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So I originally started looking into the surgeons in Mexico because of price. However, I could jump through hoops and get 60% paid after my deductible and end up close to the same price. But I have found that none of the top local surgeons have the experience of the popular Mexican Docs. Even Dr Elias Ortiz, who is fairly new, has performed more sleeve surgeries than most. It seems like the US docs are still caught up with lap band. I'm going to Mexico for surgery on Nov.13th and I am more confident BC of this.... hope I'm right!

Hey hon, quick question please? I love this kind of protein smoothie. I'm having one for breakfast right now! So I don't do hemp or flax cuz of the phytoestrogens in them and hormone positive BC...but I do love chia seeds. How do you mix them into your smoothie and how long did you wait before you added them into your smoothie after surgery? Do the seeds give you any kind of problem? (I hate milling/grinding chia seeds and love the kinda agua fresca/bubble tea texture they add to things...) Thanks!

I don't know who your statement applied to since you didn't quote the statement you were referring to. I am not going to praise and support someone who is eating against their doctors orders or eating Cookies, candies, and around their band all together and then cry the blues that they aren't losing the weight. I am not going to enable that type of behavior. I am going to give tough band love (the operative word being love) Ya you fell down - now pick yourself up by your bootstraps and move forward. Know yourself, understand your triggers and respond accordingly to use your new lifestyle tools I don't think that having major surgery was just another diet and it was going to fix all my problems with food - alot of work has to be done mentally to succeed Hell ya I may be preachy (follow the rules and do the work) I am self righteous (honest) - I have reached a goal that has been out of my reach my entire life with the help of my band and I did it in 9 1/2 months. I AM PROUD OF ME !!! I am a fat chick just like you - we are no diff - If you keep telling yourself you are weak then you will be weak - if you tell yourself you are strong you will be strong - positive affirmations work. If you are telling me all the reasons you can't do something - i have already used those excuses myself - as the saying goes you can't bs a bs'er - one obese person can't bs another obese person with all their excuses as to why they can't eat 4 oz of lean meat opposed to eating 3 candy bars. We all have different styles - we all respond differently - so my post might not help you - but have ton's of p.m. from people asking me my secret - for my help in attaining their goals - Instead of criticizing someones post who isn't being down right mean - just skip over it - Cuz every time you see my name on this board I am going to be telling someone why and how they can do it (make the healthy lifetime lifestyle change in their eating) Wishing you all the success in your endeavors..

i am one whos doc told i could do a liquid diet for a week then full liquids for a few days then transition to mushies. i am 15 days post op and i aould be onto more solid foods but i have kept myself at the soft mushie stage for the very reasons stated above. i have every confidence in my doc. and wouldnt go to anyone else. but when i asked about why i could transition so fast he said if it made me more comfortable i could stay with the liquid longer bit by the time i went to the mushies my stitches would have healed and i wouldnt have a problem. i am still very careful with solids bc even though i wasnt self pay it is to high a price for me to pay to cheat from what the doc told me. we are on this ride to lose weight not be bugged that we cant taste this or that. if we cant control ourselves for that little bit of time then all the work we did pre op and post op are fruitless. i figure hunger is a natural normal feeling so we might as well get used to it! and nothing tastes as good as thin feels!

I'm looking for PS in Connecticut. I've been referred to some by my BS, but I would prefer to hear from patients. Let me know? Thanks! :thumbup:

I was sleeved on July 28th and am on the 2nd week of soft foods. Today was rough because I threw up twice. First in the morning I had a small sip of Water to take a pill and then I ate my Breakfast (scrambled eggs). Almost immediately I threw up. I won't make that mistake again. So I felt rough the rest of the day and still needed to get 200 more calories and 10g of Protein so I had some creamy PB and 3 low fat triscuit crackers. I couldn't get all PB down and chewed the crackers like 30xs. Then I felt terrible pain and discomfort and ended up throwing up a bunch of foam. Yuck!!! I am a major rule follower and so I feel like I messed up bc I threw up. I have read some posts and it seems like I must have ate too much or too fast. I thought I did what I was supposed to do (measured and chewed) and still threw up. I know I'm learning about my new stomach but I was really hoping I'd be a "sleeve superstar" and do everything "right." Would love some encouragement/advice from fellow sleevers. I don't want another day like this.

