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So, $7,000 is the total cost for VSG at Rockwood Spokane? Does that include hospital stay and anesthesiologist fees? My insurances covers 80% of bariatric surgery cost (after my $3,000 deductible), so if I understand correctly- my 20% out of pocket = $1,400. Plus my $3,000 deductible. For a grand total of approx $4,400? I am crossing my fingers this is correct! My surgeon consult appointment and dietitian appt are both on June 6th. So I suppose I can find out for sure then.

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

Well, all I can say is that bariatric surgery was the right decision for me. I am no longer diabetic! No longer have high blood pressure! Can walk up stairs without dying, and feel so much better. My weight loss is not fast, but I have lost 90 pounds since my high weight, and 73 pounds since surgery. I still have a ways to go, but it's progress! Good luck to you!! Sent from my SM-N960U using BariatricPal mobile app

My paperwork has not been submitted...I am just starting out on this long journey. Cigna has been good to us in the past, but I downloaded the 35 page guide to getting approved for bariatric surgery and read thru the entire thing. I am planning on having to wait the 30 days and if it does happen sooner YEA! Did they make you do a 6 month diet?? My GP wrote to them stating that I have done several supervised diets with him over the past 3 years...I am hoping that appeases them and I don't have to do a 6 month diet...If I do then I am willing to accept this...what's another 6 months..lol. I hope you hear from them soon...no news is good news...What is your BMI? Is there any reason you think you may be denied?? My prayers are with you! Kimberly

Hello. I had surgery at Blossom Bariatrics in August. I too, flew across the country. I have also been an OR nurse for a long time. Blossom is TOP notch. You will be given absolutely the best care beyond every single person you meet. Do not cheat with smoking. I have read in their literature that your surgery will be cancelled if nicotine positive. Also nicotine impairs healing. I chewed nicotine gum for years. Try wearing a patch and taper off. If I can do it u can! They saved my life. They r there for you. Lean on your fast track coordinator when u feel weak or down. [emoji4] Sent from my SM-G975U using BariatricPal mobile app

Hi.. i also paid $15,600 in dec. 2006. now i hear that university general hospital is offering a cash price of $11,900.. even better than the surgery center. also, free consultation.. they apparently opened this bariatric program called sos (my friend is a nurse there)superior obesity solutions after they got thier center of excellence hospital for bariatirics and are offering this rate for 3 months. Dr. Spiegel did my band, he's the best, and he is part of that sos program.

Dr. Cribbins and Dr Hamn in Plano are who Im using and it has been a great experience so far. Cheryl the bariatric coordinator is WONDERFUL!!!

they tested all of use a few months beforehand, but I"ve heard of people on this and/or other bariatric forms who got tested right before surgery, too.

I was pretty open with everyone after I had surgery. I didn't talk about it much before surgery, because I didn't want to be pre-judged. After I had the surgery, I took off work for three weeks, so it was natural that people would ask me what was up. And my Department Head said in a department meeting in front of everyone that I was going to be away "having bariatric surgery." Gee, thanks, Doug! No privacy left on that score. Since I returned to work, and the weight started to fall off, everyone has been amazing. Nothing (to my face) but supportive comments. If anyone has had something negative to say, they haven't said it to me, and I haven't been made aware of anything. What I do get are amazed smiles and lots of congratulations for doing so well. And there has been a fair amount of good-natured jealousy from obese people who have witnessed my entire journey, but who have done nothing to change how they are. So I have had no problem telling people I had band surgery. If they are someone I think might benefit from surgery, I've offered to share details with anyone who is interested. Lately, my attitude has begun to change. Not toward those who have walked the journey with me, but with new people I'm meeting, or people who have never known me when I was obese. I go about my business, I work out at the gym like always, and I socialize with people as a person first. The subject of me being overweight, or of having lost nearly 90 pounds so far, has not come up. And I'm not the one who does bring it up to new people, because it means having to go through a lot of explaining to the new person about how the "me" they know is a different "me" than I was last year. It's awkward, and I'm choosing not to volunteer my story to anyone unless I'm asked. The odd period is when I meet two people, one of which who knows my obese history, and one who has no idea. I get the usual complimentary comments from the person who knows, and of course, a look of surprise from the person who has no idea. It's weird. If I didn't work in such a large place (a hospital) where I see many people every day, I might have kept this to myself. My family knows, for the most part, but I don't see them often, so don't have to endure the constant questions. When I do see them, I get "Wow!" a lot. And that makes it worth it. Dave

Anyone else who did binge-eating and making every bad food choice possible prior to starting (and delaying starting) the pre-op diet? I feel disgusting and actually am getting turned off to the sweets and junk. What predicated the bingeing in recent weeks was my bariatric group telling me I might want to GAIN 10 lbs prior to surgery (to be over 200 lbs)---really crazy. Was this just to increase my medical necessity in the eyes of the insurance company?

