear back from insurance. Good luck and be honest!

I like food still, though not the same things. My sense of smell and taste changed a lot with my surgery, so whenever my SO has fries, I want to gag whereas before, I'd eat an entire large no problem, but I crave vegetables and fruits and proteins now. I spend a lot of time surfing the web looking for recipes I can try out and I have found so many bariatric foods that are good comparisons to things I had before, but WAAAAY healthier. I eat four times a day and have 70-100 protein a day, and it's all fairly tasty food. At the beginning, I didn't want to eat, nor did any food really taste good, but after about three months, I finally started liking food again. I don't crave like I used to, I haven't binged in 6 months (OMG!!!!!), and honestly... it's not satisfying to eat anymore, it's just something I have to do, so I try to make sure it's healthy and tasty so it's not so boring. It's worth it, though. Food doesn't control me like it used to. It's nice having a choice now.

It's called bariatric chewable one a day. By procare health. I bought mine there but the website is procarenow.com

August 27, 2018: The gastric bypass procedure reduces the size of a patient’s stomach by more than 90 percent. This procedure affects people physically and emotionally, said Alex Brecher, who launched the online community Bariatric Pal (bariatricpal.com) after his own lap band surgery in 2003. The website has message boards, a store that sells a wide variety of products for men and women who have had weight loss surgery, and even helps arrange less expensive surgeries in Tijuana, Mexico, for patients whose insurance won’t cover the procedures. http://www.dailypress.com/news/dp-fea-bolt-bariatric-20180802-story.html# Brecher, who traded in his lap band for bariatric surgery earlier this year, said the dramatic weight loss can also bring about some unexpected emotional issues. “Some people aren’t ready to look in the mirror and see something other than an overweight person,” Brecher said. “They see that different face looking back, and a lot of times they realize they still have to deal with the emotional things that got them to being overweight to begin with. When you lose weight and you’re not able to lean on food for emotional support, it can bring the other stuff to the surface.”

Thanksgiving is just around the corner and we’re already in the throes of preparing for the holiday season ahead. The holidays mean one thing—food, drinks--and more food. As an obesity expert and surgeon who performs weight loss surgery, I can tell you most of us gain weight from here until the end of the year—and more than just a pound or two. Whether you’re maintaining your weight or trying to lose those last few pounds before Thanksgiving, I’d like to share my thoughts on how to manage your weight the same way you would manage a project at work, school or home. In the real world, it’s admittedly difficult to prep healthy food in advance and squeeze in a trip to the gym between commuting to work, dealing with home projects, driving kids to football or dance and trying to get to bed by 11 p.m. every night. Add in the additional responsibilities of holiday activities and—no surprise here--watching your weight plummets on the priority scale. But you can do it nonetheless, it just takes a little planning. My most successful patients, who face losing hundreds of pounds after bariatric surgery, organize their lives to put nutrition, exercise and other healthy endeavors on equal ground with the other aspects of daily life—no matter what. Here are some of my favorite tips and tools to plan a more organized strategy that will support your path to a healthier holiday season: 1. Figure Out What Needs Fixing Everyone has periods of time when eating right and exercising goes off kilter. Take a few minutes to figure out when and why this happens. Are you running out of healthy foods too often? Are you stressed at night dealing with the kids and eating to calm down? Are you so exhausted you can’t be bothered with working out? Once you identify these triggers, you can create a plan to overcome these challenges. 2. Organize Your Surroundings Without a doubt, living or working in a chaotic environment is stressful. If the kitchen is a mess, there is no food in the house and you can never find your favorite sneakers, you’re putting yourself at an unnecessary disadvantage. Get your home and office back under control; start with the most disorganized space and clean it up. (This can usually be accomplished in less time than you think and the results will make you feel five pounds lighter). 3. Schedule Your Workouts the Same Way You Schedule a Meeting Pick a specific time during the weekend to review your calendar for the days ahead and schedule your workouts accordingly. And then actually go—no matter what. 4. Plan Meals, Grocery Shopping and Cooking Once a Week Reviewing your schedule for the week will help figure out where and when you’ll be eating meals, what foods you’ll need, and how much time you need to cook. Look at the weekly grocery store circular and stock up on healthy items that are on sale. Planning saves money. 5. Go to Bed—No Excuses Sleep deprivation interferes with weight loss by confusing hormones that signal hunger and fullness levels. Research shows that people who stay up late consume more calories than those who go to sleep at about the same time each night. When you're tired, your willpower wanes. Even as adults, you still need to aim for eight hours of quality sleep per night. Managing your weight during the holidays is like taking medicine—you train yourself to do it every day, just like brushing your teeth and eating lunch. Which areas of your life could reap the biggest improvement if they were just a little more organized? Start there. In a few short weeks, you are going to realize the positive impact on your life—and your waistline. When January rolls around, you’ll be starting a new year looking and feeling your best. Now that’s the way to welcome 2016.

