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I only got to about 600 calories at 6 months. Took me another year to get to 1300. Yes some programs, encourage people to consume around 1000 calories at about the 3 month mark. But you can only eat what you can physically eat. I even had that conversation with my surgeon at the 8 month mark when I had pushed up to about 900. He understood my position and was happy I was working at increasing my calories even though it was a slow process. I eat about 1500 calories now which according to those BMR calculators is about what I would need to consume for my age, height, activity level & to maintain my weight. It’s plenty of food. I don’t feel hungry. Some will say you need to get your calories up or your body will go into starvation mode & you’ll stop losing. Didn’t affect me like that. Didn’t slow my losing more than what is expected to happen. Didn’t stop me reaching my goal or exceeding it. But we are all different so your experience and needs may be totally different. If they do say increase your calories, don’t tie yourself up in knots about it. Just slowly increase your intake as you’re able. It naturally increases as you progress anyway. Those recommendations are based on averages too. Remember the recommended calorie intake for a woman is 2000 calories. I’d be as large as I was if I ate that much. lol!

Hey there! Would love to hear how it's going for you! Here's where I am: My highest weight was 251 back in the summer, which is when I was referred to the surgical program. I started making changes to my eating following the Pound of Cure book by Dr. Matthew Weiner and was down to 238 on Feb 7 when I started 2 week pre-op liquid diet. I was 223 the day before surgery, so 15 lbs down in two weeks. That's compared to 13 lbs in 6 months, which is crazy, but I also know that I wasn't trying to lose weight during those months so much as make healthy choices. I didn't count calories or other macros. I just made an effort to reduce processed foods and eat a pound of vegetables most days. Whereas the liquid diet was pretty much me starving for 2 weeks. But I survived! Since surgery, it's gone a bit slower, which is in part due to the fluid shifts from surgery (according to my meeting with surgeon last week). My weight this morning, 3 weeks post-op, was 217 lbs. So, 6 lbs down since surgery. I'm healing pretty well, meeting my 60g protein goal and 64 oz water goal daily. I did have one incident of foamies / vomiting two days ago that set me back a little on food tolerance, but I think I'm doing better today. I go in to see the dietician on Monday. The first week I was getting around 400 calories per day. Last week and this week have ranged between 500-700, depending on the day and what food choices I make. I haven't really experienced anything I would call hunger. As for non-scale victories, I had to pull out one of my smaller bras yesterday that I still had from about 5 years ago! I also fit into an outfit I bought last year that I wasn't able to try on at the store and discovered was too small when I got it home. But not anymore! And I'm officially off blood pressure meds!

Congrats on your surgery and welcome! I had a 5 week stall with losing and gaining the same 2-4 lbs. I'm 9 weeks out now and it just broke!! I started being really obsessive with getting as much protein as possible (I'm a DS patient and we need alllll the protein), and making sure I was getting at least 64 oz, more like 80 if I could help it. And then I added steps in, increasing by 500-1,000 steps a week. And then 2 weeks later the stall FINALLY broke! I don't know if it was a coincidence or if what I did helped, but I'm really thankful it broke. I lost 5 lbs! Hopefully it'll continue down from here, the stall weeks are stressful.

