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Hello there, I am new to this site and I was just wondering about other people in Bc getting surgery. I am seeing Dr. Sampath, WestCoast Bariatric in Richmond. I so far have done blood work, Ultra sound, and had the scope done. He arranged for me to have them done here in Prince George. Next month I get to see an internist in West Van. and get all the info from the diatition group he works with in Richmond, Then I get to work with my diation her in PG. So how goes it for others . Linda

My doc told me today that the reason im losing slower is bc im short 4'10, and i started at 201.5 day of surgery. Anyone else with same experience?

I was really hoping I would not have to do the 6 month wait. I understand the point, but I have been on every diet known to man. Owell it is only 6 months out of my life. I go to my PCP on Weds of next week and they will schedule my sleep apnea test from there as well as some blood work. I can not meet with the surgeon until the next seminar and that isn't until the 21st. They just advised me to get the ball rolling by going to the PCP. I have Highmark BC/BS so there are so many hoops to jump through!

I was banded in October, and post op weight loss has been verrry slow... and 100% MY FAULT, not my bands. I did the exact opposite of what I was supposed i.e. ate plenty of ice cream amongst other things. I was very frustrated with myself, but came to realize that I love having my band. Absolutely love it. It motivated me to get back on track quicker, and drag my ass to the gym. I like having it there as a (sometimes annoying) reminder that I chose this to help me. So now I am doing everything right, and have been for a few weeks and haven't lost any weight, but that's ok, I will. How can I not? I'll just keep at it, and I know it will come off. This is just for people so fed up with their band they regret, hopefully a little inspiration to keep going, because I know I will. :thumbup:

I have Anthem BC/BS PPO and was not required to do the 6 month diet. Dr. Kaplan does require you to go through 6 nutrionist visits with Lindsey, though. My seminar was March 15th and I was banded June 30th, so it's about a 3 month process. Brenda (At Jeannie's office) takes care of all the paperwork for you. I lost about 30 lbs during the pre-op 3 months by following Lindsey's diet plan (1200-1400 calories) and exercise. There wasn't a certain amount that I was supposed to lose.

I dont have much faith in the insurance...BCBS. In fact im beginning to hate them! My stuff was submitted on April 1 and still..........no letter......and its May 1. Im pissed!!!:thumbup: I called BCBS last week and they said since they got new info in....(a letter signed by me stating I knew the risks) they had 14 days from then to make a decision...which pushes me to next Wednesday. I SWEAR they are trying to push me until I have to pay the $3K deductible again on June 1. I FREAKING hate insurance companies...such a scam. I hate to be so pissy............but I am so fed up....I've been in this since September and still no band. Thank God im near the end...or I'd just give up. Im really near that point as it is. :ohmy: So.......if ya'll hear of someone going postal at BCBS.....its probably me! (After all....I work only a block from them...) lol

hi som today is 7 days since i had surgery........my shoulder/neck has hurt so bad that it was all i could think about. earlier this week, my Protein shake made me feel like i was gonna be sick so my dr called in a prescrip to help with nasusa. my stomach is bruised because i have to do levonox shots for another 10 days and i am frustrated bc all this liquid has given me alot of time on the potty. i also dont read where anyone is struggling like me but wanted you to know i understand what you are going through. if you can, how about drained veggie soup? or tomato soup?? i am having alot of trouble drinking but i am trying and doing the best i can. that is all we can do. hang in there. pm me if you ever need to.

I GOT BANDED! I was banded yesterday the 2nd. Im pretty tired and pretty sore but really excited! Dont forget to tell your doc to remove the gas bc that is what really hurts!

