JonathanS

Agreed. The apple one tasted too much like the jolly rancher for me. But still, SO MUCH BETTER THEN ISOPURE!

I am the 17th myself. Well wishes and a speedy recovery!

I must say, you are beautiful. That is all.

Tamara, I just wanted to point out that while the ensure has 0 fat, 9 grams of protein, it does have 35 grams of carbs. It was suggested by my NUT to keep a close eye on carbs and especially those that contain a lot of sugar. Have you tried the Nectar brand from Syntax yet? It is a clear liquid mix too. It has 0 fat & 0 carbs. I ordered all the sample flavors from vitalady and like most of them. I hope I haven't come across as preaching, I just wanted to make sure you knew there were other options out there. I wish you a speedy recovery!

I have come to appreciate my experience and the 6 month waiting period that I had to go through. This is something that you really don't want to jump too quickly in to. You are the only one that can make this decision for yourself. I hope another self-pay will post about an available post-op insurance that will cover any complications. I can't remember the name but I know I have seen it. This may be a great option for you to avoid that $100k burden you fear. I wish you the best on your journey!

Well wishes on a speedy recovery! :-)

I think this is a personal decision that you have to make for yourself. You will hear "don't you dare" or "sure, I do". For myself, I'm going to follow on the heals of others success and the advice that my surgeon has given me, I've chosen not to. I enjoy the Smart Water brand and crystal light so much that I don't even look at soda anymore. Good luck on your upcoming journey!

It does look pretty neat seeing your insides. The barium shake they gave me had a strong fake cherry taste to it. I asked the technician if it was nasty and she said that it is not that bad and they add flavor. She was right. The hardest part is not burping after they give you the fuzzy stuff. Glad everything went well!

Good luck on all your tests! The EKG takes under 2 minutes. The chest xray takes under 60 seconds. Now the ultrasound took a bit longer on me because she was having a hard time seeing my gallbladder but it was dark in the room and the hum of the machine almost put me to sleep so no big deal. The only thing about the blood work is the volume (12+ vials) that they take. It seemed to take forever to fill them all. Good luck on the endoscopy, I didn't have one. My surgeon wanted an upper gi instead.

Do I sense a fellow redditor?

NDN, I tend to agree with you. After going to the support groups and talking to others that my surgeon has operated on, I'm comfortable with the inherent risks.

Absolutely! I actually made notes as I read the posts here and typed up about 15+ questions to ask. I knew I would be nervous and probably wouldn't remember everything if I didn't write it down. But once I get in the room with the surgeon he made me feel very at ease and ended up just talking for awhile and I pulled out my list at the end to make sure I didn't forget anything.

I also asked how he prevented leaks (clips along staple line, glue, stitching). Pain after surgery. Drains. Expected weight loss in first month. Preop diet. Time to do surgery. Cath. If I would have my own recovery room. How soon I could exercise.

Sorry to hear that. Hopefully it won't take that long!

I'm 25 years old from Atlanta, Georgia single and looking . My surgery date is Tuesday, October 16th. Luckily I do not have a preop diet but I am trying to drop weight before surgery. I'm down 20lbs during my 6 month supervised diet and hope to drop another 5 before surgery. Good luck to everyone!

Honestly, go ahead and give them a call to explain what happened. Smoking can affect everything that sassy mentioned. I would not hide it from them.

I talked to my surgeon about traveling and he said that it shouldn't be longer then 90 minutes to prevent clots. However, if your Dr. gave you the ok ... have fun! I would just remember water, water, and more water with walking and being in the sun.

I was one of the bright ones that purchased an isopure bottle variety pack to try before surgery. Well now I sit here with a case of the stuff trying to figure out how in the world I'm going to drink it. For those that mix it with Crystal Light ... Do you just poor a packet in the bottle and shake? Any flavor combination suggestions?

Looking back the 6 months does go by pretty quickly. I'm 5 out of 6 and next month I start my clearances; psych eval, pulmonology, dietitian, and cardiologist. I also have to attend my last mandatory support group meeting and get my teeth cleaned. I'm pretty sure with the normal 9-5 plus these, the month is going to go by pretty quickly. We have already set a tentative surgery date of October 16th. Just yesterday it seemed I was 180 days away, now only 55.

Yes, my surgeon's office gave me a form to give to my PCP. They made 6 copies of it and we filled it out each month.

I feel your pain Shelli, the same thing happened to me. I'm planning a trip to an amusement park 6 months postop as part of my "hello me" tour. :-)

I'm honestly looking forward to a little bit of downtime before surgery. The first part of the 6 months seemed to just crawl along. But now that I'm getting into all the requirements and having to make all these appointments, time is flying by. I am by no means a patient person either. Once I make my mind up on something, lets get it done! I hope everything goes well for you.

Has anyone ever been denied due to psych eval? I haven't been through mine yet but just setup the appointment. I was told it would be a 45 minute interview and then 2 units of testing. My coordinator said that it is rare for someone to be denied due to the eval.

My Dr. shared some interesting facts with us during the seminar. The national mortality rate for the sleeve is about the same as gallbladder surgery. If your gallbladder needed to be removed would you hesitate? He also said that the mortality rates for centers of excellence are even lower. Personally, I am more afraid for life after surgery ... not the surgery itself.

I'm with you IMSKINNY. The surgeon already requires a lot of testing just to have the surgery. I would be surprised if they don't require you to have the sleep study anyway.