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Sleeved at KC Bariatric in November, best program ever!

Good morning, please understand this is the first time I have ever posted something anywhere. Also that I feel this is more of a vent than anything. I am 5’7” tall, large frame and have been obese since I was 5 months old (per my medical records). I was in WW in the 5th grade at 198lbs . My hw was 310, my goal is 150 In the fall of 2014 I went to see a dr about my back ( I have ddd, sciatica and a few more things wrong with it) but the dr told me he would not touch my back till I was under 200lbs. The dr assistant gave me the name of a pcp that might help me get control of my weight. I started seeing the pcp for my weight she was nice and seemed to understand my struggle. I talked to her about gastric bypass and she said we could try. I followed her instructions for the next 6months and talked to with a bariatric surgeon. My paperwork was submitted to Aetna but was denied because I did not lose enough weight during the 6months. I walked away angry and ashamed of myself. In the fall of 2015 I went back to the same pcp and asked for the diet pill qysima (sp?). I went from 270lbs to 207lbs in less than a yr. I was so happy I have only seen under 200lbs once, I was in military school and bulimic. When I ask to renew my prescription, my pcp told me no and I needed to learn to do it on my own. In 2016 my personal life went to s***. I was back up to 240lbs and smoking. In the fall of 2017 I went back to the same pcp and asked again to have my prescription renewed. Again she told me no and that she had managed to lose 20lbs all by herself that summer and that I just needed to learn self control and to eat less. I was angry, how dare she compare us. She is a tiny little thing to begin with already and was surprised she could find 20lbs to lose. By the time I got to the car I was crying and called my husband to complain. Let me just say this my husband is the most amazing person that have ever met. He is the reason that I never give up on myself and know that I am worth something. I had NO self esteems when we met. Around Christmas I went to see a new pcp for my back pain. He suggested the vsg and sent me to see a different bariatric surgeon than in 2014. That surgeon told me up front it will be hard to get insurance to approve it as I am a healthy fat person with only a BMI of 36. But is willing to try using my issues with my back. Well as of last Thursday I have finished Aetna Insurance-3 month (90 day) multidisciplinary diet. Now it is the waiting game as the dr office submits it, I think this is the hardest part so far. I feel that if I am denied again I will go to mexico to have the surgery. I must do something I can not live with the pain anymore. Thank you

Maybe it will help her to understand the difference between losing weight with bariatric surgery versus without a tool if you have her go with you to one of your appointments with the surgeon or even the nutritionist. So that she doesn’t get discouraged when you both begin your journey together. and maybe plan exercises to do together and goal gifts, such as when you both hit a goal, you get your nails done, but a new pair piece of clothing or see a movie etc. and make sure that you will both wait until the other hits their goal as well so you experience it together. Don’t feel guilty, you’re doing the best for you and your family.

Do you have room for me as a buddy? File me in the Sadder But Wiser drawer in the file cabinet. My little buddies I have finished my course perparations not once but twice. And how can this be? I've lived it and it still bewilders me. A short summation- late summer 2015 I first sought,bariatric surgery. My then insurance United Healthcare required 6 months of dietary consult and a record keep of all foods consumed. Downloaded. My Fitness Pal and we were off to the races. Finished all requirements except the nutritional/diatetic consult. 5 months into the 6month requirement, my job terminates and Goodbye United Healthcare. Attempted to Cobra it over, would have taken $700 of the $900 I got monthly,from Social Security, So with a heaviness in my heart, that was that. What I didn't know and was never told Medicare, my secondary insurance would pick,up the bill and their requirements were much less, the office this year claimed they were only waiting for,my to provide my numbers and surgery could have be scheduled, would have had it Feb/March 2016. Went on with my life, staying plump as a Thanksgiving Turkey, early,late Autumn,i. asked my PCP for some medical,assistance to lose weight, he prescibed me Phenteramine, a weight reduction drug. Took it faithfully all of last October 2017. Cut out carbs, reduced my,portion sizes, cut out sodas, yes all the right things. Went back,of the end of the month for a checkup, instead of a c weight loss I had packed on 30 more pounds onto my body. After a heart-felt WTF he suggested I return to the Baiatric Surgeonbin Columbus I had gone to before. And I started over again. My requirements were finished the third week of January 2018. Made sure everthing was in order and submitted to surgeon's office. They told me I would hear back 5-8 business days from them. So I sat and waited, first week,of February they were in the pile to be worked, second week of February, yes they were submitted and they were waiting to hear back, third week you just be patient, everything is being re reviewed and we'll get back to you. On February 20th my surgeon along with 2 partners had themselves a little meeting, they decided not to do my surgery, I was given the excuse that my psychological evaluation was,murky. This from a woman who had shone my hand, in the presence of,my adult son, told me to my face that I had passed everything perfectly and wished well with my upcoming surgery. In. employment circles this is called being S***Canned, I call it being kicked to the curb . Same basic thing! So I bawled my eyes out a few days, got up, dusted myself off, gave myself a pep talk in the mirror and set off to find another program. There are 2 other hospitals in Columbus with Bariatric programs, booked,time at their seminars in Early,March. I made application at OSU-Wexner Medical Center on March 9th. That program called me back within a week to have a 2 hour appointment with Staff Psychologist Dr Kramer on April 25th. Surely I will be given credit for Time Served, they do that for criminals and I'm surely a nicer person than them. If there are no extra things needing done I could have surgery in May, otherwise June/July. So,i qualify for your happy band of surgery-seekers. I am 5ft8in, 323 lbs and 72 years old. Don't worry, I'm in it to win it just like the rest of you, and you'll find I am old only in age not attitude. I can be just rotten and ornery,as the rest of You!!❤ Have a good evening and a wonderful day.😛

