Search the Community

I am now, I take the bariatric solo with iron it just has a nasty nauseating taste. Maybe one day there will be a gummy one out

After goal, it was hard to Let go of the weight loss “bariatric rules” Maintaining has been a different animal. With less surgery restriction, I had to find ways to satisfy the extra sleeve space and stay with in my calories/macros. (easy to gain slow to take off this far out) Life doesn’t stop because of surgery or fear of old habits. We recognize the slips and change the behavior. I absolutely agree it’s not a jail sentence, I’m having the time of my life living and eating healthy. Nutrition is still flavorful. I can’t wait to start barbequing.

Congrats on 4 years out. A fifteen-pound gain is manageable to work back down. Is it realistic for you to lose fifteen pounds by 4/22/19? If you are having mobility issues with your knee, diet will be key to get the weight off. What you should eat? What is your (real food stage) plan they gave you after surgery? Protein, veggies, small amount of fruit, and low carb (carbs plant based and low glycemic) Log your food in MyFitnessPal or baritastic app. Stay within your weight loss calories, Protein 60 to 100 grams and carbs 50 grams. My dieticians website for food ideas (make sure it fits you plan, calories and macros) https://karenmangum.com/recipes/bariatric-friendly-recipes/ https://karenmangum.com/category/bariatric-friendly-main-dishes/ https://karenmangum.com/category/bariatric-friendly-salads/ https://karenmangum.com/category/bariatric-friendly-snacks/ Get temptation out of the house Detox off processed carbs and sugar. They will make you crave them more and cause hunger Eat dense protein and as much veggies as you like until full. Keep health sweet and salty option foods on hand for cravings

Ok, not going to lie but the past couple of days have been terrible for me! This is completely consuming my every thought and the fact that all I can do is just wait and wait....is pure agony. The not knowing if this is or isn’t going to happen is a head trip. I want to get so excited and really prepare but then tell myself to not get that far ahead of myself until I know for sure. But I am in limbo as well with my weight.... I can’t lose any because I can’t fall below 35 BMI right now but can’t gain anything either and I feel like crap. I refuse to buy new clothes to fit me better because I want to fit into my old clothes.. will I end up fitting back into my summer clothes with the help from surgery or is it back to the good ol’ fashioned way for the billionth time. I have gone over my insurance requirements with a fine tooth comb 100 times. I even ran to the weight loss dr I’ve been seeing for the past 2 years just to squeeze in a last weigh in/visit for April so it would show a “recent” 3 month consecutive visit for insurance even though my drs office told me anything consecutive for 2018 would do. I called Tuesday to speak with the insurance coordinator at my surgeons office, who by the way is the nicest person and is so extremely understanding. She had the sleeve done 2 years ago so it was good to know she understood first hand the nerves I was feeling. She told me to just breath and that she has barely seen denials come through. They work really hard on making sure they submit what’s needed and that Dr. Padnani writes his letter well. But the wait for next Friday....the 12th is agony! Just knowing that’s the day I meet with him again to go over the surgery again and I guess the next step and I get my “tentative” surgery date. And I meet with Kathy, the insurance coordinator to sign all the consent papers so she can send it over for pre authorization. Ughhhhh. Please tell me I’m not the only one who has felt this way? Meanwhile... I went to the Bariatric support group meeting on Tuesday my nutritionist suggested. It was about a group of 12. Most had already had it done except for myself and 2 others who were pre-surgery. The only thing I keep thinking about is the one young girl that had it done because her whole family had it done....and kept saying she didn’t even really want it done at the time....?????? All I could do was shake my head. I swear if I don’t get approved...lol

Somebody (raise your hand if it was you!) suggested a book in one of the threads The Emotional First Aid Kit: A Practical Guide to Life After Bariatric Surgery, Second Edition https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0054RXXS0/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_0IGPCbK8PMAS3 It is really hammering home just how important exercise is for our success post op. For some reason it struck a chord even though I’ve read or heard most of it before. Good luck today everyone and kudos to everyone who’s already gotten in their workout 💪🏻🔥🏃‍♀️🏆

Exactly!! I have the same sentiments. I just had a tube and port replacement that was torn during a previous surgery and due to my insurance at that time it wasn’t caught and was gaining all my weight back since I had no restriction. Finally back on my journey!! My current Bariatric surgeon actually recommended repair instead of removal and revision. His view was if it was successful when you had it working, give it another shot before something more drastic.

