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I am sorry this is going on with you. I don't know much about your state's health insurance but I know a person here in NJ that did not have coverage for anything bariatric and decided to go to college (he took one class) in order to buy health insurance through the college - the health insurance from the college offered bariatric coverage. Apparently a lot of people do this in order to get some covered items like fertility treatments, weight loss surgery or even eye corrective surgery. Might be something to look into.

For anyone who hates when someone is feeling down on themselves, then leave this post now lol. I don't have anyone who I can discuss this with in my everyday life, so I'm talking about it here. But I'm just feeling so defeated. I went ahead and made an appointment with my original surgeon to talk to him about revision from band to sleeve. My band has some sort of leak or disconnection in it and will no longer hold fluid. It's useless. Now, him doing the surgery is not the problem, I'm sure he'll do it. The problem is money. I work for the state of SC but they don't cover anything bariatric (BCBS Peba). I've applied to 4 or 5 different loan companies to see what rates they'd give me for loans and the first two said they'd give me a loan, but they won't give me the amount I need to cover the procedure. Then Care Credit and Prosper gave me a flat-out "no". I'm now in the headspace where I feel like calling up my doctor's office and saying forget it and I shouldn't even bother taking the trip to see him if I can't even finance the surgery. This just sucks. I feel like I've hit a wall and it's so disheartening because up until now I have been feeling so positive about taking the steps to get revised and now it seems like even though I want this so badly that it's not going to happen. If anyone else has had issues with finding financing but found a solution, please let me know.

I had the sleeve and very little pain so far as well and I am 4 days post op. I mean I felt it getting up and lying down but other than that I was just weak and I skipped the morphine and had just Tylenol. Now that I am home I have had to remind myself not to overdo it so yes this does happen but based on reactions from the doctors and nurses it is anything but the norm so I wouldn’t expect it. I am not hungry either. I have to force myself to eat and to drink and I have been keeping a log the last two days to measure fluids and protein and set alarm to check progress a few times a day cause it is easy to forget. I have been drinking the clear protein juice because it’s fluid and protein and not quite as sweet as the shake which I normally don’t mind but it bothers me when it takes several hours to drink it. My doctor who is head of the bariatric program at my local hospital says the typical patient has the decreased grehlin for a year or two but for some it lasts longer. This matters because we can’t rely entirely on eating smaller portions. We must change WHAT we eat or we will gain it back when the hunger hormones come back.

Can anyone recommend a protein water? Looking on Amazon, I feel 90 calories is a little stiff for water (premier protein). Gatorade Zero has a 50 calorie option but I'm not a huge Gatorade fan. Looked at Nectar in the Bariatric Pal Store but it's pricey and I'm not sure about the taste. Would love to know if anyone has a favorite. Sent from my SM-N981U using BariatricPal mobile app

SORRY....BUT For me I have had ZERO HUNGER...NONE! I am not sure how long this will lst if it is a few weeks, months or years. My surgeon who has been doing Bariatric surgery for over 30 years told me I may not experience any hunger for up to 4 years. I trust him.I also had zero pain and had a lap band removed the same day, thats just me but I can't be alone. He has much more experience with this than anyone on here other than some bariatric doctors. I am going to stick with what he told me for now until something changes. I hd Sleeve surgery not bypass. Thanks

I decided to try/buy the turkey chili from the bariatric store. It tastes pretty good, and has a great texture. I thought everything was good until the massive cramps, and pooping started. OMG!! I was doubled over in pain for over an hour today. It was awful! I still don't feel well, and wasn't able to each much of my dinner. I will never buy that again! Another waste of $$.

