Down South Aussie

I am with Dr Eichorn also. I am at the end of month 2 of 3 month Monitored diet, insurance packet should be submitted beginning of April targeting May 21st for surgery.

Sounds like your At the same program as me, GHS?

I dont know specifically about kaiser, but my plan we are required by insurance to perform a medically monitored diet where we dont specifically have to lose but we cant gain. After that, the insurance packet is submitted and when approval is received we do a month long pre-op diet where we are given a weight loss goal, while we are told it is an easily achievable goal it shows are sticking to the prescribed diet. If we dont meet that goal in the month leading to surgery then we have been told that the surgery will be pushed back.

Congrats, im on metformin and glipizide im hoping to drop both of those once i get my sleeve. How long had you been taking the metformin and what dose were you at?

Interesting you mention this, I had my appointment with my surgeon on Tuesday and she offer and prescribed a mild antidepressant because she says that from the research she has done that those on the anti depressant tent to lose more weight and go through the process end to end better. I initially said yes to the pills, but then thought i might not as i dont like taking pills if i dont need to and this morning i am slightly more back on board with the anti depressant. I have never needed or even been considered for anti depressants before it was just something my surgeon said is an option.

Honestly it really varies so much you will probably be better off giving your insurance a call and discussing it with them. Your surgery center will probably have an insurance specialist onsite but even then they will need to get the specifics of not only your insurance company but also your specific plan within that company.

hmmm...i see a trip to Sam's in my future.

My surgery center believes you are at a higher risk of complications for the first 8 weeks so they prefer that you don't travel during that time. Sent from my SM-G950U using BariatricPal mobile app

interesting thoughts, im curious to find out these answers also. Just made the decision with my surgeon to go with the sleeve.

Yeah i saw that, I Actually live in SC now though.

Not always so, my group submits my weight that i am at when i do my last weigh in before the packet is submitted. So while i started at BMI of 43 i am not down to almost a 40 and i have 5 more weeks before my packet will be submitted.

Hopefully your group isn't as strict as mine. They will nicotine test patients right before surgery and if you have any nicotine in your system them your surgery is postponed. I'm not personally a smoker so I'm goid, hopefully it goes well for you. Sent from my SM-G950U using BariatricPal mobile app

I see a night or two in my Love sac in the future then... Did great after my back surgery and subsequent pain injections.

While i have not started it yet i know what is coming. Currently i am on a carb restricted, low calorie high protein diet. Im taking in about 1400-1600 calories a day and im losing about 0.5 - 0.75lbs per day.Once my approval is obtained then i will have a month long pre-op diet. it is the optifast 800 diet that is super high protein and consists of 5 supplements per day of either 1 protein bar and 4 shake or 5 shakes and then one balanced meal per day. All up it will drop my calorie intake to about 1200 calories per day comprised mostly of protein.

I think it goes back to those that made the comment and what their outlook on life is. If they tend to have a negative outlook on life then they will tend to allow their thoughts to drift to the negative "oh they must be sick". if they take a positive outlook then you get those that think you are doing something good and you get all of those positive comments. Like you said you didn't undertake this to get the comments, im willing to bet you under took this for yourself.

I agree with What Creekimp said. When it comes down to it the surgery is not going to be the silver bullet and it is about the changes you make now and after the surgery in-conjunction with the surgery that will make the long term success. I am right there with you in that i am on the supervised diet right now and have lost a little over 20lbs in in the last month. Someone even said to me at my meeting this week "Oh so you dont even need the surgery, you can do it on your own" than answer to that is that no not really otherwise i wouldn't be where i am now. I have done the High protein low carb diet and had success, then gained it back. I have dont the eat 6 times a day diet and had success, then gained it all back. I have the do exercise until you drop and had success (even got my second degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do) but i still gained it all back. Personally im looking to add this new tool to my quiver. This time around i am also eating 6 times a day High protein, low carbs but i am also logging EVERYTHING that goes in my mouth, which i was suprised by but it is really helping me look at what it is im eating. For instance it may be high in protein, but also super high in fat, something i may not have noticed previously.

Im in a fairly similar boat, the names Big man and big fella have been so common for me that i dont even really notice them anymore. One of the biggest thing i have found is that i started a diet change slowly and worked in some of the requirements like stopping soda and breads and pasta and pizza. So in the last 2 weeks i have pretty much cut all of those from my diet, and while the first few days were really tough once you get over that hump you will be surprised how easy it gets and how much better you feel. In the last 3 weeks i have lost 15 lbs by doing those steps alone (i weigh in again tomorrow). But by making those changes now when the time comes and you are simply not allowed those things it wont be as big a deal.

The other thing that my nutritionist went over with me was my qualifications for surgery such as having an A1c below 10.0 within the last 3 months and she was also able to answer questions about what my weight needed to be when my paperwork is submitted to remain eligable, for me that is 250lbs which will keep my BMI above 35 with several comorbities. While im losing weight i dont think i will hit that mark in the next 6 weeks when my paperwork will be submitted. As orionburn noted they will also help you with what and how much to eat both now and in the future after your surgery.

I know where you are coming from, The first few days coming off sugar in particular is really tough. But it does get better. I am 6 weeks into my 3 month monitored diet and after i got over the initial hump i feel so much better. I have even managed to loose 20lbs so far.

My program is a combination of the requirements of the bariatric group and of the insurance requirements. Insurance only requires 3 months of supervised diet, a visit to the Psych and a nutritionist visit. my group requires 10 classes though so instead of spreading those across 6 months i have to get them in in three months, so i am basically at the surgery center every week for a class. I was placed on a nutritional stop as well so i had to have a A1c done to get a reading below 10.0 and log my food for a week which i will review with my nutritionist next week. I will also meet with my Surgeon soon and then once my 3 months are complete my packet is sent to my insurance company, once approved i begin a month long pre-op diet. All said and done i expect to be having surgery in mid may.

While i have not had the procedure yet what i have read tells me that everyone is different. Some people have pain and nausea, others though seem to take the whole thing in stride and are ready to take on the world directly following waking up.

Yes, unless you are a math wiz and have food densities memorized the easiest way is to just use a good quality kitchen scale.

8 oz per cup, 1/4 cup is 2 oz and half cup is 4 oz. again this is fluid oz, oz in weight is going to depend on the density of the food and 16 oz for each 1 lb

that is what i was thinking. Most centers kind of consider their programs to be their property so they will even discourage you from sharing the literature on social media.

Very interesting. I find it fascinating that we are finding out more and more that there are other factors involved than just the restriction offered by the sleeve.