I just want to scream right now! I'm done everything I need to do... have been finished for nearly two weeks... and when I met with my surgeon last Wednesday, he told me that my packet would be with the insurance coordinator by Thursday and off to the insurance the same day... so why is it Tuesday and not only has nothing been sent off... no one answers their phone or returns calls?!?! I did actually talk to the insurance coordinator yesterday who proceed to tell me that she wasn't sure what to do since I had double coverage and this is being covered by my secondary since it's an exclusion from my primary (I called and informed her of that on her voice mail on THURSDAY morning when I asked her to call me so we could discuss this and how to submit it)... She told me yesterday that she'd given it to the bariatric surgery coordinator and that I needed to speak with him - I left him a message yesterday morning and have called several times since - no return call. Finally today, fed up I called and requested to speak with the office manager only to get her voice mail as well... all set to leave a message but her voice mail is full! You'd think I'm talking about some small mom and pop operation but NO - I'm dealing with MedStar which is one of the biggest medical operations in the MD/DC/VA area! I even started to give them benefit of the doubt - maybe they went ahead and submitted to my primary insurance company without calling me back... so I called my primary to find out - NOPE! They can't submit without a surgery date and I know we haven't scheduled it because they're still passing my file back and forth and no one's calling me back! I'm seriously one more unreturned call from finding a new surgeon! I'm so pi$$ed because this whole fiasco has potentially set me back weeks and my whole thing was that I wanted this to be done by the end of September so that I could be 100% myself by Thanksgiving which is when we start decorating for Christmas in my house (Christmas is a HUGE deal to my family).

Im 4'10 and 166, totally convinced that id need a tummy tuck but since i started training for 5k things are tightening up. Although after two baby boys i still want my boobs lifted. Might get the tt done if i maintain goal (surgeons is 120, mine is 110) just so i can wear a bikini and midrifts if i want. We will see. Im glad i have naturally wide hips bc i never lose my hour glass figure

Get another opinion for sure. That sounds like bs.

Told my husband, my mom and my daughter. My mom has a big mouth and told my brother. His wife had RNY and lost A LOT more weight than me. I had VSG. I feel judged by both of them which sucks. Wish my mom had kept it to herself like she promised. Huge betrayal. Anyway, like someone else said, no one cared or asked how I got fat so why do they need to know how I lost it? If I had an abortion would it be lying to not tell anyone about it? Should I walk around saying “Hi, I had an abortion, that’s why I’m not pregnant any longer.” I find it ridiculous that some people on here say it’s lying not to tell people you had the surgery. That’s BS. I’m extremely private about all of my life and this is no different. I am 18 months post-op and I am so happy I kept it to myself and my immediate family. It’s my body, my business. I had 70 lbs to lose so my weight loss was fairly slow and that probably made it less obvious to others. I feel that telling people (when they ask) that I eat low carb, smaller portions, very little processed food and I do 50 minutes of cardio four times a week is an accurate description of HOW I lost the weight. Seems honest enough to me. But everyone is different.

I'm so sorry this is happening to you. I agree with others who suggested to work with a therapist or tell your family that the issue is closed, but I realize these are hard things to do and not always an option. Are your family members overweight? Sometimes people say these sorts of things out of jealousy or based on their own experiences. It doesn't make it okay, but at least you can know it's their BS and not about you. I personally eat sweets from time to time - I was told I didn't have to be 100% perfect, just keep my eating choices good 80-90% of the time. But that may not work for everyone. I do agree that celebrating with food probably isn't the best idea, but a treat on your birthday sounds pretty harmless as long as you can enjoy a reasonable portion and it doesn't become a binge. Good luck!

hey all, my names lindsey from CA...i am 18 and a freshmen in college at West Virginia University. My mom suggested getting banded about 2 weeks ago and we have already made appoinments with doctors and we have called the ins. company. i want to get banded at the SOONEST possible time...like in 2-3 months over the summer while i am home and start losing the weight i have carried around forever!! i didnt actually think there were any people even close to my age around here but i actually have a couple questions... did you tell your best friends? i wasnt going to tell them (not bc they wouldnt be supportive, but i dont think they would understand) but i think they might think somethings wrong if i just stop going out to eaat with them and all. also, do you find it hard to not eat certain foods espeicially in like a high school cafeteria or a college dorm... just wondering. let me know!!

karenin, i got your message and replied, but it did not go through. i realized later that it was a form reply address. anyway, yes, we are neighbors, and we will be going to the same hospital to get the band. my address is valparaiso. we will also be going to the same doctor. ok, what have you decided to do? i registered for tomorrow night's meeting. i was talking myself out of it today, but decided it was time to do something NOW!! why did it take so long for you to get your band date? i did not understand that. also, what insurance do you have and was it covered? have you met my friend, karen k? she is one of the nurses that works with this group. get back to me asap and let me know what you are doing. thanks!! to the rest of the room, i cannot begin to tell you how wonderful it is to read what others have been through. it is such an encouragement to me. my father died a couple of months ago, and he was on a pureed diet. it kinda made me sick to see it and smell it when i fed him. did any of you have a problem eating the food that is all ground up? i am also wondering what kind of food you eat before the surgery. i apoligize if i am not following the correct procedure in posting. i am not very good at the computer. i am that old dog trying to learn the new trick.