I have searched this website and a lot of others about Tricare. I have my appointment for BAMC's Bariatric Clinic here in TX and its a self referral so I didn't need to go to my PCM for a referral. But from what I gather once you get the referral from Tricare it will allow you to see the doctor, but its not the approval for the surgery because the doctor has to make sure you're a candidate for the surgery. Tricare has a lot of rules you have to meet before they will approve the surgery. So if you have a military base that does the surgery near you it would be best to go with them since they don't have to follow the Tricare guide lines to the T and its an easier approval. The guide lines are mostly for civilian doctors is what the Tricare Rep told me when I called. Good Luck!

Wait what?! A bariatric restaurant card is a thing? I need that!

I appreciate good service. I’ve been treated rudely in some restaurants. Guess the wait staff didn’t want a decent tip. *snicker* Did you get a bariatric restaurant card from your surgeon? Some restaurants will honor smaller portions if you use the card. I never used mine Red Robin - I order a turkey burger, no bun, steamed veggies instead of fries. To go boxes for left overs are great. I can make one restaurant portion into several meals.

My initial appt is next Thursday, April 11th. My BMI is 53, and has been 50+ for over 3 years now. I have Aetna, and they do cover Bariatric — the way I read the policy, they will require 3 months of pre-op visits with a nutritionist, medically supervised weight loss to prepare for surgery, yes? Here is my challenge...my policy runs from Sept 1 to Sept 1. Right now, I have met my entire deductible, and almost all of my out of pocket, thanks to a week-long hospital stay early in the plan year. If I can get this procedure done before Aug. 31, I will only be out-of-pocket a small amount... What can I do to help the process along? What kind of records are they going to need from my PCP? Any advice that those of you have already walked this road can give me will be greatly appreciated!!

I got my sleeve done on 3/8/19 in Mexico also. Although they call me ever Friday. I found a Nurse Practionier & made her my Primary Care. She is getting me into group, she states that once I’m in the group that my insurance company will pay for a tummy tuck if needed because I am a bariatric patient. FYI - potentially FREE tummy tuck.

Yes, NSAIDs like ibuprofin are classic redflag no-no's for bypass patients (it's that marginal ulcer thing that the bypass is prone to); however, I have seen them prescribed (by bariatric surgeons) for limited use in certain specific cases where the risk/reward trade off makes sense. So, check with your surgeon as to what he would prescribe for this particular instance.

Yes you will be fine and wishing you an easy and successful journey to a renewed healthy life.

At 7 months ( well it will be Friday) I have lost only a minimal amount. My beautician Sheliah said she could tell but doubted others would. Good thing because I am a Redhead (well actually Strawberry Blonde, but it's in that family) , well known redheads have the fewest hairs per square inch in the first place.. I was fearful I would be combing my hair with a damp washcloth! Maybe the 3 months of TPN helped out there, my fingernails must be trying,still,to,overcome the surgery. this week they are teally cracking and breaking. Started trying Hair, skin, nail capsules but they make me nauseated, do I really need that? Vomited,more with,my RnY recovery than ever I did with 3 babies. Back then it resolved itself quickly each time, not now, I'm like a large cat with hairballs, Belch, retch, puke, cry, repeat! Ms Pouch, the Precious thing she is rules with an Iron hand, little benevolence from her " I DO NOT LIKE THAT, NEXT STOP, UP AND OUT of Frustr8. Only blessing, it returns up so fast there isn't any oder. Wonder if interaction and peristalsis returns or will she forever be an Tupperware container with a small pin- point leak in the bottom., opening into the jejunem, section #2 of the small intestine, I know a lot about the mechanics of surgery, but learning the after effects as I go. I need to commission a t- shirt to quiet a few people. It will say "Long enough to to be effective, short enough I am not constantly malnourished" So How's Yours?" Would you believe we once had an entire thread on this subject? It was still going strong when I joined into Bariatric Pal. From all that I read , people constantly was to know how long bypasses are and how thick or thin VSG sleeves run. Don't worry so much myself, just want Precious to gain some maturity and start behaving herself. I give her good health and hearty food, chewed into a glutinous paste, never spit out mouthful to see if they are a grayish shade, but they should be senile as long as meals take. People kvetch about a month or six weeks of liquids, put on my moccasins, yours truly has been partaking of protein shakes since last summer, some shake company ought to hire me as food taster, I now have the training and experience.🍀🍶🍶🍶🍶👈👸👉!

