New, Nervous, and Anxious

[britleigh 1]

Hello everyone!! This is my first post I've been a member of the site for a while and been wanting the surgery for years. Now finally I feel like the stars are aliening in my favor. I little bit about me....

Age: 25

Current Weight: 316

Starting Weight: 320 (gain 7 lbs at my second appointment )

Surgeon: Dr Tony Primomo @ The Davis Clinic in Houston

Insurance: Aetna

Insurance Requirements: 3 nutritional classes at least 30 days apart. I already did 2 and go for the last one on the 23rd.

At my first nutritional class the nutritionist informed me that Aetna has a requirement that you not gain any weight at all from your first recorded weight to your day of approval. So basically whatever your lowest recorded weight, you can't be at all above that when it's submitted for approval (which I'm super dooper nervous about).

So that's the main deats and so here's one of the weird things that I'm worried about... My surgeon now requires that all his patients have to do an EDG (or EGD idk) So from what I'm told is a scope camera that they put all the way down just to look at everything and make sure it's all ok before surgery.... however, the thing that Im really worried about is the cost... I have a high deductible plan and I'm worried that I'll have to pay a fortune for the test then if that actually makes me meet my $3,000 deductible then I'll still have to pay my 20% at time of surgery. So does anyone have any experience with the EDG and know ballpark costs?

I'm also super super scared/nervous about the 2 week pre-op liquid diet... but that's for another time lol

Thanks for any and all feed back.... and Happy Weight Loss

[pions9815 11]

I have had to get an EGD before but it was covered under my insurance so unfortunately I don't have much info about how much the insurance side of it would cover. I would call your insurance and see about how much you have left to meet your deductible and see about a payment plan. Hope that can help a little. I too am a little worried about the pre-op diet. I met with the nutritionist and she gave me some great options that you can buy at your local supermarket instead of the Bariatric Advantage (which I hear is not so yummy) She told me whichever one I chose would lead to how many a day I could have. Maybe they have something like that?

[Nick Edwards 1]

I never had to get an EGD. I hope it goes well for you. I had to have a sleep study, ekg, sonogram on organs and at least 2 visits with a dietitian. I am having the surgery in 3 days and am very nervous. My surgeon only required me to have a 1 week all liquid diet and it has been rough but you will be able to get thru it. Good luck on your EGD.

[cellardoor 10]

Hey @@britleigh

I'm just as new as you so I don't have much in the way of advice, but I wanted to wish you luck, especially with that Aetna weight requirement. That would be scary to me as well.

Best of luck!!

[thinndskies 52]

I was worried about the two week liquid diet, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. My doctor allowed salads with almost no calorie dressings and that helped with the urge to chew something. Most people on this site will tell you that after day 4, it becomes much easier. I was very pleased to lose 18 pounds during this phase prior to surgery. I didn't like the super sweet taste of the Protein shakes so I put instant decaffeinated coffee crystals in my morning shake. The flavor was pretty good. The Protein hot chocolate and chicken broth is also not bad. sugar free popscicles are nice for something fruity.

I don't remember how much the EGD was, but it is a lot less than a sleep study. It's sort of necessary since the doctor needs to see if you have any issues that would hinder surgery. Good luck.

[britleigh 1]

Oh My Gosh!!! Thank you all so much for your words of encouragement!! I definitely needed it today!!

@@pions9815 I wish my nutritionist would give me alternatives! They are very set on using the Bariatric Advantage which is so expensive. What kind of advice did they give you?

@@Nick Edwards Good luck!!!!!!! Definitely let me know it goes. I am so oober nervous about the pain and recovery I had back surgery a few years ago and the recovery was a killer. Lucky you only had to do a week liquid diet. And they are so super strict about it. If you don't reduce the size of you liver enough they will send you home and reschedule your surgery so that's why I'm so freaking out!!

@@cellardoor Thanks so much!! OMG girl I'm so toats nervous about it especially since I had already gained a few lbs from my first visit to my second. Luckily I was able to pull it together and lost 10 when I went for my 3rd. PS You are gorgeous!!!!

@@thinndskies Thanks for the advice!! I'm going to ask about the salads!! That would be such a great help and a change from drinking. And I definitely love popsicles so that will be great lol

Again, thank you all so much!! I have honestly been so stressing about everything (which makes me eat ) and it's such so nice to know that there are people in the same situation and know the struggles. Thank you so much for the advice. It has really given me so much to think about and work on!

