PRE-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A

I'm scheduled for surgery Monday @ 7:30am and I have a couple of concerns, just for my peace of mind: (1) I have folliculitis (inflamed hair follicals) in a few places below the belt and a rash, neither of which are contageous. They look more painful than they actually are, whic is more of the concern. Would the doctor cancel just because my discoid lupus (skin-related issues) is acting up? It usually does in the winter. (2) In my pre-op diet, I had to have under 1300 calories, under 100 carbs, and between 90-120 grams of Protein through clear and full liquids only. But I was also allowed a 3-4oz. piece of lean meat once each week, veggie salads, and steamed veggies.…

Hello everyone...:rolleyes2: What a great day! I just finished up all my pre-op testing today and my surgery is set for Dec. 22, 2008 (its gonna be a liquid Christmas! lol), but I do want to ask how long after the surgery were you able to drive? move around with no problem? How sore were you? What liquids are the best to eat for the first few days? I am sincerely grateful for any suggestions. Thanks and Happy Holidays friends! lauren :cursing:

I can feel a cold coming on and I have my surgery on Mon. My ins approved but it must be done by 12/2! PLEASE tell me they can do the surgery with a cold. No fever or anything severe.

did anyone have to postpone due to having a cold? Or did they just do the surgery regardless.. just curious thanks julie

Hello Everyone, I am 10 days in the pre op diet Optifast 800. I've been following this diet closely and have only lost about 3 lbs. I weigh myself every morning when I wake up and every night. When I wake up I'm always lighter so I'm optimistic about the diet for the day, but when I go to bed I'm always back to my original weight if not a pound heavier. I am discouraged because all I have had all day was the liquids. Some days I have even gone to the gym and exercised. What I realized is that my cycle is coming and I may be retaining water weight. Any suggestions about what to do about the water weight. My family and friends say the amount of weight you lose prior to sur…

What would happen if I shared with my pre-op psychologist that I might consider taking my life in the future when/if a romantic relationship I'm in ends? Would that get me help, or would it get me black-listed, or both?

I am considering lap band surgery with Dr. Chung in Lake Charles Louisiana. Do any of you know what his PRE OP diet requirements are?

I am having my surgery on December 16th and I am beginning to prepare everything for it. My doctor does not require a pre-op diet and I was wondering if I could get the information of what it is and how to do it from someone. I would like to do the diet that you all do for a saftey precaution just in case. If any of you could pass that diet on to me I would really appreciate it!! Thanks so much!

Wanted to know if anyone else was told they would have to /should do this once they have the surgery.... No drinking 30 minutes prior to eating, during eating, or 1 hour after eating.... They said if you do, it liquifies the food more quickly and it leaves your stomach faster causes you to become hungry sooner.

Hi there, I was wondering if there is anyone who has been approved and had surgery with Blue Shield of CA insurance. I have undergone testing and still have just a few more things to do before they submit me. I have my psych eval on Friday, which the bariatric coordinator stated that this is all that they are asking for a copy of. She said after she gets that in, she will submit it to Blue Shield of CA. I was just wondering if anyone else had it and could tell me a round about time it took to hear something back after needed paperwork was submitted. Thank you! :biggrin:

I saw someone else's thread about what excuse to tell coworkers. This post is related, but I'm looking more for reasons why I should or shouldn't tell people. I'm still undecided. I don't even have a date yet, but I'm hoping it'll be early to mid January. I understand that telling everyone will probably spawn some criticism and a lot of questions, but I really don't want to carry out an extended lie by faking a hernia or anything. I'm also hoping I can make them more sensitive to the plight of the chubbies. I don't want to feed into the stereotype of 'see, if all fat, lazy people just got of their butts, went on a diet and exercised, then they could all lose weight li…

I have been declined and now need to start an appeal. I know I have GERD and that is one of the medical conditions that are on my policy but I don't know how to prove it. I know records should be at my old dr office that is now closed that I had perscriptions but years ago when Prilosec OTC came out I noticed it was less expensive than my co-pay from my insurance so I have used it for years now and love it. So, how do I prove that?? I never really spoke about it with my dr. since the Prilosec OTC was working and I didn't feel I needed to. So, how do I prove that?? I guess I need to make an appointment with my PC dr. and get some things on the record here.

