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Did you ask the lady you are seeing now why she can't? Was it because she hadn't been seeing you very long or some other reason? Check with your specific insurance requirements as to EXACTLY what kind of psych evaluation they require you have. As an example, my evaluation has to be done by a licensed psychiatrist, psychologist, OR a social worker. They will NOT accept a licensed family therapist, however. Its kinda weird and insurance varies so much. If nothing else, keep trying different psychiatrists. When you call, explain that you have nearly completed the process for bariatric surgery approval with a surgical team that has determined you are a good candidate for this treatment . Then tell him/her that, as a part of the normal process, you need a SIMPLE evaluation with respect to your emotional suitability for the surgical treatment of morbid obesity. Explain that this evaluation will then be passed on to the insurance company, as per their requirements. Your surgical team SHOULD have a letter for you to take with or send ahead that explains the reasons for the evaluation and what the evaluation should address specifically. Ask them for one, or at least guidelines of what the evaluation needs to cover. Good luck! You can do this!

there is also a 50+ still active, and many more if you put in the title you want. Some call it necroposting, I just think it's nice to give them a new and renewed,lifem

Always wondered how pregnancy would go after a Bariatric surgery. Good luck!

Consult with a few bariatric surgeons and get a cross section of views on the subject. Then, armed with that information you should be able to make an informed decision. By doing nothing, you're regain will not disappear.

I have tricare...awesome coverage. I had the band about 6 yrs ago which tricare paid for. I am currently having bypass on April 2nd due to my body being stupid. Now they have to take it out and do the bypass. You will see a bariatric dr who will the see you for a period of time. You'll have to do a list of things before you have the surgery. Psychological evaluation being the top of the list. Depending on your current health, you'll need to see a Pulmonologist, cardiologist, have a specific set of xrays done. Depending on your weight you may be required to shed some weight before surgery. During all this you be required to attend dietary classes once or twice a month depending on your doctor. I have the same insurance as you do. I go to Columbia MO for all my needs. Very good place and great doctors. Hope I helped you. I've attached a photo of before and after my lapband. I have since gained about 60 lbs back due to my problems with the band. Good luck I hope the year or so long process doesn't deter you from being the best HEALTHY you. Sent from my SM-G970U using BariatricPal mobile app

First off, congrats on such an amazing success so far with your weight loss and transformation! I’m not in any way a fitness expert or anything, and I haven’t had Bariatric surgery yet, but I’ve experienced something similar before. When I got down to my lowest weight a year ago and I was at the gym for 2 hours a day doing cardio and lifting, I hit a major wall all of a sudden. I was counting my calories on my fitness pal daily which was only 1200 but was burning more then that a day. Then my weight loss doctor said something to me that made a lot of sense. She said your body gets used to that level of activity and calories you are burning and therefore you will have to do even more for your body to “react”. So she suggested to actually take a step back from the gym for about a week. Giving my body a rest and a chance to recover while watching what I ate. And in that week I dropped 9lbs. It was kind of amazing how my body really did just need some rest. Maybe it’s worth a shot even though I know it’s hard to not work out everyday.

I got this in Kindle version. There are pureed recipes in the book if it helps... Gastric Sleeve Cookbook: Easy and Delicious Recipes for Every Stage of Recovery Following Bariatric Surgery https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DWJYHWV/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_PZJNCbE6GGPBG

I'm in Ireland and Bariatric Surgery has only recently become generally available. I will be one of the first to have the procedure in a newly established Clinic. I'm 62, 5'10" and weigh 232 lbs. I developed a neurological illness in my 40's and piled on weight. Up to then, I had been slim. I want my skinny self back !!! My daughter is soo against me having the surgery - she says I'll never again be able to enjoy a meal and will miss out on so much, skinny isn't everything (she's skinny !!), etc., etc., etc. To me - Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels !!! I still have my skinny clothes in my loft, in the hope that they'll see daylight again. What do you guys think ?? Do any of you ever regret having the surgery ??

Second timer ?? Do you mean that you had the op already and are now going for it a second time ?? Did it not work the first time ?? Sorry if I sound ignorant but I'm in Ireland and the procedure is only recently generally available. I'm thinking strongly of having it done - but my daughter is sooo against it. To me, nothing tastes as good as skinny feels !!! I have a neurological illness which has caused my overweight and I'm so fed up with slimming clubs and diets that I want to have Bariatric surgery and just get on with it. What would others advise ..... Do any of you regret having the surgery ??

Congrats! Just work closely with your OB and your bariatric surgeon and RD and you will do beautifully and have a bouncing healthy baby too! And I too know many who got pg before the magic 1year mark and had healthy pregnancies and gorgeous babies. I also know normies who were mo and delivered healthy babies and lost weight through the pg. So cheers. Just don't lose focus, it's more important now that you stay sharp and follow your rules given to you by your team!

