IntoLess

I am a few days away from surgery (the 8th), and was wondering if fruit smoothies are considered clear liquids. I am thinking not, but my nut says I can mix my protein powders with milk, and that isn't a clear liquid. I have several protein powder flavors, broths, gelatins, juices, etc., but I just don't think there is enough variety in that and before my two weeks on clear liquids is up, I will go insane! Has anyone else had to do 2 weeks clear liquids? My doc is 2 weeks clear, three weeks full, and then several weeks (10) of soft foods. Just before the soft foods, he says he will do my first fill, so I think the first couple of weeks on soft weeks will go fine since I will have a slight fill. Am I alone here, who else has such a strict doctor? I know I will survive, but it is going to be HARD.

I am so happy for you! NSV are the greatest! (although the scale doesn't lie) here's hoping for many more!

I don't have to do an enema, but I do have clear liquids all day tomorrow. That should prove interesting. I know I can do it, I am just a bit apprehensive about it. I am here if you need any help, together we can get through this.

Booklady, you and I are bandster twins! My day is the 8th as well. I understand about being nervous and excited. I am a bit of both, but I am not jittery nervous or jumping up and down excited. It is almost like it isn't happening. I think I am just ready to get it all done and over with. To think in less than 48 hours I will be banded. I have all my housework done, the family has food to live on while I am recovering, the clothes are washed and put away. I just need to get my dog groomed, and I will be set. Anyone want to volunteer for that one? :thumbup:

I asked my doctor about it yesterday during my pre op exam how to avoid hair loss. He said make sure I am taking all of my vitamins (multi, calcium plus vitamin D, I have low B12 levels already so I have to take B12 as well), take in all my liquids, and all my protein and I shouldn't have a problem. I lose hair on a daily basis, my husband makes fun of me wondering daily who sheds more me or the dogs. I have a huge head of thick long hair, and don't want to lose any of it. By the way, I also asked if there was a limit to the amount of protein a body can ingest at once. He said in liquid form, he would suggest 20 grams or less at a time, in solids or less liquid forms up to 40 grams per serving. He said the liquid tends to go through without absorbing as much, and would hate for me to think I am taking in 40 when I am flushing out some of it through urination. Just something to think about.......

I could possibly be persuaded. It all depends on where the Army sends my husband between now and then. I know he is spending 2009 in the "Big Sandbox", and when he returns we will be moving somewhere, don't know where, don't know when.........Keep me updated, and I will find out sometime late next year if I can attend. If all goes well, I will be in Europe!

How old is your psych eval? What kind of eval did you have (nutrition)? I am a bit confused, you have done everything that your surgeon would want, but don't have a referral to a surgeon yet? Is that what you are saying? Once your referral goes through to see the surgeon for the initial consult, I would ask them before the appointment how current the psych eval needs to be (within a few weeks, a month) and if they need anything on a special form or just a memo (my surgeon needed a memo, psych said some surgeons have a special form). If it is within the required time line, call whoever did your psych eval and ask them to submit the memo or form to the surgeon. If everything is within their time line, they should be able to submit for surgery approval right away.

If Cigna denies, I think I would try Tricare before starting again. I am not sure how it works with Tricare as a secondary, will you need a new referral through them? If so, does your current surgeon accept Tricare? If he does, I think I would ask my PCM for a referral by name to go to this surgeon, then you wouldn't have to start over for anything. When your referral is approved, they can submit immediately for surgery approval.

Happy thoughts go out to our first bandsters tomorrow: wsw27 tillydog doedoe1961 staylucid mygirlayanna Kiwifruit Wishing you all the best! K

Today is the day for: minidriver slim2be BethO mrsgriffin2u trudeip Barbiek annabella SanDiegoSusan anita reyna jjenkins2411 I am hoping all went well.

My husband at this point is extremely supportive of the idea. In years past, I heard, "Take a motrin (the only pill army docs give), go for a run, you'll feel better." He hasn't seen me at my smallest, but we married 50 pounds and 13 years ago. He has seen me try every diet known to man, and join the gym, take pills, etc. I lost 40 pounds BOTH times he was in Iraq, and 20 the year he was in school between deployments. The problem was that it was stress that took it all off, so I gained it all back within a few months. Now, he says whatever I have to do for me is fine with him. I think as long as I stop bitching about being fat, he is fine with it......

