Nyelaah

I like her and in my case my bmi is really high so she wanted me to lose 40 pounds before my operation I have lost 13 so far but if I get this 30 pounds off my April 22 I wud do surgery but if I have not reached that goal yet it would have to be postponed

Oh and I haven't met with her yet. I will meet with her after my surgery is approved.

Dr.Bagloo too! She had you lose 30 before the operation?

Dr.bagloo and its hopefully April 22 if I can lose 30 pounds by then such a depressing thought who's your doctor

I'm from Washington heights will have mine in ny Presbyterian hospital

I submitted all my paperwork yesterday about noon, and was told that I received my approval letter TODAY!!! Unbelievable! Hopefully 3 weeks until surgery!!!

I don't know how he found out, I really hadn't told many people at work, but I guess people talk. Anyway, it came up in conversation, and he started questioning my motivation, saying that didn't I worry that I was taking that easy way out. That if I just worked hard and stayed disciplined, I could do it all on my own. He made it sound so simple. I could tell he thought he was being positive, but he was being condescending, something he has a reputation for doing.
First of all, it's not so simple. I am well over 200+ lbs over. I have gone past the point of no return. And while I make no excuses for how I got this way, I know it's all on me, and I haven't made the best choices in my past. But I'm at the point where medical intervention is required, and my doctor wholeheartedly agrees (I love her by the way!). And I'm going to do this like I do everything in my life. To the best of my abilities. Despite his opinion, I know this will most certainly not be easy. In fact, I want to it to be hard. It will make it that much more worth it once I reach my goal.
And second. This is life and death, I'm in my mid 30s now, and the clock is ticking. If I keep going on this path, I will not have much time left on this planet. I am not concerned with preserving my honor in his eyes. I have family and friends who are all united in their support of me on this. And he's just some guy we hired last year to do . . .I really don't know what he does.
So for those that say, we're cheating, or taking the easy way out. Kindly direct them to engage in intercourse with themselves. Rant over.

I know this is a long shot but .... Anyone went or going to Jacobi hospital?
anyone in the bronx @ another hospital?

In my experience, the materials given to bariatric patients and "support" from paraprofessionals and insurance company nursing consultants have not caught up to the science. (The welcome brochure from the hospital has a scale indicating "calories in / calories out." Bogus!)
They are still talking about emotional eating and obesity as a failure of self-control. This is not only dated but cruel, and counterproductive. My surgeon is the only one among her staff that is apparently willing/able to discuss the complex mix of genetics, gut microbes, hormones, and obesogenic factors that may underly my BMI. Imagine a breast cancer patient being forced to walk a gauntlet of people who assumed her morally culpable for her DNA, toxic mattress, drinking Water, medications, stress levels, etc, and asked her on every form, in every conversation, "what have you done?" and "what are you doing?" to prevent these cells from invading your body.
This is not trivial, as our ideas about our own obesity appear to be critical to success after surgery:

http://esciencenews.com/articles/2014/10/23/how.people.view.their.own.weight.influences.bariatric.surgery.success
I view my excess weight like it's a cancer, a growth I do not want, did not ask for, and YES, may have encouraged through any number of life choices. (For starters, I should have refused all those antibiotics. I should have been eating anti-inflammatory foods, not low fat, in my crazy youth. I should have married someone who cooked, and moved to a bike-friendly city. So many wrong choices!)

If some day, in spite of our efforts to protect them from cancer and obesity, my children end up seeking treatment, I hope they get it from professionals whose prejudices do not infect their care. Who give them facts, not unsupported ideas, about the best route to health.

Oh, and about all those inflammatory processed bariatric "foods" my clinic is pushing? Don't get me started.
/endrant

Funniest thing happened yesterday. Had to go to the apple store with my computer. It's heavy so I placed it in a piece of luggage with wheels.
Well, in order to get it out I had to bend down and forward. Behold my boobs decided to slide right out of the bra. They poured out from the top and when I got up I had this bump on my chest that was not exactly easy to conceal. I had the Genius dude right in front of me and it wasn't like I could get my hands in my shirt and organize things. Jeez, ridiculous situation to be in. When I finally got to the car I couldn't help but laugh, look around and rearrange things. Note to self, when purchasing a bra, I must do the bend forward test to make sure things stay in. Trust me, I didn't see this one coming!

I was an obese child too. I did get trim in my early 20s and wore a bigger size than I do now, but i was actually smaller or same size. Sizes have changed. At 22, I weighed about 140-145 and wore size 9/10. I now weigh about 155 and wear 6/8 range pants. I don't think i am slimmer now, I think vanity sizing kicked in...

There really isn't any typical. Some folks are slow losers, some are fast. Some stop and start with big losses then small. Sounds like you are doing well. Don't compare yourself to others, it will drive you nuts.

