hockeyfan7

Mine was done at the same time. My sleeve is a little larger than typical because of scar tissue. He only removed about 75% instead of the typically 80 to 85% so he could line up the sleeve with the esophagus where the scar tissue was. I have slower weight loss but it's still working. I don't experience a lot of hunger but I can eat more than a typical sleeve so I have to be careful with portion sizes now.

Yes, I would dig further. It sounds like BCBS put on the additional stipulations. I'd find out who said you needed to prove that and then have your PCP write a letter.

I was required to have 6 months of supervised weight loss for Anthem BCBS. My PCP just wrote a letter stating that I had tried Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, Atkins, South Beach, seen a NUT, and that she was agreeing that I had not seen success with anything. That was good enough for the insurance company.

Slow and steady wins the race. I've had really slow weight loss but with this tool I'm not slipping back into my old habits of giving up. You can do it too. Just hang in there and you will get to where you want to be. Don't give up!

I'm in the 8th month post surgery and I still get some pains once in a while on the incisions. Or itching around the biggest one. It's not too bad now though.

Mine was done in one surgery. There wasn't anything wrong with my band. They just couldn't get it filled to the right spot where I would lose weight. I was either throwing up everything or gaining when they would take out fill. My insurance would pay for the sleeve so I switched. My surgeon normally does them all in one surgery unless there is a reason when he gets in there that he can't. I didn't have any complications or problems.

My NUT has me on the Flintstone's chewables and so far, so good for me. The best calcium I have had is the Bariatric Advantage Calcium Chewy bites in chocolate. Tastes just like a chocolate truffle to me. The lemon ones are good too.

Have you tried if a bite gets stuck cutting the next bite in half the size and chewing it more like 60 times instead of 30? I know I was told to make sure everything I chewed was a bite size I'd give a 2 year old toddler and the consistency should be like applesauce when I was finished chewing.

I had mine unfilled a month before surgery. I was throwing up everything and was getting ready to take a trip to Colorado where the altitude change played havoc with my band the last time I'd gone. So the surgeon thought it would be better to unfill it so I could stop throwing up.

I have one of those too - it's been 4 months for me. It's gotten lighter but it's still there. Doesn't hurt or anything and the surgeon said it looks fine.

I had liquid Vicodan which knocks me out cold. I think everyone will react differently to pain meds though.

At day 10 I was allowed zucchini, summer squash and green Beans. At day 10 I was allowed lettuce, carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, etc. I'm 3 months out and still not supposed to have fruits at all. I have had peaches, cantaloupe, strawberries, apples and cherries in small amounts though. The NUT says they have too many carbs and not to eat them.

I took Voltaren pills for several years. I never had any problems with my insurance covering them at all. Now I have to use the gel and it doesn't work nearly as well. It stinks. I have a lot of knee pain daily. But my surgeon says no way to taking the pills again. I get pretty much no relief from the gel.

At the top of the page next to your name click the settings icon and you will find tickers in there.

My NUT told me yesterday no carbs except from non-starchy veggies. Not even fruit right now. I've been having fruit and have not been losing as much as she thinks I should be. She wants me at no more than 30 grams a day from veggies only.

I just met with my NUT yesterday. She told me 800 calories a day consisting of 3 meals with each meal having 3 oz of lean Protein with some veggies. She said if I get hungry and need a snack to have a cheese stick or a couple of slices of deli meat or a scrambled egg or some form of additional protein. She also said I could have additional veggies too. But to stay away from all starches and fruits for now. No Protein Bars or anything else like that. I promised her I'd follow that plan until we have our next appointment and see what happens. I have really bad osteoarthritis in my knees so I do an aqua aerobics class 3 days a week for now.

You can't eat what you don't buy. Don't even bring ice cream into the house and you won't be tempted or able to eat it. Stay away from sweet tea. Find something else to sweeten it with - stevia, monkfruit, whatever. You have to think of sweet tea as poison and you wouldn't drink poison.

It will get better. You will pass the liquids phase and the soft foods phase and get to real food. What are you drinking for clear liquids? Have you had Gatorade or Powerade?

I married my husband from match.com. One thing I would say is be open to different people. I actually went on 42 dates before I met my now husband. He and I were only a 70% match on match.com but we've been married for 12 years now.

What did your surgeon give you as a plan? I was not allowed to have mashed potatoes, oatmeal or anything that had carbs in it. Canned chili without Beans? Fat free refried beans with cheese?

I would do what your doctor says. I was on solid food eating steak and zucchini on day 10. I started eating scrambled egg and canned chili on day 6. Everyone's surgeon has a different plan. My pre-op diet was not liquids at all. I had solid food all the way up to 12 hours before surgery.

I just ate lunch. 3 oz of rotisserie chicken breast, 1 oz of shredded cheese, 1 cup of butter lettuce, 1/2 a tomato, 1/4 cup of cucumber slices and 1 oz of shredded carrot with 1 TBSP ranch. Breakfast this morning was 1 egg scrambled with 1 TBSP each of onion, bell pepper, tomato and 1 oz of shredded cheese. For dinner tonight I have planned 3 oz of grilled pork loin and some baked zucchini fries (zucchini cut into slices, dipped in beaten egg and rolled in Parmesan cheese and baked). Comes out to about 800 calories a day and around 80-90 grams of Protein depending on what kind of meat I eat.

I didn't have a full month post-op of liquids and mushy foods. My surgeon doesn't do that - he wants people on real solid foods as soon as possible. I was on liquids for 8 days, soft foods for 2 and then went to real food on day 10. But even now the hunger isn't there at all. I eat my meals but honestly I could care less whether I do or not. Best part is that after 3 months out from surgery I am totally free of all prescription meds. I had taken high blood pressure medication for 34 years. I gave it up on Monday.

I do a 45 minute Water aerobics class 3 days a week.

I have been drinking diet soda for 42 years since I was 10. And that was back in the days of Tab and Fresca only. I don't have anywhere near the amount I used to - I drink maybe a 1/4 of a 12 oz bottle a day. I don't drink coffee so that's my daily dose of caffeine. I used to drink 6-8 cans of diet Coke a day.