Miss Mac

Sorry for my typos. I am a little medicated tonight. Better living through chemistry.

Keep in contact with your insurance company. At my final surgeon's appointment, I was told my packet would be submitted that day. I called the doctor's office two days later to inquire as to whether or not my packet was on it's way, and was told that it was. When I asked if I was approved, I was told that the insurance co-ordinator would be on vaccation for two weeks and no one there would know until she returns. So........I called my case manager that I had with my insurance company for other major health issues, She looked it up in their computer and said it was approved immediately. I asked for an approval letter for my own files. Two days after that, I received it, and it said I had five days of hospital stay approved for my surgery. When I called the doctor's office to tell them that I am indeed appoved, and if I sent them acopy of the letter I could set a date. On the approval letter, it did have the five days listed for my hospital stay. So, I called the doctor's office back and got my date a week sooner than if I had waited for the co-ordinator to get back from vacation. The date was in the time frame listed on the letter.

I am one of the fortunate few who has not had significant hair loss. However, I did have some pretty rough skin and fingernails from months three through six. I did keep up with 80 grams of Protein, 80 ounces of Water and approximately 800 calories. That's been hard to balance, but hadpaid off. My bariatric physician did not recommend Biotin, but I bought some at Walgreens and take 20,000 mcg per day. Has it helped? I don't know, but I wouldn't want a do-over without it.

It surprises me that since the surgeon was so closely affiliated with the hospital that all of the patients in his data base haven't been contacted and given options on how to proceed. For a hospital, time is money, and the longer they wait to replace this guy, the more patient revenue they will lose. Definitely work your way up to the top to demand a resolution. Delay is not denial.

Thecurveyjones said what I was going to say. Surgery during your cycle may actually be to your advantage, especially regarding your cramps. You will be on strong pain meds in the hospital, which take a couple of more days to wear off. I had IV morphine which was not removed until day two. After that, I had pain pills (hydocodone) to take home which I only used until day five, then all was right with the world. I had a catheter which was inserted after I was out cold, and then it was removed a four or five hours after I came around (when they were sure I could get up and walk). A medical professional should be used to the sight of blood - geeze louize.

Being retired was a huge post-op advantage for me because I was able to recover without worrying over a work schedule and dealing with people all day. At nine days out I was on purees and transitioned to soft foods at fourteen days through twenty five days. At that point I was permitted to adventure carefully back into cooked whole foods chewed well. I waited another month before eating raw veggies and fresh greens. By nine days I was not taking naps, but was really exhausted at bedtime and slept well. I was no longer constantly nausous, but I was still using the patch that goes behind your ear, and taking an anti-nausea pill every morning plus a PPI (Omeprozole). If you are going back to work at nine days, just be sure that you have Water bottle handy so that you can sip throughout the day. Protein shakes will be your new best friend even if you don't appreciate the taste. Adding a little bit of pureed fruit or vanilla and a sweetener may help. You can alternate between standing and walking and leaning on your desk. Take advantage of every opportunity to rest for a few minutes. I would think that if you have a textbook recovery (no pun intended) you could work at a teaching job so long as you are not the gym teacher.

Stay with your team's plan. My schedule was accelerated, in complete opposite of those who had theirs completely drawn out. Even though you are anxious to move on through the different stages, bread and cheese are not pureed foods. Bread can be a slippery slope for sure. In my previous pre-sleeve life, I could eat my egg and bacon for Breakfast AND four slices of buttered toast with jelly. If there were potatoes in the house, I would not eat anything else until they were all gone. The same went for anything made with noodles or macaroni - not to mention the butter and salt that goes with them. Yesterday, my boyfriend made meatballs for the first time since my surgery (nine months ago today), but he made no spaghetti. We had them with maranara sauce and a little fresh grated parmesan cheese with some green Beans on the side. It was then that I realized that it wasn't the Pasta that tasted good, it was the stuff we put on it....so, I do not miss the pasta anymore. Do your best on introducing foods back into your menu so that you do not fall into those old preferences that got you in a mess in the first place. When you do go into purees, you do not have to eat baby food. You can take any healthy food item that you are allowed and put it through the blender to make it mushy. Be careful, and congratulations on making the decision to have your surgery. I wish you good luck and good health.

