Kami

Sure! He didn't give me an exact recipe, but here's the scoop. You start with veggies for flavor - make it 50% onions, 25% carrots, 25% celery. I think this stage has a fancy name - mirepoix or something like that. Cook them down a bit with just a bit of oil. Then add the Water, I guess just enough to fill up a decent sized Soup pan. Throw in some parsley, maybe a bay leaf, maybe some tarragon or thyme. Then you decide what type of broth you want -- I'm going to make some chicken broth from a rotisserie chicken carcass. Otherwise, just throw in a bit of beef or chicken, probably better if you have some with a bone attached. But he did say you can throw in ground beef even (not sure if it is supposed to be cooked first - I'll check. He also suggested making a mushroom broth with some fancy mushrooms. Then you cook at low heat for at least an hour. Let it cool a bit and then strain through cheesecloth. Maybe a lot of work, but it sounds yummy, and it will let me control the sodium level. Oh, I didn't say to add salt, but add salt and pepper to your own preference. I'm going to make up a couple the weekend before I start pre-op and just freeze some. Another co-worker told me that you can get organic chicken broth at costco that is yummy, so I might look for that too. Given that broth seems to be the only savory thing I can have, I'm anticipating needing a lot of it.

My doc said he wouldn't operate on a bi-polar person unless you are very stable. I'm bipolar II, very stable, and he's ok with it (I'm still pre-op though). My shrinks (meds doc and counselor) both know and are very supportive. Since you've already cleared it with your psychiatrist, your doctor will hopefully be ok with it. If he's not, you might have to find another doc, even if it is several hours away. I really hope that he'll do it on you. I don't think there is any medical reason why not, but I can sort of understand how they wouldn't want to operate on someone who isn't mentally stable. Going full-on manic would really impair a person's ability to take care of him/herself. I really do think your doc will be ok with it when he reads the letter from your psychiatrist. I hope so!

I'm so jealous of those of you who get actual food - or a very short pre-op diet! I'm in the group with just 4 Protein shakes plus broth, SF drinks/popsicles/jello. I got some advice on how to make yummy broths from a co-worker who is a former chef. I was figuring on broth + shakes as each meal to fill myself up as much as possible. To those of you who have already started severe pre-op diets -- how bad is it? Tolerable? Please let me know if you figure out any tricks to make it easier to handle. I'll start my pre-op on Aug. 10, so still a ways away.

I'm an August All-Star now too! (thanks MeMeMEEE for cluing me in on this space) August 24th, my 34 and a half birthday! Looks like there's a few of us on that day. I'm jealous of you guys/gals who get to go sooner, but I can wait. This might sound silly, but I watch the moon when I have something that seems far away. The moon changes so quickly, so I think - well, the next time the moon is full, I'll be almost there. And then it just passes quickly, even with checking the moon every night. I will say I'm a bit nervous about the 2 week all liquid pre-op. I have this feeling that I might want to stab someone in the middle of it. We'll see how it goes. Oh, and I don't have a time yet. Is that weird? The scheduler said they'd get back with me on that. I do have a pre-op appointment for 8 days before my surgery, and a phone call in to the nurse to ask her things like, "can I keep taking my b/c pills?" So much to figure out still, even though I've been researching this for seven months now! --Kami

AUGUST!!! 1 BigSexxy, MamaMcKinzie, heygirlfriendB 2 brookb, MissBliss, Gaylebco 3 zetagirl210 4 Julie76 5 6 7 8 SunnyinSD, Ladybug86, MeMeMEEE 9 Wondering1, nurselisa22, LindaS 10 Indymom 11 Jimmy James, missjanab, PhatGurl80 12 Ms.girl 13 14 15 Treequeen,WyomingMountainGal 16 17 ITSMEMRSJ 18 19 20 21 22 JELLYBEANS, pamblan, blkhulagirl, mimimermaid 23 24 KristeyK, KristinaRN, Intime, Kami 25 26 27 28 29 30 Lisha, CT Fats 31 BOOHISS they changed my surgery date from August 1st to Aug 2nd!

