Search the Community

I never used Protein supplements/drinks. I am not saying this is the way to do it, but I really didn't have any other choice. I tried over 20 different brands and flavors, and they either tasted horrific or they made me vomit. So, I got all my protein from food sources once I hit the mushy/soft solid stage. I eat a completely normal diet and have for months. There is absolutely nothing in my plan that is bariatric substitutes. I do choose to use some ingredients in my recipes to increase protein count, cut carbs, and fat when I can. I'm cooking for not only myself, but my family as well. So, it has to be conducive to all our liking.

Well I called my coordinator today to find out what was going on and of course it went straight to voicemail so I called cigna to find out and they said I was denied so I asked why and she said I was denied because services has to be done at a contracted bariatric center of excellence and i asked was there any other reasons and the lady said no it was denied right away and my file wasn't looked into any further???? so I was like WHAT!!! and I said yes they are...Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center has been designated as a Center of Excellence by the American Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS), which means we have met the independent and rigorous requirements established by the ASMBS. The ASMBS Center of Excellence designation recognizes surgical programs with a demonstrated track record of favorable patient outcomes in bariatric surgery(paste this section from there web site) so i told her to look it up and that my doctor is Chief of Elective General Surgery for the medical school Department of Surgery. He is also the Medical Director of Bariatric Surgery for the Memorial Hermann Hospital-TMC. she said she couldn't do anything else and to contact by dr. office so i did and my coordinator voicemail said to leave a message and she will get back within 24 hours. It has me just mad..you spend all that time to meet their requirments spend all that money for the out of pocket expenses and they tell you no right away and then you can't get any answers from the dr. office because the only person who has the answers doesn't call you back. I mean she didnt send a paper with a leader head stating they are a center of excellence or stamped it or whatever they use to identify that they are So for those of you who do have cigna were you denied the first time and if so how many time's did you have to resubmit to get that approval...I need to call cigna to see if there is a limit on how many times you can resubmit before they say denied for a final time. sorry so long

Would like some advice. I have made the appointment for the seminar in New Jersey I currently have Medicaid United healthcare community plan my current weight is 350 Lbs bmi of about 57. Suffer from anxiety. I'm nervous that once I start the process it will happen soon. My doctor is 100 percent behind the whole bariatric surgery. I'm just nervous what if some thing goes wrong. Also if any one in nj got accepted can u tell me how long did it take for u ? Fro. The day u saw ur surgeon to the day you jad surgery.

Andrea, I understand you may have to travel, but I'd consider finding another surgeon. If your surgeon needs proctor, it MIGHT be that he hasn't placed the new AP band and he needs a proctor to go over placement with him (it's a little different), but it most likely is because he isn't certified by Allergan/Inamed yet, period. And that's okay, he's not necessarily incompetent, he's may just be brand new to banding. He may have done tons of various laparascopic procedures and maybe has done hundreds of bypasses, but he likely hasn't done many bands. But that's a consideration. Given the history of his pushing and pushing you to have bypass done, I'm leaning toward him not having done many bands. Do you want to be someone's first or second band ever? I *might* if I was comfortable and confident with the surgeon when I interviewed him. Based on what you've told us of your conversations with him, I would NOT be comfortable with his confidence in his own abilities or his own willingness to learn and try the latest advancements. Seriously, GO FIND ANOTHER SURGEON. I know you have kids, many of us do. I understand you may work, many of us do, I know it must be hard to arrange, but Andrea, this is your body and your new life you are dealing with here. Find a day or two that you can set aside to travel to an appt. Really think about this, please. From what I understand being Allergan/Inamed (Allergan is the newer name) certified to place the band is not state by state. It's one time. You can call Allergan and ask them if your surgeon is certified. The website is lapband.com and you should be able to find a link to look him up. What is his name, BTW? You can look him up on obesityhelp.com and on tha American Society of Bariatric Surgeons (asbs.org) to see if he's a member. Please do these things, or PM me the name or post it here and we'll see what we can find out about him to see how much experience he has.