Dec 22nd. Not sure what to think at this point after reading some of the pre thoughts here. They didn't put me on any restrictions as far as diet. I feel like i should store up by eating everything. BAD IDEA Anyway I'm in Los Angeles going thru surgery at Cedars Any one with advice?:thumbup:

I just want to say Thank YOU for all of you who added some input about the BC/BS issue. I am now on a Quest to find a PCF is not returning my calls. I am going to move forward with this one way or the other. Michele

So since finding out that I have my date (Dec. 30th) with insurance approval and all set to go...I have been eating my way through some of my favorite places. Well, I've gained about 8lbs. -SURE WISH IT WOULD COME OFF AS EASY AS IT GOES ON - Anyway, I realized that I need to stop and tried yesterday to begin a modified version of my pre-op diet. I decided to have only shakes with a small lunch and dinner. I couldnt do it. I felt starving hungry all day long and by night time, after dinner...I raided the fridge. :angry_smile: I am so worried that I wont be able to do the pre-op that I am almost in tears. It also makes me worry that I will fail the band too b/c …

Ok First off I am Kaiser.. that makes a difference i hear.. I saw my PCP last week and she did my weight and height stuff and ordered my thryoid blood test. And also did my referral to the surgeon office. Today Bariatrics (spell?) contacted me and set my schedule for the Seminar, which is Nov 4. I guess its a 5 hour meeting.. My question, what happens now??

:hurray:Well tomorrow is the day I have been waiting for, I go in at 9 am to take the plung. If their is anyone else going in tomorrow let me know and good luck. I pray all goes well and also ask you keep me in your paryers.:wink:

My Dr. put me on the sugar buster diet. I was wondering did anyone have to do this? What types of food did you eat? I know the list says lean meats veggies and fruit. Are you able to eat sugar free foods like sugar free jell-o and pudding? or even sugar free cookies,lol

OMG I'm freaking out! I just found out that my surgery date is Dec 31 no big deal right? ok that is not the bad part the bad part is I just got off of the phone with the nurse and she was like well I have to start my Suger busters diet today. OMG I had no time to prepare and I was going to go to applebees to get a big plate of Chicken parm before I started my pre-op diet CRAP! But it's wierd becasue I have already eaten a bowl of cereal and two ginger snaps so I should just eat the chicken parm and say well I had already eaten before she told me about the pre-op diet haha!

:eek:I am approved and so now I am getting excited. I start clear liquids on the 12th and stay on them until one week after surgery. Is there anything I should have on hand to eat? Any helpful hints. Thanks.

Just came back from my seminar in Burlington MA at Lahey Clinic with Dr. Nepomnayshy! It was fantastic and incredibly informative. Only thing that was a bit discouraging to me is that they list Aetna (my insurance) as one that may be difficult to get coverage from. However, I called Aetna and they did tell me that my plan says that they would cover up to 90% so long as I meet their requirments. Deep breath lol I'm also discouraged because my loved ones are not all that supportive. I have decided to only tell my parents and husband. None of them object, but no one is enthusiastic for me either and it's rather depressing. I'm so unhappy at the weight I am, all I want to d…

Anyone know of any pilots out there that have been banded, any problems with the FAA or with renewing the medical. As well i enjoy deep sea scuba diving, any problems ever experience. thank you.

When people say they've lost ___ total inches, where are those inches measured? I'm assuming waist, hips/bum, anywhere else? I started doing this and began measuring all kinds of places (ie. arms, thighs)...then I thought- if I have a huge list of measurements I'd only have to lose a tiny bit to get a huge total loss...LOL...:rolleyes2:duh, there must be a standard list, right?

I have to have a 5yr medical history! Well that is not a problem however my doctor never did monitor my dieting. I have never gone to anyone other than say Jenny Craig, Weight Watcher, or diet pills I may have purchased from the drug store. Seems that they also want to know if I have any health risk, dibetic, heart problems, hypertension or sleep apthia. Help me out here please, if anyone has BC/BS I would like to know really how hard this is going to be to get approved for this banding surgery! Thanks Michele:cry_smile:

I got banded on nov24th 2008 where my port hole incision is it keeps leaking clear fluid every day is this common or will stop after a period of time

After a serious bout with kidney stones in February my doc found 11 stones sitting in my kidneys. No one seems to know why they formed or what to do about them, but sit and pray they don't come out at the same time!!! All are still relatively small.. My concern is that I started to pass them because I got dehydrated.. I have told the nurse, and its in my charts about this, but I'm wondering how hard it is to keep hydrated in the first few weeks, and how long you had IV for fluids in the hospital.. If they send me home fully hydrated I should be able to keep up with it.. My other fear is that should I have an attack the pain makes me vomit!! Has anyone had to deal with thi…

I am considering the lapband. Dr Fielding is not covered under my insurance. Dr. Texeira is highly recommended by my doctor who I love and trust. However, he is mostly known for gastric bypass procedures. Has anyone been banded by Dr. Texeira at St. Lukes Hospital?

