NWgirl

Are you on a 6 month supervised diet? I would imagine you would be getting banded prior to July (correct me if I'm wrong). I would wonder if you can get the new insurance to pay for maintenance? I wonder if you will need to apply to get the fills/maintenance when you switch?

It took me two weeks. I was not required to have any supervised dieting, just the usual BMI requirements, a letter from Dr, and a list of all diets I have tried over the years.

As long as I got enough protein, I find protein drinks are good. When I was doing my pseudo liquid diet (two shakes, one protein bar, two Greek yogurts a day) I was getting over 80g of protein daily. I was not super hungry.

It's 50/50 if it will be covered or not... But, I would not stay at a job for the surgery alone. If you've got an opportunity that doesn't come around often, take it. If the new insurance didn't pay for it, could you save the money or get a loan to cover the costs?

My dietician thinks whole grains are okay, but it is really hit or miss for others.

Only if they require specific things. I don't know if you're currently on a supervised diet, but that could be one of the stipulations. I would also check to see what the new insurance says about pre-existing conditions- I read on here once that a woman had to wait a year to get surgery after starting her new insurance because the obesity was considered pre-existing... Can you see the benefits under the new plan? And are you sure they cover WLS or treatment of obesity?

also SF puddings...

And 100oz + water daily.

I would drink the shakes only and forego the veggies. Make sure the shakes you're drinking are high Protein and low carb/fat (>5g). The veggies won't help your hunger that much because of lack of protein. I would also be calling to discuss this with the person who helped you along the way. I would be fuming!

cottage cheese, oatmeal, applesauce. I was pretty boring and stuck to protein shakes, soups, etc because I am in the process of moving and didn't want to make something. You could get a food processor and send real things through it (chicken, veggies, etc) and they would be safe to eat.

for insurance purposes, it's actually a good thing if you fail. It means you have one more co-morbidity.

if you're actually sick, reschedule. If you are just stuffy, then take massive amounts of that emergency drink to try and keep the body going and maybe kick whatever is coming on. your body is already going to be healing from surgery, I wouldn't want to be sick on top of that.

Have not told more than a handful of family members, but am sure they would be supportive if I chose to disclose it. If I was comftorable telling everyone, I would honestly really probably just post a Facebook update about it (which is not something I'd normally do, but in this case I would due to so many family members). This way everyone finds out and you don't have to risk any awkward silences or deragatory comments since you'd be on a public forum and people usually behave themselves better. For people who I knew don't use Facebook, depending on their level of importance in my life, I would probably call them up and tell them. Be prepared to answer questions and correct wrong information.

Caffiene and sugar withdrawal can cause the headaches. If you need to, take some Ibuprofen or a little sip of caffiene to wean yourself off. You've got to break the addiction sooner or later, so I'd recommend the Ibuprofen.

I was really only slightly nervous the morning of. Off course, I had the usual concerns prior, but not enough to question the actual surgery. I figured if anything was going to go wrong, the hospital was the place to be with the trained professionals

Woohoo! I waited for two weeks after submission and then called my coordinator because I hadn't heard anything. I'm on the West coast and she's on the East, so she called me back and left a message saying "I have good news, call me." At the time I was hesitant to let myself get over excited because you just never know, and I had to wait over a day to get back in touch with her to find out. I am so glad you got your approval! Did you set a date yet?

I would look around the US a little- seems there's a guy in Colorado who does it for fairly cheap and it seems like true Results is usually around 10k. I have no idea about business practices, etc of these places but have read about other self-payers going to them. If you go to Mexico, make sure to set up a fill doc before. I have heard that it can be hard to find someone.

I know from reading her blog that Lapband Gal was able to go off her blood pressure meds originally but had to start them again. Some things are just genetic, but you don't know til you get there.

Slim Fast does not have enough protein and is high in carbs/fat. I believe they make a low-carb Slimfast that has more protein, but is still pretty high in fat. Look for something with 25+ protein and less than 5g fat and carbs.

the same spot you added your weight loss ticker. Settings > my signature.

This is a link to a ready to drink that a lot of us drink. http://www.premiernutrition.com/protein-shake-nutrition.html Go ahead and look at the nutritional info so you get an ideal of what you should have.

I would be worried about the 10g of carbs and the 3.5 fats. Also, is that 228 calories for a serving? The protein amount looks good... Do you mix with milk or Water, or is it ready to drink? Personally, I would keep looking for something a little better. Look for something around 100 calories for a powder and under 200 for a ready to drink shake. It should be low carb, low fat, and high protein.

The weight loss is something that will be slower than traditional WLS, so no explaining necessary. People will see you eating healthier and becoming more active and they will put those two together as the reasons for weight loss. Only a few people know that I've had it done and I don't care to tell others.

That sucks Can you lose weight now freely? I know with my insurance I was fine to start losing weight immediately because my surgeon only submits the beginning weight. I would take the opportunity to kick butt and get a head start

I don't purposefully watch it, but I like to keep an eye on it. Today it seems like most of my sodium came from my healthy deli meat that I had for lunch- not a biggie for me. I did read that if you drink plenty of Water, it keeps the sodium flushing out.