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Are u certain the weight gain was the reason for the denial? Did they specifically tell her that? If they didn't give a specific reason, I would call immediately to understand why they denied. There can be so many hoops to jump thru, it may not be the weight gain. Was she doing the doctor supervised diet requirement? Another thing, does ur daughter have a BMI over 40? I thought with a BMI over 40, it's usually the comorbidities (like apnea, diabetes, etc) that would allow an approval, not so much a weight gain. Hell, that's the whole reason we're trying to get these surgeries, for goodness sakes! I know u said her surgeon is going to submit an appeal but I would certainly also be on the phone with Aetna to understand exactly why I was denied and what criteria I need to do to get approved. And how often can she submit to be approved for this surgery, if they end up denying the appeal? This can't be the end of it forever. Push on. Make them tell u how to get this approval! I'm sorry she has to go thru this and I wish u guys all the luck. I hope Aetna relents and gives the damn approval!!

Does anyone has Aetna or other insurance with this problem.....My daughter was denied due to weight gain only 4 pounds and she has sleep apnea..her doctor stated he is going to appeal it.....so far she lost 8 pounds. Do anyone know how long is the process??? And did anyone go through this and won?

Lacecute, I’m sorry that your dealing with this, but I hate to say that this is a rude awakening for you any will be for many others. This surgery is a tool to help assist with your weight loss. You still have to put the work in as you stated your doing. You will find in your journey weight gains and MANY stalls. The stalls could last 1 or 2 weeks, later in my journey my stalls lasted longer. Your not even two months out so your doing awesome with your weight loss. One thing you don’t want to do is compare your journey to someone else. Everyone is different! This will not happen overnight, please keep that in mind. As the person said prior to increase your food intake, Men’s bodies are different as well and will need more calories than a woman. When you come across a stall increase your protein and water intake. Stay focused on the end result, and to reach the end result don’t add in your triggers or those things that are not good for you I.e. chips. There are healthy options if you desire those guilty pleasures. I would definitely wait until later in your journey to indulge, bad habits now lead to more bad habits. Don’t be so hard on yourself the surgery is working and your doing awesome with your weight loss thus far!

Hi, this is my first time posting here. Just looking for some support/advice. So I'm scheduled to have a gastric sleeve at the end of the month. My weight is 190lbs and I'm 5'3". I know I am at the lower bmi to be having the surgery but I fractured both of my hips last year (due to massive weight gain and low bone density) and am at a huge risk of fracturing them again if I do not get this weight off. I have tried everything, I can lose a stone but always put it back on and more. I stupidly told my family about getting the surgery done. My husband has been so supportive and understands why I need to get this done. However the rest of my family have been a disaster. They all think it is a case of just eating less and exercising more. I have tried to explain numerous times that I have tried everything and this is something I need to get done for my health. They are also worried about my dying or getting serious complications. I have said that it is not up for discussion anymore, that my decision has been made. This hasn't stopped them continually talking to me negatively about it. As soon as I am on my own (when my husband is not there) they come at me about it. Im finding it really hard emotionally to deal with this, and feel like I'm at such a low point now. Nobody seems to understand, no matter how hard I have tried to explain things. For me this is not about fitting into smaller clothes or looking good. I want my life back, I want to be able to do the things I used to do and not to be so depressed about my weight. Has anyone gone through this with their families that has some advice?