Hi Everyone I just wanted to tell all of you who are waiting my story because I know how worried you can get waiting. I arrived at the hospital at 12:30 and I was operated on at 3pm. Just before going into theatre I wanted to just get up and walk out I was really scared but thankfully I didn't do that. I don't remember anything until I got to my room where I asked for some ice for my dry mouth. When I woke up properly I had a look at my tummy. I have 3 really small incisions and 1 slightly larger one (no stitches). The only one I can feel is the larger one but that is only slight discomfort certainly no pain. The only pain I have had is in my shoulders, the left…

I'm new here and kind of confused on what to do. I will be calling my physician tomorrow for a physical. Some background: I am 34, 246, 5'5" and have tried every diet imaginable since I was 10. I was never thin. I've never had health problems related to my weight. Just recently though both of my knees and back have been in pain, so I think it's because of the extra weight. I have Care First Blue Choice HMO so I would want them to cover the lap band (and would love to do it ASAP). What do I need to do? I don't have receipts for programs I've done. I have books (Atkins, South Beach, some other stuff). I never saved receipts for diet pills I tried either.…

I went to the Doctors in November, it was technically for a sick visit because of my cronic headaches but we discussed my weight as being one of the problems and they weighed me at 250. They also set me an appointment with a Nutrionist that very day. At the time I did not have a PCP and just saw another General Internal Medicine Doctor. I have a physical appointment with my new PCP on 12/31 and at that time plan to tell her of my lap band plan. I know I am going to have to do a 6 month PCP diet and weigh in, but my question is...do you think that my appointment in November and my one in December will count as 2 months or do you think my one in December will be counte…

Hi :smile2: I have a 10 day diet where I have 2-3 Protein shakes a day (1 is glucerna though and only has 10 grams of protein hmmm.. suggested by my nutrionist.). I can have sf Jello and broth. Also can have cottage cheese and light yogurt a couple times a day but both make me vomit. This is very very hard. My stomache hurts literally. The deep hunger pains hurts. I admit also have head hunger where I dream of dancing cheeseburgers and sushi and such. I am full committed to doing this without messing up. So my question is.. does the extreme hunger go away at some point during these 10 days? Are there tricks to divert your attention from how hungry you are? I went to…

Hi everyone, Checked my approval status online (tricare) and it was showing incomplete info, so I called tricare and I was told case suspended until they get cpt codes and to have the bariatric clinic to call with the codes, so I called the Bariatric Clinic and they said they would take care of it. So hopefully this mean I am getting closer to the surgery. Will keep you posted on progress.

Im wondering who does my blood work? Is it when I go to the pulmonologist, or my PCP? Also, what are they looking for? Blood sugar, preganancy? I mean are there specific things that will hinder your approval? Obviously pregnancy would, but I mean exactly what are they trying to rule out? Also, what exactly will the pulmonologist do? I have a million questions, I should probably just go to the appts. and see what happens. I have this unquenchable desire to know exactly what is going to happen ahead of time.

I'm just starting my 6 mon physician supervised diet with my PCP. Exactly what does he need to document with each visit? He is not familiar with LB surgery and says he's not sure of what is needed either.

I am statring my 5th month on a supervised diet. I've gone from 226 to 212 lbs. I am finding it very hard to control my eating. part of the allure of lap banding for me is to limit the amount of food I can put in my stomach. I lose a few pounds then gain some back then lose a few more. This 6 month period is very stressful esp. when it gets close to the monthly weigh in day (Dec 30 this month).

I just got home a few hours ago My husband and I both got banded yesterday. Just thought I would share it with you all! Yesterday my appt was at 1pm, and my husband's was right after mine. I got there around 12:20 and they pretty much started with pre-op stuff right at 1pm. I have never had a surgery before, so I was really nervous! I got a shot in my tummy to thin my blood, and an IV obviously, both of which I didn't even feel at all. They wheeled me into the operating room where I lifted myself off of one bed and onto the operating table. They covered me in nice warm blankies. I asked the doctor when he would be putting me out, and that's the last thing I remem…

Hello all, Is there anyone out there that is from St Louis? I am seriously thinking about this surgery however I need some advice on picking the correct doctor. Can anyone help? Thanks

I smoke and I have to stop smoking before I can get the surgery. does anyone out there now how long I have to stop for so will get a good blood test back? Please help me!!

