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Hey there, I am so sorry you had this experience. As well as all of those who have replied to your comment. I am a dietitian, who actually had the bariatric sleeve procedure. I have both clinical and experiential knowledge. I am happy to help. :)

I love this article, it says it all. http://www.carolinasurgical.com/life-after-bariatric-surgery/i-am-afraid-of-my-pouch-stretching-after-bariatric-surgery/

Some surgeons will perform bariatric surgery on patients with BMIs greater than 60 and others won't take the risk. It depends on the surgeon in question. If you're willing to do medical tourism, virtually all of the surgeons in Mexico will perform surgery on you without requiring you to lose weight first. 10,000+ Americans travel to Mexico for bariatric surgery each year to avoid the red tape and waiting required by insurance companies and U.S.-based surgeons.

Hello Bariatric family. Do you weigh your solid/soft food on a scale? Or are you using a volume method and using a measuring cup to measure ounces? It seems one way will be more food than the other. I am pre-op and scheduled for Bypass surgery this Wednesday August 7th. Thanks in advance.

Thanks for your reply. I'm not sure why I am afraid to call my insurance. I just e-mailed them instead. They reply within 24 hours so I guess that will have to be fast enough. My insurance is through Aetna (Choice POS II) and I'm in Phoenix, Arizona. I was able to find some info on various bariatric groups around here and one of the groups said this: Aetna - covers the band and has worked well with surgeons and policy holders. There are some policies that do not cover the band. For Aetna HMO patients the HMO requires that you obtain a referral in order to see us in consultation.. For other insurance carriers, it specifically said they require a certain # years of history. So, since this wasn't mentioned for Aetna, maybe they don't require it here. Interesting that it varies from state to state and the rqmts are all over the place. Oh well, I should have more info tomorrow and then can start talking to my PCP for a referral. The sad thing is that if I'm denied, I know I'll EVENTUALLY qualify. I hate to sound so negative, but I've watched my mom deal w/her obesity her entire life and hasn't ever been able to successfully lose and keep off weight until after lapband surgery she had one year ago.

try lookin for a different insurance company..does ur ins cover any other bariatric surgery?? u might wanna look into that? i had to switch companies when i found out aetna didnt pay for my surgery so i went with personal choice which covers it in philadelphia..also keystone cover it 2 and they both have plans for people to pay on there own...good luck

I've heard elsewhere that some insurance companies do not require the 6 month supervised diet if you go to a bariatric center of excellence. Does anyone know anything about this? I have BCBS of Tx- TRS Active Care (teacher insurance). I do know that they have centers of excellence, but I don't know if this applies. I call them almost every day with more questions. I just thought I'd put it out here and see if anyone knew anything.

When I google, the following turns up at a Medicare site: Certain bariatric surgery procedures for treatment of co-morbidities associated with morbid obesity are considered reasonable and necessary under the Social Security Act (Section1862(a)(1)(A)) if the following conditions are satisfied: 1. The Medicare beneficiary: Has a body-mass index (BMI) > 35, Has at least one co-morbidity related to obesity (such as diabetes or hypertension), and Has been previously unsuccessful with medical treatment for obesity. 2. The Procedure is performed in an approved facility listed at Bariatric Surgery on the CMS website.

We always focus our anger and hatred on the insurance company, but I've come to understand that it is ultimately the employers choices that affect WLS. Insurance money is collected from the employee's wages and pooled and someone like Aetna or BCBS, etc. is contracted to MANAGE and disperse the funds according to how the employer sees fit. I was denied four times -- on the 5th (and final) try my WLSurgeon requested that someone specializing in bariatric surgery look at my file. I had approval in 3 days! Six months out I've lost a total of 65 lbs and am off of EIGHT meds I would've been on for life. The meds alone would have totalled over $5K just for MY co-pay, not sure what it would cost the insurance. They'll end up saving money on me now that I'm banded. Employers need to be made aware the healthy benefits of WLS...I'm sure most of them still look at it as cosmetic.

