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April 2006. Star's contract with the View was not renewed. Was this before Meredith made her announcement or not is unclear. One story says the problem was Star's dropping viewer comments (the donate wedding, not up front about weight loss). Star's side says that Rosie wouldn't come to the show if Star was there. May-June27th...rumors run amuck. June 27th. Star's surprise announcement that she is leaving. Rumor has it that the _hit hit the fan backstage after the show. And her name was really mud with Barbara after People posted the interview on the web saying Star felt fired. Don't you love a good cat fight?!?!!

Does Dr. Cribbins take Medicare? Im wandering because I am looking for a bariatric surgeon. I am wanting to do the Lap Band procedure. The surgeons in my hometown dont take Medicare or Medicaid. They will for cholycystectomies and appendectomies,but not for WLS.

I have a consultation scheduled with Dr. Manuel Castro on Wednesday. After my previous experiences with Bariatric Surgeons, I'm not sure exactly what to expect. My hubby keeps telling me not to get too excited or hopeful that Dr. Castro can help us. Yes, us. I want to eventually get my hubby approved for the VSG as well. He is only 20 pounds smaller than he was at his highest weight 5 years ago when he was banded. I went to my primary care doctor, Dr. King and he was upset with me over my blood pressure. Apparently it has become more and more difficult to control and I hope that if it comes downt to it he will write that down in a letter. I'm now on two seperate anti-hypertensive medications. Dr. King ordered labs to check my liver, kidneys and heart in order to see if there is a cause to my high blood pressure. Kidney disease runs in my family. So who knows? I'm trying not to think about anything else "bad" happening to my body. I already have depression, fibromyalgia, degenerative disc disease, some herniated discs, sciatica and apprently high blood pressure. I believe a few of those could be helped with me losing the remaining 80 pounds that I need to. I know that the Sleeve is simply a tool and I have to stay on course and be good. I did great when I intially got the band having lost 140lbs. That was until Pamela (aka the band) decided to go all bitchy on me. :thumbup: That's it until Wednesday....

Good Morning and welcome to the forums. They were a Godsend to me before I had my surgery because they answered so many of my questions. I hope we'll be helpful to you as you go through your Weight Loss Journey. Which surgery? Okay, I thought I wanted the big one, the bypass, thinking I'd lose more weight and it'd be less "permanent" than cutting off part of my stomach for the sleeve. But my primary care doctor and my psychiatrist advised me that they opinion was that the bypass was "too radical" for my size (260 lbs) and so I opted for the sleeve. I'm very happy with the sleeve. It restricts my ability to overeat. That being said, it's a personal decision and you'll have to research all your options to find the one that you're the most comfortable with. In terms of losing 15 lbs, your bariatric office will assign you a nutritionist and he/she will give you guidelines but they are basically < 1500 calories/day, 60 g protein/day, 64 oz water/day, limit carbs and sugars and salts.

Also the numbers your nutritionist sent you don't even make sense If you're supposed to have 35g of carbohydrates max, 20g of fat max. And eat 800-1000 calories a day this means you need between 115g and 165g of protein a day to reach those numbers. Now I'm all about the high protein thing and rarely think too much protein is a bad thing. But doesn't 165g of protein for a bariatric female losing weight sound insane? I mean it you're an Olympic weight lifter or something that's a complete different story, but it just sounds odd to me.

I agree with everyone else... go for it! As for band vs. sleeve, I think that's something you have to take on a case-by-case basis. Some 18 year olds just aren't mature enough for bariatric surgery so having a band means you can take it out and wait until they are older to try again. But, like Steve said, it probably also means a re-operation later on down the line. It's something to talk about with the doctor and your daughter, for sure! Oh and check out this guy.... he's the son of a guy I used to work with. He's 18 and just got a band and is documenting his journey. Your daughter may find watching someone her age go through the process to be helpful: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jakes-Journey/92292716733?ref=search

Hi!!! So glad to hear that you're doing well. I went online and did some research, then I found this site and saw that a lot of people have gone to mexico for the surgery. My insurance doesn't cover bariatric surgeries, so I thought I should go to Mexico after 4yrs of thorough research.

Has anyone had lipo to get rid of the double chin? I'm just wondering how effective it is and if bariatric patients have had success with lipo alone in this area (i.e. would most weight loss patients have loose skin in this area after lipo). I'm planning to have abdominoplasty and brachioplasty next month, and I'm considering asking my surgeon about liposuction in my neck as well. Thanks for your help.