I found this on Pinterest and tried it tonight...tasty. While I only made for me, seems like a good one that your family could have over rice. This is half the orig. recipe and my post-op stage (1 month, getting in 1/4 to 1/3 C) I will easily have 5 servings : 1 lb bs chicken breasts, cut into chunks 1/8 C ap flour 1/4 t pepper 1/2 T canola oil 1/4 C soy sauce 2 T rice wine vinegar (I used apple cider vinegar) 2 T ketchup ( I used hoisin, because was, surprisingly, out of ketchup) 1 T brown sugar 1 minced garlic clove 1/2 t fresh grated ginger 1/4 t crushed red pepper 1/2 C cashews Step 1: add flour and pepper to plastic bag. Add chicken pieces and shake to coat ( do this right before step 2, or it will get wet and gummy) Step 2: heat oil on med. high in large skillet and brown chicken 2-3 min. on each side. Step 3: make sauce (all remaining ingredients except cashews) Step 4: add all (except cashews) to crok pot and cook on low for 3 hours. Add cashews about 15 min. Prior to serving. Also, could see adding snow peas, broccoli and/or carrots to the pot halfway through cooking.

I'm almost 3 weeks out and these last 4 days have been hell. I'm ok where meeting my protein goals. Water is definitely #1 and I drank 2 small V8's to help with electrolytes. My friend also suggest smart water, so doing that too. Dr says my sugar is going high to compensate for the low potassium. Good news, my bs is only 178 tonight as I'm getting ready for bed, so hopefully that means my potassium is coming back up. 4 days practically in bed all day=no fun. Granddaughter came to visit and set up all her dolls on my nightstand,so we could play. Gotta love her for being creative. Lol

I CANNOT relate - I LOVE to clean! Cleaning for me is therapuetic - you can see the results of your labor. As DH says, I'm the only woman he knows for whom a whiff of bleach is an aphrodesiac! Saturday mornings without a bucket and cleaners and a vacuum and rubber gloves is just not the same! Spring cleaning - washing walls and ceilings and windows ... something to look forward to! OTOH - I (along with my best girlfriend) built a cabin in a remote area (no power tools) building scaffolding, digging the foundation using shovels (no equipment), etc etc... it took a long time doing it on weekends and holidays, but the end result of a 2 bedroom cabin was so worth it. A great getaway - no electricity, just a woodstove for cooking and heat, spring fed running water, and complete isolation - miles away from civilization accessed only by hiking in for a few hours.(or by snowmobile in winter)...wonderful! Too bad I have since moved 2000 miles away, and had to leave it behind. Oh well...it was a great experience and taught me all about the mechanics of building which has come in very useful as the house DH and I own now needed complete renovation when we bought it (that was part of the appeal of buying it - to redo it) - we have gutted and rebuilt it ourselves - no contractors or tradespeople. I will put my skills at using power tools, swinging a sledgehammer, wiring a house or drywalling against anyone!

I need a little help from others that have been approved with CIGNA. THIS Is the most up to date policy (see below). They actually update their policy on the 15th of July so it was revised and updated today. No changes were really made. Anyways, I do meet the requirements but my question is regarding Cigna coverage. Most plans require a monitored 3, 6 or 12 month diet/nutrition/weight loss management through PCP or somewhere similar. Cigna's policy says NOTHING about this, only that "a statement from a physician other than the surgeon, that the individual has failed previous attempts to achieve and maintain weight loss by medical management" - it gives no other requirements or indicators. I called Cigna and two different reps confirmed that it is not required. Although when I went to my Drs appointment they told me they thought it was six months worth of supervised diet! I think they are confused bc of the “within the last six months” part. SIGH! They said they will look into it more So, for those of you that have been approved in the past few months, do I have to have a letter from my primary that recommends bariatric surgery? Would this be the same letter or separate from the on where they state I have made several attempts and failed? And what did you submit/have your PCP write to say that you had failed previous attempts? Thanks in advance for your help! Sorry I just know Insurance’s are so picky! below is link to coverage https://static.cigna.com/assets/chcp/pdf/coveragePolicies/medical/mm_0051_coveragepositioncriteria_bariatric_surgery.pdf

I do a case-by-case basis. There were times when I wished I had not told someone that I had and times I was really glad people knew and supported me. Several people at work know, several family members but not all (THANK GOD!) and several friends. I have NO trouble sayig it has been eating less and working out more. I was a little nervous at first when people would say I looked so good. I felt like they were just saying it bc they knew. I was also suspect of several friends that said I looked great. I thought....did so and so tell them. I am less that way now, after a year. Now I say - THANK YOU!

