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I just realized I should have suggested you calling Melissa Webb,RN and bariatric coordinator for Mt. Carmel and share your concerns with her too. I found her very good at listening to my concerns. I got her voicemail when I called but she did call me back the same day or next day and spent time talking with me and then had the office manager from Mid Ohio Surgical Associates call me to talk with me the next day when I was trying to get through all the insurance approvals process.

Tonight was the Mt. Carmel Bariatric Support Group meeting at 6:30 pm and I was going to hang out at work and then go but I got to 5pm after working a full day after the holiday weekend and just couldn't talk myself into staying to work another hour! Wanted to get home and enjoy the sunny evening. Did anyone else go? How was it? I think the topic was on Self Esteem which I sure needed but maybe next month. So far I'm up to 2-5 minutes at a time on the bike I got over the weekend but it really is exercise more than walking and I didn't realize that it was so aerobic - I'm huffing and puffing for breath and my heart is a beating good more so than tiring out my legs or knees. I bet my orthopedic doc who did my April surgery on my knee would be surprised to hear me trying this! Hope everyone is having a great summer.

Hi Columbus lapbanders. I'm a week out now from BR surgery and doing great. Back to work Monday May 3. There is a Mt. Carmel Bariatric Fashion Show at Tuttle Crossing Mall on May 1 at 2pm. I'm planning to attend to support our Mt. Carmel bandster Cindy who will be in the show.

Dozy: You didn't deserve to have this happen. My heart go's out to you and your family. And for a speedy recovery. We will listen if you have more to share. Renewed hope: Congrats on the "twins". God has blessed you. PM me for tips on raising 2 babies -- hugs. Snappy: I wasn't on the computer for a few days. Glad you did so well on surgery, proud of you. Your kids & mine are very close, how cool. Sorry everyone on not logging on. I've been stuggling with single-parenthood and an exhusband who is denying support for the boys. My challenge of late has been paying bills and asking for donated food to make ends meet. Also, my youngest needed his flu shot for his heart condition and we waited all morning and my baby just melted down when the moment arrived :sick I spent the rest of the day easing his broken heart and mine as well. On Saturday my rent was raised $75. and it has taken a few days to rally this newest situation. God is in the plan.... always. Anywhoo, I wanted to tell you all my trip to meet Kaliah Ali and the Moment of Truth tour was WONDERFUL. Those attending the seminar received a free book and autograph and I got to speak just a few words to this gal who lost over 100lbs with the same surgery that I had. I think I'm gonna make it and it was the boost that I needed. I am almost finished reading Kaliah's book and I do recommend it. She honestly tells about growing up without her dad and being a single parent also. I could relate to being the fat kid in class and thanked her for sharing. So, go get the book and give it to yourself for Christmas! Hugs, gotta go pick up kids -- bye!

Hi! I have a huge question! I am trying to start my wls process and get insurance verification. I currently have Molina Marketplace and it clearly says in the policy that it does not cover bariatric surgery. My question is... If it clearly says that is there anyway because of my health that they would overturn it and decide to cover it? Also what insurance companies do you guys have? I am trying to find an insurance that will cover me ???? even if i have to buy a seperate policy. Please help!

I am done 80 pounds, I need to beef up the proiten a bit more...Next Friday I get to go to my very first bariatric dance. I got my dress bought, gonna get my hair done...so excited....I will meet people in my area that have gone through the same things as me so it should be really fun!

You have all kinds of support here. Even though I had tons of family support it was me who was telling myself I would fail this time because I had in the past. I second guessed myself right up until the second they sedated me on the way to surgery. But guess what, I didn't fail and you won't either, because this time there will be something different to help you succeed, and that is your bariatric surgery. This will provide you with a powerful tool to succeed. You will have built-in portion control, which is something no other weightloss program has been able to give you. You will start to see that weight coming off which in turn will inspire you to continue to follow your program and keep succeeding. You will start to have that self image and confidence improve, and soon you will be able to do anything you set your mind to. Have confidence in yourself because you will succeed. The first step is showing up for surgery despite how scared you are you may fail. We are here to back you up. Good luck!!!

@@My Bariatric Life.... My insurance won't pay. I have already been turned down twice. :-( Had i knew then what i know now i would have had it at the same time as the TT. But so many people said how "painful" the TT was and i back out... :-( But we live and learn... My TT was pretty pain-free... I slept in my recliner the first week, started walking as soon as i could and was back at work with in two weeks. But then again, im no stranger to surgery. 2 c-sections, gallbladder, hysterectomy, WLS... i also have a high tolerance for pain...thank god

I have a legitimate question, please? Speaking as a therapist and a RNY vet. What is it about taking away the supervised program that is attractive to those of you that are seeking surgery? Is it that it takes away one of the multiple hoops we already have to jump through or is it that it shortens the length of time before scheduling surgery? The biggest reason I ask is because it seems kind of scary for me because so many folks I work with (and folks here, too) are already saying that they felt so unprepared for life after surgery, I'm afraid that shortening the timeframes even more will make it even worse. So much of the medically supervised time should be for the "pre-work." I just really worry that this is a secret way for insurance to come back later and say "see, this bariatric surgery thing isn't working. All these people are gaining their weight back. We should stop covering it." I know, I know - it sounds like a conspiracy theory, but I deal with insurance companies not wanting to pay for services so often (3 sessions after a suicide attempt? Sure, that'll be plenty! [emoji849]), it just wouldn't surprise me. 🤷‍♀️ ~SW: 278 CW: 165~ RNY 1/5/2005 "What got you here won't get you there."