I had gastric sleeve surgery December 18th. I have lost 50 so far, but none the last two weeks. Have started really charting everything much more closely and using this to see where I may have gone off the path. Doing better now, but have been losing a lot of time charting my meals, weight, protein, carbs, calories, and exercise in a journal and looking up all the food info on my phone. Does anyone know of an app that makes keeping track of all of the above parameters faster that I can do on my phone? Would love suggestions! Maybe something designed for bariatric patients? Thanks for any info I can get.

You might try the revision forum here on BP or on other bariatric sites, as they may reach a more relevant audience. A couple of resources that I found useful when facing a similar prospect are: https://www.facebook.com/SupportGroupForPartialTotalGastrectomyPatients/ https://www.amazon.com/Art-Eating-Without-Stomach-Gastrectomy-ebook/dp/B00NQZRGV2/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1524198227&sr=1-1&keywords=dr+peter+thatcher

Do not go to Italy and only eat shakes and jerky, that would be heartbreaking and tragic. I say just order whatever you want and then eat whatever portion you feel like eating. The good thing about vacationing is that nobody knows you, so who cares if the waiter is horrified there's food left on the table? Tell every single one of them that you're both just getting over a stomach bug but HAD to try their food because you'd heard it was so good. And if you go somewhere and eat at the bar, they're less likely to flinch at small orders. Client meals are a minefield. There's only so long I can con people into going to tapas joints. I'm finding I have more success with soups than anything else, because the plate at least looks big most of the time. And I've also been known to say "I'm just ordering something light because I might have to get back to the office for a call" which is a filthy lie but takes the spotlight off. Basically I'm saying bariatric surgery has made me into an unabashed, gleeful liar.

He was less than professional. All he needed to say was let's get you back on track. I'm sorry your feeling hurt. I don't do any follow ups with my bariatric program. I get my check up and blood work up from my family doctor. The great thing is your not on your own. You can contact another bariatric program out of your area. The dietician can mail or email you the food plan instructions. Many people here on bariatric pal are willing to share their diet instructions for you to use. None of us are perfect. Many of us have had weight gain. Getting back on track can be done. You have our support.

I use the bariastic app and I love it. Even if I'm not putting the food in the right category, it keeps up with my protein and on a separate are it shows how much of my intake was protein, carbs, and fat together in a pie chart. They also have bariatric surgery friendly recipes. Sent from my Z983 using BariatricPal mobile app

Who did you go with. At St Luke's I had the gorgeous Dr. Sorenson lol. At KC Bariatric my surgeon is Dr. Brice Hamilton.

Does KC Bariatric require you to do a 3 or 6 month program before? My insurance does not require it but when I spoke to St. Luke's they said they require it.

I’m going to Kansas City Bariatric. I started at St Luke’s in 2016. But I left the job that was covering it.

I seen the dietician twice I seen the phycologist and was approved i attended 2 classes for Bariatric have 2 more to go see the surgeon next week wats happening next with insurance or test?

Yes and for the first time since 2014 that I was able to see a bariatric doctor today and I know I have been things I know shouldn’t be but at the same time instead of saying let’s get you back on track no I was told if I was your patient I would drop you because your not eating right your smoking your this your that. I was so hurt I had a complete melt down st the office because after 5 years someone finally would take my insurance so I can get my yearly check ups . All I wanted from this doctor was for to say your stomach issues sent because of the surgery and for him to take blood check my levels they good see ya next year.

I’m curious too! I’m looking into KC Bariatric in Lenexa.

It sucks to be in an environment where you feel unsupported. It’s a major reason for many addictive relapses, not just food. You have to use self care practices and while it may seem to them selfish it’s ok.....they are!....and you are worthy of having a say and choice in what you want in your life. I would suggest for the time being to eat separately. Stick to your Bariatric schedule and drink your meals when your supposed to. When they are settling down to eat take this opportunity to leave, take a walk, journal or scrapbook in your room, walk or brush your pet. Something repetitive that can be done nightly with a purpose of self care for yourself.