[jazzy59 8]

Hi, I am right there with you. I have surgery on April 10th. I've been on the liquid diet for almost two weeks. I'm having my surgery at UCSF. I was told to have 3 bottles of Ensure and any clear liquid as my liquid diet. It has not been easy. But I have lost 14 lbs in 12 days. I'm anxious, I"m scared. I love to cook and of course, eat. I am excited to get this over with. I know I will have to change my life. No more hours and hours spent on decadent meal preps etc. I'm happy to have found this forum! Thanks for having it.

[pions9815 11]

She explained that there were much better options out there and had some options to go over closer to the surgery date, but mentioned low-carb slim-fast and Atkins shakes that are available at the supermarket. She said the taste is better, lest costly and they do the same thing the Bariatric Advantage does. Which shake you choose determines how many per day you can have.

[britleigh 1]

@@pions9815 OMG girl that is such a great idea!! I would have never thought about that!! I'm definitely gonna ask about that. I wonder if those are just to loose weight or they help with the liver shrinkage?

ps are you so worried about taking all the Vitamins after surgery? I really am... how are you supposed to take so many a day plus eating and not feel like your filling your stomach so much all day? It's gonna be crazy!!

pss feel free to email

@@jazzy59 Good luck with your surgery!!! Let me know how it goes!!!! I'm sure you'll do great I think I would die after 2 weeks of ensure shakes.... idk how you've done it. Keep it up though. I'm really curious about after surgery so definitely let me know about how you feel and how weird it is to eat afterwards. I'm so so so ready to have my surgery too, but I don't even have a set date yet. Hopefully some time in let May or early June. I wish you the best of luck and I'll definitely been thinking about you on the 10th

[jazzy59 8]

Thanks Britleigh. Yes, I started out at 329.8lbs. On the Ensure, I'm down to 315.8 as of yesterday. So not bad. I put the Ensure in a blender with lots of ice and it makes more. I also use part of my morning ensure in my coffee because I can't tolerate black coffee. I also found an app. on my iPad that you can track your weight loss with pictures of yourself as well. I was humiliated to see how big I am. Denial is a wonderful thing. But this app is really good. Tracks weight, charts your weight loss, photos, and you can journal. It is called FitJourney.

[MissTrish14 44]

Hi Britleigh, I am also at the Davis clinic. Dr Robert Davis is my Doc. Dr Primono did my EGD on last Friday. It was a piece of cake you don't remember any of it. They give you propaphol. My date is April 15. This liquid diet is killer. They will allow 1 Protein Bar as a replacement for one of the shakes. They will also give you recipes for Protein Shakes. you can use Water or milk but the rule of thumb is if you add fruit no milk. you can have this much sugar free popsicles or Jello as you like. it is very hard and I have cheated a couple of times but only thing I did do was eat something high in Protein like a piece of grilled chicken breast, or piece of grilled fish. Don't know if that affects anything.

Edited April 9, 2014 by MissTrish14

[pions9815 11]

She told me it was for the liver shrinking too I hear ya! The Vitamins are crazy! I bought a pill box with AM and PM slots and filled it up with Vitamins to take. When I went looking for the recommended vitamins, I found chewable options to get a little more comfortable with it for after surgery but the amount of them are crazy!!! Its hard to take them now, before surgery! lol

[britleigh 1]

@@pions9815 I know!! I feel like the pills alone are gonna fill me up. And I'm nervous that I'll drink too much Water with them and I'll have pain or something. I tried some of the Calcium chews and they were awful. Definitely not looking forward to those lol.

@@MissTrish14 They just called me yesterday to schedule the EDG. It's gonna be Friday 2nd. So after that all my requirements will be met and we'll see about a schedule date for surgery (hopefully). I haven't started the liquid yet but I know I'm gonna be a grumpy guss lol I am not gonna be awesome to be around so I'm definitely gonna need you guys' help to get through it. I am just so ready to have a set date to look forward to and to have the surgery!! I hate feeling so anxious!!

[pions9815 11]

I must have gotten lucky with the Calcium flavor I chose. I have Bavarian cream from the nature's blend company, my Multivitamin on the other hand I chose wrong, tastes horrible lol which one do you use?

[MissTrish14 44]

@@britleigh, They scheduled my surgery before I had my EGD. My EGD was already scheduled, and I had already fulfilled all my other requirement except my EGD so they submitted for final approval. My final approval came back before I had my EGD and I actually had my Pre Op visit the Tuesday before I had my EGD. FYI lemon is my favorite Calcium chew. I absolutely hate the chocolate Peanut Butter.