Ty! Yes we are! Some of that weight loss was pre-surgery, lost about 26# since surgery. I feel really good actually. a) I too need to stop eating before I’m too full like so many others here, I’m having a hard time with that. b) I was super nauseous for the first 3 weeks or so but was lucky in that my surgeon gave me Zofran for it. My Dr. cleared me to eat whatever (as long as it’s healthy) I want after my 1 month follow up and so far so good. My new favorite food is canned chicken crust pizza I make. It’s soooo yummy and gives me tons of protein intake with just one piece. c) I’m definitely feeling the stalls, I’ve had 2 (one currently) which is what makes me come see how y’all are doing and then I realize it’s not just me so that makes me feel better. It’s just so annoying bc I typically eat about 750-900 cal a day and my brain just doesn’t want to get why the weight doesn’t just drop off 🤣. I think it thinks I’m starving to death 🤦🏼‍♀️😂 d) I have on occasion gotten super hungry which I hate. I was so hoping that feeling was permanently gone but 🤷🏼‍♀️. It’s only happened to me 2 or 3 times so maybe I was dehydrated? That’s what I’m telling myself for now. I also have a hard time getting 64 ounces of fluid in but I try. And going back to the nausea thing….i just had a couple of suggestions that I’ve tried and have helped me, but of course ev1 is different. Even the thought of protein shakes now make me want to vomit, I do everything I can to avoid having to drink them. I try to hit 60-80 gm of protein a day. I eat a lot of tuna, chicken, Greek yogurt, the Only Bean roasted edamame beans and chicken pizza crust pizza. And use liquicel if I need a protein boost before breaking down and having a shake. I don’t ever take my vitamins on an empty stomach, I always eat light and fit Greek yogurt first. water makes me nauseated now. So I very rarely drink plain water. I usually drink decaf unsweetened iced tea and now add Mio to my water but I’m trying to integrate the plain water back in, I think it’s just some kind of weird mental block. And just keep in mind that dehydration itself can cause fatigue and nausea! Of course so can the vitamins were all taking 😂 Sorry for the vvvveeerrryyyyyy long post guys! And thanks again for all y’all’s unknown help. I wish ev1 the best on their weight loss journey!

I’m sure this is pretty basic anatomy but I don’t understand much of it so don’t laugh but I think I may be confused. I had the SADI so I know that my post op body malabsorbs a pretty good deal of fat. I also know that we do need a certain amount of fat for our bodies to function properly. Meaning I probably will need to consume like twice as much as my body needs to actually get enough to fuel my body, right? (Maybe not twice as much but for sake of this let’s say twice). Okay so I also had gallbladder removal along with my SADI which wasn’t at all expected but apparently I had gall stones and the organ was already looking bad so with anticipated weight loss destroying it further it would need to come out eventually anyways so he went ahead and did it. Well with gallbladder removal you aren’t supposed to have a lot of fat because your body can’t process it as well. My fear is that if I eat twice as much fat so my body gets the half if that it needs to function that my liver and stuff still have to process all of it and that will be bad for my liver and whatever else. Is that the case? When we eat and the food goes through our intestines and only part of the fat absorbs, do our organs still process ALL of the fat or does it only process the HALF that has been absorbed. I was thinking it has to process it all and really worried about how this is going to work but if it only processes the portion I “absorb” then I’m pretty much like anyone else who has their gallbladder removed I guess. I just have to live on what my body can handle without a gallbladder. What makes sense when I really think about it is whatever is not absorbed doesn’t go through the organs but I am just making sure that I understand.

