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I was just stating what my doctor told me, a person who has performed over 4000 bariatric surgeries. He was also Duke fellowship trained. They are one of the best bariatric programs in the country. So I think he may know a little something. I oozed and absolutely had no problems.

Vitamins I am currently taking: 1 chewable Bariatric multi-vitamin. I only need one per day and I take it in the morning. 2 1000IU Vitamin D. I try to take these in the morning, but lately they have been feeling a little stuck so I might switch to doing these in the middle of the day. sublingual B12. I take one per day and I take it in the morning. At week 6, I will be starting a liquid fish oil supplement and Calcium. My doctor requires that his patients supplement the food with Protein shakes, until we are able to get 65 grams of protein per day from food. He said that can take several months to get away from them completely. I consume anywhere from 400 to 700 calories per day. This happens to be the "normal" range my nutritionist suggested, but also reiterated that we shouldn't be tracking calories. My doc only cares about Fluid ounces and protein right now. To me, if I don't have the calorie count, I just don't feel "right" about it. I am eating a lot of different things in this stage, but this is my current list of soft foods I have on hand at my house. refried Beans (not as much as the last stage of the diet) low fat cottage cheese (not as much as the last stage of the diet) 0% Greek yogurt (not as much as the last stage of the diet) sugar free pudding (not as much as the last stage of the diet) imitation crab meat Johnsonville deli bites Spicy black bean burgers (the spice isn't actually spicy at all - the nut suggested this flavor) avocado and guacamole (I use this as a little topping to the black bean burger) IKEA Swedish meatballs ground seasoned tofu-like stuff (I got this at WalMart in the produce section. It's weird, but it is high in protein and tastes okay when you mix a little shredded cheese) shredded cheese (not very much though) fresh mozzarella pearlines (tiny, tiny little balls of fresh mozz) homemade chili with beans and ground beef very thinly sliced chicken breast deli meat (I've tried a couple different flavors and the key is having the deli person cut it as thin as possible) I also add Protein powder, Just Great Stuff powdered Peanut Butter (like PB2), and Just Great Stuff powdered chocolate peanut butter to things like yogurt and pudding.

https://www.uhcprovider.com/content/dam/provider/docs/public/policies/comm-medical-drug/bariatric-surgery.pdf I have UHC too.

Bariatric advantage chewy bites for iron and calcium. Store brand Flintstones chewable for multi vitamin.

I started with Bariatric Advantage chewables but now am moving to over the counter vitamins.

Hi! I'm new to this group as of a few minutes ago: ) I'm halfway through the requirements process for my insurance for the sleeve surgery. Last month I was told that I had thyroid cancer. My thyroid was removed last week and I'll be having radiation sometime later in July to make sure they got it all. If I'm approved my surgery would be later in July. I'm so scared that my sleeve surgery will be delayed but thankful that I'll be cancer free. I was just wondering if anyone has been through anything similar. How long of a wait after radiation before I could have surgery? I don't meet with my bariatric office for two weeks so thought I'd see what feedback I could find here. Thanks!!

Hello everyone. I started my journey for the surgery way back in September of last year. I hadn't been able to start the process officially because my insurance didn't kick in until December. I attended my Bariatric Seminar at Englewood Hospital in NJ, which just re-affirmed my decision to go through with Gastric Sleeve Surgery. I scheduled my first appointment with the doctor. To my surprise after all the excitement I walked into the office for my appointment and the doctor that I had researched extensively and was referred to me by family and friends, didn't take my insurance tier. I was almost heartbroken. I thought "am I not doing this right?" Luckily, I had indeed selected a great group of doctors. The client relation specialist quickly told me, "no stress we will handle everything with you all the way through. The Dr that will be operating will be Dr.Botvinov but Dr. Vaimakis will be there also." That quickly alleviated some of the anxiety. We scheduled my appointment to meet with him in a different office and to be honest, I was happy I chose this Dr. he walked into the room and just asked me "why?" And I couldn't help but to divulge every reason why It was time for this for me. He told me then perfect. Let's get you started and change your life. They gave me a scheduled day of March 14, 2017, so a little over a month away. I have met with the nutritionist of the facility which was great and promised me that this would be the summer to remember. Of course, being the emotional wreck I am, I cried and all I could think of is finally marrying my partner looking and feeling great. Everything has been pretty smooth since. Scheduling my psych evaluation and my endoscopy then I should be good to go. Any advice or feedback would be great so please feel free to submit your input. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

