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Here is a tip for April Sleevers worried about cancellations. My surgical coordinator recommended to monitor the number of COVID-19 cases in my immediate area. for Alabama, they have a nice online dashboard that has the states "confirmed" cases broken down by county: https://alpublichealth.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/6d2771faa9da4a2786a509d82c8cf0f7 Basically if there is a rise in the # of cases in the county you live in, expect non essential surgical procedures to be postponed and rescheduled, common sense statement for sure. At least with this dashboard I can visually see the impact of new cases on my current surgery date of April 23. I live in Baldwin County and as of 3/21 there are only TWO confirmed cases. I was told this numbers of confirmed cases would need to be in the "hundreds" for changes to non-essential surgery dates so at first glance it looks promising until you see how many people have actually been tested. I am confident the health departments of all the other states have something similar to this for tracking COVID-19 cases.

Ok. Please just try this out! I have the same insurance through my husbands job. They kept telling me 6 month diet requirement. But one day I actually pulled up their policy for it and saw that they had revised their policy at the end of the year 2019 and removed the 6 month requirement. I called them back and spoke to several representatives who said no that’s not true, we require 6 months. Well I had my first consultation with my surgeon dec 23. The nurse told me that sometimes policy gets updated but the representatives on the front end are not always aware of the changes. She suggested sending in the prior authorization at the beginning of the year and just see what they came back with. She sent the prior auth on Jan 2. On Jan 6, they let me know that I was approved. I had no diet followed by a physician. They hadn’t even received my medical records from my primary doctor yet. All they had was my first consultation with the surgeon and my psych eval(which is not bad at all). I had surgery feb 19 (I could’ve had it sooner but my schedule hindered it) So please see if your doctors office would do the same thing. They have changed things under that plan but unfortunately they are still giving out the old information.

@GoForwardGen Reading your post reminds me so much myself. Now I’m not as Young as you, I’m 40 and wish I would have done this sooner. I’ve been the fat girl since I was 8 years old. This is my experience and advice: I too have struggled with mental health issues including addiction and suicide attempts. I was put in rehab in 2017 for addiction to alcohol and opioids. I’ve not taken opioids for recreational use since April 23, 2017. Alcohol is a slippery slope so I have to be vigilant there. In September 2018 I was hospitalized under a mental health watch for a week after attempting to take my own life. I was in a very volatile domestic violence relationship at that time. Through the support of my family and friends and local law enforcement I was able to finally get out of that relationship for good in March 2019. I’ve been in therapy ever since then with my psychologist and psychiatrist and my life has changed for the best! I’ve been on some sort of anti-depressant and/or mood stabilizer since I was 21 years old. I’ve been i the mental health system for a while. None of these things held me back from getting surgery. This past October I had reached a point With my weight that I was defeated and ready for a change. I have Anthem BCBS—it’s the best option they offer and I pay out the wazoo for my insurance through my employer because I want the best. I also had to complete a 6 month weight loss supervision with MANY requirements. So that’s the story of my mental health past. This is my advice: Find a dedicated Bariatric center. I worked with Georgia Surgicare in my state. They were phenomenal!! I started my journey 10/7/19 and had my surgery 3/3/20. That’s 5 months! GA Surgicare advocated for me! They were actually able to push my surgery up one month because I had completed all requirements and was consistently losing weight. I actually found out because I was losing weight on my own is one of the reasons they allowed me to go early. It proved to them I was serious about this. My start weight was 256.6. Day of surgery I was 230. I’m 5’4” so yeah I was a big girl. I say was because I’m not that girl anymore. I’m 218 today and working every day to become healthier. I will no longer refer to myself like that, that was the old me. On 10/7/19 they weighed me and went over everything. I came back on 11/6/19 and had lost 4 pounds. They finally gave me the packet with all requirements I had to complete. They worked with my insurance and found all providers in my network that they also work with. I had to go to a cardiologist for a heart stress test and ultrasound of my heart. I had to get my PCP and psychiatrist to recommend the surgery—which they did. I had to meet with a nutritionist 3 times and show my food logs. I had to go to a Pulmonologist and have a sleep study, yes I have sleep apnea. The reason I suggest a dedicated Bariatric center is because they provided me everything I had to do. All I had to do was make my appointments and show up. GA Surgicare followed up with all the providers and got my insurance what they needed. I had to do every other week calls with a nurse with Anthem to discuss my progress and developed a rapport with that nurse who also advocated for me. Do your research find a dedicated center. Do your part. Lose weight to the best of your ability and show up for your appointments. It was a whirlwind. It went so fast and so slow at the same time. I wish you the best of luck in this journey that is going to change your life!

Hi Casey I guess I could consider myself a "third generation bariatric". Grandma, Aunt, Mom, and Dad all had surgery before my wife and I did. My Grandma and Aunt had it back in the 90s (Aunt in her 20s, Grandma in her 50s). Mom had it in early-mid 2000s (40ish age), and Dad had surgery in 2010 (he had just turned 50). With Grandma, Mom, and Dad, they were so heavy for so long that between getting older and having been too heavy for too long and some damage being done, they still had issues with their joints or health. Grandma and Mom have both had knee replacements, despite remaining relatively healthy since their surgeries. Dad had triple bypass heart surgery last year. My Aunt has been relatively healthy. None of my relatives regret the surgery, but I can bet if I asked my parents or Grandma, they'd all probably wish they had their WLSs sooner. I had surgery in 2017, three days before my 29th birthday. Doctors have told me that, despite my lifelong being obese (probably been "the fat kid" since 2nd grade), I haven't done any significant damage. Pre-op I was diagnosed with sleep apnea and a vitamin D deficiency (I live in upstate NY, everyone has a vitamin D deficiency!). And since my surgery, I've trained and completed two full marathons, and have more to come. I was training for a marathon this spring, but COVID-19 canceled that one, as well as another long distance race has been canceled. I feel like I have the rest of my life to do things I've never even dreamed of doing! When I wife and I were dating, she asked me if I had considered it (I was a 380 pound 22 year old) I took what I call a "typical man" position and told her "I'm young enough that I can lose the weight myself", which was true, but I couldn't maintain it, and I never got as light as I am now (230-240 neighborhood, with approx. 20% body fat). Sorry for the long backstory, but I fully support having surgery in your 20s. Probably 95% of the people I've spoken to about surgery say their biggest regret is not having it sooner. Good luck to you!

I had a coffee for the first time this morning, 10 days post-op. Didn't cause any issues. Luckily I was able to tolerate it with some protein powder. But if you can't, what's the harm in having it the way you usually do? A cup and a half of milk still has 12 g protein.

Normally I would agree. Like I said - that's why I don't have one. And I usually roll my eyes at people complaining that they've been stalled for 3 days. But at this point, where I just did something pretty extreme and I'm nauseous half the time and hungry the other half of the time, and still too tired to really get back to work, it would be nice to at least see that I lost 10 lbs.

Let me start out by saying that I know this is a really trivial concern. I have a friend in quarantine after a potential exposure at work, and a friend of a friend in the hospital on a ventilator. But darn it, it's still driving me crazy that I'm home in self-isolation (after returning from travel for my surgery) without a scale. I haven't weighed once since my surgery. I don't have/didn't buy a scale on purpose - for long term weightloss, having a scale in the house is a really bad idea for me. I get obsessed, and then after a few months I get mentally exhausted. I need to adjust to a new lifestyle where I don't think about food all the time, and personally, weighing every day doesn't help me with that. I was planning to weigh at a gym or doctor's office every week or (preferably) two. Anyone else missing their scale access?

My vit D has been in tablet form that I dissolve in my mouth before swallowing. The 50,000 units I take now are the little dark green capsules. My dietician is not very helpful. I'm working more with my PCP. I asked the pharmacist and she said to take it with food and oil, which I have always done. I am outside all the time - I garden, tend to livestock, hike, and bike. I do not use sunscreen except on my face. The D levels were a bit low before surgery, which is common in obesity. But afterward, they have continued to drop. Level last week was a whopping 15.1. YIKES! I thought for sure, after losing all the weight, my D would be good, but the malabsorption from the surgery has really taken it down. I've had steatorrhea ever since surgery - stools are loose, frequent (up to 10 times a day), urgent, light colored, gassy, and floatie, so it is pretty clear that I am not absorbing fat. I am going to ask about pancreatic enzymes. My PTH is fine, calcium levels are within normal limits, although toward the low end.

Some updates that Will definitely delay surgery for me. Our governor Coumo reports that this health crisis will go on for months. Seems like there is no way on earth I’ll have surgery in May or June. I am looking at perhaps July. I began my journey in July 2019. I am hoping we all stay safe and healthy. Wishing positive vibes to you all. Xoxoxo

Hello ! :) *sorry this will be long* I created an account because I really needed to talk to someone who understands what I’m going through. I have a lot of support from family and friends but all they can tell me is “hang in there” I need some sort of answers because I’ve been really regretting this surgery. I need to know that things will eventually turn around because I don’t know how long I can keep living like this. After my surgery (1/22/2020) I was admitted 3 times back into the hospital due to dehydration, nausea and vomiting. The dates were : Feb 3rd to 6th Feb 15th to 18th Feb 27th to Mar 3rd After those dates the doctors that I spoke to thought it would be a good idea to get fluids every other day in my hospitals infusion center. I went 2 days and was feeling fine, was able to eat - no nausea or vomiting. With COVID-19 being a very serious thing my hospitals infusion center is closed and i’m not sure for how long. I ended up becoming weak and all the symptoms for dehydration came back. I went to the ER, they gave me my fluids and I went home but I’m still dealing with nausea and GERD. I’ve been dealing with kinda slimy saliva and foamy vomit and it’s after any little thing I eat or drink. EVEN WATER and it’s upsetting I don’t know what to do, I don’t want to go back to the hospital with everything happening now. Can someone help please? If anyone had time to read this thank you I’m sorry it was long I’m just desperate and have been depressed over this. Please be safe wherever you are too.

My heart is breaking for you. I don't know if it is any consolation, but you are most definitely not alone. All of us are feeling more scared and anxious than ever before. You have already fought a huge battle! You have lost so much weight, and come so far. One of the things that this journey has probably taught you is moderation. If gaming is mentally a break for you right now, give yourself that break, but make sure you limit it to what is actually helpful, not harmful. Say you decide on 3 hours per day, stick to that. Gaming will also let you have social contact with other humans without physical contact. I have been stuck in my house due to pre-surgery flu, then post surgery, then I had a nasty cold that coincided with the uptick in concerns about CoVid 19. I set an alarm at 10 of every hour, and walked around my house just to keep myself moving! I NEVER felt like doing it, but made myself get at least 250 steps, and most times I would keep going for 5 or 10 minutes. I know it isn't hiking Everest, but it is what I could do. Your financial worries have to be so discouraging. The only little light at the end of that tunnel is that the whole country is facing this! They are going to have to give relief, and you will be positioned to take advantage of that. It is going to be a whole new world once we come out the other side; my guess is that lots of places are going to get a lot more serious about cleaning and sanitizing workplaces, so maybe your chosen profession will have a whole new lease on life! If not, my fervent hope is that once this ends the country gets serious about pivoting toward green or environmentally friendly industries, and we will have a "new deal" type financial bail out that is for ALL of us, not just big banks and airlines. Hang in there, I am 90% sure there will be eviction and/or foreclosure moratoriums. You need to focus on maintaining shelter, food, utilities. Everything else right now will have to wait. I know that you have probably spent a lifetime building your business, your credit, etc., but right now we all have to go to survival mode. I hope you find a way to connect with folks, maybe through an online group that shares some interests. The evidence is strong that even a short walk each day in nature helps restore our mental health. I am a person with little or no "hobbies" except for reading, travel and listening to live music. I can't sit and read all darn day! So I have decided to try some container gardening...I'll have either have wasted some time and a little money, Or I will have nice fresh veggies and berries this spring and summer! I am also starting an indoor herb garden. You will find your own interests. Learn a foreign language? Take up knitting? Foster a dog or cat in need? Volunteer to deliver supplies to elders or disabled neighbors (also a job opportunity for that.) You are a good writer, any interest in journaling? You have been through quite a bit, journaling may be a way to process that. Good luck to you, reach out, try to take heart, when the dark thoughts come look for the light. This community is very supportive, use it! All the best Lisa

I’m 10 weeks post sleeve surgery and noticed that I get the same feeling when I eat or drink too quickly. I’ve been working on slower sips (not gulping) and smaller bites until applesauce consistency and haven’t felt it since.

I went through a similar experience. I had my surgery January 7th and I’m just now starting to recognize hunger. The first month or so I had to make myself take 1-2 sips or bites of something every couple of hours. Headaches and shaky hands were the main signal letting me know my body needed nourishment. Now I’m averaging 6-10 bites and I’m full for hours. Focusing on protein has helped immensely.

Your absolutely correct, there are other items in very short supply but the ONE item that seems to be the choice of early shoppers to go crazy over was toilet paper. When there was product last week, I saw people at my local Sam’s taking 3 to 5 of those large “24-Roll” packs at a time, I just laughed at them, I am not laughing anymore. I did FINALLY found some toilet paper late last night, I used to own a Travel Trailer and remembered places like Camping World sold a special type of toilet paper made specifically for use in the BLACK water tanks of Recreational Vehicles. To my amazement they had one display remaining with 20 “10-Roll packs” left, limiting TWO per purchase and you had to be a member of either Camping World or Good Sam RV owners club’s and I still had valid membership cards for both so SCORE on 20 rolls of the thinnest, least absorbent, smallest size toilet paper on earth. Just enough supply to cover until an Amazon back order is delivered.

I feel your pain! I had the sleeve done three years ago, lost over 100 pounds in about 10 months, then gained about 60 back through bad food choices and/or just plain overeating (even healthy foods). I'd go on reset diets which would work for a while, but then I would plateau for a long time and start to gain weight again. Part of the problem was trying to deal with my food addictions that came back once I fell off the bariatric diet wagon. After a while it was just too hard to get back on again. Eventually I decided to have a revision to bypass, which I had done 2.5 weeks ago. Hopefully that's not something you'll have to do - if you have support groups around you and people that you can work with, it should be possible to lose the weight you regained.

I had surgery 11/15/19.. but I've noticed I bruise a lot easier now than I did before surgery... Normal ? Sent from my moto g(7) supra using BariatricPal mobile app

I was away with my family two weeks ago and spent hours everyday in the pool, it was amazing! And in the two weeks, I lost 10 pounds so I was excited about that. I am finally back to work also which as a dog Walker keeps me active everyday. I'm having difficulty getting in even 2 meals and my protein shake, so hearing you're eating stuff other than meat gives me hope! Thanks so much for sharing, I was seriously concerned I would never eat bread again. My plan is to eat very very free carbs until 6 months, then I'll start adding in veggies, and low carb tortillas. Though I have been indulging in a small spoon of peanut butter every night (extra protein right;)) I'm glad everyone is weathering the storm ok, stay strong!

Yes, this makes perfect sense. And yes, some people may drop out. My guess is nothing is going to happen for at least 30-45 days then they would take the March people first. This is my third time going through this. 10 years ago I was scheduled and was cancelled because I had breast cancer. The second time I was a month from surgery and the doctor stopped accepting the insurance so I'm not surprised this happened. I could say it's not meant to be, but I'm NOT going to say that and will wait some more. grrrrr

Oh, congratulations!!! That is just awesome! I hope you get a date that isn't caught up in the middle of this COVID-19 pandemic. All the best!

It's not about calories. It's about PROTEIN. The only protein I see you consuming in a day is breakfast and dinner. The soup is okay I guess, but I would cut the portion in half and add some protein to that meal. All the snacks are empty - no real nutrients. If you are capable of eating a veggie burger and asparagus, you certainly could add more nutritious snacks throughout the day. *Note: I understand jello and lollipops if that's on your plan, but if you are eating real foods then I don't know why these are still on your plan. More yogurt, or cheese, or eggs, etc - something with protein would be a better alternative. The other thing to consider is that jello/lollipops/etc are traditionally sweet foods, desserts, snacks. Even if they are zero calories, they probably still remind you of eating those real things in the past. If you can avoid those kind of temptations, it will probably help you in the long run. For example, today I had: Breakfast: Chocolate/PB2/banana smoothie made with sugar free almond milk [Protein: 29g, Calories: 266] Snack 1: 1 Mushroom egg bite (size of a small deflated muffin) [Protein: 5g, Calories: 53] Lunch: a chicken roll (basically a processed chicken breast rolled to the size of a small breadstick). I split this up into two servings eaten about 2 hours apart. Today was my first day to try meat of any kind. [Protein: 13g, Calories: 65] Snack 2: PB2 mix (PB2 is powdered peanut powder with 85% less calories/fat. I mix it with water for a small snack). It's actually a bad habit I need to break eventually, but I can't eat yogurt or cheese straight up because of a newfound lactose intolerance problem, so this is my alternative. [Protein: 8, Calories: 90] Dinner: Miso soup with tofu [Protein: 14g, Calories: 136] Total for today - Protein: 69g, Net carbs: 38 (a little high today because of the banana and PB2], Fat: 20g, Calories: 610 You can see that I don't eat a single meal that doesn't have some kind of protein in it. Even when my stomach is feeling a little rough and I want to just have liquids, I'll replace the meals with an extra protein drink (the juice kind) or miso soup, and skip all snacks (just drink extra water). If I have soup, I'll add protein powder to it, or, my preference right now is miso soup, since it's so savoury and high in protein. The tofu is optional but it's basically a puree/slider so goes down easy. My main goal is protein (50g or more on this stage, but if I can get over 60 I'm really happy, staying between 400-600 calories (today was a little high), and under 40 net carbs - 30 even better). Fat, high or low, is not a concern for me. Anyway, I'm just posting this all here as a way to think about what you are consuming. Focus on the protein, not the calories. You can get many nutrients from vitamins, but you can only get protein from food. It's important - if you don't consume enough, your body will start taking it from your muscles to make do, since it's so important for several different functions (tissue repair, hormones, etc.). This can really weaken you. Try your best to find real foods (not protein powder, although that is something we need in the beginning) for your protein. One suggested meal I have now that I'm on soft foods is to add egg white to oatmeal and mix it in. I've never tried that but I will once I can find some oatmeal around here! I don't know what kind of guidelines you've been given, but what I have right now from my surgeon (and bear in mind this is for gastric bypass) is to eat one or two bites of food, chew well, wait 5-10 minutes, then have a few more bites, then wait, etc. But all food must be eaten within 30 minutes - any left over after that time goes back into the fridge for later. Regardless of surgery type, portions should be about 1/8-1/4 cup for real food, and 1/4c -1 cup for liquids like soup, is about right. I also try to be very conscious of what and when I am eating - if I am in front of the computer (which is almost always) I make sure to focus on my food, not the screen, when I am eating. I measure out portions before I put any food in front of me. I weigh things - tofu cubes, bananas, everything. It gets me accountable down to the last gram. It is more work, but I feel much more satisfied with the way things are going. Hopefully you can find a way around this!

yes - you're eating too much. I'm not sure I could eat a full-size veggie burger plus 10 stalks of asparagus even NOW, at five years out (I could one or the other, but not both). Does your clinic have portion guidelines? I was eating very little food at that point (it's been a long time - but maybe 1/4 - 1/2 C or so? And mostly soft, mushy stuff).

LOL, so I think it's likely you are an inflammatory person set on trolling here by causing drama. You have less than 10 posts and the first time I see you, you are posting a post set for drama. LOL. I could care less that you had an opportunity to live a new life with a spanking new second chance and yet, you're cherry picking the rules our surgeons give us that are based on best practices from the ASMBS for our tools. And you're essentially giving your second chance the great big old middle finger salute. Way to work it, dude! Waves up. Enjoy!

It will come - But get out of bed and Put on your head phones and walk the halls! The more you move the faster you will get the gas out! I was skipping down the hall a few hours after surgery, within 10 hours i had most of the gas out! Now my brother had to get catheterized from the knock out gas, His lower unit stayed asleep! Good luck and trust me Move your ass! and welcome to the journey

I had mine sleeve done this afternoon. 3/19/20. Follow the diet precisely. The girl that came out of surgery before I went in for mine was in the bay next to me. She was screaming with pain and vomiting violently for at least ten minutes. I was about to back out of my surgery after hearing her struggle. Then her nurse told me that that's what happens to people that don't follow the pre-op diet. I woke up from surgery with pain and a little panic, but both were quickly mitigated with medication. Thank God!

I am 3 weeks out from a gastric sleeve procedure. I'm not sure if I am eating too much. It seems to me that most folks who have the sleeve done are unable to eat as much as I do. I don't strive to eat a lot, but I just happens and I never feel full. I have not felt full - not once. Last night I had a pretty good sized veggie burger and about 10 stalks of asparagus. I would have hoped to be full after about half of that. How does this seem to you folks who have had gastric sleeve? Many thanks Grace