Today I spent hours going through the binder of information given to me by the bariatric team. I am one of those super organized, Type A personalities, so it was necessary for my peace of mind to have dividers and tabs and plastic sheaths for the important papers. Kinda crazy, I suppose, but that's me! Next I went through all my diabetic magazines and clipped the yummiest sounding recipes. :-) So far on this journey toward surgery-- 1. I established the insurance requirements (a complicated story I may share at another time) and got the preliminary clearance. That was a relief! 2. I discussed my desire with my personal physician, a fabulous doctor and man I respect greatly who has been my GP since moving to KY 3 years ago. His approval and support was not a deal breaker, necessarily, as I was 80-90% sure surgery was my best course, but it was important to me for him to be on board. It was a relief when he not only didn't disagree but also confirmed the positive reports I had read about the local surgeon and bariatric program. 3. I (and my husband) attended the informational seminar offered by the Bariatric Weight Loss Program here in my home town. The surgeon was at the meeting, as well as others on the team, and the info was very thorough. So far nothing to give me pause! I filled out the request form, then waited.... 4. The wait wasn't too long. Gayle, the program coordinator, called me about a week later to set up my first appointment with the surgeon Dr. Farrell. 5. August 4 was my appointment with Dr. Farrell. Before meeting him I also had brief meetings with the dietician and again with Gayle. A binder containing detailed information about the pre-approval process and appointments, the surgery itself and surgery prep, diet pre- and post-op, possible complications, exercise, recipes, and much more. VERY thorough! I even got a few samples of protein powder and shakes. 6. August 11 was my appointment with a cardiologist for "surgical clearance." I had seen this doctor just over a year ago, before my diagnosis of sleep apnea, to rule out any cardiac issues. Nothing had shown up at that time, and as a prior patient I was able to get in to see him quickly. Unfortunately, I have been very sick with bronchiolitis and possible pneumonia, on strong cough medicine and steroids. The latter (I'm convinced) is why my heart rate was high, and of course my chest wasn't as clear as it should have been. For this reason the doctor recommended a follow up ECHO and treadmill test to be sure all was well before surgery. As an RN, I could not argue the logic even if it adds more to the process. Better safe than sorry! 7. Gayle called the next day to give me dates for all the various appointments: Psych Eval, Support Group meetings, endoscopy, Nutritional Eval, Exercise Eval, and a Healthy Lifestyle Class. These, along with the cardio followup, are scheduled over the next month, beginning tomorrow. No set surgery date as yet. The initial estimate was early November, but it seems to me mid to late October makes more sense. My birthday is on October 26, and while it doesn't sound like too much fun to spend one's birthday in the hospital, in pain, and unable to eat at least a small piece of cake, I am willing to make the sacrifice if it means getting the rest of my better-health-and-skinnier-life started! I'm ready!

Hi: I'm just in the beginning of my journey for what I hope will someday be a vertical sleeve. I've attended my first informational meeting with a local surgeon, and have gotten the referral to the bariatric clinic by my primary physician. I'm 5'6" and 236 pounds. I don't know if my insurance company will pay for a sleeve , but, I've been doing lots of research on it on the internet, especially on this site. I think that it's so wonderful for all of the support and advice that you all give to one another. I wish you all success on where ever you are on your journey.

Hi everyone! Have any of you scheduled your surgery with the Tijuana Bariatric Group in Mexico? I went through "BeLite" and am having trouble getting them to respond to my calls, even though I am scheduled for Sept. 20th. I'm uneasy.:help:

Autumn, I do not have lupus but my ex did. Tough disease. Please let me know (pm?) if you get some good info about lupus and VSG. My ex wanted bariatric surgery and I'd like to be able to give her some more info. What's the problem with bypass and lupus? Many people with lupus already have to do B12 shots because of the lupus attacking the intrinsic factor in their gut, so it seems that bypass wouldn't make it any worse. But then again, I don't hsve lupus and don't know the full scale of all the problems it can cause.