I’m switching to bariatric fusion complete. $25 a month, 4 chewables a day that you can take 2 at a time. It’s all I’ll have to take. No additional pills except maybe iron since I’m not absorbing it and my b12 shots that I’ve been doing for a few years. I figure $25 a month for almost all my vitamins isn’t bad.

My dietician had me buy a bariatric vitamin where it’s about $25 a month for 120 pills. You take 4 a day but can take 2 at a time. It contains everything. I just need to do my b12 shots since I don’t absorb it. I can’t do 5 different vitamins. I am also bipolar and on so many meds. They said I have to crush everything but it will be so much to eat every night. Not sure how I’ll do it.

There aren't many of us here... glad to meet another bariatric patient from north of the 49th parallel. As for the socks, I will adjust if I have to. But I won't like it.

I think, like many areas of bariatrics, different doctors have differing opinions. My dietician is hard core on the not drinking while eating or for 30 minutes after to prevent the flushing through, but not so much on the 30 minutes before. I'm allowed to drink up to 10 or 15 minutes before I eat.

When my husband and I moved here, we didn’t have jobs so I applied for Medicaid for us while we were looking. And we got approved. I found out a couple of months later that Staywell/WellCare might possibly cover bariatric surgery so I gave it a chance. In 4 months I was completely approved and operated on yesterday. Woohoo! Let me know if you have any questions. I’ll try to help as much as I can!

If you're caught engaging in the following practices, you'll be disqualified: Binging Purging Excessive fasting Hydration or dehydration for the sole purpose of manipulating your weight Undergoing any kind of bariatric surgery, liposuction, or other weight-loss procedures

Well your next labs should tell the story, if they are cool, then you've got it beaten. I was mildly deficent in D, well who isn't in the American Midwest? We don't want frostbite or to wet ourselves before we peak down all the layers. Also added Ferrocite, I was getting some iron in my prenatal vitamins, yeah my dietician recommended them, but not enough. Well evidently it still wasn't enough because I had an Iron INFUSION on March 11th. It wasn't that bad but as my body came to terms with it I had a tsunami of fecal urgency, black, sticky at first but on and on until the last three were like filthy mopwater. Did I retain enough? Geeze, I hope so, my PCP told me, he didn't order it , my Bariatric surgery people did that, that I might have these every 3 months. That would make the next one June Tomkitten birthday month, as a matter of fact almost exactly it. Maybe while we're in Columbus I will take him to dinner. Now that I weigh less than him , he's thinking of asking Dr Needleman himself about whether he would,be a candidate. It would be a fate date , since they share initals. Told him this is one decision you make for yourself, Mama can help and support but it is up to you! I am a whole 20 pounds lighter although he would tell you it's only 15. Do you know how hard I have worked for this day? There was a day where I was over a hundred pounds larger. Not a good time, not a happy time, a heading for my death time. And I dropped weight pretty quick after my PICC line was discontinued, Oh it wasn't,too bad to have, kind of became,my friend, but like my dietary ex- boyfriend, "quick fast-food" I didn't lose that much weight with it around, 1400 calories kicked my tushie badly, was losing maybe a pound a month. Wow I am back to my Golden Honeymoon of WL. Anybody want to know what I weigh now? Gonna tell you anyway! 234.6 pounds, now all you peeps that started in the 200s and are now trying discretely to stifle a yawn, Moi. started this endeavour at 365+, I say plus because after I was weighed at that point I refused to climb upon a scale again. Figured the next step was Farmers Equity where they weigh out feed. Might have considered offing myself but feared I'd miss and how do you explain that burned part in your head where the bullet creased your head. Oh I can shoot animals, I just draw the line at ME. Someday I'll tell the story of how Late Lamented and I went deer- hunting. I shot a 10 and half point buck, he just cursed his fool head off because I shot that buck, he winged a tree limb. Never went hunting again. Okay I shot my quota of squirrels and such with my Daddy and my custom - painted rifle. In those days you couldn't get pink camo so Daddy's friend customed for me. Why did I learn to hunt? Well my boy cousins wanted to, so why shouldn't I? Late Lamented called it the Candy Stick but it shot straight and true. Actually shot the deer with HIS gun, he didn't think I could do it! Don't challenge me, I play for keeps, and that's how it's gonna be with Weight Loss, might not lose as fast as the younger chicks but I am in it to Win it, and Win It I Shall. A joke about my Redheadness. Do you what aredheaded woman driver is like? We're a lot like blonde ones except we will lconvince you That Accident was all Your Fault!

RANT:::: Thinking my pre op yesterday was going to be a breeze I should have been a little more prepared for just something to not go as planned:( I had an endoscopy in 2015 which the nurse a few weeks ago in my bariatric office said should be fine and she would consult with the dr to make sure and that NO news was good news. Well when the office called telling me my cardiologist had not sent the clearance letter they also asked about my endoscopy.. which of course I said I was told it was ok to use the 2015 per the nurse. So after I left yesterday I had to call the gastro office to have them send consent to the other office -- Not that easy because they called this morning playing phone tag telling me that the gastro dr said NO NO NO I had to do another test or she would not send any consent for clearance OMG!!! Really!! So I was able to get an appt for 4/3 and within 15 minutes that appt was taken away because my procedure has to be done in a hospital not at the alt. location because they would not accept me with health issues:( So before the office closed I FINALLY was told it would be tomorrow morning. More time off just what I was trying to avoid. Hope everyone else has better luck, I just thought I was so much better prepared, and they pull this extra stress on me when I can't eat... Mean just Mean ha ha! RANT OVER:)

Alcohol is absorbed entirely by the stomach, via the stomach wall and into our bloodstream directly and rather rapidly. A few things to be mindful of, not necessarily in any order, but all of them important: The size of the stomach post VSG is very compromised, being a fraction of what is used to be pre-op. This means that absorption usually is much more rapid than it was and, that a much lesser amount of alcohol will be needed to both be perceived physically and felt physiologically by the body. This is important in, for example, being stopped for DUI whilst driving and likely 'blowing over' the limit, or otherwise tested as same. Of course, perhaps the most important aspect for any of us having gone through such a radical series of events, leading up to bariatric surgery etc should be, that alcohol is very high, relatively speaking, in calories. Alcohol is converted into sugars, and these are to be minimized or, better yet, avoided altogether for optimal results. Easy enough to say, I hear many uttering about now, but really, in my own humble opinion, I feel it really is a necessary sacrifice. I certainly haven't gone through all of this only to compromise it massively by continuing as once I did.....any more than continuing with what were wrong and unacceptable eating habits, be they emotional or otherwise, they all must go. I rarely drank alcohol when driving, ever, and so the matter of being 'over the limit' back then was never an issue.....now, post VSG, the risk is very real and for me, far too great, along with the much more important aspects of ongoing weight loss being optimal and sustainable. I should also add, that I am in my early 60's and have other things compromising my health that make my decision to avoid alcohol a no-brainer, but it is unquestionably the case, surely, that being on this bariatric journey, and having taken such huge steps with same, we should all deeply consider if alcohol is worth it on any level. It does represent a challenge to cease drinking, but for mine, a much greater challenge by maintaining, even partially, a life that includes alcohol. Good luck to all with this, whatever your choices

I've been thinking about a tattoo as well, when I get to my goal. I'm leaning toward something incorporating a line from my favourite book that feels fitting to me now and about reclaiming my health... "Renewed is blade that was broken..." written in elvish.

I started the process with a BMI of 37.5 last April and I weighed in at 256 during my first bariatric consult. On the day of surgery (12/17/18), I weighed 234 and I had a BMI of 34.5. By New Years Eve, I was down to 224. On January 15, I was down to 212. By January 30, I was down to 204. On February 15, I was down to 197. On March 1, I weighed 196.7. March 15, I weighed 196.1. Today I weighed 193.2. So you can see that it came off fast and has leveled off. I have lost 2 inches off my waist since March 1, so the inches are coming off if the weight isn't. I follow a strict diet and exercise program--which is pretty intense, but I am really enjoying it. I feel awesome. Here's some photos documenting the journey. Last Summer this is me at 255 or so: This is me on Surgery Day (12/17/18) (weight: 234): This is me on January 17, 2019 (Weight: 210) This is me on February 28, 2019 (weight: 197.8) This is me on March 23, 2019 (Weight: 192.1): So, the weight loss has slowed up, but that's ok. I want to lose another 10-15 pounds, but I don't "need" to lose that weight. I am more concerned at this point with improving my physical conditioning and strength. The weight came off so fast that I didn't really "see" the difference in the mirror, but the photos show a dramatic change. I still hasn't really sunk in yet, but it's kind of like winning the health lottery. I am look healthy and fit. I am no longer diabetic according to my doctors. My BP is normal and my blood tests look great 3 months post op. Huge improvements. Honestly, having this surgery is the best thing I ever did for myself. I wish I had done this sooner--but better late than never. Obviously, the surgery helps get the ball rolling and gives you the tool so that the rest of the changes you make in your lifestyle will actually work for you. I have tried to do this before with hardcore dieting and exercise and I would just hit a wall and then lose ground. Not anymore!! If 191 is my wall, that's ok for me--but I think I'll still lose some more weight over the next few months, but the changes won't be as dramatic or noticeable (on the scale or otherwise).

I have UMR insurance, I have been wanting to get the Gastric Sleeve for a while now. However I am not sure how to even start, where to turn or if I can get my insurance to cover it. I live in Idaho so they are not mandated to cover any bariatric surgeries. Does anyone have advise or know a way around it? Thanks in Advance

The underlines indicate that the forum software has linked that word to items in the bariatric pal store. Sometimes the links make sense, other times they are ridiculous.

Thanks Maury for that statenent, it happens to us all and I don't have an explaination either. Maybe Ken S, our Tech Guru or Alex Brecher, our Bariatric Pal founder can explain.👈😜👉

Some can be real winners. I would’ve looked at her and asked wth that had to do with Bariatric surgery! Lol