- fit into the movie theater seats with someone on both sides. - shop at regular size clothes stores & not worry that they don't have my size or that it'll be not cute in a xxl. -wear the pretty sandals in the right size bc feet too fat to fit now -have more girly hands, fingers worthy of my amazing wedding ring -not have my husband or dad borrow my pants because they won't fit them in the future -chase my furbabies arounfld the yard with vigor -not have the belly interfere with driving/ sit in the correct position for both airbags & the pedals -stop being a slave to food & constantly looking for my next meal.

I think I have 6.6cc but I cannot be too sure because they lost my freakin' chart... BAD THINGS... cant see how you lose a chart, but they are "working" to find it. (BS). They supposedy took out half my fill but last time I went in she said there was 5.6cc in there and she gave me 1cc, so I THINK I am at 6.6cc. If they took out half then I was over 10cc when they took some out (cant be right can it?). I now have very little restriction, back to being hungry all the time. I return on 04/20/08. Hopefully by then they will find my chart and I can make sense of this madness! signing, Frustrated Melissa

I was the same way you are.. Before my surgery was approved I was panicking they would not approve it. I have Horizon BC/BS and had no other medical issues and was approved (I have since found out I have sleep apnea though). You have other medical problems so it shouldn't be a problem for you to get approval. Just wanted to let you know you are not alone with the insurance approval anxiety. Good luck Lisa! Lisa

Researchers generally determine Protein quality by using the protein efficiency ratio (PER) or the protein digestibility corrected amino acid score (PDCAAS). They determine the PER by evaluating the weight gain in growing rats fed a particular protein compared with a standard protein, egg whites being the gold standard. The higher the PER value, the greater the protein quality. The PDCAAS was introduced as a more accurate way to evaluate protein quality for humans, because it uses human, not rat, amino acid requirements to calculate the amino acid score. It compares the amino acid profile of a protein with the essential amino acid requirements for humans according to The food and Agriculture Organization. When a protein meets this requirement, it gets a score of 1.0. PDCAAS has now been adopted as the official method by the World Health Organisation, the US Food and Drug Administration and the US Department of Agriculture. Although the PDCAAS method is the internationally recognised standard for comparing Proteins for human consumption, it does not allow for differentiation among proteins with a PDCAAS of 1.0, so proteins can have different PERs while still having a PDCAAS of 1.0. This is significant, because researchers are now exploring how variances in specific essential and/or conditionally essential amino acids, as well as the availability of various peptides and micronutrients, affect human physiology. Claims of consumer-relevant superiority or inferiority, when performance of physique modificaitons are concerned, have yet to be supported by population-specific evidence in humans. Protein PCDAAS PER Gelatin/collagen 0.08. -- Beef/poultry/fish 0.80-0.92. 2.0-2.3 Soy 1.00. 1.8-2.3 Ovalbumin (egg) 1.00. 2.8 Milk protein 1.00. 2.8 Casein 1.00 2.9 whey 1.00. 3.0-3.2 Bovine colostrum. 1.00. 3.0-3.2 Table 1 Table 1 (above) lists the PER and/or PDCAAS for the major types of protein used in nutritional supplements. The following discusses the relative strengths and weaknesses of these basic types of proteins that are often used as starting materials for nutritional supplements. Of course, adding deficient amino acids and other nutrients to these proteins may increase the PDCAAS, nutrient value and/or functionality of the protein. <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> As you can see above collagen/gelatin is nearly useless to the human body. This is what is in almost all protein shots. Always check the ingredients. Many makers of protien shots are giving them names that have Whey in their title but are still using collagen/gelatin as their primary protein source. Also keep in mind that ingredients on labels are listed in the order of amount used. So if collagen or Gelatin is listed first then it is the primary protein source for that product.