HOWDY - Internet Pals, My name is Sherry and I have decided to blog my Journey with Weight Loss Surgery. I’m not the greatest at wording stuff, but will do my bestest *wink* Here is a recap up to now. My actual weight history started 21 years ago with the birth of my first daughter. I gained quite a bit and just never lost it. It crept up over the next 21 years. I did have two more children but they were both boys and well I was sick the whole time and actually lost weight with them. J I do have multiple issues including – Fibromyalgia – DJD – Diverticulosis – Borderline hypertension – Borderline Diabetic – Hypothyroidism and chronic anal fissures. I was constantly on the work out roller coaster. I’d work out and then the next day I would hurt so bad I’d miss a few days. So walking was about it for now for exercise. Till the weight gets down. Many of these will be much better if not cured by weight loss. I’m looking forward to less pain. Oh man am I. Any hoo - I was introduced to bariatric surgery about 5 years ago and was like, “No Way. I can do this on my own.” So I did try. Of course right after that, I was inspired, and I did lose 45 lbs. with Somersizing, but only to gain it all back. Plus some of course. I have tried so many diets. Atkins, Somersizing (which was my most successful), Juicing, Vegan, Vegetarian, and so many more. All leading to a small amount of loss just to gain it all back, with its little side package. Always a side package. (that would be lovely extra you always gain back with what you lost) - So I’ve slowly over the last 5 years hit my max weight of 315. I was shocked and just gave up. But then stuff started getting pretty bad. My low back pain was getting worse, plus now I had numbness going down my right leg. Couldn’t sleep due to hip, shoulder and back pain. Shoulders were horrible and my anal fissure went on high alert and has been for about 2 years now. I had to do something so I started going to docs to get myself taken care of. I had a new sleep study to make sure my pressure was good – it was upped from 10 to 16. Colonoscopy to make sure all was okay there. Just the anal fissure and internal hemorrhoids, no cancer or anything like that. Yay! Then I had my low back evaluated. Bad Bad. Denerative Disk disease in lower back…and pretty badly. This was the doc who referred me to the Weight Loss Center at Centennial here in Nashville. And so the journey began. I called the Center and a week later they called and got my information. They returned my call a few days later saying my insurance required a couple of things before approving. A pre-op Nutritional eval and a Psych eval. These were taken care of within the next two weeks. Then they sent my information off to the insurance. Within the week I was approved. Then we scheduled my first consult with the doc. Went well. Then I received my surgery date. Boom Bam Boom. So now I’m three weeks pre-op and today I started my liquid diet. I have started this three weeks pre-op due to I have a very fatty liver and edema. I’m required to do two weeks but added another week to make sure things are good and down. We want no problems – nope nope. I attached the liquid diet the doc gave me below, in case you wanted to check it out. The crossed out stuff is stuff I don’t like or wont use. Not big on flavored water. But who knows after this that might change. Heard taste and stuff change after WLS. Well I'm off for now. Thanks for coming along on my journey and I’ll post often to let you know how all is doing. Blessing to you all on your own journeys and would love to hear from you. GrInS Sherry

One man in our support group was preparing for bariatric surgery. He was only a week away and very excited about his upcoming surgery. Then he received a surprise call from his surgeon calling him to report immediately to the hospital for a heart operation. He underwent the heart operation, spent about a month recovering from that and then went through the bariatric surgery. It is a year later and I still see him at support group meetings. He has lost a lot of weight and appears to be doing fine.

I am new at all of this. I decided to have surgery in October so I contacted a surgeon for an appointment. I can't get in until January of 2016. So I decided to start the process to get a jump on my requirements for approved surgery. I've been on Adipex for 3 months with a doctor. And now I am on a PCP supervised medical weight diet. I am hoping I will have 5 months completed by the time I see the surgeon. Did anyone have problems getting approved through BCBS of Minnesota? I have their bariatric policy so I know what I have to do. I'm just so nervous about getting approved. I want this more than anything.

