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Where are you looking in the supermarket? They are usually on the coffee isle with the other flavoring items. When looking pre-op I found mine at Walmart. They did not have all of the flavors offered but they had the basics.

I do not have one but have been seriously thinking about making a purchase. It looks fun.

Not there yet but imagine I will feel a bit of both until it is financially feasible to have the excess skin removed.

I think one thing everyone forgets during this process is....you are not their only patient. The coordinator has many patients they are following on a daily basis, submitting paperwork for and so on. Now add in these are regular people, they run into holidays, take vacation days off, get sick and everything else just like an worker at any other place of employment. I am often amazed reading posts like this. People calling the office daily trying to rush their approval. A reputable doctor usually will have an equally reputable team surrounding him. They want insurance approvals just like we do but for a different reason - income. They do this on a daily basis, they know what is required of the different insurance companies, they know how long replies take and so on. Trying to rush them will only end up with what you've experienced and that cannot be good. While anxious to have surgery, I did not hound my doctor's staff for just this reason. Plus I did not want to anger someone and have them drop my case to the back of the line. I'd imagine this probably happens more than we know. Remember in the end, they control when you'll receive a surgery date, not the insurance company. God luck and I hope it all works out well for you.

In all honesty, I would be worried if he wasn't afraid for you. To me that is a sign of love and concern. This is major surgery, it is not a joke and the aftermath is difficult and he'll be the one going through it with you. He has a right to be concerned but it appears that complications are the exception, not the norm. Take a look around the forum, search "complications" and the threads where people discuss their problem should pop us. Good luck!

They will get smaller, no doubt about it. I've only had a small amount of weight loss and I can tell the difference already. From watching a close friend and several co-workers that have had WLS, they tend to lose weight from the top down. So far, I am going right along with the program.

I had h phlori a couple of years ago so my surgeon had me tested twice prior to surgery just in case. My PCP actually discovered my extremely low vitamin D levels about a month prior to surgery. I started taking a high dose of vitamin D and did so up until surgery.

Thanks for telling your story. I think it is important for people to hear the good and bad sides of the surgery. Crossed fingers that you are healing well and on the return to good health.

I think this is an individual thing. Doctors can give guidelines but if your body requires more Water than the norm or average, give it what it wants.

Please post a review of it once tried! Post surgery I cannot tolerate ANY protein (even unflavored) and it is really getting me down.

I hit mine four weeks after surgery. Have at it!

I did not read any commercial books. In my opinion, there is more than enough free information available on the internet and that helped me.

Who in the company normally researches and selects insurance coverage? I would imagine that person would know what company and/or plan to go with based on past experience.

For most insurance plans to cover skin removal surgery there needs to be medical need or they will consider it cosmetic. It will be up to your personal physician to document the physical ailments the extra skin causes. Technically this is also something that will not happen right away unless it is serious impeding your good health.

The majority of my pain was in the incision where they pulled the stomach out. At times it was stabbing pains and actually increased before leveling off at about week 4/5. By week 6 it was gone so hang in there, it does get better!

Thank you so much for this information. I had no idea onDemand had work out videos. I am looking through them right now!

Congrats on that very positive visit! When you figure out how to get in 100 grams of protein, please report back and inform me too!

There is a whole section of the forum devoted to just this issue. Check out http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/forum/13-band-to-gastric-sleeve-revisions/

Yes I've had a great amount of it after surgery. It has settled down but I do wonder if my vision has changed. Unfortunately it's a while off until my yearly exam.

I look forward to your thoughts once post-op.

No matter what my surgeon listed as his goal, I have my own and will strive for that. It is all about my comfort zone since most weight charts do not take body differences into consideration and we all know that they exist.

I was a major soda addict, MAJOR! I quit it cold turkey about 3-4 months prior to surgery as it was a requirement and so far, so good. I do crave one from time to time but have not succumbed and am proud of that. All of my friends were shocked when I quit and still are! You can do this if you desire. As for other food items, I am trying to make better choices overall yet not deprive myself too much. While my taste buds have seriously changed, maybe once a week I will crave chocolate or other snack food. I purchase and eat one or two pieces, giving the remaining to a co-worker. She jokingly claims that she'll end up fat due to eating all of my extras.

It's real and happens often when I get busy at work.

I have not purchased anything new, for some reason just have not felt the urge. I am having fun going through my closet and pulling out items hidden in the back and/or boxed on shelves. Did make a decision to shop thrift/second hand stores for pants when the times comes. Just cannot imagine paying retail when I may not get full use of it. When I do begin shopping again, my goal is to visit a Lane Bryant and try not to burst into tears. Ages ago this was my favorite store but it has been a very long time since I have been able to shop there. My store of last resort for many years, Catherine's, can go pound sand from now on!

While your caloric count may be too high, doesn't the body level out at some point and stop active weight loss? I thought that happened around 18 months to two years?