mswisdom

I'm going to keep this post in mind when I buy my nectar. I'm using the sample packs now and enjoy the two that I tried so far.

I tried lemon tea (which I mixed with a Walmart lemon tea shakers stick). I was feeling that.

Today I tried Fuzzy Navel (which I mixed with a peach green tea stick from Walmart) I was surprised that I hardly tasted the whey in that one, definetly a keeper for me.

Hopefully after I get mine and get a discount someone can use my referral and 'pay it forward'.

I'll let you know when I order to make sure you get credit.

Your surgeon/bariatric team should be able to give you a list of their requirements. PCIP can email you what they require - ask for the bariatric surgery criteria.

Be sure you get the requirements from both parties (your surgeon and your insurance company).

I immediately received the criteria letter from PCIP for wls. It came in handy because the so scheduler said that they didn't pay for the sleeve, but I was able to pull up the paperwork and show that they did. Don't know which one I'll be having but Insha Allah (God willing) I'll have one by the end of the year.

I have PCIP and they said Six months with nutritionist and an independent psych eval and I am good to go. Trying to get my surgery in Oct' date=' still I worry about jan 1, 2014

[/quote']

I'm worrying about Jan 1st also. I've been on this road since march and its heartbreaking to think that all my work will be for nothing.

The good side is starting Oct. 1st you can go into healthcare.gov and look at all the plans to choice from and I'm going to make sure that they have wls as a ryder.

My surgeon told me Monday that I will get an appt. by Dec. 31st since my last PCP appt. Is Oct. 8th (9 really sine I have to see a nutritionist, but I only have to go once)

first concern...too big for RNY?!?!? You'll likely lose less with band or sleeve. That makes no sense at all!!!! Is there not another surgeon in the state?????

HW 312' date=' pre-op (RNY) 255, current weight 202.4[/quote']

You cannot lose a Sleeve. They remove part of your stomach and remove it from your body making the remaining portion look like a banana.

AND you can get lots of first hand advice from RNYTalk.com's sister site' date=' VertialSleeve.com. Here's a link:

http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/[/quote']

Like Dl said, check with the vertical sleeve website you'll get all the support you need there. I had just the opposite: I've planned all year for the sleeve then my surgeon said she WON'T do it because I have reflux but she'll do the bypass. I wasn't having that without a second opinion so I switched surgeons. The one I have now is the directir of baratric surgery at Bon Secours (might as well get the tip dog in charge..lol)

He doesn't have a problem giving me the sleeve, said I may have an hernia which they can fix at the same time. I'm going to have G.I. test done this coming Monday & Tuesday and I'll know more when I go for my follow up on the 30th.

I like the sleeve because there's no rearranging of anything.

I have both apps. For the sleeve and here and depending on what I'm actually going to get I'll get support from both. Oct. 8th is my last PCP appt and it'll be time to submit all my paperwork for approval.

Best of luck to you.

I've been on the boards a few months and noticed that a lot of people use My Fitness Pal.com

I've been a sparker since 2006 and am very comfortable with it. Ice learned so much from that site and can't bring myself to change it (spent years pluging in my own recipes to see what my calories are when I eat at home: like homemade spagetti).

Just looking for people that use sparkpeople so we can stay in touch through this journey.

I was told by my new surgeon that my Iron levels won't be a problem. Just continue to take them as I'm taking them and I'll be fine.

I went to the doctor today and found out I was 378lb *sigh* I started this process at 374 and went to 360lb the first month....so disappointing is an understatment.

My surgeon said that he can perform the surgery anyway.

Wow....I was just about to make a post on this topic and opened up the forum and saw this.

I was told today that I had H. pylori infection and that it came back on the labs I took in July. I was upset because the prior surgeon I had never brought it up at all (good thing I'm changing surgeons).

He put me on a Prepak but my insurance doesn't want to pay for it so they are getting a preauthorization for it. If not he will have to switch me to something else.

I did some reading and found out that 2/3 of the population is infected with it (most don't have any symptoms, like myself).

