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Just a random thought and I haven't had the chance to ask my surgeon yet but has anyone had the depo shot and has had the surgery?? I know they say depo shot makes you gain weight so I'm just wondering or more so curious if you are on BC has it hindered your weight loss? Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I have gotten Medicare to reconsider accepting the Sleeve Gastrectomy. you need to view the psoting. They are soliciting public comments. http://www.cms.gov/medicare-coverage-database/details/nca-details.aspx?NCAld+=258&ver=2&NcaName=Bariatric+Surgery+for+the+treatment+of+Morbid+Obesity+(2nd+Recon)&bc=ACAAAAAAAAAA Please visit this site and post any information in favor. Thanks. Marcia name='likasulema' timestamp='1318798760' post='219248'] i have medicare as my primary coverage, but empire blue cross as my secondary. MEDICARE does NOT cover the sleeve yet because its relatively new (few years or something. ) Medicare DOES cover the lapband and gastric bypass. (but i want the sleeve) My surgery for the sleeve is 12/7 - medicare will send the "official" denial for the sleeve after hospital sends bill, empire needs to see the "official" denial first, and then empire looks at my qualifications in having the sleeve. I have all the qual.. (BMI, diabetes, high chlolesteral, and high blood pressure, and sleep apnea (aren't I lucky???!!!) The insurance companies know that Medicare doesn't cover the sleeve, but they need the official denial after the surgery. Then the other insurance company can proceed. I know this sounds weird, its the beurocracy (msp) but thats how it was explained to me. Empire does cover the sleeve - so they told me after all the paperwork is sent in I will be 99% positive I will be approved. They can't officially guarantee it for obvious reasons. But they did tell me unofficially of course that everything looks fine. so the bottom line is MEDICARE doesn't cover the sleeve, no if ands or butts, but your secondary might cover it, like my empire blue cross. hope i've helped - without confusing you too much - write back w/any more questions )

I didn't experience any pain. Maybe a tad of discomfort but I had far more pain with the 2 c-sections I had. The worst part for me was feeling the need to burp constantly. My husband was a great help bc he kept patting my back to get the gas bubbles out. If you feel any pain, tell your nurses. They will address it right away.

So I got banded on monday. Today is Friday. I was discharged Tuesday from the hospital in TJ. I had a feeling that what I am about to write would happen. Since Tuesday, right after I left the hospital I had one more question about the cream they prescribed for me and when I can take the bandages off...The hospital (though I have emailed 3 times and called) have yet to get back to me and answer. Instead, the MedToGo coordinator called some other doctor in the business and got the questions answered. Here is my point for those thinking about Mexico...what you get is what you pay for. They told me up and down at the hospital, "just call" "just email" if you have anything...what a crock of BS. I understand these doctors are busy and have busy days, however, responding to an email like that takes 3 minuts tops. It is a clear case of I paid them to do a service and they did...well and the business transaction is over. If any of this is something you don't want to be involved with rethink going to Mexico. In other news all is well (regardless) and I am under 200#s YAY!

So I got banded on monday. Today is Friday. I was discharged Tuesday from the hospital in TJ. I had a feeling that what I am about to write would happen. Since Tuesday, right after I left the hospital I had one more question about the cream they prescribed for me and when I can take the bandages off...The hospital (though I have emailed 3 times and called) have yet to get back to me and answer. Instead, the MedToGo coordinator called some other doctor in the business and got the questions answered. Here is my point for those thinking about Mexico...what you get is what you pay for. They told me up and down at the hospital, "just call" "just email" if you have anything...what a crock of BS. I understand these doctors are busy and have busy days, however, responding to an email like that takes 3 minuts tops. It is a clear case of I paid them to do a service and they did...well and the business transaction is over. If any of this is something you don't want to be involved with rethink going to Mexico. In other news all is well (regardless) and I am under 200#s YAY!:frown:

I have been struggling with my weight since I gave birth to my first kid. I will never forget; I was 185 lbs when I left the hospital (19 yrs. old) and it’s been a roller coaster since. When I left the hospital they put me on the Depo Provera birth control shot and I blew up. I figured that was the best option since taking my BC pills daily was a concern. I was too busy enjoying life lol. My weight at that time increased to 260 so I went on a serious diet and was able to lose 48 lbs. I went down to 212 lbs. and that was my lowest weight in my adult years. My weight gradually increased again but I never went over 260 lbs. I was always lucky enough to maintain that weight. I would occasionally go on diets to lose weight when I had something big coming up or going on vacation, but of course nothing last. I tried Weight watchers, Curves, Phentermine 37.5 mg, Zantrex 3, and the Lemonade diet. I was able to lose the most with Phentermine but I think my body got too used to it in the end. Up until my I had my 2nd child I didn’t really worry much about my weight. I figured as long as I don’t go over 260 I’m good. Well that quickly changed when I had my son. I was 240 lbs. when I got pregnant and only gained 20 lbs. during my entire pregnancy. I was active and tried my best to limit my calorie intake. However, after I gave birth it was a wrap, my weight increased to a whopping 270, and when I got laid it increased to 313. My highest ever! I started thinking about Bariatric back in 2012 but it was going to be the lap band. After speaking to a few ppl I realized it wasn’t for me. My son is now 5 and weight is something I think about constantly. It’s hard for me to keep up w/ him and I find myself missing out because I pretty much hide in my house. He spends a lot of time w/ his father or his sister because it’s hard for me to move around. I get tired quickly, my body starts to ache, and I just don’t want to be seen. I told myself this is not a way to live life and I’m missing my son grow up so I finally make the decision to do something about it. First it was the Sleeve, but after further research and speaking with ppl that had both surgeries done I decided to change my mind to the Gastric Bypass. My surgeon’s office submitted for approval last week and I’m been impatiently waiting. I’m scared to death, but I know in the long run this is the best option for me. When I started the weight loss journey I was 306 and now I’m at 280. Once we get the approval I will start the pre-op diet and hopefully will be able to lose another 10 lbs. before surgery. My goal weight is 175 but my doctor wants me to get down to 150. Personally I think that’s a bit small but he knows best.

Hi gang! I'm not sure if you guys remember, but I have BC/BS PPO Michigan, individual coverage. They just removed all bariatric procedures from their coverage this past January 2009. They said it is just not covered. My doctor CALLED them this past Friday, and I'm not sure who he talked to, but my status moved from "denied" to "pending".... my agent who is my liaison with BC/BS told me they don't cover, no exceptions... however, it looks like they might actually consider this? I'm not going to hold my breath.... I'm probably going to have to pay somewhere about $6-8K for the procedure (I'm getting hiatal hernia surgery along with it) out of pocket, which I was prepared for... but can I actually HOPE that my insurance company is going to do what's right, and cover this for me?? I am not getting my hopes up... but it sure would be nice not to have to pay that much $$ for my surgery! I'm taking prayers where I can get them! Karen