Hi everyone, It has been awhile since I have posted. We have been very busy around my house. I will be 6 weeks post-op on Tuesday. I can officially transition over to regular texture foods as of then. My dietician did tell me to not attempt over 1/2cup per meal. She said that is my max goal for a couple more months. Daily goals: 60-80g protein, 48+ ounces of fluids, 500-700 calories, eat 3-6 times per day. Obviously do not eat 1/2 cup 6 times per day though. Lol I am excited about being able to go to the gym and start an exercise regimen. I also do not need protein shakes anymore as long as I am meeting my protein goals. So happy about that. I have found a new product, Nurri, it is an ultra-filtered milk (shelf stable) with 30g protein and only 150 calories. It is honestly better than Fairlife and comes in a can. I have been drinking that for my breakfast and while I take all my meds. I slowly take my meds over the 30 minutes or so I drink it. @draikaina8503 hope you are feeling better. @Justarwaxx the foamies are the worst. I’m glad it has only happened to me once. @ShoppGirl the target heart rate formula is interesting. I can walk across the room and my heart rate would be higher than that. Those goals don’t really work for me but if it’s great if they help you. @Voca my date was also 8/6. Hope you are doing well. I can’t remember who asked about weight going up and down. That has not happened to me since my surgery, but in previous dieting for sure it happened. I have had a couple of days where my weight did not change. I am more of a slow loser so I weigh every day to keep myself honest and to see if something I did the day before might contribute to loss or even a stall. It works for me but might not be good for everyone. I have tried chili from Wendy’s and McAllister’s Deli and they were okay. I do not really count those as “eating out” since they were chili and I could have had almost the same from a can. Last night I went to dinner with some friends for the first time since surgery. I had not told any of them about my surgery and then they were all worried about what I could eat. I had already looked at the menu before going so I knew what my options were. Really not super WLS friendly. It’s a wood fired pizza restaurant. I ordered the best protein option pizza and had only the toppings from 2 pieces. They were small pieces and the entire pizza fit on a single plate. My choices worked because today I am down 1.3 pounds. It made me happy that I knew I made the right choice. I was also not bothered by them eating other foods and seeing them finish their entire meals. They were all super supportive and asked if we needed to go somewhere else. I recently went through my closet and started pulling clothes that are too big and adding in fall clothes. I had previously done a big purge of clothes that did not fit and I did not want to keep so my clothing options are a bit limited right now. My cousin had the gastric sleeve about 18 months ago and she gave me all of her clothes so that has been a huge help. It was like getting new clothes for free. Haha My NSV is putting something on that did not fit a month ago and now is loose. That is a great feeling. Looking at the scale and saying I have lost 25 pounds since 8/6 and that does not seem like a lot to me but knowing how a certain shirt or pants fit before and now they are loose or even too big to wear. That helps keep it real for me and helps to keep me motivated. Hope everyone has a great week and keep focused on those small goals and successes.

Hello there! I'm chiming in late but wanted to congratulate you on your victories so far and wish you well on your upcoming surgery! I just had a SADI surgery on August 5th - It is basically a sleeve + sleeve revision done initially, all in one go. I mainly wanted to give my opinion on your question regarding hobbies post-surgery -- I can only speak for myself, but being exactly one week out from surgery I can tell you that managing my fluids and getting to know my 'newly revised' body has been pretty consuming in and of itself! I'm so very, very tired of protein shakes but I will say the Premier have seemed to work best for me and offer the most variety so far, affordably. I don't know if your liquid diet has started yet, but if you have a great love for tomato, corn, peas, pineapple, celery, shrimp, artichoke, broccoli, cauliflower, rhubarb, Grapefruit, pasta, peanut butter, coconut, or steak this would be the time to enjoy them! According to my Bariatric guide, at least, those are considered cautionary foods for quite a while post-surgery. I also wanted to mention what has actually been the biggest help for me personally, as someone who also tends to over-prepare, triple-think, and struggles with both Anxiety and ADHD - there is an app called Finch that has proven to be an absolute life saver. I was feeling a lot of overwhelm leading up to the journey - and I took the long road, as you have, actually going ten months from start to surgery. I wasn't sure how I would actually follow through properly on the dietary restrictions, get myself more active, keep track of the vitamins, focus on the hydration -- and I also had to quit smoking and drinking alcohol. I have no advertising gain by mentioning this app by the way - lol - it has just helped me SO ridiculously much that I try to tell as many folks as I can about it. I was surprised when I mentioned it to my therapist that she already knew about it and said a lot of her patients use it. Finch is a silly game / task oriented app that has a free version which has worked out just fine for me so far. It kind of 'gamifies' making healthy choices, letting you customize your goals like drinking water, taking vitamins, getting out of the house, trying new activities, etc. There are different 'journeys' and 'goals' you can set for yourself - some of the ones I'm doing now are called 'New Year, New You' another one is 'Gratitude' and there is also 'So fresh, so clean'. The 'Nourish my Body' journey has really helped me evaluate the relationship I have had in the past with food and cultivate a better relationship with it moving forward. I know not everyone needs the same kind of encouragements that I do, but for me working through these pre-created goals, being given suggestions on how to interact more with my community, to think about what foods I do and do not enjoy, and prompt me to get more active have made a huge difference. Once you are recovered and looking for physically engaging activities I'd suggest exploring new hobbies like biking, geocashing, and nature photography. Even volunteering as a dog walker at your local humane society might be enjoyable. Best wishes!