Well, there's enough bureaucracy in our crazy health care system to rival that of anything socialized. I went to my first weight loss seminar on January 4. Wasn't able to schedule my first appointment with the surgeon until Feb. 22. 3-month supervised weight loss ended May 24. Dr.'s office finally submitted my pre-auth packet June 21, got approval June 23 Dr.'s office finally gets around to scheduling a surgery date today. Surgery scheduled for AUGUST 24! So, just about a 9 month wait. And that was going the FAST route of the 3-months supervised weight loss. (I'm not a happy customer of my surgeon's office, but very happy I finally have a date!)

oh, and I have Aetna too, by the way

Hey Lexie, Don't freak out too much. Its a little confusing, but you'll get through it. I did the three month plan through my surgeon's office. I went once a month and saw the surgeon and the nutritionist. I had to document what changes I was making to try to lose weight. I lost weight the first month, gained 2 pounds back the second and stayed the same but lost fat/gained muscle the third. I was also required to meet with an exercise physiologist, which can be done at my clinic's exercise group sessions, but they were all scheduled in the evenings, when I work. So, I talked to the exercise physiologist on the phone, she emailed me a plan, and I started walking. I never got a clear explanation on what all can count for the exercise component. I don't know if a personal trainer at a gym works. Since I couldn't get the clarification, I just went with what my surgeon had. Other people (on OH) said a trainer would work, if they wrote up a detailed summary and submitted it to the surgeon. So, after three months of doing this, I was done. My surgeon's office is stupid to the max (I made a separate post on this), so they didn't actually submit my packet for almost a month, then it was approved within 2 days. I'm still awaiting my date (again, stupid office). There is probably someone in your surgeon's office who does the paperwork for submitting to the insurance. That is the person to talk to about meeting the requirements. Hopefully s/he will know about the 3 month option and be able to advise you. If you can see the nutritionist at the surgeon's office for free, do that once/month and then do once/month appointments with either the surgeon or PCP - either will work, so go with whatever is cheaper, or whatever you feel more comfortable with. If you have any more questions, let me know and I'll try to help.

Wow, that's so scary!! I'm glad you are ok now. I had H. Pylori too, and I was prescribed a PrevPack for it. It was basically Prevacid plus 2 antibiotics (amoxycillin and clarithromyacin). Some annoying side effects (yeast infection, sorry if that's TMI) but nothing dangerous!

I don't have a problem with my surgeon, just with the incompetence of the office. I was trying to be patient, because it wasn't all their fault. I had my last weigh-in of my 3-month supervised weight loss on May 24. The insurance person in the office said she'd file it within a week (which seemed rather long to me, but whatever). Well, before that time, she went on medical leave. When I called two and a half weeks later to check on the status, I found out it hadn't been filed yet. I was told to call back in a week to check on it, because the nurse and nutritionist were going to try to figure out how to file things. (bangs head against wall here) So, they ended up hiring someone to do the job of the lady on medical leave (thank goodness). She filed on June 21, and I had approval on June 23! (Yay!) I still don't have a date. The next delay was legitimately my fault, as I rescheduled my PCP appointment because I figured the clusterf$*@#& in the office would take longer to clear up than it did. So, within a week of getting the approval, I had my PCP clearance, which I was told was the only thing remaining before I could schedule a date. So, on July 1 I called to see when I could schedule my surgery. Well, the person who does the scheduling doesn't work on Friday's, so she'd get back to me the next week. I was told that she schedules for 7 surgeons, so it could take a few days. The week goes by, no call. I call on Friday (7/8) and was told she doesn't work on Fridays. I called on Monday 7/11 and was told by the insurance coordinator that she hadn't yet sent over my packet to the scheduler. W. T. F. ?!?!?! She was apparently sending it over right then, and I should get a call within a few days. Well, here it is Thursday, and she doesn't work tomorrow. So, I'm going to call or stop by today (I'm going to be right by the hospital where the office is). If I don't have a surgery date by today, it won't be until Monday at the earliest. I'm just so fed up with the incompetence in that office. So, has anyone ever gotten an approval and then switched surgeons? I know there are others that take my insurance. I'm thinking of calling them and explaining that I have my approval, and asking if I can become a patient, if they can schedule me soon. What would you do?

