JonB

Wow - I'm glad I have insurance. My surgery was done at a brand new hospital by the top rated bariatric surgeon in the state. The insurance bill was over $22,000! My only expenses are a $25 co-pay for each doctor visit.

Just tell people, "Fortunately, I AM losing the weight. Unfortunately for you, there's no surgery to cure stupidity."

I was approved instantly, but I was SERIOUSLY morbidly obese - diabetic, high blood pressure, etc.

Put it in the blender with a little vanilla extract, some cinnamon and artificial sweetner. Blend well until it has the constency of greek yogurt. It tastes like a cinnamon roll with cream cheese frosting! Jello Creme: Dissolve 1 small box of sugar-free jello in half a cup of boiling Water. Combine in blender with 16 ounces low-fat cottage cheese. Blend well. Pour into four dessert dishes (or paper cups) and chill until firm. Each serving is 85 calories, 15 grams Protein. Lime and strawberry are the best flavors.

Cigna requires a three month doctor supervised weight loss diet, and reccomendation from your primary care physician. I was also required by the weight loss surgery clinic to pass a psych evaluation, cardio stress test, and pulmonolgy exam (sleep study to test for apnea, etc.). Once I had all these, the clinic submitted to Cigna for final approval, which took about a week.

A member of this site died from a blood clot a couple of weeks ago - a week after his surgery. The death rate from complications folliowing sleeve surgery is less than one half of one percent. My doctor stressed the importancwe of getting up and walking as much as possible after surgery. I received injections of blood thinning medication for five days after ( I had to give myself the inections for three days after leaving the hospital). While in the hospital, whenever I was in bed, they put these compression sleeves on my lower legs - they inflate and deflate to keep the circulation going. A good doctor will warn you of all the possible complications, and stress the importance of following all the pre- and post-operative restrictions. The docgtfor who did mine has done over a thousand weight loss surgeries with no fatalities. The one serious post-op illness was a woman who ignored the doctor's orders and ate something she shouldn't have a couple of days after surgery, causing ther new stomach to rip open. That was over a year ago, and she's been in a nursing home ever since. She's lucky she didn't die.

I was sleeved 2/25 - exactly three weeks ago. I've lost 18 pounds since the surgery - so, six pounds a week. I had already lost a total of 124 pounds on my six month pre-op diet (required by my insurance )and the two-week pre-op liquid fast. If I can continue to lose 4 or 5 pounds a week, I'll reach my goal (under 200 lbs) by the end of the year.

I am at the high end of starting weights - I was 354 at the time of my surgery (Feb. 25), and have been steadily losing five pounds a week for the last three weeks. I'm at 339 now. That's fine for me. I know that the more I lose, the easier it will be to exercise, and I will need to increase my exercise to keep losing.

My psych eval. consisted of: 1. - a general personality test - 200 questons, multiple choice - it was like taking my S.A.T. tests again! 2: a 100 question test dealing specifically with health/doctor/hospital issues (are you afraid to question your doctor, do hospitals make you nervous, etc.) 3: a half-hour meeting with the psychologist.

My diet regimen says no bread until nine months after surgery. For now, it's Protein ONLY. After three months, I can add 1 vegetable a day. After six months, one fruit. Aftter nine, one bread or milk. I don't crave bread, except last week I was at the commuter train station in downtown Chicago, with a 45 minute wait for my train. In the station was a Subway sandwich shop, and they bake their own bread. The smell of fresh baked bread filled the waiting area. It drove me nuts!

For your sweet tooth: Creamy Jello Treat Dissolve I small box sugar free jello in just half a cup boiling Water. Combine in blender with a 16 ounce tub of low fat cottage cheese. Blend until smooth. Pour into four cups or dessert dishes. Chill until firm. Each serving is 85 calories, 14 grams of Protein. Good for Breakfast or a snack. strawberry and lime are my favorites.

Suggestion for Quest bars: microwave them for 15 seconds. They taste better and are softer and easier to digest. I like the banana nut muffin and cinnamon roll flavors. 170 calories, 20 grams protein, lots of fiber, very low carb. GMC sells them.

If you start out heavy enough you can easily lose 30 pounds in a month just by dieting. I lost 35 in the first month of my six month pre-op diet. I started out at 484 pounds. After six months of sensible eating (no sweets, very liitle carbs) I lost 112 pounds. The first month I was losing a pound a day, the second and third month five pounds a week, then four, then three pounds a week by month six. Then I went on my two-week peo-op liquid diet and lost a pound a day again Two weeks out of surgery, I am currently losing at the rate of six pounds a week. I'm down to 340 - 144 pounds lost so far!

My surgeon was Dr. Joyce's partner, Dr. Lahmann. He, the staff at BMI, and at Silver Cross in general are all very nice.

Sugar free jello and popsicles.

I feel very lucky that all my friends and family have been supportive.

I had surgery on a Monday, out of the hospital on Wednesday, felt good enough to go back to work on Friday. No heavy lifting, of course.

Quest protein bars are great because they have much needed FIBER. Lots of fun flavors too, Kind of expensivem, though - more than 2 bucks each.

Hi folks! I'm 53. Overweight all my life. Eight months ago I topped out at 484! my insurance requres a six month doctor supervosed weight loss program befopre approval for surgery. I started Augist 1, 2012, and lost 106 pounds by the end of January 2013. Another 12 pounds duirng ther two week pro-op liquid diet. Had sleeve surgery Feb. 25. Have lost another 12 in the two weeks since then. Total weight loss: 130 pounds. Current weight; 344. my goal is to lose 150 more and get under 200 pounds for the first time since high school.

Wow - I had to get all sorts of testing done MONTHS before surgery: Cardio stress test, pulmonologist's exam (sleep study), psych evaluation. There were required by my insurance and by the doctor before approval for surgery. This close to your surgery date, it's probably just blood work.

My GNC sells all the flavors, and you can buy them individually, but they are expensive - like $2.50 each! Luckily all protein bars were on sale this week, so they were under 2 dollars.

I needed to get a new (used) car. I ended up spending more that I wanted to on a car that was bigger than I like, because I could not fit into the smaller cars - even with the seat all pushed back as far as it would go and the steering wheel as high as it would go. If my old car had just held out for another six months, i would have been thin(ner) enough to get one of those smaller, cheaper cars!

I cannot have any veggies at all until the three month mark. The theory is that PROTEIN is most important - 4 ounces of meat, fish, eggs or low fat cheese - three times a day - 60 grams protein. After three months I can add 1 serving of vegetables a day. At six months, I add 1 fruit. At nine months, one fat-free dairy (skim milk or yogurt). At one year, IF I've lost 75% of the excess weight, one starch per day.

Sleeved 2/25. Total loss for four weeks (including two week pre-op diet) = 26 pounds. I had to do a six month supervosed diet before the surgery (required by my insurance), during which I lost 106 pounds. So, seven month total = 132 pounds. Starting weight: 474. Current weight: 342.

I ate a lot of canned tuna or chicken with low fat mayo, put through the blender. Also cottage cheese blended with a little vanilla extract, cinnamon and Equal.