gabbykittyvsg

Yes, more protein should help. Also, healthy fats help with satiety (feeling of fullness). If you like avocados adding 1/2 to a full one per day may also help.

The carbs are probably too high for a pre-surgery diet. Try decreasing the simple carbs from the fruit and increasing protein. My program's dietitian recommends around 100-120 g of carbs per day, some are a lot less!

Looking at your typical intake, I wonder if you're getting in too many carbs and not enough protein? How many grams of carbs and protein are you getting in.

I have 2 distinct parts to my job. With the standard cleaning portion with no heavy mop buckets I can go back to work 2 weeks after surgery. But I also deliver cleaning by supplies and because I need to lift 30-40 pounds the recovery time is around 4 maybe 6 weeks

Covid blows! But January 11th is a very good day to have surgery. I'm hoping for that date as well because it's my birthday!!

I'm crossing my fingers for a January date for my hernia repair and sleeve to bypass revision. Once insurance approves it will only be a few weeks. I'll hear from insurance by Christmas, it will be a very merry Christmas for me! I had my sleeve 7 years ago right before Thanksgiving. Sadly I developed some nasty GERD that has caused severe damage to my esophagus, as well as developed a large hiatal hernia.

My surgeon's experience is that people usually don't have to jump through the hoops again because the revision is necessary for reasons other than weight loss

IMHO, the most effective therapy takes place with a therapist who you connect with. I've tried specialized therapy and didn't get much out of it because I didn't mesh well with the therapist.

You pay 20% of the medicare allowed amount which is WAY lower than the price the hospital bills for.

Hey all, I'm back because I've developed severe GERD, esophagitis and a large hiatal hernia. I had an endoscopy this past Tuesday and they found my hiatal hernia was classified as large, several superficial ulcers, severe reflux/GERD. The esophagram I had a few weeks ago showed esophageal spasms and the results of the endoscopy indicate the spasms are due to the acid reflux. I frequently throw up my food due to the coughing triggered by the spasms. Fun times I tell ya! I saw my surgeon Wednesday and I was already thinking about hiatal hernia repair and asking about if she could do the RNY conversion at the same time. Well, she brought that up before I could. She gave me a few options and the repair and conversion is what I felt most comfortable with. She's having her prior authorization person working on the insurance part. I should hear something before Christmas. We're looking at a possible date of early to mid-January.

My pre-op appointment was also 2 hours. 1 hour with the surgeon going over all the risks and benefits and alternatives. Then an hour with the coordinator going over what will happen right before and after surgery.

14 more days till surgery and 4 until I start my non-liquid pre-op diet. It's getting soooo close. I had my pre-op appointments last Friday with the surgeon and coordinator. Today I go visit the licensed vampires to get a baseline of my iron, calcium, D3 and some other things so we know if I need additional supplements and to be able to tell in the future if there is any malabsorption.

My date is November 19th and I promise to make room for you on the losers bench!

Woooo hoooo for the appointment going so well! I was also nervous about bringing the topic up with my PCP and I've been with her for 6+ years. She agreed with me, as long as I was going for the VSG. She though the bypass was too drastic for me and the band was not a possibility due to the high rate of complications, which is why my surgeon will not put them in. I had 2 other people I had to clear surgery with, my therapist and psychiatric nurse practitioner. I have bipolar type 2 and a lot of anxiety, both of which have been stable for a few years. I would not have gone through with the program if I didn't have their approval because I've worked with them long enough that I had total trust in their judgement. They were both very supportive. The nurse practitioner said she wouldn't give her blessing to most of her patients, but she did for me! Having a good professional system of support behind you is essential and I think it will also make people more successful in the long run.

I think you should call your surgeons office and ask if they can get the ball rolling, especially if you've already met the deductible with your husband's insurance for the year. I don't think insurance companies care when the diet is done as long as it's in the past year or so. I also think they don't care if you started with another insurance company, because that's less they have to pay out. Having to pay your 20% up front or not depends on the hospital's policy. Some hospitals require pre-payment and some don't. You can call the hospital's patient finance department and they can tell you what their policy is. I can tell you that the initial obsession does calm down, eventually. For me it was after I had the first appointment with the dietitian.

