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Been over weight all my,ife What. Iam seeing is many people are losing weight ,but health issues are same or worst My issues are unfertolity, some heart issues, liver enzymes up lower throid Many small,issues that are big to cause other issues! Iam dropping 8,0oo hard earned money to get better have kids and a life, improve my liver and immune system so my chance of cancer is waaaaayy les and i can live a norma lifespan everything caused by mh 350lbs frame bc i cant lose weight on my own and ive been dieting since imwas 5 -no pun! So is this just a thing to lose but not improve my health concerns??? Iam 30 btw Sorry for posting so much but seems i read something new everytime

I have bc/bs NC I was wondering about how much the insurance paid toward the machine

I have bc/bs NC just wondering how much insurance paid toward a cpap machine I need one

Anyone who had surgery that used BC BS of ALABAMA how long after your first appointment with doctor did it take to get approval. What all type of hoops did they require you to jump through. If you didn't have to go through the 6 months that I have heard they make you go through how did you get through not doing that. Thanks

hi, is there anyone around in this post lately? lol I am in process of researching and planning and want o have gastric sleeve, so far I believe I have decided on Dr. Maliapur at Huntsville Hospital. For those of you that have BC BS and didn't have to go through the 6 months thing how did you get around that? I really would love to get this on the road. I am planning on scheduling to attend an info meeting that Dr. Maliapur requires you to attend before get your first appointment. Also for those who used other doctors can you please let me know what made you decide to choose that doctor? I want to make sure I make the correct choice in doctors so would love opinions. Thanks

I'm sick of all the foods I can eat. I'm not getting my Protein bc I can't stomach any kind of shake. I'm not getting enough liquids.. Tired of Water, Powerade, Gatorade etc. I feel so weak and tired. No energy! I have just about giving up.

Just reading this. I can relate. I'm 22 days out. I've been a stay at home mom for 13 years. I've worked some on the side to contribute and went part-time, but completed my Associate Degree in May. I've been "looking" for employment, but prior to the surgery is was iffy- "I really want this job, but I need X amount of time off because I am having surgery, OK?". Now I'm feeling somewhat better, but finding and staying in work clothes that fit will prove quite a challenge at this point. In fact, I wore a suit to an interview recently and could barely keep my britches up. Anyway... back to husband. I went to bed at 8 tonight because I was just so sad and upset. Money is tight. I go to grocery store and buy he and the kids as much as I can and pick up a couple things that I think I can eat.... turkey snack sticks. He's immediately all over me about my "special snacks" and whatever else. Never have I said no-one else can eat them, except I've asked them to leave the SF stuff alone for me- obviously. I come across a job in postings tonight that is in a round about way related to my husband's and he says- "you'll never get it, they just post that as a formality". I say sure, probably right, but maybe I should take the tests and whatever and get on a list anyway as it's a good paying job and if not this time, maybe something else will come up. He says, "I don't want to work with you." I wouldn't be working "with him", but more or less at the same facility in a different location. Wow!! Real moral booster. In a huge rush this evening to get everyone where they needed to be and fed. They had pizza and salad. I think I'm doing well, I'll scrape the toppings off a piece and have a little lettuce with dressing. OH NO I DIDN'T. Severe chest pain and right back up it came. Hubby has been REALLY insensitive to anything pertaining to me, my struggles, pains and insecurities. He knew what was coming and agreed to be my "support" person. ( I have NO family left aside from my husband and three kiddos.) People say I lost X amount of weight when I left him, etc, but I have NO-ONE in this world, but him. I woke up a few hours later, had a good cry and here I am. I've had a run in with him bringing home all kinds of bad food from his folks (pasties, sweets, etc) and its been tough. I've asked that if he and the kids want to have Desserts and such they just go and do it, I don't need or want to know. He's turned it all around now and everything is my fault, this was my choice, and he's just been mean. I would be heartbroken if he went out to eat without me too, Sophie. I'm wondering if my skin is just thinner now or I'm seeing things clearer since I'm feeling more vunerable and less like fighting? I feel like in the last three weeks, his promise to be supportive has been anything but and really just the opposite. Sorry for the ramble, but I'm there with ya... I don't even want to argue... just cry.

Well iam not worried about the calories per say bc when i juice i dont really use any. Fruits unless its a tiny leamon or nit even a half of apple i uice only for the Vitamins strickley so i probably will end up still juicing for diease prevention i feel i will need more bc of the nutrition definenxy

So sorry for all of my questions and posts. I have not had a PCP for years. I have been going to an urgent care facility for anything that comes up - sinus infections, flu, etc. My insurance (BCBS Fed) requires a letter of reference/referral from my PCP as part of my approval package. I asked today if the urgent care could write such a letter and was told no since they have never treated me for weight loss or obesity. My bariatric counselor referred me to a PCP that takes my insurance and she said they refer a lot of people there. I have an appointment on Friday to get my blood work and EKG completed, and I have my medical records from the urgent care. Do I wait for a couple months before asking for this letter of reference? Do I mention it this week? Any advice you have would be great - thank you!

How about some seafood? I wonder if you might tolerate fish better than chicken as it tends to be a bit flakier. Or a crustless quiche? There's a recipe on allrecipes.com for a crustless spinach quiche made with cottage cheese. You can substitute low fat cheese. Maybe try some roasted veggies? The possibilities are endless there and they usually come out soft enough not to cause irritation. I also recommend the cookbook Well Fed. It's chock full of recipes featuring Protein and veggies. It teaches how to make "hot plates," meals using the same protein and veggies but with varying delicious spice combos so they taste like very different meals. Just a few ideas! Good luck!

I find some of the responses on this forum hilarious. All these fat or formerly fat people saying "you need to eat better! No carbs! Eat only Protein. Drink 900 oz of Water bc you're confusing thirst with hunger" Why did you all get this surgery in the first place? If you were so good at watching everything you put in your mouth and controlling your portions and carbs you wouldn't have needed this surgery. The whole point of getting bypass is that diet and exercise alone don't work for 98% of people. I eat all the same stuff I did before surgery but way less. I have had pizza a bunch. I've had burgers, fries, tacos, nachos, cake, etc. I am losing weight because I can eat very little of this stuff and am still tracking my calories. Is this a good thing? Hell no. Most of the time I still have to try so hard to be mindful of what I eat, to focus on protein and then veggies and limiting my carbs. Nothing about my taste changed after surgery. It wasn't some magic thing that made me only want to eat chicken breast and kale. It appears that it worked that way for a lot of people on this forum but not me. The only halfway decent advice here is to get a therapist. I plan to do this because I know that if I don't learn to deal with my cravings and food addiction, even if I lose all the weight with this surgery, I'll someday put it back on. So I'd recommend doing that and in the meantime, try to ignore the plethora of lame advice on this forum. Don't get me wrong - this place is great for some things but you have to wade through a lot of self righteous and misguided advice to find it.

Iam doing more low card for the liver shrink diet now ,but i like to juice And was wanting to do a plant based protien smoothie is that ok????? Also whag i have read is juicing with the sleeve isnt a good idea bc our tummies are too small? What abiut smoothies. W a vita max? I plan on doing this once a day het extra nutrients??

I know a couple of women who got sleeved and then got pregnant right away, but I'm not sure how old they are. We keep toying with the idea. But I'm 43 now and our youngest is 2 and I'm so much more tired now than I was with our oldest, who is 11. I have an appt with my obeys to discuss more long term bc because the part of me that wants another baby is a little bit crazy!

I got 1/2 C Pyrex with plastic lids. They have grooves all the way up the sides like stripes and I know which line is 1/4 C and which is 1/2 C I think they are technically maybe 6 oz not half a cup bc 1/2 c still has some "headroom." I still use them now at 20 months out! Early out disposable plastic baby spoons were awesome too! And I now have the whole family eating off salad plates instead of dinner ones. The dinner ones look HUGE to me now!

I had my one on one with my surgeon today, I have 2 more dietitian appointments and should be ready in December. I have BS of CA and Cigna as secondary. I'm hoping all goes smoothly. I barely have a 40 BMI and no co-morbidities.

Anyone know of a lapband dr that will do fills that didn't initially do the surgery? Someone closer to tampa/Wesley chapel area? My dr is completely disinterested in any of his patients ( I say any bc ive spoken to alot of his patients that say the same thing ) we come to our appts pay 350$ for a fill , he walks in 10 min. Does the fill and walks straight out of the room. No questions. No small talk no nothing. I want someone that motivates me. Helps me reach my goal. Or just talks to me!! Any reccomendations will be great!!

I had my pre-op yesterday at St. Joes. Words can't describe how happy I am w/ this hospital. I blew out a tire 1 mile before the hospital on a busy highway. It took a while to get my tire changed etc but the pre op dept waited for me ... On a late Friday afternoon when I'm sure they all wanted to get home. The pre op dept was so thorough & organized it took any fears I had right away!! I'm still praying this all comes together, as its my third time trying in 4 years. The nurse sat me down and asked why I was having this surgery as she thought I wasn't 'big enough' and my health conditions weren't so critical. I almost cried... I think my shocked face confused her. A few moments later she came in and hugged me and apologized bc she thought she sounded rude... But she told me she thought I was beautiful and didn't see my weight as I see it on myself. After sharing my story with her we talked a bit and her genuine softness & caring was exactly what I needed to know this was truly what I need to do for myself.

I am also in the Cleveland, Ohio area and will have surgery through The Cleveland Clinic. I have just started the consults, and have had one visit with NUT so far. I have another NUT visit this month as well as meeting the Nurse Practitioner this month. My insurance, BC/BS requires 6 visits with NUT, and you can only do one per month. That part stinks. I was rather hoping this would happen a bit quicker, but I'll follow the rules. If anyone going through the clinic, who is your surgeon?

Breast Cancer Awareness month. @@jhclikesshopping@gmail.com i was doing my daily breast examination in the shower one day i found a lump saw the doc the next day had a mammogram met with a surgeon got a 2nd opinion i had double mastectomy within 2 weeks this month i Celebrate my 15th year cancer free (i never have to worry/deal with the shrinking boob situation ) ALL women & MEN must check themselves daily everyone should be proactive 45 used to be a young age for BC now i see/hear of people in their 20's get a base line mammogram doc will be able to compare yearly HAVE A MAMMOGRAM SOONER THAN LATER thanx for listening good health to us all Kathy

TFH, The 6 months supervised weight loss plan is a new requirement for Anthem BC as of 1/1/15. Fortunately for me, I had incidentally followed such a plan where my doctor prescribed me the weight loss drug Belviq and monitored my progress for 8 or 9 months. According to my surgeon's office, some case reviewers are very stringent on this new requirement, others are more lax. I also had to take a wide variety of tests from chest x-rays and upper GI's to pulmonary and cardiac stress tests. Everyone of my doctors, both my GP and specialists had to sign a consent form. I was told some of this testing was because of my high BMI as well as my age (60). Good luck and I hope your daughter gets approved quickly!

@@bigbit Congrats. Can you tell me the process? Did you have to have to follow a doctor supervised weight loss plan for a specific amount of time, or did you have to involve a primary care physician? My daughter has an appointment today with a surgeon, but this is her first step since leaving Kaiser and her new insurance being Anthem BC.

When I was in HS and college I was always on the very skinny side. My blood sugar and blood pressure were both always very low. I had chronic issues with getting up too fast and blacking out and issues with my blood sugar getting so low I'd get shaky and weak. Gaining weight, that all went away, for years. Now that I'm down quite a bit on my wt, all these things are back again. I do okay when I'm up exercising, but it's either after I'm done I get shaky or if I haven't had a good meal, I get that way. All normal for the wt loss but need to just make sure you've eaten a good amount of Protein and carbs before a work out to keep that blood sugar up. Have your blood pressure taken weekly for awhile and see where that is at so you are aware. Sugary foods will just raise your blood sugar high then bottom them out, so Peanut Butter, bananas, grapes, milk are all good sources of protein that will bring bs up and keep it up. As far as feeling like you're going to black out when standing up...sit up first, before standing, to get your BP acclimated. Stand slowly and stay in place before moving. Your BP is bottoming out and it's taking that blood from your head, causing that black out feeling. Once it's stable you start to feel okay.

Hi all! 54 here, had my RNY in February and have gone past goal, lost 102 lbs so far! Still firmly in the honeymoon/miracle phase here, can't believe I've been so successful. Thought for sure my age would put me at a disadvantage compared to all those youngsters having surgery at the same time, but strangely, my lifelong experiences with diet and weight loss gave me the advantage here. I know WAY more about the psychology of overeating than my youthful counterparts. I don't have to worry about pregnancy and PMS cravings. I'm already past the age of trying to impress young men with my outer beauty, and have already established that my inner beauty and health is much more important. The downside to all this is that I've had to make adjustments in my social life. Drinking at parties and gatherings has been greatly reduced, which makes me a lot quieter, and some read that as less social. I can't have the obligatory pizza and beer at football parties, bringing my own snacks instead. Also, I sag. Everywhere. Not a ton, not so most people notice, but it makes me look old. My kids think I look much younger, but my clothes hide a lot. I'd love to have a full-body redesign, starting with those chest-pancakes that once filled out a D cup, but now look silly in a B, unless amply shaped and padded. But after 2 breast fed children, that was bound to happen anyway. I am so glad I did this, and none of the down sides even come close to the up sides. Arthritis reduced, BP reduced, A1C back to normal, off CPAP machine, no more plantar fasciitis, and I can shop in the NICE stores for clothing! My feet have even gone down a half size, so I can sometimes wear size 10 shoes! (Those with large feet understand the struggle).

God I would kill for some Cottees GI Cordial cant get it over here. Did manage to get some Aussie Milo yesterday - 20g is a little protein kick to my mid-morning milk. BCs: The Mater was up the road from where I used to live. Good hospital. I was in a state in post op and for the first 12-18 hours, then it got easier, hopefully it will for you as well. Just try to keep sipping, I fund changing position and walking as much as possible helped a lot wit the gas pains. And a shoulder/upper back massage in a few days will help as well. NewNetty: Can you use stevia as a sugar substitute so you can still have tea/coffee? Each day teh pre-op diet will get easier, you will find your appetite will shrink, and if you keep jamming water in your system your stomach wont rumble. http://aussiefoodiesjourney.blogspot.co.uk/

My surgeon is very specific about wat I can take. He says Flintstones are a huge no no as well as gummies centrum and one a day and generic store brands. He says it makes him frustrated that these vitamins are even sold bc they are a waste of money and have no ground in being rated highly for purity and quality. He only approves of Optisource, Celebrate BA and GNC .