AZ Gary

Congrats also. I also just passed 300 this week. Finding some clothes in the closet that I haven't been able to wear in over a year.

I paid the full amount at the pre-op consult. That was two weeks before surgery.

I think you pay a lot more and I am thinking you would go through many months os supervised diets before they would approve it. But I may be wrong.

Thanks I didn't even realize it was that much already, I was really happy at passing the lower end of 300 for the last time.

I was delayed for a week but finally made it to the party. Was surprised didn't sleep until my regular bedtime and walking around has not been difficult. This morning just a dull pain. Looking forward the the journey ahead of me.

Not sure if anyone else has posted this in the past. WLS was one of those items that my insurance would not pay regardless of your health condition. But they will pay several hundreds a month in medications to treat the side effects of being overweight. I have a 401K at work that I had been paying into and inquired if it was possible to withdraw funds from it for WLS. Their answer was yes, but any distribution would have a major penalty. But they suggested that I do a loan against my 401K. The advantage is that the interest rate is very low, 4.0%, and that any interest you pay on the loan goes back into your own account. There is the risk of losing your job and the loan gets treated as a withdrawal. But I was able to apply and actually have the funds in my hands within a week. I would have even considered it with insurance since it could cut out the 6-12 month approval timeline for medically supervised diets, studies etc. It may not be an option for everyone, but for some it may be worth looking into. I don't know if an IRA works the same way.

I bought Alex's book for the Kindle. I went through most of it in the pre-op stage. Now my wife is reading it to better understand all the changes I am going through and to better support me. I would also recommend it.

Lee You should change your profile name to Seymour. I am guessing your comment was a reference to 'Little Shop of Horrors.'

Right before surgery the loss slowed down and right afterwards it went up 4 pounds. I was starting to think they threw in a few pounds of lead ballast for laughs but a few days ago it started dropping off again. I know it has been mentioned before on here, but are you using anything to track your calories or measure your servings? I got both a food scale and restarted using My Fitness Pal app for my various devices to track what I was doing. I treat it as almost a game in the tracking which keeps it fun for me. I am guessing you are in Arizona from your profile name. Who did you use for your banding?

Welcome.... How you doing since you are two plus weeks post banding?

Muscle Milk Lite chocolate seems to be the best one for me. Tastes OK even at room temperature. The Costco stores in the Phoenix area carry it in 24 bottle cases.

Thanks Guy and congrats on your success so far. Have dropped all the pain meds, never had to use the nausea items and down to 3 doses of a really foul tasting antibiotic.

I agree the pillows help when laying on your side. I have to use a CPAP machine for the first week so I was sort of forced to lay on my back. (But I found a way)

I went out for a small shopping trip with my wife on day 2. Mainly pushing the grocery cart. Seems like it helped me to ease some of the gas issues. Going to venture back to work on day 4.

I've seen a lot of comments of people feeling hungry post surgery. When does this typically kick in for most of you? I am day 3 post and haven't felt it yet. I know from the pre-op it was day 2-4 that was bad but I passed over it. Who knows, maybe having the 3 week pre-op may make it easier. The only hard thing I have had to deal with so far was some medications. 4 pills are pretty large and can only be split once and not crushed. So that gives me 8 pieces to swallow with some rough edges. I plan to talk with my PCP to see if there are any alternatives for Slo-Niacin.

Applesauce is on the permitted foods, (No more than 2) for day 3. This is from True Results out of Scottsdale. But I would follow what your provider recommends since they will be the ones supporting you.

Has anyone ever seen any studies on the success rate of self pay over insurance covered procedures? In my personal case comparing it to my education pursuits, when someone else was paying for it, I didn't give it 100%, but when it was coming out of my wallet, that was totally different and I aced all the classes.

I'm day two post op. Pain is tolerable without meds except for the one I take at night. The gas is starting to move around. Only real tender spot is the port area. Actually looking forward to jello or a shake this evening.

Home already. 4 hours from leaving house to being back home. Kitten returns home later today. All is good so far.

As I mentioned last week I was left standing at the altar by my anesthetist who wanted extra tests at the last minute. Well I made it through that and another 6 days of shakes and have my surgery set for later this afternoon. But just to add some more excitement to the conclusion of this saga, last night at 9pm one of our cats either ate or was stung by something when resulted in a trip to the animal emergency hospital. Got home at midnight and had a few calls saying it was iffy at best for a good outcome. But as of 7am this morning she looks like she turned the corner and will make it. And to top it off, Phoenix is hitting 118 this weekend. Guess my post op exercise will be indoors. Enough with the drama, let’s roll the closing credits on the pre-op part of this trilogy. Back on in a few days or whenever my wife allows me near the keyboard. Gary

Too bad we don’t have a card for a free shake at the end of the pre-op diet, then we could all be like Elaine from the Seinfeld Festivus episode. I'm sure most of us feel that way. ELAINE: Oh, I can't believe it! I've lost my "Atomic Sub" card!.. Oh no! I bet I wrote that fake number on the back of it when I gave it to denim vest! JERRY: So? ELAINE: I've eaten 23 bad subs, I just need 1 more! It's like a long, bad movie, but you want to see the end of it! JERRY: No, you walk out. ELAINE: Alright, then, it's like a boring book, but you gotta finish it. JERRY: No, you wait for the movie! ELAINE: (Irritated, and through clinched teeth) I want that free sub.

I have to give kudos to the True Results support staff for stepping up and taking charge on issues that occur outside of the norm. In my case and this one it seems like they went the extra mile to resolve things.

True Results was able to expedite the sleep study for me and I am rescheduled for this Thursday. So only a week slide in the schedule. Starting the third week of the shakes, I am starting to think they don't really taste that bad.

Supposed to be banded this morning and late yesterday afternoon the office called and said the anesthetist wanted to do another sleep study. Granted mine was over 10 years old, but was primarily used to get insurance to cover a uvuloplasty procedure. Never had to use a CPAP. Seems like they could have thought of this a lot sooner before I was at the end of the two weeks of pre-op diets. So unless they can FedEx Saturday a test machine for a two day study and get the results back, I am looking at three weeks before a possible date because of the July 4th Holiday. I have already self paid the $10K cost.

I was called the night before surgery that they wanted additional tests ,but they were able to expedite things and was able to be rescheduled for this Thursday. So three weeks of protein shakes. I feel your pain, but hang in there.