OK...Bariatric Centers of Excellence are an American thing.....because they are accredited by two American organizations, one of which is the American Society of Metabolic Surgeons...the other is the Surgical Review Corporation. To qualify, hospitals have to do 140 bariatric procedures per year, and staff has to have extra training in bariatric surgery complications, sensitivity training for bariatric patients, nutrition and post op care, and safely moving bariatric patients. Their accreditation signifies a level of excellence in the field of bariatric medicine. There are currently 778 Bariatric Centers of Excellence in the US.

In doing research to stay one step ahead for after surgery I came across this website on vitamins after bariatric surgery. It explains symptoms of vitamins deficiency. Hope this helps you and a lot of other people with the very same symptoms now and in the future. http://www.todaysdietitian.com/newarchives/111412p50.shtml

Thank you...it's funny, but my doc just asked if I'd speak at both his seminars and the bariatric support group. I'm kinda nervous but I agreed.

Fluid: • Adequate fluid intake is crucial to prevent dehydration. • Drink at least 64 ounces (8 cups) of sugar-free, non-carbonated fluid daily. • Absolutely no carbonated beverages. • Do not use a straw when drinking your fluids. General Guidelines The first band adjustment usually occurs approximately 6 weeks after your surgery. Follow the guidelines below for best results. 1. DO NOT EAT AND DRINK AT THE SAME TIME ! ! Wait 30 minutes after meals to begin drinking fluids. Stop drinking 30 minutes before your planned meal. 2. For the first six weeks, use a protein supplement (shakes, drinks, etc.) along with your diet. 3. Eat only three meals daily once solids have been added to your diet. 4. Avoid foods that are difficult to digest: nuts, tough meat, celery, etc. 5. Avoid doughy or sticky foods: soft white bread, peanut butter, dried fruits. 6. Chew all food to a pureed texture. 7. Eat slowly taking 20 to 30 minutes to eat your meal. 8. Sip only low calorie beverage between meals. 9. Take your multivitamin every day. 10.Do not snack! Weeks 1 – 2: Full Liquids • Consume liquids that are thin enough to drink through a straw, but don’t use a straw! Drink the liquids in small sips. • Include protein supplements (shakes, drinks, etc.) daily to make sure you meet your protein requirements. • Look for sugar-free alternatives to liquids since it is easy to consume too many calories through liquids alone. • Full liquids keep your stomach from working too hard by decreasing pressure on the band. This will prevent any vomiting in the immediate post-surgical period. http://www.siumed.edu/surgery/bariatric/files/lapband_diet.pdf Allot of people are also very HUNGRY just prior to getting their first fill, it's something to remember as your post op weeks progress. Because in MOST cases your still healing and Band restriction doesn't start until AFTER FILLS

Thrilled, thrilled, thrilled. Saw the post-op bariatrics team last Wednesday. Kaiser defines a sucessful bariatrics patient as one who has lost 50% of the excess weight within one year following surgery. I have lost 81% in 7 months. This forum is a wonderful resource, with many people who are very successful with the sleeve in the long-run. I want to add my experiences to the pool of information. I plan on being one of the long-runs. To keep losing weight, I have to eat fewer than 50 grams of carb a day, and stay under 1200 calories. No, I usually don't get all my Water in. I also drink coffee, with 2% milk. This is the source of most of my carb. Eating too much is as bad as eating too little. Doing either one can make my weight loss stall. I can't snack anymore. The surgeon told me that, after 6 months, it's three meals a day, period. He's right. I still use baby bowls, a baby spoon, and 5-inch plates. I plan to use the small plates forever. I like my baby spoons, and the bowls are still portion-perfect. Too much Protein triggers insulin, and I gain weight. At my weight, 166.6, I only need 65 grams of protein a day, according to my NUT. If I don't eat enough fat, my weight stalls. Fruit = stall. I cannot lose without low-intensity exercise. 3 - 5 sessions a week, 30 minutes, on a treadmill that keeps me at a pulse rate of 107 (based on age) is the key. I also lift heavy weights twice a week. Throwing a 20-pound weight around does nothing for me. I use as much weight as I can lift for 5 slow reps. I am almost to the point of being able to do a real pull-up. I have loose skin. I am a shar-pei. But I am a proud, getting-healthy shar-pei. It doesn't bother my Best Half. Why should I care? I wore a bathing suit in Hawaii, and no one reported me to the Skin Police. Yes, I lost hair, starting at 3 months and it has slowed almost to normal. I ate my protein, took my Vitamins, and I still lost hair. It's based on hormonal changes, just like after childbirth. I still look like a girl. If you are scared to have a sleeve because of the potential hair loss, you aren't a good candidate for the surgery. You don't want to lose weight badly enough to be successful. I did not have a "food funeral" before my surgery, and I followed my surgeon's pre-op diet to the letter. I've spent years eating crap. Two weeks crap-less wasn't going to kill me. I don't miss any foodstuff. I don't cry over crap not eaten. I pull my vintage sized 14 Liz Claiborne clothes out of the closet and rejoice that I no longer wear a size 26, like I did back in 2000. If I really, really want it, I eat one small bite. Most sweets that I used to crave now taste terrible. One sweet potato fry satisfies as well as a bag of gingersnaps used to. Soda tastes like chemical-salts-bilge water. Yuk. I goof. I screw up. I eat too much. I still emotionally eat. That doesn't make me a bad person. There's always the next opportunity to make a much better choice. Veterans, please feel free to add on. I'd love to know what is down the sleeved road!

