kczar

My understanding is that it irritates the stomach.

Congratulations!

Haves you tried logging your meals? I have an app on my phone and trakc everything. It really opened my eyes to not just my calories but how much fat and carbs were in my diet. I also think its important to look at the serving sizes. I found I was eating two to three (sometimes four!) servings of Pasta or potatoes. It didn't matter if I was under my calorie allowance, I still overate on empty food. You can do this! Substituting Protein drinks for two or three meals a day for a bit might give you the kick start you need. Good luck.

Good luck and prayers to all of you having surgery tomorrow. I'm excited for you and can't wait to join you.

Hey there, HPA! I'm doing the six month diet as well. In some ways, I think its better that way. You get time to start making small changes to prepare for your new life. Take advantage of it! Ask a bunch of questions, go through all the great threads here, start working out to build up a bit of muscle beforehand. The time will fly, I promise! Take care and let us know if you have questions along the way.

Hang in there, neev, you're almost there! The diet is designed to shrink your liver and improve the visualization for your surgeon. It also minimizes the chances of him/her nicking the liver. So you really need to follow the guidelines as closely as possible.

PB2 is a powdered peanut butter that has most of the fat removed. Their website is http://bellplantation.com/. I know you can also buy it on Amazon and in specialty stores. There's one in my area so I'm going to pick some up this weekend to try. Can't wait for the chocolate peanut butter!

I've seen this mentioned a few times on this board. It bothers me that some doctors do this. When I visit my doctor, I don't want to see a display of products for sale. For course, they need to make money just like everyone else, but hawking supplements and shakes just seems wrong. Hopefully, you can just buy your supplements and Protein from other (cheaper) sources. Otherwise, you may be better off picking another surgeon, as mentioned by Isabel'sGma.

I'm kind of going through the same thing. I have to do a six month monitored diet. Another requirement is that I have to have at least a 40 BMI for at least a six month period in the last year since I don't have two co-morbidities. If I lose 26 pounds, I'll fall below that. So my plan is to continue to work on my diet and exercise program but only try to lose another 15 pounds or so before surgery. Unfortunately, it's a game we have to play. Good luck!

I ran into the same issue. I have insurance but it has a $500 deductible. One month's worth of the Nexium would be $200! Call your surgeon and see if he will prescribe you a different medicine. Consumer Reports had an article about how much Nexium is prescribed because of incentives from the drug company to doctors. There are a lot of other drugs (prescription and OOC) that work just as well if not better. Hopefully, your doctor will agree. Good luck!

Congratulations to all of you guys. Your stories help those of us still on the path to a new life. @Jeni, so happy your blood pressure and cholesterol have resolved themselves. Keep it up!

I did a quick internet search because I love lurking here and picking up tips, and found that you can order the Premier products directly from their website. Good luck, and full steam ahead!

Because of the gaps in insurance, I saw one doctor two years ago and my PCP in January. They may take that but I'm not sure. I'll check with my surgeon's office and insurance to be sure.

I double checked the list of requirements from my insurance yesterday, and it specifically states that I need documentation of a BMI 40 or more for at least a six month period. That's because I only have one co-morbidity. Oh well, I'm going to continue working on my eating habits and working out, but I'm not going to push myself to lose much weight.

So sorry about that, but I would hope your surgeon is looking out for your best interests. I'm kind of in the same but (but with a much higher BMI). My insurance requires documentation that my BMI is at least 40 over a six month period. I've been working with the nutritionist and really wanted to try and lost a good bit of weight before surgery. Then I realized that if I lose more than 22 pounds I would be under the requirement and they wouldn't cover it. So, I'm going to continue to work on my eating and drinking habits in preparation for my post op life, but I'm definitely not going to try and lose much weight. It's sad that this is part of the game that you must play in order to get the surgery. Best of luck to you and I hope you keep posting here anyway.

Congratulations on getting your date! I'll be interested in hearing other people's input about this. I have to do the six month mambo too, so I feel your pain.

Woohoo! Congratulations. Keep us posted and good luck on the pre-op diet.

Thanks for the input, I'll double check when I go to my NUT appointment tomorrow. Webchickadee, it really doesn't make any sense for them to not cover it. It's like policies that don't cover birth control, but will provide prenatal and child coverage. Isn't that a tad more expensive? I've been without insurance for ten years (work for a small startup company) and when I had to go to the emergency room with a gallbladder attack last September, I started checking into insurance in earnest. My employer was willing to bump my salary to cover the cost of individual insurance but I couldn't get any! Why? Because of my weight. I had no pre-existing health conditions other than my gallbladder but no one would touch me. Fortunately, there is a government funded program for people like me. I was able to get on starting in January and get my gallbladder removed. That meets my OOP maximum so this is my medical year! No matter what anyone says about "Obama Care", if it wasn't for healthcare reform, I would still be without insurance and probably saddled with a 20-30k bill for emergency gallbladder surgery. Good luck with your surgery and keep us posted! I've read lots of good things about Dr. Kelly and surgery in Mexico in general.

I've never used the chat function, but I just hit the Chat button in the header and it loaded. It does say that it uses Flash so if you're on a IPhone or something it may not work. Good luck!

Congratulations on your date!

Congratulations, April!

Congratulations and happy surgiversary! Keep it up.

Hope you feel better soon and can get started on your new life!

Way to go! I'm glad you're doing so well. Take it easy and keep us posted.

Good luck! It's a bunch of hoops you have to jump through but they all lead to a successful surgery.