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Hi everyone, I'm in the last week of this research now so I said I'd post here for anyone that has missed it and would like to share their bariatric experience. Have gotten a great response so far but I'm a little bit short on numbers so if you have some time to fill it out I'd be very grateful. Thanks so much in advance xx https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1eDZE0cIK8ChVCeWrsX1s-QMAshk5oLErL7c7q5Sk2Kw/viewform?usp=send_form
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1st surgical consultation complete!
hopeliveshere posted a topic in PRE-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
Hello friends, Well i had my first meeting with the surgeon this passed thursday and everything went well. He made me feel at ease as did the coordinator of the bariatric dept. (she almost made me cry when she told me ill never be in this spot again ---totally normal to get emotional right?). The surgeon answered all the questions i had. I keep thinking that its going to be so long to have this 6months to wait ( i have to weigh in with my PCP for 6 consecutive months) but i think now its going to go really fast. I have so much to do. i want to try to get all my testing and evaluations done before i go back for my 2nd cosultation in 3 months which will be in aug. Come august ill be on my 5th of 6 weigh ins. I have to have blood work, see a pulmonologist, cardiologist, gastroenterologist, nutritionist, psych evaluation etc etc. I think im putting off the gastro til last. im s**t scared of getting an endoscopy. The surgeon wants me to avoid or limit my intake of cake bread rice and Pasta. so right now i practicing eating on smaller dinner plates and trying to strecth my meals out. Hope everyone is doing well! -
Ok, yes! Be hard on yourself. WTF? Seriously. Call your surgeon and get a referral to your RD and to the bariatric counselor. Start therapy now. This may sound harsh? But you are 4 WEEKS post op! This is the "easiest" and the "hardest" you will ever have it and the time you will feel LEAST like eating in your entire journey. Cuz barring complications like it sounds like you're asking for, your restriction will get increasingly less and less as the months go by and you continue to heal and evolve. You either take care of your food/behavior problems now? Or you could be doomed to either never see goal, or regain. Tough? Fu*k yes. I am being tough and shocking. I hope it shocks you into getting a grip and getting real with your bad choices. It begs to be asked...Why did you have this life-changing surgery if you weren't ready to get serious about living a new life? Ask yourself, WHAT IS YOUR WHY? WHY did you want the surgery? WHY did you want a new lease on life? How important are YOU? How important is your marriage? Your LIFE? (Seriously one of the saddest posts I've ever read and I've read a bunch including a post-op eating pizza at 4 days.)
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Aetna changes 5 year weight history requirement to 2 years.
dogluvr replied to dogluvr's topic in Insurance & Financing
you go to the main site, aetna.com, then in the "search" field you type in "bariatric surgery" - otherwise it wont come up or you have to search through pages of crap. -
Hello all my doctor suggested BA for my pre-op diet it comes all together drinks and bars that last 2 weeks for 180.00- could I just buy protien drinks from a local store and use other meals trying to stay on a low budget and try other protien drinks to get some idea on ones I like. Any ideas and suggestions will be greatly appericated! Thanks
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Sleeve survey (5-10mins), can you help?
Helen Bauzon posted a topic in Gastric Sleeve Surgery Forums
Hi everyone,my name is Helen Bauzon and I work as a Bariatric Dietitian and I am a magazine contributor within this forum. I have received the permission by Alex Brecher to ask your assistance in completing a survey. I am presenting in 3 weeks at a conference detailing "how to keep the bariatric patient well nourished while losing weight". I am looking to ideally obtain 100 replies from individuals who have had a sleeve gastrectomy. If you would like to contribute your feedback, you can do so by clicking on the following link https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/6G76QLV Thank you very much in advance Helen Bauzon -
Anthem BC/BS in VA - any experience or advice?