So, I'm taking the Bariatric Fusion vitamins - you take 4 a day, at least 2 hours apart. While I usually space them throughout the day, my NUT said it was OK to take 2 together. So, here's my dilemma - I ran out of vitamins at work, so I took one this AM, then 2 when I got home at 9PM. I won't be awake at 11. I can't decide if I go ahead and take another around 10 to get my 4 in today, or assume its too much too close together so the last med won't absorb? Any advice? thanks! PS - already packed a week's worth of vitamins to take to work tomorrow so this won't happen again.

This thread is for anyone who has had complications after any type of bariatric surgery. I think most hope and experience a good outcome from surgery but, we also know the risks going into this. Any first hand experiences would be appreciated. What type of surgery did you have? What is your medical complication(s) that you are diagnosed with? What are your treatment options and what did you choose. Any medical referrals or resources in your area that you would recommend? your experience/story if you feel comfortable sharing

Congratulations on your amazing success and progress. I wish you much luck in your renewed efforts and achieving your goal weight!

Pre-op it was Optifast, and I could only get them either from my surgeon or from the Bariatric Clinic Office at HRH (I got mine from my surgeon). POST-op I used Isopure Dutch Chocolate (powder) exclusively...i found this was the least sweet of all the powders I tried. I blended it up with water, ice, a tsp of decaf instant coffee crystals and 2 tsps of Benefibre. In the mornings I may add a capful of Miralax if I was backed up (which happened often!). I also had some Isopure Unflavoured to add to food. I got these online from https://www.bodybuilding.com/en-CA/index , found this to be cheapest, even with the conversion and shipping costs. The giant tub (with the handle) is the best value. But maybe try a sample first before you commit to such a large amount (my husband drinks it too, so it was worth it for us). My surgeon was XXXX. Had 7 follow ups with him (1 day, 1 week, 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, 1 year). Again very uneventful. In and out really (I did not have any complications nor issues with weight loss). He's great. It was kind of a downer to have to go so far for so short an appt (I'm in north T.O., he's at Sheppard West), and his office was always very busy, so I often had to wait past my scheduled appt time to see him. Not really a big deal, but worth noting. There is no plan to see him again, but I was told to give them a call if I ever find the need to (I haven't). Edited to add: I put my surgeons name, but just removed it. Figure maybe I should DM you this info instead, lol...I sent it to your mailbox. Edit to add, part deux: I should mention that there are also (separate) follow ups with the clinic at HRH (1 month, 3 months, 6 months, 1 year, 2 years). My next scheduled appt will be next year at my 3 yr anniversary...i actually have no idea how long these will go for. I see the Nurse and the Dietician at these follow ups. I get my labs done, then they adjust vitamin regimen if needed, as well advise me on my reported eating. Personally, I don't get anything out of these follow-ups in terms of dietary advice that I don't already know. But getting my labs done is good. Also it sucks to have to drive all the way there and pay $25 for parking.

I realize this was a whole back but... That is more normal, ink blots are part of what a psychoanalyst does for therapy - you likely had an mmpi-2 (300+ items but takes just 45 min) since insurance companies want to see objective data with the report and that is the one recommended by the committee that sets the standards for Bariatric evaluations. 😀

You sound like you are deeply struggling with the whole process. I am sorry that you didn't get better service from your first doctor. It sounds like he/she really let you down. My suggestion is you start keeping an exact journal of what you eat, drink and when you exercise. Ten when you are ready start over with a new bariatric surgeon.You really need someone on your side who can guide you whatever direction is best for you. Please don't give up mentally or physically. Fight for yourself to get this worked out in a positive way.

