TXAmy07

I am actually really curious about mine too. I have been doing a 2 Protein shake, 2 small lean meals per day for a week and a half now, and I have 2 1/2 more weeks left of it... I am down 11 lbs, but I wonder if there's any way to tell if we're getting there? I see my surgeon a week from tomorrow so I guess I will know more then but I want to know before then! Sooo... anyone know anything 'bout livers? :thumbup:

Bethany, I THINK they make them mail it... that's what my coordinator said - but I am not taking that at 100% truth. (not that I have a reason to doubt, but as we've already seen - they are very much dependant on who the lucky person is that gets your stuff and reviews it!) I am down 11 lbs since the beginning of the pre-op, and I can't wait to see my surgeon next week to find out if I am doing a good job!!! Good luck you two!

Congrats and welcome to the May BANDitos group, Bmooney! Meem, it's not full liquids thank God. It's 2 protein shakes a day and 2 small meals of lean meat and green vegetables for one and 1/2 cup fruit and yogurt or something like that for the other. It's not too bad - the first 2 or 3 days I swear I thought I was going to DIE. I was miserable and grumpy and hated myself for being in that position...... but then my head realized my stomach wasn't actually HUNGRY, and I kind of got over it! Now I feel better than I have in a while! I think I worked all the processed crap out of my system and started to focus on something other than eating and it's much better. Which reminds me of another post I want to make so that I don't hijack this thread....... But thanks for asking!!!

LOLOLOL ANN!!!! That is FUNNY! What a great ide............... I mean........... how naughty of you!

Good deal! Keep us updated!

Hallelujah got it!!! That was totally Dr. S. I wouldn't have complained about March or April either, but our group seems pretty awesome so far. So, I am happy where I am. Without my Reese's. Those aren't even my favorite but it's been a couple of weeks at least since I have had chocolate so it sure sounds good...... Man, had I only known. I should have had some chocolate! Meem, have some for me!!!

Oh yeah, we're going to succeed! (yes, we will indeed, 98 3/4 percent guaranteed) I think we're the best month, don't ya'll? Yesterday... that was hard. My boyfriend got my daughter her easter basket stuff and I specifically said "don't get a lot of candy, I want to get her more exciting stuff - a book, a movie, some jewelry or something"... so what does he get her? Gummy worms, a huge bag of reese's Peanut Butter cups, cadbury eggs, and a HUGE foot tall chocolate BUNNY. (And some non-candy stuff, but not much) So they were all walking around the house eating candy and then talking to me with their chocolate peanut butter breath, and my boyfriend said "can't you just have ONE?". I said "sure, I can have ONE. Then tomorrow what, will I have ONE again? Then the next day it'll 'just be one'"??? I think he felt bad then. He just wants me to be happy with myself, I know. This makes him look unsupportive and he isn't, but I think he had a weak moment. Blah. I am glad I didn't give into that. I was thinking about every day going into the bag and getting about 5 of the Reese's and bringing them to work for the people here at work. Then slowly they will all be gone, and between the two of them they will think the other is eating them. Hahahahaha. :smile:

I am also not telling many about my upcoming surgery. My boyfriend and mom and a few very close friends know. Everyone else just thinks I am on a diet. I am not sure what I am going to tell people for the actual surgery, if it comes up... I was thinking gallbladder or something. I have an 8 1/2 year old and I have NO idea what I am going to tell her. When she is older I will probably tell her, but for right now I don't want her to worry about mommy. She is also at the age where she repeats things to people, such as the other day when she told everyone at the dinner table when I went to dinner with a friend, his brother's family and his parents, "guess what! My mommy is on a diet and she lost.... Mommy, how much did you lose already?". She was so proud and trying to brag on me, but wow! I almost fell out of my chair! LOL. Anyways, I totally get the whole not-telling thing. My main reason is not wanting the food police to watch me and for that to be the big topic of discussion, "can you eat that??" "what can you eat so we can schedule everything around you??" etc, like others have mentioned. It's no one's business and I wouldn't care if anyone thought I was a liar if I didn't tell anyone or I just played it off as gallbladder surgery. At least I'd be a thin/healthy liar!!!! :smile:

I think that is why I am glad I am also doing a 30-day pre-op diet. Mine is very similar to yours. We are all human and we get to make mistakes and this is the perfect time to do that: the PRE-op diet. Don't beat yourself up too much. You are right - tomorrow is another day!

Hallelujah, I feel exactly the same way. Sometimes I am anxious, sometimes I am excited, sometimes I wonder what I am doing... I go back and forth. I was watching an episode of Intervention last week and the girl agreed to go get help and they showed her on the way to the treatment facility and she was crying. She said, "I am not crying because I am sad about my decision, I am crying because my whole life is about to change and by my own choice I will never get to use drugs again and that's hard to comprehend". I had SUCH an AHA moment then, because I totally feel like that! By my own choice, I am changing my life and my lifestyle and I feel like I need these 4 weeks of the pre-op diet to mourn the loss of my "old life" where food was my reward and I was excited to eat vs. eating to make my body healthy. I hope that makes sense. It is kind of early AND it's a Monday. :smile:

That's awesome Bethany! I live in the N. Dallas area but was born in east TX. I actually work for a company HQ'ed in the Denver area so I have friends there and visit there too sometimes. :drool: MAY! I am crossing my fingers for you to have a MAY date!

