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Hi SuefromMichigan, Congratulations and good luck on your upcoming surgery next week. I'm from Lansing, MI, and have my first appt. with the surgeon (Flint-Hurley Bariatric Center) on May 21. I wish I could get it done at a local hospital, but there is not a Center of Excellence here at this time. I'm very interested to see how your journey goes, so please update whenever you feel up to it. Who is doing your surgery? Are you going through Medicare and, if so, what did it take to get approved? Good luck again. Most of the bandsters on this site seem to have done really well and followed their individual plans closely. I hope to be able to do the same when my turn comes. maggie :thumbup:

I'm 7 weeks out and had a lot of trouble with bariatric Vitamins. In the hospital, they gave me Flintstone Chewables, and they went down much easier. I've been using them ever since. I've tried to go back to bariatric ones, but they still make me gag. Maybe if I tried to chew half at a time it would be better. Anyway, the Flintstone work for me, so that's my go-to for the time being. Hope this helps. All the best!

Congrats on your weight loss!!! You are absolutely right on what it takes to lose the weight. We all get off track, but the we need to renew our commitment to our band and do the things we did in the beginning, get a new goal and be accountable to someone. How did your pouch dialate and what were the symptoms?

Just learned today that my insurance is approved and that my surgery is scheduled August 4th! Thanks to you folks at BariatricPal, I learned how to navigate insurance requirements. Many of you veterans and newbies generously gave of your time to answer posts from people like me. You taught me how to find information about my specific insurance plan and how to follow the approval process on my own. You gave me a heads up about what might happen at the psych evaluation. When I look back at my last six months, I realized just how much you filled in the missing areas of information as well as prepared me for how quickly events occur at the end of pre-op visits. I live in a rural area and have received only the bare minimum of guidance from my bariatric center, although it is a Bariatric Center of Excellence. Maybe I needed to ask more questions. Spending time to navigate all over this site has led me to so many invaluable areas. I've been around here long enough to know that each day will have a new stall question and sheepishly admit to zeroing in to rants and raves when I feel the need for a bit of drama. Posts here can be sources of encouragement or annoyance, just like the rest of the population. The ignore option has proved very useful tamping down my repeated irritation with some folks. I am very grateful that one of my bariatric books led me here. My nutritionists, "lifestyle coach," psych evaluator and PCP did not know anything about it. (and did not show much interest when I tried to share information with them) My level of preparation is directly due to all the advice I've found here. Many thanks. You know I'll be here for the rest of this journey.

@@Browneyedgirl41, you're still young. All you'll ever have to do is wear the bathing suit that makes you feel like a righteous babe. You hear that, @@christinah ? Listen up all of you. A scar is not a sin. It's not the mark of Cain. It's not even the mark of Zorro. It's not a crime against humanity. If you're insisting on being unattractive or insecure or any other in- or un-, find another way. Our bariatric scars are marks of our own power.

I have Bipolar I disorder. I was sleeved five weeks ago and everything has gone really smooth and no regrets. I have taken a lot of psychotropic drugs in the past 20 years and there were some that caused me to gain large amounts of weight in a very short period of time so I have a lot of experience with this. I have been on the same meds for the past four years and have not had any weight gain during this time. In fact I lost 65 lbs in the last two years. The drugs that I am currently taking that have not caused any weight gain are: Latuda, Lamictal, Ziprasidone and Wellbutrin (I know, it's a lot but I've been pretty stable for over three years). I also recently weaned off of Effexor after taking it for years and can say it definitely did not cause weight gain either. Since being sleeved on May 1 I have had a really good mood with no changes so at least for now I can confidently say that I am absorbing all my meds as well as I did before surgery. That's a big relief!!! I was considered a high-risk WLS patient because of my Bipolar disorder and the real risk that it could go out of remission and be more difficult to bring under control again if meds were not being absorbed. I really had to do a lot of work with my Bariatric Surgery Center to get approval for the surgery from their psychologist. I did a lot of research and consulted a lot with my Psychiatrist and finally decided that I was willing to take the risk to lose the weight. It's a big decision and anyone with Bipolar, or any other serious mental illness that requires life-long dependence on medication, must take their time to think very seriously about before deciding to have surgery. Best wishes to everyone and feel free to message me if you have any questions about Bipolar disorder treatment and WLS. Or if you just want to vent about dealing with a major mental illness