One of my favorite things to tell our newbies is this: Stalls are like lovers. Your first will probably not be your last. Trust in the process. It works. It just is a fickle crazy maker. I have found that even though I have been successful these last 17 months, I still investigate every new diet that comes out. I have my 18 month follow-up appointment on 6/11 and will confess to my bariatrician that I have this anxiety and a tendency to have "exercise bulemia". I feel like if I eat anything, I have to go exercise off the calories right away. So, just stay on point with Protein first, then veg, then limited fruit. I had to give up Peanut Butter and cheese to move my most recent stall. maybe I will try those again after my panni at the end of the year. (I have to be two years out.) Remember these basic concepts that many of us follow with the variety of plans our bariatric teams give us: Drink no calories. Drink Water until your eyeballs float - 64 - 80+ ounces per day. Don't eat anything made in a factory. You can do this by shopping the perimeter of the supermarket and avoid the aisle unless you need a spice or paper towels...that kind of stuff. Eat at least 60 ounces of protein per day, and at any meal, eat your protein first - then veg - then fruit. Dessert should be something like an apple, not apple pie with two scoops of ice cream. Avoid sugar, grease, and salt as much as possible. Eating clean will help you discover the real taste of natural food. If it weren't for sugar, grease and salt, McDonald's would have no business. When I gave up candy bars and started eating dark chocolate, I realized that it wasn't the chocolate I missed - it was the sugar. Try to wean yourself off of soda and diet soda. Many bariatric plans discourage soda pop and anything with bubbles post-op. Reduce starchy carbs like bread, flour, sugar, rice, noodle, biscuits, white potatoes, macaroni, spaghetti etc. So what is left to eat? meat, eggs, cheese, Beans, peanut butter, yogurt, cottage cheese, nuts, and fresh fruits and non-starchy veggies. You can adjust your current recipes to reduce carbs. The World According to Eggface is a good place to start. We have a forum here for recipes. Also, Sparkpeople.com and Myfitnesspal.com. Many of us use Myfitnesspal.com for logging our food every day. It is really an eye-opener if you are honest with yourself about what you eat. Weigh and measure your food to accurately acknowledge your actual portion size. There is a scientific principle that says, "You cannot control that which you do not measure." Exercise where you can. Move your body every day. Don't become part of the sofa. Good luck, and get going!

mlsf, Do you have some insurance coverage, just not for bariatric surgery? I will need to talk to the staff at my surgeons about this, since testing confirmed a hiatal hernia. My insurance does cover that, so in my case I thought it was good that it is billed as a separate surgery. Otherwise the 3500 extra that the surgeon changes to sew up the hernia would be out-of-pocket for me. (if included in the lap-band surgery)

Yes I have insurance, but does not cover Bariatric Surgery for my low BMI. It's not the fact that I had a hernia repair that I am upset about, It's the fact that they charged a complete surgery in the amount of $9,500 just for the Hernia in addition to the $15,000 lapband surgery.

Ooohh - I can't wait to see my hip bones. The are getting closer, so hopefully just a matter of time. Nicole - I haven't had any fills yet. I had my 8 week checkup a couple of weeks ago and felt no need for it. BUT, I did forget to ask if he did a fill at surgery, so I have no clue if there is anything in it or not at this point. I will say that I'm full after about 1/2 a cup of food and will generally stay satisfied for about 3-4 hours. I do also drink 4 oz of Optisource Bariatric High Protein drink between meals, so that helps to keep me satisfied as well. However, it does seem just within the last couple of days, I'm not as satisfied as I was. I may go in the week after next, to see about a small fill. We are going hunting this week and I don't want to be out, a few hundred miles from my Dr or a hospital after my first fill. Kind of paranoid about it.