Hello, SunnyRachel! I just posted before regarding chewing. It's so important, I see. I'm really trying! As far as the breads go... I decided to give them up now, the conventional loaf breads anyway. I've been doing wraps. I would like to give that up eventually as well and just roll my sandwiches in lettuce leaves. My downfall is RICE. I'm Asian and grew up on it. I can eat it with ANY meal, any time of the day or night. It was a staple in our house rather than a side dish. I've almost given up the white rice :cursing:. I'll still have it every once in a while. I eat brown rice and though it just okay, it really doesn't replace the white stuff. I really appreciate your honesty. I want to know the plain truth about everything! It looks as if you are doing well. Not one of my friends know what I'm doing. As a matter of fact, the only one I'm talking to about this is a coworker whom I've only known for about 6 months. She has weight issues as well. She is not overweight by any means, but she can have the potential. She works out constantly and always watches what she eats. Her hubby went thru gastric bypass surgery 2 years ago so she is able to give me a fresh point of view... being the spouse of someone who has had bariatric surgery. She's been a wonderful supporter and I vent to her when I am stressing. I will be sure to look for you now when I need to discuss or vent! Good luck to you as well and keep up the great work!

Best wishes for safe surgery @Gnat ! Start of your renewal :-)

Hi everyone. I'm glad to have found this forum. I'm in the very beginnings of my LB journey, so y'all will have to bear with me. I've just had my insurance confirmed, but must go through the 6 months of weight counseling, plus psych testing. My first counseling appointment is Nov 1 because of a pre-existing clause, so that means I won't have the surgery until May 2012. The only thing I am nervous about is if my insurance policy changes to exempt bariatric surgery on Jan 1st. I have CIGNA insurance through my employer. Currently I am 50 years old and have a bmi of 48.1. I am using Texas Gastric Banding (Dr Wilkenfeld), with the surgery at True Results in Houston. I'm for sure going the lap band route, but considering also an imbrication. The decision will be made as time goes by. I'm not interested in rushing anything because I'm looking to change old eating habits I've had for a lifetime. The LB is for assistance and encouragement. I can't do this by myself. My goals are to get healthy, reduce the aches and pains in my joints, and to finally be able to shop in the normal size clothing section! I want to run/walk a 10k by the fall of 2013. I am here to see your experiences and share mine. I've already added to my list of questions that I need to ask my doc. I'm thinking of blogging my journey for an emotional outlet. I live by myself, divorced in 2006, adult kids grown and out of the house. As a matter of fact, I moved 2000 miles from them last year to be closer to my parents and sisters. I'm hoping to convince my sister to join me and make her own journey to health. I'm so excited!

@@Sleevie.Nicks that is great i've heard others get cold feet right before surgery then they stop the process no one should have this surgery if they are too scared, nervous not sure of having surgery so you stopped the plan for surgery then after awhile you realized you really want to go ahead sounds like NOW you are ready keep reading the boards you'll hear about lots of things you need pre-op and {PO) discussions about things you hadn't thought of questions will be answered you ask your questions make sure you are prepared for the big day read, read, read look into some books ie bariatric surgery for dummies they also have a cook book look at U-tube flood of information allll over buy Protein shakes don't buy too many ahead of time taste buds change what you might like now possibly you won't like PO happy you "came to your senses" and are proceeding with surgery good luck kathy