:001_smile:Hi, Lisa: Thank you for your encouragement. I saw my primary MD on Friday. He is referring me to the surgeon who held the information meeting on the sleeve and also to the bariatric clinic. Let the hoop hopping begin!!! I know that you must be excited with a December date!

Looking for details and experiences. I plan to have my procedure at this facility in February. Thanks! Sent from my SM-T813 using BariatricPal mobile app

Your PCP should be able to order lab work for you that will test all your vitamin and mineral levels as well as indicate whether you are getting enough protein. You shouldn't need a bariatric surgeon for that.

I too, prefer Worldwide Protein shakes. Atkins was on my list from the dietician for a ready to drink, but it only has about 9 or 15g protein (I forget how much), and it is full of Vitamins, which is fine, but we are taking Vitamin supplements, so why drink more? Taste-wise WW shakes are better than Atkins. They are available at Trader Joe's (cheapest--$2.29 each for 35s and they have 21g version for $1.69), The Vitamin Shoppe (next cheapest--$2.79 but I bought a 12 pack for $27.99 which is about $2.33 each), and GNC (most expensive--$2.99 each). All three carry vanilla Cream and chocolate. The Vitamin Shoppe carries all the flavors (strawberry Cream, Cookies n' Cream, and banana Cream). I don't care for banana flavored stuff, but the Cookies n' Cream tastes like liquid Oreos, and the Strawberry is pretty good too. Calories 160-170, maybe 1g fat/0.5 sat fat, and 1g sugar, no added vitamins. It is a milk-based protein (in case you are lactose intolerant). I don't work for them (honest) but I have been drinking them since before surgery, and I still drink one just about every day. As for vitamins, Bariatricadvantage.com sells chewables and liquids just for surgery patients. I use Centrum Silver chewables (even though our dietician pooh-poohs them) and Twin Labs calcium citrate with Magnesium and D (after I started using I found it on the list of approved supplements for Brigham Womens Hospital Bariatric Program--someone here had a link and I clicked on it). Best price is online at vitacost.com, about $7.67 a bottle for 60 wafers (15 day supply). In stores it is anywhere from $13 to $18 for the same thing. There is a $4.99 s/h charge, for any size order, so I order 5 bottles on an auto ship plan for every 60 days. I am experimenting with the MVI, and right now can get down sizeable capsules so I take one with supplements for the eyes since mine are crap after 3 eye surgeries. If you have a lot of restriction chewables or liquids are better.

Way back in my weight watcher's days (which I think is a great program, but I was never able to keep the weight I lost off permanently) I had a leader used a great analogy that has alway stuck with me. She said losing weight and dieting is like being in a relationship: In the beginning you are in the "honeymoon phase" and you can face anything with the determination you have. After a while, you start to feel "disenchanted" with the whole relationship and question your commitment and might even stray a bit in your thoughts or actions (or food!). Some folks will get a "divorce" after this phase. I have divorced a lot of diets :thumbup:. For the folks who hang in there, next is "renewed resolve" where you recommit yourself to your goals (dieting or relationship). After this phase comes "permanent lifestyle change." It simply a part of who you are. I just loved this analogy and have been thinking about it again recently. I believe I am in the "Renewed Resolve" stage and I hope to stay there long enough to get me to my new permanent lifestyle. I'm done with divorce :smile: :w00t: :thumbup:

I am in the East Bay. I had my surgery in Pleasanton. We have NO BARIATRIC WEIGHT LOSS SUPPORT GROUP in Walnut Creek- crazy!! I've been wanting to start one but it seems so hard to find people to come!

