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I use Mynetdiary.com, Fitbit One, Aria scale, Bodytrack.it and Bariatric Pal. MND, FB and Aria all sync together tracking weight, food, exercise and fluids. Bodytrack.it keeps measurements and pictures - so you can see your progress. There is a lot out there - check everything out and see what you like best. ????

HEllo everone!!! 2day is my 3rd day home! I have been well. I am still on my Clear liquids. My hubby and family/friends that come and visit have been very supportive. I am able to have homemade broth, sugar free jell-0, gatorade, and apple juice. My bowels started returning When Igot home Saturday. As expected,they were loose and dark. I swear I spent more time in the bathrooom that night! I got a call from the nurses to ask how things are going. It was good to know they were concerned and helpful. I mentioned the whole loose stools and they asked what I was drinking. after I explained I felt it was the apple juice, they told me I might have been experiencing my first "dumping syndrome" even though my apple juice is 100% fruit juice it still contains high natural sugars. I was told to try and dilute it 50/50 with Water. SO far this has helped. Pain management is going well I walk at least 5 min 3 times a day. Somedays I feel a litte more pain and other days I feel good. I have my post op tomorrow, I am anxious to know if and what I have lost since surgery and what amount was water wieght. I will then be able to move up to the full liquids. I will be able to have my yogurt again! Cream of wheat, shakes! I will do this for 3 days. Then By friday I should be able to start on my pureed! I cant wait, I have so many recipes i mind I have found on various bariatric sites! I know the food might not look so pleasant but At least it would have the taste of real foods again:) I still cant believe my waiting and surgery are now over! Let the weight lost begin DOes anyone know where I can make a weight lost tracker?????? THanks!!!!!

My program was called Options and is through Kaiser Permanente. It took nearly a year, including 24 weeks of classes and having to lose 10% of my weight. Having waited so long it's kind of surreal that I'm finally so close to my surgery date! I actually live in North County, but Kaiser, in my particular area, contracts out to Pacific Bariatric in SD and all bariatric surgery is done at Scripps. I am only required to do one day of liquids. I think that might be because of already having lost the 10%. But it does make things easier. I feel exactly like I did when I first made the decision to have surgery, in equal parts elated, nervous, hopeful, eager, and above all else, happy. As I've never had surgery I'm, of course, a bit apprehension about the unknown from time to time. But I am 100% certain that this is the right step for me. And as I've overloaded on research this past year, I honestly feel I couldn't be more ready! How about you? What led you here and how are you feeling? ????

@calliekaine Prayers and hugs to you! Sounds like you've had a rough road. Based on your description above, you have a PEG (percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy) tube, aka a feeding tube. In my understanding, this is unusual after bariatric surgery. Not unheard of, obviously, but not common. You must have had some pretty significant complications to require this kind of intervention. BTW: it's relatively normal to have no appetite or desire to eat after sleeve surgery. My experience was a lot like catwoman7's (above). I had no appetite and I ate on schedule because I knew I needed nutrition. That lasted about 6 months or so. I wish you a speedy and healthy recovery!