I consume 100 to 120 grams of protein per day. Higher protein intake enables me to maintain my 118-pound body on 2000+ calories per day. Protein-rich foods provide more satiety. Also, the body must expend considerable energy/calories to digest protein. This is called the thermic effect of food (TEF). The more protein we eat, the more it speeds up our metabolic rates. I lift heavy weights 3 times weekly and run 20+ miles per week, so my protein needs are increased. However, a sedentary person who has undergone bariatric surgery is basically asking for chronic hunger and weight regain by limiting protein intake to 40-60 grams daily.

My insurance also required a 6 month supervised weight loss management, although when I started I was on a different insurance company that I would no way have surgery through them but knew I would have different insurance because of a new job I was getting. So I paid out of pocket for the first 4 months but glad I did. I also was worried that I didn’t lose enough or too much to still be able to qualify... what I was told was that they do go by your original weight, even if you should go under the BMI requirements that they know some of us just can’t keep it off without the surgery so no problem there. I am lucky that I only have about 100 lbs to lose, and being allergic to dairy helps me as I won’t have as much transition for that issue. I was worried when I felt I hadn’t lost enough for my monthly weigh in and appt with the dietitian but she said she saw that my muscle mass was going up and fat mass going down even though I wasn’t losing a lot of weight but over all the trend was going down.. that made me feel a lot better.. i am very blessed I have an awesome bariatric team where I am getting my surgery done. I think that is a huge help on this journey. i just found out yesterday that my surgery date is January 30th!!! But I still working on a goal weight I have in my mind before I get on the table! 😊 good luck and keep in touch!

Yes, he is, the hospital is, the staff is, the attention is. He was voted one of the TWENTY-FIVE BEST bariatric surgeons IN THE WORLD, by his PEERS, other doctors. His fees for all this are VERY reasonable. His success rate is phenomenal. I had to borrow the money, fly four thousand miles, spent 10 days and 10,000, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. I was almost 64, had an enlarged liver, HBP, VERY high cholesterol, and had to go to my ER for chest pains a week before going. He had some difficulties during surgery with my heart beat, took his time and did it right. If I had gone to one of those Tijuana mills, I could very well have been just another statistic, for half the price, but what would THAT matter? Better than 98% of American doctors and half the price, what more could you ask for? Well, he doesn't have much a a sense of humor that I saw, but hey, you know...

Hi, I'm a patient at Hopkins as well. Dr.Schweitzer will be my surgeon my paperwork was just submitted to Aetna last Thursday so I am anxiously awaiting approval and hoping for a date in May for my sleeve:) I actually completed all the requirements this time last year but changed employers and my insurance didn't cover bariatric surgery. I was praying I didn't have to start all over and luckily I only had to have a refresher with the nutrionist and psych which were scheduled on 3/21 & 3/29. I'm so nervous but very ready for this!!

You referred to your bariatric surgery binder...I was wondering if this is something the dr's office gave you and if so, when did they give it to you?

I wish us bariatric consumers could petition the GasX gods to relent and resume cranking them out! Makes me say Should have done this sooner when they were prevelent. I'm laying on my bed with my c,-pap,on, I feel asleep last PM without it, did I wake up in the night and put it on? Do not remember, so this morning I look like an out of work jet pilot. I'm trying to show compliance so my surgery will happen why can't I get,bonus points for my 6-8 hours usage, if it was a fair world they should add them all together, then divide the hours by 30 and see I'm trying to be sweetly compliant! I will not get barred from surgery on a technicality if I can at all prevent it!💦

Hi all, I am Gerry from Edinburgh, Scotland. Just finally got my date through for my first consultation with the bariatric team, 18 months after being referred by my family Doc. Excited and scared Sh*tless in equal measure to be starting out on this journey, but I am only 38 years old, with type 2 diabetes and High blood pressure, so hopefully this will be the first step in improving and prolonging my life.