I was sleeved in 2017. In hindsight, bypass would have been better given my history of GERD. Fast forward years later, COVID piled the weight on (working from home, lockdown, job stress (worked in healthcare during pandemic) and I'm up 65 lbs. That i can deal with though. I know the bariatric lifestyle, and I know what I need to do to lose the weight healthily and such. It's the GERD. I'm up to 60-80 mgs of Prilosec daily, plus antacids and other H2 blockers as needed. I sleep elevated and just always generally feel like I have a pit in my sternum. I've subsequently relocated to a new state since my surgery, so I feel like I'm starting all over. I have an appointment with my PCC this week to discuss the GERD issue. Given what people are stating on this board, it seems like that a RNY may be an option. Honestly, I just want to know why it has escalated so bad over the last several years. It doesn't matter what it is; it comes up. I drank some unsweetened almond milk two hours after dinner, and about 10 mins later I literally burped it up like a baby. No warning, nothing... All over my bed. Other times, it's that hor burning awful acidic in my throat and chest. Makes me cough. I try to eat crackers to help absorb the acid, which is not healthy. I'm really quite scared that's something serious. What have your experiences been like? Will I go through a whole program again? I just want relief. What questions should I bring up with my doctor. What tests will they run? This is still a fairly new PCC relationship and several thousand miles away from where I first was treated/sleeved.

Hey Ashley, are you a gym member? I would assume most gyms have a trainer that you can get started with. The hospital that I had my surgery at has multiple support groups and some are done through zoom. Try contacting a local hospital that offers weight loss and see if you can join their groups.

You’ll stop losing weight at some point. Don’t freak out, but eventually the surgery stops working. Also, your body knows when to stop. Then you have to learn how to maintain without the help.

Thanks so much for response. I have no choice but to go slow and easy! The docs asst. said I had to get down the two protein shakes a day and it’s not happening. I can do one. I am finding it a bit tough now because it seems like a high dairy diet. Of course I am lactose intolerant. Choices are limited. I weigh myself once a week. I did lose another 2 pounds. I’m not worried about the weight coming off. I know it will happen. I would love to get out more but it’s difficult with this schedule of eating. Today a bit sick to my stomach. This to shall pass.

I pushed the plus sign. But ended up clicking quote because I don't see how to reply without the quote. Hmm.. I promise I'll get all this down! I need to be here! Just wanted to say thank you for trying to show me how these things work. I tried responding from my phone earlier and it wasn't doing right so I came to my laptop when I got home. Also I wasn't able to fill out my starting weight etc. So going to try to do that from my laptop too. And I realize I should have made a post to introduce myself, right? I said most everything on this responding to Amber though. LOL!! And it's nice to meet all of you for real! Thanks for all advice! Have a nice weekend! But when I have time I'll be popping in here. Super busy lately with work and still moving in. We moved last month and lots of pics aren't hung and all that. And I'm a Realtor and have been busier than normal! But that's good! I also am a personal assistant for 3 separate clients during the week. And I am home now, doing laundry and swept my whole house. LOL! Always something, right? I recently joined the Philatelic Society as I am a stamp collector and our annual show is this weekend so I'm excited to go and meet some members who will be at our monthly meetings and also experience a stamp show for the first time. Yay! (yes. I'm super nerdy and I love books and history, etc. LOL!) I was reading all of your little details of where you are now, what type of surgery, etc. I am going now to try to add mine. Thanks for having me. I have friends and family who are supporting me in this but they've not gone through it. Some cousins did. And they did ok. But I don't live near them and they did their's years ago. Just don't want to bug them I guess. So thanks again!!