So this is my first post. I've been researching and contemplating bariatric surgery for a few years now, but it's only recently that I decided to put my foot on the road and start the journey. A little background: I'm a 38 year old woman, 3 kids, and husband, cat mom (hoping to bring in a dog soon too, hehe) I've been overweight all my life. All 3 pregnancies were with gestational diabetes, but I managed without meds, and that has been the only time I've ever lost significant weight. Actually, prior to my first pregnancy, I cut out soda, and stopped relying on hamburger helper/boxed meals for dinner, and went from 255 to about 230. My weight over the years has fluctuated between 200 to 230. My biggest problem now is diabetes. I was diagnosed with type 2 a few years back. I'm on metformin, which my body doesn't handle well. In 2015, I lost my mother, who was over 300lbs and had diabetes to complications from diabetes. It has really scared me, enough that I've had anxiety issues since, and what's really pushing me to find a way to lose weight. After all my research, I'm aiming for the sleeve. I've been to my program's orientation, and met with the Nurse Practitioner. I now have loads of appointments, and a goal of losing 12 lbs by January 24. It feels like a lot, only because my timing is poor and I'm doing all this through the Christmas season. While I'd like surgery in March, I'm actually thinking May would be better since my older kids would still be in school, but my husband would be home (he's a professor) so that he can take care of my 3 year old. I could try to time it right so that it happened over his spring break too, but that's going to take the stars aligning just right, lol. Anyways, I feel like I'm taking on a whole bunch of stuff at once, and I'm not sure how to handle it all. My husband is a good man, who listens, but as he says "I'm not a therapist and other than listening, I'm not sure how to help you." I've got an appointment with a therapist, but not until January, so I'm on my own. So I guess here's my questions...how do you keep focused? I have little direction at this point, and find my confidence wavering. It's always a stressful time of year for me, and while I realize that I have to change how I handle stress, I feel a bit "thrown into the fire" by doing all this now and not say...next month, when I'd have more time to learn more ways to deal with everything. (Another back story, December goes like this: Christmas Eve, Christmas, my oldest' birthday, my youngest birthday, and 10 days later but within the 12 Days of Christmas, my middle child's birthday.) I find the site here too big so I'm not sure where to read in order to get more positive stories and other helpful information. I read a few books, but I guess I'm not ready to invest in any sort of emotional eating books. I'm counting calories and watching what I eat, and trying to exercise more, but really, that's not enough to keep me focused completely. So what other resources do you use? Sites with good articles and information, positive stories of success, etc? And finally, on a grosser note, and a rather...embarrassing question to ask, but how are bowel movements after surgery? I mean mostly on the long term, but I ask because one of the biggest factors to not just simply "losing weight with diet and exercise without the surgery" is I can't handle the thought of being on metformin for the rest of my life. Even at 1000mgs, the loose BM's are horrid and painful and interfering with my every day life (with my current primary care physician pushing for me to move up to 1500mgs despite my protests). I have this worry that I'll still be dealing with intestinal issues after surgery. So if you have had the surgery, and were on metformin, did you get off of it? If you've had intestinal issues in the past, have they continued after surgery? Sorry for the novel!

