Search the Community

Hi! I am new to this forum. I got my lapband in 2013. My starting weight was 280lbs and I am about 5'3". In the first year I lost 95 pounds and was down to 185lbs. I never had a fill as my doctor never recommended one. In the last 4 years I have shot back up to 225lb as menopause had set in and I started to lag going to the doctor which was no help. I am now 56 years old and can't seem to budge even a couple of pounds off. I have moved out of the state where I had the procedure years ago and had a consult with the local general/bariatric surgeon about 10 months ago. He agreed to remove the lapband and do a revision to bypass. I met remotely with the bariatric nurse and participated in the orientation zoom meeting. I went for my first weigh in as I was told I would have to start from scratch and in the program and work with a doctor or dietitian for 6 months before they would get approval for the surgery which Iwas more than willing to do. I was turned off by the nurses attitude as she never answered my calls to guide me in the right direction to get started so I gave up on the idea. I feel stuck, depressed and frustrated and I don't know where to turn. My insurance has changed and I can't seem to find a doctor to help me. Thanks for listening. Sent from my SM-A505U using BariatricPal mobile app

Before the pre-op diet I made shakes with whatever powder I had (Walmart Equate, ALDI Elevation) but for the actual clear liquid pre-op I'm finding that the pre-made ones are the way to go because A) Everything is already measured and the nutritional info is spelled out, and B ) I'm too freaking cranky to want to mess with all of it anyway. I really love FairLife CorePower but it can get pricey. The vanilla and chocolate are both good. I also like the Premier salted caramel and cinnamon roll, though some find it too sweet. I also have a large tub of Bariatric Fusion chicken soup protein powder. It's ... interesting. I had heard good things and that it satisfies when you're sick of sweet stuff, but IMO it's pretty disgusting.

I was just referred to a bariatric surgeon by my PCP last week. I reached out to my insurance company to see if the visit would be covered, which luckily I was told it would be. But I was wondering if anyone else has United Health Care and has been able to get approval for them to cover part/all your surgery? What was the process like? I'm hoping to get approved for surgery as soon as possible.

You came to the right place! I had the lapband put in back in 2009 and removed Feb 2020. I was heavier when the band came out then when it went in. I am at a cross-roads now. I want wls, but am self-pay and too chicken to go to Mexico where all of the surgeries are more cost efficient. Below is my experience. Mt. Dew was my down-fall!! When I had the band, dark soda's tasted weird to me (thankfully) until I discovered Mt. Dew and that I could drink it (tasted super yummy and I could drink it without it hurting - darks hurt my throat). I have been able to work myself off of the dew 3 times. The first time I was completely soda free (Mt. Dew/7up) for over a year. The last time I got off of it- I did it in stages. I bought a soda stream. Once I got that, and I started with strong flavor of ginger-ale, but then got to where I was making green tea soda and carbonated water with natural fruit flavors. Now - I have been 2 months without any carbonation at all. I started with heavier flavors and more bubbles, and each week lowered the intensity of both. I have been reading and leaning on this website for support and strength! There are AMAZING FOLKS here!! I still don't know what I will do as for wls. The last day or so I have been contemplating trying to follow the bariatric/wls way of eating just without the surgery. Odds are totally against me being able to do this. But I had started a couple of weeks ago trying to change 2 of my meals to the thick protein and a small real food meal, heavy in protein and above-ground vegetables and a crap ton of water. The surgeon I was initially working with gave me diet plan for the month before surgery, and 2 weeks of clear liquid diet before surgery (this is the clear liquids with 3-4 thick protein shakes - powder protein of 30g or more in only 2-3 oz water). I was using this month before stage to get my head in the right place for the clear liquid time... I can't manage the 3oz of water in the protein powder but I have worked myself down to 4 oz. I am up to 50-60oz of water/clear liquid a day (the goal was 80). I am no longer having the surgery as planned.... but even though I was so disappointed... I gain hope and support from reading the posts on this site!!! Reading others who are in your same situation, many folks reply to do the pouch rest (I may have the wording/spelling wrong) but go back and start with the food plan after surgery. Not for as long because you don't have to wait for anything to heal but .... back the the protein shakes, water, and high protein foods... and try limiting sugars. I am sure that others will reply in time to your thread who can help more and know more about the "reset". Or... look through some of the threads here and you will find others!!! I just wanted to reach out because I know first hand how hard it is to kick Mt. Dew. I swear it was harder for me to kick the Dew then it was to give up alcohol (and at one point I did like my hard liquor so that says a lot)! Good luck!!! YOU CAN DO THIS!!! The mountain always look bigger before you take the first step. - and YOU ARE NOT ALONE!

