CelticBeautyEvolving

How did you set your ultimate goal weights? I am sure it is different for each of us, just curious to know what everyone’s thought process is/was. Also, how much input did your surgeon have in the goal weight - did your surgeon tell you he/she thought you could get to a certain weight? (And if so, were you successful?)

So two questions - did your team give you food suggestions NOT to eat, in order to avoid the gas? Or are you figuring it out on your own? And would you mind sharing your starting BMI?

I am in "research mode" right now, reading everything I can get my hands on, and I see many posts from people who have issues transitioning from one "stage" of the post-op diet to the next...which made me wonder: does your rate of loss have anything to do with the types of food you're eating post surgery? What I mean is -- do you lose faster if you stay on liquids / purees / soft foods longer? I realize that the people who are asking are doing so because they are miserable and nauseated, and uncomfortable, so it obviously is not a great place to be... I was just curious.

I've been doing some reading about the DS procedure, so I'll be able to discuss my options with my surgeon next week - with my BMI and the weight I need to lose, the DS seems like it would be the first choice, BUT some of the potential side effects concern me. I have seen many posts about gas, and diarrhea being side effects that you just have to deal with - very high percentages of DS patients have significant gas and odor problems. I am not sure that is a side effect that I could live with ... I read several articles about it -- since my insurance does cover it, and it is very effective for those with large amounts to lose, but...I just can't imagine living with that issue for the rest of my life.

My initial appt is next Thursday, April 11th. My BMI is 53, and has been 50+ for over 3 years now. I have Aetna, and they do cover Bariatric — the way I read the policy, they will require 3 months of pre-op visits with a nutritionist, medically supervised weight loss to prepare for surgery, yes? Here is my challenge...my policy runs from Sept 1 to Sept 1. Right now, I have met my entire deductible, and almost all of my out of pocket, thanks to a week-long hospital stay early in the plan year. If I can get this procedure done before Aug. 31, I will only be out-of-pocket a small amount... What can I do to help the process along? What kind of records are they going to need from my PCP? Any advice that those of you have already walked this road can give me will be greatly appreciated!!

I went through a bunch of old medical files today, and I have records dating back to 2011 showing my weight...basically, I've been in the "obese" category for at least 10 years... My surgeon is Dr Mehta, at Texas Laparoscopic Consultants, and they are in network. I do have questions about all the procedures/tests that need to be done for approval -- does it matter which doctors are used for those? If I already have a psychiatrist / GI doc / etc, can they do the psych eval, EGD, etc, if that's the quickest way to get it done, or do the surgeons generally want you to use someone in their "network"?

My first visit with the surgeon is April 11th as well. And I need to have my procedure in July, hopefully, so I am motivated to get my appts in as quickly as possible.

That’s exactly what I need...a checklist of the visits I need to schedule, so I can get it all done. At this point, all of those visits will cost me very little, since I’ve met my deductible, so there’s no $$ barrier to getting them done quickly...I don’t smoke. I had a colonoscopy done when I was hospitalized back in September, but they probably want an EGD? I don’t smoke - hubby is a double lung transplant recipient, so we are all about being smoke-free, and very, very compliant with meds! By “consecutive visits” - do you mean monthly? Thank you!!