Its great you recognized what’s going on. I like @MegPRN advice. There are some great books that can help you address stress emotional eating. My two cents on stretching your sleeve: You will reach a point where less surgery restriction is noticeable. This is normal. Your sleeve has not grown back to full size. (If you think you stretched your surgery It’s rare. have it diagnosed by a surgeon. Logging your food becomes important -Just because you can eat more food, does not mean you have to. There is no reason eat over your weight loss calories and macros. Be aware of Grazing/Eating around your surgery- Consuming many small meals of healthy and unhealthy that total over your weight loss calories and macros – The sensation and result is as if you never had bariatric surgery. You will gain weight. Hunger strategies: Add as much veggies with your dense protein until full. This will help satiate the extra sleeve space. The bulk and fiber will keep your calories low. Once you add extra carbs and sugar you crave them more. They cause hunger. Detox off them Eat five to six small meals and keep within your weight loss calories/macros Keep healthy sweet and salty items on hand for cravings. Allow yourself a veggie tray for night snacking Get temptation out of the house

My only kind of regret (as corny as it sounds and has been said before on these forums), is not having had done this sooner. I looked at bariatric surgery 9 years ago and decided it was not for me at the time. I feel mentally at that time I was not were I am today and feel my maturity today is part of my success.

See if you can get yourself a copy of this book: https://www.amazon.com/Emotional-First-Aid-Kit-Practical/dp/0976852659 Maybe check your local library if you're having financial difficulties. My hospital provides it as a gift to all bariatric surgery patients, and it's got great practical advice for avoiding those emotional pitfalls and being gentle to yourself. You can always come here for support too, when you feel an emotional binge coming on!

Approved!! 🤩 My surgeon submitted paperwork to Cigna on Thursday afternoon and I received my approval Monday evening. I'm impressed with how quickly it was approved. I even received a letter yesterday stating that Cigna needed more information (it clarified that the letter was not a denial, just a request for additional records). Here is a recap of my insurance approval process for anyone who is curious how it went: Surgeon - Alisa Coker Johns Hopkins Bayview Baltimore, Maryland SW: 192 Height: 5'0 BMI: 37.5 Procedure: Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy (aka sleeve or gastric sleeve) Comorbidities: Diabetes, Hyperlipidemia (High Cholesterol), Hypertension (High Blood Pressure) **Worth noting, I take one medication for diabetes, and one low dose medication for hypertension. The hypertension medication I actually stated taking during this process.** Requirements- BMI = or >40 or = or > 35 with at least one comorbidity 3 Months of medically managed weight loss with primary care or registered nutritionist/dietitian (4 visits total - first was Dec 5th and then one each month Jan, Feb, March) **I have since read the verbiage change in Cigna's requirements and they have removed the 3 months of supervised weight loss. This may still me a requirement by your surgery team though, but it doesn't hurt to ask** Upper Endoscopy - Standard test that checks for GERD, stomach ulcers, infections, and anatomy. This was an outpatient procedure. I was in the hospital for a total of 3 hours from arrival to departure. I was completely asleep during the procedure (they give you a top shelf iv cocktail) but recovery was much less than that of general anesthesia. Sleep Study - For sleep apnea and/or other weight related sleep disorders. Mine was an at-home test that was easy as pie. It was a wrist watch that connected to a few nodes and a sensor on your finger. Psychological Evaluation - I went to a doctor who specializes in evaluations for bariatric surgery. It was probably the most nerve wracking of all the appointments because there's a strange looming in the air that these evals are hard to pass. **Tip - Tell the truth (your insurance will look at your medical records so if you have been treated for mental health but lie about it during your eval, they may deny you coverage) but don't unload your whole tragic life story on them. I have been treated for and hospitalized for bipolar and it didn't prevent my approval. They are basically trying to determine if you have a clear understanding of what the surgical procedure is and how your lifestyle will need to change. They want to make sure there isn't anything major that will intellectually challenged your results (major or unaddressed eating disorders, lack of understanding of the diet requirements, lack of motivation to lose weight), that you have a good support system at home, and that you are aware of aftercare requirements for life, possible complications, and after affects of weight loss on yourself and your relationships. In a nutshell, they need to know that you're aware of what you're getting yourself into, you are of sound mind, it was your decision to have surgery (not having the procedure against your will or at someone else's insistence), and you are equipped with the knowledge you need to be successful afterwards. Nutrition Consultation - I was required to see the nutrition team at Johns Hopkins for a 90-minute appointment. We covered every aspect of the diet requirements from the two week pre-op, day before surgery, day of surgery, and each week after surgery until the 8 week mark. This appointment was very helpful. It was the most important component, in my opinion, because it really showed me exactly how my diet and lifestyle would change. I left that appointment with zero questions about how to be successful. Letter Of Recommendation - A letter from my primary doctor (it had to be a doctor unaffiliated with the surgeon or surgeon's team) stating that I was physically able to have surgery, that I failed to maintain weight loss via medically assisted management, and that weight loss surgery was being recommended and was medically neccessary. This letter is very important as I have heard/read stories about insurance denials because the verbiage wasn't correct or one of the listed components wasn't included. Blood Work - Usually done by primary care. This served as proof of hyperlipidemia and diabetes. Once all of these were completed and the surgeon's coordinator received the paperwork, she compiled it into a package for review. She handed it over to a nurse on staff who double checks that everything is there and that it is in the right format with the right info. **Most surgical teams are well informed about what insurance companies look for. They will make sure your information is submitted correctly to prevent delays and denials.** Once the nurse gave her seal of approval, the coordinator submitted the precertification request to Cigna on Thursday. Monday afternoon I received a letter that said additional information was being requested from my surgeon. I contacted Cigna to find out what additional info was needed (I was curious...and antsy!) They told me that the surgeon would receive a letter as well which would include details of the request. Well, that didn't satisfy me so I probed on asking if those details could be disclosed to me, since it is MY medical record. The Cigna rep (Charline) was extremely helpful. She contacted the precertification department for details and called me back that evening with news that I was approved. Johns Hopkins had provided the requested information pretty much immediately upon receiving the request. Low and behold, I checked my myCigna account and the black, in-progress status had transformed into the prettiest green APPROVED:) Big props to Marie Day and the team at John's Hopkins for their attentiveness!!! And that, my friends, is the super drawn out, nitty gritty process of getting approved for bariatric surgery via Cigna! I know when I first set out I had a million questions so I tried to provide all of the info I always looked for but couldn't find. If you have any specific questions for me please let me know. I'm not a medical professional, this is simply info from personal experience, but I'm happy to offer peace of mind if I can! Happy sleeving, y'all!

😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀😀 #6 can be substituted to any Bariatric friendly recipe to share with someone. Maybe protein cookies that are store bought.

Then GradyCat, she deserves her chance to be listed, I talk fairly constantly about my Dr Needleman, gosh I guess I do have a professional crush on him, he and his beautiful partner Dr Sabrena Noria, are skillful wonderful surgeon's and also wonderful to know. She looks like a beautiful Arabian Princess, but don't let the outside fool you, she is without a doubt superior intellect as well. But are they listed? Can't really tell, I do my Bariatric' palling with an android Smartphone, not on computer, and those features are for the laptop and home computer crowd. I can't even update my profile, not that I haven't tried. I get reassured that these things will be phased into Apple and Android systems and I do believe it can be done,but it seems to be moving slowly. Things always move slowly when you really want something!

I can tell you requirements for Medicare. 5 nutrition appointments over 4 months. Your first one then 4 more. So 4 months. Psychological exam, endoscopy, lab work and a letter from your primary care agreeing to bariatric surgery for you. Best of luck!

Hi, I am looking into having surgery done here in June. The doctor Is Dr. Alejandro Gutierrez. Any one have any experience?

Hello everyone. I wasn't sure where I was supposed to do an introduction, so I am just dropping it in here. I met with my PCP on Friday and she approved a referral for the bariatric surgeon in our medical group. I am waiting for the referral in the mail to schedule an appointment with him. From there, not sure how long everything will take, but I am hoping for a surgery date less than 6 months from now. Does that seem reasonable for anyone with experience? I have been lurking and reading messages for a few days now, so I am glad to be here. Thank you!

Hello everyone! I've been trying to figure out everything about the ESG surgery. I went to a seminar last week for gastric bypass/sleeve, only to find out that my insurance doesn't cover it. In checking out my options, I found out about ESG and it sounds like a better fit for me. I'm waiting for a callback from the surgical office for my consultation appointment. I'll be self-pay (Care Credit & HSA), but I had some questions: 1. What kind of testing did you all have to go through prior to the surgery? I know insurance generally requires a lot of hoops for patients to go through, but I'm curious how that applies to self-pay patients. 2. I've read two different responses for the anesthesia - one that you're sedated (but not knocked out) and another says general anesthesia. What was your experience? 3. Did you have to do the 2 week liquid diet that most other bariatric surgeries require? 4. Have you had any complications? Thanks in advance! - Michelle