Scylla

Good to know!

Awesome! Keep up the good work! How long do you have to do the pre-op diet? When is your surgery date!

What a great idea! Way healthier (and tastier) than canned broth or boullion cubes! Not prepping myself just yet, but I should be getting a surgery date within the next few weeks and then my one month of liquid Protein diet begins. Although, I should take a cue from you and start making some homemade stocks.

I've been jumping through the required hoops since the end of August and my final hoop is today (!) -- my final visit of medically supervised weight loss. After that box is checked off, the surgeon's office will be putting in for insurance approval. It's expected quickly, so once I get a surgery date I will begin 1 month of liquid Protein diet. My surgeon is Dr. Ervin "Woody" Denham and surgery will either be at Highland Park Hospital or Evanston Hospital.

Awesome! So glad to hear your surgery and recovery was easy!

I'm so sorry for your loss and that you are missing your mom. I know she is proud of your success and that you are "doing what you're supposed to do."

Everyone's "desires" so far have resonated with me, too! Here are a couple of mine: To be able to comfortably fit in a seat in a stadium seat. My family loves to go to hockey games, but I don't usually go because I don't fit in the seats comfortably. I have been able to jam myself into them in the past, but because of the massive pillow I am sitting on all the time (my butt) I never have enough leg room in stadium seats--I have to sit with my knees pointing sideways so they are not crushed into the back of the seat in front of me. And that's saying nothing of the major bruises I get on my hips from trying to cram myself into normal size stadium seats. Being able to fit into a student desk at my kids' schools during open house and parent/teacher conferences. It is so embarrassing to have to stand at the back of the room when everyone else is sitting at a desk. Want to know what's even more embarrassing? Sitting in a student desk for said open house and having the student desk COLLAPSE. I wanted to disappear. To be able to keep up with my family. We went to Disney World in 2011 and I had the hardest time keeping up, even with them trying to walk slower than usual to wait for me--I usually just sent them ahead of me and met up with them. That's no fun.

I hope you had a great birthday celebration! Good luck with your surgery today!

Why do you think you'd be denied? What is your current BMI? As I understand it, most insurance companies approve with a BMI of 35 or a BMI of 30+ with co-morbities.

Hmmm...I haven't told my boss yet and I don't plan to until I get a surgery date (which will be in the next week or two). It hadn't occurred to me to NOT tell him I am having weight loss surgery but since I AM having my gall bladder removed and umbilical hernia repaired at the same time maybe I CAN leave that part out after all. I'm hesitant to tell him which surgery I am having (VSG) because most people don't know what it is and I am afraid of getting a really weird reaction when he finds out I am electively having 85% of my stomach removed.

If you mean the pre-surgery liquid diet, it is usually Protein shakes. My pre-surgery liquid diet consists of 4 protein shakes per day (Myoplex Light is my pre-op shake of choice) and unlimited raw veggies. You need to make sure you are getting plenty of protein before surgery so your body is ready to heal after surgery.

Wow!!! What a wonderful, inspirational video transformation! You look terrific!

Yes! I've had to because of the MSWL. I have already quit drinking carbonated beverages and have been using MyFitnessPal to track my Protein consumption. I've increased my Water consumption to 100+ ounces a day. I've lost 26 lbs. and they've really been encouraging me to exercise. Kicking caffeine is going to be far more difficult! I'm trying to cut down now but even when I was pregnant I couldn't totally give it up. I also have to start 4 weeks of a liquid diet once I get my surgery date, then nothing but Protein Shakes and raw veggies until surgery. WIll you have any pre-op diet requirement like that? Have you started to make changes to your eating habits yet? P.S. -- We used to live in the city (Portage Park area-northwest side) but moved to the suburbs in 2002.

My insurance required six months of medically supervised weight loss (which was actually 7 months because they don't count the first visit!) At first I was impatient and mad (I wanted the surgery, like, yesterday!), but I have learned a lot during the MSWL program (with the Bariatric Coordinator/nurse from my surgeon's practice) and am now actually glad that I had to wait so I could make gradual changes to my diet and ways of doing things. There is a method to their madness, even if it doesn't seem like it now. I have jumped through all of the other necessary "hoops" and my last visit is March 4, and then they will put in for insurance approval!