I am certainly no expert on this (not even an MD!) but what I have learned over the years in this is that obesity is one major factor in liver disease, much of which is reversible if the obesity is reversed, so you are on the right road here. It is not surprising that he found some liver damage - it's fairly common in our obese population (and is why many surgeons impose those "liver shrinking" pre-op diets. My surgeon started out doing liver transplants, and moved into adding bariatrics as a means of treating the disease before it gets to his transplant table. Again, you are on the right path to helping yourself. Now, rapid weight loss imposes an additional stress on the liver as it is a key component in metabolizing all that fat that we are losing, so it would not be unusual for liver numbers to be wonky during this phase. This also means that we should avoid adding any more stress to the liver during this time, so that means avoiding alcohol while you are losing weight (preferably longer than that or even forever, but at least during the loss phase.) This is not a temperance or morality play, but just our physiology (we frequently get new posters in these forums, a couple of weeks out from surgery asking when they can start drinking again...) Talk to your surgeon about this when you see him again, but I suspect that you will get much the same story from him. If he is real concerned, he may send you to a hepatologist (liver doc) but most likely it will be something that is just monitored for a while and correct itself as your weight comes off and stabilizes.

I’d say the Bariatric coordinator fixes generic information and probably just doesn’t know all the details. While my insurance didn’t require 6 months of visits, I did switch in the midst of my journey. I wasn’t thrilled with the surgeon at my first place (which was recommended by a friend originally) so I switched to another place. They also were outpatient where the first place was inpatient for one-two nights. I really didn’t want to be away from my kids. (I haven’t ever left them overnight lol) The transition went fine and I was so glad I switched!!! Anthem was able to switch my authorization in just a couple days. Hoping you get a date soon!!

I work for a health care organization and trust me people are still getting elective surgeries. Like others have said, hospitals rely on income from these surgeries to stay afloat. People just like to attack people for getting bariatric surgery no matter what and this is a just a new iteration of that. Once the pandemic is over they’ll be back announcing that bariatric surgery is the “easy way out” and that we are all lazy people who will gain it all back anyways. Basically, they hate overweight people and seeing us getting something that might make our lives easier is just terrible for them to see.

After my sleeve (2014), I also ended up in the hospital for dehydration. I had surgery Nov. 2014 and distinctly remember sitting in my living room in May 2015 feeling like I had no energy, still struggled with vomiting when I ate certain foods and overall felt "skinny" but very tired. In September of that year, I went on a two week vacation, and realized that I felt great! I could eat out, had a ton of energy and my weight loss had leveled out. So somewhere between 6 and 9 months after surgery, I felt like I had finally recuperated from surgery, adjusted to my new stomach and could really do anything I wanted to do. That also seem to coincide with that "honeymoon" period that you always hear about - that period of rapid weight loss after bariatric surgery. Unfortunately, after the honeymoon, I had to serious watch what I ate so that I didn't start regaining the weight I had lost. You've had a lot of health issues that have only made your surgery recovery even harder. Hang in there...….you will get better each day!

So don’t bariatric surgeons, bariatric nurses, and bariatric staff need work just like the rest of us? If they weren’t doing these procedures, what would they be doing to put food on their families’ tables? Are they supposed to become infectious disease specialists now just because of Covid? Docs gotta eat too! 😄

Hi everyone, So I'm 4 years post-op and I have gained some weight! I've been trying to lose weight and not much is helping. Was thinking of asking my Doc for some appetite suppressor pills. Was wondering if anyone has taking any "diet pills" after Bariatric surgery? Any advice? TIA!

I know you said you don’t want to travel, but would you consider Las Vegas? I’ve seen lots of mention of Blossom Bariatrics here and on other WL forums. I believe they have an all-inclusive package for self-pay folks that is fairly reasonable. They are also a pretty quick (and cheap) flight from the PNW.

Welcome, and congrats on getting your surgery! 20 pounds in two weeks is awesome. The first few weeks are the hardest because you are very limited in what you can eat but you're not seeing all the rewards from the weight loss yet. The good news is that it gets easier! At two weeks out, you're probably either on purees or soft foods, right? It won't be too long before you can start eating real food (it may feel like an eternity, though). I've discovered some great new bariatric-friendly recipes on Pinterest that I really like. There are times when I miss being able to eat like I did before surgery, but at 6 months out, I'm getting used to my new eating habits and I'm loving my results. I, too, have had to work on slowing down my eating. I bought a set of tiny forks and spoons (they are listed as cocktail forks/spoons if you want metal rather than plastic baby forks/spoons), which helps for taking smaller bites. I set a timer to go off every 30 seconds, and I try to chew for the first 30 seconds and then wait another 30 seconds to take the next bite (so 1 minute between bites).