Almost 8 weeks out, down 26 pounds from 271 to 245 So I got my first fill last week, and I am REALLY tight. So much so that I've lost 5 pounds in 6 days! I am finding it extremely difficult to eat anything in the morning. I even feel stuck just trying to drink some water or juice in the morning; warm coffee seems to go down much more easily. I had a particularly bad day this last Saturday: so let me first say that of course I recognize that no one who is trying to lose weight has any business eating anything at McDonald's. However, every so often I allow myself to indulge, and Saturday morning was that occurrence. I was soooo excited about eating some of that sausage biscuit, let me tell you. I was going to be taking a quick road trip of about an hour on Saturday morning, and I figured with this great restriction it would practically take me an hour to eat about a quarter of that delicious biscuit. Well, I think I managed to eat a total of one normal sized bite, taken in teeny tiny little pieces which just REFUSED to go down. UGH! Never has a human being been so disappointed. I cursed the band, let me tell you! I wanted to eat that damn biscuit in the worst way! And, to showcase my food addiction even more - instead of throwing the blasted biscuit away when I reached my destination, like any sane person would.....I wrapped it up and saved it, thinking to myself, maybe I'll loosen up later today and I can still eat some of this later!! I tried, not once, but twice more throughout Saturday to eat some of that biscuit, and EVERY time I tried it was worse. Waaaahhhhhh!! I also had my first PB (productive burping) episode on Saturday. I now know that it was precipitated by the biscuit incident in the morning, but I wasn't smart enough to be worried about that when I sat down to lunch with my husband and some friends......I unrolled my chicken salad wrap and picked out a tiny forkful of tender shredded chicken. I chewed and chewed and chewed until it was liquid, and when I swallowed, at first I thought it was OK, but after a few seconds I got that awful pressure feeling in my chest. So I sat there and talked and waited for it to subside and eventually decided to take a bite of my fruit cup - one tiny cube of mushy peach, which I chewed up to nothing and then swallowed. I immediately got the stuck feeling, and my mouth started filling up with saliva. This has happened to me before many times, but somehow I realized, luckily, that this time was different. My husband's colleague was in the middle of asking me a question, and I literally jumped up from the table, completely cut him off mid-sentence, and was barely able to choke out 'please excuse me' before I was running to the ladies room. As soon as I got in there, up popped the peach, and lots and lots and lots of saliva. BLECH! I thought I would feel immediately better, but I didn't. I stayed in there a while trying to regain some composure. In previous episodes where I would get that stuck feeling, and would "slime" for a while, at a certain point I'd feel things settle down and go through, and I'd be fine and would actually want to resume eating. This time, however, there was no way I was going to try to eat anything else for a while. I had to be really careful even drinking water for the rest of the day. I finally had a very few morsels of dinner (a couple bites of mashed potatoes and a tiny piece of husband's soft and gooey chicken quesadilla) many hours later, around 8:30pm. They went down OK, but I was scared bc we were in public at a bar, and I did NOT want to have to race off to the bathroom again, so I didn't push it. Sunday morning there was very little change, I still felt extremely tight and had to be careful even swallowing my yogurt. But, by lunchtime I had loosened up and was able to eat half of a turkey sandwich with no problems. So, on Saturday I was feeling a little panicked, and thinking - maybe I'm too tight?? Maybe I should get a slight unfill? But, now, a couple of days later, I've realized that there's something to be said for being this tight - it absolutely forces me to take tiny bites, chew properly, not drink after eating......it basically forces me to be accountable at all times to the band. I think as long as I'm careful and don't PB all the time, maybe I'll just deal with it?? Because you know, of course I'm loving, loving, loving watching the scale drop each day! The only thing I'm worried about right now is how to explain my sudden bird-like portions to friends. This weekend when someone made a comment, I just said, "Oh, you know me! I'm just trying to lose some weight....AGAIN, ha ha ha..." I just wonder if someone is eventually going to catch on to my secret! I really, really, really hope not.

Thanks for the advice, guys. I ended up having my second cardiology appointment today (it was scheduled for an hour after my original surgery was scheduled.. the irony) but the doctor was sympathetic and super awesome. He was knowledgeable about my condition and cleared me for surgery. He saw where my heart was functionally okay to withstand surgery. He was really excited about my case and gave me some good information and wants to follow up with me. I think it was good that I got all this info because it gives me more faith in doctors where I live and I think I have a solid cardiologist now.. which is awesome bc I guess I'll be needing heart surgery in the next 10 years or so. Honestly, I've thought about going to mexico, but I don't have anyone who would travel with me so that is kind of out. I would travel by myself but you can't do that. I do love traveling and wouldn't care to try the medical tourism because I feel like the insurance nonsense is so horrible. I've seen some amazing transformations (not bariatrics) from Japan and they take great pride in their work and you don't have to go for follow up after follow up like you do in the states. I'm on the hook for $900 for pre-op testing.. which sucks because I thought my insurance would cover that.. but in the end, it's all for my health.

