Trinn

I'm a Sept 1 person, so yes, yes, on my liquid diet. :-)

@@Wassef -- I think I'm just concerned that you have posted in multiple places encouraging people to ignore their doctor's requested diets and instead eat steak, chicken or whatever else. You know what? I certainly do get to have those things, too. I had steak at one of the best places in Washington State just last week. :-) It was my last Protein meal before going full-liquid. If you are really concerned about the emotional well-being of others, then I have to ask you, what purpose does it serve to tell people that they're *obviously* going to be miserable if they follow their doctor's directions? Why not support folks in what they're doing instead of making them feel that "of course" it's going to be "emotionally distressing?" There's another thing at issue here, too. I've read and researched enough to know that there simply are folks who cannot do a "high protein/low carb" diet successfully, because they fudge on things. The great thing about a liquid diet with specific shakes or whatever is that it takes that out of the equation. After all, people who are fabulously and perfectly able control their eating habits are far less likely to be candidates for WLS, you know? In the case of my doctor's choices, I've done enough research to know that the outcomes he gets are fantastic. He's got a colleague who doesn't require a presurgical diet. Guess what? That guy's outcomes are not as good. Given that, I'm absolutely fine doing this, and supporting folks who are having similar experiences.

To be more clear, this is how my life is going to be *after* surgery -- liquid diet, eventually moving to small Protein meals. If I can't stand it for two weeks before surgery, how am I going to find it magically less stressful afterwards? I mean, I know people mostly don't feel hunger the same way, but I see a lot of "head hunger" comments. This time, right now, this summer, has been my time to get used to not expecting to eat the same way. It's not just about shrinking my liver; it's about establishing a comfort level with the eating/drinking habits I will have after surgery. I don't find that stressful at all.

Well, I'm not finding it restrictive at all. I'm not a binge eater. I'm not feeling at all emotionally distressed by my diet. I actually find it enjoyably easy. It's also had such immediate positive benefit to me that I can't help but be happy with it. As I mentioned, I've been *by choice* having 2-3 PP drinks and 1 small protein meal a day for coming up on three months. As a result, I've put away my canes, I'm much less pain, and I have tons more energy. I'm also not feeling stressed about the operation. I'm pretty psyched. :-) So, I get that *you* might find a liquid diet stressful, but for *me*, it's actually decreased my stress this summer.

Doctoral student in Jewish Studies.

As someone else has said, that's why I didn't tell almost anyone, or post on Facebook. I just told my mother today (I'm having surgery on Sep 1) and she started saying, "Well, have you tried..." and I stopped her and said, "I'm not interested in debating this. You know me. I have researched and thought and studied, and this is what I'm doing."

Two weeks liquid -- basically Protein shakes -- with the last few days clear liquids, and a taper off in number of shakes.

No problem at all with the liquid diet. Over two months ago, I switched to 2-3 Premier Protein shakes a day, and one smallish protein meal. So, going to liquid diet has meant dropping the protein meal and increasing the shakes -- something I did last week before I had a surgery date. In another two days, I go to clear liquids -- Syntrax Nectar and broth and stuff. I am honestly much more stressed about the milk of magnesia they want me to have than the liquid diet.

Hey, so, here's my situation. All the various people have signed off, so now it's just off to insurance. I talked to the team member doing the insurance submissions, and she said her goal was to submit to the insurer Blue Shield of CA, not BCBS) by the end of business yesterday. My insurer has a 5 business day turnaround for responses on bariatric pre-auths. So, here's my question: is it okay to call the insurer and ask if it's been submitted? Can I call after the five days? I ask because we're trying to get me on the schedule before the end of August, but they can't schedule my pre-op apt and surgery until they get the approval. I'm going on vacation for part of August, so if I'm going to be on liquid diet then (my doctor will do 2 weeks) then I will need to be doing that while on vacation. I am putting all that into place (have to have my preferred Protein shakes delivered to my hotel, etc...) but I'm maybe a little impatient about the approval. :-) Do you all call your insurer a lot? Is it okay to do it?

Thanks! And in case anyone wonders, I called my insurance company almost daily for a while, and they (Blue Shield of CA) were always wonderful and friendly and helpful. They never got irritated at me. They offered to do anything they could to help me with my doctor's office. The folks I really seemed to annoy a little bit were the doctor's office staff, who kept insisting it would take longer to get a pre-auth, that it probably wouldn't go through on the first time, etc. So, call your insurance company as much as you want to!

My date is now officially Sept 1. :-) Very very happy.