Glad to know that I'm not alone on this.

I started with one a week for two months' date=' and still have to go once a month until my levels get up to normal. It all depends on how low you are.[/quote']

That is so sad to hear. If the insurance wasn't changing it would be all good. Now I know I have to find out if the new insurance has wls or I've done all of this for nothing.

I also am quite Iron deficient. Everyone is different' date=' but OJ definitely wouldn't work for me. 1) Iron supplements can lead to acid reflux. Iron + OJ would likely make me feel awful. 2) OJ occasionally has Calcium in it.

You absolutely cannot take iron with any calcium. Not even your Multivitamin. Calcium bonds to the iron, making absorption impossible. (It's fundamental chemistry.)

What works for me? A piece of turkey before bed with an iron pill and a Vitamin C.

Iron supplements are finicky for sure.... Good luck![/quote']

So let me ask you, how long did it take your iron levels to rise so you can have surgery?

I emailed my surgery scheduler and she talked to the surgeon. She said they do have a person and she'll get back to me on that.

I'm wondering how many infusions does it take to get your Iron up? Time is really of the essence right now. I'm not going to worry though. Oct. 1st you can go in and look at other ins. plans and I'll be sure to pick one that has wls as a ryder (if they have one). That way all of this work I've been putting in won't be for nothing.

I'm back in the gym now after months of depression and I'm going to do this....surgery or not!

Glad you mentioned that. You are NOT supposed to take Iron with Calcium. Since I usually eat Cereal with milk in the morning (preop) I take my Iron at night.

Glad you reminded me about not taking it with calcium. That could have been one of my problems since I was trying to get my albumin levels up at the same time and drinking Protein shakes to do that (I make mines with milk or yogurt).

Going forward I'm going to have to time it so my iron and my calcium aren't near each other. I did start to take my iron with OJ. I hope I can get these numbers up in the next month. I feel the time ticking now that my insurance will expire at the end of the year.

You can get an Iron infusion from my PCP? I thought that was something I had to go into the hospital to get.

Shoot 130mg has been stopping me up, oh 148 cuz my Multivitamin has 18mg in it.

I was reading that you shouldn't go over 600mg due to toxic poisoning. But I can't be getting enough. I mean the lady told me I went down from 46 to 39. The range is 50-115. I was really taken back by that. I don't have a lot of time to fix this, due to the insurance, but I don't want to poison myself either.

I'll figure it out.....I guess.

I got a call from the dietician yesterday telling me that my test results for albumin and Iron were still low. I told her she was mistaken about the albumin because I was holding test results in my hand that I took August 27th that read 3.9 g/dl (range is 3.5-5.0 g/dl).

I was upset about the Iron because I have been taking 65mg of iron twice a day religiously for the last seven weeks.

The Constipation has been killing me and I have (TMI) an anal fissure that I've been trying to heal this whole time. I really want to cry cuz nothing seems to be going right.

I also found out that the PCIP insurance that I have will expire Dec. 31st 2013 and I'll have to pick another plan. The new plan may not have weight loss surgery as a ryder and then all of this work will have been done for nothing.

So I feel like I'm in between a rock and a hard place.

I'm bumping my iron up to 65mg 3 times a day in hopes of getting these labs straight by next month (Oct. 8th will be the last of my PCP visits and everything will be ready to be submitted).

I just needed to talk about it.

I looked up all my Vitamins at Walmart. I had to go into the store to read the labels though. I'll be buying my Calcium, Vitamin d & Multivitamin from there.

I'm doing

Citracal calcium citrate plus Vit. D 150 chewables $14.99

Centrum Complete chewable Multivitamin 100ct. $9.49

Vitafusion Vitamin D3 2,000 IU funny Vitamins, 150ct $8.99 (2 a day. 1,000IU each)

Was looking at Ddrops at Walmart.com it a liquid formula for $28.97 but its 2,000IU's per drop.....so 1 bottle will last you a whole year. I just went and did the math, the funniest will wind up costing me about $45 dollars over a year so its cheaper to buy the liquid one and be done with it.