I agree with the Celebrate grape (but NOT cherry) and the Calcet calcium chews -- prefer the chocolate. I also tried Bariatric Advantage multivit first and hated it. (but as a kid... Flinstones were my absolute fav -- haven't had them in quite a while)

Here's what mine will be: 80-100g protein/daily, 60g carbohydrate, very very low fat (~1000cals/day) Pre-Op Diet (2 weeks prior to surgery) 1. Drink 4-5 (80-100g protein) servings of a liquid protein meal replacement* daily: Isopure Zero Carb Bariatric Advantage Bariatrix Essentials GNC Total Lean Shake 25 EAS Myoplex Lite Chike Unjury Jay Robb Premier Protein RTD Premier Protein RTD Clear *Supplement should contain at least 20g protein per serving in a 6-8oz serving. The first ingredient should say "Whey protein isolate" or "Soy protein isolate." 2. Drink 64+ ounces of sugar free fluids in addition to the above protein drinks: water Crystal Light or other flavored non-carbonated waters Sugar Free Jello Low Sodium Broth Sugar Free Popsicles Sample Day: 8am 1 serving protein meal replacement mixed with water or skim milk 9:30am 1 sugar free Jello (and 8oz water) 10:30am 1 serving protein meal replacement mixed with water or skim milk 12pm 1 sugar free popsicle (and 16oz water) 1pm 1 serving protein meal replacement mixed with water or skim milk 2:30pm 1c low sodium broth (and 8oz water) 3:30pm 1 serving protein meal replacement mixed with water or skim milk 5pm 1 sugar free Jello (and 16oz water) 6:30pm 1 serving protein meal replacement mixed with water or skim milk 8pm 1c low sodium broth (and 16oz water) But everyone's surgeon has a different plan, so PLEASE follow your own surgeon's plan for success! Good luck!

http://abcnews.go.co...25#.T-PSD_UVrhJ The difference between the band and the bypass is that the band can cause increased intoxication, but that is due to eating highly decreased calories. The bypass issue is that they actually have the plumbing differences that cause the increased metabolic absorption of alcohol, so they can drink til they are drunk and wait a short amount of time and the metabolism will have negated the effects, letting them consume more alcohol. Dr. Mitchell Roslin, a bariatric surgeon at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, said the link between gastric bypass surgery and increased alcohol use has been attributed before to the shifting addiction theory and that this is false. The shifting addiction theory is that if a person has an impulsive drive to eat and the ability to eat large amounts of food is taken away, then he will shift his addiction to another addictive substance, like drugs or alcohol. "A gastric bypass patient has a small pouch [for a stomach] so alcohol goes straight into the intestine and is absorbed rapidly," said Roslin. "When it is absorbed rapidly, there is a high peak and rapid fall." The higher absorption rate makes alcohol more addictive, he added. Laparoscopic gastric banding, where an adjustable band in placed around a patient's stomach and limits how much food the stomach can hold, did not have an associated risk with increases in alcohol problems. King said this is to be expected as gastric banding does not change the anatomy and thus the metabolism of alcohol like gastric bypass does.