I have been taking meds for bipolar for a number of years. Took MMPI-2 as part of my psych eval and showed I am totally "normal". Really shocked my psychologist. I will stay on meds though to be sure I stay stable. If you have mental health issues, they just want to be sure that you are: (1) stable on meds and continue under treatment (2) Addressing any eating problems. (3) You have adequate social support (family, friends, church, etc.) I was pretty stressed about psych eval because my history. Don't stress about it. If you have a current therapist, see if your bariatric center will accept psych eval by him/her. Who knows you better? Sent from my SM-G950U using BariatricPal mobile app

i haven't had the surgery myself, i'm in the begining stages. my story is similar to yours except for the medical problems. i've been obese all my life and never had any surgery except for dental. i'm an ob/gyn and do surgeries all the time. there are no guarantees in anything, for the most part the complication rates are minimal. one of the keys is making sure your surgeon has enough experience (make sure he or she is a bariatric surgeon), don't be afraid to ask for his complication rate. first find out if your insurance covers bariatric surgery and what their requirements are. then find a bariatric surgeon. they will guide you from there. my insurance requires me to lose weight (10%) first and since i don't have any comorbidities i'm don't know if i will get approve. if not i am heading to mexico (it's going to cost about the same as my copay for surgery here anyway), that's how serious i'm about being at a healthier weight and prevent my family's medical problem from becoming my own. weight loss has been shown to significantly improve morbidity/mortality. you may end up having to take less pills everyday for blood pressure and even require none at all. good luck with everything.

Does anyone have experience with this Doc?I found him at obesity support page.It sounds good if Ican get him to personally do the surgery.He is I think head of bariatrics dept. at Abbott Northwestern in Minneapolis.

All of my friends have been kind and supportive. I told my closest friends just about a week before surgery, and then gradually told others as it came up. The only person who was the slightest bit mean about it was a work colleague who is just a mean person sometimes. Anyway, I have to say that the slender folks among my friends and family were the most supportive and enthusiastic. Maybe because they really understand how much I was missing from life by being morbidly obese. As far as being angry with yourself about not being able to lose weight by diet and exercise alone, let that go. Obesity is influenced by many more factors than just diet and exercise, and once you get there, it is almost impossible for anyone to reach a normal weight without surgery. This recent study looked at obese people trying to lose weight -- bariatric surgery patients excluded -- and found that the odds of attaining and maintaining a normal body weight were astronomically tiny, like maybe the same as being struck by lighting or something. http://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/full/10.2105/AJPH.2015.302773 In my opinion, if someone's medical team agrees that they are a good candidate for bariatric surgery, then that is probably the smartest thing to do. I don't kick myself for not being able to lose weight "on my own." I kick myself for trying, for decades, to do it without the best medical treatment and refusing to consider surgery. Anyway, my social life has improved dramatically since I've lost weight. I'm more willing to go out and socialize and try new things. I enjoy talking to people instead of being focused on shoving food in my face. I'm still an introvert and always will be, but now I'm much more at ease in social settings and happier overall. That makes me a better friend. Good luck to you!

I mentioned this yesterday but now I really am frustrated n need clear answers. Thanks: I cannot take this Bariatric Advantage stuff anymore! All of it making me gag. Please fill in the blank of what's good n easy to get down of the following: Preop Protein shake- Iron pill- Multivitamin- Vitamin d- Calcium- B-12-

my bariatric center gives you a binder with all the required info, doctors names, labs and such and we are required to take it to every appointment. Found it very nice and convenient.

I am fortunate as the surgical team that did my reversal is the same team that will do the sleeve. When they did the reversal they had to remove a portion of the fundus was already removed. Sounds like similar rules... My biggest fear is that i won't feel the restriction. I am in Canada and because the reversal was deemed medically necessary and because sleeving me was part of the entire plan at the time of reversal, the sleeve will be covered here. I have been considering going self pay to re-RNY me (since undoing the rny did not resolve the issues, I could conceivably re-RNY with no additional impact) but if there is a chance I can achieve my 35-40 lb re-lose to goal with just a sleeve, then I (and my body) would be ok with the less drastic. I think the RNY was great and it did help me lose well over 120 lbs. I see that a lot of people also go from a sleeve to an RNY so its likely an option, if I need the stricter controls of the RNY, that this is something that could be explored later but I would really like whatever option I go with in June to be the last step. I went so far as to start looking into RNY surgeons as self pay last week but I think I need to get more feedback from the bariatric community (to be honest I was happy with the RNY being the only step and it makes me sick to my poor overly abused tummy that it was reversed...)