I wanted to write about my experience with a lower bmi because while I am about 50 lbs overweight 182 5 ft 4 inches - I haven't seen too many posts that describe the surgery with this kind of weight loss. It took me a long time to decide to do this but I kept gaining and have a history of family members who get very very obese after their 40s. I am on the same track. Anyway I am getting sleeve may 13. flyint to texas bc I actually have a friend who is a surgeon that does this. I feel good about that and I am staying with another friend. I have 10 days and started the first day of a soft diet which is various soft Proteins, shakes, cottage cheese, eggs. I was basically good but ate too much. My goal today was just to get used to no carbs. I have had a splitting headache from giving up the caffiene but I am taking liquid tylenol and that helps a bit. I was nervous about this but feeling better about it now and committed to doing this. Ill write about my experience so someone else in the future can decide if this makes sense for them. Ever since I decided to do this surgery I felt like I had control over my body for the first time in a long time. I also had smoked which I stopped. And started drinking tons of Water. Never could do that before. So the surgery has instigated a number of great behaviors. all good. And this forum is key because people are so supportive. I really appreciate it.

Mothers day - having an amazing time with my family and son but as I said I wanted to write this for someone who has a lower bmi... Deciding ..So they can know the feelings you go through. There is a certain degree of guilt Im feeling bc I know this surgery is very optional for me. I cant say the health effects of not having the surgery are worse. Im taking a calculated risk and if something did go wrong Im simply choosing how I feel about my body over my child. even though the chances of sometjing going wrong are minuscule. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

im starting to freak out. Today I lost no weight. And I hear when you start stalling it's a while! Ugh. I'm at 13.8lbs loss and I was hopping to not start stalling until 20-30 lbs. so now I probably will bc I'm gonna be freaking out everyday Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Ya know, I am rapidly approaching my 6 month post op mark and I have heard about the hormones kicking in, but nope, nothing. They have always been around even when I was large and in charge but the way many write about in this website, its like they got an injection of the horny serum and would screw anything with a pulse. I just don't get it, haven't felt a thing but all my blood and internal tests are within normal parameters. I am almost certain it's probably a psychological thing. I do live in the state that's rated #1 in the US by the CDC in STD transmission so I think that keeps my libido in check and keeps me hidden away from most people. Burning pee and HIV ain't for me. Yes I know, wear a condom...but think of it like this, if you were about to have sex and right before the moment of copulation your condom wearing partner or lady in waiting that you were about to penetrate says "oh by the way I am HIV positive" would you still do it? NO you wouldn't because you would have zero faith in a simple piece of latex altering your life for the worst and maybe killing you. I just assume go to the clinic and get mutually tested before crossing that phase. But I digress... When exactly is this hormone boost supposed to happen? I am calling bs. Not feeling anything in increased drive more than I did before.

1) height / weight starting our wls programs, 5' 3", highest weight was 300 2) weight day of surgery-239 3) weight 12 week post op / pounds lost/gained: 205.7 Total loss of 33.7lbs 4) goal weight: 130, would be happy 150 5) your biggest success this week: finally breaking a gain/stall. I went on vacation to orlando almost 2 weeks ago. Fulfilled my dream of swimming with manatees! And came back losing 5 ounces after eating tons of junk. On my old vacations I would gain 10lbs in a week bc I would use "vacation mode" as an excuse. 6) your biggest struggle this week: still trying to get enough Water and Protein. I know I eat way too many carbs. I need to find meals that don't gross me out.

I know exactly how you feel. You aren't alone. Not everyone feels "amazing" post op. You definitely will heal. And with the healing comes less discomfort and pain. I found that simply concentrating on healing and getting well post op was the most peaceful way forward. I only concentrated on drinking Water and broth to stay hydrated and "fed". I stopped worrying about how many or few calories I was getting or how much Protein etc. I just focused on getting well. You just had major surgery. Just think about how many internal stitches are in your stomach and how much healing that will take. Think about the lsyers of skin, muscle etc that the laparotomy tools went through. Just because you only see a few small external surgery sites, I think some people forget how much trauma our bodies have been through. I became seriously ill post op and dropped 60lbs in four weeks with a septic abscess in my abdomen, then contracted clostridium difficile. Trust me, if I got better, you will too! Well done for trying to get back to work. I could not have done it! Just take really good care of your healing process. You can worry about weight loss and food intake later on. Good luck and God bless. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App