I'm kinda with Greater Fool on this, in that almost anything will work at this point, and even for the next few months. 20-30 years ago, it was not uncommon for bariatric programs to tell their patients to "just eat like you always have, just less..." and they lost weight just fine eating the same way that got them fat in the first place. At least they did for the first few months to year and then they started gaining again because they never learned how to eat sustainably. It is not unusual to see people come into these forums after having failed at (insert favorite fad diet here - Keto, Paleo, IF, Atkins, Zone...) and they continue eating that way and gee, all of a sudden that's the only diet that will work with your WLS. I did much the same thing, too, adopting a basically balanced nutrition oriented diet that I could do forever - worked on evolving that for several years before surgery, then tailored that for the lower post op intake and continued with that as the intake naturally increased over time; still doing that ten years later. IF works like most of those diets - by forcing a reduction in caloric intake. Some cut out fats, some carbohydrates, IF cuts out time, but they all are a mechanism for reducing caloric intake, which you really don't need at this point as you can't eat much to begin with. As noted, stalls will come and go, and there are as many personal experiences and hypotheses as to how to "break a stall" as there are people. I really have no input on how to break a stall as I never really had much of one, even at the dreaded three week point. Chalk it up to better diet, stronger underlying metabolism, not worrying about them - who knows. As to your experience, consider that you have a data set of one - and it's real hard to establish a trend with a single data point. Just go with the flow! Good luck

Hello All, I am in Maine and I am surprised to be having my consult with the bariatric surgeon on Monday March 15. A couple questions; Is there anyone else here that has had the surgery in Maine? Which will help with the following question... how soon can you expect surgery after your initial consult? I am a little excited and nervous at the same time. I put off exploring bariatric surgery for years and finally decided enough was enough... any feedback you can provide will be greatly appreciated. thank you in advance!

Hi! I am in your same boat. My original bypass was 11 years ago, and I am having a revision on Tuesday. It is a much more risky surgery because less is known about modifying a previous bypass. My doc is making a smaller stomach pouch and POSSIBLY distallizing (moving the anastamosis between stomach and intestine) further down the line. He tells me that after this process I will likely lose 10-20% of the excess weight. We shall see! Surgery 11am Tuesday. I should add that I see a bariatric team and they are very particular about candidates for revision; I'm not sure I would trust a surgeon who is not specifically doing WLS to make a revision recommendation. The science/data is just not out there yet. So! Good luck! See a doc who knows what they're doing! Let me know if you have questions - I'm happy to update along the way.

That is fantastic!!! I hope I lose 7 pounds. Like you I’m starting at a “lower” weight. It’s day 4 of 14 days and I’m down to 200 pounds. I was 226 pounds in December when I started my bariatric journey. Keep up the good work! When is your surgery? Mine is March 22. Wondering what my final post op weight will be. Great job!

most of us aren't. I think a lot of people's perceptions are based on "My 600 lb Life", but the people on that show are not "average" WLS patients. Most bariatric surgeons wouldn't operate on anyone that large, so they go to specialists in high-risk bariatric surgery, like Dr. Now. I worked with the pre-op classes at my clinic for about three years (before COVID, that is). I would say the majority of patients are about your size. 40-ish BMI. And then there are usually a handful who appear to be in the 300-400 range. And once in a while someone who looks to be over 400 (although of course I'm just guessing...). But I would say the majority (of women, at least) are somewhere in the 200s. I've never seen anyone anywhere near the size of the people on "My 600 lb Life". But I think that's what people think when they think "bariatric patients". I know I did... Yet I was the biggest person in my co-hort when I went through. I was very surprised. you won't die. Mortality rate is about 0.3% - which means 99.7% of people sail through just fine. My surgeon has been at it for over 20 years and hasn't lost a patient yet! Also, most of us have little to no pain with these surgeries. And they'll always send you home with pain meds, so if you are one of the unfortunate ones who DOES have pain, you'll be able to manage it.

Just had my Bariatric sleeve Done March 2

@DoodlesMom I think I waited 1 and a half to 2 months for my initial consult with the surgeon. However, he is the only surgeon who does bariatric surgeries where I am going, so I assumed he had a lot of other patients and appointments, so I was okay with the wait.

I'm 14 days post-op and I feel this so hard! Every program is different, but mine does not allow cream of wheat during the full liquid stage (which is 4 weeks for me) the options are protein shakes, broths/liquid only soups, and greek yogurt. Things that have given me the feeling of a little variety include: adding PB2 protein powder and sugar-free caramel syrup to greek yogurt. It tastes like peanut butter toffee yogurt and is a favorite. Bariatric soup mixes, especially the cream of chicken, cream of mushroom, and cream of tomato. mixing Pero (fake coffee) in with a packet of protein hot chocolate.