SuzanneG replied to O2BThinAgain's topic in Insurance & Financing
My BMI was 35.1 when I first started trying to get approved. I got denied because I didn't have heart disease, lung disease or sleep apnea. By the time I wrote my appeal letter, I had gained a few pounds and my BMI was 36.7. I had to write a letter of appeal to BCBS. I wrote a letter of medical need, then a letter of emotional need, then I gathered letters of support from my GP, GYN, Podiatrist, and Gastrointerologist. Then my bariatric surgeon sent the entire package through with his endorcement. BCBS called me directly and said my letter was amazing and that they decided to approve me. If you have to appeal, I'd be happy to share my letters with you, just post your email and I'll send them to you directly. Good Luck! Suzanne -
I have been completing my requirements prior to surgery since the end of August, which includes 6 monthly visits of medically supervised weight loss with my surgeon's nurse/bariatric coordinator. My last visit with her is at the beginning of March. After that, assuming all of my other requirements have been met they will put in for approval (which is expected very fast with my particular insurance). I have done a lot of research since even before August about what surgery was right for me and I was convinced it was the sleeve. Liz (the bariatric coordinator) was very honest with me yesterday and said she thought I might not have very good success with the sleeve because I have been struggling to lose weight and definitely have a fondness for sweets. She also said that when she attends the surgeon's office's monthly support group sessions she is kind of jealous that the patients who had RNY seem to have a much greater degree of "control" in their eating. I can certainly use more control in my eating! So now I am seriously questioning my decision and and starting to re-think my plan. I need to decide before 1/31, as I have my appointment with the dietician who will give me a binder full of info and the info varies a bit depending on the type of surgery I choose. I realize that RNY has been around much longer than the sleeve and that the sleeve was originally intended to just be the first step in duodenal switch surgeries for 500+ lb. patients. However, the re-routing of the intestine freaks me out quite a bit and I am afraid of nutritional deficiencies caused by the malabsorptive aspect of the RNY surgery. I'm thinking I should just go with my "gut" and get sleeved, but just wondered if anyone here regretted getting the VSG and wished they had gotten a bypass instead. Any comments would be appreciated! -
I had my initial meeting with my surgeon and he told me I would only lose 40-50lbs with lapband, he was trying to encourage me to have gastric bypass. He has only done 30 some lb surgeries and the other surgeons at this hospital have also only done 30 some. This hospital just started doing surgeries last Dec. I know the lb is just a tool, I get it, I understand that. But could someone give me hope that I will lose more? I am at 243 now, was at 250 at my 1st visit the bariatric center. Thanks for all of your help!
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You mean a "leak" through your staples after the VSG? This is incredibly rare, according to the medical literature, but can, and does happen, sometimes. This kind of leak is called an anostomotic leak. Here's some reading for you on this issue: http://bariatrictimes.com/2010/03/22/prevention-of-anastomotic-leaks-in-bariatric-surgery/ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1876987/
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Pain, vomiting, and no more weight loss
WLSResources/ClothingExch replied to Berry13's topic in LAP-BAND Surgery Forums
If there are any more surgeons in reasonable distance to your Canadian location, make the calls. The only other thing I can think of is to contact your surgeon and see if he/she can intervene with a Canadian surgeon near you; they may be personally acquainted. For now, take a look at the "surgeons" tab near the top of your screen. Perhaps you can find someone near you whom you haven't already contacted. I wish I could refer you to someone, but I don't know of anyone. It would help others in Bariatric Pal to help you if you post your location -- city and province. Also post in the forum for general weight loss surgery discussion/Canadian support group (I expect there is one). You do need to see someone because of the pain you're having. I'm guessing that your last adjustment took place in the Middle East? When the Fluid added turns out to make it difficult to eat, it's important to go back right away -- within a few days at the most, not six months later. If drinking the Water we're given at the time of an upward adjustment is difficult, it's important to say so on the spot. -
Ricotta Bake (google it - Bariatric ricotta bake) No sugar added applesauce Cottage cheese Scrambled eggs Greek Yogurt Real Fruit and vegetable smoothies Tuna (From a can -- it's typically chopped small enough for puree stage) pureed Veggies (steam them first...then they're easy to puree) Refried Beans oatmeal Sweet Potato (mashed) Mashed Cauliflower There's a lot more but that's off the top of my head remembering what I ate at that stage. You can look on this forum and find many more recipes by stage that will be helpful also. Just make sure you meet your liquid and Protein goals every day!! Best of luck!
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I am posting here to bump the thread up and hopefully get more responses. I'm having a terrible time with this as well. I did so much research pre op, and was happy with what I bought (or so I thought). I ended up with Bariatric Advantage Sublingual Vitamin B12, Celebrate Calcium PLUS 500, and Celebrate Vitamins Multivitamin Chewable. The B12 isn't bad. It's cherry flavored, and doesn't make me nauseous. The multivitamin is ok flavor-wise, but it does make me nauseous. And the calcium is just awful. They are huge, and I'm supposed to take 3 a day. I'm lucky if I can get one down. They make me so sick to my stomach. And that's even when I make a point to take them on a full stomach. I would love to hear what other people are taking!