My insurance company will not cover any bariatric treatment, and thus I have been forced to self pay for my WLS. I looked into Dr Curry at Journey Lite Physicians in Cincinnati, OH, as he is the most affordable locally, but I still cannot pull $15000. I have started looking into WLS in Mexico and came across OCC and Dr. Ortiz. I am very impressed so far, and am ready to call for information, but wanted to get some recent experiences from those who been sleeved by Dr. Ortiz. Would love to hear your experiences. Thanks!

I don't think adding in a juice is a bad idea. I don't know that I could stick with it long term. Look up Dr. Vuong on Facebook, YouTube or Instagram. He's a bariatric surgeon that focuses a lot on nutrition. I'm (hopefully) attaching his entire book on "smoothies". Basically a mix of veggies and fruit that provide good nutrients and work for pre and post surgery. However he doesn't advise to only use these. You'll find a ton of video seminars he has about eating healthy. Healthy Green Smoothies.PDF

I had my sleeve done on the 10th and feeling pretty good and down 11 lbs from surgery day. Still sore at the larger incision site where they removed the stomach, but that is to be expected. So far, I have been able to keep up with my fluids and protein, but the shakes are so sweet now, that they have been harder to get down. I bought some of the soups and hot chocolate from the Bariatric Pal store with the extra protein and just got them in today, so that will be a nice change up. Hope everyone is doing well and to everyone that will be sleeved soon, I wish you all the best!

It can be done, as total gastrectomies are done for cancer and some other extreme gastric morbidities, and what is often done is they make a pouch out of part of the intestine where they join in the esophagus. There is apparently a substantial difference in recovery and adaptation time between a total gastrectomy and a partial gastrectomy, even with a marble sized pouch of stomach tissue - tying the esophagus directly into intestinal tissue seems to be a much bigger deal than taking the stomach tissue at the base of the esophagus and tying that into the intestine. As with any revision, particularly when dealing with potentially odd configurations, I would want to get a second opinion or two, as you aren't dealing with just a straightforward virgin bariatric procedure. A bariatric practice that is associated with a major cancer center would be a good place to start in finding good experience in such abnormal procedures. Good luck in working this out,

It looks pretty good - I will have to play with it more and try some things. So many of these sites, particularly those targeting bariatrics and weight loss make the mistake of confusing low carb, keto, or whatever the diet of the day is with low calorie or weight loss friendly, and they don't always go together, Most of these diet concepts make compromises to fit within their charter, so that low carb or gluten free recipes are often higher calorie than normal. This site seems to flag their recipes to these different diets so one can pick and choose what ones may fit whatever diet they are on.

Hi all! I am new to the Bariatric program and would love to make friends and connect with new people going through the same experience! Whose got Instagram to connect with one another? IG: Ggsprevsg

I love skinnytaste and have used her site for years when I was doing Weight Watchers. Her entire purpose is to create lower calorie versions of great dishes. But lower calorie doesn't always mean healthy or high protein. But once you're comfortable tracking your macros and can identify what fits in your daily goals, then you'll be able to take her recipes and tweak them to fit what you need. My favorite recipe of hers is the Asian Glazed Chicken. The challenge is finding a low cost bariatric friendly alternative to honey! Not an easy task!!

First of all! Congrats on the weight loss & taking the next step. My program was all protein shakes. There was liberties to add all sorts of things: skim milk, almond milk, coffee, oats, fruit, nuts, ect. I used Bariatric Advantage protein powder, because it was very low carb. Less than 5 carbs per shake. And I decided to only mix with water. Everything that I could have added would have added carbs and wouldn't have helped me achieve Ketosis. And ultimately, ketosis is what they want to see in order to shrink your liver. I lost 27lbs in my pre op diet. Now, I was a HIGH BMI, so it as to be expected that I lose more than most. That's another factor, its hard to compare your loss with others because everyone has a different BMI, and body makeup.

Hi there all, I've been lurking around here on the forums for a few weeks now. I'm just now going into my 4th week post-op and I can't help but keep thinking about what foods I'll be eating once I finish my transition into "normal" food again. I've learned a lot of great recipes from this website called Skinnytaste over the years. They taste amazing, full of healthy ingredients, and very low in calories in my opinion. However, I wanted to see what y'all think about it. You guys are the experts, I'm just a newbie looking for healthy recipes that I can depend on to lose weight, keep it off, and will work with my new stomach. In addition, I noticed that a lot of you don't eat bread, pasta, or rice much at all. Honestly this scares me a bit. I grew up in a Puerto Rican household and I love rice. Now, I'm not saying I'll eat it everyday but I'd hate to be so limited. Skinnytaste has tons of pasta recipes, rice....now she does have some amazing alternatives like her zuchinni lasagna which is awesome but I would hate to give up those items completely. Anyways I just wanted to share the website on here in case it does appeal to anyone and its post-bariatric surgery approved. Feel free to share any other recipe websites or books that have helped y'all too.