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I agree that it depends on you and what type of work you do. While in one of my classes at the bariatric center, a woman came in to say hi and told us she was sleeved on a Friday and went back to work on Monday. Even though I don't work, I can't imagine having to have gone back to work sooner than 2 weeks. I wasn't in pain from the surgery, but the gas pains were still there and dealing with nausea, heartburn and reflux....there's no way I could have done it.

I would reach out to them or your bariatric doctor. I was told no prednisone. I have RA and used to have to take pred a lot. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Mine is Cheetos White Cheddar Puffs, Chester Cheetos and Frito- Lay did a very very bad thing inventing those. Had a bag rolled up, secured with a big, think they are called File Bands, rubber band hidden next to my chair until Tomkitten found them , bawled me out, said maybe he would have to eat them himself to save ME. Yeah, eat a couple bags, you'll be 40 or above BMI and you'll get frog 🐸marched to my Bariatric Clinic in Columbus. Besides he was sniff sniff💦 coming between me and my Kryptonite!

I think you've definitely come to the right place. This cite is perfect for asking questions, getting support, and just plain ranting (in a positive way) to yourself out loud. Think of it as the Facebook for Bariatric support. The stories, support, and wealth of experiences here has truly been invaluable.

I currently have Cigna Insurance and was told by Customer Service that my policy does not have any coverage for bariatric procedures. :thumbup: I work for the school here in Texas and am considering switching from my husbands insurance to TRS Active Care 3. According to the enrollment guide I am looking at they cover Lap Band surgery, but I don't know if I would qualify immediately or if I would have to wait some extended amount of time. I was thinking I could go ahead and start with the 6 month diet/Drs. visits etc but just wondered if switching Insurance carriers at an extra 175.00 a month would be worth it. Any thoughts? Thanks so much.:ohmy:

Hi, congratulations on making the decision to have WLS. I'm Kaiser Southern CA and the first thing you should know is that the insurance requirements vary greatly, not only from company to company, but area to area with the same insurance. Kaiser is a very good example. So what I'm describing here could be very different for you. I started my journey back in August 2014, which was when I first talked to my PCP about the possibility. He was very supportive and told me that all I needed to do to start the ball rolling was to call the Wellness Center in San Diego. When I placed the call I was told that I would be sent an info packet and after reading, if I decided to proceed, to call back to schedule a date to attend two mandatory seminars. One for weight management and one an intro to the Options program. I attended both seminars on 09/11. There they gave us a 10 page questionnaire to fill out that had to do with medical history, past weight loss attempts (you only have to describe them not provide actual proof), etc. After about a week I received an email telling me to get a few pre program labs, blood draw, EKG, stool sample, fasting glucose, and I think that was it. The faster you comply with their requirements, the faster you move along. A week or so after this I was contacted again to make an appointment for a one on one meeting with the head of the Bariatric Options program. Mine was for 10/06, and it only lasted about 20 minutes. The weight for this appointment is considered your Options starting weight. There I was told that I had been approved to enter the program and I would be contacted with the information on when my Options classes would begin. For my area Kaiser requires 24 weeks of classes (or 6 months), one class a week. But most other areas of Kaiser in CA only require 12 weeks (or 3 months of classes). I was also told that I will be required to lose 10 percent of my weight, which in my case was 24 pounds. My classes started in November and meets each Thursday night. This week will be class #11 and I've been surprised by how fast the time goes by (mine end in mid May). For the most part they're interesting and last 90 minutes. Last week we had a speaker, which was a former student who had the sleeve about 1 1/2 years ago. You can only miss four classes, and have to make up each one you miss. If you miss five you're out, and this has actually happened to a couple of people in mine. You're weighed each time and will be required to keep food and exercise logs. In my area Kaiser contracts out to Pacific Bariatric in San Diego, and the surgery is done at Scripps Mercy, also in SD. We are required to attend one of their seminars. I go next month. From the workbook material I've read that after graduation, if you've lost the 10 percent you then wait to be contacted to take a stress test. If you pass, then your file is forwarded to Pacific Bariatric. You will be asked to get a series of pre surgical labs/tests, not sure which. Then PB will contact you to schedule an all in one appointment for psych eval, surgical consult, and I think a medical internist. And at some point in all this you will get your surgery date. They do the sleeve or bypass. They no longer offer the band. If you don't lose the 10 percent there's an extra step before the stress test where you have to go back and have a consult with the head of the program. We were told in the intro seminar that the process averages about 9 months and it's been on line for that. Good luck with your journey!

