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For my bypass my insurance paid over $70k. I paid $3500 out of pocket. It's crazy how much this cost! 6 weeks post op I ended up back in the hospital for dehydration, UTI, and a stricture. For my 2.5 day stay and EGD my insurance paid 20k. Just crazy!! Sent from my iPhone using RNYTalk

(Continued) Through the remainder of my college years and through my twenties, I kept my weight under control; my weight averaged between 125 - 136, but I worked and worried about it endlessly, always feeling “fat”. As my career started to really take off and my responsibilities grew - travel, business dinners, I had to aggressively restrict my food intake to maintain my weight. I spent the first seven years after I graduated living at home, helping to support my financially irresponsible father, nursing my mother through breast and then lung cancer and caring for my youngest brother. I was finally able to break free in 1995. Money was tight and the debts incurred supporting my parents were high. I worked for an international insurance company, but the pay wasn’t great and my boss difficult to work for. Turnover in my department was over 50% that year, so I was working long hours, weekends and living in fear that I wouldn’t be able to keep a roof over my head. My weight escalated to 176 by January 1996. As I became more acclimated to living on my own and managing my career, I was able to better manage my weight. Between January 1996 and August 1997 I lost 37 pounds. I started dating my future husband, in July of that year. We both worked for the same company and although it was not against company policy to date a co-worker we opted to keep it a secret. That in addition to living 150 miles apart, was stressful and I began to battle my weight again. In the first year we dated, we both gained 20 pounds. In 1998 I was offered a plumb position with a competing company, one that would provide a new direction to my career, a company car, double my salary, and eventually transfer me to the same city as my future husband. I now telecommuted from a home office and inherited a service territory which hadn’t been handled in two years. Coupled with the fact that the promised “training” wasn’t provided, I was now working at times 14 hours a day, seven days a week. Often on the road for hours at time, I turned to fast food. Late nights at my desk with pizza, long work hours, long distance relationship and loads of stress and I soon became a junk food, comfort food and binge eater. By the end of 1998 I was 166. In 1999, I was a top performer with my company and was offered a relocation to the same city as my future husband. I was made aware that my assignment had problems and as I worked my way into my new territory, it became clear that the “problems” were quite serious and in some cases, potentially litigious. I was charged to, “treat this territory like it was my own business”. I did, and won the support of my direct manager and home office staff. I was still working 12 to 14 hours a day plus weekends. I ended 1999 at 183 pounds. Year 2000 would prove to be the most stressful year of my life. My company decided to dramatically change my (and my co-workers) job duties. I was now juggling tasks that had been handled by three separate individuals. In April I got engaged and began planning a wedding for October in my future husband's home state, a 1,000 miles away. In August I found a lump in my breast and was diagnosed with breast cancer the same weekend the invitations arrived from the printer. Fortunately I became a patient at a world recognized research facility, but it was still a crazy, stressful time. Between August and October I was diagnosed, packed my apartment, moved to my fiance's house, arranged a wedding reception for 150 people, had surgery and worked full time. In November I began chemotherapy. By the end of 2000 my weight was up to 213 pounds. I finished chemo in January 2001. A month later I started five weeks of radiation therapy. I continued to work full time, often 70+ plus hours a week. Despite winning multiple “key contributor” awards that year, I was given my first “unsatisfactory” performance review and told that as soon as my radiation therapy had finished, I should’ve been able to get back to my old service numbers. I was constantly stressed, sleeping sometimes just four hours a night - terrified that I’d lose my job and hence my insurance coverage. Couple with my new job duties as a “wife” I threw in the diet towel and ate whatever I wanted. By the end of 2001, I was 252 and 2002 added another 31 pounds - 283. In 2003 I was diagnosed with Type II diabetes and not surprisingly, due to the radiation to my chest, my thyroid had shut down. The job stress was incredible . My territory was supposed to be staffed by four people, but despite numerous promises from corporate that additional staff would be hired, I continued to hear that management didn’t feel we needed additional staff , since, I, "managed it all so well”. When once again my recommendations were ignored and resulted in a loss to the company in excess of 1M, I realized that I was just wearing myself out for nothing. My husband and I discussed it and as it looked like his company was going to transfer us to New York in 2004(actually took until 2005) we decided it would be best for me to quit before it killed me. Following my early “retirement” I enrolled in a local hospital's Simple Success Weight Loss Program and lost 20 pounds over 8 week period. Over the last seven years, my weight has averaged between 253-267. I can manage weight loss for a limited time, but stress leads me to binge eating. I find myself haunted by memories of my childhood and sometimes wonder if I’m not stuffing myself to stuff down the painful memories. I am the primary “homemaker” and find that everything from paying bills, to housework, to family obligations are my resonsibility. I have minimal down time and often find my days are just as long now, serving my family, as it was when I worked full-time. I jokingly say that I “gave up” one of my jobs - now I can’t figure out how I managed to work the hours I used to and do all that I do now?!? Nevertheless, not working has created a gap in my life socially and for my husband and I financially. I need to get back in the work force, but I’m afraid to get out there at this size. In the South, where I'm from, people are a little more gentile, a little less willing to pick on someone for their weight. I’ve found since I’ve moved to New York, that people, even strangers, will very directly comment on someone’s weight. I’ve had a neighbor snub me then very loudly comment on my weight and make disparaging remarks to other neighbors. I’ve had business professionals I contact on behalf of my charity work feel free to comment. I even had a medical professional at Memorial Sloan-Kettering harass me to the point I left the clinic in the middle of an MRI! I have had enough of dealing with and being defined by my weight, by being weighed in the balance and being found wanting because I’m too big. I’ve spent 32 years with issues related to food and my weight coloring every aspect of my life. I was able to overcome the short comings related to growing up in a physically and emotionally abusive home; going on to have a productive professional career, a real family, and being an active member of my community. Despite numerous attempts to control my weight, this is one area in which I have failed repeatedly. I’ve been well-educated through nutritional counseling, and my own efforts to self-educate. I know the risks this extra weight puts on my overall health and I am already seeing the effects. Coupled with the social and emotional aspects of being “plus sized”, I feel like the “life” is gone from my life - that I’m avoiding doing more and more activities because I’m trapped in a body that doesn’t feel like mine. When I dream, I don’t look like this. I’m willing to make the changes needed to lose weight - I’ve done it before, but I need a partner(so to speak) to help me down the long road back to being me.

