Caribear

Here is a page with some great suggestions for purees/soft foods. I hear the ricotta bake is wonderful! http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/2007/08/pureed-foods.html

Glad to hear there is some progress being made. Hopefully they get everything straightened out and things start running more smoothly from here on out!

For anyone who has Caresource in Ohio, here is their policy as it pertains to Bariatric Surgery as of July 2016: A. SUBJECT Obesity Surgery B. BACKGROUND Surgery for morbid obesity, bariatric surgery, and gastric bypass surgery is a major surgical procedure with significant risk of surgical and post-op complications that should be considered medically necessary only as a treatment alternative when a concerted effort a conventional and conservative management has failed for those who meet the policy criteria below. Prior authorization request for Morbid Obesity Surgery and supporting information must be submitted by the surgeon intending to perform the procedure. Further supporting information may be presented by the PCP or other practitioners, but unless the prior authorization request is submitted by the attending surgeon, the request will be administratively denied for lack of information. C. DEFINITIONS N/A D. POLICY I. The surgery should be considered medically necessary if ALL of the following conditions are met: A. The patient is at least 21 years of age. Members less than 19 years old will be considered only under extreme circumstances. B. The BMI (Body Mass Index) and associated conditions suggest surgery is the most prudent treatment: 1. BMI > 50 with or without associated co-morbidities and failed conservative weight loss attempts as per 3B 2. BMI 40-50 with 1 or more significant co-morbidities not well controlled with appropriate treatment that a surgical weight loss treatment is likely to improve 3. BMI 35-40 with 2 or more co-morbid conditions that are not well controlled with appropriate treatment that a surgical weight loss treatment is likely to improve: a. The co-morbid condition is either poorly controlled on appropriate medical therapy and would likely improve with weight reduction OR by virtue of family history and existing clinical conditions, the patient would remain high risk for short term co-morbid complications without the surgery Examples include Poorly controlled hypertension on multi-drug therapy Inadequately controlled diabetes despite high does insulin treatment and other therapeutic regimens Lipid disorder on maximum drug therapy and lifestyle modification without control C. Written clinical documentation and supporting information from the attending surgeon must include: 1. Letter of medical necessity 2. Evidence that there has been at least a 9 month documented physician supervised trial of diet and exercise within the last 24 months (adapted from NIH recommendations) 3. Summary of co-morbid conditions 4. A description of a multi-disciplinary approach to preparing and managing the patient in the pre-operative and peri-operative periods and through an extended post-operative period 5. Evidence the patient has been evaluated from a psychological standpoint within the past 6 months and which supports that the patient does not have an underlying psychiatric condition which would interfere with the success of the surgery and that the patient will withstand the rigors of the surgery and maintain long-term follow-up care. If the member is under psychiatric care, documentation from their current treating psychiatrist is also required 6. Supporting letter of medical necessity from the patient’s PCP, recommending the surgery and documenting that the patient has undergone medical evaluation to rule out other treatable causes of obesity D. Patients with a history of non-compliance with medical care and any psychiatric illnesses that may hinder compliance with the post-operative regimen are not suitable for surgery. -- Your surgeon may also require additional testing and clearances, but this is what Caresource requires. Hopefully this helps someone.

If you burned the cheese on top, next time you make it, cover it with foil until the last 5-10 minutes of baking. I haven't tried it but it looks wonderful. So far as nutritional information goes, I use MyFitnessPal and put all the ingredients into the recipe builder section. That should give you a pretty good idea of what you are working with.

Do you still have your gallbladder? Sometimes gallstones can cause shoulder pain.

I am still pre-op, but I use and love the nectar powders. I also have an issue with mixing, especially if the Water I use is very cold. I use this shaker bottle, it has blades in the lid instead of having the little spring ball that other shaker bottles use. I find it works much better than the others. Plus it has a screw-on compartment on the bottom for a second serving of Protein powder, some nuts, or whatever you would like to put in there. https://www.amazon.com/VALI-Stainless-Compartment-Capacity-Supplements/dp/B00T4XT99W/ref=sr_1_4?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1468457350&sr=1-4&keywords=steel+shaker

Congratulations! I am so happy for you!

