smkeller

I agree with the other member who say be more concerned with liquids than Protein right now.
And don't stay completely way from fats like 2% or whole milk, etc. after you get away from Clear Liquids. Your body needs some fats to burn the weight off.
chicken broth, lived on that for a long while and powders?utm_source=BariatricPal&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_campaign=CommentLink" target="_ad" data-id="1" >unjury Protein products. Some of those store bought things are just inedable.
Sixteen months out now and and am living on cottage cheese with peaches or blueberries, sliced cheese, chicken breasts, and almonds, etc. Down 90 lbs to a BMI of 25.3.
I don't eat meals, I eat when I am hungry and stop the second that I feel full, even if it's after just three bites.
But, I digress. Just get your liquids in and as much protien as you can.
I have discovered a GREAT product that I get at Walmart called 'Super PROTEIN ultimate recoevery fuel' by BODY FORTRESS, little 2.9 fl oz tubes of fruit Punch, 26 GRAMS of PROTEIN!, Box of six only $10.00, one of those in the morning and you have half your protein already.
But sip, sip. sip is what your body needs to heal.
Good luck, Steve

Yes, he is, the hospital is, the staff is, the attention is.
He was voted one of the TWENTY-FIVE BEST bariatric surgeons IN THE WORLD, by his PEERS, other doctors.
His fees for all this are VERY reasonable.
His success rate is phenomenal.
I had to borrow the money, fly four thousand miles, spent 10 days and 10,000, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat.
I was almost 64, had an enlarged liver, HBP, VERY high cholesterol, and had to go to my ER for chest pains a week before going.
He had some difficulties during surgery with my heart beat, took his time and did it right.
If I had gone to one of those Tijuana mills, I could very well have been just another statistic, for half the price, but what would THAT matter?
Better than 98% of American doctors and half the price, what more could you ask for?
Well, he doesn't have much a a sense of humor that I saw, but hey, you know...

Yes, he is, the hospital is, the staff is, the attention is.
He was voted one of the TWENTY-FIVE BEST bariatric surgeons IN THE WORLD, by his PEERS, other doctors.
His fees for all this are VERY reasonable.
His success rate is phenomenal.
I had to borrow the money, fly four thousand miles, spent 10 days and 10,000, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat.
I was almost 64, had an enlarged liver, HBP, VERY high cholesterol, and had to go to my ER for chest pains a week before going.
He had some difficulties during surgery with my heart beat, took his time and did it right.
If I had gone to one of those Tijuana mills, I could very well have been just another statistic, for half the price, but what would THAT matter?
Better than 98% of American doctors and half the price, what more could you ask for?
Well, he doesn't have much a a sense of humor that I saw, but hey, you know...

I'm sorry to hear how this is stressing you out. I worked for a health insurance company for many years and, yes, they can rescind payment. HOWEVER authorization is often done using ICD-9 codes so if the procedure authorized was the one submitted for payment, I don't know why they're acting crazy. It's going to be a fight but the doctor and the facility will be there with you every step. They won't let this go down easily because when we rescinded payment, we took it out of future checks! Ugly!!! Don't let it stress you out!!! We (the insurance company) made many, many, many, many mistakes in my time there. I spent most of my time with claims appeals of things we did that were just stupid. And it often took us a while to realize it was stupid. Loved the people there but hated the process. Hang tough and enjoy life with your sleeve.

This is a really sticky situation. At the end of the day, the patient has responsibility to pay for any services rendered - so first, do not accept insufficient explanations from your insurance company. You need to understand exactly what happened, and why. Often things like this happen because there's an employer-enforced exclusion that is either missed, or wasn't in the system at the time of pre-approval. Either way, you need to spend some serious time on the phone with your insurance company and find out EXACTLY what happened: is it an approved procedure, do you have any type of exclusion (as your HR dept too), when was the exclusion put in force, etc. DO not accept anything less than exactly the info you're looking for. If necessary, have a conference call between you, your surgeon's coordinator, and a manager at your ins. co. I've had to do that a few times for myself, and helped several people through the process. Don't be timid, shy, or back down. You have a right to understand what happened.
Even if pre-approved, there is no guarantee of payment. I don't want to be a bubble burster, but I'm already seeing a lot of people saying "it was preapproved so they have to pay" (or thereabouts). That's just not the case. That little disclaimer in bold is on virtually every phone queue waiting message, piece of paper you get, etc. from every medical insurance provider out there. Does that make it right? No. And it's not really intended for situations like this, but it's a pesky little loophole. That's how they get out of paying for mistakes like these. (Insurance companies can also go back and "change their minds" on something paid, and revert it to a blance owed... IIRC they can do this for up to 2 years.)
I would also speak to your surgeon. Those billings amounts are what they bill insurance companies retail, which is a GROSSLY inflated amount over what they usually charge self pay patients, and is NEVER the amount the insurance company actually pays. If nothing else, perhaps your surgeon's office can revert the bill to self-pay rates. Example:
Insurance company charged $57,000.
Insurance company pays $8450 (total of "contract" or negotiated plan rates)
Self pay rate: $12,300.
Feel free to PM me if you need more help. I have a lot of background in the insurance industry, and have been able to give people some advice that actually helps on occasion.