Yoda, Don't want to embarass myself with BS shopping - just yet. Borrowed one for today - and it was GRRRREAT!

Most insurance companies will pay, but they all have diffrent bennifits. Some pay more than others and others have some real stupid things that have to be done before surgery will be approved. I do have one piece of advice DO NOT go with Humana. That is who I haev and when we got Humana they had great benns, but they have changed my benns 3 times since Jan 1 08 and now they suck really bad. I am in the middle of getting everything done and all of a sudden I have to start a 6 month sup diet by my doctor. So I was going to have my surgery done like next month and now I am going to have to wait till Aug or Sept. Anyway it is BS so for your own sake dont go with them.

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!! I will be starting the same process soon (I've already had the surgery though). I'm in BC and I tend to not take 'no' for an answer!! It just takes one person to make a difference......

No, actually LBT has the truth. She merely continues to spread the BS around OH like fertilizer on a farm.

I was very honest about my surgery. But if I had it to do over again...not sure I would tell many people. Because for one thing it would be funny as hell for everyone to think I totally figured it out after 20 years of fat. That would be hilarious. I know they just would not understand it and that would be so funny. It is just a personal decision, but it was easier for me to be honest. But my real reason for being honest is bc I thought it might help people that were considering the surgery. It didn't. No one has been interested, some have been critical. It is the most non-interesting subject to people for whatever reason. I'm sure if I failed thought they would be all over that, right? Everyone is always quicker to talk about who failed than who succeeded. Not always, but the news travels very fast. If you tell it will be hot gossip, but you will not get any credit for your weight loss - your doctor will. If you regain, you will be to blame, right? A personal choice, I think both options are great. Just choose. Just a warning, if you decide to hide it keep your story VERY consistent about how you are losing weight. Multiple lies are very confusing. The truth is easier to remember.

I have gotten Medicare to reconsider accepting the Sleeve Gastrectomy. you need to view the psoting. They are soliciting public comments. http://www.cms.gov/medicare-coverage-database/details/nca-details.aspx?NCAld+=258&ver=2&NcaName=Bariatric+Surgery+for+the+treatment+of+Morbid+Obesity+(2nd+Recon)&bc=ACAAAAAAAAAA Please visit this site and post any information in favor. Thanks. Marcia name='likasulema' timestamp='1318798760' post='219248'] i have medicare as my primary coverage, but empire blue cross as my secondary. MEDICARE does NOT cover the sleeve yet because its relatively new (few years or something. ) Medicare DOES cover the lapband and gastric bypass. (but i want the sleeve) My surgery for the sleeve is 12/7 - medicare will send the "official" denial for the sleeve after hospital sends bill, empire needs to see the "official" denial first, and then empire looks at my qualifications in having the sleeve. I have all the qual.. (BMI, diabetes, high chlolesteral, and high blood pressure, and sleep apnea (aren't I lucky???!!!) The insurance companies know that Medicare doesn't cover the sleeve, but they need the official denial after the surgery. Then the other insurance company can proceed. I know this sounds weird, its the beurocracy (msp) but thats how it was explained to me. Empire does cover the sleeve - so they told me after all the paperwork is sent in I will be 99% positive I will be approved. They can't officially guarantee it for obvious reasons. But they did tell me unofficially of course that everything looks fine. so the bottom line is MEDICARE doesn't cover the sleeve, no if ands or butts, but your secondary might cover it, like my empire blue cross. hope i've helped - without confusing you too much - write back w/any more questions )

Plain water made me sick until 8 or 9 months out. After that I could drink it again and now it's totally normal and I drink a lot of it. This was really hard for me bc before surgery I drank a lot of water and I loved it, I was worried that I would never be able to drink it plain again. Thankfully that was not the case for me and I love water again!

Is it like just below your shoulder blade? I have one too! Plus my mid back just aches all over many times. Tips I've gotten include waking/running with my thumbs pointing out bc it's hard to slouch doing that and to try and keep my head back against the headrest while driving (same reason) and yes of course core work. I thought yoga would be a bigger help than it's been, though. I go 2-3 times a week and have for months and doesn't seem to help!