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Bunch of questions
mamachef82 replied to Adrianabelle's topic in General Weight Loss Surgery Discussions
I'm still preop- but I've met all my insurance's requirements and now just have to get cleared for surgery by the psychologist, pulmonary specialist, nutritionist and physical therapist. Once the surgeon puts in the request for final approval from the insurance company, they say they make the decision in 2 weeks. My insurance only required me to talk with my doctor 3 times and get weighed- that was considered the 6 month medically supervised diet. No weight loss required. I also had to talk to a case worker with the insurance company's bariatric program every month. Once I completed the six months, I was referred on to the surgeon. I was in a situation a similar to yours- I had a baby and gained 40 pounds pretty quickly after he was born. I realized pretty early on in the six month "program" that I had developed so many habits to reinforce my dependency on food. I'm a chef by profession and used every excuse to eat and graze throughout the day, and never really have a meal, but ate nonstop after getting home from work. Now I have breakfast lunch and dinner, and track every single bite with My Fitness Pal. Even when I go 1,500 calories over my goal, I still track it. Who else am I lying to besides myself when I don't track everything? I'm trying to do everything I can to form better habits before the surgery so it's not so hard afterwards when I'm already struggling with my limited food choices. I see it as being nice to future me. Be proud of every good thing you do, and actively make good choices to reinforce that positive self talk. And most importantly, everything takes time. My surgeon requires Full payment of the copay before surgery. -
He won't dare harm you. His malpractice insurance would go through the roof! They'll probably give you extra special care so you don't come back to haunt them! If he is the ONLY tricare bariatric surgeon in town, can you go to another town and get the surgery? They are all correct; he is actually trying to steal from you.
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Can you switch doctors 5 years after surgery?
Miss Mac replied to Jocey's topic in General Weight Loss Surgery Discussions
If the doctor died, you would switch doctors. Don't feel guilty like you are abandonning him. If he is not responding, he has abandonned you. My primary is an internist and well-versed in bariatric care. You are not obligated to anybody unless you have crapped out insurance that forces you to use a particular practice. It's your body. Why not look for someone who is patient-minded? I wish you good luck on your search. -
I've been away from the Bariatric Pal site for a few months. Just wanted to shout out to all the friends I've made here on the site and say, I'm back! I lost my sister in early September 2015, after a long battle with asbestos-related illness, obesity, diabetes, and congestive heart failure. Despite it being a blessing that she is no longer suffering, I miss her terribly and still fight some depression from the loss of my last sister (my other sister, who was also obese, died unexpectedly at age 59). Her conditions were a main driving force in my decision to get the Gastric Sleeve to bring my weight down. While I haven't made progress in months on my weight in pounds, I have lost more inches than anything, but am happy to say I haven't gained any back either. I've gone from a size 22W-24W pants down to a 12-14 Petite in women's slacks and jeans, and I have to wear a belt to keep the 14-Petites jeans up!. I can't believe how good it feels to be able to wear jeans again! My shirt sizes have shrunk from a MEN'S 2X-3X (depending on the cut of the shirt), to a MISSES Large. My health has improved tremendously and spent part of Fall 2015 shooting basketball hoops with my oldest son, without running out of breath. During the winter, I've cut and split wood logs for our fireplace with no physical difficulties. While I still have a lot of pain in my leg and ankle (from massive injury in 2013, which required plates and screws to hold things together), it has eased up with the loss of excessive weight. I think once the cold weather turns warmer, my weight loss will pick back up as I'm able to get out and walk my dog. Oh yes, I adopted a new four-legged friend, and she will be accompanying me on my long walks this Spring and Summer. I hope all of you are doing well on your weight loss goals. Best wishes to all! Terry
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Veterans...Thank You...Chime In
Introversion replied to DropWt4Life's topic in General Weight Loss Surgery Discussions
I don't consider myself a true veteran since I'm only 2.5 years out, but I'll respond since this website considers those with more than 1 year of bariatric surgery experience 'vets.' I maintain with the following phrases repeating themselves in the crevices of my brain: "Obesity isn't curable, ever. Obesity is incurable. Obesity can't be cured." Let me explain...while obesity can be placed into remission by achieving a normal weight, the formerly fat person's internal biochemistry will always favor fat storage. There's a reason so many bariatric surgery patients regain some or all of their lost weight: we can't ever eat like our naturally thin counterparts who can eat junk and stay at low body weights. The formerly fat person's body is in the weight-reduced state. A naturally thin woman who has been 130 lbs her entire adult life maintains far easier than a 130-lb woman who once weighed 300 lbs. The weight-reduced, formerly fat 130-lb woman's metabolic rate is slower than that of the naturally thin woman, burning on average 300 to 500 less calories daily even though both ladies have the same heights, weights, and body fat percentages. This is why formerly fat people are primed to regain. In essence, I'll always need to be vigilant. I exercise. I have no forbidden foods. I try to avoid the slippery slope of eating junk and crap because staying on track is easier than getting back on track. Good luck to everyone who fights the battle of the bulge. The battle is lifelong. -
Are you willing to travel into KC? Ft. Leavenworth is really not that far at all when you come down K7. I'm in western Shawnee by K7 and Johnson Drive and go in to see Dr. Fearing at Malley Surgical in Mission. Shawnee Mission Med Center has the Bariatric Center (http://www.kcbariatric.com/compare.php), which is off 95th and K7.
