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Perky Jerky gives you free samples. go to their website, click contact us. Fill out the form and mark the drop down for bariatric surgery. Then just ask them, they mail them in a couple of weeks.

I had a stomach virus this past week and immediately called my bariatric doctor. They told me that once I stop vomiting and can start eating again to just have warm liquids the first couple of days and then move to mushies for a couple of days. I'm not a doctor, but seems to me that if you have a stomach virus, it's best to get it out of your system and not just take meds to make you not throw up. I know the dangers of vomiting, but you can't go the rest of your life popping a pill to keep from throwing up, can you? I don't know, this, like almost everything else having to do with the band, is different among doctors.

Okay, so background first before I get to my question: I was sleeved 10/22/2014 and, as of January, had lost 105 pounds. Which was great! I wasn't quite at my goal weight, but I was getting there steadily. I had absolutely no complications after my surgery; everything healed beautifully and I stuck to the diet. My surgeon always talked about how I crushed the statistics and how impressed he was. Then, just after the first of January, I got sick. Like, really sick. It started with just nausea and some abdominal pain and I wrote it off as a stomach bug, but it just kept getting worse. Basically, I've been unable to eat anything solid for over a month now. Eating or drinking ANYTHING causes extremely sharp pain in my upper left abdomen, which is worse with anything that has a sugar/fat content. I've lost 18 pounds in less than a month because I can't eat anything aside from broth (sometimes) and sugar free jello/pudding. I have to drink the Zero Carb Isopure (clear liquid) for Protein because I can't keep down regular shakes. I have to crush my pills and Vitamins again. I'm constantly nauseous and extremely weak despite the fact that I'm getting my protein and vitamins. I can't even get down my one flight of stairs without having to rest in the middle. After about two weeks and a trip to the ER for IV fluids, I went to my surgeon because I knew it wasn't a stomach bug anymore. He promised he'd figure it out and scolded me for going to the ER because they would have "no idea" how to treat a bariatric patient. Thinking it might be a blockage in my common bile duct from a stone, did a gallbladder ultrasound and a CCK HIDA scan. Both came back normal, even though the HIDA scan was absolutely excruciating. He referred me to a gastroenterologist for an upper endoscopy (which he was present at) and a barium swallow to make sure my esophagus was functioning correctly and that I didn't have ulcers or a stricture or something along those lines. Both came back normal. Basically, since then, his office has been telling me that I need to speak with the gastroenterologist in regards to everything, as it has "nothing to do with" the surgery. The gastroenterologist told me today that I needed to follow up with the surgeon, as he was "out of suggestions". In essence, both my surgeon and gastro have thrown up their hands and told me that they have no idea, so it's not their problem. Neither will give me the paperwork I need for work. I am in danger of losing my job and therefore my health insurance. My question here is how should I tell the office that I will no longer be visiting them for follow ups or for any other reason? Should I write a letter? Call them? I refuse to give them my business and what little money I have if they are willing to just give up on me and say 'it's not my problem'. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

My name is Synthia McClure I had my surgery on December 30, 2014. My surgeon was Dr. Paul Macik Northside bariatrics. My begging weight was 288lbs. I am in my third week and have lost 28 lbs. My problem is learning how to get my protein in. I am still only able to eat blended food, but I can only take about four spoons before I am full. I make a protein-shake and can only drink about 4oz. I only get about 8oz o water. I have been walking about a mile everyday. I need to get a schedule of how and what to eat to get the protein,

Twelve years ago when I arrived at the hospital to have my gastric bypass, just before going into surgery, the bariatric surgeon suggests removing my gall bladder. Back then, I was not an empowered patient. So I just said, "OK" trusting that my surgeon new best. And now I am having a host of digestive issues, and wondering f the surgeon made a very stupid decision that day. After all, why remove my gall bladder when I wasn't having any gall bladder problems??? Here is a linked article about how to achieve optimal digestive health if your gall bladder is removed http://bodyecology.com/articles/is_your_gall_bladder_removed.php. I do not advocate any of the products listed. I am posting the link so folks can read about the role of the gall bladder in digestion and its vital role with the liver. I have had to take many products to help relieve my severe digestive issues, issues which include constipation, distention, bloating, gas, pain. A gastroenterologist did upper and lower endoscopies and a CT scan. All of that is normal. A naturopath/chiropractor has been doing energy work on me. Despite all these efforts, my digestion is still not normal. It is much better than what it was... oh the constipation was awful... my husband said it sounded like I was delivering a baby... the pain was awful and I seem to have given myself a hernia trying to have a BM. Has anyone had similar problems? I sure would like (love) to get this resolved. Thanks for your help

I use bariatric advantage, and I think they taste great. There are multiple flavors, you may try another flavor. My surgeon advised against using flinstones, because they were not nutritionally sound.