I never took bariatric vitamins and my labs were always great. For the first four weeks after surgery I did Wellesse liquid multi-vitamins, iron, and calcium. I took double doses of the vitamins and iron. After about four weeks I switched to Trader Joe's High Potency chewable multi vitamin -- again, a double dose for the first year. It is FAR cheaper, lower calorie, and lower carb than those bariatric specialty vitamins that are masquerading as candy and loaded up with artificial crap. I also switched to Citracal Petites for calcium and whatever the drug store had on sale (not slow release) for iron.

Everything you go through Is and Always will be Temporary!! Subject to Change, Depending on How You Look At the Situation!!! If You have Belief and have Faith that Your Issue is Not Spiritual but Carnal: Worldly!! Then You Know that You Need to Renew Your Mind Your Thinking!!! Once You see the Situation as Worldly Not the Life You Want Then You Change It!!! Philippians 4:13: I can Do All Things Through Christ Which Strengthens Me!!!

Hi Folks, I did not find a topic of patients travelling within the EU and Turkey for BARIATRIC surgery. Your personal experiences in this forum can be very useful to people of our fraternity. Cost wise, Turkey bypass cost is just over £3k and Riga or Lithuania is about 30%+. The UK costs are a minimum of £11k. This makes medical travel very cost effective. I was advised in the Emirates that Turkish hospitals are very good. Can we generalize though? I do understand that one cannot be overtly critical. The goal being - minimizing risk. I have come a cross various clinics with reviews that are questionable. I cannot obviously trust all service providers with myself. I look forward to all replies and thank you all in anticipation. I wish all those having surgery ,wherever you may be , the very best of luck with your new body. Sent from my Z1 using BariatricPal mobile app

Thank you. I love my doc! The place I go is a bariatric place, its all they do. There are 6 bariatric surgeions who do LapBand and Gastric. They have been doing it 20 yrs. I really dont feel like its them... it must be me. I asked about pre-op diet and he said it was not necessary. He said all my labs were good, workout routine was good and I was on the small side ( for this type of surgery). I totally realize I needed to change my ways of eating, which is why I chose this proceedure. Again, I though it would limit the food I ate so that I could lose weight. That hasnt happened. Im still gaining weight. Like I mentioned, Im not snacking on ice cream and cake at all. I feel like I eat pretty well. I do eat carbs though. Doc said that should be ok because of how hard I workout. I dunno....Im stick and feeling like this was a huge waste of money. Im so envious of all of you who say how much weight you are losing and how you can only eat little bits at a time. Im just not there. I think I will call him to see if he can put another few cc's in. He is very confident that I will lose weight and says Im his "star pupil" because of how ell I have tolerated everything so far. Well, thats all well and good.... but I would like to lose some darn weight, ya know?

I am fortunate as the surgical team that did my reversal is the same team that will do the sleeve. When they did the reversal they had to remove a portion of the fundus was already removed. Sounds like similar rules... My biggest fear is that i won't feel the restriction. I am in Canada and because the reversal was deemed medically necessary and because sleeving me was part of the entire plan at the time of reversal, the sleeve will be covered here. I have been considering going self pay to re-RNY me (since undoing the rny did not resolve the issues, I could conceivably re-RNY with no additional impact) but if there is a chance I can achieve my 35-40 lb re-lose to goal with just a sleeve, then I (and my body) would be ok with the less drastic. I think the RNY was great and it did help me lose well over 120 lbs. I see that a lot of people also go from a sleeve to an RNY so its likely an option, if I need the stricter controls of the RNY, that this is something that could be explored later but I would really like whatever option I go with in June to be the last step. I went so far as to start looking into RNY surgeons as self pay last week but I think I need to get more feedback from the bariatric community (to be honest I was happy with the RNY being the only step and it makes me sick to my poor overly abused tummy that it was reversed...)

