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AWESOME !!!!!!!!!! Lady.....you just made my day. Outstanding results. Thank you for posting your story here. This is a huge motivator for me to stay strict and follow what my bariatric surgeon and team is instructing me to do. Thank you !!!!!!!

Myself I have always taken vitamins made for WL people. I know after I fired my Surgeon and went to another Bariatric Surgeon and was told that FLINTSTONE Vitamins if doubled, would be enough. But they were horrible!! After my RNY I was told to use chewable Centrum, way too sweet for me. I couldn't wait to get something else. In comes CELEBRATE capsules. If you wanted to (told by my DR) you can open them and sprinkle them on applesauce or other food. I had no problems swallowing them. I do feel it is very important to use Bariatric Vitamins but each to their own. I hope you can get this worked out.

@cristina.banks , I am in a situation similar to you. Although I am considered very obese at 225 pounds, there are people at my surgeons office who clearly have a lot more weight to lose than I do. Did you have any difficulty getting your surgery approved through your insurance? I'm still terrified that I'm going to be denied. I'm afraid that they're going to say"you are not obese enough". I was diagnosed with sleep apnea and have been using a CPAP machine for a month now. My surgery is already scheduled for one month from today but I'm still in the preapproval process with my bariatric office.

Yes, hopefully the ER you go to will have a bariatric surgeon on call. It sounds like a slip. I have had one, I keep a lose band now. Better a slight weight gain than permanent damage to your body! Best wishes.

You are fortunate if you have a trainer that is familiar with bariatrics. (Most are not)

Also, just from (very) recent experience, make sure your bariatric clinic's insurance coordinator knows their stuff. I got a letter from my insurance after they submitted saying "hey, we need X, Y, and Z before we can determine," except I know for a fact X, Y, and Z were submitted. So when I called the insurance coordinator, she said this is normal, what happens is they open a request online which generates an automatic letter to be sent with what's needed, but it happens before the process allows them to upload the clearances, so it appears "missing". I had my answer back in 3 business days.

I have Anthem BC/BS in MO and they would not cover any bariatric procedures under my policy.

I've cried at more than one of my psych appointments. But then, I continued seeing my therapist even after the mandated visit. Crying and being emotional is certainly permitted. They're trying to evaluate your mental state and fitness for surgery to make sure you'll be a successful candidate. Some psychs just rubber-stamp it (for lack of a better term), some are genuinely involved in the process and want you to be successful. Part of my approval stemmed from being willing to continue to work through the process with my psychologist (and I do know I'm very lucky to have insurance that covers these visits) because I do credit at least part of my success to having someone who is very familiar with the process (most of her patients are bariatrics patients) and understands what I'm going through at the various stages. It depends on your psych though. Was your psych a recommendation from your surgeon/bariatrics team?

MsKeeKee01 Have you tried nutritionist Nancy Lum. She is great. My insurance did not cover nutrition and I had to pay out of pocket. Her fee is 240.00 onetime for insurance required 6mos as well as preop and post op. She is very knowledgable in bariatric nutrition. I'm quite sure she may know about ur nutritionist and may be able to help. She is located in Catonsville.

Simple as pie. Look here, Toronto Weight Loss Obesity Surgery Lap Band Bariatric Surgeon Gastric Bypass , call the clinic or send them an email and tell them you are interested in the surgery and they wil get the ball rolling. It starts with a phone consult, and if you are interested they will walk you through the next steps liek some paperwork/questionaires you need to fill out. Andrew

Hello! Another Iowan! (I'm a western Illinois transplant...). I had my surgery in Davenport at Genesis (can never remember if it's east or west) by Dr. Matthew Christophersen, also a bariatric center of excellence. Good luck at your meeting!