I have had four sinus surgeries and a hysteroscopy, all under general anesthesia. Anesthesiologists and doctors knew about it, and all they asked was that I didn't smoke while my wounds were healing because it can cause infections and delayed healing. They said if I couldn't quit, then cut down quite a bit, maybe a few a day. My lap band doctor asked me to quit, so I have, reluctantly. His reasoning is that I am doing this to better my health, why not go all the way and finish making yourself healthy.

Let us know when you get back, have a safe trip.

Same lists, some were updated, then other posters found out their dates, and it didn't get updated, then it got updated, and another dates is found out, so on and so on. Evil circle of updates.

Updated July Butterflies List 1 wsw27 1 tillydog 1 doedoe1961 1 staylucid 1 mygirlayanna 1 Rdk211 2 minidriver 2 slim2be 2 BethO 2 mrsgriffin2u 2 trudeip 2 Barbiek 2 annabella 2 SanDiegoSusan 2 anita reyna 2 jjenkins2411 3 BigBander 3 scoutmama 3 2GoodDogs 3 kimlam 4 joiful 7 slim1 7 ginnyc 7 AmyWA 7 Redheada 8 blaze 21 8 Louisville Lesa 8 zeama 8 cinda 8 flowers 8 JaJeanne 8 Booklady 8 IntoLess 9 Ailie 9 Sarv 9 MarylandMommy 9 siouxsie Sioux 9 Rivieramaya05 9 lalaredd 9 missrach 10 sallen21 10 Goobe 10 2Blite4life 10 melmel 10 Fancy Nancy 10 vannie 11 Applebottom 11 vra123456 11 wstone 11 falloons 11 melallot 13 OvrLvl 14 MaidMarion 14 Chellets 14 pbpunisher 15 Fearless55 15 Flowerpurr 15 lynlynkr 15 pschmolle 15 perfectforme 15 PENTURN 15 mellimel71 16 eyespy 16 lisainbohemia 16 lotzasunshine 16 SciTeach 16 lynlynkr 16 michkor 16 jomomma 16 Charlene K 16 nanaislosingit 16 moez02 17 OCBreeze4U 17 3m’smom 17 tnag86 17 Long2bFree 18 PDXBandster 18 toogoode4u 18 CapitolChick 21 clayverde 22 Moocatschade 22 zillyanne 22 TeriVA 22 kimaly 22 lleighton5 22 Choromom 22 annesan 22 thatDEgirl 22 Laniev00 23 BABOOMER 23 shellbell99 24 daniml 24 nyllrap 24 linksmom 24 lisadental 24 Frypan 25 NewJEM 25 Kiki220 25 Nachtigall 28 ann71 28 splfrd 28 mamanmidwife 29 Cherub 29 Chellets 30 orea15

I saw this list on another thread, scale it up or down depending on your doctor's orders. I will be on a two week liquid diet after surgery, so I will need plenty of liquids, Jello, Popsicles, broths, etc. Some are only on a few days of liquids, so they won't need as much. If you have a spouse or kids to think about dinner/lunch for, get all that taken care of before you go in. My surgery is Tuesday the 8th, so on Monday I will prepare a lasagna, all they will have to do is put it in the oven, I will also ground up some beef for taco, etc., and marinade some chicken breasts for them and buy some Lean Cuisine meals for lunches. My laundry and house work will be completed on Monday (or Sunday since Monday is a liquid diet), then I will have nothing to worry about, except me, the whole time I am trying to recover. A small scale for weighing foods later on (ordered it online) Small cups (about 5 oz) to eat out of Small spoons (like mini coffee spoons) Liquid Vitamin Liquid or chewable Calcium citrate Chewable Zinc (required by surgeon) Pill crusher if you are on any meds that don't come in liquid form A heating pad - GREAT for the post-op shoulder and back pain:thumbup: Gas-X strips Liquid Tylenol A toilet seat riser - just for extra comfort the first week Filled other prescriptions my surgeon gave me (Liquid Vicodin, phenergan) Isopure Zero Carb Protein drink (tastes good and goes with a clear liquid diet) A sampling of Protein shakes and whey protein that I tried before surgery sugar free Jello, Broths, Sugar Free pudding in the Fridge Lip Balm Comfortable lounge clothes Plan on sleeping on a couch or recliner. Last night (post op day 4) was the first night I could sleep in my bed comfortably.

