Cookinmom

Today is day 10 of my pre-op high protein mostly liquid diet. I've done pretty darn good up until 3 hours ago. I've lost 11 pounds and have truly stuck to this except for two bites of hot dog 2 nights ago. Tonight we went to some friends house and I forgot to bring my water, my soup and an optifast drink. I wAS craving normal food so bad that I just ate. I didn't over eat but I ate. I ate 2 chicken drumettes with terriyaki sauce, some homemade mac and cheese, 2 chips with salsa, and 1 bite of a bratt dipped in mustard plus a couple glasses of red wine..... Is this the end of the world????? I hope not......How does a person just give up food completely....I m a cook who loves to cook this is the whole reason I am going for the lap band instead of the gastric bypass...if I want a glass of wine I should be able to have one....I don't want to live on warm cottage cheese the rest of my life.... I want variety...just in small portions. Day 10 of my liquid diet has been a complete failure..... but.... is it really? Has anybody else ever slipped off their pre-op liquid diet? I need some support here:ohmy::cursing: Thanks in advance Heidi in Eastern Washingtn

Thanks so much everyone for all of your replies. I have pretty much gotten back on track but not as good as I was the first week. Tonight for example we had company over for dinner and I made shish ka bobs. Beef and chicken. well, I had 2 (possibly 3, over 5 hours) glasses of wine. I also ate a cooked onion slice and a BBQ'd slice of green and red bell pepper.....how much can that possibly hurt? I ate no meat, no potato and no desert...I ate my optifast chicken soup instead of all that good stuff.......thank god I like the optifast soups!!! I willl be soooooo glad when this is all over. In order to eat all this stuff I skipped 2 optifast meals. Keep the encouragement coming! Thanks Heidi in Wasington

Wow Your post was soooo encouraging!! Thank you!! I've still been having a glass or 2 of wine but when I have I cut out one or two of my protein drinks or protein bar...... My surgery is schedued for June 11. You have described exactly why i opted for the band instead of the bypass. If I want a glass of wine or a long island iced tea then I can have it with out throwing up. I can eat what ever I want just in small (super small) quantities. Where are you from? I am from eastern washington.....close to spokane hoping you want to keep in touch Heidi

Today is day 10 of my pre-op,:cursing: high protein mostly liquid diet. I've done pretty darn good up until 3 hours ago. I've lost 11 pounds and have truly stuck to this except for two bites of hot dog 2 nights ago. Tonight we went to some friends house and I forgot to bring my water, my soup and an optifast drink. I wAS craving normal food so bad that I just ate. I didn't over eat but I ate. I ate 2 chicken drumettes with terriyaki sauce, some homemade mac and cheese, 2 chips with salsa, and 1 bite of a bratt dipped in mustard plus a couple glasses of red wine..... Is this the end of the world????? I hope not......How does a person just give up food completely....I m a cook who loves to cook this is the whole reason I am going for the lap band instead of the gastric bypass...if I want a glass of wine I should be able to have one....I don't want to live on warm cottage cheese the rest of my life.... I want variety...just in small portions. Day 10 of my liquid diet has been a complete failure..... but.... is it really? Has anybody else ever slipped off their pre-op liquid diet? I need some support here :thumbup: Thanks in advance Heidi in Eastern Washingtn

Today is day 10 of my pre-op high protein mostly liquid diet. I've done pretty darn good up until 3 hours ago. I've lost 11 pounds and have truly stuck to this except for two bites of hot dog 2 nights ago. Tonight we went to some friends house and I forgot to bring my water, my soup and an optifast drink. I wAS craving normal food so bad that I just ate. I didn't over eat but I ate. I ate 2 chicken drumettes with terriyaki sauce, some homemade mac and cheese, 2 chips with salsa, and 1 bite of a bratt dipped in mustard plus a couple glasses of red wine..... Is this the end of the world????? I hope not......How does a person just give up food completely....I m a cook who loves to cook this is the whole reason I am going for the lap band instead of the gastric bypass...if I want a glass of wine I should be able to have one....I don't want to live on warm cottage cheese the rest of my life.... I want variety...just in small portions. Day 10 of my liquid diet has been a complete failure..... but.... is it really? Has anybody else ever slipped off their pre-op liquid diet? I need some support here Thanks in advance Heidi in Eastern Washingtn