I can't say for bypass, (I had the SADI laproscopic) but I imagine healing is similar. I had my post-op and staples out at 10 days. One of the areas where a port was opened back up a bit after they were pulled so we just did steri-strips for another few days. The rest were well healed.

Stay away from most of the protein "bullets" and "shots" that you will see in stores and read about online. If you look closely at their ingredient list, you will see that they are made with "collagen" protein. These products are attractive to bypass patients because they contain very large amounts of protein in very small volumes - usually 3 to 4 ounces. The problem is that collagen protein is an incomplete protein (meaning that it is missing one or more of the nine essential amino acids that your body requires and cannot manufacture). In addition, collagen (aka "gelatin" protein) has a PDCAAS (Protein Digestibility Corrected Amino Acid Score) digestibility score of 0.08. The PDCAAS has been adopted by the Institute of Medicine at the National Academy of Sciences, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and the World Health Organization as the standard for measuring all proteins. Proteins are ranked on a scale of 0 (least digestible) to 1 (most digestible). Whey, Soy, Milk, and Casein proteins all have a PDCAAS score of 1.0. All the protein in the world is useless if your body cannot digest it.

Cristi -- I hear your frustration! I had enchiladas Friday night and Fetucinni Alfredo Saturday night!! (PB'd both of them, but that's another story.) And yes, I eat them in ridiculously small portions, so mentally I am OK with that. However, I ALSO know that I'm not getting proper nutrition to fuel my body and I'm not going to lose weight that way. I'm down to 180 and even in "moderation" those types of meals will not allow me to lose weight. You can be sick of these comments or not, it won't change the fact that you have to make healthy choices to lose weight. Sorry, but that's the deal. My doctor did not suggest a particular eating plan. He didn't even put me on a pre-op diet! He said, "Enjoy the foods you've always enjoyed but in smaller portions." Well, the 1st 6 months I was a very good little bandster and ate fish, veggies, eggs, cottage cheese, etc. I also worked my butt off at the gym 4x a week. I lost weight. 6 months later I hit a plateau, quit the gym, relaxed my eating rules, and haven't lost anything significant since November. Hello? What's the lesson here?? Do what you like. Eat how you like. But you will have a much more difficult time getting the weight off....especially after 6 months and your body has made it's adjustments. It's up to you!