I am post op about 2 weeks for a lap band removal/revision to rny gastric bypass. I have Anthem bc/bs. I had them for the original surgery in 2007. Really didn't have any trouble, once the communication was open from my Surgeon's office and Anthem. I don't recall any lifetime max on my plan, but maybe others do.

I need to make a list of BS rules. I get the patches, since efficacy isn't guaranteed. Gummies I may get because some may contain sugar (get sugarfree ones and you're fine). I'll call it the Let's Punish Fat People for Sh*ts & Giggles List of Rules, and it'll feature Greatest Hits such as: No drinking 30 minutes before meals (because the water may simply decide to just hang around in that stomach of ours forever) No caffeine (because we snort that, it's not like the fluid it comes with outweighs the mild diuretic effect) No vitamin gummies (because god forbid the fatties have an easier time not getting malnourished, after all there may be 6 or even 7 calories in those gummies!) Six months of random unhealthy diets pre-surgery (because that liver simply won't shrink unless half the people doing pre-op give up, you see) Feel free to add more.

Ok, so I have been eating on a schedule for the last 3 days. I eat from 12:00pm -8:00pm and fast for the other 16 hours. This has been super easy and my fasting BS have dropped 10 points down to 78-82 from 92-98 prior to starting. I haven't noticed anything different that would make me want to stop. I drink my coffee and my diet green tea or water and just eat normally once 12:00 comes around. I definitely think the tendency to snack after dinner is not from hunger, but more from habit because I have thought to grab something while watching tv and then said no your not doing that anymore. When I really thought about it I wasn't hungry at all.

Hey guys! Sorry to hear that some of you are having problems! Drews - Hopefully the fill with flouro will help solve your problem.... After having my first fill yesterday, I can't believe that it can be done without flouro! I'm with you, maybe they are just missing your port? I hope so! Wow Myra! A flipped port! That's crazy! I hope the problem remedies itself and you don't have to go through another surgery! I'm sure it will be okay! Good Luck! Congrats 3loves and Marci on losing weight again! That's awesome! Well, I had my first fill yesterday.. they put in 1.25cc. It's pretty cool to watch the x-ray monitor and see the fluoro and water go down. At first they put in 1.5cc and decided to back up to 1.25. It's freaky to see that big ole needle hanging from your belly! I can already tell that I'm going to have to re-adjust my eating habits again.. I was getting faster, bigger bites, not chewing as well, and that's not gonna fly after the fill! Did your surgeons do your fills? My surgeon's nusre is getting/or is certified to do it now, so she did mine. I think I was like her 38th fill. The surgeon was there closely supervising...I'm sure they just need to free up some of his time from doing fills. Seems like they have a ton of Lap-Band patients! There were four of us there getting fills yesterday. It was cool because I got to talk to the others.. One had been banded a little over two years, one a little over a year and one about 8 months. They were all very nice and supportive and still happy with their decisions to get banded, and that's always nice to hear! Also, I wanted to ask you guys about mucus. Living in the south, allergies and allergens are really bad, so naturally there is lots of mucus. Has your surgeon/program discussed in depth mucus with you guys? Turns out that we produce a lot of mucus every day(2-3 quarts?)... I've been told numerous times about the importance of drinking a hot or acidic liquid before the morning meal and really every meal to help empty the mucus from the pouch. They say that fluid gathers around a restricted area, so mucus gathers near the band in your pouch... I'm sure the problem is worsened by seasonal allergies.. The ladies that I spoke with were talking about how the more restriction you have the more mucus becomes a problem. Moral of the story... if you have problems eating early in the am or throughout the day, drink your hot or acidic drinks before you try to eat solids and wash that mucus away! Have a great day everyone.. I know one thing, I'm looking forward to Labor Day weekend! Geeze, I just got back from vacation and am already dying to have an extra day off! I think I've secretly become a beach bum! Oh... also wanted to say how nice it is to come to this supportive, welcoming, no BS thread. Geeze.. I'm scared to post anywhere else these days! Thanks my Mayster friends!

I have Fed. BC/BS. I met with the suregononapril 15th I had all testing completed by April 29th I was apporeved on May 22nd. My first date was June 10th then it was pushed back due to overbooking. My new date is June19th which is tom.:thumbup:

OMG I hope you fed him to wild pigs. That is totally outrageous!