Day 2 of my liquids..... I'm Hungry!!! I'm doing it...I've stuck to it but I can't imagine 6 weeks of this.......does it get easy??? Heidi

Hi everyone!!!! I'm so excited! Everything is moving along quite nicely. I started my Opti fast liquid diet today. My surgery date is scheduled for June 23. I'm hoping it can get moved up a week or two. I went to my first pre-op support group....it was very encouraging!!! So far....well for today..I haven't minded any of the liquid diet. I was really worried because one of the people in the support group had nothing positive to say about the products but I thought they were fine. The shakes taste like slim fast, which I don't mind. The soup had way more substance to it than I expected and I thought actually tasted good, I had tomato. Now lets see if I can make it through the rest of the week, month, months!:party::smile: How are all of you doing? Heidi

Hi everyone! I havent been on in awhile and thought I'd let you know whats going on with me. I missed my first orientation due to my daughter having surgery so I go Tuesday for my Orientation. Group Health is working nicely with me and has approved my drs visit. I did receive a letter from Group Health telling me I would need to have gastric bypass because my insurance didn't cover lap banding. I about died! So I called my case worker and she told me that just this week Group Health decided they would cover lap banding effective immediately!!! I just about jumped out of my chair. So its just a matter of time. I'm hoping to have my surgery when school gets out. Around the first part of June. How is everyone doing? Are you still glad you did this? How is the weight loss coming? Heidi

Hi Dawnie.... i just saw your message. Tell me all about it. Everything! what was your insurance how long did it all take from your first orientation until surgery? How are you doing now? Heidi aka cookinmom

Ok, Here is my latest update. Yesterday was the day I was to go for the orientation at Holy Family.....But... the afternoon before, the referral person at my doctor's office called my insurance company to investigate why I was denied. Turns out I wont be able to have my surgery done by Dr. Trotter. He is not a preferred provider with Group Health. I will need to see a Doctor Penningson (I think that is how you spell his name). The referral girl will be calling his office tomorrow to get that all started. Does anybody know anything about this doctor? I think he is out of Post Falls. I just wish all this would start happening quicker....I would really nlike to have this done during my spring break (First week in April) My weight just keeps climbing!! How fast or slow is everybody's weight coming off? Any set backs? Heidi:unsure:

ahhhhh thats what it is The orientation meeting ok yes that is on a Wednesday. Now it makes sense. Do I need to take anything to that meeting like lab work, copies of chart, insurance info? Heidi

When the referral gal at my Drs. office called Dr.Trotters office to see what was needed for me to get scheduled she was told that I needed to go to the support meeting prior to my first visit. Is this true?

Ok my next step is to attend the next support group meeting but I think our referral nurse got the date wrong. She told me that the next meeting will be Wednesday, March 6th. This of course is not correct so, is the meeting on Tuesday the 4th, Wednesday the 5th or Thursday the 6th? My husband will be coming with me. So what happens at these meetings? How do you actually get in to your first appintment wit Dr.Trotter? What time does the meeting begin? end? I was also wondering how the weight loss has been going now that its been awhile since you guys have been banded. How often do you have fills? How do you know when it is time to get a fill? How do you feel after a fill? I have soooo many questions :thumbdown: Write back soon! Heidi

Hi everyone, I went in to see the doctor today for the results of my sleep apnea test all I have to say is UNBELIEVABLE!!!! I actually went in expecting to hear that my sleep disorder was very minor and not necessary to treat. Boy was I wrong!!! My report said that I have many episodes of apnea and many disturbances all night long no matter which position I sleep in. My doctor told me that with most people if they get off their back and switch to sides their apnea will improve, not mine! I have to go back and have another study done with the C-pac so they can titrate it. No wonder I'm exhausted all the time!!! Also I think tomorrow (Friday) we wil start the referral process to Dr. Trotter, I sure hope I can get in quick and that my insurance won't be a pain in the rear, I would like to do this over spring break hopefully My weight went up 4lbs since last visit UGGGGGG! Hope to hear back from someone soon Heidi:sleep:

Sorry One more question. To get aproval to see Dr. Trotter what should I have my doctor put as reason he is referring me if not bariatrics Thanks Heidi.. Hey you guys what about all this snow!!! School was cancelled today and we had a late start yesterday. We have sooooo much snow it is amazing!