I work for a huge company, too, and I think it's terrible that your "big boss" would tell people that you are having surgery. Extremely unprofessional, and possibly illegal due to HIPAA laws. I wonder how his or her "big boss" would feel about that!

My favorite so far is the Syntrax nectar chocolate Truffle mixed with skim milk. It is really delicious! So delicious, in fact, that my 12 year old son has taken to fixing a glass for himself to recover after hockey practice. He's tried some of the other brands I've purchased and the only one he likes is the Syntrax Nectar Chocolate Truffle. If a 12 year old boy likes it, you know it's tasty. My least favorite so far is the pre-mixed Myoplex Light "strawberry cream" flavor. I only bought a four pack and had to force myself to choke them down. The consistency was thick like Pepto Bismol and had a weird, fake strawberry flavor and a horrible aftertaste.

Hi yvimac1! I live in the NW suburbs and am getting VSG at Highland Park Hospital with Dr. Ervin "Woody" Denham. I started my surgical journey at the end of August. My last MSWL appointment is March 4, and at that time they can put in for insurance approval. Then I get to start my 4 weeks of liquid diet and veggies. Surgery will likely be during the first week or two of April. How about you? Who is your doc and where are you having the surgery? Do you have a date yet? Hello Scylla! I'm also in Chicago and I'm getting gastric bypass. What are you getting? Who's your doctor/ hospital? I Started my journey in November 2013, today I saw my surgeon for the final consult.

I find this so strange! I have a co-worker who had her gall bladder taken out who was out for almost 3 weeks and one who had a hysterectomy who was out for 4 months! Yet people who are having 85% of their stomachs removed are going back in a couple of days. Doesn't seem fair! I am having my gall bladder taken out AND umbilical hernia repair at the same time as my sleeve. I am telling my boss I am taking 2 weeks off but may need to work from home for a week or two after that depending on how I feel.

My surgeon says to only eat three meals a day, to not snack in between and to make sure you get Protein in first. I believe the protein goal depends on your goal weight. Mine is 60 -70 grams of protein per day.

Here is my experience, re-posted from the post I made here the day of my evaluation: The psych evaluation was...interesting! First I talked with the psychiatrist for about an hour about my history, what I expect from the surgery, etc. and she sort of quizzed me about possible problems with the surgery, what I would eat after the surgery, whether my friends and family are supportive, who I have told about the surgery, etc. Then I had to take five tests. One was a 15 question quiz about anxiety, one was a 15 question quiz about depression, one was a 15 question quiz about compulsive overeating, one was a short quiz on surgical expectations and one was a 344 (!) question psychiatric test where you had to answer questions on a sale of F - False, ST - Sometimes True, MT - Mostly true, AT - Almost Always True with questions like: I feel that everyone is out to get me I hear voices inside my head telling me to do things I often wonder what it would be like to be dead I have thought about how I might commit suicide Things are not going very well in my family I don't have any supportive friends My drug use gets in the way of my daily life I take advantage of people whenever I can to get what I want I answered honestly and passed. One thing about the tests is that they ask the same question several times but worded differently, presumably trying to see if you are answering honestly/consistently. Good luck!

That jumped out at me, too! On Christina's Story (the 22 year old), her mother and her husband both told Dr. N. that they do not work and take care of Christina full time. They did not say whether her father or adult brother and sister work.

Best of luck to you! Be sure to let us know how the surgery went and report back in with your progress!

wow! That's excellent! Congratulations on your success!

Hi everyone. I joined the group a while back, but I don't remember if I ever actually posted here! I am 44 years old, live in the Chicago area, am married and have two kids (almost 12 and almost 16). My highest weight was around 400 when my son was born in 2002 (not sure if that counts because it was pregnancy related). Right now my weight is about 350. I started the process for getting WLS back in August. I'm almost finished jumping through all the hoops--I just have one more medically supervised weight loss session left at the beginning of March, and a required support group meeting (which I am attending tonight.) Once I finish those things, they can put in for insurance approval and I will get my surgery date (which will probably be the beginning of April). At that point I begin 4 weeks of a Liquid Protein diet with nothing else but raw vegetables. I am happy for the raw vegetables--I see that others have not even gotten those! Anyway, just wanted to say hello.

How exciting for you! Good luck, and best wishes for a quick and easy recovery!