lorralei

@@hockeyfan7 - 30g of protein? I wasn't aware that LC had anything with that much protein. Which ones are you eating?

@@moni5855 - I'm not being mean - but concern of hair loss over better health and a longer life? I'm not a proponent of the band - it's a half measure with too many opportunities to set yourself up to fail. Whatever you go with is a life-altering change. You have to commit and mean it. Until then, you shouldn't do anything. Do you trust your physician? Big so, do as he suggests. Or, get a 2nd opinion. Sending you strength to do what is best for you..

My insurance requires the existence of 2 comorbidities if the BMI is < 40. Sleep apnea is one of the comorbidities that they consider. I had a sleep study as it was my last possible option to getting approved by insurance... BMI of 35, high cholesterol, and otherwise healthy... unless you consider depression, arthritis (knees), back pain, etc... My doctor recently added EGD to his protocol. When I had my pre-op appt for the EGD, couple of weeks ago, yet my EGD isn't until the end of August, I asked him why... Basically, it comes down to his experience in the procedure and better patient recovery.

I suspect some of the timing has to do with surgeon availability and operating room availability at the chosen facility.

Interesting question. I have a history of blood clots (DVT) and my surgeon want ms me to stop my Coumadin 3 days pre-op, he'll give me a shot of lovenox just before surgery and back on Coumadin right after surgery. Not sure how I feel about that since my surgery a few years ago (GYN) was treated much differently. As someone who's gone through Lovenox multiple times it's a piece of cake. Yes, in the fatty tissue of tummy, but the needle is small.

My BFF had her surgery in a Friday, went home Saturday, had liquid pain meds and was "at work" on Monday. Granted, she works from home, but my impression is that she was able to work without being "under the influence." I hope that is a real assessment Since I'm basing my time off from work on her recovery... Planning to work from home myself 4 days post-op. I keep telling myself the worst part of returning to work is the commute.

@@scamp662 - I'm using Dr. Ponce DeLeon in Houston. I've also heard good things about Dr. Turnquest.

Has anyone tried Celebrate? https://www.celebratevitamins.com/shop/protein/meal-replacement-protein-singles.html

unjury has a good "starter kit" for a reasonable price - $21.20 + $6.95 s/h Isopure has an unflavored that I believe is "compatible" with hot food/drink.

I would definitely request a referral to a nutritionist - not only will it be good preparation for post-surgery, it will help you lose weight in a clean manner. Packaged foods have immense amounts of sodium, aka salt. The high volume of Water is to try and offset the sodium. If you eat any carbs, they should be good carbs, and should be either Breakfast or lunch. You should eat 3 meals and 2 Snacks... key is to eat every 2-3 hours and small portions. A good app to help you track all of this is "My Fitness Pal." It has most of the common foods, even packaged, and you enter it and it calculates and tracks calories, Protein, carbs, fat, etc... You should take into consideration your activity level, then base your calorie intake on that. I lost 45 pounds eating about 1200 calories a day and drinking 66 oz of water a day. No sugar, no fried foods, no bread, no butter. Nutritionist is your best avenue to reach your goal. Also, as an aside - for really heavy people, gastric sleeve and then later the RNY is a normal protocol. The sleeve preps you for the diet changes / restrictions... also has less mal-absorption issues (nutrients, Vitamins, minerals.

If the EGD is not an insurance requirement, I would wait until I was approved. Actually, that's what I'm doing. My insurance requirements were extremely lenient - my specific criteria, BMI greater than 35 and less than 40 - I had to have 2 co-morbidities and enrollment in their "Bariatric Resource Services." I'm barely over 35 and I got a sleep study to get the sleep apnea diagnosis. I have no nutrition or psych eval requirement... by insurance. My surgeon requires the psych eval and EGD. Since the EGD is "invasive" I waited until I got my insurance approval before I scheduled the EGD. My timeline is: 8/27 - EGD --- need at least 2 weeks between that procedure and the surgery in the event I am H. pylori positive and need to take the course of antibiotics.9 9/1 - F/U for EGD / Pre-Op for surgery 9/18 - Sleeve surgery 9/27 - F/U for surgery

I'm either overly-optimistic, or totally unrealistic - I'm having my surgery on Friday, 9/18 and I plan to back at my "desk" on Tuesday, 9/22. My BFF had the surgery early December and that was what she did. I have the luxury of being able to work from home, hence my aggressive "back-to-work" timeline. I had an ovary removed four years ago and I took a week off, and then worked from home two additional weeks. I would love to hear from anyone who thinks I'm delirious in my timeline.