Oh, I'm so excited in my new-found confidence and I just have to share with my bandster folk. I have been with a guy for 7 years, on and off because I love him dearly and thought of him as my best friend and my future, in spite of his problems and the imperfect things in our relationship. We've been through a lot together and I used to think it just made us stronger as a couple. But I still had so many doubts and uncertainties -- though I never followed through with really, fully, FINALLY breaking up with him. Part of it (probably bigger than I realize!) was that I didn't think I could really find someone to love me after him, so I always took him back, even with what I suspected were great betrayals. Tonight I've discovered that the awful things I suspected for years were actually true. I ended it, FOR GOOD. I think the new lap-band confidence I have, the renewed self-esteem, the renewed love I have for myself and my life helped me tremendously. Tonight I type this with my heart full of gratitude that I have had enough of a life change to END it FOR GOOD. Thank you, lap-band! THANK YOU! In addition to my 24 pounds lost, you've helped me to lose 190 pounds in the blink of an eye! I love you!

Sweeney is an experienced Bariatric surgeon - his specialty is the RnY bypass. He did an RnY bypass for my pal - she did fine, lost more than 100#. He is the Chief Bariatric Surgeon at St Luke's Hospital (Baylor, of course, is the medical school but St. Luke's is the name of the actual hospital.) I know that St. Luke's Bariatric was planning on starting LapBanding but I honestly don't know a single LapBand patient who has been through the program. As for Unicare - it's a different kind of insurance, so you want to ask his specific office about which policy (some Unicare policies do not pay for bariatric) you have and whether they accept it. Good Luck. Happy Band (and Life) Journeys To All...

try lookin for a different insurance company..does ur ins cover any other bariatric surgery?? u might wanna look into that? i had to switch companies when i found out aetna didnt pay for my surgery so i went with personal choice which covers it in philadelphia..also keystone cover it 2 and they both have plans for people to pay on there own...good luck

OK, so I had my very first consultation with Dr. David Ward in Morristown New Jersey he will be my surgeon. He addressed all my questions and my husbands as well. We had pretty common questions like, how long does the surgery take, healing time, what to expect, any complications that could arise, mortality rate etc. The first thing he asked me was what type of surgery was I interested in. I did not let him know right away that I wanted the sleeve. I asked what he thought would be better. He let me know that the sleeve would be better for me. Which is what I wanted to begin with. He informed me that bypass would not be in my Best interest. Also, he does not like to perform bypass surgery on smokers. I asked him how long I need to be smoke-free in order to have surgery. He said, obviously it is better to be totally smoke free but, he does understand how hard it can be. He did say that I can use nicotine replacement such as the patch he wasn't too happy about vape only because there's not too much information on it. He did recommend that I at least cut back even if I don't use the nicotine replacement. I also asked about liquid diet and what I need to do now to start preparing. He said we definitely want you to cut back calories and carbs. you will be meeting with a nutritionist who will help you with that. My husband asked when would I need to start the liquid diet the doctor informed us it would not be necessary until much much closer to surgery. He said it is not mandatory that I lose weight just not to gain any weight but it would help if I lost obviously it would make surgery go easier. So my first of three appointments with the nutritionist will be on the 26th of this month. I still need to make an appointment with a Gastro and the psychiatrist. I did ask why does it seem to vary so much as far as everyone's diets preop and wait times. He said is far as wait times go, that's the insurance requirements. Pre-op diet really depends on the individual some of us are not as heavy as others. Some of us have different issues Healthwise. That's why it varies so much from person to person. For example he already told me that he is sending me home after surgery with a blood thinning injection. Most of you probably didn't need that or won't need that. my BMI is very high (63.7) He did warn me already not to compare what I can tolerate and what's in my program to what others have. Oh on a final note, I mentioned that we have a few family events coming up and that I'd be heading into NYC and probably eating my head off. He laughed and said get it out of your system now because once the nutritionist appointment starts it becomes very serious. So that was my very first visit to a bariatric surgeon. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

you might want to ask your doctors office to contact your insurance company to see if fills are covered. when i talked to my insurance company they told me it was not covered but the bariatric surgeon i use for fills was some how able to get them to cover it. it could just be the treatment code they use that makes all the difference. it's worth a shot.