style="margin:0;padding:0;background-color:#d8dde8;color:#5a5a5a;font:normal 13px helvetica, arial, sans-serif;position:relative;"> Hey BariatricPal Members! It’s that time again…time for a monthly newsletter. It’s a way we can reach out to you about the happenings on BariatricPal and the world of weight loss surgery. We hope to motivate you by sharing ideas and introducing you to inspirational people. So here’s the run-down of this month’s newsletter! • Don’t Let Summer Slip Away: Your WLS Must-Do’s • Member Spotlight: Meet Elode! • FDA Approves Gastric Balloon as Obesity Treatment Enjoy the newsletter, and then log in to BariatricPal to spend a little time. You can talk about weight loss surgery and whatever else is on your mind, and see what’s on everyone else’s mind! We want to know how your summer is going. Thanks as always for your support of BariatricPal. Sincerely, Alex Brecher Founder, BariatricPal Don’t Let Summer Slip Away: Your WLS Must-Do’s! Remember putting things off this winter or spring? “I’ll do it in the summer,” when the snow melts or there’s a little more time or the days are longer. Well, have you done what you said you were going to do this summer? If not, you’d better get moving! The days are long and hot now, but summer doesn’t last forever. Don’t let it pass you by! Take the Next Step What is the next step in your weight loss surgery journey? Is it deciding about whether to get WLS? Is it deciding on a surgeon, or figuring out which type of WLS you want, or crunching the numbers to fit it into your budget? Is it getting more protein, finding a WLS buddy, or starting an exercise program? Take that step! Don’t wait until summer is over, because things tend to get busier in the fall. If you can get over your next hurdle now, you will be stronger and in a better position to get healthier. Eat Well and Get Active Okay, that’s not a summer special…but you can eat well and get active summer-style! Why not check out a local farmer’s market and see what’s in season? Keep going back every week for delicious in-season produce with a selection that changes slightly all the time, and challenge yourself to make healthy recipes with it. For bonus weight loss points, walk or bike to the market, or at least walk around it a few times to burn some calories. And how can you use summer to your advantage to get active? Without snow or ice, the streets are yours to pound. You can also hit local pools, and trails, and see if your neighborhood park has a circuit training loop set up – many do! To beat the heat, exercise early in the morning or in the evening, stay in an air-conditioned gym if needed, drink a lot of water, and listen to your body. As summer passes, take a few minutes to take stock of where you’ve been and where you’re going. Staying aware can help you stay focused, and make any necessary adjustments to your goals and plans for reaching them. Insure Nutrition We are always thrilled to welcome a new newsletter sponsor into the BariatricPal family, and this month, Insure Nutrition is giving us the pleasure of doing just that. Our latest sponsor, Insure Nutrition, is an online company that specializes in getting health insurance coverage for nutritional supplements. Its Post-Bariatric Surgery Nutrition products includes Premier Protein shakes in chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry flavors and OptiSource High Protein drinks in caramel and strawberry flavors. Checking if you are eligible is easy. Insure Nutrition encourages you to use its online form to find out if you qualify. Our sponsors help make BariatricPal newsletters and other services possible. We encourage you show your thanks by considering them first for your bariatric needs. Unjury and Opurity BariatricPal is proud and excited to announce two new sponsors for our newsletters. The new sponsors are Unjury, a supplier of wonderful tasting, highest quality protein supplements, and Opurity (from the makers of UNJURY), highest purity vitamin supplements for bariatric surgery patients. Their support lets us keep BariatricPal newsletters coming to you each month. Unjury was founded by a master’s degree dietitian who has been helping patients since 1974. It is committed your health. You know the importance of getting enough protein after weight loss surgery, but you also know that meeting your protein goals can be challenging. Unjury makes your task not just easier but actually enjoyable. Product flavors include Chocolate Splendor, Chocolate Classic, Vanilla, Strawberry Sorbet, Chicken Soup Flavor, and Unflavored. These ready-to-use protein powders come in single-serve and multi-serve containers, and contain high-quality whey protein to keep you full and nourished. Launched in 2007, Opurity is dedicated to using the purest ingredients in its supplements. Opurity Bariatric Multivitamins have two unique big advantages: First, each multivitamin requires only one tablet per day*. Second, Opurity is so dedicated to quality that it is unique in using no ingredients from China. Choose from chewable orange-berry multivitamins for gastric bypass and gastric sleeve patients or for lap-band patients.Opurity also sells chewable calcium, vitamin D and folic acid/vitamin B-12 chewables. All supplements come with a 100% satisfaction guaranteed. They return policy is: “Yes you can return it.” Support from Unjury and Opurity helps us continue to bring you the services you enjoy on BariatricPal, so please support these two brands! When looking for your bariatric surgery supplements, first visit Unjury.com and Opurity.com. Purchasing from these companies helps support BariatricPal. Thanks to Unjury and Opurity for your generous sponsorship, and thanks to BariatricPal members who support our partnership! *You still need calcium and sublingual B-12. Member Spotlight: Meet Elode! This month, we are thrilled to feature Elode as our Member in the Spotlight! She is a 5’8” travel nurse who struggled with her weight for years. She had been overweight since the age of 12. Her mother and brother are morbidly obese, and Elode worries about them a lot. She says she wanted to get the surgery to motivate them to follow in her foosteps. Elode decided to get the gastric sleeve after gaining 60 lbs. in a year and hitting a high weight of 267 lbs. She got her surgery done in November of 2014, and has since lost nearly 100 lbs! She is down 97 lbs and is going strong. Her main challenge was and still is eating slowly, but she was expecting this to be a challenge and is working on it. Since getting the gastric sleeve, she feel better and younger. Exercise is easier, and clothes shopping is much better, especially since she is not limited to Plus-sized clothing. She enjoys paying attention to what she puts in her body, and watching the scale go down. As a great moment, she points to a recent 8-mile hike that she and her daughter completed for the first time. Elode uses BariatricPal to receive support, and she enjoys keeping in touch with the people she’s met on the boards. Elode also gives a lot of help to others here at BariatricPal. She loves sharing her experiences with newbies. For those who may be struggling with their weight and weight loss surgery, she says to stick with the basics. “Know that it’s going to be hard at times, but remember why you wanted this in the first place.” She suggests writing a list of reasons why you got your surgery and reading the list when you’re feeling down. Thanks, Elode, for being in our spotlight and also for all you bring to the BariatricPal community. We are all grateful for your contributions and are happy to see your success! Do you want to be in the Member Spotlight? Is there someone you’d like to nominate? Let us know in the Member Spotlight Forum or send Alex Brecher a PM with the subject line “Member Spotlight.” We want to share your story in the newsletter! FDA Approves Gastric Balloon as Obesity Treatment On July 28, the Food and Drug Administration approved the Reshape Dual Balloon for use as an obesity treatment. The Reshape Dual Balloon is one of a few different intragastric balloons available in other countries, and the first to be approved in the U.S. You can read more about intragastric balloons on BariatricPal! How It Works The dual gastric balloons are placed in your stomach and inflated under anesthesia in an outpatient setting. The balloons help fill up your stomach so you are less hungry and not able to eat as much. The balloon stays in your stomach for up to six months. The intragastric balloon is meant to be used only with proper nutritional support for the entire time you have the balloon. ReShape stresses the need for changing your eating habits and staying informed and engaged. Is It for You? The Reshape Dual Balloon is for patients with BMI of 30 to 40 and a comorbidity. The balloon is a non-surgical option that may be appealing for patients at the lower end of the overweight BMI ranges who do not want an invasive procedure. As with WLS, you need to be willing to change your eating habits with the balloon. You cannot get the instragastric balloon if you already had WLS. Weight Loss and Maintenance The balloon is not for patients who are at the higher ends of the BMI ranges. The balloon is expected to help you lose only about 7 percent of your total body weight. If you weigh, say, 300 lb., a loss of 7 percent of total body weight would be equivalent to an expected loss of 21 lb. Another major potential drawback to the balloon is that you can only use it for a short time. If you do not adapt the new eating changes and form new permanent habits before the balloon is deflated and removed, you will regain the weight back. In one study, patients regained an average of two-thirds of the amount of weight they had lost within six months of getting the balloon out. Don’t forget to check out our article on intragastric balloons for more information on how they work and who should consider them! We hope you enjoyed the newsletter and are ready to keep up with your WLS successes…or get back on track if you’ve been a little slack. Don’t forget to visit BariatricPal if you ever need ideas, support, or inspiration.