I am psyched! :-)

I do every day. We have a Fitbit Aria scale that sends the measurements to the cloud so they're recorded there. If I don't want to see what it says, I don't have to look down (or can weigh without my glasses/contacts, so I can't see what it says!). But I really like having a graph going back years, and access to the data. Plus, my scale sends me cute badges when I do something good. Like yesterday, I got a notice that I'd lost 30 pounds and got a badge for that! :-) However, if it didn't make me feel good, I wouldn't do it. And sometimes when I *know* I'm going to read high -- like after a long plane trip, when I always retain a lot of Water -- I just don't weigh that day.

I would look into little insulated containers and warm it in advance. I also just wanna support you -- I just got back from our week long family vacation; I was on my pre-op diet the whole time. While it wasn't as difficult (or awesome) as Disney, I did find it difficult sometimes. My suggestions are to ask your hotel if they can help, citing "medical need" for the reason. IN my case, the hotel waived the charge for an in-room fridge because it was a medical need. I also found I needed to have something to do during meals; a book to read, or a game to play on my phone. There were times I just asked folks to eat meals without me, because sitting there does get pesky. Maybe you could schedule a spa visit or even a special treat for you (tour, or something) when they're doing a meal? Be gentle on yourself. Oh, and if you can get a letter from your doctor saying you're under medical supervision and have a special diet, it may help you get your needs met. Just remember, you say, "medical need" about this. :-)

I had acute pancreatitis as a complication of gall stones back in 2003. I ended up in the hospital for a week before they could do a laproscopic removal of my gall bladder. I found the IV meds *wonderful* in making me comfortable, and worth being in the hospital.

Hello! As of this morning, I am now a September sleever -- Sept 1 at 9:30 AM! Wooot!

I am now officially a September sleever! Sept 1! See yall! Good luck!

Called and called and last Monday just before I went on vacation, called the medical management office of the care provider and got someone who lit a fire under the folks who were handling it. It was a good call, too, because it turns out the surgical scheduler was going on vacation and wouldn't have done it for the rest of the month! So, Thursday I got approval, and today I talk to the backup surgical scheduler, and got a tentative Sept 1 date! He's going to talk to the surgeon and get back to me today!

Got my insurance approval Thursday -- now they're trying to decide between August 31 and Sept 1 for surgery. I may het be an August person!

I wouldn't add berries for the pre-op diet. The intent of the pre-op diet is to shrink your liver so you have to avoid sugar and carbs. I want to echo this. You start making smoothies with those things and you will defeat the purpose of the pre-op diet. I would suggest looking at the Syntrax nectar flavors: You can make "smoothies" out of them with ice and Water. The thing about the approved shakes is that they have a really specific carb/protein count. Almost any smoothie you make will have more carbs. So, you need to stick to the diet as they've given it to you, unfortunately.

I contacted them *again* and was told that this time, they really really were submitting, and sending my file to the surgical scheduler to start getting that going. And then of course, called my insurance company this afternoon and they said, nope, no claim filed. At this point, I can't imagine how I'll be able to to be scheduled before the semester starts, so I'm going to end up doing this in late December or January. *sigh* Which means I have to cancel schoo-related travel for January. All of this is after the NUT and surgeon told me at the end of July that there should be no problem getting on the schedule for a date before the end of August. *grumble*

I like the Premier Protein, but sometimes the chocolate feels too strong to me. If you hate vanilla flavor, I suggest at least trying PP vanilla; you can add flavorings to it! I use "Mio" Water drops or similar things -- there are dozens of flavors. The orange flavor + vanilla makes a creamsicle flavor! Right now I'm trying the Syntrax nectar flavors. I have liked the ones I've had so far, but they seem to make my tummy feel a little upset.

1. Losing friends who are opposed to WLS and don't know I'm having it. 2. Being unhappy about loose skin. 3. General anxiety about IV's, which I hate. 4. My school semester being negatively impacted/not being able to get to class/difficulty commuting for longer than I expect.

Yeah, I feel you. I qualified and was passed on by the final "requirement" of my program, and so the next step was filing the pre-auth. But the coordinator who does that has been dragging her heels. She repeatedly tells me that she's filing by the end of the day and then doesn't do it. Meanwhile, she messages me (via the online message system my provider has) and suggests that I be doing things I'm already doing -- "Well, you should start substituting a Protein shake for a meal or two a day..." Me: "Been doing that for two months. It's documented in my chart." Her: "You should be starting to do a little exercise." Me: "Been doing that for over a month. It's documented in my chart." Her: "You should look into getting your Vitamin supplies." Me: "Been taking those for over two months..." Her: "You need to lose 20-30 pounds before surgery." Me: "That's documented in my chart, too." Wednesday she messaged and told me that they were *really* filing this time, and sending it on to the surgical scheduling coordinator. My insurer just told me on the phone that nope, no pre-auth filed. *grumble*

I called my insurer again. My doctor's office still hasn't submitted the pre-auth request. I'm pretty annoyed. Tried to call them, but just got sent to leave a message. *grumble* So annoyed about this.