Welcome to the forum. You will have amazing non-surgical victories as you go. We call them "NSV's"......things like being able to trim your own toenails, tie your own shoes, run for the first time in years, or getting into a lower size that you haven't seen since you were 20. Keep in touch and visit us often. Congratulations for taking control of your health and happiness.

So.....you were up thinkin' when you ought to be sleepin' I called my insurance company two days after the doctor's insurance coordinator submitted my packet. I had already been approved! Then I called the doctor's office, and was told that they had not heard anything yet, and that the coordinator would be on vacation for two weeks. A couple of days later, I received in the mail a letter of approval from the insurance company and a guarantee of approval for five days in the hosptal, if needed. I faxed that letter to the doctor's office and got a call that afternoon to schedule my appointment. All of that was done before the coordinator even had time to put her sun lotion on!

Mine did arrive a while back and I fogot to follow up on my post. So far I have added cherry to vanilla shakes, as well as adding the orange creamsicle. I tried pina colada in vanilla yogurt and was neither disgusted nor impressed. Was it worth the money? No, I don't think so. They are OK, but not any better or worse than cheaper products on the market.

Hey there, Indigo1991, Wouldn't you just love to confront her and ask her how long she is going to wait before she gives up and moves on to spreading viscious gossip about someone else?

A couple of weeks, here. TMI?

When I was a new bride in 1971, I was still suffering from anorexia. If you click on my little picture and go to my gallery, you will see in my wedding picture how absolutely boney I was. This was intentional, because if you look at my family picture you will see how heavy everyone else was, and I did not want to be big too. Later in life the pounds multiplied to the point that I had bariatric surgery last December. One of the challenges that I have had post-op is exercise bulimia. The original poster reminded me of that by mentioning how she is beating herself up over losing conrol over the week-end. My dear, I so understand how you feel. With exercise bulimia, I feel the need to punish myself with exercise to burn up every calorie I eat. When I hit a long plateau it's even worse because there is no tangable result for all the hard work of measuring and weighing food and then exercising every day. For anyone who calls this the easy way out - I would like to smack them upside the head. Our post-op lives are a job in themselves. Every day can't be perfect. You are not the only one struggling to find the balance. One thing I like about this forum is that we can open up and confess or rant and then feel like someone is really listening to our exaspirations and successes. Jessiqoi, hang in there. As you progess through this journey you will become able to help those who come behind you. This is a wild ride. Even though opinions and tact vary, there are friends here.

My weight loss slowed down at around six months. I have been on a plateau for weeks, having lost the same thwo pounds about ten times. Geeze Louize. I do not want to stop at 172 because my goal weight is 135. Just hang in there with me, we will figure this out.

How much longer will you be on clear liquids? No wonder you are running on empty if all you have had is clear liquids to this point, I came home on day three with permission to start full liquids. By day twelve, I was starting purees. At three weeks I was on soft foods, and at four and one half weeks I was allowed to cautiously start whole foods. Hopefully your doctor will let you transition soon. I know some other people on the forum proceeded slowly through the different stages, so you are not alone. Sleevarilla is right, though, about the possibility of head hunger, thirst, or acid upset. Keep your fluids up to as much as you can tolerate. After the first week, I was told to drink 80 ounces of non-caloric fluids a day for the rest of my life. It seemed impossible at first, it is not so hard now at nine months out. When you get to purees, you could buy baby food, but you can just as easily make your own stuff and put it in the blender with a little broth. It's cheaper that way and you can control the ingredients. Once you get past your first month, you will have the hang of it all and be on your way to success. Hang in there!

Not so much for my lips, but my fingernails got very brittle for about three months and then returned to normal.