Hi there... HumbleMom here. Am Pre-Op RNY - waiting for insurance approval. Most likely will have surgery next month (2/2014.) Was born and raised in Memphis, TN and am still here. Have been a wife for almost 21 years ~ looking forward the next 21+. Mother to 3 children, one of whom passed away at 8yrs ~ more about this in future blogs. Am happy in general ~ my life is full of love and laughter, family and friends and all those little positive intangibles we tend to take for granted. My faith is intact, meaning my relationship with God has weathered the death of my son. God and I are good ~ I have MANY questions for Him, but I also have to thank Him for all He's done for me and for all He continues to do for me. For financial reasons, I dabble in cybersecurity. For fun, I read, cook (sometimes healthy, sometimes not), needlepoint and am learning to play Bridge. We have three dogs, all different sizes, all rescues, all quirky and all amazingly lovable. You can see from my profile that I'm a big girl. Like just about everyone else here, I didn't get this way overnight.My weight crept up on me over time, over pregnancies, over typical stress, over unbelievable stress and over many a wonderful meal shared with good friends. Also like just about everyone else, I'm a very well educated obese person. I KNOW Weight Watchers inside and out and have been very successful with it over the years, having lost (and regained) myself several times over. Jenny Craig and I have been good friends, albeit never for long. I've tried Nutrisystem and Medifast ~ ordered the products, received them, organized the cupboards to house them, tried them for a few days and then promptly sold the remaining items on eBay. I've walked, done couch-to-5k, done pilates, attended exactly ONE Bikram yoga class (WHAT was I thinking??? If you are a Bikram fan, my hat's off to you!), used a personal trainer, worked out in a members only gym, worked out at my office gym, walked some more and then walked even more. And like just about everyone else, each new this-will-change-my-life endeavor has proven successful (except the Bikram yoga!). I've lost weight, I've toned muscles I never knew I had and I've increased my endurance more than I ever thought possible. UNTIL… I wasn't losing or toning anymore because I'd stopped. I'd stopped because I ~ well, that's part of this puzzle. Why DID I stop? I don't know. I seriously need to find a counselor who can help me with this strange dance of mine with food, exercise and health. Know of anyone in the Memphis area? Please share! So, long story short, I'm hoping this surgery will be the missing tool from my arsenal of knowledge needed to become a healthier me. While it will be nice to look more attractive, I'm here for other reasons. I want to be able to hike and climb volcanoes with my sons. (True story ~ more later!) I want to quit the daily meds for cholesterol, blood pressure, GERD and depression. Or maybe I should say I want to trade those meds for vitamins, calcium and b12 supplements! I don't want my family to bury me because I literally ate myself to death. Much better to perish on the side of a volcano, right? I'm tired of walking into a large department store filled with beautiful clothes and being relegated to shop from the Women's sizes hidden away in the tiny corner of the basement. I mean, come on. NOTHING tastes that good! I have 'eaten' my way into that corner and I'm tired of it. Those clothes in the other 90% of the store are much, much cuter! I want to shop from THOSE racks. Actually, just knowing I have the choice to shop from those racks is enough for me. I'll probably end up at the consignment store anyway. Well, that's me in a nutshell. Obviously a fan of lists! I need to get to know others here. I need support and I want to support you! I need to know I'm not the only one who can't stand a certain type of chewable bariatric vitamin! Won't you please be my neighbor?

