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Gamegirl, I am feeling great. No gas pains, no pain meds today. I had two leak tests on Saturday and passed both. Water never tasted so good in all my life. Came home Sunday afternoon from the hospital. I am out walking with my husband or grand children. Right now they walk faster than I do, so I have to remind them to walk slow and they slow down. I will have to search for the November challenge. If I can't find it, I will let you know. I am happy to be healing and home.

I'll make my 50 by the end of the month. I have been walking every day being very good patient. Has anyone volunteered to start the November thread. I can do it if no one else has volunteered. I seem to have plenty of time on my hands right now. Totally not used to that at all.

I was a BMI of 35 and post-op 3 days now. My doctor told me he expects me to better than average due to the lower BMI.

Sleeved now. tired and drugged up .

Hi everyone, I didn't hit 50 miles but got close. Too many things going on between work, watching World Series games, and seeing the Eagles in concert on surgery eve. I know there are a lot of folks from California on VST, and not trying to rub it in that my favorite team beat the Dodgers, but it would be nice to have the Cards win it while I am recovering from surgery. My husband and I are season ticket holders so I timed my surgery very well. I am taking my jersey with me to put around me during Saturday's game. Keep moving for me, because I will probably be going slow for the rest of October. Now get back to exercising.

Another thing you might want to consider, as a self-pay if you have complications then your insurance can deny payment for any costs related to them. I am not trying to be a downer, but complications do sometimes happen. If you would have any, are you prepared to pay for those potential expenses? The wait may seem to be long, but you can learn a lot during the process. You can also start stocking up on Protein, recipes, making small changes in your diet and lifestyle to make the adjustment easier post surgery. Make the most out of this time and learn things about your self in the process. Good luck.

mswisdom, I know how you feel. I remember when I heard the words from my ins. co. that I had been approved. There was excitement, anxiousness, butterflies in my stomach. The feelings came again when I got my official surgery date, and again when I attended my pre- and post-op diet class. I am having my surgery this Friday at 7 a.m. and not really nervous at this time. I am a revision patient. The plan is to remove my lap band and perform the sleeve in the same procedure. My biggest fear is that my doctor won't be able to do both procedures at the same time, and I will have to wait 12 additional weeks for the sleeve. There isn't anything I can do to lessen the chance, and my doctor won't know until I am on the table and they look inside. If I have to wait, that's the way it will be, I would like to have it all done in 2013 since I have met my deductibles. Hopefully, by Friday afternoon, this will be a nonisssue. I have made up my mind, done my research and know this is the right decision for me. I'm sure you will experience a lot of emotions before yoursurgery. Good luck. I'm sure you will do fine.

Hi everyone, I have logged another 14.8 miles which puts me at 47.2 miles. I will get my 50 miles in by Thursday. Surgery is on Friday so don't expect to get much more in for the remainder of the month.

Bigbeaz, Congratulations on your surgery date. Mine is the next day. This thread is a good start. There are others out in the forums as well. http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/10081-the-official-what-you-will-need-for-your-gastric-sleeve-surgery-thread/ Good luck with your surgery.

Hello everyone, It has been a while since I have checked in. I haven't been as active as I hoped but getting in some exercise. Work is the main culprit, followed by watching my favorite baseball team in the NLCS, and getting ready for surgery in 9 days. I am at 32.4 miles. I hope to hit 50 before surgery. Have a great day and keep moving.

Carbonated beverages are a big "no no". It isn't a food but a lot of peoplel drank them before surgery.

UHC didn't view it that way since the surgery for the band was performed under my husband's coverage and my sleeve is under my policy. We each have a different employer. UHC received the paper work from my doctor documenting the issues with my band on 9/11 and they approved my claim on 9/18. I am having my surgery later in October due to work obligations. You never know how they will rule. They could have said take the band out and continue with the six month diet. You never know how they see things. I have never had a problem with UHC coverage. I believe they are one of the most reasonable insurance companies.

My insurance company (UHC) goes by the initial weight when you first meet with the doctor. They do not penalize you if you lose weight. Your insurance may be different. Even if you have the same insurance as another person, a lot of the criteria is determined by the contract your employer negotiated for their benefit coverage. I know another person with UHC in Missouri, different employer, we both had a 6 month diet, but she had to visit a physical therapist and I did not. Based on your height and weight, I doubt the insurance company will disqualify you. At 5'5" you could drop to 210 and have a BMI of 35. Some insurance companies require one or two comorbidities below a BMI of 40.