Many companies offer free samples. You can definitely get them from Bariatric Advantage and Pro Care Health. Celebrate Vitamins has a $10 sample pack with a $10 coupon towards a purchase. I decided on Pro Care calcium chews (less variety than Bariatric Advantage but prefer the taste. I wasn’t a fan of the berry vitamin. Called back and requested a sample of the citrus which I ordered for when I can take my iron vitamin. Unjury has a small multi but I preferred Pro Care’s taste. Those were the brands recommended by my Bariatric dietician. Not all Bariatric vitamins have the same nutritional value. Good luck!

I finished all BCBS insurance preauthorization for the bariatric program on 2/25/2021. When I called the next day to schedule my initial consult, the soonest available was May 20th, 2021. It feels like an agonizingly long wait. I'm wondering how long everyone had to wait for their initial consult?

I'm not a doctor or pharmacist, but generally, the sleeve doesn't promote any particular issues with medications. The malabsorbing procedures like the RNY or DS can have issues with extended release meds depending upon the XL mechanism used, and the RNY can have issues with some meds known to promote stomach upset. Check with your bariatric surgeon or a pharmacist to make sure. el

Hi all - I'm currently working my way through the insurance waiting period to get the Gastric Sleeve. How often does everyone follow up with their bariatric facility on this process? I want to ensure things keep moving along as I have been working this process for nearly a year across two different facilities. I followed up with them last week and they stated they were waiting for one last piece of paperwork to be processed and would likely be submitting the next day and that they would let me know once they had submitted. My current plan is to follow up once a week, but, I also don't want to become that annoying patient everyone hates to see an email from. I had been previously approved by my insurance with the original facility I was working with, however, decided to change to a new facility due to some ongoing communication issues that left me feeling uncomfortable about the original place. I'm sure the fact that I had been previously approved is making me a bit more anxious about getting this done again, so, I'm trying to keep that in mind as well. It's such a long process and is definitely hard to stay focused on the bigger picture at times.

So I am 52 years old and wanted to see if other are experiencing the same issues I am. In all I am doing great but I had COVID just prior to surgery and was cleared 2 weeks prior. I weighed 305 Lbs when I started this journey and 28 days later I have lost 59 Lbs I believe as of today (03/08/21). My Doctor says that I am in the upper 1% of weight loss for his practice which makes my wife proud. After surgery I found that the rumored stuff was true. I lost my hunger sensation. I had no urge to eat AT ALL. I was weak and only wanted to sleep. I needed Meds for pain but it was not overboard. In about a week I was fully up and a little slow. My loving wife who does not have weight issue shouldered my recovery almost like to was new puppy. She is a task master and gives no quarter. 28 days later I am fully mobile and wanting to get on with life but my Doctor and the Bariatric Center he works in is very diligent on a day by day strategy of how to succeed. My wife reads this binder they gave us as a field guide to survival. You will notice that a lot of Military references in this and that is due to being a 26 Year Army (USA) Retired Officer. I got out when my thyroid started acting up and my weight got out of control. I am proud of my career but could not face Soldiers when I was not fit to fight. It kills me that I am not that man anymore. As I said my wife is a Task Master and I need that. I am at this point only allowed to have 2 Ounces of food a meal (x3) and 8 ounces of protein shake a day. I constantly drink water or non-suger or non-carbonated drinks like Propel. All seems well but I have noticed that life seems a little "Blah". I work from home and work in the yard for short periods but generally life seems bland. I do tire quickly and that is slowly improving. I know this is due to low Calories, the surgery recovery and minimal diet but ..... I also have the added issue of COVID Recovery. I have little taste and little smell left. I can smell and taste some things but generally I do not smell food like everyone else. I think this has helped a little with the need for food. I have begun to go on walks with my wife and about a full block is all I can handle. This kills me since in my 30's I was a Olympic level athlete and was the one leading the pace but now.... I hope to get back to something like that again but it's hard to see since I have so far to go. On the Bright side my wife and family have said they seem to have cut the Grumpy out of me. I do seem to be very ungrumpy lately. It may be the weight loss and actual progress or it may have been the fact that I was prediabetic and hunger made me HANGRY. At first I did not see the gains I am making but I have slowly begun to see them. My cloths are almost falling off and many people have said I look very different but others have said I look sick since the first place I lost weight was in my face. I am also a little pail due to being in side for month. The biggest event was when I put a coat on that I had to squeeze into prior to surgery and it actually fit with room to spare. I think I have lost about 6 inches off my belly. In another post after this I will describe my pre-surgery issues and how I felt and my mental state. It was not good. I will keep this Thread going for a while in the hopes that other will see it and let me know what to expect and if I am not alone on this issue. I am prideful and push myself to get better and hate to feel week. May be I will post my presurgery pics some day but for now that make me cringe.