I am located in Charlotte NC and I am thinking of starting a meetup group for anyone who has either had or is planning to have Bariatric surgery. I would like to do weekly or bi-weekly meetups, something simple like a park walk, meetup for coffee or tea etc..... Would anyone be interested in this? If so comment below and I will update you

I was using nectar strawberry mousse and bariatric support chocolate, but that one, if you pre-made it, it ended up more like pudding instead of a shake. The Nectar has lots of flavors that are awesome. It's about $45 for a bug tub of it and each scoop has 23g of Protein. I was doing one for lunch as a Meal Replacement and had 2 boiled eggs for Breakfast and for dinner I would have meat and veggies and I would have "snacks" between them, which would be peanuts or almonds, and I also got 64oz of Water or a sugar free beverage in every day. It sounds like a lot, but it worked! I set reminders on my phone because my job is crazy, but it helped me keep on it. Sent from my iPhone using VST

Maybe a taste aversion with the chewable a causing vomiting? I could not find a flavor of chewable that I liked. I do ok with the bariatric advantage capsules, maybe you could open the capsule (of this or an alternate brand) and put in a spoonful of something allowed by your program. Protein pudding, unsweetened applesauce, etc. hope you find something that stays down!!

I was told by my surgeon and my NUT that the gummies do not have everything in them that you need. They recommend Bariatric Advantage capsules with iron - you can buy them online from Bariatric Advantage but I get mine from my doctor's office.

How do you know which type of weight loss surgery (WLS) is best for you? Part 1 of this series explored some of the factors to consider; here are a few more! Reversibility Each Weight Loss Surgery (WLS) type is designed to be permanent. However, the Adjustable Gastric Band (AGB) is fully reversible if necessary since the surgeon can remove the band from around your stomach. The Gastric Bypass (RNY) can be reversed, although the procedure is more complicated. The Gastric Sleeve (VSG) is absolutely irreversible since it involves removing most of your stomach from your body. Because of its reversibility, the AGB may be the choice for some younger patients or for those who do not want to take a dramatic step that affects their actual body parts. Invasiveness and Recovery The AGB is least invasive and has the shortest recovery time. It can even be an outpatient procedure, and you could get back to work in a week. This might be the only realistic option if you have very little sick leave available or you do not want to tell work colleagues about your surgery. The RNY and VSG are inpatient and require longer recovery times Safety: Complications and Side Effects Some risks of the AGB are band slippage or leakage, or erosion of the band. You could have vomiting or reflux if your band is displaced or filled too tight. Since the band can be removed, most of the complications can be stopped by emptying or removing the band. The VSG has a higher rate of complications than the band. They can include leakage at the suture site. Nearly a quarter of RNY patients have complications of some sort, with more serious ones including staple line separation or leaks. You might opt for the AGB if you have a lower BMI without many health issues, or you might be more willing to take on RNY risks if your BMI is higher and you are more concerned about obesity-related issues such as diabetes. The risk for nutritional deficiencies is higher with RNY and VSG. You can greatly lower your risk by taking the appropriate nutritional supplements, but you need to be prepared to take your bariatric vitamins for life. The effects of vitamin and mineral deficiencies can include osteoporosis, anemia, and nerve damage. A Sweet Tooth and Dumping Syndrome What are you looking to get out of your WLS? If all you need is help with portion control, AGB may be for you. It only helps with portion control, and it is up to you to make healthy food choices. On the other hand, the gastric bypass is best if you are looking for a tool to help you avoid sweets. That is because of the malabsorptive nature of RNY. With RNY, your food passes through the lower part of your small intestine with less digestion than it would before surgery. Sugars that get to your small intestine can give you symptoms of dumping syndrome, including weakness, extreme fullness, diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting. Foods that cause dumping syndrome tend to be sugary and high-carb foods, such as candy, soft drinks, cakes, and pastries. Dairy and alcohol can also cause problems. Most patients who get RNY have dumping syndrome at some point. Dumping syndrome can be beneficial because it gives you extra motivation to eat right – you know that if you grab that brownie, you may be headed for hours of misery! That can be a good reason to choose RNY. However, if the thought of dumping syndrome scares you, RNY is not for you! There are many factors to consider as you choose your WLS type, but keep in mind that the decision is individual. You need to choose the WLS type that will work for you, even if it is not the one that worked for someone else. The decision is something to make after one or more serious conversations with your surgeon.