Hello, my name is Sarah and I completed all the steps that are required to get bariatric surgery(psych evaluation, classes, nutritionists) and my surgery is scheduled for March 12, 2018. One problem... I’m having some major second thoughts and fears... I’ve been overweight my whole life and have been 300+pounds my whole adult life. As of right now my family is against it but they don’t know how it feels to feel trapped in this body. I think the overall fear I’m having is just going under the knife that’s my biggest fear. As of right now I’ve been hitting the gym 5 to 6 nights a week since January of this year and lost 15 pounds but I’ve tried pretty much every diet out there with no significant results. My doctor who is doing the surgery said I have a possible 2% chance of losing weight the conventional way and keeping it off. My insurance is good but a possible career change very soon may mean this is my only chance to do this surgery. I just need advice I’m just scared about surgery....

Wowee You are on Speed Dial instead of slogging along forever like I feel I have done. But you are very welcome and we are proud to add you to our world-wide group. I am 72, BMI of 47, planning RnY bypass surgery yet this month, I should find out an exact date 7/17/2018. It will be at Ohio State University Hospital with Bradley J Needleman. the top Dog Bariatric Surgeon. there so I am a lucky lady. Been on this trek since August 2015, many stops and starts, but soon it will be completed and I can start on a future life more healthy, more fit and a lower weight is pretty cool too. Lets share this experience together!😛🍀🙏😷🌈

Oh sure. I am practicaly dying all weekend - so I am all excited about the doctors visit - but this morning as I stood in line at the UPS Store to ship my packages, I started sweating like the Wicked Witch of the West in a Rain Storm. Those poor people in line must have thought I was an addict in withdrawal or something. Anyway, now my fever seems to be gone. Never fails. I guess I should schedule the doc's appointment on day 2 of any illness to scare the sick away. Don't fret, y'all. I am still going - at four. Just to be SURE that the witch is really dead. Besides - I want to see what the scale says. :] Eileenie - Hugs!! I miss you! We are going to have to get together again, soon. I will see what I can do for January. xo Cindy - I love a parade, too. Besides, I am SO not a morning person. Afternoon on New Years Day works for me. Jules? Betty? I can drive to Denton if you can.... Where is a good place? Is there someplace where we can drink like 2000 cups of coffee and spend 4 hours sitting around? Betty - I surely hope your hand feels better! I suppose you have some big block party on New Years Day? Could you make it up to Denton to visit? Or do we need to change locations? Could you come, if we did? I am getting all excited.... Chris - YAHOOOOOOO!!! Congrats on passing your test. Now all you have to do is get away from Psycho Boy downstairs and all will be well. You hang up those clogging shoes, now. :] Sherry - Geez - I guess we will have to call you Sherry aka Betty Crocker... Sounds like you could open a sweet shop at your place this week. Mmmmm. You seriously plan OFFICE activities for the week of Christmas? What are we going to do with you? Kat - my fever has ranged from normal to 102 and hit ever mark in between. I really thought I was over it last week. Shows how much I know. I hope your husband responds well to the renewal of treating him like the tough guy he still wants to be. Hugs! Darcy - was your girl ill in front of her friends? That might be mortifying for a teenager. Hope she is feeling better. **And yes - I am so long winded that you posted before me. :] Mandy - so cute! Love the Hens. Well - there is no more news yet on my Dad. They still didn't even have the "Official" word on the tumor yet - the Tech who took the picture told them that info. They have yet to meet with the Cardiologist and whoever else has to review that stuff. I appreciate all your well wishes and prayers. I will keep you posted. I will also let you know if the doc has anything interesting to say when I see him later on. Hugs and Love. Irene