As of 7/18/15 - the following information is available: - Fitness-connection.com --- Free Protein samples -- No longer offers free samples (http://www.fitness-connection.com/category-s/231.htm) - Spartos.com --- bad link. I have sent emails to several of the suggestions - Bariatric Choice does offer free samples and I will be receiving them in approximately 14 business days. I will follow up with any other responses, as well as any other viable options that I may find along the way. unjury offers a relatively inexpensive starter kit - $21.20 + $6.95 S/H Starter Kit Includes: 2 packets of each flavor listed:chocolate Splendor vanilla strawberry Sorbet chicken Soup Unflavored 1 Rubbermaid Shaker 1 Basic food Thermometer*

@@Hockeyfan - flint stones doesn't seem like enough, but I guess if the NUT says it's ok it's ok. How are your labs?

I think there's a disconnect somewhere. He may need to provide 5 yrs of weight history- that is one of the more common requirements. Rather than go through the hospital I would recommend calling member services number found on the back of the card. Had I not known that I would have missed a requirement for my employer and suffered through NUT and 6 months supervised diet... Not required by the benefit plan my employer chose for us. More money out of my pocket. Of course, my MD requires a few extra things, psych eval and EGD, that my insurance doesn't. At this point I'm $500 away from my maximum out of pocket, so bring it on.

My BFF likes Isopure (chocolate and vanilla)!and uses the Isopure unflavored. I've had 8 months to watch her progress as I've been debating the decision for myself.

Got my dates - EGD on 8/27 --- dr on vacation and personal scheduling issue on my part. sleeve surgery on 9/18... Pre-op diet starts on 9/3. For all you cooks out there, I'm looking for good broth recipes. If it isn't a bouillon cube or in a can I don't know it.

Don't feel bad - most of the U.S. are Vit D and B12 deficient. I was diagnosed several years ago. I take 2500 mcg of B12 (sublingual) daily and 2000 IU of D3 daily. Now I need to add in the rest of the vitamins to be complete.

Bariatric Advantage has a pretty good selection - I'll have to go back and look at my research to see which one specifically most closely matches. Accept that Calcium will be separate, as will Iron. I have a friend who sleeved in December and she takes vitamins from GNC. my next step is to find protein shakes I can stomach... No pun intended. I'm a mid-September sleever.

@@chach123 - I've been called several times from BRS. Even though I'm in healthcare and typically abhor extra contact I don't mind this. The insurance requirements for my plan were near non-existent. My surgeon requires more. Glad no one needs the referral from my PCP since he's not supportive of my plan. I'm not overly happy with his new group of late so I may be hunting for a new PCP. Thank you Obama for forcing my single practitioner to have to go to a group to be able to continue practicing medicine. That's a while 'bother topic and way off topic for here. Hopefully I'll have dates for my next steps - EGD - early next week.

And no --- I wouldn't say you are trying to get bariatric surgery. Let the sleep disorder stand on its own.

@@Weitall - you should have been given a brief "survey" by the sleep center to aid in the effort of getting the authorization for the sleep study. Snoring, walking in your sleep, talking in your sleep, sleepy during the day, etc... You can appeal. Other than each step seeming to take a long time, I haven't had any roadblocks.

Ten business days and I am now approved. Next steps - EGD, then surgery date. More to follow.

I also have United Healthcare - As BrownEyedTxGirl indicated, every plan is different. My employer has 2 paths - BMI >40 - go for it, and BMI >= 35 +2 Co-Morbidities. We are also required to enroll in the Bariatric Resource Center (BRC.) I lucked out - no supervised diet, no 5 yr weight history, no psych eval... Although, my doctor requires the psych eval and recently adopted protocol that required EGD. Certification lady at office recommended that we wait until I am approved before having the EGD. My paperwork was submitted on Tuesday (6/24/15) - BRC nurse indicated in surgeon provided all the supporting documents when submitting the pre-cert request it should take no longer than 15 days. If missing paperwork, it could take 45 days. Crossing my fingers they got it all submitted... the Certification lady at the office is not the most organized. Being a little OCD, it's driving me batty. I've met my maximum out-of-pocket, and with work obligations, really need this done no later than late September. I'll update when I get my next relevant piece of information.