I did it for years too. It was focussed on breathing and stretching & included the flow routines so it sounds like what you will be doing. It did have a fancy yoga name which I can’t remember now. I loved it which is why I incorporated the stretches in the routines I do at home now. Hope you enjoy it too. It likely wouldn’t be considered strength training but many of the stretches and poses use your body weight so will it help build strength? Yes. You’ll also find that it slowly improves your general fitness too because of the broth work. I remember noticing the improvement when going to the camp we took our year 6 classes to every year. There was this big hill I’d always struggle to climb but a year after starting yoga I didn’t have an issue at all. Actually lead the way up the hill. I only wore slim legged track pants and a t shirt or fitted singlet top. Your bike shorts will be fine and I top you’ll feel comfortable in and bare feet are fine. Sure there will be people in the latest trendy yoga gear but it’s not necessary. I found a thick foam exercise mat at Kmart (here in Australia) which helped with my bony bits when I do my stretches now. See how you go with your yoga mat and look for a thicker mat if you need it. My yoga instructor used to provide latex bands to use for some of the stretches and we all just bought a towel which we rolled up to use if we needed extra support. Honestly you can end up spending a fortune on clothing and equipment so I’d hold off first to see how much you really love it and what you actually need. If you’re worried about your personal belongings, keep your keys, wallet, phone & whatever else in a bag and set it beside you with your water bottle. You could pop in your shoes & jacket (for when you start to feel the cold) too so you have all your belongings with you.

Wow, you look great!! I'm so glad you've had such a great result! I love when successful people pop up to encourage everyone to stay the course, it is really inspiring. I'm in my first stall post surgery and it is soooo annoying and discouraging, even though I know it is part of the process. I'm just staying the course--low carbs, high protein, water, water, water, move when I can. I know it has to break at some point. I gained 2.6 lbs but I know it is water weight. It is a good thing I only weigh once a week or I'd drive myself mad... LOL

They have vitamin patches. However, the drawback is they aren't as good from what I understand. I'm certain your doctor will find something to help you. My insurance does cover rehab for my knee. I did it for two months, but I can do the samething at home. It was just stretches and certain movements to strengthen other parts of the knee to help stabilize it. The doctor did a couple injections but that only helps for a couple weeks. I'm at 100 lbs weight loss since October when I weighed in at my first visit to the bariatric center. I dropped nearly 70 lbs before I had the surgery. Thanks for the comment. I'm not a very photogenic, but I will post some pictures at some point.

yeah, i dont think your lack of exercise/activity is the issue, you probably get your fair share of that already caring for your kids weight loss is more about reducing food intake vs increases output (though regular exercise is wonderful for overall health and wellbeing). also sleep. regular and restful sleep has a positive co-relation to weight loss. now i realize time for food planning and calorie counting and getting some well deserved sleep may seem hard to come by given the aforementioned kids. do the best that you can. it may take a little longer vs if you had more time and help, but baby steps, as they say. along with a flexible and self-forgiving attitude! forget the chores sometimes and take a nap when the kids are napping. when u prepare the kids food, prepare urs too. preferably in large batches for freezing or storing in individual packets so u have a healthier grab and go item. stock ur pantry with better choice snacks...for both you AND the kids. never too early to start them on a healthier eating path for life. and finally: ask. for. help. we tend to (at least i know i do) try to do everything ourselves...we dont need to. reach out to family, friends, neighbours, community service providers, insurance services (if u have them). good luck! ❤️

I haven’t had any blood work since surgery to say they’re working but all my bloodwork was off a couple months beforehand and I started them about a month and a half before surgery. My pre surgery bloodwork didn’t show any deficiencies in any vitamins or minerals then. I figured if the surgeon had them on her list of approved multivitamins then they must work but occasionally I do wonder how lol. My appt is next week on the 25th so I will let you know. Im one of those people that struggles with my levels on a good day so during this post op diet I’m sure I’ve been challenged. Amazing job on the weight loss and walking despite the knee pain. I often stay down because of pain or exhaustion and I need to get up and moving. I hope your knee surgery is in the near future!

