MinaT

I will have 1-1/2-2 weeks of Clear liquids and then third week through 5 or 6 it will be Full liquids then Pureed, Soft, etc. I was told expect close to 2 months before eating actual solid foods. I would imagine popcorn kernels and hulls would be extremely hard on the belly.

Sweet I really think that would be awesome if I can get a binder with the drain. Thank you so much for the information beautiful, I'll call my nurse to see if they do this!

I've usually done well on Twilight (Profanol). It feels like you've slept a full night but my doctor told me, that I talk incessantly during the entire procedure (cervical & lumbar punctures) and I'm not really asleep and I even tell jokes. The time I was really nauseated was when I ended up with a lumbar puncture leak.

Aren't you still allowed to speak with the nutritionist at your surgeon's office since you are only 5 weeks out? That really is horrible if you can't. I'm sorry you are having such a hard time.

I think a binder would be absolutely excellent, especially since I am going to have a fairly large abdominal hernia repaired, however my surgeon puts in a drain. Surgery is June 4th and I was told I would have the drain removed on June 13, which is 9 days. I bought a very tight undergarment that will help hold me in after that, but after all the abdominal surgeries I have had, a binder would definitely be awesome. I think I'm going to get stuck walking around hugging a pillow though.

Nanny good luck to you. My surgeon and his group Healthy4Life switched hospitals a little over a year ago. He was at Methodist Hospital, which his group and the hospital was Centers of Excellence. They moved to St. Mary's group of hospitals which is St. Mary's of Hobart and Community of Munster, Indiana. They had to start all over with the Centers of Excellence, though he is considered a Centers of Excellence (COE) surgeon, the hospitals have to be recertified. He has done over1400 surgeries, yet he's only at 100 at St. Mary's and I will be number 4 at Community. Since he was already COE he was told after 65 surgeries at St. Mary's, Medicare would come out and inspect the office, the OR's, recovery, ICU, and surgery wing. After two months of being put off, they were informed that Medicare (yes, a government agency) has outsourced the certification to another company which now requires 125 surgeries before they come inspect. This means I would have to wait until they finished 25 more surgeries and then wait for them to finally show up, which leads me out to most-likely September - November for the surgery. I decided instead of having my family and myself have to travel the 40 minutes to Hobart to have it at Community, which is about 5 minutes from my home (with the same group). I figure I will be one of Communities special patients one of their first 10. The Hospital, Community Hospital in Munster, Indiana has been named to America's 50 Best Hospitals 5 years in a row. I see so many self-pays, and I have BCBCIL 90% - with a 10% for me, if the surgery ends up costing $28,000.00, I have a $2,500.00 out of pocket cost and it may end up costing me out of pocket the max about 2k. Chimmera, thanks for the suggestion about the clean bedding. I usually do my bedding once a week on Friday or Saturday, I'll do it on Sunday instead and make sure my husband does it before I come back home lol!

I have had nausea due to morphine in the past and a few times after twilight (which is a different type of anesthesia) after getting a lumbar puncture and cervical injections, but never with regular anesthesia. The nurse asked me if I have ever gotten motion sickness and I have. If you have issues with motion sickness in the back seat of a car, just call your doctor's office and ask if they will or could they use the Transderm scop (Scopolamine) patch. Many surgeons use the Transderm scop (Scopolamine) Patch for regular anesthesia and when I have had it, I experienced no nausea due to surgery and complications. The head nurse in my medical group told me, in this advanced age there really should be no excuse for a patient to experience nausea due to anesthesia and it's her pet-peeve, She stated there are a plethora of anti-nausea medications that they can give you afterwards too.

Congrats you look wonderful!

I haven't had surgery yet, but I notice when I used my magic bullet it really makes my shakes quite airy & bubbly, so that may be a cause of some of the gas you are experiencing because I get it if it's too foamy. I usually have to let it settle down before I drink it. I'm planning on buying the 100% whey Protein (unflavored) to supplement Soups and even supplement my Pure Protein Frosty chocolate which has 25gm protein with the unflavored. Good luck to you.

Perhaps buy unflavored 100% Whey Protein and add it to your liquids. It's not 100% unflavored, there's still a taste to it - but it's not like a vanilla or a chocolate flavored. I'm planning on purchasing it and when I go to mushy or pureed phase, add it to cream of wheat, add it instant mashed potatoes, or even add a little extra to my protein shakes. I am extremely vain, and with Lupus my hair is a bit fine, and I'm terrified of not getting enough protein, so I'm trying to plan ahead. I have purchased the Biotin and as soon as I get the green light to take I will start taking so I don't hit the 3 month hair loss situation other's have talked about.