My insurance (Aetna) will cover up to $10,000 lifetime for bariatric surgery. I'm getting conflicting answers from my surgeon's office about an estimate of how much I will have to pay and when. When I first looked into the surgery, they said that after the insurance came back with its negotiated rates, the cost would probably be $15,000, so I'd be responsible for about $5000. At my last weigh-in appointment, I asked to talk to the insurance coordinator, who was the person who gave me that info before. THIS TIME, she said that she didn't think the cost would go over $10,000. She said that in any case, at check-in, I'd have to pay my $250 deductible for a hospital stay, but that's it. Then they'll bill me for anything that goes above $10000 (that's AFTER Aetna takes the ridiculously high bill and tells them what the agreed-upon charge is). So are there others here who have had to pay a portion, either as a percentage or because the cost goes over a coverage cap? When did you have to pay? And how bad did the cost end up being? I just want to have a bit more of an idea so I can plan.

I had the last weigh-in of my 3 month multi-discipline weight loss program. Didn't really lose more than a few pounds, imagine that! If I could lose weight by just dieting, I'd have done it already! I talked to the insurance coordinator and she has a stack of files above me to do, but she should get to my file next week and apply for approval. Then a week or two later I should be approved (fingers crossed!). I'm hoping for a surgery date at the beginning of July, so here's hoping everything goes smoothly! The time did go by faster than expected. It didn't seem like it would when I was just starting and wanted me surgery like YESTERDAY, but it worked out in the end. I'll keep everyone here posted!

Meggie, I'm so sorry you are struggling. I've been following your posts (even though I don't post much, I read here alot) and you definitely tried as hard as anyone to be fully prepared. I'm sure you'll get it all figured out. I posted a couple of weeks ago about a Protein drink that I found at GNC. You actually posted in the thread that it has too many carbs to be approved by your doc, but if you are really desperate, it actually is sweetened with cane juice. If you decide (alone or with the advice of the dietitian) that you can be ok with a few extra bits of sugar/carbs in order to get your protein in, definitely give this a shot. I find it is light-years ahead of any others in terms of taste. And I swear I'm not paid anything to say that. here's the post I originally made: http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/16293-yummy-yummy-protein/ Oh, and I"m also a fan of xylitol. I had a dental hygienist recommend it to me because it is actualy GOOD for your teeth. Best taken in small doses because it can cause the bowels to become a bit weak. But it might be a good thing to add to tea. It really doesn't taste at all like artificial sweetener (and I can't stand Stevia).

Please post an update after you've seen your doctor. I'm looking at having surgery in June and I'm also a professional driver (test/pre-production cars, not trucks) and I drive 7-8 hours/day. I'm hoping to take off only a week or a week and a half, so I'd like to know what your doc says, and also how you feel when you are back at work. Good luck to you!

I went to GNC today to try to find the Max Protein that Eggface recommends (the World According to Eggface blog). Well, the owner (it is a franchised GNC) stopped carrying it because while one batch would taste awesome, the next would taste awful. He didn't want that kind of inconsistency. So, I asked him if he could recommend a good tasting protein, and he pointed at one and said, "This stuff tastes amazing!" He offered to blend up a sample for me in the back, and out came this frothy, fruity Protein Shake. Did I mention the flavor was Mango? It tasted like a Mango Julius - really, really good. I was starting to get worried because while I can gulp down less-than-appealing Protein Shakes, I was sure how I was supposed to manage sipping them post-op. The stats on this are maybe higher in carbs than others: 2 scoops of power yields 24 grams of protein, 204 calories, 5 g. fat, 15 g. carbs (but 3 of that is fiber). Its made with natural stuff, and it was actually yummy! They have a few different flavors - chocolate and vanilla, and Mango and Watermelon. I bought Mango and Vanilla today, and he gave me sample single-serving bottles of chocolate and watermelon to take home. He blended it in part crushed ice and part Water and it was creamy and yummy. http://www.biorhythm-ads.com/wholegains.cfm in case anyone is interested. This will definitely be my lunch and late-night snack as I prepare for full-on liquids. If anyone has any other questions, I'll try to answer them but so far I've only had the mango. I'll be trying the others through the weekend and will report back. So far, I'm very excited!

