hlubag

I have a question about the pre op/post op liquid diet. Do any of y'all feel weak on the liquid diet? My nutritionist told me that I am only supposed to have between 600-800 calories per day, all from liquids such as protein shakes. Does anyone feel weak and sluggish from so few calories? From what she told me and what I have read from the literature that she provided for me, I am on all liquids, no real food. If that is what I have to do, then so be it. I will do it with the help of prayer for some serious willpower. However, I am concerned about my energy level. I am the mother of 6 year old twins and I work full time. I need energy, LOL!

I think I will try the Myoplex. I am cautious on what I try because most of the time I can't buy just one drink. Usually they come in a 4 pack and are expensive. If I don't like them and can't force them down, I will waste money, which I am completely against! lol Thanks for the heads-up Twilight! I would normally not speak about stool to someone, but under these circumstances I appreciate the information. I would not have thought about 'those' types of changes, so I wouldn't have known if you had not told me. My nutritionist didn't mention it.

How is the taste of the myoplex? Even thought I haven't started the liquid diet yet, I have started to try out the shakes to find ones I like. I figure that it's better to try them out now instead of waiting until I'm on the pre-op diet. I've only tried Miscle Milk Light and Carnation Instant Breakfast (The sugar free ones). I prefer the Muscle Milk over the Carnation but neither one was something I would look forward to drinking. I may change my mind when it my only source of nutrition, though! When that time comes they might turn out to be delicious!

Thanks, Dan! I am also getting the Realize band, and I will follow my doctors instructions, no matter how hard it is. I don't want him to cancel the surgery just because I couldn't follow his orders for two weeks. Four weeks of liquids is not very long when you compare it to the rest of my life. It may not be easy, nor am I looking forward to it, but I can and will do it. I am concerned about the weakness, but I will get calories from the shakes, so hopefully it will be minimal.

Can someone please tell me what "PB" means?

Ahhhhh...thank you! Everythime I see it I think 'peanut butter', but I KNOW that's not what y'all are talking about! lol!

I'm done with all of my testing, now we are waiting for the psychologist to get a report to my surgeon's office so they can send everything to the insurance company. The psychologist told me that she would have the report for them by next week... The nurse told me that Blue Cross is one of the easiest insurance companies to work with, so it's probable that I could have the surgery by the end of January!

That is AWESOME!!!

Wow, that would be over $8000 for me if my insurance worked that way. Surgery is $15,000 with my doctor. That includes the hospital stay and anesthesia. My insurance will cover all of my pre tests.

Monday morning I go in for a stomach x-ray, EKG, chest x-ray, lab work, and an appointment with the nutritionist. Then, on Wednesday I go in for my psychiatric evaluation. After that I am done with what the insurance requires to get approval. My question is how long does it take for the results of all of these tests to get to the doctor's office so they can submit it to the insurance company?

I hope so, too. Thanks!

Thanks for the quick responce! Everything is at the same hospital for me also, including the psych eval.

I'm sure this question has been asked before... How long was it between your first visit with a surgeon to your surgery date? I'm trying to get a rough idea of the time I am looking at if I still want to move forward with this after the seminar next Tuesday. I understand that each person is different, but I am still curious. Thanks!

For me, only my Husband, Mother, my boss, and two friends know that I am considering this surgery other than my doctor. It is on a need-to-know basis right now. One of the friends that I told that I was considering lapband is a nurse at the hospital that I would have the surgery at. She schedules the surgeries and who is going to be in which OR, so it is definatly to my benifit that she knows! She has been wonderful with me so far with all of my questions. The other friend I told I work with and I would have to either lie to her or tell her what I am doing. I don't want to lie, so I told her. That way when I leave work early for appointments and such, she already knows. I'm not telling anyone else right now because I don't know if I am going forward with it or not. If I decide to go forward with it, I still don't see me telling many more people unless I have to. I keep most things like this private, so this is normal for me.

Does anyone have Empire BC/BS PPO and willing to share what the process was like getting approved? I am at the very begining of what I am sure is a long process and have no idea what I am in for as far as the insurance is concerned. Thanks!! Heather

That's AWESOME! If you don't mind me asking, when did you attend your seminar? I am attending one on Tuesday.

Thanks! My BMI is 41.7 according to the BMI calculator.

My name is Heather, I just joined this site a few days ago and I have been reading posts here for a few days. (Even posted an insurance question, but thought I should probably formally introduce myself. LOL!) Last week I spoke to my primary care doctor about having Lapband surgery. She thinks that it is my only option to be able to loose weight since I can't exercise due to facet disease. I can't exercise because of the pain from the facet disease, yet the pain gets worse as I gain weight. It's a catch-22. I am going to a siminar next Tuesday, the 24th. I don't know what to expect, so if anyone has any advice, it is appreciated!

Awesome! Congratulations! Can you tell me what they required for you to be approved? Did you have to do the diet that I am hearing about that some insurance companies require? My policy states this: The patient must have actively participated in non-surgical methods of weight reduction; these efforts must be fully appraised by the physician requesting authorization for surgery; I'm unsure if this means a supervised diet or not.