Which band to go with? The Realize or LAP-Band? I'm sure I'll talk it over with the surgeon but it's definitely something to think about. I had my big 4 hour appointment today with everyone under the sun. The dietician was super nice. We first did the informational session on life and diet post banding. I then saw the Internist/Endocrinologist for an hour. He was nice...reminded me of Rain Man but very thorough. After hearing my symptoms that I've dealt with my whole life, he wants to do one additional lab test (24 hour urine collection - yippee!) to test for a Phenochromocytoma (benign tumor in the adrenal gland)but decided I didn't need any furter pre-op testing. Whew! I then had the 1:1 with the dietician. Not surprisingly, my method of skipping meals then ravenously eating isn't the best. After that I had the 1 hour Physical Education class which was interesting but nothing I didn't already know but still, another check mark off my list of To-Do. After my psych appointment March 27 then April 2, I'll be ready to schedule with the surgeon! Super excited. I start my pre-bariatric surgery diet tomorrow. No, not the scary 2-4 week skim milk diet, but the very low calorie, balanced, high-protein diet. They gave me basically a list of foods from 4 food groups to pick from for each meal, and two protein drinks as snacks between meals, and that's it! I do really well with a regime, and it's expected that I lose weight before seeing the surgeon, so it looks like my journey begins tomorrow!

I'm officially done with all of the pre-work. All I have left is to meet with the surgeon and have the pre-op class, then surgery! I'm so excited. I've been following the Pre-Bariatric Surgery eating plan for about a week and a half now (3 meals a day and 2 protein drinks, eating out of only 4 food groups) and I'm down almost 7 lbs. Today I finished up with the psychologist and reviewed the scores from the MMPI test. Although she cleared me for surgery, she suggested that I meet with a psychologist locally to follow up for another session or two. My scores were great in most areas except two, self-image and emotional coping. The self-image I totally get, and need to improve because I'm afraid that even at my goal I'll still see the fat girl in the mirror. The emotional coping - I thought she was crazy until she explained what it meant - and there is no way I could have argued. I went through some childhoold trauma and my parents had an explosive, horrid divorce about 7 years ago that I was in the middle of. I guess you don't make it out of that without some emotional baggage and surprisingly enough, ignoring it was not the correct thing to do. So I have some work to do, but not work that will hinder me having surgery. Besides, I want to be healthy and part of that is mentally, not just my body. The psychologist asked for a few days to get her report to the surgery coordinator, then I should be hearing from the nurse to set up the appointment with the surgeon. The good news is, I've almost completely satisified my deductible so my surgery should cost me next to nothing. I've managed to get about 10 weeks worth of pre work done in 4, so as long as I keep moving at that pace I should be able to be banded by the end of April or early May.

After meeting with the dietician and endocrinologist and being medically cleared for the lap band, I was told to start the Bariatric Surgery diet. Not the big, scary, 2-4 weeks of skim milk that is the Pre-Op Diet, but this is basically a low calorie, high protien, very balanced plan. I'm following it to a T and only mildly cheated once last week. I've lost 8 lbs and am feeling great so far. This morning, just for fun, I re-calculated my BMI and it's 35.2. I went into a little bit of a panic spin since my insurance requires a BMI of 35. I remember reading on here that some programs submit the inital weight, and my BMI was 38.6 so I would be good. Just to reassure myself, I emailed the program director. The surgeon, whom I will be setting up an appointment with on Monday, is the one who makes the final decision and THAT is the information that is submitted to insurance for approval. The dietician emailed me back and said to NOT go below my current weight, and I may need to put on just a pound or two to ensure my BMI is stable before it's submitted. So here I was, completely focus, in the ZONE, and now I have to gain a few pounds?! I don't like the sound of that at ALL!! I was feeling so great, really on a roll. I talked it over with my husband, and he said for me to give in tonight to my one craving, something I've talked about since I've been on this strict eating plan, so I had a Five Guys burger and fries. I feel SO SICK afterwards now!! I think it's a combination of mentally knowing I shouldn't have done it, and physically I haven't had a meal that heavy in a few weeks. I think now I will just add in some fruit or veggies to my mid-day snacks....

Some places will not give you FMLA for bariatric surgery... I know where I work doesn't and their a hospital. I just took my PTO.

