Maggie Journey

This 2 week liquid diet sure is a roller-coaster ride. Some days I feel like an angry, exhausted badger. Other days I've got it together and can plow through the day. Some nights I sleep well. Other nights pretty poorly. Let's talk about Poop: My doc asked me yesterday at my pre-op appointment if I was having trouble with diarrhea or constipation. I told him I hadn't pooped more than a tootsie roll in 4 days. I've been taking Benefiber every day, nothing. He recommended MiraLax. Work has been super-stressful, trying to prepare to be out for 2 weeks. There is a lot going on where I work and I'm sort of the only person who does a lot of the things I do. I've been working late every night this week catching up and preparing. Only one day left to train co-workers. STRESS. Something crazy happened a few days ago. I was backing out of a parking space at a grocery store and this guy in a truck coming from the opposite direction turned into me and tore my bumper from one end to the other. Constant insurance tasks, phone calls, police reports, etc. etc. etc. STRESS. Throughout this process over the past 7 months or so I've had my moments of "should I really do this? alter my internal organs for life? not eat a full restaurant sized portion ever again in one sitting?", probably the questions we all ask ourselves, or worry about. Now, I'm peaceful about it. I know that this is exactly what I need to do. My health is going to turn around dramatically. I'm going to get off of all or nearly all of my meds. I'm literally reversing diseases! I feel good and confident about this surgery, not stressed or afraid. My life is about to be amazing. Bring it! Three more days. THREE!! Then one wake-up after that, and my life changes. <3

Hey K! I just posted a very lengthy answer in my other thread, http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/367484-shocking-news-im-pre-certified-but-not-approved-for-insurance/page-3 Very interesting turn of events!

Premiere Protein Shakes for me. They are 30g protein each, so it's easy to get the daily protein quota.

I'm pretty scared/anxious. I've been taking a lorazepam to go to bed each night for the past 2 nights. Things I'm scared about include: the surgery itself; the recovery and potential complications, and hair loss (I have thin, fine hair to begin with and really can't afford to lose any). My surgeon doesn't require a liquid diet until 24 hours before so I a bit nervous about what Sunday is going to be like. I'm also scared about the social repercussions as I have a lot of friends that I haven't told. With all that said, I'm as ready as I'll ever be. I thought about this decision for a year before I made it and slowly started the process. And I have such bad osteoarthritis and plantar fasciitis with a lot of pain and mobility impairment (esp. now that I can't take NSAIDS before surgery or afterward for awhile). I'm so hopeful that once I lose a significant amount of weight I might actually be pain-free or at least have greatly reduced pain and greatly improved mobility. I'm also looking forward to smaller size clothes options, let's be real here. But health is my main motivator. I'm in my early-mid 40s and I without taking this step, I can't imagine what the next half of my life (one can only hope) would look like. So, I'm as ready as I'll ever be! @@harlem_femme, I love all of your reasons for losing weight! I'm about 10 years older than you - 57 next month. It's more than TIME for a healthy life! It's going to be our time now.

@@chele367, I'm really sorry that a family member and this guy did that. Very sad. Just keep your head up and be proud of you, and all you are accomplishing for yourself. You'll have the last laugh down the road as you continue to become the best you!

The appointment with the doctor's office yesterday was phenomenal in some ways. This might get long, and I hope it's not too confusing! Backing up: It was about a week ago when someone at BCBS first called my coordinator saying I wasn't covered for VSG. I was sure it was some error or someone reading the wrong file or something. Right away, I suggested to my staff that IF that is true (and I didn't believe it then), we could have me do the hernia repair and then just add-on the surgeon fee for the VSG and do all at once. Makes total sense, and I can see you all understand this concept here! So, I called BCBS myself to get it straightened out and they were still telling me it's all fine, medically necessary, you're covered, etc (that person didn't look deeper into the employer benefits exclusion at that time, and I wasn't aware of it). Even though I thought we were now good to go and the coordinator believed it too, since that time my surgeon was alerted to all of this by the staff, and started looking into the ability to do this "VSG-piggyback-on-the-Hernia" plan for me. Fast forward to yesterday: I started my appointment with the coordinator and shared all the details about how I'd just learned that I'm now definitely NOT covered for VSG due to employer's exclusion buried deep within their policy somewhere. She explained that Doc has been working on the contingency plan all week long with the hospital. Next, went into examination room for weigh, go over meds, all that stuff with nurse. Next, the doctor and most of his staff met me in the hall and then led me into his office to talk, just the two of us. He explained that at our hospital, this piggyback-VSG had never been done, though he'd tried many times before and the hospital bigwigs would not budge. In my case, he was somehow able to get through to the top brass there to get it accepted as a new procedure. This may in part be because I've been through this long process for months, met every requirement, medical necessity with several co-morbidities, and we were now just DAYS away from my scheduled surgery date. I think that the urgency helped. During our meeting in his office, my PA interrupted to say so-and-so was on the phone, did he want to take it now or call later? He kind of darted out of the office and left me there for at least 15 minutes (I figured it was some emergency). When he came back, he said that was actually about my case; they were literally still getting finance dept people at the hospital on board with the piggyback-VSG while I was there! Because I'm their guinea pig for this, they couldn't give me a $ figure so I couldn't even comprehend if I could afford what they were trying to do. Finally, they got a figure for the VSG portion. In order to get this squared away immediately so that I could know that I'm actually getting surgery on Monday, I paid 50% of that figure with a credit card right there. If I had time, I might have looked into the Care Credit financing or something...but no time. My entire staff was so kind and so wonderfully human about this whole thing. I felt like they genuinely cared about me, they realize how hard I've worked and how much I want and need this. We were all celebrating after we got the breakthrough with the hospital that will now allow a self-pay VSG tied together with covered hernia repair, for the first time ever. My Doc said that my case will enable more patients who really need this to be able to get it done at our hospital in the future. I actually feel really proud and excited about this.