I am in month three of my six month diet plan. I am following Weight Watchers since it is an approved diet through Cigna. But I know a lot of people get turned down still by insurance because their physicians didn't "document" enough information every month. Mine asks me about my weight loss, exercise, and sometimes just if I have any other issues (like reflux, depression, etc). Is that enough information? Anyone have a specific template they had to follow?

I'm starting my 2nd month of my 6 mo. diet. I just noticed my ticker counted the days differently than me (faster). I've been scheduling my PCP weigh ins on on 10th of each month, but do I have to be that exact? Can your visits be less than 30-31 days apart? If I started Nov. 10 can I end May 1st or does it have to be May 10 (have BCBS Highmark PPO Blue-Western PA). The reason I'm asking is it just dawned on me:der: that both my daughter (college) and my oldest son (H.S.) will both be graduating right about the time my surgery will probably be scheduled...that means huge graduation parties at my house, house-guests, and prep for weeks.:angry_smile: A week earlier w…

I'm scheduled for surgery on the 30th and just started my pre-op today. I can only have 5 Opti-fast shakes a day... sugar free Jello, tea, and Water. Has anyone done it for this long? WHat are some tricks to get it going? I heard the shakes were nasty...but, I have two already and they don't taste too bad. My grandmother said I should be able to have beef/chicken broth. But, it is not on my list? Do you think it's a big deal if I have that?

im going in jan im a lil scared but excited at the same time

Hi all! I'm new on the boards....I've been lurking for a month or so, I have my first consultation appointment on December 18th with the surgeon. I've been soaking in a lot of information on the boards, wow! What a resource! One thing that I haven't found is: How long is the actual procedure? I'm sure it varies, but is it an hour? Less than an hour? I'm crossing my fingers that I can get this process moving along, the appointment on the 18th is just the beginning of the journey! Yippee!! Thanks for all the first hand experience stories, they definitely help a gal like me who is a "beginner!" :wink_smile::biggrin:

I can't believe it! It is really happening! 1/12 is my date! I went to my first information session in 9/07! It took me 16 months to get my act together, go through the 6 month supervised medical weight loss plan and then follow up with all appointments, etc. I will be having my surgery with Dr. Ren at NYU! Can't Wait!

Yippie.....I can officially say my surgery is next week!! Thursday the 18th to be exact :wink_smile: This AM was the final 2 appointments, the nutritionist and a final meeting with my surgeon to go over all the details of the BIG DAY!! All the pre-op tests looked good. I was a bit worried about the second round of blood they tested last week since the first group done back in Oct. showed I was positive for H-Pylori...who knew! So after two fun weeks of many antibiotics I guess it's a done deal! Also a bit of good news, my surgery time has changed from noon to 7:45 AM....less time to stress and be hungry! Anticipation is definately building now! Heck, even that darn Med…

I'm being banded the end of Jan. and was wondering about staying on my current medications. Are we able to swallow tiny pills. I can't just stop my happy pills. Thanks Tam :biggrin:

My surgeon appt at Kaiser is next Wednesday 12/10! It was scheduled for 1/8 but I called to see if they had any cancellation appts and they did. YAY! Does anyone have any good tips or expectations for me? I'm very excited, but nervous! Thanks!

So....both my husband and I are having the surgery on Monday Dec. 8th. Hooray! We've been on a 700 calorie per day diet for two weeks. Two protien servings, three veggie servings, a fruit, and a dairy per day. However, I am a little worried. I am so used to being on the Atkins diet that I've been sort of "cheating". I realize it's important to keep fat out of my diet as much as possible to shrink my liver, but I had some sugar free candy and a little peanut butter. What are the chances that my liver will be too fatty? We haven't been following the diet very well these past few days...because we've actually gone to liquids and protien shakes only to ensure we have s…

Good Evening Everyone, I have never posted before, but here goes. I am getting banded this Friday the 12th in South Florida. Getting a bit nervous, but ready...anyone else this week?:sad_smile:

Hi everyone I'm having my op tomorrow. I got told not to eat or drink after 7am so I'm going to get up early and have a coffee and Breakfast. I would really love to have a piece of toast. I didn't think to ask my dietician if that was ok or does it still have to be Optifast? My thoughts are that one piece of toast so close to surgery can't possibly have any effect on my liver - could it?