Bufflehead

You definitely want to see your doctor about boils and rashes that come up with sagging or folding skin. Usual treatments include things like antibiotics, prescription hydrocortisone, and steroid treatments. Keeping the area clean by washing gently with a mild soap and patting thoroughly dry can help, but this is something you want a doctor's help on, not to try to treat it with home remedies. Good luck!

Hi Jackie, I haven't had my surgery yet but assuming I get approved, I'm going for a sleeve, probably in late November/early December (I can't take much time off work before then). Good luck in your journey!

I know what you mean. I try to eat as much organic and natural as possible and stay away from Frankenfoods. I have been doing more of my own cooking. The parts of the diet (pre-surgery etc.) that require me to eat lots of artificial stuff with artificial sweeteners is going to be hard.

I ran this recipe through MyFitnessPal recipe builder and it says that if you make 24 bars out of the recipe, you'll get 14 g protein, 4 g fiber, 13 g fat, 26 carbs, and 265 calories per bar.

I am thinking of asking my pcp to put me on the pill for a couple of months before and after surgery so that I don't have to deal with my period, esp. at the hospital. Is there any reason this wouldn't work? I am assuming I'll be able to choke down a small pill within a day or so of surgery to stay on track.

Definitely ask your surgeon's office for a referral to another pcp. And you may not have to do everything all over again. Most insurance requires that you do a supervised weight loss/regular check ins with a doctor or nutritionist and that you get a letter from your primary care provider recommending that you have the surgery and clearing you for surgery. But they don't HAVE to be the same doctor! For many insurance plans you can do your weight loss with one doctor and your letter of recommendation from another. Make sure all your records get transferred from your old doctor to your new doctor so that he or she can properly review them and refer to them in writing the letter. Of course, this is not true for every insurance company and you should check the requirements of your own plan. Good luck!

Just to follow up, I did talk with my surgeon and he said that while he isn't crazy about women staying on the pill for surgery, he doesn't require them to stop. I think I am going to talk to my PCP when I see her in a few weeks and see what she thinks about the situation, elevated risks, etc. Accidentally getting pregnant is not and will not be an issue for me so if I do go on bcp, it would be for the convenience only. So, I am going to talk to her about exactly how much that would elevate my risk for a clot/thrombosis and whether the trade-off is worth it.

Short layered haircuts with a side part are your friend if you are a woman with thinning hair. Also your friend: "hair make up" products such as Nanogen or Xfusion. They thicken your hair and help conceal if you have scalp showing through or anything like that. I have really thinning hair (without even having surgery yet) and these products are what made me feel confident about the way my hair looks. You can Google them to see videos of how they work/where to buy etc. One more supplement you might try is zinc. The standard dose is 50 mg every third day (do NOT take more without consulting a doctor -- too much zinc is dangerous). There has been a study showing that zinc can help with hair loss after bariatric surgery: Neve H, Bhatti W, Soulsby C, et al. Reversal of hair loss following vertical gastroplasty when treated with zinc sulphate. Obes Surg. 199;6(1):63–65. That said, many people do not tolerate zinc supplements well at all -- they can make you sick/vomit etc. And it really is important to not overdo it because it is truly dangerous to take too much zinc.

Hi Jackie, I am not in NY but if I were, I would at least look into working with this surgeon: http://www.bariatricsurgerynyc.com/ His practice is a Center of Excellence and he is a F.A.C.S., so those are good starting points. He is in Brooklyn. He has a profile page here on this site: http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/surgeons/858-piotr-gorecki/ If you look on the left you can click "patients" and see his patients who are registered here. You could then see if they are willing to talk with you about their experiences. You can also search surgeons on this site by location using the "Surgeons" tab up towards the top -- at least you can on the web, not sure how it displays on your phone. You might find other, better options that way. Good luck!

I have thinning hair pre-surgery too. I use Nanogen or Xfusion to cover the thin spots. They work great! I recommend checking them out if you are self-conscious about your scalp showing etc.

I think it really varies depending on the practice. I had my first visit last week. --met with nutritionist and bariatric nurse to discuss diet plan (they want everyone to start on a 1200 cal. diet immediately); have BP taken, get weighed and measured --met with surgeon to discuss different types of bariatric surgery, medical history, answer questions, talk about required pre-surgery tests (in my case, just an upper GI for now, I think a chest x-ray prior to surgery as well) get poked/prodded/basic physical exam --have blood drawn to check vitamin/mineral/cholesterol levels etc. --meet with exercise physiologist to discuss exercise program and conduct h. pylori test --brief meeting with front-office staff to set up an appointment for psych testing & evaluation with their in-house psychologist (that's tomorrow) and make sure they have all my insurance info. That was mine -- it took about 2.5 hours.