That is lovely Janiadurl! I didn't have the pleasure of booking my appointment with her back in November 2011 when I had surgery, but had I- I would have felt MUCH better about surgery and let her talk to my husband. (Though the coordinator I went through was fine, they were hard to get ahold of consistently, and I felt like I was being sold on surgery, and that same coordinator was quick to slander Dr. Kelly's name as soon as he broke ties with her company. They also made false promisses about the accommodations I'd be getting) Lora (not spelled Laura!) clearly comes from a place of genuine compassion and interest in helping others like her, and though it's quite probable she benefits financially from booking surgeries for Dr. Kelly, that feels much more like the outcome of her dedication and authentic love for helping people get VSG rather than her underlying motive. She actually works in the same physical space as Dr. Kelly, which is important to me- I think truly knowing the surgeon you book people with is really important. She functions as an assistant to his work rather than a coordinator- she has a wealth of knowledge, and will share and share and share with you rather than say something to make you happy so you'll get off the phone sooner. Janiadurl: I have to say Dr. Kelly was the best part of my experience, he was warm and visited with me the night before surgery with his little son who he was very affectionate and sweet with, It was nice to see a doctor who was just a human being and could converse with me, person to person. Dr. Kelly saw how scared I was about surgery, and went down the hall to get a patient who had surgery with him just that day to come say hi to me and talk about it, and it was so cool to see how great she was doing just 6 hours out of surgery! The hospital itself was sufficient, and the nurses and staff came in every 1-2 hours to check on me. All the equipment was identical to that in the USA. Anytime I needed something, I pressed a button, and someone was there within minutes. I have known other people who really loved their experience with other doctors in Mexico, but I adore Dr. Kelly. I like that he holds a USA medical license STILL, speaks fluent English (dude was born in Michigan!), and has a background in varied types of internal medicine. I think there are likely many good options, but I really, really loved my experience with Dr. Kelly. He is easy to reach via phone or e-mail, which is also quite reassuring even though he lives in Mexico full time now I believe.

Mexico is too complicated for me I already looked into it. My daughters won't stay with anybody which means I have to bring them with me along with my parents to watch them and that is plane tickets and hotel and food and hours on a plane. I want to have surgery and go to my bed and rest and I rather have a local doctor that I can go to and knows me. My doctor is a very reputable doctor, I cannot tell you how many lap bands he has done but he was an apprentice to one of the first gastric bypass doctors back in the 70's and they put their patients through the ringer with classes and nutritionists, support groups and writing a letter of understanding etc.... before he does the surgery.

My sense of taste was out of whack for a few months post-op. And I've seen the question about changes in the way food tastes come up quite often on the board. This article was posted on WebMD - a UK hospital has evidence that it is pretty common to experience changes in the way things taste and smell after bariatric surgery. My personal theory is that since we are literally forced to give up sugar (between the pre-op diet and going through the food stages post-op), our sense of taste is reset and we're no longer under the influence of sugar and processed foods. Taste Changes Reported After Weight-Loss Surgery Sense of smell also altered for some patients in British study WebMD News from HealthDay By Robert Preidt HealthDay Reporter FRIDAY, April 18, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- After weight-loss surgery, many patients report changes in appetite, taste and smell, a new study says. One positive aspect of these changes is that they may lead patients to lose even more weight, the researchers suggested. The study included 103 British patients who underwent Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery, in which the stomach is made smaller and the small intestines is shortened. Of those, 97 percent said their appetite changed after the surgery, and 42 percent said their sense of smell changed. Taste changes occurred in 73 percent of the patients, especially when it came to sweet and sour tastes, the researchers found. They especially noted changes in the taste of chicken, beef, pork, roast meat, lamb, sausages, fish, fast food, chocolate, greasy food, pasta and rice. Nearly three-quarters of patients said they developed a dislike of certain foods, especially meat products. One-third avoided chicken, minced beef, beef steak, lamb, sausages, bacon or ham. About 12 percent had an aversion to starches such as rice, pasta, bread and pastry and for dairy products such as cream, cheese, ice cream and eggs, 4 percent to vegetables, 3 percent to fruit and 1 percent to canned fish. The researchers also found that patients with a newly developed distaste for certain foods lost an average of nearly 18 pounds more after their surgery than those whose taste wasn't affected, according to the study recently published online in the journal Obesity Surgery. Although the study found an association between weight-loss surgery and sensory changes, it did not establish cause-and-effect. The taste and smell changes experienced by many patients after weight-loss surgery may be due to a combination of gut hormone and central nervous system effects, according to lead author Lisa Graham, of the Leicester Royal Infirmary. She noted that patients considering weight-loss surgery are typically told about the possible loss of taste and smell. http://www.webmd.com/diet/weight-loss-surgery/news/20140418/appetite-taste-changes-reported-after-weight-loss-surgery

I had RNY Surgery on November 16, 2016. HW 248 SW 215 CW 168 Total Loss: 80 Lbs. Thanks to everyone here for all their help.