I was crying on the way into the operating room. But now I have not one single regret. It is truly life-changing. I know there are some unfortunate folks who have a hard time after surgery, either medically and/or emotionally, so I don't discount the gravity of the decision. I am lucky to be one of the ones who have sailed through and can eat anything, just in limited portions.
Even if you don't lose 100% of your excess weight, and even if you do gain a little weight back after reaching goal, odds are you will never again be nearly as heavy as you are pre-op. Just set realistic expectations and forgive yourself when you slip. I've been a model patient regarding my food choices up until the last week or so. I've been nibbling here and there because I'm stressed to the max at work. I forgive me. Today I eat only what is on my plan, not a bite more. Tomorrow I eat only what is on my plan, not a bite more.
Your feelings are normal. Just want to add one more voice to the "do it, you won't regret it" count!
Good luck.

Thank you all for sharing your thoughts and experiences with me.
I hope to be able to read the shared thoughts and experiences of others as well. The more information I gather, the better.
Thus far, this is what I have gotten from this thread, or rather what I have decided at this time.
I am going to do all the leg work to get the surgery, IE: see whatever hoops I have to go through for insurance to cover the cost, gather any proof or documentation they may require, and get the ball rolling in case they make me wait 6 months etc. This way, if I decide to go through with it, I will hopefully be ready and covered and not have to wait any further.
In the meantime, I am going to try harder to lose as much weight as I can the normal way. I have one new tool, a really wonderful gym at the place where I work that is free to employees. I will take advantage of that. (which might screw me up if I Do decide I want the surgery and then bring my BMI down too low and get stuck at what you call a "stall"). No surgery, and no more weight loss, we’ve all been there I think, but I will try again.
I managed to lose 65 lbs once, took about a year, but I did it for the wrong reasons. I didn’t do it to be healthy, I did it to look better and mostly for a person I was in a relationship with. So when he cheated on me, I lost all my will and put on 15 lbs. Then, I moved across the country, only to get a diagnosis of breast cancer, so I spent a year fighting that, (and winning fortunately, still even have two breasts), during which time I put on another 25 lbs from the steroids they give you when you have chemo and lack of activity, also due to chemo and radiation.
I don’t think that having survived breast cancer constitutes a co-morbidity to the insurance companies, but it should. When I was finished with my treatments, my Oncologist very specifically stated that one of the first most important things you should do to avoid a recurrence, is to be as skinny as possible. Not just lose weight and get healthy, but to be as skinny as possible, his exact words.
This is because the fat in your body holds on to estrogen, and when you have an estrogen receptor positive cancer, it feeds the cancer if there is any left in your body. You have to take medications to prohibit the production of estrogen in your body so it is very important to lose as much fat as possible as well.
In my view, this makes being a cancer survivor (which puts you at risk for recurrence), is something that should most assuredly be considered a co-morbidity.
I hope to talk to many of you about how much weight you lost pre-surgery following the prerequisite liquid diet and how difficult that was for you.
I would expect that if you were doing it just to lose weight without the promise of your surgery at the end of two weeks, it would be much harder than doing it all by itself to lose weight. Hard to combat hunger indefinitely with no light at the end of the tunnel.
So, I'm trying to cover all of my bases. Get everything in line to have the surgery, and make sure I actually need it before I take that deep of a plunge.
I have what is considered a low BMI, 33.5. I’m 5’7” and weigh about 215 so I have less than 100 lbs to lose. I want to start by getting down to 140 and then see what my body and health are like to decide if I should go further and shoot for 120 at my height.
I will be searching the forums for more information about everything, including the liquid diet requirements and the subsequent results.
I thank you all and look forward to hearing more from you.
Best wishes and a happy healthy new year to everyone.
Lorelei

My surgeon put me on a PPI starting immediately post op. If you're concerned, put in a call. But Tums will not do the trick while your body is trying to transition here. And Tums will also interfere with your Iron absorption, so only use them if absolutely necessary.
Hopefully, like the majority of sleevers, you'll be on your PPI for a few months and then slowly wean off, without needing it for the rest of your life. For some people the PPI remains a necessity, though, so be prepared for that possibility.
I started on Nexium and went to Prevacid, which did nothing for me. I finally found the best relief on Prilosec (I just bought OTC omeprazole, the generic) and was able to take that until sometime between 4-6 months post op, when I started to wean off of it. Now that I'm pregnant, I'm on it daily again, but I expect that I'll go back to life without once I evict my little passenger.
I am always amazed when surgeons do not prescribe a PPI as a matter of course. I am not trying to be critical of anyone's surgeon - it's just that this is such a simple solution to a serious issue that almost every person sleeved experiences. The huge improvements in quality of life when you take this one small pill for a short period of time are so great that I'm amazed it isn't just standard practice for everyone.
I hope you find some relief soon.
~Cheri