For me, I just stumbled upon your post the same day I made my profile. I have been a long-time member of another bariatric site that the membership really decreased. With some increased downtime while working with my endocrinologist I really wanted to find a supportive and active community that understands the struggles of WLS and the positives of it. I was hoping to find support or perhaps some other tips for my hypoglycemia as well. Your post and story touched my heart and I hope you will be able to find your answers to get back to living your best life with your little ones! You are in my prayers!

You are probably doing fine, unless you have known kidney issues, in which case your nephrologist would give you overriding instructions.. Typically, bariatric programs have recommendations on the order of 60-80 g for women and 80-100 g for men, sometimes somewhat higher or lower depending.... The 40-55 type numbers I think originate from WHO and represent something of an RDA type of level - sufficient to prevent deficiency disease but not necessarily what is needed for optimum health under varied circumstances. It's great if you are having to figure out how much of what type of food to send to some remote area after a disaster; not so great on figuring what you need for your lifestyle. The other end of the spectrum would be the recommendations for 150,200,300 g that you may see in the men's health or body builder magazines that are intended to sell protein supplements. Generally what you need is proportional to your muscle or lean body mass (similar, but not quite the same), so ignore any calculators that deal strictly with overall body weight - the excess fat that you are carrying now doesn't need protein to maintain it. The best indicator that I have found is from a Dr. Michael Colgan who is a sports nutritionist that does (or did, may be retired by now) a lot of work trying to figure out just what the body needs for different circumstances, as opposed to basic RDAs. The basic formula he came up with takes the premise that the body is replacing all of the muscle mass every six months, and that works back to the amount of protein that is needed daily. So, for my 150 or so lb of muscle mass, it needs about 105 g daily. A short woman with half that muscle mass would need half that, or about 50g. So his figures are in the same ballpark as most of the rest that were derived from other means, so it passes my "smell test" - it's plausible. Being a guy of similar size, I would expect you to be similar. Further, this method tells me that if I wanted to add muscle mass, then I would have to add around 40g per day to add around 10 lb over six months - a reasonable goal with suitable work and training and without funny drugs (but it does take the work - it doesn't just get there by eating more!) Overall, it seems like you are on the right track for your size and previously stated fitness inclinations.

your doctor is a jerk and should know better than that! If he's been dealing with this for any length of time, he should know that very few people lose 20 lbs - or even 16 lbs - in two weeks (unless he's Dr. Now and works mostly with high-risk bariatric patients that most surgeons won't touch). I got that crap once from a resident (not my regular surgeon - but some resident that the surgeon had during follow-up appts for awhile). He was sure to let me know that I was a slow loser and behind the rest of my cohorts. Well screw him - I went on to lose 100% of my excess weight - over 200 lbs (and most likely blew the rest of my "cohorts" out of the water). I'd love to see his face NOW.... there are so many factors that influence your rate of weight loss, most of which you have little to no control over (like...your age, for example). The two things you DO have control over is your activity level and how closely you stick to your surgeon's plan. If you're very committed to those and doing what you were instructed to do, then you'll lose weight - whether fast or slow. As long as the overall trend is downward, you're good.

I used to eat chocolate every single day. Now to satisfy my craving, I have Bariatric Pals Hot Cocoa. I also used to eat ice cream every day, and now I eat a Yasso Greek Yogurt bar. You will find different, healthier versions of what you are currently used of. That is how it worked for me. Good Luck

sounds good to me - you're losing it faster than I did. I think people's perceptions are shaped by shows like "My 600 lb Life", but you need to keep in mind those people start out MUCH heavier than the average WLS patient. Although I've never seen research on this - this just comes from hanging out on bariatric boards for the last six years, I would say most of us lose in the 15-25 lb range the first month after surgery. Of course you'll always find people who lose more or less than that, but that seems to be where the majority of us fall. If you've lost 6 kg in two weeks, you'll be in that range as well. So nothing to worry about. You are doing fine!