Well, like I mentioned before, it's not really UHC that I ended up fighting, it's my employer. I haven't had to use the insurance for much else except for all the testing required for the band so I haven't had to really really fight UHC yet...and hopefully dont have to. But I hear everywhere that UHC is usually the quickest approval for bariatric surgeries. The only thing getting in the way for me way is me being overweight hasn't caused any health problems yet. In a way thats good and in a way that's bad I guess... ..good luck with your son and UHC... I'm sure everything will work out in the end for ya :blushing:

Hello, I was wondering if anyone has come across something like my situation. My insurance is bcbsnj and I did some searching on the website for bariatric services. The have 2 hospitals that are approved for the Bariatric surgery. But they are in NJ and Delaware. So what does that mean to someone who lives in Florida? I have not contacted the ins yet but I will very soon. I am anxious to learn what the reason would be if they were to tell me that it is not covered in FL. Anyone with any ideas? TIA, Gina:confused:

I work for Verizon Wireless and I was approved the first time I applied. I have a high BMI w/no co-morbidities. Do you have a case manager thru Cigna? They should guide you through everything step by step. If you are employed by VZW then you would have needed to start the 6 month pre-op diet, have a case manager, and visit a seminar prior to 12/31/07. They no longer cover bariatric surgery and the only way to be approved is if you started the whole process in 2007. You also should meet with a nutritionist, have a psyc evaluation, and surgeon consult during your 6 month PCP monitored program. My surgeons office submitted for approval on 4/25 and I received the ok on 5/20. Good luck!!

eyespy.. Im sry that this happened to you also. Really its been so hard to keep going and the stress of all these apointments has been very hard. My dad was only 44 and it was sudden. I took and started a double 6 month diet one with the nutritionist at my bariatric center and one with my dr. because I did not want to be denied. I would really like to get a new doctor like some of yall mentioned but its time to file with my insurance in about 2 weeks. And this doctor I have to drive 1 1/2 hrs to get to the rest are around 4 hrs or more. I live in louisiana. I called a few other doctors but really they dont sound any better. lol just great right. My center is a 5 star bariactric center and blah blah blah.. I guess they just expect me to never ask any questions. I call and they hate to return my calls. My doctor is kinda rude.. lol I talked to some other who used my doctor on this site and they say thats just his personallity. So I dont know if they can just file get me approved and have me on my way I will be happy lol :thumbup:

Has anyone who has been banded through Tricare (Triwest) been approved for the surgery without hypertension or diabetes as comorbidities? I am 100lbs overweight with a BMI just over 40%. But I do not have high blood pressure, diabetes, or high cholesterol (as far as I know...waiting on lab results). My TSH/T-4 levels are also WNL. The only health issues I can really relate to being a fatty are depression, shortness of breath with moderate exertion (stairs kill me), and some acid reflux. But only the depression is documented. The other stuff I just deal with and/or treat with over the counter medications. I recieved the referral to see a bariatric surgeon and I am attending the required seminar next weekend. I am just so worried about being denied because I don't have HTN, DMI or II, hypthyroid, or hyperlipidemia. I've tried weight watchers, thedailyplate.com, increased exercise with portion control, and phentermine. The only one I've had any success with is phentermine but it caused my blood pressure to increase and chest pain, which was no longer a healthy way to lose weight. There's also been lipovoxx, avakar, and alli that have also failed. I can only seem to lose 10 pounds before hitting a plateau I can't get around and then gaining it back. So....just wondering if anyone else had been approved without the "traditional" comorbidities.

I currently have Cigna Insurance and was told by Customer Service that my policy does not have any coverage for bariatric procedures. :thumbup: I work for the school here in Texas and am considering switching from my husbands insurance to TRS Active Care 3. According to the enrollment guide I am looking at they cover Lap Band surgery, but I don't know if I would qualify immediately or if I would have to wait some extended amount of time. I was thinking I could go ahead and start with the 6 month diet/Drs. visits etc but just wondered if switching Insurance carriers at an extra 175.00 a month would be worth it. Any thoughts? Thanks so much.:ohmy:

Hi All, I am back! I am having my Lapband removed. The port has been an issue. I’m having the band removed and vertical sleeve revision on the same day, February 2, 2023. I have been dealing with Fibromyalgia since 2014 and take three different medications for it. The meds just for my fibromyalgia number 12 throughout the day. If I don’t take these fibromyalgia meds I cannot get up out of bed and function. And I work full time. I asked my Bariatric doctor can I still take my meds right after surgery and he said I could with liquid. 😱 Those 12 fibromyalgia pills, doesn’t include all the other meds I am on and the pain pills he will prescribe. Some of the pills cannot be crushed and some cannot even be taken with food. I feel like I am going to have an issue with all the meds and fluids, and God help me me if I have any strictures. I take a total of 15 pills a day, so I would like to hear from people who had a vertical sleeve and lots of pills/meds they had to take everyday during the first four weeks of their surgery. Thanks! TQ