That's a great view. I walk one to two miles every other day. Part of the reason for the gastric bypass is I have a torn meniscus ligament in my knee. It's going to require a full knee replacement. The surgeon won't consider doing the surgery until I'm at 40 BMI. That's the reason why I can only do 1 to 2 miles, anymore than that is just unbearably painful. Tha days I don't walk, I get on the rowing machine I have at home. I try to exercise at least 6 days a week. It's not high intensity or anything as of yet. Great to see your stall has passed. My weight loss is very slow. But, it is moving.

Sure, I was really distressed about the amount of food I ate two days ago I think it will be a decent example. 1 icelandic skyr coldbrew yogurt 1 cup coffee + sugar free cream 1 capri sun 4 oz of steak cooked in 1tbsp olive oil & minced garlic 1 chocolate premier protein shake 1 strawberry atkins protein shake (it's half the protein of the premier ones) 1 scoop vanilla isopure protein blended with 1/4 banana, 1 strawberry, 4 blueberries, 8 oz darigold fit protein milk 3 oz chicken, 1/4 cup macaroni this kind of is similar to a daily menu. the steak happens maybe once every 3 days, chicken is an every day staple. coffee is a one or two time a week option. yogurt is typically every day, but sometimes is subsituted with oats overnight bottles that are mixed with the protein milk. -edit- I'm stuck in this cycle of feeling hungry, then feeling guilty after I eat because I realize i ate food and I haven't been losing enough weight, then i don't want to eat again for a long time because I want to lose the weight, then i feel starving, then i eat, then i feel guilty, etc etc. It's a really shitty loop I'm stuck in.

Dang it! Back up to 200 today. I could see the digital scale contemplating telling me 199.8, but it decided nope. I've had days with tons of exercise. Days with no exercise. Days with over 1000 calories. Days with barely 500 calories because what I ate made me sick. None of it does anything to move the weight. I get on the scale daily because I like to see the graph as a visual. But I'd like it better if the number went down. On the bright side, my blood work all looks pretty good. A bit low in Vitamin A, zinc, and prealbumin, but so far no one has said I should change anything. @LisaCaryl I love the NSV with the jeans! What a nice surprise, even if you did get stuck wearing them to your group. I have one more week of school runs and after school activities before my kids are out for the summer. At that point, I am going to make a weekly meal plan and try out some new recipes from the bariatric cookbooks that are gathering dust because I've been too busy. I've also found a workout video to try with my pilates bar resistance band set, so that's going to happen this week, at least once.

Hi ShoppGirl, I replied to you in the DS forum. You'll probably find the answers you need in the Facebook group I'm in. It says it is for the Duodenal Switch, but we also have plenty of SADI patients in the group and we have veterans of both surgeries in there. https://www.facebook.com/groups/1799552573392212 I highly suggest joining that group and posting your questions. Regarding gas, yes, the SADI can have gas issues if you eat too many simple carbs. And eating too much junk food may make your bathroom visits rather unpleasant. I had the DS done about 4.5 months ago and I don't usually have any gas issues and my bathroom visits are pretty normal except my stools are pale colored now due to the fat malabsorption (perfectly normal). But I stay below 50 total carbs per day and eat about 120 grams of protein a day and about 100 grams of fat. With the SADI or DS surgery you are more focused on your macros than calories because we malabsorb a portion of everything but simple carbs. If you keep your carbs low after the SADI you will lose weight better and maintain weight better...and you should minimize the side effects. You'd also want to stay away from sugar alcohols and you might find that some foods digest differently, like lettuce or other leafy greens. Usually most SADI or DS patients learn within the first year what their trigger foods are and learn to eat them at home at night or not at all.