BMI is the almost universal gauge for qualifying patients for bariatric surgery and there is no indication (that I'm aware of) that would point to that changing any time soon. But some doctors and researchers believe that waist measurement, relative to hip measurement or height, may be a better indicator of risk for developing cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and other serious diseases. All body fat is not created equal. Belly fat has been shown to be considerably more dangerous and damaging than other types. That's why you'll sometimes read that an "apple shaped" body (more belly fat) is a greater cause for concern than a "pear shaped" body (more hip and thigh fat). Harvard School of Public Health has an interesting article on the subject - http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/obesity-prevention-source/obesity-definition/abdominal-obesity/ .

hey guys, my dm was doing well post op (when my intake was zilch)...but i've been having fasting levels around 140...and my weight loss has stalled...i'm calling my endocrinologist and bariatric dietician.... but wondering if anyone has experience with this phenomenon/// also i've got to ditch my glucophage...even cracked in to 4 pieces and with little restriction it gets painfully stuck....i'm gonna try januvia + glimiperide 2.0mg did today and felt a little shaky hypoglycemic at lunch....will keep you posted amanda

I don't have any experience w/Medifast. I am 11 days post op and have been using Bariatric Advantage and like that. I heard Unjury was good, my nutritionist said it was adequate, the BA had more B vit. I think nwhatever works. Good luck !

Can you take bariatric vitamins before surgery or are they too potent?

I think there's many signifigant others that have underlying issues with their other 1/2s being banded. The renewed confidence can and is surely intimidating to the less confident.

Sorry, no I don't know. He offers bariatric care program, so I would call and ask. He's got a website so maybe check that out too. Good luck.

I have a few questions guys. How many calories do you eat daily? I've only been eating about 800 a day and I've stopped losing again. Should I up my calories a little to see if that would help? The last diet I did was Weight Watchers about a year ago. I consumed 1200 calories a day and lost 2 pounds a week every week. What kind of meats do you buy? I bought lean ground beef, lean pork, boneless skinless chicken breast, etc but I'm finding those cuts cook up drier and can be hard to get down. Since I'm not able to eat much anyway should I buy fattier cuts so they will be more tender? Also I'm always thirsty and I can still drink a glass of Water pretty fast with no issues but my bariatric coach says I should only sip and not take big drinks. Why is that?? Thanks!!

I know that Medicare covers lapband, I dont know about Medicaid. Look around on this site,there are 7 hospitals in Illinois that are Medicare approved facilities.The hospital must be certified as a Center of Excellence. If you dont find your answer here call one of the hospitals and talk to their Bariatric Department and ask them. I know it is frustrating goodluck. Bariatric Surgery

My surgeon said while rny is the gold standard in bariatrics he also said the sleeve is a wonderful choice. Weightloss is up there quickly as with rny. If it were me I'd have the sleeve but nomination insurance won't take it. Welcome and you'll make the right choice!

Welcome to the lapband journey. I went to my first orientation meeting in October and by the end of December had finished jumping through all the hoops of clearances that both the bariatric program and/or my insurance required from me. I had a documented history of the weight with my doctor and weight watcher books showing I had been doing that for 6 months faithfully. Once they got the insurance submission in, it was back in about 2 weeks. Then it took 6 weeks to get on the surgery schedule. I had my surgery on March 17 and I've never regretted it. Still need to lose about another 60 lbs but its going slowly now. Mostly due to my own stubborness at wanting to eat 'easy' foods when I want comfort - even though I know better. The key for me is to keep trying and remember I never want to go back to where I was 140 lbs ago! Best wishes.

When checking out a local supplement store today I asked the owner if they carried any supplements for bariatric patients and he proceeded to tell me how I would regret the surgery ( I am scheduled for 11-26 ) and that I would be facing serious medical reprocussions in the future as I age and get older due to insufficient nutritional support and other various issues that weight loss surgery patients incur as they age...he stated that he felt compelled to ask me to reconsider the surgery and try again to get help from professionals such as a nutritionist and other scientifically based programs for weight loss. When I told him that I was going to have the surgery and I respected his opinion but my mind was made up, he continued to plead with me as if he was trying to save my life! I even felt raddled enough to reconsider for a brief second..I was just wondering if anyone has read any research on bariatric patients as they age. I am still having the surgery, just thought maybe someone out there might have come across this subject.