Ok just trying to help. I have always paid my bills on time and assumed you would too. Just wanted you to know I did NOT mean to imply that you could get out of paying the bill. Personally I've got cash ready for when the hospital bills me; I had thought I'd be self pay, so I'm kind of in a reverse situation from yours. They didn't make me pay anything up front except my $150 deductible. I'll owe around 1500 when they get around to billing me for it; since they didn't ask me to pay up front for my bariatric surgery, I'd hoped that a similar situation for you might give you time to gather the funds. Sorry if I made it sound like you should not pay; that was never my intention. That's stealing.

I'm sorry that some people seem to have gotten their feelings hurt about the "Newbies never change" comment. Personally, I saw it as humor. The Newbies on the site on any given day are all too similar the the Newbies that were on the site a week ago, a month ago, a year ago, several years ago, etc., they're just not the same individuals each time. As people are on this site for a while, they find the tools, start haunting particular subgroups and so forth.But when they're new, and therefor a Newbie, that haven't had that time yet. So yes, Newbies always seem to have the same questions, fears, and so forth AND they don't yet know how to find the 10,000 other times the same thought, feeling, question was expressed and so post it for the 10,001 time. Same is true most places. New people, because they're new, make the same mistakes that countless new people before them have made. When you've been around for a while it can get frustrating. But I offer this thought from various 12 Step rooms, "It is the newbies, with their fresh fears and pains, that remind us how far we have come and how easily we could go back there." Granted, it takes a bit of work to put a few hundred pounds BACK on after WLS, but it is by no means impossible, or even uncommon. I am starting my 5th or 6th journey towards WLS over the last 10 years. This is the second time with Bariatric Pal on my list of tools. And while I have not done it -yet-, I think I will try to gather a collection of links with answers to some of the more repetitive questions and put them in my signature. And THIS thread will be the first. (Just as soon as I remember how to edit my signature. <blushes>)

Feeling renewed! I'm 8 days post op and was feeling discouraged last couple days with all the changes. I was 246 surgery date 6/3... Weighed myself at gym today 8 days later and it says 133!!!!! I'm still in shock! Brought tears to my eyes! That's 13 lbs in a week and over 22 in last few weeks!!!!! Yeah results

Hello all! God Bless everyone on the Forums. My first post! 3rd day post op Gastric Bypass by Dr Green at Plaza Hospital in Fort Worth, Hospital. Feeling alot better than I did yesterday or the day before! This Surgery is not for the faint of heart! I think the worst experience for me was the wait to eat or drink anything for 35 hours at the hospital...then having the barium swallow test sooo weak and the barium to be the first thing I tasted for that length of time. It tasted like terrible horrible chemical stuff and it had no flavor to it to hide it at all! Then the Radiologist just told me to chug the 30 ml...I could have pucked at him! With much protest and me telling him I just had a Gastric Bypass, he told me to do it anyway. I was NOT Amused!!! Walking at the hospital as weak as I felt was another joy. High on Morphine and walking with a On-Q Bupivacaine pump around my neck attached to my belly and coming from under my gown, and rolling an IV going 150 ml/hr w/a Hespan gtt at 25ml/hr...needless to say I looked like a walking zombie. And the gown was 2 sizes too big...like they only have 2 sizes for bariatric patients...normal and T-Rex size and I kept getting the T-Rex size. My boobs were half coming out! Another thing is the first Protein push-up I got in the hospital sucked butt! It was funny...here I was like okay I finally get something to eat...so I take a sip of the protein cherry stuff...and I almost barffed! Tasted TERRIBLE! Brrr! Blah! And on the package it said new improved taste...like from what??? Dog poop! There was many good points of post-op...like not having to work as a nurse or be at work...just at another hospital....and I got to be the patient for a change! Lets just say...I felt scared...and even at night, I was reassured when someone came in to check on me because I felt like I was dying, even when I knew I wasn't. I had alot of Residents following my Doctor, so I was reassured by that too. That was a great gift! Another thing is, Nurses need to check their patients more...they are supposed to check them once an hour during the day and every 2 hours at night, but I didn't get any of that...like I said, the doctors checked on me more often. I know this is like that in all hospitals...and I am guilty of being one of those nurses at work sometimes...but don't do it to post-op patients... Only check on the idiot with a boil on his butt twice in 8 hours for his meds...not the post-op patient ok!!! Ok, enough said for now...going to watch TV with my Hubby....probably NCIS or something. Love you all! Nicky :wub:

I’ve been reading books and watching YouTube videos by Dr Vuong. He’s a Bariatric surgeon who gives information about every stage of the process. His book ‘Gastric Sleeve Success’ was very informative; but I love his videos! He’s given me much more information than my dietician and he tells it to you straight... no fluff.