I guess I should update my Journey a bit. I have been kind of moving slow since my consult. I don?t know if it is because I am afraid of being denied. Or it maybe I am hoping that by the time I finish the 6 month diet, they will approve the sleeve and I won?t have to deal with deal with the appeal process. I am 99.9% sure they will deny me on the first try. I just turned in my release of information to my PCP yesterday. They need to send 3 years of records to the surgeon and get my psych evaluation before they will submit to the insurance company. I haven?t scheduled the psych evaluation yet either. When I talked to the receptionist to turn in my release form to my PCP, I told them to just send the records to me. I figured I could make copies, and keep a set for myself. That way if I decide to seek a 2nd consult, I?ll already have them. The receptionist was somewhat concerned about releasing the records to me. She said they might have to charge me for them if they release them to me, but don?t charge anything if it is being sent to a Dr. That makes no sense to me at all. The records lady is supposed to call me and discuss my options. I am also waffling on if I should go to another surgeon. There are not many sleeve surgeons in my area that I know of. The one I consulted (Dr. Lamasters) who has only done a dozen. She has done hundreds of RNY bypasses though. I don?t know if there is anyone in Iowa who has much experience at sleeves since hardly any insurance companies will pay for it. Kind of a catch 22. I don?t know if I should contact Dr. Gary J. Anthone, I know he is a highly regarded DS (duodenal switch) surgeon, so you would think he would be good at doing sleeves as he has 1600 DS surgeries. It also says he has done 250 Open VSG?s, and 25 VSG (I assume these were done Lap). My only concern is he may be great at Open, but are his LAP skills up to snuff? I think I also have concerns that they may try and talk me into getting a DS. I don?t really think I want to deal with the severe malabsorption issues. Ironically, my insurance company would pay for the DS. I have also been looking at appeal strategies. I think I have a good case that the VSG is the only acceptable WLS for me, since I take NSAIDS twice a day for my ruptured disc in my back, and my father died of stomach cancer. Once concern I have is that according to the WLS policy for wellmark BCBS, they state the following. ?Surgery for morbid obesity, also known as bariatric surgery is based on intestinal malabsorption and gastric reduction. Surgery is considered successful if weight loss is maintained at greater than or equal to 50% of excess body weight for more than 10 years.? Are they going to wait for 10 years before they approve the sleeve? Well I guess I should get off my butt, and schedule a psych evaluation and get the ball rolling. I won?t ever get anything done procrastinating. I suppose I can wait to choose a surgeon once I know i've jumped through my insurance hoops. Wish me luck!