Thank you so much Stephanie. I called Dr. Malley's office and talked to the front desk a few months ago. I told her that my insurance did not cover it, and I asked her if there was anyway for them to help me push it through. She told me that if it's not covered on my plan (bariatrics) then they have nothing to go on!! I wonder if she was just trying to brush me off, who knows? I will definately look into it more. Thanks again for your help.

We have different experiences with the sleeve surgery as far as recovery from the surgery, different paces of tolerating food the first month, etc. etc. we should respect all different views. But to actually demean, argue or get angry on a support site is totally uncalled for. It is not who knows more, who knows best.. It is our personal journey. I appreciate this website cause I witness compassion, sharing of personal struggles and triumphs, providing guidance to the newbies, etc. Tate 777, I am glad u found this website supportive. We can all be reminded that this website is not just about us..but for the good of the people who suffered most of their lives with a disease called obesity. Tate 777 welcome to bariatric pal". Let's leave all our egos away from this site. .

Hi 3boyzmom, I have read a couple of places that BCBS is one of the easier places to get approved but each state and plan is different. I started my process last June by asking my pcp if I was a candidate for a LapBand. She said yes and gave me a referral. I had to attend a seminar first and in the mean time I check my insurance qualifications. It required a 6 month physician supervised diet and exercise. Needless to say, I didn't get my appointment with the bariatric surgeon until February. By that time I was just under 40 BMI and the doctor said I might not qualify. I was so upset. A few weeks later I was called to tell me I was approved. Due to a work conflict, I was unable to schedule my surgery until 5/6. The past four weeks have been the hardest. Good luck to you and I hope everything goes smoothly!

My doctor, was a newbie for bariatric banding. She had done less than 30. I was okay with it, because I really like her. She is a strong knowledgable woman! There also an experienced doctor with her and there was a proctor from LapBand in the surgery room as well. I have never smoked. Aftercare is important too and my doctor only performs the fills, not their assistants. There are different size Lapbands and there are different bands, such as the Realize band.