That is freaking awesome!!!! and I thought my insurance was fast at around 40 hours. My coordinator rocks too! She had everything filled out and ready to go so after my last appointment with the dietitian she could get everything over to Medicare. Cheers to the awesome coordinators out there!!!

I think it's a rare person who doesn't have nerves! Have you considered going to Mexico where your cost would be MUCH, as in 50% or more, lower? They will do the hernia repair too. Just something to consider.

Medicaid may have switched their policy to be the same as Medicare, which requires a comorbidity for any BMI Medicaid and Medicare are both under the same governing body.

Was it the doctor who messed up the appeal or their office staff. I think knowing who exactly messed up is important in making your decision. Also, what was messed up about it? Was it missing paperwork or something else? If the doctor screwed it up then I'd seriously think about switching. If they mess that up then how careful are they going to be with your surgery? Or how will they treat you after surgery if there is a problem? What has been your feeling about this doctor all along? If you were at any point feeling iffy about them then I'd take that as a major red flag. But if it wasn't the doctor who screwed up and you liked them all along then I'd consider sticking with them. If you switch insurance you might have to start the process all over again.

I agree with da50bear, I think you should look into the duodenal switch.

I'd be very surprised if you get a date. I went in with a list of questions and they were all answered by the program coordinator (who is also a nurse practitioner) before I had a chance to ask. I personally don't think it's important to ask about the size of the bougie. It is used as a guide for the stapler. One surgeon who uses a 32 can leave a patient with the same size sleeve as another surgeon using a 40. The difference between a 32 and 40 is pretty small. I also believe a once size fits all approach isn't the best way to do things. A surgeon can have a preference but should adjust based on several factors. A short small framed person doesn't need to eat as much as a 6+ foot tall man with a large build. Perhaps a better question is to ask is "how do you decide how big to make a sleeve?"

Some depression and anxiety are ok. If you're so depressed that you can't get out of bed most days then it's probably not in your best interest to have surgery until the depression is treated. With the MMPI2 they are looking for evidence of severe mental illness that will interfere with a persons ability to follow through with what's needed to be successful after surgery. The test has 250+ questions and seems repetitive but it's designed that way to check for consistency in answers. The test is also designed to detect if people are faking good. I've taken it twice, but not during this process.

It would be awesome if you got sleeved on the 19th, because that's when I'm getting sleeved too.

I've had a lot of the same feelings, even while going through the whole 6+ month process.What mostly settled those feelings was thinking about all the stuff I've been through in the past 6 years. During that time things didn't get better until I accepted help. I wasn't in a healthy state of mind and it took 4 years to finally ask for help in one final area, the psychological weight taken off my shoulders made life so much easier. I had thought about surgery a few years ago but I was not ready and I know it wouldn't have worked for me, I had to get everything else in order first. Earlier this year I started seeing ads for a new program at the hospital near me. My weight had gone back up to my previous high. Just as I had given up the fight in other areas in my life and accepted help I gave up the fight to lose weight on my own and started on the road to get a sleeve. My experiences the past 6 years have been a huge help and without them I wouldn't be the ideal patient my program team says I've been. I'm choosing to think of this pre-op time as a chance to grow and learn more about myself. Yes, there have been periods of doubt but then something would happen to remind me why I need to accept help losing weight and that help is in the form or surgery. I got insurance approval 9 days ago and I'm scheduled to be sleeved on the 19th. Go through the process and take advantage of the resources available to learn more about yourself. In the end you may decide surgery is not right for you at this time and that's ok, just don't waste the time!

People don't like it when other people make changes because it forces them to change too. Look at your motivation for saying the things you do and check your tone of voice. If you're telling people how you feel because they really need to know then you don't have a problem, it's them that have the problem.