I keep hearing that Rachel Platten song on the radio, and I know that i need to start working on my inspirational playlist to get me through the next few months, or maybe even years. But each time I hear one of the songs I want to add to my playlist i start to cry, ugh, why am I so emo? I am pre-op, 4 months in to my 6 month appointments quota for insurance approval. Nutritionist and Psych eval booked. Cardiology work up done, and A-ok, and no sleep study needed. I am genuinely huge. In my eye, I am an exceptionally large woman. I know that most times I am the largest person in a room. I get anxious now when i eat out, what if there are only booths? Its so cliché to say that I have been fat my whole life, so I wont say that. Specifically I have been fat since the 3rd grade. I changed schools and was genuinely and cruelly bullied for 4 years. I was molested by a neighbor when I was 7-8 years old, and he liked to remind me of it once and awhile when I played with my friends in the neighborhood, my parents didn't believe me. I had a mental breakdown at 12, and was nearly hospitalized. Instead they opted for drugs and a child Psychiatrist. I tried to live on cucumbers to lose weight, it worked for awhile. When I was 13, I actually looked cute in a bathing suit. That was the last time lol, I ever looked cute in a bathing suit. Home life was terrible. I had a Mother, who was morbidly obese, with severe untreated mental illness (it was very taboo in the 80's, and hard to get treatment for regular people), and a father that was an enabler to her abusiveness. Her depression and food addiction left her ill equipped to be a parent, and my father worked all the time to put food on the table, so he couldn't really step in. I grew up quick, taking as best care of my little sister as I could, working as much as I could (had a job at 14), and trying to be positive. I knew there was a better life for me out there, in the great unknown. I lived in a bustling metropolitan area, where opportunities abounded! So I thought.... I fell in love with Mr. Completely wrong at 18, and messed up college. Got an office job, that eventually evolved in to a position at a bank, where my met my ex husband and baby daddy, who was in the Navy at the time. My insecurity, and low self worth permitted me to overlook major flaws and marry him. We divorced, and I moved back to the East coast, my home. I am now remarried, and in a much healthier relationship. I have always been big, but in the last 4 years I have gained upwards of 70 pounds. My mobility is shot. I have fallen twice spraining my ankles, tearing ligaments and tendons, which makes my ankles tender and sore when I walk. My hips and plantar fascilitis in feet make walking like walking on coals. So pain = sitting, and sitting = weight gain, and you multiply this by my age, and add a few more comorbidities, you die in a chair, connected to an oxygen machine, like my mother. I don't want to die in a chair, after wasting away for years. My insecurities are like a cancer. It eats away at everything. I know having WLS isn't a panacea for all my life's challenges, but perhaps if I am not largest gal in the room, and I felt like I belonged in this world, somewhere, I could be on a pathway to happiness. I just want to fit. Fit in a chair, fit in clothes from a regular store, omg, i want to fit in a kayak so bad, hee hee. I get stared at, looked up and down, and the worst, simply ignored. I just know that a picture of my @ss is going to show up as a graphic image on one of those local news segments on morbid obesity, or some video clip of me walking down the street (from shoulders down of course), because I don't have a face, I am not a person anymore in society's eye. Its not going to be easy, its already not easy, but it's time. I pray for the strength to use this tool the best I can, and heal myself of my hurts and find hope in a new life.....

I have Aetna, amd they require three months supervised diet, with no weight gain. I use this stuff called Teami tea, a colon cleanse that helps with a pound or two. I went through Irma this past month and had gained weight. So four days prior to weight in I went on a full liquid diet and drank the Teami tea (double dose) and lost 1.2 lbs from my previous months weigh in. I suggest you do this and get weighed again. Now I'm one month away and trying so hard not to binge this last weigh in is so important. Good luck to you. Keep us abreast of what's happening! Sent from my SM-G935P using BariatricPal mobile app

Congrats on a huge accomplishment! Don't know what to say on the Skinny Popcorn. I do know from watching, that the people who tend to maintain their original losses are very strict with themselves. But I also know, that for me personally, saying I won't ever have something again or will never be a "weensy bit bad" is not practical. It's pretty magical thinking IMHO. So I'd tend to look at your popcorn fettish like this: if you can eat your serving appropriate size and it doesn't hurt the new anatomy, cause weight gain/stall, or cause cravings to get out of control, and you can dictate the frequency of eating it--then no problemo. If on the other hand, it causes the binge monster to visit, makes you stall or gain, and you end up wanting more and more and more of it at increasingly shorter intervals--then it's a trigger food and should be avoided at this time. I'm gonna shoot for a 95/5 plan where 95% of the time I eat like a saint. The other 5% of the time, I will enjoy like a sinner. And I will have a safety window. At the high end=angelic behavior; at the low end=devil behavior.

