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My company was bought and our insurance will change to Anthem Blue Cross in January. The plan is called Prudent Buyer. My new employer is California based however I live in Texas. We haven’t enrolled in our selected plans yet however my HR person gave me the EOC for this year explaining all the coverage and stated nothing will change. Bariatric is covered and the only stipulation is that it must be deemed medically necessary and performed at a BDCSC facility. There are absolutely no other requirements listed like wait times, nutrition visits, etc. Anyone else have experience with this plan?

Thanks!!! I didn’t even bother changing that because I was so busy looking for junk that was LapBand related LOL

Congrats on your surgery! One thing I’ve had to learn about weight loss (without surgery at this point) is that it is definitely not a linear process. Stalls are always a bummer, but realizing why is the key part. The countless processes your body has to go through to realize a change has been made and what to do with it is pretty complex. Just because you restrict calories and change your internal anatomy doesn’t always guarantee immediate loss. You’re body is in a new state of repair and metabolic processes are complex. Let your body figure out what its new job is. I can guarantee you it’ll get back on track each time as long as you do your own part. You got this!

Hey folks...I’m still in the very early stages of preparing for a possible RNY in a couple months and have tons of questions. First being...can I still keto? For the past year and half, I’ve been following a strict ketogenic/LCHF diet. No sugar, no fruit, grains, bread, very low carb. Mostly high fat dairy, fatty meats and other protein sources. Basically avoiding anything natural or unnatural that spikes blood sugar or insulin (I’m not diabetic, that’s just what keto is about) I had to train myself to get used to that and eating high fat everything, fat in my coffee, MCT oil and powder, electrolyte supplement pills, collagen peptide supplements, etc. I’m pretty sure after RNY, keto will be a thing of the past and that kinda makes me sad. It has been a great way of eating for me, I’ve lost weight (just not enough) and I feel great on it and don’t want to abandon eating this way. Are there any post-op Ketonians here that can ease my mind?

I’ve never been so entertained by a poop discussion in my life! As entertaining as it is, it’s also super helpful to hear all this. I’m facing RNY and have SO many questions about “what happens when...”. Keep it comin! This is great stuff :D

OMG! My new insurance plan starting in Jan 2019 is Anthem Blue Cross Texas. I know bariatric is covered in my policy and there was literally nothing else mentioned for requirements in the EOC aside the surgery needing to be medically necessary and performed at a BDCSC facility. This is awesome news!!! Thanks for sharing!

Dumb question but I’m new here and looking down the gastric bypass barrel. How in the world can you guzzle so much water when your stomach is the size of an egg, if that? Does the pouch immediately empty or something? If so, are you constantly having diarrhea? ?

If you're not trying to eat keto, then you have WAY more options at keeping this at bay. Biotene spray is magnificent. All of the Biotene products are great. High protein diets just naturally cause rank breath too. Dehydration on top of all that makes for one stanky combintation LOL Electrolytes are soooooo important at keeping hydration in check when you can't just chug water anymore. Even if do drink a lot of water, but aren't eating much salt, you aren't replenishing the vital electrolytes your body needs quick enough before you're flushing them right out again. You'll feel sluggish, get muscle cramps and charlie horses, get heart palpitations, jitters...just overall, you'll feel like crap. Drinking a Powerade Zero is just not enough to replenish what you're losing. Gotta supplement, like everything else

Welp...hopefully someone will know the answer!

When I joined these forums back in 2008 I was seeking lap-band surgery. I'm not anymore. How can I remove the "LAP-BAND Patients" category under my picture? I feel like I've searched everywhere for this setting.

One thing you might be experiencing with the metallic taste in your mouth could be ketosis. NOT ketoacidosis (that's completely different). Anyone that follows a ketogenic diet knows this taste all too well. When you restrict carbs in your diet, at the very least 3-4 days, you'll enter into a low level of ketosis which causes that metallic taste and sometimes bad breath that just won't go away. Early ketosis can make you feel crap especially if you're restricting just enough carbs to make you flip flop from burning fat vs. burning glucose. The best thing you can do is get some electrolytes into your system. That will allow the metallic taste to subside. This can be found in liquid form. I trust a brand called Hi-Lyte or Lite-Show (find on Amazon). Just mix it with anything. Hope you get some relief.

I'm going to resurrect this post to see if anyone else out ther has experienced the 1-incision surgery....

My friend told me her boyfriend is going to India. He's from there though, but has lived in the US most of his life... I'll have to get more details.