Hello All, I am a long-time 'lurker,' first time poster - I'm strangley nervous! I was banded in February 2011 and have lost 45 lbs so far - slow and steady! I wanted to post and see if anyone else has experienced this and/or has any advice for how to get through the next 4 weeks ... Last Saturday night I woke up with intense upper stomach pain that wrapped around my back. After a few hours of the pain intensifying, I decided to go to my local ER around 3 am. Once checked in they gave me some pain killers through an IV, did an ultrasound, ran a CT scan, and did x-rays. I told the doctor I had a lapband and suggested he take all the Fluid out to see if that helped. Because I was able to drink all the liquid for the CT scan (that bright orange dye stuff?), he said it couldn't be my band. At that point I was high as a kite so I went with it. My pain was under control so they sent me home around 6 with a prescription for Vicodin and told me to check in with my PCP on Monday if I was still in pain ... 2 hours and 3 Vicodin's later I had to go back. The pain was so intense that I couldn't walk and they had to bring out a wheel chair. The new doctor on shift immediately recommended taking the fluid out of my band which was more than fine by me ... Unfortunately the hospital didn't have any needles that were long enough to reach my port (they had a .5" and needed a 1.5"). They decided to courier a needle from a nearby hospital and keep me doped up in the meantime. I spent almost 6 hours higher than high (I hate to think what I was talking about!) and finally they got a needle - only it was just 1"! We decided to go for it and I blew out my stomach and the doctor pushed as hard as he could with the needle - it took over 20 pokes (I counted the dots afterward) but he managed to get almost all the fluid out - phew! I immediately felt better and was able to go home (sans wheelchair!). I followed up with my bariatric surgeon the next day and after reviewing everyting, it turns out all that fuss was because something had gotten stuck - probably on Friday - and then the irritation grew and grew until the swelling in my stomach was too much! Thankfully he says my band still looks placed correctly, but he said I can't have any fills until my stomach recovers from its "trauma" - at least 4 weeks. EEEK!! I am absolutely terrified of getting through the next 4 weeks without my band - has any one else had to do this? Did you gain weight back? How did you cope? Thanks so much for any advice you can offer! - s

Greetings, My name is David and I am a medical research student in the department of surgery at the University of Alberta, Canada working with Dr. Daniel Birch in general surgery. The Centre for the Advancement of Minimally Invasive Surgery (CAMIS) is conducting a research study to estimate the financial healthcare consequences that may occur when Alberta residents seek bariatric surgery in another province or country (known as medical tourism). We are surveying all Alberta residents who had bariatric surgery outside of Alberta. Your input will help us to assess their costs to the healthcare system. The link to our 5-minute survey can be found here: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/JCF3Q95 (Please copy and paste the above link to the address bar of your browser and press enter to access the survey.) Your input is very important to us, will be kept strictly confidential, and will be used only for the purposes of research for this project. You are consenting to participate in this study by completing this survey. If you have any questions or would prefer to complete a paper survey, please call us at 780-735-6733 or email me at dhkim1@ualberta.ca For detailed information about the project, please refer to the participant information sheet here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/3xi0u2hc162snue/Information%20sheet%20popularity.docx (Please copy and paste the above link to the address bar of your browser and press enter to access the information sheet.) Thank you for your participation! Sincerely, David H Kim, Bsc. Research Student Faculty of Medicine, Department of Surgery University of Alberta 10240 Kingsway Ave NW, Edmonton, Alberta, T5H3V9