I really need help. I just started a new job and it's time to sign up for my insurance. Called the company to see if my insurance will cover surgery snd they say I have no bariatric services. Is there anyone out there that knows any other way to get help to pay for surgery? I need this for myself and I can't pay it out of pocket. I'm so upset because when I started HR said they thought it was something I'd be able to get. So I had my hopes up. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I've had a leak almost 9 months now. They have tried everything, sometimes more than once, I go to a large hospital in Seattle. I had a consult last week with a bariatric surgeon and after talking with him, I am really considering getting the "fix it surgery" or Bypass, because I am not healing and I have very little quality of life. But my gastro doc says "just be patient, i'm confident it will heal." As of now I have a PICC line (3rd one) for food. I haven't eaten in a month in a half and the month before that only a few bites of Beans a few times. I am so hungry!!! Of course, my family has to eat so I have to smell food every night and I want to cry. I have a drain tube (the 3rd one) coming out my back. Have lost 2 jobs and was recently given one back, but is now rocky because I can get sick at any given time and they know that. I have went to work a few days then been hospitalized several times and back out for approx. 2 months at a time. I am in pain almost always, have been on pain meds almost every single day. I have been hospitalized probably 10 times ( 5 hours away from my family so no one is ever able to be there with me). The longest stay almost a month. I have to go back (5 hours one way) every couple of weeks and sometimes we have to borrow money for gas just to get there. I has ruined us financially. I do have insurance but I have racked up at least 350,000 dollars in hospital bills. There were months we could not afford dinner for our kids. I can't sleep but a few hours at a time. I try to work 3 days a week just to keep the lights on and food in the fridge, but its obviously very uncomfortable as I am a nurse and on my feet all day. I have very little family support, just my husband who has taken about 6 weeks of time off work to take me back and forth to Seattle (he worries about his job) . In fact, it has ruined several relationships in my family. My parents only live 10 miles away, young and healthy (at least my mom, my dad does have med prob), and they have not showed up one time to ask if I need help while my husband is gone 50 hours a week working. That hurts the worst. I could probably go on and on as you can imagine, but I want people to see how bad it has been for me going through this as I am sure many of you can relate. I was told the bypass was an option from the beginning. But I did not want that, so I think I have been strong and held out for a long time before considering the fix it surgery, or Bypass. I just feel I cant do this much longer. And now my gastro doc wants me to go back to Seattle to have open surgery for a feeding tube in place of the picc line in a few weeks. So this is obviously far from over. This will be my second feeding tube. The bariatric surgeon and his partner act like this is a good idea at this point. Yes, of course they say my chances of complication increase because its a fix it or revision surgery, at about 5%. They seem confident I can have a successful surgery and heal and be back on my feet in about a month. I just need advice, comments, if you have done it and are you happy you did? I am afraid, and I have seen this story on this site where someone went through similar things and still had to have the bypass and of course, says don't go through this for too long because you may end up having to have it anyway. How is the bypass different in the way of eating and quality of life versus the sleeve. My gastro doc said it took one patient a year and a half to heal, but she did. Of course she was much older than me, but still I CANNOT IMAGINE LIVING LIKE THIS FOR 9 MORE MONTHS!!!! Thank you so much, I really need the support and information on this big decision.

My insurance doesn't cover Bariatric Services either, but because my BMI is higher than normal they overrode my plan and it is covered. Check with your PCP to see if they can put in a referral to see if they will cover it. Good luck! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Omg..I actually am opposite of you..I had health net 3yrs ago and was referred to Pacific bariatric. .went to seminar in October and by December I was told I would be scscheduled for surgery in January. .did everything from pre op classes to all the testing required. .sadly the medical board denied me last minute despite my countless pages and pages of documented attempts to lose weight that spanned almost 10 years...fast forward to last year in April I am back with Kaiser and I was approved for the options program..had surgery 3weeks ago..Pacific bariatric I thought did good in terms of making you informed. .perhsps not as much as Kaiser but maybe things have changed I was under the care of Dr. Suh at the time...I was happy overall in the way things moved smoothly. .but unfortunately like I said getting approved last minute wsd an issue.