So my paper work is not sent in yet for Insurance approval! SUCKS! I'm waiting because the hospital is Moving to an new location. So she will call me Friday. I just want to go to a different place but don't. Want to do the testing over.University of Pennsylvania bariatric program is the hospital. Just ready to be done with this part of my life and move on. .

I'm 3/4 of the way done with the program, and my bariatric program thinks I'll have surgery late October-early November. (:

Hello, I had the gastric band out in 2017. Because of a dilated esophagus. I hated that because I really did well with it. I wanted to get the sleeve but since my bmi was low the insurance would not approve it , that's what the bariatric coordinator told me . So i went on with life but now it is really hard to get weight off and keep it off i try every day, some times i have slip ups . I am gaining my weight back, so i went to my PCM and she put a referral in for me at the same place i had my lapband put in and removed. The coordinator seem like she really didn't want to help me . I was calling ever couple of days to see if she received the referral. I told her i only had 1 comorbidity hypertension. She said she would speak with the dr to see since he had done my other surgery. He had told me in 2017 to try to keep the weight off, but if i started to gain to come back and see him I can't even get in cause she says my bmi is only 34 and i only have i comorbiditie. I have a sleep study on the 24 July to see if I have an apnea. My PCM is really trying to help me. May sound crazy but I hope I do so I can qualify I am on vacation now and I know I have gained even though I was not trying to but I knew I would. It is so hard. Any one else out there In a similar situation? Sorry for the rambling 😊

Life Is Hard, Food Is Easy by Linda Spangle The Emotional First Aid Kit: A Practical Guide to Life After Bariatric Surgery by Cynthia Alexander

It is really really important to educate your husband about the disease called obesity. It is a metabolic disease that actually works completely against you losing weight and keeping that weight off permanently. Yes, people lose through diet and exercise but most gain it all back and then some. As you get older you actually begin to have problems losing by at all and suddenly 250lbs becomes 300 and 300 becomes 400. Education is the absolute key to helping him understand you are trying to live a longer healthier ice. By the way, you will work harder than you ever have in your life following weight loss surgery. You literally condition yourself to think about every morsel you put in your mouth and every moment you are not active. It is a life of trial and error and an incredible commitment. If you take him to your Bariatric team and ask him to attend the classes, he might just become more educated about what you are dealing with. He may understand that living the way you do now is literally killing you very very slowly. Also, this disease can be hereditary so if you can learn and teach your children maybe your children won't make this disease worse for them. Every time we yo yo diet, skip a meal we make the metabolic disorder worse. As far as sharing with anyone outside your family, wait until your education is so solid that you help educate others. People don't understand this disease and choose not to. It is not as simple as diet and exercise. Good luck to you!

I made lifetime in 2003 on Weight Watchers, gained it all plus 37 lbs back... I would get that letter! I had to do a 6 month supervised diet per my insurance requirement (BCBSIL). I have heard some have been able to show WW books to get past that with BCBSIL but I was told specifically that I had to see my primary Dr for 6 months. Hopefully your insurance is straight forward - sounds like you have some back up with the other person you work with having such a quick turn around!! I work for BCBSIL (HCSC so also TX, NM and OK) so I pretty much knew what I had to do from the start but also my program is very familiar with our insurance so that was awesome! Lots of employees have had bariatric with my surgeon.

Have them send you an actual COPY of your policy with all appropriate riders... This will tell you if WLS is excluded. The "No bariatric resource coverage" sounds like a big red flag that WLS is NOT covered.

I chose the sleeve because able I needed to be able to take NSAIDS, I didn't want the malabsorption, and I didn't want dumping. I wasn't diabetic and didn't comorbidities. I knew that statistically I would lose more with the bypass, but at the time I was over 300 pounds and it ALL seemed too good to be true. I figured 60% EWL would be good enough. So, fast forward 2 1/2 years, and I am happy with my decision. I lost about 90% of my excess weight, though it could be 100% if I changed my goal . My labs are normal and I don't need an excess of Vitamins to keep them there. I have never dumped or thrown up, and now I eat small normal size portions. (I do take vitamins, and I do follow the Bariatric Eating plan). I will admit there are times I wonder if I could have lost that last 5-10 pounds with the bypass, but it's a fleeting thought.

Can you elaborate on why you say the surgery didn't work for you? Because the challenges you've mentioned are not due to the surgery but are likely due to unresolved issues with food; your headspace, not your digestive tract. Are you seeing a counselor or have you reached out to your bariatric team for guidance?

Thanks sooo sooo much for the info. The lady at my Dr. office has not sent my letter to UHC she is going off what her information from past people has to say but I dont know if that is even correct because she first told me I also needed a 5yr weight history which I do then said No I didnt :cursing: So I have an apt with her today so we will see Thanks again I will def call for those benefits. I registered for myuhc but it just says bariatric surgergies will be processed by a care coordinator.