Will that's BS to the highest degree. Did they say why they couldn't repair the hernia? Sent from my SM-N950U using BariatricPal mobile app

I had some requests for tips.. I am trying to think of what I have done differently. For one- I don't drink any coffee or soda or any caffeine which increases appetite and dehydrates you. I quit cold turkey along with smoking cigarettes. I eat anything I want. But, I usually just have protein or mostly protein because I crave it. I like canned tuna, beans, and chicken mostly. I have a stupid protein shake every day because it is the only way I can take my pills. It usually has 30 grams. I haven't really had more than 1000 calories a day, but I don't count bc thats why I have a band! I hear I should be having more. I don't exercise at all (I can't until I heal from a pulled muscle) I like herbal iced tea and crytal light to get all my water. I like sugar free popsicles when I want to eat but am not hungry. I DO NOT drink for an hour after I eat. I watch the clock like a hawk for that hour to pass. I drink all the way up tp my very first bite. A few days ago I decided to go off of Celexa, a major contributor to my weight problem. I will let you know if that makes a difference. :wink2::sad::drool:

At first I was only going to tell my DH and no one else. Then I decided to tell my MIL and she said that she wanted to fly to TX to help out. I decided to let her and then it all went downhill from there. She then tried to convince me to tell other people in the family bc they were "worried" about me bc she was now coming to TX. So, I ended up having to tell my SIL and Grandmother, Dad, etc. Or else she said she was telling them. So, I decided that I would tell them so they would get my unbiased story. At work, only a couple people know. My boss & HR lady. I was lucky to be traveling right before my surgery this week so I didn't have anyone asking why I was off this week. HOwever, I have a feeling that once I go back on Monday people will be asking. I want to say I had surgery, but then I will get the questions. I hate to lie and say that it was gall bladder bc what if I end up with gall bladder later? I thought that I could say I just had a cyst removed (female stuff) bc I always have issues with that. The reasons I don't want people to know: -Don't judge me -Don't need to hear your opinion -I have made up my mind and only need support

i was banded in october and i'm pregnant now, and i have no idea how far along i am :shades_smile:. so i'm not sure how long i waited, but not as long as i wanted to. and i was taking bc and we were using withdrawal majority of the time, but i still got pregnant. ob says losing fat cells increases your fertility 10 fold. all that estrogen pumping through your body. after we have this one, i don't know what all we will need to do to prevent that from happening again.

Sounds like y'all had relationship problems before the surgery so naturally those won't go away. I wonder If you were ever 'okay' with this 'unique' relationship or if you did how a lot of women do and put up with it or convince yourself you're happy bc you don't think you deserve more. If he does not feel attracted to you now that you are losing weight an probably feeling more attractive, maybe he is threatened by your newfound confidence and swagger. I hate to say this and maybe this is just my warped opinion, but I think women can fall into a controlling relationship when they are overweight and certain men can use those 'fat insecurities' we have to get what they want (ie a 'unique' relationship). Just my two cents and it may be I think this way bc I had a controlling boyfriend as well who I now realize loved me as far as he could throw me... And I was over two hundred pounds so not very far! Good luck to you. I say do you and nurture your own happiness outside of the relationship. You change and he will be forced to.

I have acid reflux and doctor recommended gastric bypass. I wanted a sleeve bc they don't mess that much with my stomach but bypass fits me best Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I worked for time warner cable and had empire bc/bs, they covered my lapband also. 100% of hospital, and a 1K deductible for surgeon and then 100%

I had a hospital copay of $300 (standard charge for an operation with my ins.) since I paid when I did my pre-op blood tests they gave me a discount & I only paid $270. I have BC/BS with the Commonwealth of VA. If you thought there were a bunch of different pre-op and post-op diets, just wait to see how many different insurance plans, copays and deductibles there are!

Thanks to all for the well wishes. My hubby took me to the ER around 3p yesterday when he got off and aftwr running several tests they admitted me to the hospital for observation, pain management, and antibiotics. First of all I have a UTI, I'm mildly dehydrated, and the severe pain is coming from my kidney. The area around my kidney is swollen and the pain is now radiating from the right flank (around my kidney) to my upper right quadrant in my abdomen. They did blood work and there were some small abnormalities, but nothing too drastic and they also did a CT scan which showed no failure or swelling to my kidney at this time which is good news. The bad news is that they are unaware of what is cashing the swelling and severe pain around my kidney. They are stumped and of course I'm frustrated bc I want to know what is going on and how to fix it. They are wanting to do a couple days of antibiotics to see if that inadvertently helps with the pain bc there is a slight chance that the UTI is causing the swelling. Not likely bc the UTI isn't that severe, but weirder things have happened. So, all that said, I'm getting 4mg Morphine every 2 hours and Phenergan and IV antibiotics every 6. I'm typically very sensitive to pain meds, but the morphine is not touching my pain. It is very severe and very bizarre. The doctor, whom I've actually not seen today, refused to change my pain meds until he can speak to me tomorrow so while I'm getting some managemwnt of my pain I am disappointed that they aren't trying a little harder to control it. If it weren't for the phenergan, which knocks me out cold for about 3 hours at a time, I'd probably be much more miserable. I am hoping to get more answers soon, but I am at least at a facility where I'm being somewhat taken care of. Thanks again for all of your prayers and for checking in. Rachael

I have BC/BS mass and it was great for me. I had no problems as I met the necessary BMI and had 2 doctors who sent letters of medical necessity for me. Overall, they did what they said they would do on their part. Good luck!

I have BCBS-Fed and just completed my 3 month yesterday!!!! My BMI was right at 41 so I couldn't afford to lose any weight during the 3 months. I lost 2 lbs the first month and then gained 3 by the last month. It really depends on your BMI.... if you are way over 40 then I would recommend attempting to lose weight. If you are not, then DO NOT lose any weight!! Insurance will not approve you if you are not 40 BMI. I am currently waiting for the word from Dr's office on whether I'm approved or not. They submitted to insurance yesterday, so I should know before the end of the week. I'll keep you updated

Ohhh I so needed to read all these funny and inspiring comments! Love this thread! =) I am in 24's right now BUT they are getting loose since being on my pre-op diet! Woo hoo! I am tired of wearin sweats and t shirts and hiding from all the pics. I too am always taking pics of my hubs with the kids bc I am too embarrassed to be in the pics. Cannot wait to be down into some smaller sizes so I can shop comfortably. I actually think I forgot how to shop for myself,its crazy! The only clothes I buy are baby and husband clothing! Can't wait to buy a bra from Victoria's Secret,ha! =))

Hi everyone - new member here. I have been researching lapband surgery for a couple of weeks now. Been considering some kind of bariatric surgery for a couple of years now, but after watching the people at work who have had gastric bypass and all the problems they have had I was scared to do it. After reading about the lapband, I feel comfortable with this method. I am going to the free info seminar next Thu in Houston. I talked to our HR lady who had gastric bypass 4 years ago and she said our insurance (Anthem BC/BS PPO) was good about approving people as long as they meet the requirements (which I do). I will be 49 in January, I am 5' 2" and I weigh 100 pounds more than I did before I had kids (my oldest turns 23 on Christmas Eve). I have been yo-yo dieting for the last 20 years and I am sick of it and tired of being hungry all the time and a slave to my hunger. I am so impressed with all the support and information on this forum!

Yeah, prior to this new policy change a few months ago Lapband was almost always denied by Anthem BC/BS from what I here now they authorize it much much much more often! I was about 41 BMI when I went in. I drank a bunch of Water right before in case I like burned some ounces on the way from nervousness! lol. I wish you the best of luck and I hope you can get it! It will definitely be great for you health. Keep us updated too! I just started mushies. Scrambled eggs ROCK! I'm feeling so good and healthy. I'm so glad I did this so far!

I take pills, No problems. BC pills are tiny anyway

U should call ur surgeon....bc I dont kno about vomiting but I kno when I get the stuck feeling im full and I need to stop eating it takes me 2 hours to eat mashed potatoes wit a baby spoon and the whole spoon isnt even full I have to take breaks and everything