Christabelle

Yeah, you're dealing with special circumstances so self-pay would not be the wisest option. Holy moly those injections are expensive. You have really good insurance it seems. Yes, I take umbrage with the term of "Affordable" in the ACA. Our deductible went from $4,000 to $12,000 over the course of 2-3 years. We meet our family deductible early in the year because of my son's autism therapy, but still pay a lot afterward. My husband's company said we have one of the top insurance plans in the state, and yet when I got my CPAP, we still owed $700 just for the machine. When I tried to explore seeing a psychologist as part of nutritional counseling and such, we would still have to pay over $300 for each one hour session. Definitely not something I could do for the recommended 6-8 sessions.

Welcome! I'm self pay too and having surgery the day after you. I didn't need to start my pre-op diet until the 22nd, but wanted to get a jump start too. Mine is protein shakes for breakfast and lunch, and 4 oz of meat and veggies for dinner.

Amen! I was forced into it because I need VSG before any surgeon at Mayo would repair my hernia and my insurance doesn't cover it. It turned out to be a mixed blessing because I got to choose my surgeon and could get the surgery much sooner. No worrying about insurance backing out or coming up with extra requirements they forgot or lost paperwork at the last minute.

Macadamia, self pay was actually a lot easier than I imagined. I was forced into it because even though the surgeons at Mayo said it is necessary I have VSG before they could repair my hernia, my insurance doesn't cover it. Our insurance is changing in January to another company that excludes it. We would have a good case to fight it, even if they approved it immediately, we would have been looking at late June 2019 for surgery after all the typical insurance requirements. Meanwhile my hernia prevents me from driving my car because it's by my belly button and off to the side and rather large. Fortunately my husband's SUV steering wheel tilts up enough and I can position the seat at an angle that my short legs can reach the peddles, but stomach not smashed up against steering wheel. Compare this to - I looked online to get prices, surgeon reputations, etc. Narrowed it down to 4, talked with 3, made consultations with 2 in July. Picked one, got scheduled for September. Got my EKG, lab, and met with nutritionist. All testing, surgery, appointments we're $10,000 total. We were fortunate to have family members pitch in, but we could have financed through Care Credit for 0% interest or a personal loan.

We're all less than 3 weeks away y'all! Are you guys ready?

Oh no!! And Vitamix isn't cheap either. I wonder how it got past quality control. I kept reading and seeing videos recommending them, but just couldn't justify the $500 to $600 price tag!

Welcome! I actually grew up in McKinney. I live up WI now, but chose to have my surgery in Dallas. Mine is on the 5th. I've bought the vitamins my surgeon recommends for all patients (multi-vitamin, D3, B1, B12, and calcium citrate), pill organizer, and a pill splitter/crusher. I've bought a variety of protein powder and protein bars to see which ones I like and for after the surgery, which ones I tolerate best. I bought a Ninja blender that has an attachment for single serve smoothies and spiralizer for veggie noodles. I also bought some sugar free electrolyte powder to add to my water. I already have a really good food scale, but may upgrade my regular scale. Oh, and a fabric tape measure and a journal. I think that's it.

I actually do drink a lot of water. To the point I thought I was diabetic and got tested a couple times. I ordered some SF electrolyte powder, so I'm hoping that helps.

Thank you! I'm a little worried about the pre_op diet. I get bad headaches if I don't eat enough.

Hello! Mine is also scheduled for September 5th. I start my pre-op diet on the 22nd.