Carmen, is UHC pretty good to send letters to you as they send them to the doctor? When I called to see if my policy covered the lap band, I was told yes (depending on qualifications such as BMI over 40, 5-year documentation of weight, etc.) and then the representative read me an Explanation of Benefits. I asked her if I could get a written copy of the explanation that she read to me, and she told me to go to www.myuhc.com to find all the info. I have looked and looked and cannot find the information anywhere under my Benefits section. Under "Bariatric Services," it says "Not applicable." Any ideas??

I have a question for you:smile: Before starting this process I had called my insurance company(UniCare) several times to see if the lapband was covered. I got a couple people saying yes and a couple saying no. I finally had someone fax me any exlusions I had since my policy papers at home included nothing about bariatric surgery. This is what was faxed to me: GENERAL MEDICAL EXCLUSIONS: Treatment for obesity or services performed primarily for weightloss or control(including gastric bypass and gastric staplings): but this shall not exclude procedures that are necessary due to a specific condition caused by another illness or for morbid obesity as determined by the plan. So by the sounds of it, as long as I am morbidly obese, it should be covered. This is how my bariatric center read it also. Am I reading it wrong? I was denied a few weeks ago with the reason that it is not a covered benefit but nobody has been able to give me anything that shows where it is not covered. I just faxed an appeals letter today. Am I chasing something that just isnt going to happen???:redface:

Appeal! There is an appeal sample letter here: http://www.formerlyfluffy.com/bariatric-surgery-insurance-appeal/ Also you might give them a call at OAC and see what they suggest: (813) 872-7835

I had to do the six months diet. It is in their criteria for bariatric surgery. I dont know any way around it but to do it unless you hire a lawyer to help you. Good Luck

Ouch that is a tough one. I would hope since that is her job she would send the correct info to CIGNA. I have already told my PCP that I want my entire chart of almost ten years copied and I will personally take it to the surgeons office. I also have my own copies of the nutritionist and psych evaluation. I plan to make a cover letter of MINE to go along with the medical necessity letters for CIGNA. I am going to staple it to a copy of THEIR bariatric policy. Then I plan to highlight everything in my chart and write out where it is located so there will be no coming back and saying we didn't have this or that. I am going to send it certified return receipt overnight mail so I have a receipt saying it made it into their possession. This may be overkill but when dealing with CIGNA I think it is best not to take chances. Also my HR person told me again today that LapBand is NOT excluded from my insurance and that she had personally talked to the CIGNA coordinator in October when I started this process. So she is going to contact that coordinator again and have them email to her, which she will forward to me, where it is not excluded in my policy. That way I will have something written straight from CIGNA also. I tell you it will be a fight to the end for one or the other of us. M

After months of contemplation, I went to my primary doctor to begin my supervised weight loss visits. I attended a seminar with the bariatric surgeon back in November and scheduled my intake appointment in January. However, due to insurance rollover, I would have to pay over $800 that first visit since I hadn't met my deductibles yet. The office gave me the go ahead to begin my doctor visits while I wait to get my deductible met (one test - I can't remember the name of it just yet - was normally $30 or so dollars with my insurance but I was having to pay $400!) I had all my tests ran today and my doctor literally looked at me and said, "You are so healthy minus your weight. Your cholesterol, sugar levels, blood pressure - everything is normal. It really doesn't make sense since your BMI is so high." He put me on a diet pill of sorts because he's very anti-weight loss surgery for two weeks. I'm interested to see how it works. Like most, I have yo yo dieted my entire life, losing over 40 pounds in the last year by pure "clean" eating and exercising. Due to job changing, stress, lack of routine and motivation, I gained it all back. I just told my entire life story for one question - any tips on a pre-op diet? Are most of you just paleo/clean eating?

Does anyone have UHC and have to go thru BRS for approval. Please tell me all about it. I know my ins covers the surgery I'm just wondering how long approval took for u after they submitted and if u ran into any problems.

Hello, Lately I've been having a lot of mid to upper back pain. I noticed it tends to happen after I eat something as it causes a lot (I'm talking sailor style) of burping. The upper to middle back pain is painful enough that I have to take 2 pain meds to even help. Sometimes it does nothing. I'm even trying to rub icy hot because I"m desperate. I went to my primary Dr a few months back because of this & had an ultra sound of my gallbladder. It came back negative. Someone told me it could be missed via an ultrasound & that I should have a HIDA scan? Does anyone have any information on this? Also, I was going to try to see my primary Dr about this but am wondering if I should try to see my bariatric surgeon instead? Appreciate any feedback you guys might have. Thanks Fran