Calories for the First Six Months Immediately after surgery, your doctor will place you on a liquid meal plan, which helps your stomach heal from surgery. You gradually progress to pureed and soft foods before eating solid foods and establishing a normal bariatric meal plan. Once you're able to eat solid foods, the typical gastric bypass meal plan for the first six months consists of three small meals and two snacks for a total of between 1,000 and 1,300 calories per day. Calorie Breakdown The goal of your post-surgery meal plan is to get enough nutrients while adjusting to the smaller size of your stomach. Aim to balance each meal with protein and vegetables or fruit and get at about 50 grams of protein daily. If you're following a 1,000- to 1,300-calorie post-surgery meal plan a good goal is to have two snacks contain 100 to 150 calories each. Based on the calorie range of this plan, your three main meals contain roughly 250 to 350 calories each.

I work in the health industry, and this article came across my desk today... it's an opportunity for you, the patient, speak up regarding their proposal to NOT cover surgery for patients whose BMI's are under 35 who are dealing with diabetes. Their argument is that it won't make a dramatic difference in a person's health. CMS Proposes Covering Bariatric Surgery to Treat Diabetes Written by Stephanie Wasek Monday, 17 November 2008 After an extensive evidence review, CMS has announced a proposal to revise its existing coverage policy for bariatric surgery to include type 2 diabetes as one of the co-morbidities CMS would consider in determining whether bariatric surgery would be covered for a Medicare beneficiary who is morbidly obese (an individual with a BMI of at least 35 is considered morbidly obese). CMS is also proposing to not cover bariatric surgery when it is used to treat type 2 diabetes in a beneficiary with a BMI below 35. In 2006, CMS expanded coverage of bariatric surgery for Medicare beneficiaries who receive one of four procedures — gastric bypass, open and laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding, and open and laparoscopic biliopancreatic diversion with duodenal switch — in bariatric centers of excellence, as certified by the American College of Surgeons or the American Society for Bariatric Surgery, and as reported on the Medicare coverage Web site. To be considered for coverage, Medicare beneficiaries must have a BMI of 35 or higher and must have exhibited a serious health condition in addition to morbid obesity, such as hypertension, coronary artery disease, or osteoarthritis. Type 2 Diabetes would join the list of serious health conditions. However, after "a careful review of the medical evidence available on bariatric surgery," CMS is also proposing to not cover bariatric surgery for patients who do not meet the definition of morbid obesity, even if they do have type 2 diabetes. "While recent medical reports claimed that bariatric surgery may be helpful for these patients, CMS did not find convincing medical evidence that bariatric surgery improved health outcomes for non-morbidly obese individuals," says the agency. CMS is seeking comments from the public about this evidence and its implications for coverage, and about which groups of patients should be covered for this surgery. Public comments may be submitted directly to CMS's Coverage Web site for 30 days from the Nov. 17 posting of the proposed decision memorandum. CMS will issue a final decision memorandum within 90 days of the proposed decision. Read the proposed decision memorandum and submit comments at the CMS Coverage Web site.

You can also get special bariatric food that is made to be higher in protein and lower in carbs than the regular versions. You can get protein pancake mix, hot chocolate, fruit flavored drinks, sloppy joe mix, soups, etc.