Well I got my results of all my lab work I had done last week. I don't think I will be able to use any lab work as a co-morbidity. Everything came out way too good......which in most ways is good because I am healthy. I thought I might have high cholosteral but nooo it was 180. My blood sugar was 77. Next I go for my sleep apnea test on Feb 4th...we'll see how that turns out. If that is negative do you think I can still get aproved with a BMI of 45 and achy joints? I hope so. Heidi

Ok, Today I had my drs appointment with my regular doctor. First of all my BMI is 45 not 40 like I thought. I am going to have my sleep apnea test on Feb 4th. This Monday I will have a bunch of fasting labs drawn, Blood sugar, Lipids etc. The Girl in the "Referrel department" was really cool. She got on my insurance web site and looked up some of the "hoops" Group Health will have me jump through. It looked like they require 1 or more co-morbidities. So she thought we should just take care of some of them prior to making the appointment so thats what the plan is. My Doc was, as I expected, very supportive but also afraid that i would need to gain like 30 pounds to qualify but the referral girl didn't think so. He said he would document anything I needed or wanted documented and was all for it if I can get past the insurance approval. So, thats where I am at! What do you think? Heidi

I had my Drs. Appointment today and I feel it went great!!!! I can't write much at the moment but will be back in a bit Heidi phone number 509-397-6372

Thanks Lisa, I will let you know when I plan to come. It will probably be after my first appointment with Dr. Trotter. How long does it take to get in for the initial visit? Heidi

Thanks Deb that makes sense I'll let you know what happens after m,y appointment tomorrow Heidi

Thanks Deb that makes sense I'll let you know what happens after my Drs appt. Heidi

Ok I made my 1st Drs. appointment. I meet with my regular doc at 2:30 Friday. I'm going to talk with him about my weight, BMI etc and ask him to refer me to Dr. Trotter for Lap Band procedure. I am aware that initially my insurance will deny coverage so I will need to see what hoops they expect me to jump through so I can start jumping . Hopefully I can jump quickly! I do plan on coming to some support groups I would also like my husband to come to one with me also....he thinks I'm taking the easy way out by getting lap band.....this coming from a man who can lose 40lbs in a week by just cutting out chips and pop...,.!! I don't even drink pop and my chip consumption is extremely low compared to his nightly fix. He also associates the lap band with gastric bypass and I want him to understand the difference. I'm going to have to wait until roads and weather get a little better before I make any evening trips to Spokane but I do plan on coming. When exactly do you meet? How many people go to the meetings? Are there even very many people who have been banded in the Spokane area? Any advice on anything I might not think of that I should talk about with my doctor? Thanks everybody for all your support I truly appreciate your support and encouragement Heidi

:eek: I called my insurance today and I kinda felt encouraged. She told me to have my doctor refer me and that my initial request would be denied BUT there would be some things I would need to do and some documentation I would need to get in order to get it approved....which I figured I would have to do anyway so at least it sounds like it will be covered after jumping through their hoops

Deb, Well that is one thing I have done. I've gone to the same Doc for the past 15 yrs for everything. He has lots of documentation of weight gain, weight loss, energy levels,joint pain, he knows my weight struggles, which is good he is also very easy to talk to. I don't feel I will have any trouble getting his support. Heidi

I am going to call Group Health tomorrow and see what they have to say. As far as Co-morbitities I have a prescription for a sleep apnea test which I haven't done yet. I do have joint pain but my biggest frustration is lack of energy and the inability to lose weight. I have never had a cholesterol check but I bet it is high. I will let you all know what happens after I call Group Health tomorrow. I'm so nervous about it. (that I will be turned down) I have never been to any of Dr. Trotter's meetings...I am just at the beginning of this road thanks for all the replies Heidi