Bummed out and sad

[KJK 1]

"I think the LB is the way to go~ Obviously you do too~ My sister is having the same issue-- she has to lose weight before her surgery too- it's a safety issue due to too much fat around the liver.. Can the doctor give a plan to follow for those 3 mos? maybe that would help-- although I know it's hard- best wishes"

Thanks, I am a bit less freaked now than I was the day I was told I needed to lose weight to lose weight...grr....I just don't want to take what will probably end up being another 6 months of my life in this same situation, but if I put a spin on it and start eating different today like I have started, then it hopefully won't take 6 months. I am on and off on the panic thing and I absolutely am scared to death to try the gastric bypass. Lap band is all I want. The dr said himself, he feels it is unfair for an insurance company to try and tell us what we can have when it is a benefit we are paying for. Also, it has been proven that the weight loss between the two levels off after about 2 years to be almost the same for either surgery, so forcing us to have one or the other isn't really right. OH WELL, I will just be glad my insurance covers it and start that wonderful watch what you eat thing...... Thanks everyone.

[KJK 1]

I thought about a liquid diet. What does that involve for the pre-op? What did you guys eat that have done that already?

[Oregondaisy 2,021]

I drank a lot of Atkins drinks and low carb slim fast. There are many different Protein powders that you can buy to do the liquid diet. My doctor also sold Soups that are high protein. You can also buy unflavored Protein Powder to add to soups. It's hard.....but you lose a lot of weight doing the liquid diet. If you're on a high protein diet and no carbs, you won't be hungry after the first couple of days.

I am sorry your insurance is giving you a hard time. My insurance says right in the book that no type of weight loss surgery is covered under any circumstances. I paid $10,000 and I took a second mortgage on my house to get the band. There are many many people who pay for it themselves. But if your insurance will pay if you lose 45 lbs, you can do it . It won't be easy, but knowing the band will be your reward, might motivate you. It's very motivating when you're on the liquid diet to see the scale move down every day.

[Carlene 12]

Weight Watchers is the best way. They will help keep you motivated and on track.

[soniapaz 0]

Honey, I am sooo sorry. We need this surgery to lose weight because it's sooo hard. And for insurance companies to put up these obstacles is just mean.

[luv2bingo07 0]

Kathy,

I am so sorry about what you are going through. 45 lbs is alot to lose. If it helps at all, I was told to drink a Protein shake(Muscle Milk-choc.) for Breakfast and dinner, and a lean cuisine for lunch. Also, you can eat lots of fruits and veggies for snacking. I lost 15 lbs the first week and slowed way down after that, but I stuck to it, and after a few weeks was down about 24lbs. I have lymphedema swelling in my legs and feet that affect my weight especially when it gets warmer outside. Of course, my weight is fluctuating now because we are having warmer weather.

I am self pay and having my surgery with Dr. Ortiz in Tijuana, MX on Monday. I was told to lose as close to 36 lbs as possible before surgery because my BMI was over 50. Well, I am under 50 now and that should be good.

Good luck and I hope and pray something will work for you.

Judy

[mdrai 3]

Another thought if you really want to drop it fast to just get it over with and on the way to bandland is to do the pre-op liquid diet NOW... I'm on day 5 of 15 before my surgery on 5/29 and so far have lost 8 lbs! Now I know that most of that is Water weight, but it is still very motivating! I know I would never be able to do this (liquid dt) if there wasn't an "end date" + a major payoff (the band) @ the end of it... but maybe the same mentality would work for you... do the liquids + vits, etc. really hard for x amount of time (a month or two??) to get to the goal of the band. Just a thought.