OMG! My new insurance plan starting in Jan 2019 is Anthem Blue Cross Texas. I know bariatric is covered in my policy and there was literally nothing else mentioned for requirements in the EOC aside the surgery needing to be medically necessary and performed at a BDCSC facility. This is awesome news!!! Thanks for sharing!

Bahahaha "circling the drain" Girl, I have nothing figured out...at least not in the bariatric world LOL

Yeah, most likely LOL I tend to do that I texted back and forth with the girl last Friday afternoon. She seems really cool. They gave me a 53 page pdf about "Eating to succeed with Weight Loss after Bariatric Surgery". Apparently we discuss this packet over the course of the next 5 months. Each of the dietician visits are 1hr 15min video chats. The first visit is today so I guess I'll see how it goes.

This past Monday night's Mt. Carmel Bariatric Support Group monthly meeting was titled "Chat with Choban" and it was super. It really helped me to get to know Dr. Choban as a person as well as the respect I already had for her as a terrific bariatric surgeon. Some notes I thought I'd share included: I think it was Cindy who asked her "What got you into bariatrics as a specialty in the field of medicine?" and it was crazy because I was going to ask the exact same question to see if she had ever struggled with weight or had a family member that did or what got her going in the career direction she now excels at. Her answer was that both her and her husband were finishing their medical residency work and both were in the Navy or some branch of the military and thought they'd be able to do some medical work for the military and then get into practice later and it turned out that her husband got shipped overseas on a Navy ship for an extended time and she ended up a year ahead of him finishing medical residency so she ended up applying to work in research in the nutrition field for a year and fell in love with that and later got into surgery with nutrition research as a specialty, got invited to help with the FDA research on the Allergan Lapband, and found her way into bariatric surgery. She said she gets asked about why bariatrics and she said its because I work with patients who are incredibly grateful that I've given them their life back. WOW. She mentioned she is a pretty dedicated exercise person herself, setting an example for us, and says she tries to get at least 30 min of exercise in a day and its often at home where she can make sure she gets it in rather than going to a gym. She is a busy mom of two teen boys I think about 16 and 18 years old plus being a busy surgeon. We asked different questions about medical care for us as patients as well and one of the ones I struggle with is the subject of gas or flatulence and I know others do too. She indicated it is directly related to the amount of fat in our diet, that some of us are just less tolerant of fat absorption and that we should shoot to keep it under 30g of fat in a day when possible. Also, a sign you are eating more fat than you can absorb, besides the gas, is that your stools (poop) will float when you go to the bathroom because fat floats and what is left over at the end of digestion has to still come out. Anyway, I looked at my own food journals and I'm finding it pretty hard to stay under 30 grams of fat in a day. I do good and then it seems one thing blows me out of the water but at least I know something to try. She mentioned Beano as an option too and I think most of us know about that. I asked her a question about my eating habits at 11+ months out that when I haven't eaten for awhile and I do eat, in about 2-3 bites sometimes, I am so full I have to stop, give myself a few minutes for my body to realize I've started eating, and then continue on eating very slowly in small bites in order to finish my meal. She challenged me to look at my portion of food and make sure I'm not trying to eat more by taking more time to eat it (a way of eating around the band) but on the other hand, if I haven't eaten enough calories and enough protein, to then just take my time eating to get in the right nutritional content. She really emphasized again trying to eat solid lean proteins and veggies/fruits rather than rely on smoothies because you can eat that faster. She said you'll be much more satisfied with 'real' food and I believe that. She said beware of how many calories you can consume with smoothies. Last, they had the Allergan lapband account rep there his name is Dave Corey, and he demonstrated the My Lapband site info that you can get to off Mt. Carmel's website and they have a program now where we get free access to the full version of FitDay.com without the advertising and pop-ups so if anybody is looking to be able to have a good tracking mechanism of goals, exercise, diet, etc. go to lapband.com website. I think you put in what hospital and surgeon you are working with and that gets you a registered account and then you are off and running. I started this and then switched and use a different food and exercise tracker now. Okay, my last thing to share is Dr. Choban is a Quilter -- my favorite thing too. So she gets an extra ++ in my book just for that besides being a great surgeon. Take care. K

Mt. Carmel's Fashion Show for its bariatric patients. Come on down and support our other Mt. Carmel WLS friends! http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f56/annual-bariatric-style-show-mt-carmel-program-columbus-92046/#post1198501

I was accepted into SSF Kaiser Bariatrics program the beginning of August 2013 and, after 3 nutrition classes, sleeved on October 3rd 2013. Every doctor there is a little different, but I had no presurgery liquid diet, but did follow their 1200 calorie food plan for 6 weeks before surgery losing 19 lbs. My surgeon was Dr. David Lee. The approval process was very fast and I have been very happy with my surgery and the care provided by Kaiser.

