What's on your Wednesday Menu?

Sorry that surgeon was a massive waste of time. You jumped through a lot of hoops to get to that point. Hopefully there is someone in your metro area who can work with you. Given the size of it, hoping something will pan out.

Love the menu today!

Keep pushing at the docs, you'll find the right one for you.

Call the number on the back of your insurance card and get a list of orthopedics that do the surgery. Even if they do not do it you'll at least know who is in network and will take your insurance.

I am sorry your appointment didn't go well. I agree that the surgeon should have realized the infection risk if the pannus was already there at the last appointment. Good luck in finding another surgeon who is willing to work with you.

Mike, you might be one of the few cases that the ins pays for the panni removal. Most of the cases are considered cosmetic but seems like yours is necessary in order to have the hip surgery.

That's a good point.

That's a great point. I'll look into this. Thanks so much for the info. I was under the impression that I needed to stop losing and maintain my weight for six months before insurance would consider an panniculectomy. I assumed the process was hip replacement first, wait six months, and then try for insurance to cover the panni. I've been documenting all the skin irritation issues related to the pannis and MyCharting my doctor to document them. Anything else I should be doing to give me the best chance of insurance approval.

QJB-I would like to correct your meme for new sleeve and bypass patients. It should be 99% thinking about what food you wish you could eat later and 1% thinking about healthy food that may taste acceptable.

Define healthy food? for me healthy food are clean keto type food. I just reheated a portion of frittata - and it smelled so good i had a bunch of people poking their heads into the break room to see what smelled so good. Seriously - healthy food can be delicious. ( I often make large frittata or egg bites and portion and store /freeze for later. So good.

I could've phrased that better. I was trying to add a light anecdote that failed to land. After I first had sleeve surgery, I had stinking thinking. Most of my food thoughts were what I couldn't have anymore and that I was settling for 'healthy food.' I assumed other newly sleeved patients experienced the same. It wasn't very long until I was able to reframe those thoughts to this way of eating can be delicious. I really enjoy food still. I've found this way of eating doesn't mean my passion about food is any less than before.

Great.

BTW: a good few years ago I developed many food allergies and sensitivities. Including severe allergies to dairy and soy. I literally cried and I was miserable. Dairy were my main staple food - whey protein, yogurt, cottage cheese, hard cheese... no wonder my body decided it was too much. But suddenly there wasn't much I could eat...that was tasty and easy.

But.... then I found a againstallgrain.com Danielle Walker's paleo type cooking, low inflammatory, good for gut issues. Suddenly I was cooking, and baking every weekend. Very excited about being able to have easy to make tasty foods.

I still have a lot of gut issues that either can cause severe gut pain - cramps, or gas, or both. Believe it or not, toxic gas can be tolerated or dealt with. But the gas trapped in small intestine - that's horrible. The pain can be so bad that thinking about sticking a knife in that spot to relax the pain is actually very tempting. I have now meds for that spasms, plus a cat. Yes - a cat. 20+ lbs of just heat and pure vibration. I take 2-4 sublingual pills, get the cat and he really helps. Sometimes I get spasms even if I think I'm doing all correctly.

There is no one on this earth that I wish to deal with what I had to deal with re gut spasms. NOT ONE. And there are some people I really really don't like.

I learned what to do, not do, eat, not eat... but i still get it sometimes.