Ok,Update time, AGAIN! I will explain my week from the start which goes from this past Friday when I went BACK to the ER for the 3rd and final time I finally ended up getting moved up to a Ward with potassium burning into my veins. (very painful). This ward was a bit of a gong show, the nurses did not seem very knowledgable so I didn't ask many questions. My roomie was an older lady who was pretty quiet and we were able to just do our own thing. I didn't see a doctor after being in the ER until Saturday when I was told I would be getting ANOTHER scope by a different doctor. So, I was hopeful that this would provide answers, sadly, it only left me with more questions. She felt that there really wasn't really an L shape in my stomach, that she was able to get the scope through and that I may have to live like this forever or learn to live like this AND she wondered if my vagus nerve (not sure what it is exactly) might have been affected. She also kinda dissed the surgery in general so I was defentitely feeling like I was getting nowhere again. I sat with my mouth gaped open, totally speechless. I asked, did I just totally ruin my life here??!?!?! She was nice and said no but did not give me the answers I was looking for, or any solutions for that matter. SOOOO, on Monday when my Aunt who works in the hospital for the Director for Critical Care came in we talked and then another GI doc. He came in and was explaining that the doctor that did my scope the day before didn't feel there was anything to be done. My aunt and I said we did not agree and that we wanted to talk to the origianl doctor I was scoped by who was a bariatric surgeon. This Dr. said that he would send in another GI doc who had more experience with my situation first and then we could go from there. We decided to go with this dude and if that didn't work out we were going to make a complaint and my aunt was going to talk to the Chief of Medicine whom we ran into and I told my story to including the issues with different answers from different doctors. He said I absolutely had a right to get answers and solutions no matter what. So, yesterday I was admitted to the GI ward where I was placed on a freakin ER stretcher to sleep (because I wasn't as sick as others and they didn't have enough beds). Whatev. So this Dr. comes in and I call my aunt to be in with me as my advocate. She comes in and we had a whole list of questions that we didn't even have to ask. He said that he understood my concerns, knew that I knew something wasn't right and that he was going in to do another scope make his own decisions and balloon it, period. He also said he would take a biopsy cause he was in there and check out the surgery in general. He said that it would be around 2 or 3. Well, 11:45 am they came to get me! I was waiting for a while down in endoscopy and was a bit nervous too! So, I told him before he konked me out that he should just balloon the whole damned thing! He kinda chuckled and said he would do what he could. I woke up with a bit of a sore throat and tummy (just to the touch) but otherwise no worse off than before. At least it told me he did something in there. I was taken back upstairs and fell asleep for a couple of hours as I had a terrible sleep on the cot the night before. I then got up and asked for a cup of tea for my raw throat. I drank an ENTIRE little styrofoam cup of tea! Total victory right there. He told me not to get my hopes up too high that it wouldn't be a miracle solution and we would still have to work with it, together, but I still took it as a good sign. My sister came and saw me (my first visitor as I didn't want to see anyone and my parents are in Mexico) and it was a good day for her to come, I was in much more positive spirits for sure. Now it's Wednesday morning and I got awoken at 5 am for my nausea meds and then dozed off an on while my 4 other roomies began to get up. Then my new Dr comes in 15 minutes earlier than thought and than I told Derek (hubby) to be there. Anyway, I had some questions ready and he was just awesome to talk to again. He said that he used the largest balloon they have to dialate the top (entrance) and bottom (exit) of the stomach, the middle part didn't require it as it does stretch naturally. He said that is wasn't grossly narrowed, but that the stomach is an odd organ and could look ok one moment and not the next. No harm done to just do it. He also said that my surgery looked great. Nothing wrong with how it was done at all. Now it would be up to me for the next 4 weeks or so to see how it all holds. I follow up with him in 4 weeks and if I feel good, I will just meet him in his office, unless I still have concerns, in that case we will schedule another scope to be sure everything is still a-o-k. He said I should remain off of work for the next 2 to 4 weeks, I got a note for only 2 and have an appt with my Family Dr on June 1st to follow up with blook work etc as he will be sending her all of my information to keep an eye on me too. I just feel 2 weeks will be plenty to get me back on my feet, and if I feel I can go back sooner, I just have to call my Dr. to get an ok to go back to work. We will see, I don't want to get too far ahead of myself just yet. My diet is starting back a bit, I am on soft liquids like Soups etc for this week and then next week I can start with eggs etc and add one extra food at a time and see how it goes. I got some boost juice not milky drinks that I am going to use to supplement my diet as well. I prayed so much for an answer and for someone to help me and really feel optimistic that this Dr. really has by best interest at heart and he is truly my hero. He said we would get it figured out one step at a time, if this didn't work, we wouldn't stop until we found something. Just a super person. As I am sure you can tell, I feel better mentally big time. Physically, I am still weak, but Derek and I walked together and I am just going to persist with what the nutritionists/dieticians suggest and make my life the best it can be. I feel like I have my life back again, just have to drink a lot and keep on eating, which I feel is doable now. I have told my family that it will take time again, but now we just need to be thankful things are going in the right direction now and I can soon begin to enjoy my new life. Thanks again for all the encouragement and support. Hopefully it's all uphill from here on out! erin :amen:

I made the decsion As I had serious health issues and I am wheelchair dependant. Being morbidly obese with a BMI of over 60, my independance was at imminent risk, for me that was a bigger issue than early death. may seem strange, but I think that I got desensitized to the message that fat would kill me, sure something will kill me! so for me, forced dependancy was far worse. Quality of life stuff. I knew that WLS was my only real option and dd not like the thought of the more invasve procedure like RNY gastric bypass. I knew someone who had gastric bypass- she lsot the weight and kept most off but has had to deal with severe nutritional imbalances and anaemia since then and probably for the rest of her lfe. She s happy wth the decision but I guess I liked the idea that as the band is adjustable it could be fine tuned over my life- even removed if needed and the underlying anatomy basically is back to square one. None of us know what the future hold so I did not want to burn any bridges with permanent anatomy changes if I could achieve what I needed with less invasve surgery. my surgeon is one of the australian pioneers, he has been doing band surgery since the early 90's and has been doing wls in generla for longer. He is Professor of bariatric surgey. He has not done anything but the band for over 6 yrs as he said the long term stats show better success rates for the band and far less complications, the rsk of death from the procedure is as high as 1 in 200 for the other surgeries and less than 1 in 2000 for the band. One of the biggest units doing this surgery in Australia for the longest time has said that they have not had a single death from the band that was attributed directly to the band surgery. thevery small number of deaths that have occured have been related to the co morbs or completely unrelated stuff. same long term results with far less rsk was the final piece of the puzzle

Are you on Social Security disability? After 24 months you're eligible for Medicare coverage and bariatric surgery is a covered procedure. BTW, my starting BMI was 48, I'm at 33 now...thrilled to be obese...4 pts to overweight! Losing 15 points on my BMI has made a huge difference.

Please, can we figure out a way not to have that new "new Hope bariatric Center" ad in the top right corner of the site. Because it is active it screw up how the page and posts look and it uses so much bandwith that even my high speed modem can't make the site move more quickly. I understand the need for ads to keep the site going, but this one really disturbs the beauty of how well this site generally works. It is making part of the page look off to the side 9so i have to scroll over) and it takes more than twice as long to have a page load. Does it have to be on every page? This site works so well in terms of content and format that it is a shame to mess it up with one ad. Thanks

She is lucky, my Insurance doesn't pay for it at all. She can go to Lap Band Surgery in Denver Colorado | Lap Band Surgeon in Denver | Gastric Band Surgery Denver | Bariatric Surgery. They are in Aurora (I believe) and the cost is only $9,950.00. Hope this helps, I am still searching to get the surgery.

Well !!! I guess 2 of us come from 2 different teachings. The way I was Taught at HENRY FORD HOSPTTAL BARIATRIC CENTER is : a slider is any type of food that you want to get down by drinking Fluid "making it able to slide threw the pouch, into the stomach." So that you can continue to eat. Ice Cream, and stuff like that even chocolate that melts in your mouth and will go down is a simple NO WAY ! Not to be used at all. Do to calories. It is WLS. so why would you want to screw up everything you went through. Hope that makes sense.

@@Stevehud Wow, 10-15g of carbs a day is extraordinarily low. The bariatric paper referenced above indicates (CHO = Carbohydrates): "Clinically, it has been proven that a low intake of carbohydrates may cause some damage to the human body. A severe restriction of CHO (in diets of about 15g of CHO per day) may lead to an increase in low-density lipoprotein (LDL), following the increased consumption of foods rich in fat and low in nutritional value, thus raising the risk of cardiovascular diseases. Furthermore, diets rich in fatty foods can induce a state of insulin resistance. Over time, these diets may cause acute ketonemia, which can lead to metabolic acidity. Additionally, the specific recommendation of a high-Protein intake and totally eliminating CHO from the diet has serious consequences to patients’ health, such as Vitamin and mineral deficiencies and ketosis, which can lead to cognitive alteration and an increased glomerular filtration rate. Furthermore, long-term effects can include nephrolithiasis and osteoporosis." I would be very cautious about such incredibly low carb diets for any extended length of time.