I think the FDA (panel) has just approved a BMI as low as 30 with at least one comorbitity, and a 35 with no comorbidities, for lap band surgery. The actual FDA is expected to soon follow. Usually when that happens, the insurance companies will have to agree to pay, but a lot would depend on your personal situation. Is you PCP involved? I have a BMI of 32 but have a couple of comorbidities, and since my PCP has known me forever and knows of my weight loss struggles, he agrees that Lap Band would be right for me and has referred me to a Bariatric Surgeon. Keep your chin up!

i haven't had the surgery myself, i'm in the begining stages. my story is similar to yours except for the medical problems. i've been obese all my life and never had any surgery except for dental. i'm an ob/gyn and do surgeries all the time. there are no guarantees in anything, for the most part the complication rates are minimal. one of the keys is making sure your surgeon has enough experience (make sure he or she is a bariatric surgeon), don't be afraid to ask for his complication rate. first find out if your insurance covers bariatric surgery and what their requirements are. then find a bariatric surgeon. they will guide you from there. my insurance requires me to lose weight (10%) first and since i don't have any comorbidities i'm don't know if i will get approve. if not i am heading to mexico (it's going to cost about the same as my copay for surgery here anyway), that's how serious i'm about being at a healthier weight and prevent my family's medical problem from becoming my own. weight loss has been shown to significantly improve morbidity/mortality. you may end up having to take less pills everyday for blood pressure and even require none at all. good luck with everything.

Thank you Diana, If I was not an employee of UHC I would be covered, they do not cover as an employee currently, they stated last year that they were in the works with adding it, they said it may be added this year but its just a waiting game. And yes changing jobs would actually help because a lot of companies in CT offer it - I am a coder so I have lots of options- it is just the fact my company is based in TN I am a remote coder so TN isn't currently a mandated state for offering bariatric surgery, Neither is CT but majority of the companies that I have considered do offer it. I just have to weigh out the fact of being remote for 5 years to going back into an office setting.

Please understand where I am coming from as the survivor of a ten year marriage to a diagnosed psycho-sociopath who kept five loaded guns in the house. (He and his family kept the details from me, but his condition got worse and became clearly evident by the escalation of mental/emotional/physical abuse) What your husband did was not "scared" or "an honest mistake." It was mean. Weight loss surgery exposes the dynamics behind a relationship, and your husband's support or lack of it will give you a clear and unmistakeable picture of how he feels about you in spite of any statements to the contrary. He is not dense. He knows that you had surgery and are trying to get healthy. Unless he has lived in a mole hole his whole life, he knows that cupcakes and ice cream are not healthy for you - or himself. I am guessing that this is not a surprise to you and that you have encountered resistance up to the surgery as well. Just be prepared to stand up for yourself and do not give away your voice. Go ahead and when he is not around to intrude, start reading up on the cycle of abuse. My excuse for staying too long was that "At least he doesn't hit me", but damage to the psychological me was just as devasting. And then there came the day that his bombardment of words because a bruise the size of a 7 ounce steak. He only hit me once. I did not stay around for the bloody nose and broken bones. Anytime I would lose as little as fifteen pounds, he would object and kept bringing in the pastries. As I was putting dinner on the table one evening he got upset and threw his ash tray at me because "You ruin every meal with those damn vegetables!" I was so used to him throwing stuff at me that I did not see that as violence, even when he threw a camping lantern (with a heavy nine volt battery) at my ankle and refused to take me to the doctor when it swelled up and turned a rainbow of colors. Those were just "tantrums" and apparently MY fault because I made him mad. Well then, he was mad all the time at everybody. You have a right to good health and nutrition and regular medical care, no matter who you are married to. He is not being tired or cranky or scared. What is doing is insensitive and hateful, and he is deliberately trying to sabotague your recovery. I am sorry that you have to endure an unsupportive mate. Start keeping a secret journal because when he has you doubting your own sanity and memory, you can go back and see that a certain comment was indeed said or a certain action was indeed done. And "I was just kidding - can't you take a joke?" is bullying and not acceptable either. My journal was my lifeline to sanity. This is not about whether you are patient and long-suffering. It is about your health and longevity now, and you have to put up your armour and come out fighting. In the back of your journal write these two things down to refer to: 1. Why are you still there? 2. Why would you love someone who treats you that way? I have been accused on this forum before of being anti-marriage. However, I am all for marriage, but I am against being mistreated. If you need to, send me a private message. Anyone who needs to talk to someone who understands the cycle of abuse can give me PM. If you would rather talk to a certified counselor, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 | 1-800-787-3224 (TTY) (United States) The apple does not fall far from the tree. This man's daughter would berate her husband continually, throw things at him, manipulate their relationship and give him a thorough beat-down frequently. This mess is a two-way street and guys can be taken advantage of, too. Bariatric brothers and sisters, just be aware of your reality. You deserve to be respected and encouraged and supported. My heart goes out to everyone who is struggling. Don't lose your voice.