April 8, 2010 Today I had a visit with my pcp. We were on vacation in Gatlinburg the week before. I felt terrible the whole trip...headache, nausea, shortness of breath. I made an appointment the day after returning home. I had already decided I would ask his opinion about weight loss surgery as an option for me. He was not against it, but he did not offer much encouragement. April 15, 2010 Today I had the test done that were ordered by my pcp. First was an intensive stress test. He said no surgeon would operate without it. I doubted this and should of let the surgeon decide if it was necessary. This was the second time I've gone through all these tests. I had to have a cardolite IV. It involved walking on a treadmill and pics taken by a machine that gives images of the arteries in the heart. The images take 20 minutes (two sessions) of laying completely still. Then it was on to the echo cardiogram. Basically it was an ultrasound of my heart. It's interesting to watch the screen and see the valves in my heart working! Next it was on the lab to have blood drawn. The tech was a newbie and since my "good" vein in the right arm already had an IV in it (for the stress test) she called a veteran tech to poke me in the left. It hurt like heck...she said she must have hit a nerve...I'LL SAY! My loving hubby came into town and took me to breakfast, then I went back for the second injection of cardiolite and the second set of images. It all went really well. The tests results showed no problems. Later in the day I called a nearby hospital in Bowling Green Ohio that has a well known weight loss program to register for one of their seminars. They were totally booked for the two seminars in April. I am registered to attend the one on May 15th. I'm hoping my hubby can go with me. They are a Center of Excellence hospital so I feel confident with them. Also, I know of at least 3 people who had bariatric surgery done there. April 21, 2010 Wednesday morning I got my test results. All the heart and stress tests looked good. The stress test tech noted that I tired easily on the treadmill. (I would of liked to put her on there with her smokers breath to see how she would of done ) My blood test came back alright, but my BP was up a little more. He had suggested in Jan. that I add a 3rd BP med and I had resisted. Now, I'm ready...bring it on! Add another co-morbidity link to the list. I called Anthem yesterday and grilled them to see if they covered the Sleeve Gastrectomy. The rep said it is included along with all the other WLS as long as the diagnosis is morbid obesity and I meet all the criteria. Looks like I may be on the way! I registered and got the ball rolling with the surgeon by going to the seminar at Wood County Hospital. May 15, 2010 Today dh and I went to the seminar in Bowling Green Ohio. It was held in a meeting room at Wood County Hospital. The surgeon, Dr. Lalor, was the first speaker. He explained all the different surgeries he preforms, sharing all the good and bad. After the seminar we got to talk to him one on one. It seemed to me that he really is sold on the sleeve gastrectomy. He likes the fact there isn't any malabsorbtion involved. He even mentioned that BC/BS is not approving many sleeves, but since I've had 4 open abdominal surgeries and already had surgery on my colon that they might consider the sleeve for me! Then the dietition spoke and lastly the ins rep for Dr. Lalor's office. Doc answered every single question he was asked through his whole presentation, which impressed me! He stayed and answered questions till the last person finally left. I have my surgeon's consultation on June 17th. I feel really good about him, his staff and the facility!! May 24, 2010 I decided to attend one of the support meetings at Wood County Hospital Mon. May 24th. I was waiting outside with some supper when hubby got off work and I kidnaped him and took him along. Bless his heart! He just finished a 12 hour shift, was tired and dirty, but he seemed anxious to go. The meeting was okay, it was sort of disorganized. They sometimes have guest speakers. Two women took control of this, meeting talking about all their personal problems. [Note to me: Remember to talk with the appropriate person at the appropriate times about personal problems.] Nothing to do but wait and worry till my surgical consultation June 17th! June 17, 2010 This was my first surgeon's visit. The nurse took me back and had me step on the scales. Then she had me take my shoes off to measure my height. So, I got to weigh with my shoes on, but measured with them off, making me weigh heavier and measure shorter! YEA!! I was worried about my BMI not being high enough so this was important to me! She asked me a ton of medical questions and we talked a little about which surgery I was leaning toward. I said the sleeve I thought was the best choice for me and that I would not have gastric bypass, due to the malabsorbtion issues. Next the doc came in and he asked me some more medical questions and questioned me alot about my previous surgeries. Then we discussed the sleeve and he said he would fight BC/BS if necessary to get me the sleeve. He said if they tried to push gastric bypass he would tell them that he felt it would be alot more risky for me. My impression of him is that he is very careful and very honest. He took all the time I needed to answer all my questions, which were numerous! He took me to the front desk and went over all the paperwork that included the tests I needed to schedule, the visits with the nutritionist and the visit with another doctor, who interprets the tests results and does a more thorough medical workup and physical. Next I went down the hall to have my first visit with the nutritionist. I will have a total of 3 visits, to satisfy BC/BS for a 3 month surprised "diet" to satisfy their requirements. I was really impressed with Beth. She gave me alot of information, answered all my questions and we worked on goals. They like patients to lose 5% of their weight before surgery, which is 10lbs for me. Doesn't sound like much, but I have so much pain in my hips and my feet that it will be a struggle. July 13, 2010 Today I met with the shrink. He basically had me go through my whole life history starting with when and where I was born. We discussed my weight issues along with family and even school issues. Then I had to do a personality test with over 100 questions...it took forever! Oh well it's done and over with and I think I did well. Next I went down to Dr. Lalor's office (same building) and met with Beth for my second nutritionist visit. That went really well again! I find myself becoming obcessed with WLS websites (this one and Obesityhelp.com). I am reading stories and looking at before and after pictures. I think it helps keep me going until I am approved and get a surgery date. Looks like the end of September or October would be the earliest I could have surgery.