Hi all, When I finally decided to have WLS, I knew it would be self pay. My insurance just doesn't cover anything to do with bariatric or help with weightless. I really am not interested in going to Mexico. I prefer to have a doctor who if I need them, I can drive to in a matter of 3 or 4 hours (just in case). I thought I found that doctor. Did more homework and checked out his reviews and paid $400 for a consultation. I was super conformable with him and his staff. I knew that some tests and labs would need to be done - but DANG! When I called, before making the consultation appointment, the first thing I asked was the cost. I was told around $25K to $30K and they even sent me a couple of websites that they said some of their self-pay patients had good luck with on getting financing. (The 2 financing sites had a max amount of a loan as $35K) So I figured that was good since I wouldn't need the full max amount that the approval odds were in my favor. Now, with my lists of labs and tests in hand along with the other items that are required for this surgeon. I started calling the numbers they gave me for EKG, ECHO, Psych. Evaluation, Chest Xray, GI Swallow, etc... and the prices at this point this evening are totally $46,876 (that is with several of the places stating the the fees for the EKG is just the image, there will be extra fees for a doctor to review them) and I haven't called the hospital yet because they require a pre-op visit (which will of course have a huge fee). Just feeling deflated, and at a loss. I know (in theory) my health is priceless - but in the real world there really is a price tag and it is simply out of reach.... For everyone here at BP- you all have been an inspiration - no matter where you are at on your journey.

Don't worry about being selfish, or taking resources away from the pandemic - if they need to cancel/postpone your procedure because they need the staff elsewhere to deal with the pandemic, they will do so. There was a time early on when it was "all hands on deck" in many places to help deal with the overload (while in other places many were twiddling their thumbs with nothing to do because all the elective procedures had been cancelled out of uncertainty as to how the pandemic would evolve, but hadn't hit their region yet and they had nothing to do.) Many hospitals are in financial distress these days because they haven't been doing many of the elective procedures that pays their bills (in the meantime, the insurance industry is fat and happy because of all of the "elective" treatments that have been put off. I have a nephew who works for a bariatric clinic, and their surgeons started lobbying the hospital in the early summer (or before) to let them start working again, as the bariatric business makes very little impact on the critical side of the hospital - they rarely have need for the ICU, and their patients are short term, a day or two, so if COVID cases did ramp up such that the hospital needed the capacity, they could easily shut down the WLS procedures and empty those beds within a couple days to make room. So, actually, you are doing them a favor and helping the health care system by having your procedure and helping to use the capacity that would otherwise go to waste.

Hey all, so I've been lurking for about a year, off and on and finally made an account once I received a surgery date. Backstory in a nutshell: This is not my first rodeo. Been on a bajillion diets and yo-yo'ed for too long. Had some success, some lasting years, but my Achilles heel is keeping it off. I like to exercise so mostly that part of the equation has not been a sticking point for me. I started my journey to WLS on Oct 2019. I wrapped up my insurance-required steps by April 2020 BUT initially had been doing so well on my own with losing that I thought perhaps I wouldn't even go the WLS route. Then covid happened and threw me off balance a bit, but I kept to my exercise and keto/low carb diet with success. Things went wonky in June when I broke my ankle and then again in December when I sprained that same ankle (grrrr). All my progress stalled while I healed and it didn't take much for me to gain nearly all my lost weight back in about 7 months. I asked my bariatric team to go ahead and submit my paperwork in November, I think. Processes were slow due to the virus, but I was shocked to get a pretty quick approval and surgery date for Dec 17. That was put on hold, but just this week I received a call that elective surgeries were being scheduled again. I have pre-op visits on Jan 22 with the anesthesiologist and surgeon. I am not sure if I'll have to do a pre-op diet. Guess the surgeon will tell me Friday! I'm pretty excited and trying not to be too nervous about the days ahead. I'm married and have two kids (ages 18 & 20). My username is kind of a private joke. No matter how heavy I am, I've always thought I had nice ankles. 😄 So anyway...Hi! 😊