I don't mean to ask TMI...this is all out of curiosity :cry_smile: Did any of you have hernias that you didn't know about? If so, what kind was it/where was it located? Would most hernias present themselves in an abdominal exam? Lastly, if you had one, would you most likely know about it before the doctor found it due to symptoms? I've been reading more recently here of people and their hernia situations so I'm just trying to get more info...thanks in advance for sharing!

My own dad asked my about a month ago..."Don't you see how big you are now? How could you let yourself get that way?" I was never so hurt by something my dad had said to me before. I couldn't even speak to him for a few weeks after that. The sad thing is, he never apologized for saying that stuff and I don't think the thought ever entered his mind to do so.... I'm the only overweight person in my family. Everyone else is skin and bones. How could they understand?

I've done a little searching about erosion, but I didn't quite get the info I was looking for. What is it, what are the symptoms and what can cause it?

I saw the post on the main board about there finally being an LB procedure that only required one incision instead of multiple (4-6). Has anyone is the DFW area had a doc that did or will do the one incision procedure. It was done for the first time at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas... just wondering who the lucky person was, LOL!

We'll just like a lot of other companies out there they have a WLS exclusion on their insurance plan. I physically work for Microsoft under contract with another company called Volt. The job I do is so too important to just quit and go somewhere else and there are opportunities to become permanent employees with Microsoft. MS insurance is insanely good. What I'm waiting for now is my hubby to do that very thing. He has one of several interviews today that will hopefully m'e him permanent so we have the better insurance. If that doesn't happen, I'm not sure what the next step is.

I've always thought/heard that tanned skin has a slimming effect. To me it looks healthier, but my genes make me "un-tannable". If I ever did any tanning it was spray on. The techniques and formulas used these days are so much more advanced than they used to be. You can have someone personally airbrush tan you (which looks way better to me) or you can go in a spray booth. Either way, nothing is permanent and you have to keep re-doing it every few weeks which gets annoying. If you tan easily, just be careful...use some SPF lotion if you can and keep your skin checked by a dermatologist. Always keep an eye out for wonky looking moles too :biggrin:

I know of a product that's pretty phenominal. It will replace your shampoo entirely along with the shampooing step in your shower. There's a cleansing conditioner out there called WEN CLEANSING CONDITIONERS by CHAZ DEAN and they come in all kinds of fabulous smelling fragrances ( the website only shows Sweet Almond Mint, but there's Fig too). It doesn't foam, but it cleanses your hair just as good as if you were using shampoo without the drying properties of the shampoo ingredients. Go to WEN to get more info about how it works. If you google the product, you can order it from all different places. Good luck!!!

If you can't swallow giant multivitamins, you can always get it in liquid form. GNC used to have something called Liquid Ultra Mega, not sure if they sell it anymore but it's not on their website. It has probably been replaced by something else but my co-worker swore by it because her hair was falling out too. I would check GNC or a Vitamin Shoppe. Since WLS is so popular, I'm sure they're very aware about all the different types of products that will help you get your hair growing back. Once I get banded I know I'll be getting some too because my already falls out enough from PCOS. Good luck!

Certainly my reason for creating this post was not to discourage people from getting the band if there was a risk of them having loose skin. That would be ridiculous. The only reason I ask questions here is to get opinions from people that are already experiencing the "band lifestyle" and to hear how each person that responds to my questions is personally affected by having the band. The purpose of this post was to locate some of the people that have cases that are normal, out of the norm or to locate a few people that "got lucky" by losing a considerable amount of weight and are happy enough with the outcome that they don't feel PS is necessary for them. It's all about gathering statistical information. After all, knowledge is power. If people were more aware that possibilities are endless regarding this surgery it would allow them to take the "band path" with a little more of an open mind and not be so scared just because they're only aware of the outcome experienced by a few people...that's partly what forums are for right...support and knowledge?

double post by accident...see below

I am absolutely for anti-aging treatment products. With my genes, it's 50/50. I'll either end up looking like a bulldog when I'm 50 or I'll look 50 when I'm almost 90. SO...I've started early. I totally avoid the sun...I burn too bad anyway. And I always use anti-aging serums and moisturizers. I think I'm doing pretty good so far. No fine lines, no crows feet...(knock on wood)

That's pretty much my issue. My BMI is high but I don't have any co-morbidities yet. I was approved with United Healthcare at the beginning of the year but my employer had a WLS exclusion that took forever for me to find out. I'll definitely be keeping this thread in case I need to reference it in the future.