I live near by and had my surgery at fair oaks hospital in Virginia. My question for you is wether the hospital is designated a center of excellence for bariatric surgery? That's very important since it means the hospital is set up for the bariatric patient.

Both are good. My experience was that my surgeon had a group that offered all the essentials like the nutritionist and psyc eval and Bariatric program education and support that handled everything and collected all the paperwork to send to my surgeon. My pcp was able to do the ekg in the clearance appointment! Your surgeon will more often know how to get things done and what your insurance will require! They can coordinate your appointments to expedite it quickly! Best of luck I hope I helped! I just went through this stage. Best wishes! You'll do great!

One member asked the question: Is sleeve surgery “taking the easy way out”? This question really got my juices flowing and thinking. For all of us who endured the agony and anguish of bariatric surgery, we recognize there is nothing easy about this most important matter. Let see, how easy this is? 25 intelligent reasons for making our choice. 1. Exercising and working out with little or no results (life long) 2. Yo-yo dieting with little or no results (life long) 3. Heart disease 4. Respiratory problems 5. Stroke 6. High blood pressure 7. Elevated cholesterol 8. Diabetes 9. sleep disorders 10. Gout 11. Discrimination (on the job, in public, airline seats, etc) 12. Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) 13. Amenorrhea - absence of menstrual bleeding (gals) 14. Impotence (guys) 15. Cancer 16. Psychological problems 17. Kidney disease 18. Liver disorders 19. Economic factors (cost of associated illnesses, food, clothes etc) 20. Insurance issues 21. Osteoarthritis (a degeneration of cartilage and its underlying bone within a joint) 22. Social problems – (family, friends, dating etc) 23 Gallbladder disease 24. Pregnancy complications 25. DEATH The dictionary defines “easy” as: 1. Not hard or difficult; requiring no great labor or effort: 2. Free from pain, discomfort, worry, or care: Our lives have been anything but easy. As always, comments welcome. Lash

I hope all goes well for you. Do you know if your insurance is going to cover? I don't know yet. When I made the appointment they told me they thought it did, but when I look at my insurance online it is blank where the bariatrics is listed, so I don't know. T.

I had band to sleeve surgery in November. I had my band placed in 2005 and had nothing but problems. But the Dr. deflated the band about a month preop and did the removal and sleeve in the same surgery. It was a difficult surgery for me due to scar tissue from the band and from a previous open spleenectomy from years ago. I don't know about your insurance requirements but mine was horrible. They approved the surgery and after the fact told me there was a 25,000 cap per lifetime for bariatric care. I had a four day stay in the hospital due to complications which resulted in a 100,000 bill~ that I'm responsible for....

I'm going to print this and bring it to my pre-op appointment next week. I've already ordered from Bariatric Advantage and found the Wild Cherry Calcium Citrate Chewables w/ Vit D are terrible. Unfortunately, I bought a 90 day supply...I'm just waiting until they are gone. The other things I ordered from there aren't so bad. Thanks for the info!

Jessica, welcome to LBT! I was a financed patient--bariatric procedures were excluded from my insurance policy. I went to my seminar on May 19th and had my pre-op testing on May 21st. On the 21st, I made the appointment to have surgery on June 18th. I could have done it on June 11, but I was out of town that week nmmama, you might want to consider posting a specific question as its own thread; you'll probably get more responses that way! My experience is all on my blog. Maybe looking around at blogs people have would help you out (look at signatures throughout LBT for links, as a lot of us are also bloggers :biggrin:.

Just an FYI it's 4 times a day. That is what I was shipped from Insurenutrition.com they also provided Protein shakes, and scar cream. All covered by my health insurance. And they are a sponsor here on bariatric pal.

I go to the one at Methodist Hospital off of Beckley and Colorado Ave. They have one every 3rd Tuesday of the Month from 6p-7:30pm in the Weiss Auditorium. Great place to ask questions of people who have had surgery as well as bariatric nurses that attend. Anyone who has had surgery or is going to and their families are welcome to attend and it's free.