I just had my psych eval with Pam Kance Brolin - Family Therapy Associates. On Route 1 North, in Monmouth Junction (a couple of miles north of Forrestal Village). She is the wife of Dr. Robert Brolin of NJ Bariatrics. She was terrific, and of course is well versed in weight loss surgery patients. If you need more info, let me know and I'll send you her contact info. I hope to get approval soon! Good luck to you. :girl_hug:

Hi everybody, I've been lurking on the boards for so long that I felt it was time to come out of hiding and say how much inspiration you've all given to me without knowing it. You are a great source of information, comfort, and camaraderie -- it feels wonderful to know that I'm not alone. My real name is Michele. I'm originally from St. Louis, MO but I've been living in the Houston area (The Woodlands to be more exact) for 14 years. I'm 49 years old and I have a host of problems that I hope are going to be greatly improved by the surgery -- diabetes, high blood pressure, low thyroid, high cholesterol. Diabetes is the main one. My mom was about 100 lbs. overweight and died when she was 62 from the complications of diabetes. It's taken several of my friends too, and I just don't want to go out that way if I can help it. It's funny, I'm a conservative Republican but I tell everyone "Thank you President Obama!" If it weren't for Obamacare I don't know where I'd be. Because of the PCIP program which is part of the Affordable Care Act, I am able to get insurance and I couldn't afford it previously. I was turned down for other insurance and the Texas Risk Pool insurance was twice as expensive as what I pay for deductibles now. Anyway, my insurance covers bariatric surgery. I had to be on medically supervised weight loss for 6 months, then they approved me. Because of previous surgery I had on my ears this year, I've already met my out of pocket maximum so this surgery is free for me. I have been truly blessed. This past year has been an epic saga trying to get to this point. After doing everything I needed to do for six months and gaining approval for the surgery on the first try, I found out my surgeon was out of network because the medical group he was a part of fell apart and he joined with a new group and my insurance couldn't find him on their network anymore. Finally my insurance suggested that I find a different surgeon so I looked around and found one who has a lot of good reviews online -- and this is going to be my hero - Dr. Dexter Turnquest. My surgery is scheduled for Monday the 19th at 1:00 pm. I'm so excited that it's finally happening yet I'm feeling more nervous and I have more trepidation than I thought I would. My surgeon allows only Clear Liquids for the first week (yep the week of thanksgiving - maybe i can find some turkey broth). Then after that I go on the soft diet. He said he wants his patients eating their Protein, not drinking Liquid Protein, so I'm glad I won't have to be on the Protein Shakes -- I'm sorry, they're mostly awful. I worry what it's going to be like to be at home and not chowing down. I wonder what it's going to be like not to eat certain things, not to eat as much as I used to eat. I wonder if I'll get really depressed because that's been my coping source all these years. But I know that God is on my side and He has brought me to this and He'll help me get through it. But I can't help wondering and worrying a little if it's going to be really hard. Can anyone recommend things I should have on hand for that first week when I'm home that I would regret if I didn't get? My friend is going to spend the night with me the night I come home (which will be Tuesday afteroon) but after that I'm mostly going to be on my own sitting in my little apartment. Please let me know if there were things, medicines, food items, that you were really glad you had around. Anyone else live in The Woodlands area? I would love to go to a support group and make some new friends. I think it would help me get out of myself and help me take the focus off ME. There's so much more I could say so I'll just leave it at that for right now -- thanks again to all of you for being here!

Does anyone have UHC and have to go thru BRS for approval. Please tell me all about it. I know my ins covers the surgery I'm just wondering how long approval took for u after they submitted and if u ran into any problems.

Well, I have been on this site since my PCP referred me to the Bariatric Clinic at Loyola University in August. My day has FINALLY come. I have to be at surgery intake at 5:30 in the morning 12/23/2013. I am the first surgery of the day. Doctor said I will probably be discharged on Tuesday evening or Christmas morning. My insurance - BCBS Federal generously pre-approved up to five days! Hopefully, I won't need them. So far on the pre-op diet and 7 days of liquid diet, I have lost 27 pounds. I can't wait for this time next year to see how different my health and life will be. Happy holidays to all of you......see you on the other side. So, cover me...I'm going in.