I'm hoping to get banded in early October or so.... This should give me plenty of time to get over the initial pain etc.. for our November 15th opening of rifle season! I was with my husband last year when he got a monster 8 point. This buck was huge - bigger than most of the 10 + pointers on the pole! My turn!

Its normal! I think everyone thinks about the what ifs, hows and whys before surgery. Especially near to the date of surgery. If you do need more time to decide between the sleeve and bypass, then I am sure your team would be able to support you with your decision, which is a huge one to make. I had one 20 minute 'omg what have I done' on day three when I was still in Hospital after the VSG. The other 18 months have been great. My only regret is not doing it sooner. Be kind to yourself xx Kate

You have to take the same supplements and vitamin with sleeve as you do with bypass.I had sleeve in 2011,then developed acid reflux issues and revision 2016.Some people have problems but not all.Every surgery comes with its own risk.I wish I would of had the bypass to begin with,but I was afraid of complications too.

We have our insurance thru BOEING UHC HMO, I was just denied on appeal from this plan because I did not meet their standard or 40 on the BMI, I am 38.8 with co-morbidities however since this is an exclusion on the HMO I am thinking of switching to the PPO Choice plan in November and was wondering if anyone knows if I would qualify on that plan. HELP!!!!!:help::help::help::help::help::help:

So when i was in for my first fill last week, I had a lady that had the procedure done the same day say a comment to me that I wasnt sure how to take. My surgeon does the post op class for "how to understand fill process" on the 6 week mark and all the people that had the procedure done that day comes in to the class and then goes and has thier fill done right afterwards. There were 4 of us that was banded on 4/14. So I have met these people twice in the last month and 1/2. Both at classes. This one lady is kinda big and walks with a cane. But I could tell that she has done well and she seems to be moving around better than she did the last time I saw her. Well we got to talking a little bit before the class and then again right after our fills were done as we sat next to each other while we were sipping on our waters. We talked about how the fills went and all that. Then she said "not to be mean, but why did you have the procedure done, you dont even look overweight" I wasnt quite sure how to respond. I just said that I definately needed it done and that I was happy that I had done it. My bmi was 37, which makes me severely obese. I would say this lady is probably under morbid obese. I kinda switched the subject after that to something else. Im just wondering if this is the norm on how people feel about someone that is not over 40 bmi having the procedure done. I hope I am not opening up a big can of worms asking this question. Either way, would not bother me because I am so glad that I did it. When she said it, I almost wanted to say "well why didnt you get the bypass done" But I didnt think that would be nice at all to say and I am not a person that would hurt someone just to hurt them. It is up to her what procedure she wanted to have done, just like it was up to me on having this procedure done. That was just a quick thing that went through my mind when I was trying to decide if I was offended or not by her comment. Anyway, was just thinking about it and was curious if anyone has had a comment like this before.

The only thing that can stop me right now is my insurance!! I want this more than anything and I love all of you that have your weight loss banners and date you were banned, it gives me so much hope!! I went out last night with a bunch of friends including my bypass friend that was 270, now a size 6 and looking at the pictures of me, I look like I ate a few guest. I am so tired of hiding from the camera or dressing so covered up while everyone is so dressed up and loving the camera. That will be me one day too. I have to do this, I was so sick over the pics and then had to go out and of course stoped at Wendy's that me, that's my life and no I didn't get a salad!! Thank you so much for your comments. I don't care who knows I just hate the remarks about how they just know I can do it if I really tired, if I really tried???? OK, those people do know me and how can they say that to me?? I told them at work the other day that I need their support and if they had to fake it, then fake it. They are worried about the danger of it, I told them they should know me by now, I have been reading these boards since Feb., reading everything I can, asking questions, I wouldn't just jump on the operating table. Thanks everyone

That is true, when my friend who was 270 got bypass and I was on Weight Watcher's, eating right, working out like crazy and watching her lose weight. To be honest, I hated it, I wanted to be losing like her. I hated visiting her knowing she was looking so much better than me and buying new clothes while I started gaining my weight back. People do not want to see you looking better than them, I hate that she looks better than me, lol. She is a size 6 while I'm a 18, not fair!! Everytime I'm with her she is so excited and happy. I remember us being on the ship and she had to take breaks going up and down the stairs. We would have to move to the side to let people pass so she could catch her breath, now, those people better move out of her way and she is 50 years old!! So we talk about it a lot and she has made me really check into this and I am really close with my co-workers so I was kinda shocked when they started in on me. I have been on or off or starting a diet for about 15 years now and I'm at my heaviest, something isn't working for me, I need a new tool. Of course they hear the stories of bypass and people gaining it back, well, I'm sure more keep it off than gain it back. Brings me to a question, if you start to gain and you have the band, can't you start fresh and start losing again? Thanks, I think I'm not telling anyone. I need to get approved before I start telling anyone anyway. My teen girls and my husband are by my side and that is all I need. Haven't told my oldest son yet, he is skinny, lol.

Hi! I just joined this forum today wanting to ask this same question regarding post-op pain. I also had a band to bypass revision this Thursday afternoon and came home yesterday, Friday afternoon. (I didn't even stay in the hospital more than 24 hours.) I had the morphine pump and was up walking around the hospital the following morning, getting dressed myself, holding down jellow and broth, and I really thought I was doing well. Flash forward to last night after the morphine wears off and I am crying in pain. I can't get comfortable laying down, sitting up, and walking feels like my cuts are being torn open. They gave my Tylenol with Codene, but all it does is make me groggy. No pain relief whatsoever. I've had WLS before and a Csection so I'm no stranger to recovery, but this pain is BAD. I can barely breathe in without my back tensing up in pain. I called the advice nurse this morning but still haven't gotten a call back. I just don't know how much pain is considered normal or expected. Since it's been a couple months since your sugery, can you give us an update as to how your healing process was? Thanks!

I had a bariatric consult approx 2 months ago and was told that my insurance would not cover the surgery. (My husband had me convinced it would) I have a BMI of 31.5 with some other medical conditions. During my consult, the physician offered to see my husband, who had Gastric Bypass 1 1/2yrs ago. (We just moved from another state) To be pro-active (I don't have a date set yet) I called that doctors office and asked if they would follow me if I went to Mexico for my surgery?! They called me back a couple days later and told me NO! I live right outside of Omaha, Nebraska now... My primary doctor is okay~ But she wants to send me to a specialist for everything!! Has anyone had any problems?! Thanks in advance for any words of wisdom!!

My Doctor has told me unless I have a known deficiency I don’t need vitamins. The procedure doesn’t inhibit vitamin absorption like a gastric bypass so vitamins are not needed.

Wow, thanks for posting these, amazing!! I'm just beginning, on pre-op liquids & due for surgery November 3rd. Seeing how successful you've been gives me more hope, I need to lose 200pounds & you make me think I can do it!!!

Welcome & good luck. I still haven't gotten my computer fixed at home - I'm just using my work computer over my lunch. I do not have the lapband, but I do have an appointment in November. That was the soonest they could get me in. However, I did fill out all the paperwork they sent me so if there is a cancellation, my appointment will move up.

I was banded in November 2010, but have not had any problems since my third fill, march 2011. Sorry to confuse. I emailed my doctor, and will try to get in sometime this week. Thanks for responding...I have no one to talk to, and cannot find infiormation in the internet besides reflux, pain, etc.

I been craving for pickle juice since yesterday I'm 6 day post op by the way I had the rny gastric bypass,

I wanted the sleeve for the same reasons people listed above. I had my mind set to get the sleeve before talking to my surgeon, and I was prepared to argue over which type of surgery to have with him. But it turned out that he was pro Sleeve. He'd been doing Gastric Bypass for 12 years and Sleeve for 5 years. And he was convinced that the Sleeve produced results that were "almost" as good as the Bypass. "Almost" meaning, that his Sleeve patients lost approximately 75% of their excess weight, while his Bypass patients lost approximately 80% of their excess weight. He told me to realistically expect to get down to 235 from my beginning weight of 375. 2 years later, I'm easily staying in the 205 - 210 lb range. Needless to say, I'm very happy with my Frankensleeve.

So sorry to hear you've been through so much.. I had bypass as well but only 9 months post op but my blood work has been good thus far.. Keep positive you'll get to the end eventually, I'm now in maintenance.. It is possible