So, yesterday was my 6 month gastric surgery anniversary. And Holy Crap. Yesterday was a rollercoaster of emotions for me. I started the day feeling pretty good. Went to the Cardiologist. He was so happy for my weight loss. He wanted me to lose weight, but didn't know about the VSG. He was impressed with how much weight I lost so fast. He also commented I look great and was shocked I don't look "sickly" at all due to the rapid weight loss like many patients he sees. He was thrilled with my increased physical activity and my plans to hike the "Camino de Santiago" in Spain this summer. (It is a "pilgrimage" where you walk literally across Northern Spain or another route to Santiago de Compostela). We discussed my tachycardia and sometimes low blood pressure. He is having me reduce my dosage to half a pill (YAY!). We discussed my cholesterol and medication for it. I told him of my desire to attempt to go off it for a while to see if I can keep my lipid panel numbers in check without it now that I lost all my excess weight and am eating much healthier. We agreed that I will stay on it for 6 more months and then do labs. If my numbers are good, he will let me go off them and see how my labs hold up. I acknowledged to him that I know if they do go back on them, then I will have to take it for the rest of my life... he was happy with that compromise. On top of all that already great news... I asked him about my EKG which I had already looked at myself (I am a former trauma nurse, I know how to read them). He confirmed what I already knew... my EKG was NORMAL!!! Now this is HUGE because the reason I decided to look into WLS in the first point was because I was worried about my heart. At my appointment with him in fall 2018, my EKG showed that I had an enlarged Left Ventrical for the first time. I had an echocardiogram several months later that confirmed the EKG findings. THIS is the reason I insisted on getting weight loss surgery in the first place. My heart was working too hard and was beginning to enlarge. This was unacceptable. This was my reason to stop "trying" to lose weight and for making sure I "did" lose weight. So here I am... 1 1/2 years after identifying that my heart was enlarging.... and all my excess weight is GONE and my enlarged heart is GONE TOO! OMG, I left the cardiologist office on such a high note, I practically floated home lol. And I called my husband with so much excitement. It was a great day. Until..... During the drive home from my cardiologist I got an e-mail from the radiology office. I saw the e-mail when I stopped to exchange some pants at Old Navy. Some of you may recall I posted recently that my bilirubin levels had been rising since surgery. I normally have a high normal to slightly high bilirubin level. It is something that I have monitored my entire adult life. But since surgery, my bilirubin keeps getting higher. I saw my lab results before my bariatric surgeon did. I printed the results, wrote a note to my regular nurse practitioner, and dropped them off at her office. She called a couple hours later and agreed that we need to do an ultrasound to check my gallbladder and liver out. I did that Tuesday and was told that the results would not be available until Friday. Except now it is Wednesday, the next day, and I get a text that my results were available online. Again, I saw the results before either my general nurse practitioner or the bariatric surgeon. And what I read was devastating. My liver and gallbladder are just fine (weird... so why is my bilirubin elevated?). But I have a fairly large mass in my Left Kidney! I have a flippin TUMOR in my kidney! And they recommended on my report that I get a CT Scan or an MRI to further assess it. They used 2 terms to describe what kind of mass it appears to be. Both terms used, are the kind of masses that are cancerous 85% of the time. And even if it ISN'T cancer.... the mass is big enough that I know the first line of treatment is either a partial or total nephrectomy. Holy Crap. Add to that, I know that my grandfather wasn't much older than me when he had kidney cancer and had HIS left kidney removed. And I figure out all of this within 5 minutes, because as a Registered Nurse I already know too much. Still... I keep my **** together and calmly (but unnerved) drive home. I get home, I refill my water, I sit for a minute quitely before I call my husband over to talk. He is a Registered Nurse too... and I told him there is a mass on my Kidney and he made the same assessment I did... only he is much more panicked about it than I am. He wants to rush over to the nurse practitioners office NOW. I told him I want to wait a little bit so she can have time to look at the report first. Then I noticed a missed call from her. How I missed it, is beyond me... but she must have called in the 1 - 1 minute dead zone on my way home. What luck. And BTW, she doesn't make patient phone calls normally DURING her work schedule... she calls after she sees all her patients for the day. I know this because that is when she ALWAYS calls me for results. This was unusual for her. I knew she was worried before I even spoke to her. I called back and got a voicemail. (husband still panicking and wanting to rush over). I called a couple more times and got through to her. Instead of waiting for her to slowly break the news... I let her know I just saw the report and I know I had a mass on my kidney and that my liver and gallbladder were fine. This helped speed up her getting to the point... I needed a CT Scan and a referral to a specialist. She was at the same conclusion I was... it is a tumor and there is a good chance it is cancerous. I don't think she was going to say the "C" word yet... but after I mentioned it, she agreed. Now... my referrals always take a week. ALWAYS take a week to get back so I can schedule an appointment. So, I asked my husband if we can go for a walk somewhere. Well THAT was a disaster lol... because I got several calls from the referral lady and within an hour or so of my phone call to the NP about the results... I was running to the radiology office to pick up barium to drink for my CT scan on FRIDAY. Friday. The day I was supposed to be getting these results back, and now I am going in for a CT Scan already. Talk about FAST RESPONSE! The fact that she rushed this so much and managed to get me in to the radiologist office so soon just confirms how worried my NP really is, so that is totally stressful! Still don't know what specialist I will be seeing, but by the time I get that referral I will have results in hand from the scan, so that is good. On the plus side... I already know the rest of my abdominal organs are fine according to the Ultrasound. The CT scan will look more closely at all of it... but I don't have any reason to believe if it IS cancer that it metastasized. But now I have to gear up to drink a ton of barium (um... no clue how I will get this all in... I am only 6 months post op!). And now I have to deal with a tumor that could be cancerous and I might need a kidney partially or completely removed. Chemo is very unlikely, but radiation or other treatments might be needed. And on top of all that I still need an MRI for my L Knee because I might have a torn meniscus that might need surgery and definitely need physical therapy. And I am SUPPOSED to walk across Spain starting May 25th. Yay me. I thought I was THISCLOSE to being healthy again and all this **** happens! And how much you want to bet the Coronavirus hits my city hard right about the same time I need 1-2 more surgeries! Not afraid of the Coronavirus... except my immune system will be already under attack if I need a kidney removed!