Last week I attended a seminar about LAP-BAND® hosted by one of our local weight loss institutes. I was very exciting. They provided a lot of information including just a quick blurb about cost and that at the first visit the financial counselor would review your insurance one-on-one. That makes sense, everyone has different insurance. They did include that there would be: $500 – program enrollment (includes pre-authorization testing), $400 – psychiatric eval, and $1,000 for the three year nutritional/exercise program. That all seemed reasonable to me. I also knew that my insurance had a $1,000 access for bariatric surgery. When I got the appointment today they said it would be slightly over $8,000. In addition to the costs listed above they use a second surgeon who is out of network (out of everyone’s network) which is about $5,000 and some miscellaneous fees. My husband has been active duty military for over 20 years and I have not seen a “civilian” doctor in a long time. I knew it would not be cheap but I was really surprised at the cost. Is this similar to what your fees were? I know each insurance is different but I had serious culture shock! :scared2:I was going to use my insurance through work but now need to look into TriCare referrals.

Few weeks ago I went to my bariatric eval for surgery and the psych hardly asked me any questions relating to wls at all. She focused more on my childhood, etc, by the time I got to my car I was in tears because of course bringing up my childhood memories made me cry, parents broke up when i was 5, visitation, etc. I do and have been suffering from panic attacks from 2008, I do work, I take care of my house, my kids, etc. I live every day, I dont stay in bed, rest, curl up in a ball, etc. Well she sent a message to the office that I am not mentally stable for surgery. That pissed me off completely because I was the one who said the reason I want the surgery is this and that and this, etc. Never once did she ask me any question about WLS or why, who, etc. Now I have to go for another evaluation. I'm afraid to list down that i take medication for anxiety/depression because I'm afraid I will get turned down again. When I told my therapist this she got angry because she was so shocked at someone who met me for 30 minutes can say I'm not stable for surgery. What do you all think? Should I tell it to the new Dr? Should I not mention it at all? My husband thinks I shouldn't mention it at all. Please help soooo confused :thumbup1:

Literally the only thing that I wish they would have told me is that there is a 3% chance that you can develop a wheat allergy or celiac disease with any surgery that has malabsorption. I developed a wheat allergy and it completely blindsided me. I have crappy luck so had I known I would have expected it. Still would have done the surgery, but I would have expected it (not joking about the crappy luck. I had an MVD in 2017 and there is only a 1% chance of getting meningitis and guess what? I got meningitis. Yeah, my luck is crap). Also the hilarity of me having to call the bariatric surgeon because I was having chronic constipation and their confusion because they'd never had a patient with my surgery have that issue as it's generally the opposite (diarrhea) made my day. I laughed so much when the doctor had trouble processing that (I absorb iron really, really, really well so the fact that I was taking 3 iron multi's is what caused that issue. I now take 1 iron multi and 2 non-iron multi's and my iron level is the high side of normal... yeah). Also, keep in mind that everyone loses at their own pace and try not to compare yourself to others. You'll get there. It may be slower than someone else that started at the same time, but you could actually lose more than them in the end. You could also be a chronic staller (that was me. I've never met anyone who stalled as much as me) and that is incredibly frustrating (oh, the stress and frustration!), but it happens. And yes, even if you're not a chronic staller, stalls DO happen and are 100% normal (generally can last up to 3 weeks. Though some can last longer as I had a few that lasted in the 40 day range. No joke.).

Hi...If you have insurance that you plan to have cover your surgery cost, I advise you read their criteria for coverage, usually they tell you their guidelines to qualify for. There are guidelines too that are standards for qualifying for bariatric surgery that many bariatric surgeons will follow. You can google for those. I would recommend looking through info on this site and start googling to collect more info. I had a BMI of 38-39 but had been diagnosed and well documented in my medical record OA of both knees as well as newly dx severe apnea. Both dx qualified me for surgery based on standard guidelines and my insurance coverage. My BMI was also above 35 which I think is the low end of the guidance for surgery. So do your reasearh . You found this site so keep collecting information. Dont rush into anything especially this until you completely understand what you are getting into. it took me well over a year to understand and make this choice. Knowledge is power. Good luck!