I have tried a few of them. After surgery my surgeon puts us on a 10-14 day clear liquid diet and in the hospital we will be given Isopure too. It's like $5.50 a glass bottle, which is suppose to be one serving but at first we won't be drinking all that much. I was actually surprised it didn't have that many Vitamins in it, but of course after surgery they suggest the multi-vitamins. I purchased the Optisource chewables and they were like $28.00 from Walgreens - which is only a month supply but the register spit out a $4.00 off next purchase coupon, which will come in handy. The Green Tea with lemon reminds me of wheat grass, which isn't too bad. The Orange I am not that fond of, but I am going to purchase MIO Orange flavored and that will help it. I tried the Grape, which most people seem to deal okay with and I think if I can find a MIO that will go with it, I will try that. It doesn't taste that great, but for the clear phase, after surgery, nothing is going to taste all that great anyhow. My suggestion is to ask your surgeon if they have any small plastic sample bottles and figure out which one you like. It's such a small amount of time you have to be on the clear phase, that I'm sure there will be ways to mask it. I know one thing, I will be looking forward to my Pure Protein 100% whey Protein Frosty Chocolates after the clear liquid phase. I heard to supplement the clear liquid phase that the unjury chicken broth was good, and I have a sample I am going to try this weekend before I start my 3 shake pre-op.

Happy Surgiversary!! Thank you for your story, it definitely gives me hope too. I love hearing stories like this!!

Thanks for sharing your story. It sounds like you are doing very well but the gas, of course, as they said walking is the best for surgical gas, and actually helps with digestive gas. It will be hard to differentiate between the two at first. My suggestions are do not use a straw and make sure you sip and not drink. You stated you are already doing Protein shakes. If you are drinking shakes by using a blender and mixing with ice, or using something like the magic bullet, it whips little air bubbles into the shake, which most definitely promote extra 'non-surgical' gas. Perhaps using a shake cup to mix your drinks will help for a few days or finding a clear Protein Drink (like Isopure) at least for the first week will help too.

Sending my thoughts and prayers. Good luck to you!

If i had my choice of RNY or Lap-band I would definitely go with RNY. I only wanted the sleeve myself and though I have BCBSIL as primary and Medicare as secondary, I have done a lot of research on this subject because of the medicare. There are places you can get the sleeve done with Medicare. First and foremost you need to make sure the bariatric program you go through is a Centers of Excellence program. I'm not talking the hospital, but the program itself. Second, you must find out if the surgeon will apply for the Randomly controlled Study. If your doctor will write and apply to be in the study as set-forth by medicare and their program/hospital is Centers of Excellence in Bariatric it is still an attainable dream. If you get into the program, perhaps your current doctor/surgeon will give all the work-up you have had done and submit everything to a doctor than can and will do this. I thought for a while I may have to switch from sleeve to another and I would definitely chose GYN over Lap-Band because of the maintenance of fills-unfills and issues with having to have the band removed, slippage and other complications down the line. I would rather take Vitamins the rest of my life. Here's the information http://www.cms.gov/m...258&fromdb=true Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy (LSG) for the treatment of obesity (BMI ≥ 35 kg/m2) is covered only in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) meeting all of the following conditions: The study must be designed to address the following outcomes: Prospectively, in Medicare subjects who have BMI ≥ 35 kg/m2 and qualify under the patient criteria specified in Medicare’s Bariatric Surgery for the Treatment of Morbid Obesity National Coverage Determination ( NCD) (Section 100.1 Medicare National Coverage Determinations (NCD) Manual), what are the frequency and severity of the following outcomes and adverse events at 30 days, 90 days, 1 year, 2 year and 3 years or longer compared to subjects with the same patient criteria as above (see section 100.1 of the NCD manual) whose obesity treatment does not include laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy: Mortality Rate Re-Operation Rate Adverse Events including stroke, myocardial infarction, leaks, infections and others Short and long term BMI Quality of Life Obesity-related comorbidities. The study must adhere to the following standards of scientific integrity and relevance to the Medicare population: The principal purpose of the research study is to test whether a particular intervention potentially improves the participants’ health outcomes. The research study is well-supported by available scientific and medical information or it is intended to clarify or establish the health outcomes of interventions already in common clinical use. The research study does not unjustifiably duplicate existing studies. The research study design is appropriate to answer the research question being asked in the study. The research study is sponsored by an organization or individual capable of executing the proposed study successfully. The research study is in compliance with all applicable Federal regulations concerning the protection of human subjects found in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) at 45 CFR Part 46. If a study is regulated by the FDA, it also must be in compliance with 21 CFR Parts 50 and 56. All aspects of the research study are conducted according to the appropriate standards of scientific integrity. The research study has a written protocol that clearly addresses, or incorporates by reference, the Medicare standards. The clinical research study is not designed to exclusively test toxicity or disease pathophysiology in healthy individuals. Trials of all medical technologies measuring therapeutic outcomes as one of the objectives meet this standard only if the disease or condition being studied is life-threatening as defined in 21 CFR § 312.81(a) and the patient has no other viable treatment options. The clinical research study is registered on the www.ClinicalTrials.gov website by the principal sponsor/investigator prior to the enrollment of the first study subject. The research study protocol specifies the method and timing of public release of all pre-specified outcomes to be measured including release of outcomes if outcomes are negative or study is terminated early. The results must be made public within 24 months of the end of data collection. If a report is planned to be published in a peer-reviewed journal, then that initial release may be an abstract that meets the requirements of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. However, a full report of the outcomes must be made public no later than 3 years after the end of data collection. The research study protocol must explicitly discuss subpopulations affected by the treatment under investigation, particularly traditionally underrepresented groups in clinical studies, how the inclusion and exclusion criteria affect enrollment of these populations, and a plan for the retention and reporting of said populations on the trial. If the inclusion and exclusion criteria are expected to have a negative effect on the recruitment or retention of underrepresented populations, the protocol must discuss why these criteria are necessary. The research study protocol explicitly discusses how the results are or are not expected to be generalizable to the Medicare population to infer whether Medicare patients may benefit from the intervention. Separate discussions in the protocol may be necessary for populations eligible for Medicare due to age, disability or Medicaid eligibility. Consistent with section 1142 of the Social Security Act, hereinafter 'The Act', the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) supports clinical research studies that CMS determines meet the above-listed standards and address the above-listed research questions. Any clinical studies under which there is coverage of LSG for the treatment of obesity (BMI ≥ 35 kg/m2) pursuant to this NCD must be approved within two years after the publication of the final decision memorandum for this policy. We chose the two year interval based on our prior experience with the timing of Coverage with Evidence Development (CED)-supported studies. If there are no approved clinical studies on this date, this NCD will expire. Clinical studies approved by the deadline shall continue to be subject to the terms of this NCD for no longer than five years to allow for completion of the study. The NCD can be reconsidered after that date. Recognizing that this proposal regarding the appropriate sunset interval for this coverage decision should be subject to public review and comment, CMS welcomes comments or suggestions on the appropriate sunset time for CED-supported studies for laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy. .