CNN REPORTS THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE PROOF THAT Gastric Bypass Lowers Risk of Death TIME MAGAZINE AUGUST 22, 2007 By Sora Song Whether one regards bariatric surgery — last-resort weight-loss operations such as gastric bypass and stomach stapling — as an essential treatment for obesity or as a failure of the fat person's will, the fact is, it works. Studies have shown that after surgery, patients often lose 50% or more of their excess weight — and keep it off — and symptoms of obesity-related conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and sleep apnea are improved or eliminated altogether. Now, two new studies in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) show another long-term benefit: a lower risk of death. The larger of the two studies — the largest of its kind — led by researchers at the University of Utah School of Medicine, looked specifically at gastric bypass surgery, also known as Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, which accounts for 80% of all bariatric surgeries in the U.S. The operation involves creating a small walnut-size pouch at the top of the stomach, which is then stapled off and connected to the small intestine lower down than usual; the result is that patients can eat only an ounce of food at a time, and the food bypasses most of the stomach and the top part of the intestine, limiting the number of calories the body absorbs. In the Utah study, researchers compiled data on 15,850 severely obese people, half of whom had undergone gastric bypass surgery between 1984 and 2002, and half who were from the general population and had had no surgical intervention for obesity. Overall, researchers found, the surgery patients were 40% less likely to die from any cause during a mean 7 years of follow-up, compared with the obese controls. What's more, the mortality rate attributable to obesity-related disease was 52% lower on the whole in the surgery group: after gastric bypass, patients were 92% less likely to die from diabetes, 59% less likely to die from coronary artery disease, and 60% less likely to be killed by cancer. Results like these have got some doctors intrigued enough to start thinking about bariatric surgery as a treatment for conditions other than obesity —especially diabetes. A growing body of research suggests that the surgery may reverse the disease, a potential solution that could help some 20 million American diabetics. Though the current NEJM study did not specifically study the impact of bariatric surgery on diabetes, it did reveal a 92% reduced risk of death from the disease in surgery patients —findings that support what has been emerging in other experiments. "In more than 80% of patients who are severely obese and have diabetes and then have gastric bypass surgery, the diabetes is cured," says Ted Adams, professor of cardiovascular genetics at the University of Utah School of Medicine and lead author of the new study. "The interesting thing is that the resolution of diabetes happens within a few weeks following surgery, long before patients have lost their weight." Like some other researchers in the field, Adams believes that the surgery triggers other biological mechanisms, separate from weight loss — perhaps an interruption of a crucial biochemical pathway or a change in the release of certain hormones in the stomach or small intestine — that may have powerful effects on diabetes. "The gastric-bypass patient is really providing a source of intriguing research related to all kinds of disease treatment as well as weight gain and weight loss," says Adams. The second study, led by researchers at Gothenburg University in Sweden, involved 4,047 obese volunteers, 2,010 who underwent some form of bariatric surgery and 2,037 who received conventional obesity treatment, including lifestyle intervention, behavior modification or no treatment at all. Ten years after surgery, researchers report, the bariatric surgery patients had lost more weight and had a 24% lower risk of death than the comparison group. Though the overall number of subjects in this study is much smaller than the first, the results confirm general benefits of bariatric surgery, and gastric bypass in particular: after 10 years, bypass patients had maintained a 25% weight loss, compared to a 16% loss in patients who had stomach stapling, and 14% in those who underwent a banding procedure. In both studies, surgery patients had an overall lowered risk of death, but an interesting finding in the Utah study shows that these patients were 58% more likely to die from other causes, such as suicide and accidents. The authors speculate that as people lose weight and become more active, they also become more prone to accidents, which may up their risk of death. Surgery patients may also have pre-existing psychological problems — a history of abuse, perhaps — that can't be resolved by losing weight. "There have been some studies reporting that following bariatric surgery, some individuals may be more prone to chemical dependency, such as increased alcohol use," says Adams. "There's some speculation that certain addictive behaviors that are in place before the surgery — with food, for example — are transferred to alcohol or another addictive behavior." "Hopefully this research will stimulate additional evaluation of what the optimal approach is for evaluating candidates for this surgery," says Adams. "I think we should never lose track of the importance of individual evaluation of benefits and risks." Last year, an estimated 177,600 patients underwent bariatric surgery, a figure that's likely to grow as Americans get fatter and fatter. Though modern surgery techniques have become more sophisticated, less invasive and safer than in the past, the bariatric procedure still carries all the risks of any other operation. Patients have a .5% to 1% chance of death. The risk of gallstones goes up. Sometimes a second surgery is necessary. And all patients must be careful to make up for Vitamin and mineral deficiencies. The surgery isn't for everyone; current guidelines recommend it as a last resort, only for the morbidly obese who have a BMI of 40 and higher, or for the obese with a BMI of 35 and higher plus a serious weight-related illness like diabetes or hypertension. This should help. Gary Viscio Viscio Law and The Obesity Law Center - Welcome