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I was sleeved on 9/14 & doing great. SW 234. As of today 198. I took 2 weeks of from work. Glad I did. I'm eating very small amount. The only is I get now is gas. No diarrhea. I've heard people say that a lot. Constipated in the beginning but that subsided now that I've incorporated more variety of foods into my diet. I really have no complaints except I need a new wardrobe. ????

I have Aetna POS. I should here next week on the hospital stay but the rest can depend on your coverage. I'll let you know what I did out.

just so you know - it's not usually the surgeons who make you go through the pre-op diets (other than maybe for the week or two prior to surgery to shrink your liver) - it's the insurance companies. Mine required a six-month supervised diet sometime within the last two years (that is, the last two years before surgery). Some require a shorter period of time, some don't require a diet at all. Some will accept attempts through places like Weight Watchers as long as it's documented - some insist on having it done with a physician or a registered dietitian. Ask your insurance company as they're all different.

Tonight is my first group meeting. I have to attend one a month for three months as per my insurance and surgeons request. So I finally feel as if I am taking that first step toward my surgery and a healthier new me... Support group meeting tonight and my first Nutrition counseling next Wednesday!!!! Hopefully all requirements filled by end of December and sleeved in January ... If anyone has any of the same time frames as me ... I would love to hear from you.... Let the journey begin!!!!!

surgery in one week and I am shaking in my boots.............normal I suppose!

I am goin in with u at 1:00 pm PST I cannot wait I hve been on protein shakes since 10/15 and wb on protein shakes 2 weeks after surgery. I am excited no worries, I trust God he has our back so I ám confident that everything will b well. I pray for sleevers everyday. God bless all of us, this is best time of our lives, not many people in our situation will hve this opportunity not because they dont hve insurance or money to pay, but because they are not aware of the possibilities embrace the change. You will hve to do the work so what it was VERY hard work to be fat. Lol

Woohoo!! That is so exciting! Bcbs is great! I went to my seminar the last week of august, had surgeon consult on sept 19th and getting banded nov 6! CongrAts!!

Tell me about it! I am in month 3 of 6.

its completely normal. I had a headache from hell until day 4 of my 2 week preop diet. Call your Dr and see what you can take. I was allowed tylenol.

Absolutely! Use the chicken to eat your meal. You will have a ton of it that will last a week!

I add fruit to my protein shake every morning that I make one with my unflavored protein powder. I add 1/2 a small banana and 2 -3 frozen strawberries or mixed berries to 4 oz of silk and 1 scoop powder. I eat that every day I go to work, it is my breakfast and works as a meal. I tried it with flavored protein and did not like it.

Hi my name is Katie I am 34 yeas old and I live in Key West FL I will be making trip to Matrgate FL on March 6th for my Pre Op Ed Class and then taking the BIG step on March 7th! Any words of advice or suggestions would be great ! What do I bring to the hospital? What are the days / weeks after surgery like? Thanks Katie

Hi Everyone thanks for your words of encouragement. Its actually Optislim I am using, not SlimFast, I got them mixed up. Weight loss has picked up. I am one week out from surgery and have lost about 17lb. However I am constantly starving and wanting to go grab a burger or something which I will not be able to eat after the surgery (will only ever be able to eat part of a burger). What is the impact if I snap one week out? Can you still recover on liquids or does it put your liver back to square one? Thanks, Firefly

I only vomited a handful of times - and I would say it wasn't until I was a couple of months out, on solid foods and perhaps feeling a little cocky... well really I was eating too fast. I apparently had not sufficiently broken that bad habit. I was so paranoid - in the early weeks and was very very careful. Be aware that you can;t really feel everything in those first 3-6 weeks so I ate "by the book" measuring everything and watching the clock to know when to eat. I felt that was the best way to avoid accidental overeating in those initial weeks. I am 2.5 years out and never vomit (I did constantly with the band) so I guess I have learned something finally!

Hi Aubrey, Oh, thank you for your concern and reply. This is exactly why I posted it.. I did want to hear concerns I might have missed myself. And I do admit, I'm maybe a bit quick to decide.. 1)I will meet the surgeon the day before my surgery and if I don't feel comfortable with him, I will re-consider. Yes, I also think it's not an ideal situation. 2) travelling alone as a female I'm not worried about, I travelled to Tanzania by myself this year, it was the best thing ever.. 3) there will only be a couple of very basic tests, as I'm relatively healthy, not a major concern, I have had other operations with tests the day before 4) staying in hospital for only one night after surgery is a worry to me, I don't want to be alone in a hotel room, if something goes wrong, so I will ask whether I could stay one extra night. Also going home so soon on a long flight is not great, to say the least, I very much agree with you!!!!t Unfortunately I have to go back to work :-( the day after I fly back. I will google what I can do to reduce the risk of blood clots or similar on the flight. I recall getting a daily injection after a previous surgery I had, to prevent such thing, I think I will ask my doctor to give that to me and take one with me.. Again, thank you for taking the time, and yes, you did make me consider these risks again and highlighted the main ones to me. I am now much more aware of what might possibly go wrong, which is a good thing as I will ask all the questions and be more cautious. I will also read up on it a bit more. I am pretty tough (and probably a bit crazy :-) ), I did a 56 meter bungee jump just 3 weeks ago with my kids. :-) Unfortunately, not only that I cannot afford to have it done in the UK, so locally, but no-one would even consider me for the surgery as I'm not big enough. I need it, I am convinced of that. I will write my experiences down, whether good or bad.. many thanks!! :-) Hello Lambada, I don't want to discourage you at all but there are a few things that raise "red flags" for me. I am a Registered Nurse here in the U.S. so I have a fair amount of medical knowledge. Traveling to have surgery with someone that has not even met you in person yet is flag #1. The fact that you are traveling there alone as a female is flag #2. The fact that they are willing to do the all of the pre op testing the day before surgery is flag #3. Lastly the fact that you will have to take a 5.5 hr flight home 2 days post surgery is flag #4. You will already be at a much higher risk for forming blood clots in your legs without having to sit on a plane for several hours. That is beyond risky. I am quite fearful for you should you proceed with this plan. If you are able to travel to another country, why not look into some areas that are much safer and rigorously regulated. Would you be able to come to the U.S.? I know that it is expensive, but this is your life!! I hope this will give you serious pause to really evaluate all of the risks that you are taking. Again, this is written with nothing but absolute concern for you and your safety. Best, Aubrey