Have you thought about looking for an Overeaters Anonymous meeting in your area? I've never been to one, so I'm not sure exactly how helpful it would be, but I think it might be a good place to start, especially since there's no cost. That sucks that your insurance does not cover mental health stuff. Good luck to you!

I know that you said your doc told you to do single digit carbs and double digit Protein, but if you are really not going to be able to get down anything else, try the protein that I recommended the other day in the Protein drinks area. (http://www.verticals...-yummy-protein/) The carbs are really not that high, and it is seriously yummy. I've been trying samples of various drinks for weeks, and while I've found that I can chug them and get just about anything down, there's no way I'd be able to sip the stuff post-surgery. The mango one I found is one that is actually sippable! And if you cut a normal serving in half, you'd be at 6 carbs per 12 grams of protein, which is still within your doc's instructions. Hopefully you'll have more luck with your samples in the days ahead. You can do this, its really so close now (I'm jealous!!).

I don't think the problem is personal either. A few months ago (when I was really first thinking about doing WLS) i read the book "The End of Overeating" by David Kessler. He talks about how the predominance of processed food correlates strongly with obesity. And about how addictive the crap is! (more on that in a minute) Another good one is "Why We Get Fat" by Gary Taubes (shorter take on his "Good Calories, Bad Calories"). I'm not sure I'd blame it all on HFCS, but processed food in general is largely the culprit. And the stupid part of it is that the cheap food is the food that is bad for you! Personally, I think this is part of my problem. Why spend $5 (or more!) on a healthy lunch when I can buy a 99-cent double cheeseburger? I haven't dieted anywhere near the amount you have, Crosswind, so I'm expecting the post-op (and heck, the pre-op diet too!) to be frustrating. But that leads me back to addiction: I definitely think that the processed junk works on our systems like drugs/alcohol, etc. I have a co-worker whose daughter is a recovering meth addict. She did a bunch of research on addictions and recovery when her daughter was going through the addiction and recover process and she mentioned to me that there is a 98% chance of relapse. Which struck me as remarkably similar to the 97% chance that I was given as the likelihood I'll regain my weight if I manage to lose it naturally (per my surgeon). So I think that our bodies and our brains get caught up in the fact that we need to nourish our bodies, but unless we stay 100% on a healthy, non-processed (and probably low-carb) diet plan, our addictions get triggered and we eat the crap food again. In larger and larger quantities, because that's what addicts do. If the crap food wasn't around, I don't think the addictions would be triggered, at least not nearly at the levels they are. Oh, my other theory is that we fat people are actually evolutionarily advanced. Think of how many famines humans have experienced throughout history. The skinny people never survived famines. Now me, I'm just about famine-proof!

This is so cool! I also checked on Amazon and they sell it, so if you have Prime, its free shipping. Then I started going through other "baby food" items and ended up making a whole wish-list just for WLS! I found a hand-operated food grinder and a book on making baby-food purees, cups for freezing 1 or 2 oz portions, small spoons and fork, and other cool stuff. Not sure when I'll start to buy stuff like that, but it was fun to "window shop" a bit And the warming plate will definitely be one of the must-haves!

I love reading the stuff you write, Crosswind! I'm glad that your sort of mis-adventure with the wake up call problem didn't keep you from getting there. I can't wait to hear the next step as you roll out of surgery! All the best to you!!!

I'm still 2 months out from even being able to submit for approval. However, my surgery center seems to be really on the ball with this. They gave me a checklist at the first appointment of everything I will need to have for submitting to the insurance. Then I'm able to ask questions about these things, and they have so far followed up with me about them. I get the feeling that if I do this all according to the program's guidelines, I will get the approval. Basically because they've been through this MANY times and they know what gets approved and what doesn't.