@@johnbamber here is the page with the ricotta bake recipe on it, along with some more helpful suggestions. http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/2007/08/pureed-foods.html

Nice to meet you! I am pre-sleeve, but I get how you feel. I am a fitness class instructor, and certified personal trainer. I am also pretty healthy for my size, but I also have family history of major weight-related illnesses. I look forward to hearing about your journey!

Hi all, I stumbled upon this channel watching YouTube the other day. It is a recipe channel dedicated to bariatric "treat" recipes. Thought I would share it with you all. https://m.youtube.com/channel/UC4Q4uCuntpSyAr0ArbZCx_w

I just asked this question the other day. I am pre-op but have fibro as well. Here is the link to the thread I posted about this: http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/371463-fibromyalgiachronic-pain-and-the-sleeve-surgery/ And here is a link to the Sleeved Spoonies group: http://www.bariatricpal.com/groups/455-sleeved-spoonies/ Welcome!

Happy birthday! I hope you feel better soon. Have you taken anything like milk of magnesia to help with the bathroom issues? What did your doctor suggest?

I think doctors set your goal by the expectation that the average sleeve patient loses 60% of their excess weight. However, you absolutely should set your own goals. If you want to aim for 140s, then go for it!

My doctor said that any pill that is the size of an m&m or smaller is ok for us to take as soon as we can drink. Anything larger than that, and we will have to crush them, get the liquid form, or switch to a smaller dose more often. Also, any extended release meds will have to be exchanged for multiple doses of the regular form. But yes, you will want to talk to your doctor/pharmacist about your specific needs.

When I quit soda, the first three days were the worst. Lots of water helps. Hang in there, you can do it.

I have a personal training certification. Your trainer 1) doesn't know what they are talking about and 2) should not be giving you any nutritional advice, period, because it is outside their scope of practice. There are very, very few CPT certifications that include any kind of nutritional information. Your NUT will be able to give you better advice. Sorry if this comes across as snippy. It really irks me when professionals overstep the boundaries of their licensure, because they could actually hurt someone with their bad advice.

Did you call your surgeon? Mine has made it pretty clear to us that if we have any pain in our abdomen, that we are supposed to call him. For the constipation, I have heard that milk of magnesia is the most widely used.

Thank you all for the input, it's good to hear other people's experiences with the surgery. @@theantichick I joined your group, thank you for starting it! Did any of you find that the physical or emotional stress of the surgery itself kicked off a flare-up of your symptoms? How was your pain during your recovery? I think that is what I am most concerned about. I have a limited amount of time that I can be off work after surgery, and parts of my job are very physically demanding. I worry that I will have a very hard time getting back into the swing of things. Thanks again, and gentle hugs to everyone!

Yay! I'm so happy for you!

Thanks for updating us, we were wondering how everything went! Glad you got your surgery. Now on to a speedy recovery! Focus on healing right now, the financial stuff can wait a little bit.

Hi all, I was wondering if any of you have fibromyalgia or other similar chronic pain conditions, and what your experience has been with the surgery and recovery? I was diagnosed with fibro, it is fairly mild in my case, and I am pretty active. Most days I feel like it won't cause any issues when it comes time to have surgery. Then there are days like today when I feel like I have been hit by a bus, and I worry that the surgery will throw me into a major flare. My last surgery was gallbladder removal, and the resulting flare is actually what caused me to receive my fibro diagnosis to begin with. I was a train wreck for almost a year, nearly bedridden at one point. I like to think that now I am armed with more knowledge and better coping mechanisms, and that all will be well, but I do still wonder.

Agreed. "Not right now" doesn't necessarily mean "no." Hang in there.

I am about an hour north of Dayton.

Great job! You are beautiful in both pictures.

If you haven't already, I would call your insurance company and ask.