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Have you googled Bariatric shake recipes? I have many great sounding ways to modify plain shakes. I ordered this and am so glad I did as it not only has ideas but ways to work with the powder to make it the texture/consistency desired: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1480101095/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1441633999&sr=8-1π=SY200_QL40&keywords=bariatric+shakes+book&dpPl=1&dpID=41Q8WEwHzpL&ref=plSrch
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One Year ago today- Down 98 pounds this year-total 243
ssflbelle posted a blog entry in Welcome to my journey toward being able to walk again!
Hi Everyone It was 1 year ago today June 15th 2015 at 1 P.M. that I went to see the surgeon for a hernia, gallbladder and possible sleeve surgery. I had to use my mobility device as despite having lost 145 pounds on my own since 2004, I still was not able to walk into his office building. That right all, my highest weight was 497 pounds. I was pretty much housebound and in so much pain I cried every night. Any how 1 year old ago at 352 pounds, my surgeon told me I had to see him for the next 6 months as he was putting me on a HPLC supervised diet. After that more than likely I would be able to have the 3 surgeries all at once. On Jan 26th 2016 he performed the 3 surgeries with me weighing 314 pounds. A 38 pounds lost in those 7 1/2 months I had to wait. Since surgery 5 months ago I have lost an additional 60 pounds for a total of 98 pounds in this past year. I am only able to eat about 2-4 oz of meat and still have the feeling of being full before I even get to the vegs. I never knew feeling full could be so painful. I am tracking calories around 800 to 900 calories and getting in 60 to 90 proteins and 41 to 80 carbs and all my water each day. I am biking 4 to 6 miles 5 days a week and started water aerobics 2 days a week. I am 5 pounds away from being able to go to a back surgeon to see what they can do to help me to walk again now that I am almost below 250 That was their magical number before they wanted me to get to before they would help me. I was sitting here pulling out seams to to cut down and take in my clothing, but have taken a break from it as there are many pants I have to take in. I am thrilled to be doing this but it is a lot of work for my CTS hands to be doing. When I do stand to transfer to a chair my pants are falling off of me and I am stepping all over my pants legs. I can't afford new clothing but am thankful I know how to take in clothing. Since my highest recorded weight I have lost 243 pounds. My BMI has gone from 80 to 41. I haven't posted any pictures since the day before surgery. But once I get below that magical number of 250 I plan to take some more pictures. When I do get there I will be sure to post. I still have 102 pounds to lose but because of the sleeve and all the hard work I am doing I know I will reach my goal. I plan to be here over the next year as I just today renewed my Bariatricpal VIP Membership. -
I sounds to me like you Live in either Windsor or Niagra area, being that close to the states. I read about a bariatric clinic in detroit that does the LAPBand for 11K U.s. dollars, which is cheaper than TLBC in Ontario. 16K Canadian. With the Cdn dollar at 95~ US its a good time to go there speaking money wise only. A good friend of mine got her SUrgery (RNY Bypass) done in Ypsilanti Michigan at the Barix Clinic there... THEY WERE FANTASTIC... but I don't know what they charge for pay as you go Canadians for the LapBand. But while WE were waiting in the patient lounge HALF of all the folks we talked to were from all over Ontario... Just a thought. Good luck to you in what ever you decide. I am going to TLBC,my surg. in July 11th ( booked, paid and in in under 2 wks!) whew!
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I'm so sorry your dr. Made u feel this way!!!! Gaining 10lbs from April to June isn't horrible!!!don't beat up yourself about it... You are Human and things happen... Besides this time next week you'll be embarking on the new you so try to focus on that... Try your very best not to let anything or anyone bring you down!!! I'm sending positive vibes your way!!!! Good luck!!! Your bariatric family has your back!!!!
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Calcium Citrate - Multivitamin Combo
SerendipityHappens replied to VSG Tommy B's topic in Protein, Vitamins, and Supplements
I solved the problem by buying a multivitamin without Iron. Now I take my multi and my calcium with my meals.. then my iron before bedtime. I take Bariatric Advantage capsules.. no iron. -
A bit confused....
Maddysgram replied to Nessie126's topic in POST-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A
I'm not trying to be funny, but maybe a new Dr. If they are not there to make sure you understand everything, you don't want them. My bariatric center is there to see that I succeed.