Mlat, I LOVE that way of thinking. Why haven't I thought that...? I too can do anything for just 1 day!!! I am on the end of day 5 of a 30 day and I am actually doing a lot better now than I thought I would be. The first two days were terrible, but I was at work those days sitting in my office all alone with nothing to think about but work and being hungry. Then I traveled (for work) for a couple of days, and I noticed I didn't feel as hungry. Today was the same - I was off and didn't notice being hungry because I was so busy planting flowers and trimming hedges and making my front yard look exciting. So it could just be that I was preoccupied or maybe my stomach and mind is getting used to not being super excited about all of my endless lunch or dinner fatty choices. Who knows! We're all in this together though!!! I sure had my moments of, "I'm making a mistake, I can't do this, this sucks, what have I gotten myself into" and I am sure I will have more in the next 25 days, but those times pass by! Oh, and I am down 8.5 pounds in those 5 days - I just hopped on the Wii fit earlier to check. Yay!!!!!!!!

Hey you two, head over to the May forum's. :drool: Here's the link: May 09 Bandsters - Lap Band Surgery and Lap Band Discussion Forum

I'm from Dallas. :drool: I know Joe T's, mmmm...... That's the best reason to drive to Ft. Worth from Dallas. Chuy's just opened up a new location near us too so that's even more rough! We actually went there on Sunday night before I started my pre-op on Monday. Ahhhhh memories!

Mmmmmm Mexican food... that's also my downfall. I'm from TX (well, ok that's obvious with the name, etc) and it's home of the best Tex-Mex ever. EVER!!!!!!!!! Oh well. I was talking to someone that had LB and she said she could still order fajitas and have the meat, the onions/bell peppers, the refried Beans, etc. I think that's pretty doable.

Nice!! I added mine as well. Day 5 of the pre-op and I'm still alive, yay!

Happy birthday, Bethany!! I think you did great with your paperwork - way better to have more than enough and organized. I'd start calling them on Monday or Tuesday... And also, congrats Kristi! That rocks! May 1, huh. 5 days before me, you can give me your tips and tricks.

Thanks John! I made it through day 3 so I'm a tenth of the way there... I may have to try chocolate. I heard (after I bought vanilla) that they taste better bc they test them more for taste, to make them taste more chocolaty? Right now I'm doing vanilla and making them like a smoothy with skim milk and a little bit of frozen fruit (like peaches).

I'm with you on that Kristi - but I bet once we get there we will still be as fired up, especially since we can lean on each other. You two hurry and get your May dates already!

So my surgeon's coordinator submitted my paperwork to Cigna for approval last Monday, and I called them this morning just to see if they had received the paperwork. I told the girl that I was calling to see if they had received the paperwork for approval, and she said that they had received it NOT for approval but for pre-authorization. She went on to explain that pre-authorization was just to find out if it was a benefit that was offered and paid for by insurance, and that authorization is when the doctor calls in for an authorization number and then sends in the Cigna-required documentation (6 month supervised diet, psych eval, etc etc). She said these are two different departments that handle this, and the way the paperwork was sent in was for pre-authorization and NOT APPROVAL and the approval department would not see this paperwork. She said that it would take 15 days to get a pre-authorization since that's what was sent in for (not that I need one, we already know it's covered and the requirements), and they would have to re-submit paperwork to the authorization department for the approval and that takes 15 days. I called my surgeon's insurance coordinator (who is not the most friendly person ever...) and she said "pre-authorization, approval, it's all the same thing" and I explained to her that I just spoke with Cigna and what they told me about it being two different departments. She said (totally rudely) "well, I work with Cigna every day and I ALWAYS send this paperwork into the same department and it is always just fine, so you just need to wait a week or so and then try them again". Then she practically hung up. :frown: So. I'm not sure who to believe - her or Cigna? On one hand I want to believe that she knows her job, but she is not the same coordinator I began this process with, that one got promoted and this one is sort of new I guess and when I first called and spoke with her she said that I needed 5 years of medical records and I told her I only needed 2... She went and checked and said "oh yeah you're right, it's just 2"... I guess that is making me doubt her somewhat. Has anyone else had this issue, or does anyone know anything at all about it? I hate being this close and having things start to mess up! Thanks in advance for any help at all!

Well, it turned out that the problem was the idiot that answered the phone at my insurance company (Cigna) and not at all the coordinator. :smile: I am going through Lap Band Dallas, and they got me a pretty speedy approval. Good luck on your process!

Ann, I am terrified about the no-drinking thing. That is going to be pretty hard for me, I think!

I am also scheduled for May 6. :smile:

Hi fellow Mayo BANDitos!!! (LOVE this btw) I am scheduled for 5/6 and I started my four-freakin'-week pre-op diet yesterday. I'm excited, this will be a great journey! It will be fun for us to go through this together. :thumbdown: