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As many have said, I just regret not having it sooner. However, the year of covid delays actually were a good thing for me as I went into it totally certain it was what I wanted, and I was as mentally prepared as I could have been. If I'd had the surgery as initially planned, I might've felt some regret as I just don't think I was mentally ready and it was all a bit rushed for such a big decision (2 months from initial consult to first surgery date). Now that I've had it and experienced good weight loss (although not done yet), I do have the occasional thought of 'why couldn't I just do this without surgery', but I always go back to having struggled for 20 years, I know I couldn't have done it without and my food addiction would've continued for the rest of my life. I regret needing it in the first place, but I don't regret having the surgery.

When I met with the nutritionist we went through the weight loss attempts I had made before - I had done weight watchers twice, lost a lot of weight through diet and exercise on my own, done intermittent fasting. Nothing had been medically supervised, except for taking a doctor prescribed weight loss medication (I lost weight with everything except the pills), but it all apparently counted. I have BC/BS but each state and each plan is slightly different. I still have to do their 4 months of group nutrition classes, and I've done two months of those. I think it's good that you've done the documentation. You might also consider signing up for Weight Watchers, because they seemed to love that I had done that, even thought I lost more weight on my own. But that might just have been my surgery center.

Thank you! Point taken. I am in need of some variety and am trying to find meals that are simple, tasty and on plan. But as you say, my priority is to maximize weight loss at this stage. It’s been going fairly well so far and I don’t want to disrupt the steady progress I am seeing. But I’ll keep that keto pizza in mind for some time in the future.

I don’t have an insurance coordinator, just this one person in office we can contact if we have any questions! I should contact her. My insurance doesn’t have a certain amount of months just a list of documented weight loss attempts that I have done in the past! I have independence blue cross ppo

I don’t have an insurance coordinator, just this one person in office we can contact if we have any questions! I should contact her. My insurance doesn’t have a certain amount of months just a list of documented weight loss attempts that I have done in the past! I have independence blue cross ppo

My insurance doesn’t require me to do a 6 month medically supervised diet, they require me to provide documented supervised weight loss attempts, i typed out a document but they weren’t medically supervised. Do you think they will make me do a 6 month process if they don’t accept what I provided?

Hi! This is my first time ever doing this so bare with me! I started my process with trying to get bariatric surgery officially April 2021! My first meeting with the doctor is on May 7th 2021. I’ve done all of my pre op tests that are required for me to meet the doctor and I’ve done my nutritionist appointment ( I have independence blue cross ppo, not too many requirements with this insurance). I am very nervous because one of the requirements I have to provide for weight loss surgery is medically supervised documented weight loss attempts. I’m only 21 years old and tbh the job I’ve had now is my first full time job and before that I didn’t have insurance. I have done weight loss attempts but they weren’t medically supervised at all because I didn’t have insurance or a pcp since 2016. I’ve done multiple attempts of weight loss supplements, dr fisher pills, planet fitness, intermediate fasting, I even did Herbalife for a year. Has anybody else had a issue with the documented weight loss? does anybody else have independence blue cross ppo and can give me some pointers? I meet all of the other requirements for surgery. A very high BMI and high blood pressure but idk I’ve never done anything like this before and I’m scared that insurance will reject my attempt

I had RNY gastric bypass in 2004. I have gained weight back unfortunately and a revision would be to revise the surgery I had in 2004 to help me lose weight again. They go in their resize your pouch...etc. They say revisions are not as drastic with weight loss as the original surgery but I don’t know that for sure. Some people need revisions for medical reasons. I am hoping with mine to have a 2nd and final chance to get it right.

It's ok to feel emotions. Many of us food addicts would just medicate with food and suppress any kind of feelings (except eating to excess). You can be mad! Let it out!!! It's ok to mourn your loss too. Food has been a friend to me over the years, but actually I abused her and she did the same to me. Just like a real friend, cut that toxic bitc# out!!!! LOL But I think what you're feeling is perfectly normal and healthy as long as it's not interfering with your life or leading you to bad decisions.

I am 5 wks post op and have lost 30 lbs since surgery. Sometimes I feel like this is not enough weight loss and it is frustrating. Anyone else in the 30 lb since day of surgery?

I have added some foods this week that filled some cravings - cauliflower pizza, cauliflower chips and finally gave in to my daughters pleas for Korean takeout. It’s the first time I have had take out or spicy food since my bypass 5 weeks ago. I had Daenjang stew which has spicy Korean bean paste and jalapeño broth and tofu. So tasty but I am worried it may be harmful to my stomach- I ate a cup and felt fine. Had another cup later. Still fine. Stomach wise I’m feeling fine with these additions but worry I’m moving too quickly to my favorite (nutritionally acceptable) foods. I worry too that denser foods will slow my weight loss but frankly I’m so tired of the protein shakes and chicken and seafood salads that I’m been having these past 4 weeks.

Congrats on the blood pressure medicine cutting! I was able to do the same. I have found several bits of food throughout the day helps. One thing I found was the quest protein chips. They help with hunger and allow me to feel like I am "eating" with the chewing. I had similar with pills. I did get a pill cutter which helped with swallowing pills. Just some ideas. The weight you have loss is awesome!!!

Congratulations that you are in the final steps that your plan requires. I am going to attach a sample letter that my Surgeon gave me. My PCP followed this letter loosely but if you just have the doctor state some of this information and the comorbidities that they know you have and are treating, that should be all that the insurance is looking for. From my experience, if you have a good rapport with this doctor then they may be more willing to help with this letter. For my diet summary that I had to give to my insurance, I used my Allergist. She was certified in Obesity though as one of her additional certifications and had referred me to a dietician for help at that time. I also had 6 monthly visits with her when I was on a diet and so all of my weight loss at the time was documented with her. Good luck with this letter and everything will work out the way that it is supposed to. PCPLetter.pdf

P.S. not sure if you're just getting a standard tummy tuck or a lower body lift (which is more expensive because they do both front and back). I got the latter in one surgery, and a breast lift and arm lift in a second surgery. I don't know what just a breast lift on its own would cost, but I can probably figure a good ballpark estimate. So for the lower body lift plus just a breast lift (no arm lift), my price would have been about $30,000, I think. I probably could have had it done locally for less, but I wanted someone who specialized in plastic surgery for massive weight loss patients, so I had to go to Chicago for that.

wrapping day 3 of the pre-op diet. mine is 3 protein shakes, a small fruit, 1 cup of veggies and 2 tbsp low fat dressing, and 1 frozen entree under 300 cals. about 1000 cals. having much easier of a time with the hunger than i thought i would... but i'm just sad. i'm doing my best with other coping mechanisms for the comfort that food brings, but nothing is a replacement. nothing can totally offset the big feeling of loss.

Hello everyone and welcome to my very first post! (READ ON TO LEARN A BIT ABOUT ME OR SKIP TO LAST PARAGRAPH IF THIS IS TOO LONG, which admittedly, it probably is lol. 🙂 ) I've been a reader for about a year now, and now that I'm seeing a light at the end of the bariatric tunnel, I decided to join the forum. I've been wanting to do surgery for a long long time, over a decade at this point. In my early twenties my parents even considered sending me to the Dominican Republic (my birth place) to be with family and get the surgery there with a known doctor. Ultimately the cost was prohibitive for a young girl in college and I was still attempting to lose weight on my own. Now, my new job has (thankfully) doubled my previous salary AND has a great insurance that actually provides WLS to qualifying patients. I have Cigna and I know their requirements have recently changed, around summer 2020. I'm no longer required to partake in a 6-month monitored weightless plan. All I need are the following: - Psych eval (took April 27th and was recommended for surgery) - Blood work (took April 28th, everything came back normal, which always shocks doctors since I'm 300 lbs. creeping toward pre-diabetes but not there yet. - EKG (came back normal, also taken April 27th, no issues there) - Gallbladder ultrasound (recommended by my surgeon, taken same day, they said possible sludge but no stones. Kidney and liver looked normal, no lesions.) - Nutrition consultation (just one, already had it April 28th) - Letter of necessity from another physician. Herein lies my biggest issue. My consult was April 21st and all of my appointments were done a week later. Everything is working out so smoothly that it's scary. BUT my PCP recently switched offices so I don't really have one, and with COVID, I saw specialists if I had an issue or a yearly exam and not a general MD. I have sleep apnea and see a neurologist who treats me for it. My surgeon's office said that since I have PPO insurance, the letter can come from my specialist, doesn't have to be a PCP or general practitioner. I called her office to see if she' be willing to hear me out or if I'd have to go in for an appointment. She wants to see me and I understand she wants to be paid for her time. But when I asked the receptionist how she took it, when I asked if she'd be willing to write me my letter of necessity, the receptionist said "do you want the truth?" (of course I do, or I wouldn't have asked.) "she seems... iffy... but... but... just, just come in and we'll see." I'm seeing her on Monday. I'm so nervous that she will say no. My cousin's a doctor and she gave me some great tips on how to ask (which I'll gladly share if you want me to) but I'm so concerned that she'll require a monitored diet plan or she will straight up refuse to write the letter. Has anyone gone through this? What are some ways you spoke to your doctor, and did you get any push-back? I feel like doctors insist on weight loss but look down on WLS. Such a stigma. Any tips are appreciated!

My story started in 2018 after becoming my father's legal Guardian due to him having a stroke followed by a heart attack. That woke me up, and I began to take my morbid obesity and skeletal issue more seriously. But in reality, I should have said yes the first time. My VA doctor suggested Gastric Bypass Surgery in 2013 while discussing my morbid obesity, skeletal issue, and being borderline diabetic. Now let's jump to September 2020 While visiting my PC VA doctor, I decided to get enrolled in the Bariatric program. 26Apr2021, I finished my last phase 1 checklist step, and on 29Apr2021, I received My Bariatric Bypass Surgery Date of 14 June 2021. During this time, my starting weight was 306lbs; to date, my weight is 289lbs. What did I do? Drank more water half bodyweight in OZ Cut out All Fast foods for Lunch Cut out all processed foods Cut as many GMO's as possible Cut soda's Switched to a 75/25% Plant-Based Diet (Mosaic Foods Subscription for all Lunches) Substitute more Alkaline foods in my diet Switched to Non-Dairy Milk's (Allergic to Cow Milk) Plant-Based Shakes for Breakfast (Truvani & Garden of Life Raw Organic Fit Protein High Protein for Weight Loss) I did a lot of research on here and other places. Thank all of you for your knowledge and support.

If you have had GERD at all I would recommend bypass. I never had GERD before my sleeve but now have to revise to bypass due to it. Sleeve was great for me weight loss wise and I hit my goal but GERD has taken over my life because of how sick I am.

I lost lots (lots! we are talking CARPETS of hair in on my bathroom floor) from months 3-6-ish. Started seeing all the little itty biitty chicken hairs sticking up around 8-9 months, i think...I am now 2.5 years out and and all those little chicken hairs are pretty much the same length as the rest of my hair, which is about shoulder length now. I already had pretty thin hair pre-op, so losing the hair was pretty noticeable. Now, i want to say its actually thicker looking than it was pre-op, but that may just be wishful thinking, lol. But its much, much better my hair loss phase for sure.

Scheduled for my next round!! I had gastric sleeve in 2015 and have maintained about 100lbs weight loss. I had a circumferential body lift with thigh liposuction in 2017, and absolutely LOVE the result. I was living in Colorado at that time, but moved to California almost 2 years ago to be near family. I honestly didn’t think I’d ever do a round two, but am blessed the opportunity presented itself. This time I’m going in for a thigh lift, extended brachioplasty, and breast lift (without implants). I’m scheduled for August 18. Can’t believe it! From what I understand, the breasts and arms won’t be too bad, but the thigh lift is always a difficult one to recover from. I work as RN in a community health center and plan to take 2 weeks of PTO, then work remote for about a week before going back in full time. I’ll get some pics up soon of my before, and the results from the body lift! 😊 Jenny

There are a lot of magical properties ascribed to IF, but from a weight loss perspective, it is a convenient way to reduce the amount of calories that you consume in a day, if you don't overcompensate by loading all of your normally consumed calories into that reduced time slot. It's much the same with any of the other popular diets over the years - cut out fats, that's a lot of calories; cut out carbohydrates, that's a lot of calories. It all comes to an end when you learn to adapt and start consuming as many calories as you were before when you were gaining.

I had gastric sleeve surgery in August. I went from 356 to 246 and the last few days when I bend over really far I get a pain in my stomach a little left from my naval. It hurts for a second and then goes away. It feels almost like when you really stretch a muscle but like it's also painful. Not sure if it's because with the weight loss I can bend more than my body is use to or if it's just me or if it's surgery related. Please help if you have any clue why this is happening. Aside from this I feel fine. Diet is good. Weight loss is good. I feel healthier and I feel really really good. It's just this bending thing that's got me freaked out. Sent from my SM-G996U using BariatricPal mobile app

The stats show the average weight lost at about the 3 year mark (maybe 5yr I can’t remember) is 60-65% of the weight you have to lose to put you in the healthy BMI range. This is likely the weight loss number your doctor advised you would likely lose but you can aim to lose more or less. Do people lose more than the 60-65%? Yep. Some of us do. Do some lose less? Yep, some do. Do some maintain the lower weight they reach? Yep, some do. Do some put weight back on in the years after surgery? Yep, some do. That’s the reality. For some, a weight in the healthy BMI range is not sustainable. It may be because of lifestyle i.e. an inability to sustain a lower calorie intake & increased activity level to maintain at the lower weight. There’s nothing wrong with that. You have to be able to live your life. Or it could just be them - a weight their body is happy at & is easy to maintain. I wonder if your doctor’s comment re people who lose a lot pre surgery, lose less after surgery is really about how fast you lose & how long it takes for you to reach your goal. Generally, the more you have to lose the faster you lose to begin. Therefore, if you lose a lot of weight pre surgery, you likely won’t lose as quickly at first as you would if you hadn’t lost much before your surgery. The rate of your loss slows as you get closer to your goal weight. This is because your calorie intake & energy output is closer to what is needed to maintain at that weight. We’re all different. No one can predict exactly what you will lose or maintain at, they can only suggest what might happen based upon statistics & experience. Good luck with your surgery. PS. I lost about 5kg in the two & a bit weeks pre surgery. I reached my goal in 6 months then lost 13kgs more at my lowest. I waiver at around 49kgs now.

Oh, I love those easy to wear, pop on, no fuss & look stylish jersey dresses too @GreenTealael. I want another one with sleeves so I can wear it under coats in winter. Whoo hoo @kristieshannon. Bet you wear it a lot over summer. Is your tattoo a little lizard? 2023 has been diarised @Sophie7713 😀. Lovely to look at all your green lushness Sophie. It’s chilly & raining again here today so pretty gray. At least things are green from all the rain we’ve been having but unfortunately it’s not falling over agricultural area which are suffering badly from drought or in many of our drinking water dam catchments. You’ll be rockin’ a new fitted wardrobe in no time @Roses436 & we will expect photos. Congrats on your weight loss @bethow. We need some photos from you too.

Yes, that's what I meant -- just based on math/statistics. Expected weight loss from surgery is typically expressed in terms of percent of excess weight loss, and the lower your starting weight, the lower your end weight will be after losing X% of excess weight. If I started at 340 pounds and lost 70% of my excess weight (140 pounds), I would end up at 200 pounds. If I started at 270 pounds and lost 70% of my excess weight (91 pounds), I would end up at 179 pounds.