I have a high potency B-12 that I bought. It's 2500mcg's. I just don't remember where I bought it from...lol. I will though because with me having to take 500mcg a day or 1000mcg 3 times a week I could take my 2500mcg once a week and be done with it. I'll get back to you when I find out the cost and where I got it from.

All & all Walmart will be my new best friend as far as vitamins go.

Oh, and the best part of what I found is the Calcium & Multivitamin are 1 a day so one bottle will last a few months.

Hello RNY'ers' date='

I am new to this forum but I have been the sleeve forum until a couple of days ago. I need to learn all I can about the RNY before my next visit with the team. The PA said because of my Gerd I am not a canidate for the sleeve. And that I should speak with a surgeon regarding this issue.

I thought that that was my decision to make ultimatelybecause I will have to live with it. On the other hand I do not want discomfort, pain or sickness andto be filled with regrets either.

Please chime in and and help me get to the level. Any thoughts or suggestions will be appreciated. There is wealth of information here and I would like to take advantage of your generousity. Thanks in advance. [/quote']

I'm in the same boat. My surgery scheduler called and said that the surgeon Won't do the sleeve because I have reflux, but she'll do the bypass. (Didn't care for the fact that she didn't call herself or that the word WON'T was used).

A few days later I called back and complained because I don't even get heartburn. Once I was adamant about wanting the sleeve, the scheduler said that she would talk to my surgeon and if she wants they'll send me to a G.I. doc to get test run to see how severe the reflux is. Then she May Consider it.....ha ha

Needless to say, there was another doctor that I wanted in the beginning so I called him and explained my situation to his scheduler and now I have an appt. to see him Sept. 16th. They are both for the same hospital system so it won't be a problem with my records.

My general surgeon wants me to go to someone else altogether, but the secretary for that one won't call me back.

What I'm trying to say is that I'm getting a second opinion.....and if the following test shows that the bypass is best then so be it, but talk to me about it....don't just send someone to tell me what your Not going to do.

I'm trying to get this G.I. test done to see if my surgeon will change her mind about the sleeve due to me having reflux (which I don't even feel).

I feel that her scheduler has gotten offended because I requested another surgeon ( the surgeon I now want is the one I've always wanted but I thought I had no choice when I went to the seminar).

Anyway, I'm trying to get a second opinion with a doctor another surgeon had talked to, but I've yet to hear back from them.....yeah....yeah call me impatient but how long does it take it look at a computer screen, see what the doctor has available and let me know the next opening?

I asked My current scheduler did they pick a G.I. yet because I don't want to wait until everything filed then have to take this test.

So I called my insurance and found out that I can go to any doctor so I decided to call my old G.I. doc who did my colonoscopy. I learned that he doesn't have an opening until November....Uuuuugggghhh!!!!!!.

I was expecting for the surgery to be done by then.

The way it looks, I may not have surgery until 2014.

Since I feel the scheduler took offence when I aided to switch surgeons, I've decided to sign up for the weight loss seminar that he speaks at and plan to explain to him myself situation after the seminar. I feel since they are both from Bon Secours Hospital systems here in Hampton Roads that all my records are in the system anyway.

The curve balls and alternate things I have to do is driving me nuts.....like the surgery its self isn't enough to worry about.

Thanks for letting me share.

I posted my concerns about my doctor not wanting to do the sleeve do to reflux (I don't even get heartburn). Well I called another surgeon and I'm waiting for a call back so he can fit me it. The lady said she may get me in by Wednesday.

I always got in touch with my scheduler and told her that I'm not sure about the bypass. She looked in my folder and said that the test showed that I have moderate to severe reflux....what! If that's the case wouldn't I have some idea about it? She said that Dr. Salzberg will be in the office tomorrow and she'll talk to her about it. They may send me to a G.I. doctor to run more test..."They May!?".... really? Like if they don't I just have to deal with that? I didn't get upset, shoot my six month PCP visits isn't over til Oct. So I have time to make other plans if need be.