Tree still not decorated....no presents wrapped....yeap I'm fallin behind...ho ho ho hee hee. I'll catch up..taking next Wed-Friday off. Got to see the Bariatric Surgeon next Wed. Don't think I'll be doing a fill this time around...been having a problem the past couple of days with Protein and PBing...errr plus. Yet at the same time I can sometimes feel a bite of food move from my pouch into the lower stomach like kerplop. Go figure. I'm still losing weight....not suffering as much as when I first got the fill...I really feel like I need to train myself now to not overeat and not count so much on the fill...if that makes sense. I don't want to go another 4 months without seeing the doc though so if he won't agree to see me in 2 then I may just get a slight fill like .25. We'll play this by ear and see what happens next week. work was ok today...still busy but, the replacement supervisors met with the staff while I was out yesterday and basically told them all questions are to go to them first. So they've taken that step to let the staff know they are now the bosses. It helped quite a bit today. Now I need to train them on some of the processes we have to do but, as usual some of those processes changed last month so I'm still learning them myself. Oh forgot to tell ya....went to a Christmas Tree display thing in Providence RI. It was kind alike a craft fair/auction. There were crafters to buy things from but, also you could bid on the fully decorated trees as part of charity. If you won they came to set the tree up in your house. Hmmm should of bid on one maybe my tree would be done hahahaha. Have a great night everyone...sweet dreams and hope you have a wonderful Thursday.

Congratulations Cass!!! Thats fantastic news and do let us know ALL about the wedding plans as they come along. Cindy...wowza girl time is flying by! I've got the next 3 days off to clean the house, finish up the Christmas shopping and get it all wrapped. Hmmmm already got tomorrow planned though UGH. Dentist in the a.m. then to the bariatric doc in the afternoon. Don't think I'm going for a fill considering I just lost my dinner BLECK! I think TOM is around the corner and things are tighter than I thought and BINGO grrr just hate that. liquids for me tomorrow I guess. So maybe I'll get the cleaning done in between visits. Problem with going to Boston for my bariatric appointment is it's at 2:30 have to leave here at 1, see the doc and the nutrionist then head home during commuter traffic...won't be home until after 6pm. LONG DAY! Oh well I'll have two more after that Hope everyone is doing well. Miss ya all...sorry I haven't had time for personals but, I'm thinking of you all.

Brad, Well, you are the least expensive for self pay of any place I'm familiar with in the region. Thanks for the information. What do you charge for fills for patients who don't have surgery with you? I know what you mean with regard to insurance not paying adequately. ButI can't self pay to protest that my insurance is paying too little. My insurance doesn't cover any related care following surgery, including fills. Which seems stupid because after they've paid the big bucks for the surgery if a patient can't afford to have the fills and doesn't have improved health the insurance company will be paying even more to continue to cover the care for diabetes, high blood pressure etc. I don't know the answers to the insurance problem. Employers search for the lowest cost insurance and in order to provide low premiums insurance companies cut deals with health care providers. If the insurance were expensive enough to pay what healthcare providers charge, employers wouldn't pay for the insurance or the cost to employees would be out of reach for many families. On a whole other subject, malpractice insurance seems to be a huge cost to providers. If only some people didn't see medical mistakes as the lottery perhaps insurance reimbursements would become more affordable. Thanks for answering my questions. Most of the people I know who are considering it have insurance. But we still have to pay a percentage of the total cost. In my case for in network providers, it's 10% up to $750, then it's 100%. Out of network it's 30%, or roughtly $4800 (which is about what we had to pay Barix 2 years ago because they were out of network when my husband had his surgery). And I considered going there but their policy now is that the entire amount has to be paid up front and then the patient gets the insurance check. When he went, after insurance paid they billed us for the remaining balance. I can say that it was a wonderful facility since their entire practice is related to bariatric surgery. A draw back is in case of emergency, they have to send you to a nearby hospital, which wastes time. And I agree that these message boards are great places to get information. So thanks for adding yours. I'm have no doubt that there will be people in your region who are self pay will be interested.

It concerns me that you are having so much pain 3 weeks after surgery. Most people still have soreness, but it is rare to need any strong pain medicine at this point. Also, the nausea/vomiting that you describe may be a sign of something wrong with you band (slippage?) Some people do get nausea fromt he narcotic pain medicine, but this sounds like something different. I would obviously call your PS for evaluation. I would not take more pain medicines until you have verified that there is nothing else going on. Pain can be a sign of a problem, and you don't want to "mask" the pain and possibly delay diagnosis of something. You should call your bariatric surgeon also, to have your band checked. Please keep us informed about what happens.