I agree with Mike4132. Put a shortcut to bariatricpal.com on your computer's desktop. If you can get him to venture to this website, direct him to The Guy's Room. If you go to the top of this page, click on FORUMS. On the page that pops up, scroll halfway down. The Guy's Room will be in there somewhere. Even if he shows no interest, he might just check it out while you are out walking the dog.....you never know. It took a stroke and a collapsing spine to convince me I needed to do something extreme about my weight. Loyola University Medical Center did my surgery. At their bariatric clinic, not everyone gets surgery. One of their options is to continue the medically supervised diet with the nutitionist and extend appointments with the bariatric physician and psychologist. Having a nutritionist in my corner has been a gift to me. She has taught me so many ways to help control my eating and has helped me develop new skills that are saving my life along with the sleeve. A non-surgical approach is clearly an option if he expresses resistance to surgery. You did not say if you had any kind of weight issues yourself. Maybe the best you can do right now is to manipulate food sources in your house. You could make sure that there is plenty of meat and other dense Proteins in the fridge. If he is a Cheerios kind of guy, offer to make him Breakfast quiche (without the crust). (Go ahead and sneak some spinach into it while you are at it). Get one of those Eat This Not That kind of cookbooks and provide some tasty options that won't do too much damage. Do not eat tempting things in front of him. One of the qualities that I love about my boyfriend of 8 years is that even though I was overweight when we met and I gained another 50 pounds after a series of surgeries that affected my mobility, he never asked me to change anything thing about myself. He is a smoker, and I have never asked him to change that habit or anything else. We love each other as we are. When I decided on my own to get my sleeve, he was supportive from the start. That is what your guy needs. Love him as he is and tell him you would feel safer if would escort yor on your walks. Maybe even shorten the walk for the time being and let the dog monkey around the yard. Just love your guy and let this situation work itself out.

My insurance is BCBS for federal employees (retired from V A, Env. Services). One of the requirements for my approval was three months of a medically supervised diet in addition to documentation that I had been under a doctors care for two years during which time my weight issues were addressed. What I did was ask my primary physician for a copy of my medical records for the last two years. When I got it, I highlighted my starting weight, my weight at every appointment, and every mention that the doctor suggested 1200 calories or low salt or low fat or exercise anything concerning my weight. That (with comorbidities) was good enough for approval. Wouldn't it be great if you would only have to provide medical records for a few months prior to the time you started with the nutitionist? It wouldn't cost anything to ask.

It would sure be easier to resolve a dental issue with antibiotics than an issue post-op with a sleeve. Both times that I had a knee replacement, I was told to not have any dental work or invasive procedure without taking an antibiotic first - for two full years. My sleeve surgeon did not say anything, but my dentist knows the drill.

That's half of you. Congratulations!

Well said.

Metabolic syndrome is the reason I had bariatric surgery. It is a constellation of symptoms that make it so difficult to lose weight in spite of our most valient efforts. Pre-op, I could not lose weight on 1,000 calories. Now, minus 80% of my stomach, it is dfficult to lose weight on 800 calories and exercise. The first 65 pounds are gone, but these last forty will apparently go kicking and screaming. My best consolation is that with slower weight loss, we can expect a better recovery of the elasticity of our skin. I wish!

One of my daughters is a traveling home health occupational therapist, who helps people adjust and relearn skills after a severe health issue or dibilitating accident. She was a big help after I had a stroke in 2010, and one of my biggest issues was not that I had health problems to address, but that I had dependance issues to address. In my impatience to recover, I did not want to be a burden to my boyfriend whom I had just moved in with one week prior. I felt that he did not deserve to have to work 12 hour days and then come home and be a nurse to me. I read from your post that in addition to your concern about healing your physical body, you are worried beyond consolation that you are becoming a burden to him. However, I also see that he cares for you deeply and really doesn't mind at all to be your rock through this whole process. It also appears that, were the tables of fate turned to where he needed you more than ever to care for him through a despairing setback, you would support him with all the love you can give. When you have you wedding and come to the part where you vow to love each other "in sickness and in health" you will feel that little tug on your heartstrings because you know from experience what that really means. Your doctors can get you through your medical healing, but you need to let go of your independance long enough to let your fiance provide you the peace of mind that you need so much right now. I wish you good luck, and good health, and a long and happy marriage.

For me, the fatigue was worse than the pain. Here is a "heads up" fo the gas pain: I asked my surgeon what he does for pain management and he said that before he closes up the biggest incision he extracts as much of the gas as possible. Thank goodness, because I did not have any gas pain at all. The biggest incision was sore for about three weeks, but that was it. Another suggestion for pain prevention is to prop youself up in bed or sleep in a recliner for a coupke of nights to make it easier to rise. I have a lift recliner because of spinal issues, and it really came in handy post-op.

That sounds good now, and I am almost nine months out!.