@@Thinside
Unfortunately (or NOT), the surgery does not alter the brain or it's thinking pattern. You will still have the same mental issues with food, it's the hardest part of this. You will have "head hunger" that has been imprinted in you brain for all of your life up to this point. You will have to work on that to change it. It is HARD! You may need some psychological assistance, which is not unusual. Your Dr. can assist you in finding that help. The question is how committed to change are you?
This is what I do, and it's not for everyone. Everyone is different, and approaches this lifestyle change differently. I do not log my food choices for the day. I do not "officially" count calories, carbs, Protein, or fat. I have a mental idea of what they are and what I have done for the day. I have been doing the diet thing for years, and am satisfied that what I am doing is adequate for me. My dietician and nurse know what I do, and are not only ok with it, they are happy with my progress. The surgery is doing what it is supposed to do, and I recognize that it will do only so much, and that my part is unfinished, and always will be. I exercise a few times a week, when my arthritic joints allow, eat Protein first, and, if there is any room left (rarely) will have a few bites of healthier carbs. I follow the 2-3-2 program (eat within 2 hours of waking, approximately every three hours and within two hours of going to bed). I am rarely hungry this way. My life DOES revolve around food (it was worse before surgery, as I was diabetic then - it is in remission now), but in a more positive way. I don't restrict too much what I eat (types of food), since I eat so little of it, but I focus on the protein diet. I have treats in moderation, and not regularly.
It takes a lot of effort to do this, planning meals can be a challenge (since I eat so little, a normal size meal will last me days!). I freeze a lot of my leftovers to use later on. The biggest thing is I think it was definitely worth it, as at least with the surgery I CAN see a difference, and it is working. And it WILL Stay off if I follow the rules, which get easier each day.
You can always send me a message if you need further advice or have any other questions, I'm happy to help!

I'm dieting to lose as much as I can before surgery (while staying within the BMI range needed for insurance approval.) I've dieted MANY times before, and it is a lot of work! The only thing that has consistently worked for me is logging every single thing I eat. It also requires a huge time commitment in terms of planning every bite I'll take in a day, and thinking about what I'll do if we are going to be somewhere where I will need to eat out. As a result, a huge amount of my time is spent thinking about and planning my eating. It's the only way I can successfully diet. And it's a bit exhausting.
So, here's my worry: am I putting myself in the situation of having my whole life centered around food forever if I go through with the sleeve procedure?
Do you have to plan every single day's eating and think about what you're going to eat ahead of time and log everything forever? Or does it just become second nature, part of life? I would hate to devote a huge chunk of my life to thinking about food! That's one reason I want to have the surgery in the first place -- so food is not such a big part of my day and my mental landscape.

I'm feeling the first past now Ava. I pray I don't get to the other. Good luck

I'm a dumper...a big dumper, lol. For the first 6-8 months of the sleeve if I ate anything with sugar or fats I would get hot, sweaty, breathe fast, my heart would race, and I'd need to lay down for about 20 minutes before it passed. At around the one year mark I transitioned to a point where the sugar and fat now makes me puke, pretty much instantly. I am now at 18 months and if I eat any food from a restaurant or even processed sweets (ice cream, cake, etc) I get to spend the next five minutes barfing. I get hot, my heart rate goes up, and I literally feel it all coming right back up my throat. It's gross, but it keeps me really accountable about what I eat and I suppose I will call it a blessing in disguise.

Ice cream and sugary foods make me feel like complete crap. Sometimes as a reminder from the universe, they make me nauseous and then shoot right through. Nice to have these little reminders every now and then....

So today I was able to fit into a very very tight space on the train that a month and a half ago would have cause me to not even get on the train

They are going to make it right
After 7 months of misquoted benefits CareFirst is going to honor their mistake and grant my surgery.
I just want to thank all the people who take the time to post and write thier stories. You just don't know when what you write may change or save someone's life ( maybe a little dramatic but true in the case of morbid obesity). It was trending towards better news late last week. I found a really human CSR named Amber who was amazing and helped me, she was calling my surgeons office for codes etc... Anyway it can happen as you all have said. I was never covered and now I am getting surgery kind of crazy. The advice and the post I read where spot on and encouraging and that is so helpful.
As a by product it also gave me voice with my VP of HR. Since waiting for surgery I developed pre-diabetes. I was able to ask her why they would make bariatric surgery a plan exclusion when it would cost them between $20-$25k a year if I become a full blown diabetic each year ! Why they would cover 90% of all fertility procedures and abortions but deny something that for many will be life saving. She had no answers for me but it felt good to express my concerns and I am writing a letter to our CEO as well.