My insurance company requires a six month medically supervised diet. I was able to get a "waiver" not a skip of this process only because I currently have a lap band and it is causing problems that are bad enough that the insurnace company reviewed my claim and approved surgery early. I had completed three of the six visits when the decision was made. You should use this time period to learn about food and what you will need to eat before and after. Start keeping a food diary and identifying times and emotions occurring when you ate something that wasn't the best choice. I find when you write things down, it is easier to see patterns. This allows you to come up with a plan for the next time you face this situation or a similar one. This is also the perfect opportunity to begin buying some different Protein samples to see what you like as well as Vitamins. These products can be expensive if you have to buy it alll at the same time. This as a journey make the most out of it. You will have times where the scale does not move when you want it to do so. Measure yourself prior to surgery, take pictures so you have benchmarks to measure against when the scale is not moving. Don't rush the process and wish it were later. It will be here before you know it, and you will be glad you had time to prepare for it.

Jatherley, I agree with itsMe2033. The weight gain is most likely fluid retention and the amount you ate was much smaller than what you ate before you had surgery. Eating correctly after surgery is one of my biggest concerns. It is going to take a lot of planning on my part. I have been working a lot of hours lately and have to be prepared. I will need to make sure I have some Protein drinks at work in case I don't get out on time. I come home some evenings and am so tired so I know how cooking can sometimes be a chore. I plan to have items that cook up quickly such as grilled chicken breasts so all I have to do is heat them up. A good idea is to have some hard boiled eggs ready. You can eat them alone, in salad or put into tuna salad. You've got this. You have recognized you are not making good choices and getting back on track. Good luck. I know you can do this.

Gluten Free Single Mom, it doesn't matter when someone else is allowed to add it to their diet, you should go by the recommendations your nutritonist or doctor gave you. A lot of doctors have different post-op diets and introduce foods at different times. For me I can have thinned watery oatmeal at 3 weeks.

Karen, Can your doctor submit your claim to the insurance company as a failed device? My doctor ran a couple of tests to see if the prolapse was effecting my esophagus. The results came back positive. Based on this information he submitted the claim early to the insurance company. My case was reviewed and approved due to these complications waiving the six month medically supervised diet. If you don't try, you won't know. Good luck. If you have to wait the six months use that time to examine eating patterns and learn techniques to help you avoid food traps you have fallen into in the past. It also gives you time to stock up on Protein and items you will need immediately after surgery and also possibly for your pre-op diet if you doctor requires one.

There is another option that says block private chats and then you won't see any messages people send to you privately during a chat session. There is an icon in the lower right area that says hide chat and you won't see chat when you go to threads on the site.

I am at 16.8 miles total. Not as far as I had hoped. I have 17 days left for serious workouts. Of those 17 remaining calendar days, 13 are realistic due to evening work and my last date night prior to surgery.

Has your weight loss clinic confirmed that you have insurance coverage for your surgery? Have you checked to see if it is covered by your employer? You should be able to find this out from the web site of your insurance company and by logging in with your credentials. I have UHC and my employer goes through Optum. I contacted Optum as well as the insurance coordinator at my doctor's office. I received in writing the criteria they use to determine weight loss so there were no surprises. If your insurance company requires a medically supervised diet for a certain period of time, find out if the appointments have to be consecutive. The more you know up front, the less likely you are to have a surprise down the road. Good luck. It would be a shame to start the process and think you are close to find out you have a six month med sup diet or something else.

Has your weight loss clinic confirmed that you have insurance coverage for your surgery? Have you checked to see if it is covered by your employer? You should be able to find this out from the web site of your insurance company and by logging in with your credentials. I have UHC and my employer goes through Optum. I contacted Optum as well as the insurance coordinator at my doctor's office. I received in writing the criteria they use to determine weight loss so there were no surprises. If your insurance company requires a medically supervised diet for a certain period of time, find out if the appointments have to be consecutive. The more you know up front, the less likely you are to have a surprise down the road. Good luck. It would be a shame to start the process and think you are close to find out you have a six month med sup diet or something else.

My doctor's office wants to make sure rhat the ins. co. approves the correct surgery. There is only one number difference between band, sleeve and bypass. If they schedule you and ins. co. makes a mistake on letter, it can cause a cancellation while they wait for ins. co. to get it corrected. By waiting they know it's correct, and you aren't disappointed by having your procedure delayed. The ins. co. only pays on what they approve. My surgery is on 10/25.

My doctor's office wants to make sure rhat the ins. co. approves the correct surgery. There is only one number difference between band, sleeve and bypass. If they schedule you and ins. co. makes a mistake on letter, it can cause a cancellation while they wait for ins. co. to get it corrected. By waiting they know it's correct, and you aren't disappointed by having your procedure delayed. The ins. co. only pays on what they approve. My surgery is on 10/25.

I checked their website and they do not make one. You could buy a vanilla and use sugar free torani syrup to flavor to make it taste strawberry.

I checked their website and they do not make one. You could buy a vanilla and use sugar free torani syrup to flavor to make it taste strawberry.