Finding_me

First and foremost thank you for taking the time to read this, and if you have any suggestion, please throw them my way. I had my surgery on 1/18/17 no problems other then the blessed gas pains. My SW was 247, my CW is 224; so that's 23 lbs lost. I am at a 4 weeks post-op. I think that about covers the general things. I saw my surgeon on the 24th of January for my first week post-op check up. He gave me the green light to do puréed/soft foods for 2 weeks to move on to regular food. Honestly I just looked a him like he was crazy because that would put me at 3 weeks post-op and eat regular food so quick??!?!!??!?!? And I can say that I am struggling with the food/protein/liquids with everything. I haven't met any of the liquid/protein goals that is required since surgery. At first it was just a struggle getting the volume of liquids in. Now, it's just a freaking struggle eating in general by following the doctor's order and moving so fast. Surprisingly enough I don't have a problem with solids so far. As long as I don't overeat or eat too fast, learn that damn lesson quick. I generally stick to eating Protein first and if I have room for veggie alright, but I try to stay away from carbs and sugar. I did all my pre-op requirements with another surgeon's office but because of somethings that came to light, I switched doctors. The surgeon that did my surgery doesn't have an in house NUT that I can call and talk with. I am looking for my own NUT, but I need help now. I don't know what to do or where to start. The NUT from the other office, well let's just say that the visits only lasted like 5 mins when I had to see her. I know there isn't any real questions here, but I am bit lost as hell. I seriously need help.

@Poppybelle12 Thank you. I looked up the clinic and I printed out the PDF that had on the website.

[mention=310321]Sleeveforme2017[/mention] I'm at 6 weeks right now, it's just scary to see that I can fall a back into the bad habits of eat mindlessly when I'm bored or not busy enough. I'm able to eat almost anything I want without any problems. But it's good to know my doctor isn't crazy to suggest eating so early.

[mention=307122]BigUtahMan[/mention] I am learning that my sleeve doesn't have the advantages regarding restrictions/not have cravings/hunger. At 6 weeks out, I'm able to pretty much eat anything and everything without consequences, unless I overeat then I'm in pain. That I am able to eat like that is really scary for me because the whole purpose of this was to change how I eat. I understand that this is where the mind over matter thing kicks in but these cravings are kicking my butt. I don't like substitute sugar at all I would prefer to just drink it unsweetened completely or infused with some kind of fruit. A NUT is becoming a evil necessity for me and my insurance only covers 3 visits a year, though I was told if I could find a NUT that charge the insurance as a office visit and not a NUT office visit then I would be fine. How I'm going to work this is beyond me. Thank you for all your advise and telling me some of your experience it helps that I'm not going "crazy" alone.

FindingCarrie, I stuck with yogurt, applesauce, scrambled eggs and puréed beans. I slowly incorporated chicken and fish, my pouch doesn't agree too much with beef. It feels like I ate stones. I still need the Protein Shakes though, better to be safe then sorry. I'm not concentrating on calories only because I'm struggling with just protein intake and fluids. I understand the struggle with water, I am horrible with it as well.

Sleevinpops, three weeks is fast, I did question his sanity when he told me that. I am taking my time I made that mistake of advancing too fast. It's not an experience that I want to repeat.

Vinasu, I am doing fine, I don't have any stomach issues whatsoever but I'm struggling with finding the correct foods to eat. I'm not a cook and that's my major problem. That food I usually find at home is all high in carbs low in protein so I need to learn how to cook all my foods. I don't want to fall into the past mistakes. My cravings haven't gone away; I'm just smart enough to NOT cave in 99.9% of the times. I looked through the Eggface's blog, thank you for that. It's a great starting point for healthy foods I'm looking for. Also, I'm not rushing to jump into regular eating, as weird as it might sound I actually enjoy the restrictions that I have right now.

I feel your pain. My surgery was on Wednesday as well. But I'm on pure liquid diet. No foods/puréed yet. I too have the restricted breathing thing going on the nurse and doctor just told me to keep doing the respiratory therapy that was given to me in the hospital. That it will get better. But if you need to call your doctor do so for your own comfort. Good luck in your recovery. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I needed a place to vent and this is the only place i can think of to do it. Sorry in advance. Today I called my insurance company (Cigna) to see what the medical director determined about my approval/denial. They denied my claim based on the I had 63 days of nutritional visits instead of 89 days whatever that means. I went to the nutritionist once in August, once in September and once in October. I went for 90 consecutive days, I did my 3 visits. Also, something about medically observed visits, what is that? The customer service representative can't tell me exactly what is necessary to get an approval. I would like to if I need to start this process over again or if I can do one more visit with the nutritionist as the final visit. Where the hell do I go from here? I'm at a lost. And I don't have the patience to wait for when my surgical coordinator has the time to call me with an explanation or solution. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Hello all! Just wanted to give an update. The approval for my surgery through yesterday, going under the knife 1/18/17. It feels so surreal. Have a great New Years everyone. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Wait there's groups that fight for this??!?!?! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

And this is why I'm going to see what happens with the peer to peer. If I can complete the visits then fine if I have to start over with the nutritional visits, at least it's not the medical problems or weight. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

On my first visit with my surgeon I was given a check list of what my insurance requires for approval. They went down the list with me and we discussed what else needed to be done before submitting to insurance. If you needed 89 days of nutritional visits and you only had 63 someone in your surgeon's office messed up. It isn't the insurance companies fault. Most surgeons employee a staff that can make sure everything necessary for approval is sent to the insurance company. It's a total waste of time to send it in if everything isn't there. Do you have to use this surgeon? They sound like they aren't aware of how the process works. Actually this is my third surgeon, I did the actual requirement at another office before transferring to this one. I know where to place the blame on this it's just frustrating because I had my suspensions that they were being sneaky about something. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

@ I was told by Cigna that my doctor needs to have a peer to peer with the medical director. @@White Sale If I had the funds, I would. On the plus side the way my policy with Cigna is I have no out of pocket expenses what so ever. @@Flippista it's aggravating that sometimes we need a microscope to read the fine print. Argh. I guess on a positive note at least it's not the medical side that is giving me a problem. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

January 4th Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I got my surgery date today, not the approval though. I started this path around July 2016, please understand that I'm not the type of person to wait for statistics or anyone's approval or to do some much research I could write a book about it. I understand that this is a lifestyle change forever and that there could be complications. My oh $h!t moment is: am I seriously ready for such a big change?!?! Also, lord knows I don't cook, when I try it doesn't turn out good, how the hell do you learn this skill? My mom doesn't have the patience to teach me . And I don't have the mental capacity to learn the way she teaches. I'm going to starve when I get this surgery. I guess at the end I have the usual reservations, but seriously for those non-cooking people how do you survive this change? Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Thank you all for the suggestions. I will be trying them out pre-surgery as much as I can. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App