Where I live unfortunately insurance doesn't cover anything. However, my doctor did say that bariatric surgery is eligible between 40 - 35 BMI especially if you have other problems ie. diabetes and or other problems. But NovaLuna is right to keep checking with the insurance. But also I suggest if you've made up your mind about your surgery - just maintain the weight you have right now. Once the surgery date is fixed you will anyway go through an intensive program for about two weeks prior in which you will lose some weight. Better to keep your insurance intact - Bariatric Surgeries are certainly not cheap. Good Luck ❤️

Oh jeez! 🙄 Life right now could have not been further off track for me. Here is the sum of all that's happened in a week! 1. I lost my 2-year Marketing Specialist job here in Dubai, United Arab Emirates - my role due to COVID is REDUNDANT and no longer required as APPRENTLY they don't have enough $$$ - but i know the whole story at the back end and who said what and all the politics. 2. I was on a weight-loss stall which FINALLY got over but then ^^^ that happened 3. I started feeling sick especially because i started vomiting up at least once a day 4. WHICH LED TO ME GETTING COVID 19 because HEY! us bariatric pals don't have a good immune system! So post op almost 2 months and IM SUPER SICK! i have Asthma as well. I have alllll the covid symptoms you can think of and I'm isolated in my home. Thankfully all my close contacts are fine but MAN O MAN does covid suck more when u CAN'T EAT ANYTHING! All I want is a big ass burger and a milkshake or SOME SORT OF SAVORY food item but i can't even keep down protein let alone SOUP! It's been horrible - my nutritionist said i should just try to EAT or DRINK whatever i can at this moment. But BUT! there is a brighter yet a little worrying side. Ive lost about 3kgs! in 3 days. (sorta happy in a selfish way) but i have such a strong feeling ill gain it back as soon as I'm covid free. but hey! 1.5 months and I've lost nearly 20 kgs! WOOT WOOT! haha.. trying to not die between these 4 walls so I'm trying to look at the brighter side. However every inch of my body hurts as i cough up a storm. Is anyone in a situation like me? I hope not but if u are - let's relate? Btw i posted an image here pre-op in my first post ever id like to post it again next to a recent one -> could use the motivation to stay breathing 1. Me at 130kgs 2. Me at 116 kgs same dress 3. Me at 113kg

So after 3+ months of advising my doctor that I was having issues with the onset of dizziness upon standing up from the couch, things finally came to a head - my head. Sunday night marked the fourth time I blacked out from standing up and walking after being seated on the couch. The first time, I was able to brace myself against some furniture and stayed upright. The second time, I only managed to sort of brace myself and ended up dropping to my knees. The third time I slumped against a wall and slid down hard onto my knees and elbows. Sunday night, I tried to brace myself against a wall when my vision started going dark, but must have leaned forward too much. Came to on the floor seconds later with blood pouring out of a gash above my eye and the entire left side of my face in utter agony. Oh...and all of my neck muscles screaming from when I have to assume my face hit the floor full speed and my head bounced. 4 hours in the ER with bloodwork that showed no issues, an EKG that was perfect, chest X-rays that revealed nothing, and a CT scan that (fortunately) showed no bone damage or bleeding in the brain. Aggravatingly, my BP also registered as normal, even when they had me do orthostatic readings. I look and feel like hell. Have not slept well the past two nights (last night my upper left teeth hurt). And right now I've got some nerve issues due to the swelling in my face that have made my left nostril almost completely numb. As far as post-op complications go, I am sooooooo over this one. I'll trade it back for the constipation! (Okay, not really because I don't really want to deal with THAT again either). On the plus side, ending up in the ER with a head injury (5 stitches in my eyebrow) seems to have finally gotten my doctor to stop claiming that this crap is normal for bariatric patients and he is finally getting me the cardiac consult that I have been asking for since the first time I blacked out. Less thrilled about this knocking me off track for the time being. I do not feel well enough or comfortable enough to workout on my treadmill, so my exercise is definitely going to suffer this week.

Thanks for the input! The person who advised that it would help if I weighed less than my last supervised diet visit was a bariatric coordinator. She said it was because they have to document a downward trend...but...you all have a good point as she likely does not know that my insurance simply requires 6 months of visits. I did not have to lose a certain amount of weight and was already approved. I'm going to try to not stress about it and just see how the appointment goes. Hopefully once I meet with the surgeon it will work itself out.