Awesome job on the treadmill! I bought one right after surgery but have not done great at using it. I need to try harder or just start one day at a time. I used to use the treadmill at the gym years ago with a friend so I know it’s doable! I was thinking about getting a sewing machine and taking the side seams in on my clothes when I lose enough weight so that maybe I don’t need to get rid of everything and buy all new clothes. Not sure how well this will work though. Of course I won’t have to buy ALL new clothes because I saved a lot of clothes waiting to go back to my normal size lol. This is funny because I have been overweight for at least ten years…I really should’ve given up my smaller clothes years ago.

Short update: I had my gastric sleeve procedure done in November 2019. I lost around 85 lbs and then stalled eventually regaining around 50 lbs back and a horrible case of GERD. I had never had symptoms of GERD before my surgery and about 3 months later, I had to begin taking omeprezole daily to deal with it. If I forget a dose I can tell by the afternoon. During the first year post surgery, I lost my husband (not unexpectedly but it DID happen 10 days post-op for me), moved across country from Florida to New Mexico, bought a new house and started a new job. My daughter is 1 year post-op and lost approx. 150 ibs on the DS. l just started the process to obtain a revisional surgery. Will be discussing the benefits of either the DS or ByPass. I had the upper GI completed which showed a small hiatal hernia with evidence of GERD. It also showed mild cricopharyngeal hypertrophy. Any suggestions regarding which of the 2 procedures would help with the GERD and to help lose the 130 lbs. that I still need to drop to get to my goal weight?

HI all! How do you navigate eating out? Life is busy I do well during the day but at night if I do not cook for the fam then its take out. I try and make good decisions. The other day we had Mexican food. I got a grilled chicken taco, added black beans, light sour cream and some guac. Put some pico de gallo on it and only ate the insides and only half, saved the other half for lunch. If we get burgers, I will only eat the meat with mustard and the lettuce and tomato. ect... I was watching a video someone posted and it was saying that the #1 failure of WLS is chasing restriction, I do not eat till I am stuffed, but I do eat till I am satisified. If I get a craving I just grab a otter pop or 2. I am not sure if I am supposed to steer clear of all this? I am losing weight and its literally melting off, so I figured this is ok.

This isn’t really a rant or a rave. More just a topic that I am curious to hear others thoughts on. I had my psyc eval this morning and it got me to thinking….a lot. On one hand I was extremely irritated that I feel like we are being discriminated agains to have to do a psyc eval to begin with while on the other hand I question whether a one time appointment is enough and we should be required to do more. First let me say that when I say that it should be required for us to do anything I do not believe that insurance companies should be the ones dictating ANY of this. I think that doctors should be making medial decisions, period. With that being said they are involved so should they be allowed to require a psyc eval for one surgery and not another? Not ANY others as far as I know. I mean all the hoops that are required for weight loss surgery, I haven’t done anything like this for any other surgery It really feels like discrimination. How is it that in this day and age they are still getting away with it.? On the other hand are they on to something and is the evaluation really enough? For those of us who have been through it all would you have benefitted from ongoing therapy to deal with all the life changes and some professional help to change the disordered eating behaviors that most of us have to some degree? Should this be a requirement? Or perhaps they should just have to educate us about therapy and provide access to it for those who choose it. Or instead of the evaluation beforehand require one visit post surgery just so we could see what therapy is like and we can decide if it worth it. Maybe the surgeons should be required to have a therapist on staff that can handled their patient load. Should the doctors step up and require more of their patients than the insurance company does (if they believe it’s beneficial)? Is that even allowed? or should all of this be the patients decision? Just something to think about