@@beggingtobehealthy, thanks for the info. In my case, even knowing it was medical necessity, they could not cover me because the "no bariatric surgery" exclusion was built into my employer's benefits policy.

On the bright side, at the lab appointment I'm down another 3 lbs, but BEST of all, my blood pressure was a perfect 120/70. That makes me incredibly happy. I'm still on 2 kinds of BP meds for now, but that's the best BP reading I've seen in a long time.

After more phone calls this morning, it turns out that I am not covered for bariatric by my employer-sponsored insurance plan. I can't believe I'm just learning this only 5 days before surgery. My BCBS of GA (Anthem) insurance covers it, approved it verbally and in writing, and my medical necessities/co-morbidities were proven with 6+ months of requirements I have fulfilled. It's only my employer that screwed me. It's somewhere in the fine print of the benefits. At my first informational meeting last fall with the surgeon, I filled out the paperwork with all my insurance info. They called me the very next day, happy to let me know that my insurance covers bariatric and we could get started on the process. I never felt a reason to question my approval or dig deeper. My company did change things at the first of the year. They are notorious for changing it constantly. I should have known to not trust them. I'm the kind of Type A person who us usually tedious to a fault about these things and follows up on everything; I rarely ever get caught with my pants down. This time, my pants are down around my ankles. It's midday and I just got done with my pre-op labs. I'm seeing my doc for the pre-op appointment in less than one hour. That's when I'll (hopefully) find out how much the VSG portion of the surgery will cost me, whether they are providing the financing arrangement, etc. I really, really don't want to take on more debt, but I truly do have medical necessity and more than anything else, I want quality of life and health. Thanks for listening, Maggie

Not to my knowledge. If it did have an exclusion, wouldn't that have come up from the beginning?

@@scampbell33, did your insurance fail you, or did you fight it and win? What happened? Thanks for the encouragement.

@@jackbh, thank you so much for your post. I don't know how you do it, all of the food and celebrations you've been having to endure. It's been so hard to smell and see food. I just want to sniff everything and salivate like a dog. Your positive outlook is very uplifting for me. You are right, every choice is either life-giving or life-taking.

@@scampbell33, this diet is just hell on Earth, isn't it? Water: I drink a lot of it anyway, but I do have to work at it to get this much. I believe that the more I drink, the less hideous my fasting side effects are. I seem to do better in general with more Water. I use a tracker to keep up with how much I've had (personally I use Fitbit but there are many other free apps to track food & water). Are you tracking? Vitamins: My doctor just wants me on a good multi right now + D and magnesium. I normally have many more Vitamins to take every day than I do now pre-op, so that part isn't impacting me. I also have quite a few prescription drugs. I use a big pill sorter that has AM, PM and 7 days of the week compartments. I just sort them all into that once a week and done. My biggest struggles are the exhaustion and the deprivation. My brain is not firing on all cylinders at work or in general. I start out okay in the morning, but by the afternoon I'm just whipped, in every way. Ugh. I'm just trying to keep my eye on the prize. Hang in there!

Happy Mother's Day to all of our ladies, and welcome to all the new group members! I'm on Day #6 of the all-liquid 2-week diet and it's been hard. I haven't been feeling well. On Day #4, I got a terrible headache and nausea. It was better by that evening. I've become very constipated and have had to really hit the Benefiber, Miralax and Smooth Move tea. I know there's not much in me right now compared to eating real food, but I could tell I needed it because I was getting bloated and had that miserable gut feeling. Mostly, I've been very tired. My energy levels are way off. I am making sure to do this diet the best I can. I'm logging everything and making sure I'm hitting my Protein targets and Water. 80g each, or more water if I can. How is everyone else feeling on the liquid diet? Good news: I just broke into One-derland as of today. That makes me very happy! I plan to stay in the Ones for the rest of my life. I hope you all are having a great day.