I continue to love this forum and the advice is so helpful. So I asked for everything in writing and responded back with 19 pages of documentation and the names and titles of 7 different associates at CareFirst that pulled my benefits and verified them to discuss my case. Just for good faith I got two extra names from my surgeon and a copy of their verification as well as from the phsyc eval.
I have had 4 phone calls from CareFirst today and 2 emails
The 1st just being another apology and stating that it was a mistake but that I was excluded. As suggested I used words like egregious error and system wide, epic failure for 7 plus months. I explained I now have two "almost" co-morbidities as I waited this 7 months which is true and documented in my file. That I made medical decisions that I would have made differently, I have other costs associated now not to mention the time and mental anguish. I now have adult onset asthma and pre-diabetes
All advice from awesome forum
I told them I would pursue this in anyway, I appreciate their kind response but an apology and addressing the issue with their associates was not going to be a satisfactory resolution and that I will be extremely diligent in pursuing this in and all ways available to me.
This last call was better, moving in a more hopeful direction. They have a meeting with today, a tribunal of sorts she called it to discuss my case and how this could have continued to happen, they will be reaching out to my plan admin as well. I told her to read the email with a CSRII when I was getting frustrated trying to get "exactly what needed to be submitted for WW structured diet". The CSR responding shared with me she was going through the process of bariatric surgery as well and understood my concern to get all the documentation straight. I said ask her to imagine after 7 months this happening to her. The Supervisor said I don't have to because I had lap band last year and I know I would be devastated.
You just never know do you
sorry long post but just feel like I need to give back in case anyone else goes through this, had I not had all your posts to read I would have been lost

As I thought my surgeon's office said there is not much to be done, they are not much of a help.
As I have said the surgery was never officially approved, it was being submitted today. I just had verification of my benefits stating it was covered based on requirements I have spent the last 7 months following to the letter. I think this forum is so helpful so I am posting more than I normally would in case this can help someone else avoid this issue or better prepare. I really admire that you all take the time to do that. I have 7 different emails from CareFirst documenting what is covered in my policy. I called as well on 4 other occasions as well as documentation from my surgeon. What they are telling me is that from Aug 24th 2014 on 7 different occasions through 1/19/2015 the reps did not pull my policy but a general policy. They did not check my plan specifically and my plan it excludes anything related to morbid obesity. I am finding all this very hard to believe of course but it's getting realer.
Anyway the only not entirely helpful advice I got post drama from the insurance coordinator at the office is that I should have gone to my human resource office and gotten the info directly from them. My god I don't know about you all but my HR team is neither human nor resourceful and talking to them about something like this would not be my 1st choice. I read these forums, learn form you all and I made sure I had this all in writing after reading the crazy stuff that goes down. That said I wish I had gone down to my hr dungeon and dealt with the HR beasties, I was vain,embarrassed and worried they would think "oh great there goes are premium".
Anyway still taking all the advice given and asked the surgeons office to submit so it could be officially denied. I have sent Carefirst emails asking them to reconsider and copied the 18 pages of correspondence between myself and their so called agents. I have my complaint ready to send to the GA Insurance Commissioner on stand by.

First appt. was March 11 all ready had psych evaluation done upper GI clear from pcp pulmonologist cleared all I need is cardiologist to clear me and I see the surgeon on the 24 if everything stays on track should be sleeved third week of April super excited

I'm presently awaiting my date with aft Bagloo. One of my friends had it done with her. He's doing well afterwards but we're all different

Sleeve here.
I dump when I each anything really rich. Ice cream, more than 2-3 small bites and I'll be vomiting shortly. Rich cream Soups will send be to the bathroom with explosive poo. Frozen yogurt gets me, frosting from a cake, cheesy rich mashed potatoes...
I can have a baby spoon or two, but that's it. Works for me. I can take a taste but I don't want more than that. It's not pretty if I do.

I am 3 years out.
I have had one "classic" dumping episode and it was Christmas day 2011. My surgery was December 11th 2011 and since I was a band revision, surgeon had me on a much slower food progression than typical. I was still on liquids so whilst my family enjoyed a Christmas feast, I had a warm chocolate Protein drink... but this was back when my thinking was still a bit "off". It was Christmas - I needed a treat, right? So I blended some Peanut Butter in. Perhaps too much Peanut Butter. I felt horrible - cramps, digestional upset, overall misery etc. It was bad enough that I didn't even taste peanut butter for a very long time after that.
Since then, I will say that I have had a few meals that made me feel bad, although I don't think they were classic dumping. My take away is that you need to be "in training" to eat junky crappy food. If you eat pretty clean and then decide you will share a deep fried fish and chip dinner with a friend (hey, i was at goal, what's a little treat?) you may decide it ISN'T WORTH IT! I had a horrible tummy ache, I felt like I had been dipped in grease and had to digest it all. It wasn't the same as my Christmas day event, but it wasn't good either.
So, where that leaves me is I can have a bit of something deep fried every once in a while.. but just a bit... and I feel okay. I made homemade potato chips for my boys and their friends, munched on a few with no ill effects... but just a few with a very healthy meal.
I don't really want to eat that crap anyways so it is fine. I can't even fathom eating say a McDonalds meal, I suspect I would hurl it just based on the grease alone. Well, who knows, but I decided I don't want to find out.