I'm just glad for the feedback from this site.

mswisdom

please stand by your above "wise" statement

the tests/hoops you've already gone through "should" be "transferable" to any procedure' date=' inc. the sleeve

if you are told you might be delayed, a month et al................

don't just give in to save a little time, or you are sick of all those hoops

the sleeve is a wonderful procedure

if you have the sleeve - "if" it reallllly doesn't work with the heartburn situation (hopefully it would fix prob)

people have gone from the sleeve to gastric bypass

but as OP say, heartburn is usually improved/erased with the help of the sleeve

please don't "jump" into a major life changing situation with any WLS

i'm sure you know this, but the gastric bypass "messes" with your intestines - and you have malabsorbtion problems/issues

neither of those problems are an issue with the "wonderful" sleeve

good luck

kathy[/quote']

I'm with you there Kathy. I went to my general surgeon today and while I was there I told him about the problem I'm having. He told me to hold on and got a weight loss surgeon he knows on th phone and explained to situation to him. He told him to give me his number and call to make an appt. He said that some test will have to be refine bit he can talk to me about everything once I'm in his office and he sees for himself what the problem is.

I went outside and called IMMEDIATELY and left a message on the answering machine for an appt. I also emailed my scheduler and informed her that I'm not comfortable with Dr. Salzbergs recommendation and that I need to come in and sit down with her so we can talk.

I feel so much better now that I aired my problem and have gotten so much good feedback from this forum. It really means a lot and I thank EVERYONE that posted to this topic.

The sleeve is in my heart and since there is no turning back I want to get this right the first time.

Well my 6 month pcp visits will be over in Oct. (Would have been Sept. But my doc stop airlift fridays the date if my July appt which made me miss that month).

The scheduler will be pulling my PCP records and submitting everything in month 5(Sept.) I should have a date by then. I left a message that I need to talk to my surgeon beforehand because I want the sleeve. To me she has some explaining to do to why she won't do it and I have no signs if reflux until she said I had it.

There was another doctor I was looking into in the beginning and I may have to goto him for a second opinion. He's head of the board of directors for surgery and he performs them in another town.

I don't want all this work to be for nothing. Bon Secours health system is the only one I found in the Hampton Roads Virginia area that has No program fees. I just paid $120 for 6-1hr personal training sessions.

Surgeons affliated with other hospitals here feel that the sky is the limit on what they can charge you for their 'package'.....Obesity is a Billion dollar industry these days isn't it?

Plus I'm leaving the state in May 2014 and I don't have time to jump through all these hoops to get approved again....mind you I have more than enough ailments now, two stents in my heart....at 31yrs, bmi of 61, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and just found in March that I'm a diabetic. So I really need this.

Not saying I'm going to take anything they give me but we will have to talk. I didn't even know that people can revised the sleeve to the bypass until I started coming here.

Just wish me luck! No matter what I'm going to be okay.

I don't feel anything. I never even had heartburn. That's why I was stunned when they said I had reflux. I'm going to push the issue about the sleeve because that's what I really want. I saw my surgeon in April, don't know when I'll see her shin but I'm about to make a call.

Thanks. I think I will talk to her when I go back to see her. Right now I'm at the stage that once I retake some labs (my Iron & albumin was low) I'll get my date and I'll sit down with my surgeon for the second time and we can discuss it then. I really want the sleeve.

Sorry didn't finish the story, someone came to the door. My surgery scheduler called and told me that the Doctor said that she won't be able to perform the sleeve because I have reflux (go figure), but she will be able to do the rnybypass.

I was totally destroyed. This sleeve been on my mind all year and that's all I worked for. I got depressed and texted a few people. Afterwards I found the app for the bypass and even though its set up just like this one the people are different and I miss the people from this site.

I just don't want anyone to have a problem now that I'm having the bypass and not the sleeve.

**sorry if the words are small, I'm typing from my phone**

I've started my process for the sleeve in March 2013. I jumped through most of the hoops for surgery. When I went for my chest xray, ekg & barium swallow July 1st I received a call