I had my Gastric Bypass Surgery and Galbladder removal on Aug 24th 2020, just almost 20 weeks ago. I have lost 68 lbs since Surgery and 88 lbs since my heaviest weight in May of 313, Im about 224.4 now. Everything is going along pretty textbook except for 1 thing. I have horrible Aching Continuous Pain in my legs (especially my left leg, outer thigh close to the side of the knee and a lil in the outer calf sometimes. It's not fatigue and I get plenty of all my vitamins and supplements plus I eat a high protein, nutrient rich diet and add electrolites to my 64+ oz of fluids each day. I am having Telemedicine appts with my Surgeon and my Nutritionist today thankfully and I plan to consult them on this but have any of you experienced this? Tylenol muscel creams and some stretching usually helps but I have had nights where they just didn't cut it and it felt like my bones were on fire! I definitely cannot continue to endure this nightly as I have for the last few weeks. I understand that a large quick weightloss can change your gate and how your body carries the weight causing nerves, tendons and muscles to respond this way but Jesus It's awful and it quickly goes away if I get up and walk around. It starts promptly with lying down in bed and persists regardless of position. I have chronic severe back issues that began about 12 yrs ago, My pain & loss of mobility along with weight gain topping me off at 313 lbs (I'm 5 ft. 3") got so severe that I had 7 back surgeries in a 3 yr period that ALL failed. DDD Degenerative Disc Disease, Spinal Stenosis and a some herniated discs prompted my Back Surgeons to declare me officially inoperable, so they along with my Primary Dr. & Counselors recommend I have Bariatric weight loss syrgery & I'm so glad I did! Its very frustrating for Me now tho to have regained about 80% of my mobility and reduced the regular daily & constant pain in my back by about 60% so far only to have this awful pain in my legs at night every freakin night now. I'm losing sleep nightly causing me to be tired all day, get less done, not exercise, be easily irritated in the day, agitated and frustrated. I NEED this to go away and I cannot take any opioid pain meds outside of the required serious post op situations. I am in long term recovery from a physical addiction to pain meds caused by an over prescribing horrible Pain mngmt Dr. Side note: That Pain mngmt Dr. is No longer allowed to practice medicine. Any shared experiences and info is much appreciated 🙏

Congrats on Bariatric Surgery! I had my Gastric Bypass Surgery and Galbladder removal on Aug 24 2020 and honestly I was discouraged by my initial weightloss because I was comparing my losses to others. I was told to set reasonable obtainable goals for myself to start off and to focus those goals around fluids and protien and never the scale. I am at almost 20 weeks post op and I've lost about 68 lbs so far, 88 lbs since May. I was reminded by my surgeon tbat everyone gained tgeir weight differently so We should expect to lose it differently. I am proud of every singke pound I lose and I have also had weeks where I lost nothing. I will say snacking was the culprit there! Lol.. Just focus on the actions you can control, simple healthy guidelines and see how your body responds to them. No more than once a week weigh ins are best I know my weight can fluctuate due to salt, hormones, time of tge month etc so I don't weigh on my cycle and I shoot for every Sunday evening as a guideline. Message me anytime for anything!!

I agree I think there are not may Bariatric surgeons creating content for the general public. I appreciate it a lot.

I've been working with a bariatric clinic since mid 2020 and completed my 6 month supervised diet with them, however, I've decided to move to a more robust and supportive program somewhere else. I have my first visit with the new place on 1/28 and am hopeful that everything will transfer over and they will simply need to resubmit the authorization to my insurance. (I had already received my authorization letter for the initial clinic) The person I spoke with at the new program made the comment that it would "help a lot if I could lose some weight and weigh less than my last appointment with the old program". This is not a requirement of my insurance, so, I'm thinking this is more a requirement they have set. Anyone have any pointers on how to lose several pounds over the next 10 days? I have an immensely hard time losing weight. I have been able to maintain the weight I had at my last appointment, but, my scale has not consistently gone down. I'm lucky to lose and keep off a pound a month and my scale has crazy fluctuations from day to day. I already do the following: - carbs at or under 100g a day - 128-152ozs of water a day - only eat 3 meals a day with no snacking Appreciate any advice or guidance.

I don't think Bariatric surgeons tells what to except in terms of detailed weight loss. They went you to come in every couple of months and will ask a couple of question and will how he sees your progress. I hate going to the doctor and Covid19 didn't help. So, I asked a surgeon friend of mine(not bariatric surgeon) what to except in terms of weight loss in first year and he said if you stick to your diet and calorie intake on average except to lose 1 month: 10% of your weight 3 months: 20% of your weight 6 months: 30% of your weight 12 months: 40% of your weight and my weight loss fits exactly with this except for the 40% weight loss mark which I reached by 10 Months due to higher exercise intensity and really watching what I ate 6 months after surgery. My BMI was around 40 and I had no Pre-OP diet requirement, so I didn't lose any weight before surgery.