Endoscopy revealed hiatus hernia around the band and band cant be filled because hernia causing really bad acid reflux at night. Has anyone solved this problem? Empty band causing weight gain...

The weight gain is from IV fluids they gave you in the hospital. It'll go down over the first week or two. The "waves" are stomach spasms. Very common.

My endocrinologist is the one who recommended the VSG to me specifically because it has benefitted other patients with PCOS. I read through promising medical studies when making the decision to pursue the surgery. I had the VSG in August of 2015, and I do consider the outcome to be successful because I exceeded both the goal my surgeon had set and my own "dream" goal. Depending on the brand, I'm wearing between a size zero and a four, which I would have found impossible to believe a few years ago. I did start off with a lower than typical BMI for the surgery (32), but was literally busting out of size 14, so this is a dramatic change. I've sustained that weight loss fairly easily. My diet this year has been more focused on PCOS than weight loss; I've read a few books about dietary guidelines for women with PCOS, and try to follow them. Having the VSG abated some issues with PCOS, but unfortunately not all of them. I've reduced risk from obesity-related health problems, and that is important. I still struggle with acne and hirsutism, and fertility problems. I actually didn't start taking Metformin until after I'd lost the majority of weight, and have lowered the dosage because of side effects. I plan to discontinue it altogether soon, after gradually tapering off. I'm taking 100 MG of Spiro now, and I use Vaniqa to help with the facial hair. It's obscenely expensive, but it's been effective for me, so worth the cost. I'd been on a lower dose of Spiro for nearly two years post-op, and have only recently upped it from 50 to 100 because of acne and cycle irregularities. My cycle had been fine for a while, but I had several international trips over the summer, and it's believed that the travel contributed to throwing things off. One thing I experience with Spiro is an increased appetite. Though some people lose weight and have a reduced appetite while taking it, others have the opposite experience. I don't know if this is a medicine you've ever taken, but wanted to discuss it since it's often prescribed for PCOS. For years endocrinologists insisted weight gain was not a side effect, but it's now listed as one on Mayo Clinic's website. There are many accounts online of women, both with PCOS and not, who've gained considerable weight while on it. Since I'm now two years out, carbonated drinks don't have as much of an effect on me as they did the first few months post-op when I was still healing. I find that drinking carbonated water gives me the sensation of fullness when I've felt an increase in appetite from Spiro, without consuming calories and carbs, and it also quenches the increased thirst I feel. I also am careful to keep healthy snacks around so that if that's not sufficient and I'm so ravenous I need more, I'll have better options within reach. I definitely think the VSG is worthwhile. I'd be optimistic that it could help you with PCOS, but braced for the possibility that some issues will continue. It absolutely improved my life and I'm grateful every day for it, even though it didn't help as much as I would have liked with PCOS. I wish you all the best!

Had surgery yesterday (10-4-17) and I gained 8 lbs from the time I was admitted and discharged. Is that normal? Also have waves pains in my abdomen that is relieved by standing up. Is it gas?

Had surgery yesterday (10-4-17) and I gained 8 lbs from the time I was admitted and discharged. Is that normal? Also have waves pains in my abdomen that is relieved by standing up. Is it gas?

i had gastric sleeve 10-4-17 yesterday. I was discharged today and gained 8 lbs! Is that normal? I am also having what I decribe as waves in my abdomen that can be relieved by standing up. Is that normal?

Hair loss used to be listed as a side effect for Metformin, but no longer is due to it not being reported as frequently. It impacts younger premenopausal women differently than it does those in the primary demographics for taking the medicine for diabetes. Also, I am a believer in not assuming that correlation equals causation, but in this case the timeline of it matches perfectly. The hair loss began to abate when I lowered the dose of Metformin. Similarly, for years endocrinologists have asserted that spiro cannot cause weight gain, but the Mayo Clinic now lists it as a side effect as well. If you Google Metformin and hair loss you'll find posts about it dating back more than a decade from many women, including those who were not taking it for PCOS. I do understand that PCOS itself can cause hair loss, but I've had this since I was a teen and not dealt with it except for when using specific medications or products. I'd hoped that losing weight and devoutly following dietary guidelines would get PCOS under control, but I am still experiencing unpleasant issues with it. I'm happy for you that yours is under control now. I will try Rogaine.