Well, the doc and I finally decided on the bypass over the sleeve. My surgery date is this coming Thursday. It’s unbelievable to me that less than 45 days ago I had my first consultation about weight loss surgery and now BAM!! Here we go…. I start the bowel prep tomorrow, and man…I so am not looking forward to it. I don’t have the luxury of taking the day off from work (as I’m taking almost all my vacation time for the recovery), so I’ve got to suck it up and down that stuff between 10am – Noon. An entire gallon of it!! And of course making sure I have a beeline to the crapper. That and the fact I’m done eating solid food for...well, I guess 3 week after the surgery. It’s funny the relationship I have with food. I’m having real remorse about not eating. Not that I’m hungry, just, not being able to eat with my family. I can deal with not eating, but I think I’ll have a tuff time watching my family eat “real food” while I have my bowl of Jell-O…sigh Anyway, it’s what we have to go thru though. It’s what’s required…damnit I hope I can get through tomorrow without any bathroom accidents….YIKES. -Jason

My A1C came back high so my PCP had me wait 3 months before I could consider surgery.. But I did all I was told and finally surgery is Monday!! Good luck with everything

JCsMamaBear, you just expressed what I've been experiencing. I've finished all evaluations and playing the waiting game. It took 3 weeks to get an approval letter from my insurance company. When I called my doctor's office, they said it was just a letter approving that I was a candidate for WLS. They said now I have to wait for a letter actually approving of the procedure. It's sort of frustrating because it's causing me to rearrange summer plans, kids schedule, etc., but my husband said that this isn't a process that we want to rush so let's just make sure that everything is done right. In the meantime, I see shows like the new season of Extreme Weight Loss and think-- okay, can I do that? Do I really need surgery? Then I'm reminded that that is TV and I don't have Chris Howell working with me. Good luck to you!

None, in fact they took me off all supplements and some of my prescriptions for 2 weeks pre-op. I'm pretty sure there were antibiotics in my IV cocktail though. No issues with infections and I was out of the hospital a day early after only 24 hours.

I'm worried that my a1c is going to delay my surgery... I've started checking my sugars in prep for the liquid diet, and they've been running pretty high. Now my a1c is being taken on Thursday, and I'm just terrified that this will mean another surgery delay. I know, I know, I can wait... But it doesn't mean I want to wait any more. My doc is self admittedly OCD, and wants everything to be perfect operating conditions, but the two week liquid diet pre and post will totally reduce sugars... /cry

So, my question is two-fold.... My husband and I started our 6 month supervised diet on January 27th. First...I have been trying to reach our insurance company's bariatric department to confirm if they just need 6 letters (Jan, Feb, March, April, May, and June) or if they will need the 7th one effective July 27th or later? Second...We had to bump our 2nd appt up to February 5th but have been on track every 4 weeks plus or minus a few days since then. Did I mess up making the appointment too close? Due to work and personal issues, there wasn't any way we could've done the appointement 4 weeks from the first one. I was told I would have a case worker assigned to my file in two weeks. I was hoping to find out from others experiences before then. Does anyone have any insight? Thanks in advance...

Brooklyngirl, First off....Tuesday! Wow! So exciting for you! I hope it goes very smooth and youre back with your family quickly and feeling fantastic! I will be thinking about you next week! Secondly.... I am absolutely not able to stop myself. Its a harsh reality, isn't it? I have faced that many times just trying to prepare myself for this surgery. I am a single mom (the fullest definition) of a 12 yr old boy. I have tried to drink Protein shakes while he eats the dinner I made for him. Extremely difficult! See, I own my own house, I take care of all house and home business. Everything from yard work to dishes and everything in between. I work 40 - 50hrs a week to do it. I am woman hear me roar!! I feel very strong, very in control. But...I cant stop myself from eating too much. I cant control myself around sweets. I just cant. And...it makes all the other things I do seem meager. Eating, and my weight because of it, is my biggest challenge and my biggest shame. I cant control it and it ticks me off! So, I know I need this surgery. I am just scared at times and petrified at others. ugh! I'm determined to change it. Very determined!

My doc said only a week low carb was needed for pre op liver shrink. Anything else is excess. I gained in 8lbs food funerals (i gain so easy) but lost it in that week. I don't know why he would require a longer pre op diet.

I was just barely over a 40 BMI with no co morbitities. My surgeon told me to not lose any weight during 3 month required visits with him. He said he didn't want to give the insurance company any out of approving me if I dipped below a BMI of 40 for one of the weigh ins. Each insurance company is different but I feel that the surgeon and the insurance coodinator are very experienced at dealing with insurance companies so I took the advice and didn't risk it.

I didn't know until I joined this forum, but every doc and Nut is truly different. I went for my 2 week post op yesterday and I was told I could try fruits and veggies. Especially water based fruits and veggies, like watermelon. I'm expected to be at or near full foods at 6 weeks, but I see some on full liquids for 5 weeks. All the can tell you is no..