My team says bariatric vitamins only after surgery. I know a lot of people just take regular multi vitamins and are fine though, I guess it depends on what your body needs. With that being said, there are less expensive options of the bariatric vitamins than here though.

I am only a week out from surgery, but have already been looking for high protein bariatric complient meals to cook in a few weeks. Search Pinterst for bariatric meals. There is an avocado pesto to use on pasta that sounds great. Also, lots of recipes for pizzas using a variety of crusts.

They didnt take any blood or run labs. My bariatric doctor hasnt ran any blood work since pre-op. They gave me labs they want done and sent to them for my year check up. Luckily I have a great primary care dr and we have monitored things and other than my Vit D being a little low all labs have been great. I think my surgeon is a great surgeon and has a very very low complication rate and I am thankful for that but the follow up stinks!

Anyone what the right goal percentages are for a bariatric diet? Like how much fat, carb, Protein? Putting 100% protein is unrealistic because everything has some kind of fat or carb. Doing so will throw your numbers off.

My doc submitted the papers before I did any tests. I have BCBS of Texas and they are very bariatric friendly. My approval was completed within the week.

@wagyu Click this link to get $10 off your first $75 order. https://www.bariatricchoice.com/rewardsref/index/refer/id/180562/ Tons of pre-made Protein enriched foods for bariatric patients! When you get to the page, Highlight over Bariatric Foods, then click on Meals and Entrees

Drink lots of water. Watch out for kidney stone symptoms. And gallbladder symptoms. Kidney stone attacks and gall bladder attacks are common after bariatric surgery.

Hi go onto the insurance web site (look on the back of your card for it) and do a serch on bariatric surgery. hope that helps a little

I did not get any support from my insurance. They flat out said no coverage for bariatric surgery no matter what. I paid $7,000 and had it done in Mexico with Dr. Zapata in Monterey. It was an awesome experience.

A lot has happened in a year. The Valdosta Bariatric clinic is now at Choice Family Medicine. Just happens to be at the office of my primary care manager Dr. Richard Rickman's office. Jody Young is there (Awesome!) and Dan Ayers, I didn't know him from last year, but he's been great to work with so far as well. They work with more than one surgeon, so if you go, there are options. I was initially going to see Dr. Michael Baptista in JAX but had a paperwork hangup between their office and Tri-Care and since I had already had an approval last year for surgery with Dr. Cywes, Jody has been working this closely. Now I'm approved to go with Dr. Christopher Smith in Albany (Tifton). There is a support goup meeting held at the office each month, although I haven't made it to one yet, I definately will be.

When I went for my psych evaluate Tues that there is a support meeting held monthly at the Valdosta Bariatric office. Good to know, cause I hadn't been informed of that yet.

Hi Misty, They can't disqualify you for asking a question. Your group agreement with BC/BS will identify the benefits available to you. You need to get the booklet specifying these benefits. If the short version, you read, said that bariatric surgery was covered, then the policy booklet will give you more info on what is and is not covered. I really don't think you will be disqualified if you have the co-morbidities that the insurance company requires. More and more insurance companies are finding that it is in their financial interest to fund this type of surgery. After all, you will be healthier and therefore they will not have to spend as much money on your healthcare in the future. Sorta like when, years ago, I had problems with some birth control products and my only choice left was to have my tubes tied. The ins. co. said that they did not cover that. So I told them that since it was the only option I had left, that I guessed I would have to take my chances and if I became pregnant again, they would have to cover the healthcare cost of my child until he/she reached age 18. And who knew how many more children I might have in the future!!!Guess what, they decided to pay!! So, hang in there and don't give up!!!I am sure it will all be fine!