I have my first consult with the surgeon today! Also very excited I've actually already been to two weight loss classes at his office. I figured I might as well get started as soon as possible. 22 lbs down so far! Assuming I get approved for surgery and everything I really want to try to get my BMI down below 50 before I have the surgery.

well, drat. There goes my big plan.

you can use the pill to skip periods just by taking the regular pills all the way through, and not the 7 day "dummy pills" that allow you to have something like a period every month (it is not an actual period). A lot of women do this for travel, their wedding, etc. http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/womens-health/WO00069

kadive, here is a link to Cigna's current policy. It was revised in May of this year. http://www.cigna.com/assets/docs/health-care-professionals/coverage_positions/mm_0051_coveragepositioncriteria_bariatric_surgery.pdf Check the bottom of page 1 and top of page 2. It clearly says 3 months supervised weight loss. This is a change from their previous policy which was 6 months. I suggest printing this out for the insurance coordinator in your office and taking it to her/him or emailing a link if they are the type of office that reads their emails religiously and responds to them appropriately (in my experience, most medical offices are not, dealing in paper is better). Good luck!

Good luck to you! I also have Cigna (Open Access) but have not submitted yet. I'd love to hear how your process goes -- I'm nervous about getting everything right when I submit my paperwork.

Derm match is great! I also recommend Nanogen, Xfusion, or Toppik, something like that. I have naturally thinning hair and using them (mostly Nanogen) has made me feel like I can go out in public again without people noticing and staring at my scalp. I am very scared of what's going to happen after surgery, assuming I get approved. I'm already researching bonded toppers and things like that.

aww, I am so sorry to hear this happened. Of course it makes sense to start over but it has to be incredibly frustrating just the same. With respect to the anemia -- make sure your doc gets you on prescription iron supplements, folic acid, and B12 (they help with iron absorption and suchlike). If you can afford the calories, take the iron with about a half cup of orange juice. I have been there and done that with anemia and one thing I will say is that for me, after just 48 hours of iron supplements I felt TONS more energetic. Good luck!

I haven't done plastics with Cigna, but I have looked at their coverage policies, just thinking about what may be down the road. They are pretty strict. You need to have cellulitis, dermatitis, etc. and have tried 3 - 6 months of treatment including systemic antibiotics, antifungals, etc. They don't care about things like back pain (won't consider that evidence of medical necessity) because they don't believe there is evidence that extra skin is associated with back pain. Here are their general policies: http://www.cigna.com/assets/docs/health-care-professionals/coverage_positions/mm_0027_coveragepositioncriteria_abdominoplasty_and_panniculectomy.pdf http://www.cigna.com/assets/docs/health-care-professionals/coverage_positions/mm_0470_coveragepositioncriteria_redundant_skin_surgery.pdf

The one I have is on Amazon as "EatSmart Precision Bathroom Scale w/ Extra Large Backlit 3.5" Display and Step-On Technology" -- hope that helps!

Hi bound4bway. I like the EatSmart Precision Digital Scale. It has a capacity up to 400 lbs and you can step right on and weigh, none of this tapping on the scale stuff. It looks nice too. You can get it on Amazon for under $30 and it has really high customer ratings there - I am not alone in liking it!

I'm still trying to decide about surgery and am really scared about the hair loss. I know it sounds ridiculous. My health is more important than my hair, I know that rationally. But it really doesn't help that I already have hair loss from undetermined causes and I hate it. I have to work really hard to cover it up. Losing much more will not be something I can cover up or keep unnoticeable.

I can't imagine what kind of blow that would have been. Noone would be expecting to get that news, let alone someone of your age. I am sure you are in great hands for your further surgery and treatment, and the fact that they caught it so early must be helpful. (((hugs)))

I think it sounds like she's coming from a place of caring for you, but not really understanding what you've been through and how much work goes into the whole process. I don't think either one of you are being jerks. Keep talking with her about your feelings and my guess is that she'll understand better (and I would probably say the same thing to her if she asked me). And even if she doesn't understand the process exactly or your feelings, I'll bet she'll be there for you and by your side wherever you have the surgery and after you go through it, and that's a really good thing too