Part of my thoughts have been....okay your surgery was successful....no complications or issues. So what caused the weight gain has been my first question of course. I really think it has been a combination of things, but I can honestly say it hasn't been from overeating. Stress, getting older, lack of time to be more active. I'm sure that doesn't sound believable, but it's the truth. So how will being resleeved help? I guess I just want a second chance to get and KEEP it right. And it's funny, because I remember doing the Pre-Op diet and saying to myself...this is all mental. You can do this and not even have the surgery. After surgery we all know that its STILL work, but it's all mental and breaking bad habits. So as I'm typing this and giving myself a reality check....it may very well NOT be the surgery that I need.

You need to speak to your ins or verify their exact policy on their portal. Some ins can and will deny based on weight gain during the 3/6 month period you are working up to surgery.

I've been told it is not an issue if there isn't dramatic weight gain. Most people fluctuate 5 pounds in a day so I would not worry about it. If insurance gives you trouble see if you have an employee assistance program or advocacy service through your provider that might help. They've been a huge asset for me

I'm almost 8 months out. In the immediate pre- and post-op sleeve environment, it had a really profound effect - changing my relationship with food, getting a full-body "reset", having little to no hunger, much more energy, etc. I never had any problems with any food or drink along the way. But I have since learned the hard way, that that's not necessarily a benefit. Over the summer I was travelling, for basically 4 weeks, and it became difficult to stay completely on track the entire time. So, occasionally at first, but then with more regularity, I started trying more foods that I've been avoiding - wraps for lunch, chai tea from Starbucks (the only thing other than regular tea that I can drink there), and other foods (mostly carbs) that I told myself were a one-time only thing (like my dad's birthday cake). But once I started introducing carbs/sugar back into my life I noticed 2 things - one, that my cravings came back with a vengeance, and that I didn't feel full or satisfied as I had in the past; and two, that my weight loss came to a complete and absolute standstill. It's clear that I can eat anything - I did not have any negative reactions to anything that I tried - therefore, I know that I will have to vigilant about food for the rest of my life. It's taken me a couple weeks to wean myself off the carbs and back into a proper diet, much harder than when I did the pre-op diet. It's been a real wake-up call for me. So I'm thankful that my sleeve (and the effects from it) is preventing any demotivating weight gain, and that I have a chance to get back on track.

ChereS, I showed up at my pre-op appt 5 lbs heavier than when I had seen my surgeon 2 months prior. He said to make sure I followed my pre-op surgery diet so my liver would shrink before my surgery (which was 6 days after). Like others have stated, just do the clear liquids. It's only before and after the surgery. For me, that's 6 weeks (which is over in 9 days!!!) but it is well worth it considering the trade-off. Hang in there. I was just as nervous about the weight gain as you are now but it really does depend on the surgeon. 5lbs shouldn't be a no-go but don't gain any more. Just think about how good you are gonna look when you start losing that weight! Let us know how it goes. Good luck and happy shrinking!!!

The answer to your question really depends on the guidelines implemented by your insurance company and/or bariatric surgeon. I'm embarrassed to admit I gained 25 pounds between the time of my consultation appointment (Oct '14) and the week prior to surgery (Apr '15). I engaged in daily food funerals where I ate multiple servings of my favorite foods 'one last time' before saying goodbye. I couldn't control my appetite. Luckily, my surgeon and insurance company made no comment about the massive weight gain. I underwent surgery 2.5 years ago and maintain my new, lower weight without many issues.

I've gained 5 lbs. since I saw the NUT in August and my pre-op appt is this Friday. Do you think they'll cancel my surgery??? Any suggestions on how to lose these 5 lbs. by Friday? TIA

I have a required six months of dietary visits with my doctors dietitian. I have my last visit before my packet is sent off for approval on the 16th. I had gained weight the last visit, and im afraid I havent lost any from the last visit. Did anybody have weight gain before they start their liquid diet? Am I going to be denied because I gained?