@@Christinamo7 can you please elaborate about the 2 weeks post op and "head games"? I want to prepare. Thanks!

@@kmorri, YAAAAAY! I'll bet you feel a lot better now!

@@vongphillips, I understand. The taste with the artificial sweeteners, etc - yuck. I have struggled to even get 3 of them down, also. I stopped by my surgeon's office to drop off FMLA papers today and while I was there I got weighed. I'm down 3 pounds! The bright side of fasting, I guess.

I'm pre-op, scheduled for surgery on 5/16, starting 2 week liquid diet tomorrow - Monday. I'm excited! I'm a very private person and due to the people and culture around me, especially at work, I'm not telling that I'm having sleeve surgery. Or at least, I don't want to tell them. I'm going to have to say something about being out on leave for some time, but I don't want the judgement, critiques, comments, attention. If you are private about your surgery... What do you tell your supervisor and co-workers? Do you just take your vacation time and stay quiet? How do you manage doing your liquids-only diet for 2 weeks, avoiding eating lunch out, etc? Do you just make excuses? If so, what? When you get back after a week or two (or longer) - what's your story? Have you been able to successfully keep your privacy about your surgery? Thanks!

Update! HR approved my FMLA leave today and brought me the paperwork. 4 pages are for the doctor's office to fill out and sign. I put post-it notes on various parts and wrote notes like, "please don't write bariatrics here", etc. The nurse who took it added some post-it notes of her own about discretion. It's mostly fill-in-the-blanks. I'm sure they've been asked for discretion by many other patients. After it's done, they'll call me to let me know it's ready to pick up. I'm glad to pick it up and read it before turning it in myself, rather than have them fax it to the office. Bonus news: I'm down 3 pounds! I'm in the middle of Day #3 of the 2-week liquid fast. It's hard, but not as totally awful as I thought it was going to be (yet). I hope everyone is having a great day!

@@catalina_uk, I thought I'd need to use my earned PTO time, but now it may be a combination of sick days and PTO days (not sure).

Hi Jack, welcome! We have this new group/thread for people having their surgery close to 5/16-5/17. Most of us have recently started the pre-op diet. Come check us out! Let's all do this together. http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/366513-may-16th-surgery-buddieslets-do-this-together/

I'm doing the 100% liquid diet for 2 weeks. I add a little Benefiber powder to my morning shake. It's the kind that can be stirred into any liquid, even Water, and it's just clear & invisible. It keeps things moving at the right pace. When I really feel backed up and need to make something happen, I drink a cup of Smooth Move tea by Traditional Medicinals. Lots of stores carry this tea (my Kroger has it), and you can find it in health food stores, too.

You guys rock! Love your replies. Update: I'd already mentioned it, but just to clarify, I AM having hiatal hernia repair with my surgery. The liquid diet and recovery time happens to be the same even if you're having only hernia repair, so it all fits in. Yesterday, I told the woman in my department who works right next to me. She already knows well my ongoing stomach issues, severe GERD, etc. She is not questioning further and I know that she understands about that part. Next, I emailed my boss, explained the same thing about hernia, told him how long I expected to be out. Today, I went to the HR person who does the FMLA paperwork. I learned that they will "approve" my leave, which irritates me because I'm using my own earned personal PTO time. But, in order to secure that I have a job to come back to after leave, I HAVE to go through the FMLA process. Also, they are going to want documentation from the surgeon. I realize now that there is some risk of them learning some private details through this process, even though legally (HIPPA) they are not supposed to know my medical details unless I volunteer it. However, this group is known to be nosy & gossipy. And, I have to work on the same floor where they all are. I'm sure that the doctor's office will be subtle about stating what I'm having done (probably will just say "abdominal surgery"). I called there the other day and they assured me they won't write "bariatric" or the full name of their office on the form. However, my surgeon just does bariatric surgery only. A simple google search will show them exactly what my doctor does, if they look it up. However, I'm trying to just let it roll off and not worry. Once I'm approved by my employer to take my leave, I'll breathe easier.

I'm reporting back with my Day #2 report of this 100% liquid fast. 2 days down and 12 to go. Oddly, I haven't felt hunger pains at all. But, I've been feeling really tired and lacking energy. I'm nailing my Protein requirement, but the calories are really low. Only 657 cals yesterday, 684 cals today. They didn't give me a calorie goal, though. How are the other liquid fasters doing so far?

@@conchitaconchita, yes, please do stick with us and let us know how everything goes!