My initial LB surgery, was covered. Left the job I was at, new insurance has.... NO Bariatric coverage. Haven't been to my Dr. In 2 yrs. Gained 30 outta the 50 I lost! That said, no insurance, I was told the follow- up visits would be $150 (no fill) $250 with fill. Is this normal? (In the US. Virginia)

There's a difference between the Super Sleeve, and the TGVP. They are 2 different procedures. The TGVP is being called the "sleeve killer", but the super sleeve is being advertised as a "tighter/smaller" sleeve. There is no long term ghrelin plasma level with the TGVP as there is with the VSG. Also, ghrelin is produced in other parts of the body, and some VSG patient do not experience complete hunger resolution. With the big stretchy part of the stomach left behind, I can imagine that the ghrelin is still going to be produced. I experienced some hunger resolution when I had my band early out when I had restriction. Once the restriction started wearing off, my hunger returned even after meals. Several RNY, and band patients say they still have the same ravenous hunger they had pre-op. Luckily, I've lost all of my hunger. Here's the studies with ghrelin plasma levels in VSG vs. Band and VSG vs. RNY patients. LapSF Educational presentation to FACS - includes some 2 year results LapSF Two Year StudyLapSF Five Year Study - abstract only LapSF Five Year Study - presentation (requires Windows to play) Literature review on the sleeve - requires $$ to get the full text unfortunately Sleeve best for over 50 crowdVideo of a sleeve with lots of education discussionVideo of a sleeve that is more about the operationGhrelin levels after RnY and sleeveGhrelin levels after band and sleeveDiabetes resolution in RnY vs. SleeveComparison of band to sleeve - literature review Here's the explanation of the super sleeve and TGVP. ProMedica Bariatric surgery consulting - Bariatric research

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!

Hi!!! So glad to hear that you're doing well. I went online and did some research, then I found this site and saw that a lot of people have gone to mexico for the surgery. My insurance doesn't cover bariatric surgeries, so I thought I should go to Mexico after 4yrs of thorough research. I'm going to follow up here with my primary care physician.

Hey SJ - I was banded at U of Penn in Philly on 3/10/08. I don't know if my office will do fills if they didn't do the surgery, but you can check. Also, go to the websites of your local hospitals. If they have a bariatric department that would be your best bet. Even though you live hear, ask the question as if you just moved here. They will be less likely to question why you left the country to get the surgery. Plus, you are paying for your own fills so there shouldn't be any conflicts. It's worth a try. I know that in Philadelphia, only HUP and Temple Hospital have Bariatric Departments. Jefferson hosp does too, but they don't do Lap-Band - only the bypass. I checked them all out when I was deciding. Since I live in the city it was easy for me to pick Penn. Good Luck. Anne

I got my band in 10 1/2 years ago. I love my band...don't get me wrong, I have had plenty of struggles, some of them severe. But I have lost 134 pounds and have stayed withing 5 to 10 pounds of my current weight 142 for a few years. I have had my fill completely removed several times and the refilling process is almost always grueling. But then I get to my sweet spot and the weight comes off. That brings me to my current problem...about 2 1/2 months ago, I began to have serious reflux problems. You know what I mean...regurgitating acid through the night, cough, hoarse throat, nausea, etc. I did research on the proper GERD/reflux diet and made lifestyle changes, which I tracked. I have been on Dexilant--off and on--for 4 or 5 years. I finally went to my Gastrointestinal doc and she ordered and endoscopy and doubled my Dexilant dosage. Other than a small hyatal hernia, everything inside looked okay. So my doc scheduled a CT scan of my abdomen with and without contrast. They called me this morning to say It looks like my band has slipped and they wanted an Upper GI done. I called my bariatric surgeon's office and am waiting for them to call back to schedule. Needless to say, I am really freaked out! With this going on for almost 3 months, I am so worried about what may be going on and what damage might have occurred. I have put off dealing with this, and over the years, other physical problems related to my band, because I don't want them to take it out or unfill it. I still want to lose some more weight! On top of all that, my only daughter is getting married in 2 months! Does anyone have a story that will encourage me? I don't want a sleeve or other gastric surgery. Is it inevitable that the band will have to be removed? Help!!!!!

There are several bariatric surgeons that specialize in "fixing" other doctor's mess-ups. You might want to call around tomorrow and see if someone else will take you on. I'm also floored that you still have the drain - mine was out before I left the hospital, too. But, mostly, I can't believe his attitude about pain. My surgeon told me "don't be a hero - I don't want you to hurt" when he first saw me post-op and was worried I wasn't using my pain pump enough! Oh, and Texarkolina: Run. This isn't right or normal at all. Find another surgeon ASAP.

Bariatric Fusion sells chewable iron in the higher dosage. I'm on my phone at the moment, so I'm unable to link their site. Maybe if you Google them it will come up for you. Hope it helps.