I'm having my surgery done at Dartmouth, and they have a strict no weight gain. My insurance company requires a 10% weight loss. I had already been seeing a dietician, and I had already made an appointment to see a psychologist. I did all this before I even thought about the surgery. I believe I had already done most of what the requirements were for insurance company and the doctor. I believe I am mentally ready and can't wait. I just need to know if the insurance company will approve. Thank you all so much for your advice and feedback. Sent from my SM-G935P using BariatricPal mobile app

To the weight loss surgery patient slider foods are the bane of good intentions and ignorance often causing dumping syndrome, weight loss plateaus, and eventually weight gain. Slider foods, to weight loss surgery patients, are soft simple processed carbohydrates of little or no nutritional value that slide right through the surgical stomach pouch without providing nutrition or satiation. The most innocent of slider foods are saltine crackers, often eaten with warm tea or other beverages, to soothe the stomach in illness or while recovering from surgery. Understanding Slider Foods The most commonly consumed slider foods include pretzels, crackers (saltines, graham, Ritz, etc.) filled cracker snacks such as Ritz Bits, popcorn, cheese snacks (Cheetos) or cheese crackers, tortilla chips with salsa, potato chips, sugar-free cookies, cakes, and candy. You will notice these slider foods are often salty and cause a dry mouth so they must be ingested with liquid to be palatable. This is how they become slider foods. They are also, most often, void of nutritional value. For weight loss surgery patients the process of digestion is different than those who have not undergone gastric surgery. When slider foods are consumed they go into the stomach pouch and exit directly into the jejunum where the simple carbohydrate slurry is quickly absorbed and stored by the body. There is little thermic effect in the digestion of simple carbohydrates like there is in the digestion of protein so little metabolic energy is expended. In most cases patients in the phase of weight loss who eat slider foods will experience a weight loss plateau and possibly the setback of weight gain. And sadly, they will begin to believe their surgical stomach pouch is not functioning properly because they never feel fullness or restriction like they experience when eating protein. The very nature of the surgical gastric pouch is to cause feelings of tightness or restriction when one has eaten enough food. However, when soft simple carbohydrates are eaten this tightness or restriction does not result and one can continue to eat, unmeasured, copious amounts of non-nutritional food without ever feeling uncomfortable. Many patients turn to slider foods for this very reason. They do not like the discomfort that results when the pouch is full from eating a measured portion of lean animal or dairy protein without liquids. Yet it is this very restriction that is the desired result of the surgery. The discomfort is intended to signal the cessation of eating. Remembering the “Protein First” rule is crucial to weight management with bariatric surgery. Gastric bypass, gastric banding (lap-band) and gastric sleeve patients are instructed to follow a high protein diet to facilitate healing and promote weight loss. Bariatric centers advise what is commonly known among weight loss surgery patients as the “Four Rules” the most important of which is “Protein First.” That means of all nutrients (protein, veggies, complex carbohydrates, then fat and alcohol) the patient is required to eat protein first. Protein is not always the most comfortable food choice for weight loss surgery patients who feel restriction after eating a very small amount of food. However, for the surgical tool to work correctly a diet rich in protein and low in simple carbohydrate slider foods must be observed. The high protein diet must be followed even after healthy body weight has been achieved in order to maintain a healthy weight and avoid weight regain.

Ok, so my weight has crept back up...... My lowest so far (August 2017 was @ 5 month mark) was 168.6 lbs. Saw my surgeon & PA 10/28, stepped on the scale, and weighed in at 174.8-a gain 6.2 lbs. Don't like that at all, but I know it was my eating habits and lack of daily tracking (I had been faithfully tracking on the MyFitnessPal app, but slacked off over the summer). Since today is Oct 1st, I'm gonna restart my weight loss. I'm going to have 2 protein shakes daily, cut out carb snacks, eat more fruit/cheese as a snack, get stricter with measurements for the food I do eat, TRACK EVERYTHING IN MyFitnessPal, walk even more. I'm posting this hoping people will find me on MyFitnessPal (@ladygg1967) and encourage me to stay on track. Sent from my SM-G935P using BariatricPal mobile app