GADeltaDawn

Hi, I'm now 5 months out from my bypass and the dumping thing, sometimes not so great. I sometimes feel if I smell sugar I dump. I get it more times than I should so I'm have a hard time getting a handle on it. It can make you weak, dehydrated, and not let you out of the house for fear of an accident. One good thing for me is I know when it's coming. My stomach,well pouch, rumbles like crazy for as long as it takes until I have a BM. A benefit, Constipation is rarely a problem. If I do have it I can eat a sweet pickle or two and here it comes. Sorry for theTMI but I thought you should hear this from someone experiencing what you're talking about.

I too wanted VSG in the beginning but with my reflux my surgeon wouldn't go forward. I had RNY on 11/22/13 and am 10 pounds under the goal I set for myself and could not be happier. I feel absolutely normal, just much healthier. This is definitely something I think I should be able to maintain. I am constantly on guard to not fall back into bad habits. My surgery has given me a new lease on life. Best of luck to you whatever procedure you decide to pursue.

I was the same too. Went to the seminar back in July with the intention to do the sleeve. A friend had one two years ago and told me a sleeve would be better don't do a bypass. But for all the reasons you mentioned I switch to a bypass. Also there is a better chance of higher % of weightloss with the bypass. There could be a chance if I got the sleeve I would end up getting a bypass anyways if my weighloss wasn't significant enough. I don't want to have to do two weightloss surgeries. Even though there people who lost lots of weight with the sleeve but you don't know what your body is going to do. I need to lose at least 150 lbs. If you have diabetes II the bypass has a good chance of reversing it. MY Dr gave me all the facts of both surgeries and hearing what he he said and my husband's input I changed my mind to bypass.

I'm pre-op, but I can tell you that I went to my surgical consult last week totally committed to the sleeve, but my surgeon changed my mind, because of all the reasons you listed. Primarily, I have GERD and have had ulcers, and he told me that the sleeve could make that worse, and it can be difficult to manage. From where I stand, I'm doing this surgery to improve my quality of life, and if I'm miserable because of GERD pain, that sort of defeats the purpose. Like you, I also think I need the dumping syndrome component/consequence of the bypass to keep me on track.
Good luck with whatever you decide!

All you have to do is go to your primary for six consecutive months and have them document your attempts at weightloss. Your surgeons office can let you know what wording is required to get approval. All my doctor wrote was I exercise 3 days a week and have making various attempts to loose weight either but cutting carbs, no soda etc and it was sufficient and by the way I didn't loose one pound during the six months. It seems to be a formality.

I know every insurance is a little different. I was required to have a 6 month documented period of medical supervision. It was required that I had a Dr appointment once each month. I also had to have written, detailed, daily food and exercise diary for the whole 6 months. It was also required that I showed and maintained a weight loss. Didn't matter how much as long as I didn't gain it back. I also had to have a document from my Dr stating that he had worked with me on weight loss for those 6 months. I wasn't aware they would need the food diaries. Thank goodness I used an app called My Fitness Pal. It saved my butt! I was able to go back and fill out days I had missed and print them off.
No matter what the requirements are you can do this! If this is truly the right course for you and you are committed, You can get through it! Don't be discouraged! Your Bariatric surgeon's office will be able to help you figure out the details of the requirements and help you fulfill them!

Thanks, Alex! I hope this really takes off - what a great idea, and done so quickly! What's your secret?

I feel the same way! I've just begun my process as well. Had my first appointment with the surgeon on Jan. 20th. I have a 90 day process to complete for insurance. I'm beyond excited, I feel like this is going to change my life for sure! It's hard to share my excitement and emotions with friends and family because they don't understand.
When do you plan to have surgery...we may be close. It would be nice to follow each other, I'm having a hard time finding people just starting out on here ????

GADeltadawn hi they have to give you the info u are correct its your policy etc what u need to do is call them again don't ask a bunch of questions ask for a copy of the guidelines and requirements for this procedure u are entitled by law to a written copy if u ask they may try to just tell u to look online on their website however I found it difficult to find so I was told by my boss who is an attorney to ask or it to be mailed to me I got one in three days by mail if they get pushy tell em your computer crashed u have no internet etc u get the idea good luck

Typically the doctor's office call for this. Most have a person in charge of pre-certs. However tell the insurance rep that you are entittled to answers regarding your coverage, If they continue to refuse request a supervisor.

@@GADeltaDawn Well Hopefully the Dr's office will do it for you. They should have someone in charge of finances/insurance...

Come to think of it I Think my office had me call too but the questions where basic like is surgery covered in my plan and the requirements for surgery..that's about it.

I work for an insurance company that only handles chronically ill children, we never expect patients/parents to know CPT codes or even know what that means, we only require those from the providers. If ins co's are requesting that from a patient, they are just being aholes.
My insurance company actually tried to talk me out of surgery when I called for info and wouldn't tell me either, so I dug around on their website searching for different weight loss surgery terms and finally found the requirements... however the hospital did have all of the requirements for me when I got there for my first seminar because they had gotten all of my insurance info when I called and set the appointment.

I deal with insurances all day. You most definitely have the right to know what is going to be covered and what is not. If they are asking for cpt codes etc. you can get that from the surgeon's office. If you don't get anywhere with a regular rep demand to speak to their supervisor. Unfortunately, half of these reps don't really understand the information you are asking.

@@GADeltaDawn - I wasn't on any pain meds. My doctor advised 2-4 weeks. Even though I felt completely back to normal after a week, I still tired easily and need a nap mid day. There is also the adjusting to the sip, sipping of Protein Drinks and fluids. It can easily take an entire hour to drink one Protein Drink. So you need a bit of time adjust to your new eating habits.

How many VSG has he done? Plus what the other women said

Oh ok. At the advice of a firmer teacher who was a Medical Assistant for a long time, I'm going to ask if they can draw some of my own blood so that if I need a transfusion, I will have my own to do it with. If I don't need it I can just donate it or whatever.

My questions were different.
I wanted to know if they had issues with vegetarian diets?
Could they work around my many food and medicine allergies?
Could they operate without blood?
Everything else I had checked into before deciding on this doc and/or were answered during the seminar.

Ask your surgeon:
how he handles pain management.
how many incisions will you have
where will the incisions be located
does he use CO2 to expand your abdominal cavity
will he extract as much C02 as possible to reduce shoulder gas
how long does he expect you will stay in the hospital
how long until you can resume normal activities
what is the most common complication with his patients
My three month pre-op diet was basically low-carb (not no-carb), and high Protein (60-80 grams a day).
Waiting for approval is the hardest part of this process.