Had my pre-op eval done today. Most things were good, such as breathing and EKG. Blood levels showed that I am so close to being diabetic (6.5 on the scale; 7 is diabetic) and my uric acid levels were high (arthritis can happen). But the good part was that the doc (who specializes in pre-op intakes and is not on the bariatric team) believes I am an excellent candidate for this procedure. Most of the problems they found with the testing will be eliminated or greatly reduced from the surgery and subsequent weight loss. Only part I hated was the blood draw. Had to be poked twice..ugh! Tomorrow I have my pre-surgery dietician meeting. liquid diet starts Sunday! Be well all! Is good to know I am not alone.

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No but remember at first its weird because you can't drink and eat together and you have to try to fit in the 64 oz in a day with only sips! We all had issues with this. I still can't get 64 oz in a day Im close but not all the way. Your shakes count and your Popsicles count....Warm Decaf tea works well too. When you are bored with your water squeeze in some lemon it tastes good and helps your electrolytes. Good Luck:-) HW 250/1st Lapband 198/2nd Lapband 232/Pre conversion 2/6/13 to bypass 232. Currently 206 Bariatric GW 134, Realistic GW 150

I was doing WW online preop but not post-op. It may have changed, but my major issue (other than cost) was that it wasn't possible to track my Protein with the WW point system. I still had to track my protein so I started using MyFitnessPal which is free. Post-op, protein and fluids are the priority. For me, it is a fairly simple program. If you can track your protein and can follow a bariatric post-op nutrition plan in conjunction with WW, find the meetings helpful, and can afford it then I don't think they are necessarily incompatible. On a side note, I personally hated the focus on the scale that WW relies on and the consequent assumption that I did something wrong if I hit a stall. This is the first time in my life I have learned about how normal, natural, and necessary stalls are to the process of losing weight. (Embrace the Stall http://BariatricPal.com/index.php?/topic/351046-Embrace-the-Stall) I personally have had much more success and have gained many more skills and resources with OA. If WW is helpful for you and meets your needs, then by all means keep going.

Regarding getting mad and being upset…I try hard to keep these forums civil. I want everyone to be able to express their opinions, ask questions, and disagree in a way that is not offensive to anyone. I think we can all benefit by remembering to take a few breaths before answering any post, and also to remember that what you type might not be read exactly as you meant to say it. Regarding bariatric vitamins…the ones you need to take and how much you need to take depend largely on your surgery type. Like some have mentioned, the gastric band doesn’t interfere with nutrient absorption from food, so you won’t need as many supplements with the lap-band as you would with the bypass or sleeve. The supplements you need also depend on your diet. Right after and maybe for months or years after WLS, your diet will be pretty restricted – you won’t be eating much food, and you might not be eating a huge variety. That means it’ll be hard, if not impossible, to meet your nutrient needs from food – so you need supplements! Yes, it is good to have your doctor monitor your levels for life to see which supplements you need to start or continue to take, and/or if you need to change your doses. It’s also important to remember that calcium doesn’t show up on any easy test. You can get blood calcium tests done, but they don’t show how good your calcium levels are in your bones.

Actually, you can bash me, too. My doctor is affiliated with a research hospital and has a long track record of highly successful bariatric surgery. That's why I chose her. I followed her protocol for supplements. At 3 months my blood work was perfect. She said I could go back to my Multivitamin which I've taken for years. She does not treat sleeve patients the same as bypass. According to her, research shows that provided the sleeve patient is following a balanced eating plan they do not exhibit the Vitamin deficiencies that bypass patients do. So I take no special supplements. My 6 month blood work was perfect. If there is ever an issue, she said it would be addressed when presented. At 10 months out, down 88 lbs, I feel fabulous and have more energy than I've had in years. My hair hasn't fallen out and my skin is great. No supplements from month 3 has not caused me any problems. Here's the deal. I trust MY doctor. I listen to MY doctor. This is a discussion forum. I can read what others do and find it interesting. But in the end I follow what MY doctor tells me. If your doctor is telling you to take supplements... and most do... then take them.