elalala

This is the Bariatric Surgery Policy for Anthem: https://www.anthem.com/medicalpolicies/policies/mp_pw_a053317.htm
My understanding is that different plans and states can have variations of this. For my plan (Anthem BCBC or California PPO) when I called Anthem to ask about the policy they directed me to look at that page. If you call your insurance and they don't give you a straight answer ask them if medical policy SURG.00024 is the policy that your plan uses or if there is a different one. Each plan should have a very clearly defined medical policy for coverage of any surgery included in that plan.

Hi all! I was sleeved on Oct. 20th. I was in a lot of pain after surgery and then fainted early in the morning the day after while going to the bathroom. I don't remember much of the first 2-3 days after surgery, but I think the amount of pain I was in was actually increasing and I was becoming less and less coherent. It turned out I had a bleed (my hemoglobin had dropped to 7.3 O.O). thankfully my doctor figured it out pretty quickly, and then they fixed the bleed on the 3rd day. From there I started rapidly feeling better! I was shocked when I got out of my 2nd surgery in 3 days and felt less pain than I was in before it, but I guess having lots of blood pooling in your abdomen is painful lol... I got out of the hospital 2 days later and since then I have been okay. I had some bad dizziness last week, but it turned out to just be a combination of dehydration and catching a cold. I had my hemoglobin checked earlier this week and it is back up to 10.3!

I'm on mushy foods now and have been handling food and Water fine (other than forgetting to drink which is what caused the dehydration). I can actually drink water rather quickly now, but I still just try to take sips every few minutes. I will start soft foods in 5 days (though I have added a few very soft foods that I didn't puree, like roasted red peppers and very soft white fish, and I am tolerating them well). I have not been measuring all of my food but I am getting a good idea of what 4 oz look like, and I just eat slowly and chew everything well, then stop when I feel full. One weird thing that I noticed is that I don't feel 'full' in the same way i used to, it more is like a feeling of pressure. I think this is because of the vagus nerve branches being cut. At first i had no hunger but that is slowly coming back, so I think the feeling of 'fullness' will too.

My highest weight was 265lb ~4 months before surgery, my surgery weight was ~245lb, and I am currently at 230lb. I think that most of what I lost so far was water weight, but one thing I can tell is that my face is wayyyy less puffy!!! I am also trying not to weigh myself every day but not doing well at it sigh

This is the Bariatric Surgery Policy for Anthem: https://www.anthem.com/medicalpolicies/policies/mp_pw_a053317.htm
My understanding is that different plans and states can have variations of this. For my plan (Anthem BCBC or California PPO) when I called Anthem to ask about the policy they directed me to look at that page. If you call your insurance and they don't give you a straight answer ask them if medical policy SURG.00024 is the policy that your plan uses or if there is a different one. Each plan should have a very clearly defined medical policy for coverage of any surgery included in that plan.

Since your post was in March I really hope you are not having this issue any longer! I would love to hear what was done to resolve it and what the underlying issue was. The rest of what I am saying is more for other who come across this post, as I really truly hope you are able to keep down more food and Water by now.
If you are having those symptoms you should immediately call your surgeon and go in to have them diagnose and see what can be done to repair. Long term dehydration is extremely dangerous. Not being able to keep food down is not good, but not immediately life threatening. Remember, we can live weeks without food, but only days without water.
If you feel that your surgeon is not offering you the necessary care to keep you healthy then I would go to another surgeon for a 2nd opinion. Some thirst after surgery is normal, but throwing up 4-5 times a day is not. And you have no way to know how much water you are actually keeping down if you are throwing a lot of it up.
Know the signs of dehydration (there are a lot so rather than list them here, look them up online) and when to seek emergency care. If you get to the point of extreme dehydration go to the ER immediately.