JennyBeth

Did anyone suffer with really bad diarrhea with the liquid diet? Yesterday was my 1st day on it and today my stomach is really sick! How am I going to last 6 more days when I can't even leave the bathroom?!

I agree that if you really want this then FIGHT! You've already gone thru so much! Just muster up enough energy and appeal it! I have heard a lot of insurance companies (United Healthcare for one) automatically denies everyone on the first attempt. (I don't have United Healthcare myself, but the psychologist doing my pysch eval said she's seen patients with that insurance have a harder time.) A lot of the insurance companies are hoping you'll give up, but unless you were denied because WLS is not a covered benefit under your plan then you owe it to yourself to appeal! Good luck to you! I can only imagine how frustrated you are!

My BMI is 37.8 and the only co-morbitities were reflux and high cholesterol and I was approved 1.5 days after it was submitted to insurance. I have BCBS of Illinois, but I wasn't even required to do a sleep study. You should be fine with or without the sleep apnea.

I do the Isopure ready to drink and they are aspartame free!

It's my fault for not reading the label, but when something says "Contains NO MILK" then I tend to think it doesn't contain milk! Lesson learned!

So it did help you?

I think I figured out the issue. I am lactose intolerant and I normally take the Isopure protein, but I was struggling with hunger yesterday so I was looking for something with more "substance" and I bought some Muscle Milk which clearly states "Contains NO MILK" in big bold letters on the bottle. I drank one before bad last night blended with some ice. Today I was looking at the ingredients and it has milk protein in it and other ingredients derived from milk!! Why would a product that advertises "Contains NO MILK" actually have milk in it?! I should have read the label, but when something is advertised as not containing milk I tend to believe it! I think that with the combination of my body being a little in shock has caused horrendous diarrhea! The only thing I can compare it to is when I drank the magnesium citrate the day before I had my colonoscopy done-and of course I'm at work!!!!

My stats are 36 years old. 5' 3.5" and 215 pounds and BMI of 38. Can't wait for 3-20 to come! After all is said and done I'm thinking of getting a small tattoo that says 3-20 to symbolize the day I reclaimed my life!! Good luck to all my fellow sleevers! We're gonna ROCK 3-20!!!

I'm March 20th also! Jennifer Umbdenstock-Fredrick is my name!

I am not really a food funeral type of person (although honestly I did have 2 Cadbury eggs today because they are my favorite Easter candy!) but we will go out for a nice dinner tomorrow night because it will be a while before I go out to eat. I'm anxious to get the liquid/high protein diet started because that just means I'm that much closer to being sleeved! (I have one week of liquid/high protein diet and I'll be sleeved on 3-20!

Upper GI is different than the EGD. An upper GI is an x-ray and you are not sedated for it. Which one are you having? My surgeon required the EGD. An upper GI I have had done in the past and it is an x-ray taken after you drink a barium solution. Neither are fun, but pretty painless.

Good luck to you! My surgery is march 20th and it's been a long process. Your surgery date will be here before you know it!

I was wondering the same thing! I don't have acrylic nails, but my nails are always polished. I hate not having them polished because they are slightly dis-colored due to the fact they are ALWAYS polished!

The sleeve is not something that is added to your body it is called that due to the new shape of your stomach. There are titanium staples used down the side of your stomach so I would talk to your surgeon about that. Have you had any other surgery where sutures or staples have been used? The staples used are different than sutures, but I'm not sure how they would see whether or not your body would tolerate them. Talk to your surgeon.

For those of you that are post-op how do you prefer to journal your food intake? Is there an app you really like (I have an iphone) or do you prefer the old fashioned way (pen/paper)? I prefer to make lists on pen and paper, but I want a system that is convenient so I make sure to record everything which might be easier with an app since I always have my phone with me.

I think I might be the only fat person that HATES food. I hate food and the way it makes me feel. I hate my relationship with food. I am not one of those who wake up and can't wait for breakfast. I can often go until 2 in the afternoon before I even get hungry. My problem is I suffer from insomnia and am a night-eater. During the night is when I consume the bulk of my calories/poor food choices. I can't wait to get my sleeve. Anyone else feel this way?

My surgeon does the same thing. You have an ultrasound to make sure your gallbladder looks good then you take medication for 6 months to prevent gall stones. My surgeon said they don't remove a healthy gallbladder because it could be an unnecessary surgery and many don't need their's removed.

I have heard the exact same thing and it bothers me, too! My mom, who claims to be supportive says this a lot. Then she'll say "just don't lose too much weight or you'll look sickly". Honestly I think it makes her feel better that I'm fat! Every time she says something about me not being "that" fat I just tell her that both my doctors and I disagree or I ask her if I should just wait until I am "that" fat. I also received the same response from a co-worker that I told which is why I haven't told anyone else at work-it's my business and no one else's. You shouldn't second guess yourself-you're doing this to get healthy and lose your extra weight!

Mine was submitted on Friday and was approved on Monday. Surgery on 3-20.

They start with your initial weight. You just need to prove you can follow a diet plan and you are dedicated.

I have BCBS of Illinois and did not have to do any supervised diet beforehand and from my 1st appt. (11-29) until when I have surgery (3-20) will be almost 4 months! It can take a while to schedule certain appt. and some things take more than 1 appt. to complete. (I had to have 2 appt. for psych evaluation and I was required by the surgeon to see the nutritionist twice prior to surgery.) I received approval yesterday and was scheduled for 3-20 because the surgeon is almost completely booked for the month of march. Even though we try our best to get the process completed quickly unfortunately there are many variables out of our control! Be patient!

It depends on how many appointments you have to do to complete the requirement. My psych evaluation was 2 appointments and I have to see the nutritionist twice before surgery. Everything takes forever it seems, but just think of each appt. getting you closer to your sleeve!

I am officially approved! My date is March 20th!

I'm March 20th!!!

I haven't started yet, but I just had an appt. with the bariatrician yesterday and she strongly suggested starting to exercise as soon as possible and said she definitely recommends it for surgical success. I hope to be sleeved on 3-20 and she said even 2-3 times per week for just 20 minutes would be good. I plan on getting started next week to incorporate it into my daily routine.