Sending prayers to you and to your family. I know my family could definitely use them as well. Only a handful of people in my family know, my parents, my husband and son and one good friend in Canada. My brother's their wives, cousins and even my closest friends do not know. One of my biggest supporters is my 73 year old father, who is now starting to have cold feet. He told me yesterday, I wish it was over with already before I change my mind, I'm like Dad, I'm the one having it lol. So I told him all the reasons for me to have surgery and he said he's going to be a nervous wreck until it's done, which makes it more nerve wracking on me. I'm going to write my list of reasons WHY I am having the surgery and what I have to look forward to in the future, to help get me and my family get through the next 17 days.

I love this! You are only one month out and it gives me such hope! As time approaches and I'm getting colder feet, I just have to think about 4th of July, I will be where you are now, one month out from surgery and pounding the pavement with such hope for the future.

My doctor's office gave me the hibiclens, it's an antibacterial soap, I am sure you will be fine just using a general antibacterial soap before going to the hospital. I was surprised about the shower the night before and the morning of and then when we get tot he hospital she said they will again wash my body... I am a bit OCD and am very clean, it could give a girl a complex lol. Truthfuly, the medical group I'm going through called Healthy4life are very strict on everything they do. My surgeon is extremely strict. Admittedly it's annoying in some respects especially when I see some people don't have to do 6 months of pre-op diet and be expected to lose, they don't have to sit through seminars, groups, psychological testing, meeting with the psychologist, sitting through 2 - two hour classes of pre-op, all the testing I have had to go through. We have 14 days strict 3 shakes a day, only allowed sugar-free Jello & popsicles, Water, crystal light, decaff tea and water. We have two weeks of Clear liquids after surgery and about 4 weeks of full liquids afterwards. They have great results though, with less complications and though I quit the first time there after the first month, I made it through to this point and I pray that this seven months of hard work before surgery will set me up for good results afterwards. Closer I get to surgery the colder my feet are getting though, it almost seems like if I decided to have surgery 7 months ago and had within a month, it would be less stress, but maybe this has made me stronger.

Congrats Lisa, I haven't heard of that catheter before Lisa, but I hope it works great. I also am having hernia surgery with a mesh put in. My pre-op nurse told me that I will be receiving a patch behind the ear which is suppose to help with nausea. She was very adamant about there NEVER being a reason for nausea, she said there are plenty of medications for nausea and that she made sure in her training of the nurses that nausea is unacceptable. Good luck to you.

I have to spend the night before I go to bed in the shower using hibiclens and the next morning before I go to the hospital I have to wash with hibiclens, I was told it will really dry out my skin. I was told no earrings, no nail polish on my nails & toes, no deodorant, no lotions, no hair products, no makeup. This all makes absolutely perfect sense to me. I see that others are allowed to have polish and to be honest, isn't the safest bet the best bet when you are about to have any sort of major surgery.

Beer, champagne, Hard Apple Cider Beer.

You are so inspiring and I loved your video, and I love your blog. So very happy for you and your every day successes. Great job and you will reach your goal!

Call the insurance company. I did, three times. First time they said it wasn't in their system yet. I called two days later, they just received it, I waited two more days and called back and it was approved. Why wait for the mail, call them, the number should be on the back of your card.

Artificial sweeteners cause me to swell up and give me serious migraines. I have to be very careful not to have too many things with them. I can handle Truvia with no problem though. I also have edema issues and burning burning and itching pain in my hands, arms, legs and feet. I'm so sorry you are going through this.

Great News for me, I received a call, I tested negative for H-Pylori. No nasty horribly harsh double antibiotics for 14 days during the 14 day shakes, makes me very grateful and happy.