I wish I had an answer for you as far as Tricare in Europe. Whenever I had trouble while in Germany, I always talked to the Tricare rep at my local treatment facility. Your BMI is fairly low, initial referrals over here don't usually go through under 35 BMI. Keep at it, ask your Tricare rep, and if they can't answer, ask for a phone number to someone who can. Where are you at in Germany? Does Landstuhl do the procedure, or is that too far of a drive?

Pending, or pended means that they had received the paperwork, but haven't reached a decision yet. Check again first thing in the morning, it took maybe 45 minuted for mine to go from "P" to "A".

1-tillydog, wsw27?, florida girl 2-trudeip, mackie, BethO,guitar247, minidriver 3 4 5 6 7 8-Zeama, Tamspri, knd, JaJeanne, Cinda, Booklady, IntoLess 9-Missrach, st4r69, ailie, RivieraMaya05 10 11-mellalot 12 13 14 15-Mellimel71 16-lotzasunshine 17-Long2BFree 18-CapitolChick 19 20 21-pennylane 22 23 24-daniml, nyllrap 25 -NewJEM 26 27 28 - Mamanmidwife 29-Chellets 30 -

And remember to add to this any prescription medications you pay for, eye exams, eye glasses, contacts, children's (assuming there are any) exams, glasses, etc, spouse's eye exams, etc (assuming you are married and filing jointly).......All of this can add up quickly....gas, bus fare, lodging (to an extent) I am sure all of this is on the irs website stated above, but remember it all adds up.

Just continue with your diet, this was just a bump in the road. It happens to the best of us. You will be fine.

Is this civilian or military doctor? A friend is having a problem at her doctor who is military, but I had no trouble with mine, who is civilian. I don't understand why doctors give different advice to people, and the Tricare handbook says something else. Tricare doesn't have to approve anything if done at an MTF, but the military doctors there have their own guidelines in place.

Tricare pays for the fills, why would they pay so much (or so little in Tricare's case) for the procedure and not pay for follow-up care? Someone posted the correct insurance codes for fills, I will have to look it up, but it is probably here on the insurance board. To get the initial consult with the surgeon, Tricare goes by BMI, to get approval for surgery they go by pounds. The Tricare handbook is perfectly clear on that. Most PCMs think that since all other insurance companies go by BMI for surgery approval, Tricare does to, I know mine did, until I showed him the handbook.

Okay, I was just approved, so maybe this will help a little. First off, your surgeon will know what to say to get you approved. They will not lie, or stretch the truth, they are just as scared of insurance fraud as the rest of us, if not more. I weigh 225 and am 5'2", according to my surgeon. I am actually closer to 5'4", depending on the day I am anywhere between 5'2" and 5'4" (chiropractor does a good job of realigning my lower back). They asked, and did not measure and I am unsure of my height that day, but they did weigh me fully clothed, which is procedure. The MetLife scale says fully clothed if you read the fine print. These two inches didn't give me a lot according to the scale, but put me over for the "small frame" category and in the middle of the "medium frame" category. If you read the Tricare handbook it says "100 lbs over for height and bone structure with one comorbid". I do not know how they submit it, as far as wording, what is included in the paperwork, etc, but I made sure to point that out. My first appointment my surgeon looked at my height and determined I should weigh 120 (high end of small frame on scale). When I went in for my second appointment I made sure they had copies of my diagnoses for high blood pressure, arthritis, and degenerative disc disease to submit with my letter of medical necessity. SO, long story short, I made sure the office knew what the insurance was looking for, as they do not do a lot of Tricare patients, some, not many, because most people around here prefer to drive a shorter distance, and who can blame them. I was just tired of driving to the town where my other choice was located. Go online and print out the page for the gastric bypass/lap band surgery information on Tricare.mil, or go to your local TSC and get a copy of the handbook to show your surgeon's insurance people, and let them know what key words they are looking for. Again, they WILL NOT lie to get you approved, but they will do what is necessary to get you approved. And it still ended up being a long story. Moral of the story, trust your surgeon's office, they do this daily. Ask if they need any insurance info if they don't deal with Tricare often.

Congratulations on your approval and surgery date! I hope all goes well for you!