Quest4TheNewMe

I'm 31 yrs old and my highest was 272, but I'm still in the pre-op phase. I'm also married with two kids, so I don't really fit the demographic you're looking for. I'm curious what the others in our age group have to say about the skin issue though.

I knew it wasn't going to be as easy as it originally seamed. My surgeon sent a letter to my PCP asking for some info. Now my PCP wants me to come in for a physical, but of course she's booked for a while. I'm not sure what would be covered in a physical that hasn't already been covered. Trying to just go with the flow...

I actually work in Maple Grove, so possibly meeting up down there might not be all that hard for me. I guess I'm more curious if there's anyone around who has gone through CentraCare in St Cloud for surgery.

Sure, that would be great! I'd be curious to at least see how it compares to what I am getting from mfp. Thank you!

Don't feel like my nutritionist and I agree on some basics... I almost feel like she's taking it too easy on me... LOL! I consider myself reasonably knowledgeable regarding nutrition (just because I know what I should do, done any mean I've been following it, obviously). Anyway, I had my first nutritionist appointment this last Tuesday. I'm a numbers geek and I asked her for total calorie/carb/protein goals to work towards. She told me to just use the recommendations from myfitnesspal app. The thing I don't like that by making just a couple of tweaks, it changes the goals a lot... I set it so that my goal weight is what I need to get to for surgery and said lose 2 lbs per week, which gives me a little buffer room before my target surgery date. I just wish she would have given me actual numbers... Also, she did give me a Protein goal, but it's a fair amount under what mfp suggests. I'm aiming for the mfp goal on protein. Also, I asked for recommendations for Protein shakes and she suggested Boost, Ensure, or Atkins. So far, I like the Atkins, but it seems like there are better ones out there? She's also saying that I should be doing three meals per day and no snacking in between. That seems to go against everything I've been told to date... I'd much rather have 4-5 meals at 200-300 calories, rather than three meals at 400-450 calories. I understand that with having more meals per day, it's easy to go over your calories. It just seems like after surgery, it would work better to have smaller, more frequent meals. I'm sure I should just follow her recommendations, since I need her to sign off on me being ready for surgery, it's just confusing. My insurance also requires me to do a phone course with them, so I'm curious what they're going to recommend in comparison to the clinic's nutritionist's recommendations...

Thanks! Let's hope I can keep the ambition going! Nope, no date yet. I've told them I'm hoping for late November or mid-December and they have said that is a very good goal. Once I get through my psych eval (8/8 ), I will meet with the surgeon, and then I think I'll get an actual date (I hope). I'm very much a planner, so I hope to have plenty of notice on the date...

My insurance only requires one meeting with the nutritionist and then their phone course. I do look forward to discussing what to buy, etc. We did discuss some new habits (dry meals, protein first...). I guess I just want to hit the ground running with the new goals and she's trying to make a gradual change. I definitely know I have things to learn, I just want to know it all now and work on implementing the changes, rather than just a few at a time... I also thought she'd give me more info on how to work towards my required weight loss before surgery. Maybe this is just a "test." It is a bariatric center of excellence, as required by my insurance. Thanks for the insight!

Love yourself first I'm definitely guilty of putting everyone else first but I'm trying to learn that I am of more value to everyone else, if I take care of and love myself first.

I just had my consult today, but have minimal insurance requirements. I told them that I was hoping for late November and was told that was a very good goal. Fingers crossed that I hit the November goal!

I went into my consult today fully convinced that bypass was what I wanted, and now I'm not sure. The nurse practitioner said that they do a lot more Sleeves than bypass and was really encouraging me to do the sleeve. I still think I will likely go with bypass, but it isn't quite as clear cut as I was thinking before today.

Anyone in the NW metro/St Cloud area?

I attended the seminar in mid-May. They called to schedule my first appts and the soonest I could get in was July 22. The last two months have gone by pretty quickly, but the last few days have been super slow!! I just want to get the ball rolling and see what's to come! Tuesday consists of blood work, EKG, nurse practitioner, and nutritionist...

Thanks!! I was kind of looking at that one, but I wasn't sure.

Awesome, I'll have to check that one out! Thank you!

Thanks! I have a friend who had GB about 9.5 years ago so she's been a great resource. I'm already about half way through the book. I'm a knowledge junkie. Ha! I have a list of questions, the info from my insurance company regarding requirements (I asked them specifically about my policy), a list of goals (fitness related), and I've started making a few changes. I plan on hitting the ground running after my appt on Tuesday (hopefully).

I'm still pre-op but I had my gallbladder out almost 4 years ago. When I would have an attack, all they could ever see on the ultrasound was the sludge but when the surgeon finally removed it, I had a stone hiding that was almost the size of a nickel. Just because they don't see stones on the US, doesn't mean they aren't possibly hiding.

I have the flex and wish I had the One. I don't like how the flex only has lights that blink, rather than telling you exactly how many steps you've taken, etc.

Yep, and I haven't even had my first official appt yet. I've only had the seminar. But, I've done a lot of research, I know exactly what my insurance requires, and I'm trying to make some changes NOW. I hope that being well informed will help speed things up.

So far I have only attended the seminar. In prep for my for appointment next week (bloodwork, EKG, nurse practitioner, and nitritionist), my clinic had me fill out the PHQ-9. Is this one of the steps for the psych eval? The psych evils seem to vary quite a bit, so I'm just wondering if this might be an indication on what my eval might involve. It was linked to the nurse practitioner portion of my appointments. Thanks!

I finally found info that the psych portion will be an interview, taking a test, and then going over the results. I think I can handle that! Having everything done in 3 months would be awesome. I will have 2.5 months of phone calls with my insurance, so it would be nice to get the rest done at the same time.

It was literally only 10 questions... I'm guessing there is more to come. Just wishful thinking. LOL!

Hmm, okay, thanks. According to Google, the PHQ-9 is some standardized depression test. I'm not required (by insurance) to do the 6 classes. Can't wait to see what next Tuesday has in store...

I have the Fitbit Flex, but I wish I had one of the other models. It doesn't give you any actual info until you log in online. Other models will display your stats.

Does anyone in MN have HealthPartners? What was your experience in getting approved? It seems as though my only real requirement is their phone course (since my BMI is > 40). My clinic says it typically takes 6 months to get to the point of surgery, but I'm guessing that's because other insurance companies require more nutrition courses. I had to wait two months from the seminar to my first appt, which is on the 22nd (blood work, EKG, nurse practitioner, nutritionalist). Do you think it's unrealistic to hope for a surgery date at the end of November? Thanks! I've been lurking for a while...

I'm going through CentraCare. Hopefully it works out to be less than 6 months... Otherwise that puts me into a busy time at work, so I'd have to delay it... Also, since I'm meeting with the nutritionist next week, I'm not sure when else I'll need to meet with them. HealthPartners only requires one meeting (in addition to the phone calls). I'm not sure what the clinic requires. Thanks for the response!