I may have said this in the other Christian bandster thread but when I was thinking about the band and if it was the right thing to do my sil who had gastric bypass said she felt that the scripture about if your hand offends you cut it off, if your eye offends you pluck it out gave her peace. Her stomach was offending her so she did what she had to. As for me, I prayed about it, started researching bypass surgery and found out about the lapband (I think it was the Lord) then I tried to get it done with my dh's insurance and they said absolutely no bariatric surgery. So I prayed some more. I was able to pick up insurance at my job, I qualified and it paid 100%. I feel it was God the whole time. He just kept opening doors. I feel very blessed to have the band.

BinaryMan- I am not self pay so I cannot be completely sure, but I know I have seen people on LBT that are self pay that say they go offices closer to them for about 100 a visit, for me I only get a fill once a month so if it was 100 each time that would be almost half what they are charging. You might want to check into maybe a hospital local to you that does Bariatric Surgery for their insureds; they might be able to take a self pay.

I think she works out of Kim Bariatric too, as she did my endoscopy recently, and I'm with Dr. Holden. Dr. Hien Le?That's the group I am with. When is your surgery or have you already had it? Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App Sept. 2, 2016 , I'm post op day 34. I feel great btw. Checked in at 5 am, out by 4 pm. Out of it for Day 1 and 2 (sleeping), and from day 3 on, it's been an easy recovery. Knock on balsa wood haha. Congrats!! That is awesome! I hope to have mine sometime in November. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Which surgeon did you use in Denton? Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App I am using Dr. Le at Kim Bariatric in Frisco. I don't have my surgery date yet. Just waiting for insurance. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App Is this the same dr lee that's in Denton? Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App I don't think she has another practice she works with. I could be completely wrong though. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

When I had my sleep study, the technician said the same thing to me. Then she turned around and recommended "diet and exercise." SMH... It really takes alot of nerve to feel you know what is best for someone else! Wow.....I would have wanted to walk out and go elsewhere. The other thing that gets me riled up is when people assume we haven't researched or thought long and hard about the decision to have bariatric surgery. I have on the other hand been pleasantly surprised this week that I told someone I had previously said I wouldn't tell because I thought she would be judgmental and she couldn't have been nicer about it!

I've been in a bariatric program since May. Got everything done on my checklist....one problem ; not making weight. They have you do south beach diet. O.k. been doing that since January. Losing 1-2#/month. My God , this will take forever. Have to loose 14#. So frustrating. I've always lost or maintained, can I get credit for that?? Lol. Sent from my SM-G930V using BariatricPal mobile app

Here's the thing. I don't find value in not receiving nutritionist guidance from your surgeons office. On so many boards I see what am I supposed to eat questions. Well where was the guidance from your bariatric clinic Sent from my moto e5 play using BariatricPal mobile app

I won't be surprised if most doctors and hospitals still have their own "bariatric program" They'll probably be similar in length just to stay competitive. Ultimately a lot of customers/patients are going to be looking at going to whatever place can get them to surgery day the quickest.

I have been told that extended release medications can work differently after any bariatric surgery, but talk to your provider and your surgeon. There are lots of options: you might be able to keep taking it if you find it still works, you might need to switch to something you have to take a few times during the day.

For those local to the Columbus area, I'll be presenting at the January Mt. Carmel Support Group on Scrapbooking our Weight Loss Journey. This is held at Mt. Carmel West Hospital at 6pm. PM me for more details. My agenda for January 5th for my presentation is: Why I chose to do this? How to get Started Photo Albums & Photo books Scrapbooks – Traditional & Digital Using your Computer to Capture Memories Topics to Consider for Pages in your Book Also: I'm hosting a Scrapbooking party/demo for our bariatric support group but I'm inviting others outside Mt. Carmel's program to join if they'd like. Who: SpecialK is contact point, PM me through Lapbandtalk for more details and RSVPs. •What: Learn how to make a photo album or scrapbook of your weight loss journey with Traditional or Digital scrapbooking on online photobook processes. •Where: Westerville Christian Church, Room 131, 431 E. College Ave, Westerville, OH 43081 –Directions •When: January 10, 2009 10am – 2pm •What to Bring: Basic supplies – see handout or PM me to get one sent to you. &&&& BYO Healthy Snacks. Basic Supplies (examples) Photos Logos, cartoons, slogans, pictures that represent our timeline or events that marked your progress Paper, Scissors, Glue sticks, markers Album – e.g. top loading (or empty album pages) Advanced Supplies (examples) Tape runner Embellishments – stickers, chipboard design elements, ribbon, buttons, etc. Decorative scrapbooking paper Decorative cutting scissors Glue or adhesive dots Paper cutter Shape cutting tools Stamps – for decorative touches Exacto knife & cutting pad Bring Examples of Scrapbook pages if you have them or a magazine example you are interested in help recreating.