Not only did I research him but 3 friends had him do their WLS and each has passed it on by taking another friend down = One was me! They got me in quick after the final decision was made: I traveled 800 miles to Phoenix where then we went the rest of the way down to Mexicalli. I never had 2nd thoughts or one bit of nervousness = I was ready! Yes I agree with all above and the price is all inclusive. I believe he did 3 the day of mine and also repaired my hiatal hernia.

Yeah you are going to a private hospital that has security and is exceptionally clean with blood banks and ICU. Others with lower prices are in stripmalls and don't have a great rep like Dr Aceves is. My health is so worth it!

Ditto to everything BBJ stated. My life and health are worth the extra money. Dr. Aceves was the only doctor where I could not find anything negative about his abilities or performance. That was key for me.

I've never had surgery before, so I can't compare my experience with him to anything else, but I was pleased overall - no complaints at all. He fit the bill in several ways:
1) I wanted someone who's had a LOT of reviews on this board. Surgery is easy until something goes wrong, so if you've only seen 3 or 4 positive reviews about a surgeon, it doesn't give you that much information.
2) I wanted someone who didn't have a SINGLE negative review (I searched like 2 years back on the forum)
3) I wanted someone who ONLY does bariatrics
4) I wanted someone who's had North American training and credentials
5) I wanted to be operated on in a hospital, not a clinic, in case something went terribly wrong
6) I didn't want an assembly line surgeon who operates on 6+ people a day
A big selling point for me was that one of his staffers (Dr. Campos) had the VSG from Dr. Aceves - that shows that someone who's intimately familiar with the man himself and his work trusts him enough to operate on themselves.

Hey all - sorry this is more of a question about the forums than the actual lapband...
Did anyone else get subscribed to the RNYtalk and Verticalsleevetalk forums? I got that and I have tried searching everywhere for the unsubscribe or cancel my account or anything like that in my settings but no such luck.
I am a little annoyed that LBT has decided to register me on my behalf!
Any ideas how to get yourself out? I just want LBT, not interested in anything else!

Good luck there Lash. You are entering an area where even the Gods won't go.

Well, if she or they don't baby sit for you or otherwise help you out, I would consider bringing out a big gun (figuratively, of course) and tell her that if you hear ONE MORE negative comment about your surgery, then she won't be seeing her grandchild for three months. That should do the trick.

Before:



Progress (during)



After (now)

What hatred? What nonsense. I greatly admire ANY surgeon for sticking it out in all the schooling, and putting himself on the line to help other people. My criticisms are very specific, and ALL of my criticisms stem from actual incidents where doctors and their sales people (coordinators) turned their back on patients who developed serious complications, lied about it, and/or forced forums to remove the posts about these incidents, and/or threatened legal action if they weren't. And if I ever find out that Dr. Aceves has done that, believe me, he' ll join that list too. You seem to be one of those people that think these stories aren't real, that they aren't the stories of people just like you. You seem to be content with the ridiculous notion that people have the time and inclination to just make them up for some nefarious reason of their own that makes no sense at all. You seem to be one of those people that is completely willing to believe whatever a coordinator tells you because the price is right. A coordinator is a SALES person who's livelihood depends on getting you to believe anything they say. So I'm happy for you; you got yours, and you obviously don't care anything about the ones who didn't get theirs.

I accept your first three words...

A duh...

Kala, I was depressed to tears right after my surgery for a good two weeks. I finally got really stoned, had a couple of whiskies, made a party of one, and was OK the next morning. I don't recommend doing that, but do do something to break the spell. Best wishes.

Eight ounces is WAY too much. I suspect your reading is as inaccurate as your writing.

Eight ounces is WAY too much. I suspect your reading is as inaccurate as your writing.

Good luck there Lash. You are entering an area where even the Gods won't go.

Good luck there Lash. You are entering an area where even the Gods won't go.

I don't know who your doctor was, but he doesn't seem to have a decent post-op plan for you. My Doctor's instructions: Clear Liquids for TEN days; full liquids for TEN days; then Mushes for TEN days. No solid food at all for three or four weeks. Of course, I couldn't do that, but you pay the price when you lay something in there even just one or two bites: it HURTS. You don't need food at this stage; you need fluids, fluids, fluids; Water drinks, broths, some chewy Vitamins and some tolerable Protein powder to mix with the drinks and broth, AND two prilosecs, and many GasX pills, strips, and chewies a day. Potatoes, rice, breads; heading for trouble fast. Good Luck.