LipoLite is similar to smartlipo, from a different company, and using more advanced technology (my experience is that is is better than smartlipo). You are partly correct about how I feel about smart lipo (or any of the laser lipo technologies). It is a good procedure in very select individuals. I do not think it is good in the post weight loss population because the improvement will be limited and most people will be disappointed (especially given that it can be more expensive than traditional lipo). This is why it was not mentioned in my bariatric newsletter. Body contouring after weight loss is so specialized - many of the techniques and procedures that I do in my regular cosmetic patients do not always apply. This is why I have 2 separate newsletters and each features different information. The LipoLite was featured in the cosmetic newsletter, but not in the post bariatric newsletter.

First, let me say that it is never "too early" - this is why I discuss plastic surgery with pre-op bariatric support groups! That being said, you should begin consults when you are getting close to goal. You should be at goal for at least a few months before having a TT, but it takes several months to get an OR date, do necessary paperwork, get medical clearance, save money, etc. So....if you are 6 months away from the surgery date in your head, I would recommend starting consults soon, so that you can yourself prepared mentally and physically. Plastic Surgeons usually have a few months wait for surgery anyway.

That's where you talk with the bariatric surgeons office and let them tell you if you qualify. My ppl told me, no problem. Best Wishes!

Good Morning, Vi's~~ The shows went great yesterday... just one more @ 2pm today! They work for so long rehearsing and rehearsing, then it seems like it's over in a blink! After that, I think that we're going to a friend's for dinner. Then bed... ahhhhhhhhhh. Then it'll start all over again w/the new week tomorrow! & my renewed vows to eat properly and exercise. Vow! Vow! Vow! Make it a good one, Vi's!

Hey girls~ Just checking in....was a great day. Rick come over and took me to lunch, we cooked dinner together, and then I sat down at the computer to pay some bills and renew registration on the car, and I don't know what happen, but I found myself in the WORST mood!!! Laura the pics are wonderful!!! What a sweetheart he is!! Michelle---sounds to me, like the school is pouting for not getting to "spin" things! Too bad...glad it is over, and soon when they realize exactly how much you did for the school, they will miss you! Pamela, I am so thrilled for you--getting to read a book for fun!!! LOL! They just finished state testing here. We had parents calling because they had let kids glasses go, and now suddenly they need them....like yesterday. They were scrambling, trying to get them for the kids, knowing the kids are not the ones at fault when they need to be brought in. Heather, I got your info added to the sheet----and will send you a copy....like Haydee, my computer is acting all wierd! Judy, I miss my Kinsey job something fierce!!! But she is loving school. She tells me about it. And Manda give me the password to see her at school---so I have popped in a couple of times and looked at her. She is always in a group of kids and laughing. She got to be teachers helper since she did so well writing her name, and helped the other little girl learn how to write a K. They said she is cruising without problems in the preschool part of her day--which is a relief. I am coming down with another cold. I expected it working with people again----and being more exposed than usual-------this one come from our receptionist I am sure, she has been sick. My SIL is still hospitalized, she had the surgery to repair the prolapse, and was to have a swallow study and be released this morning. She swallowed, and back up it come----so they are monitoring to see if it might be swelling, and she is in for minimally 2 more days. Then they will make a decision what is going on. Scary----she may end up losing part of her stomach! Would be a bypass revision I am guessing from the sounds of it. Jenn, sorry you are feeling so bad! TracyK---glad you got some alone time!!! Maybe we can squeeze in an early phone call on Thursday???? Haydee, your sisters party sounds wonderful!!! I am looking forward to summer, so we can have big gatherings outside!! Jane---I agree, try some water pills and see if that helps, and if not maybe a different Dr. is in order, that is something that would be difficult to do. I am sorry it has you so blue, I fully understand tho. Suzanne---sounds like you need a TracyK day away!!! Busy, busy, busy!!! Terry---did you make it home ok? Did you have lotsa fun??? Well I am off to soak in some bubbles.....aaaahhhhhhh If I missed you....it was not intentional, it is my old brain, I worked it too hard today, and with getting sick I feel all bumfuzzled.......yep that's how I feel! XOXOXOX