395Ron

Hello to those having surgery in October. I start my liquid diet this Sunday. Anyone else having to do 4 weeks pre-op? All I did was toss and turn last night. I guess I am so nervous about going off real food. I have heard that the first three days are the worst. My wife said she was going to move for those three days lol. At least on this side of surgery it is easy for me to drink Water. I usually prefer just plain ice water but I may have to adventure into trying some of the MIO flavors just to change it up.

Cool I am scheduled for 6 October. Looks like there are already a few us that know our date is in October. I start my liquid diet this Sunday. Already have a hard time sleeping just thinking about starting that. It is what I have to do to stay on the road that leads to the door that opens on the other side.

Don't worry @@Trisha213 just stick with what your doctor tells you and you will be fine. Every doctors plans are different as is every patients plan. I believe the patients plan changes depending on their BMI which is also an indicator of how much weight they need to lose. I know with my doctor it is usually 2 weeks or less but because my BMI was 60 when I saw his team they said 4 weeks on the liquid diet for me. Also I didn't lose weight on any pre-surgery plan this time. As in last time I lost 35 pounds on the 3 month doctor supervised weight loss program and would have only had to be on the liquid diet for 2 weeks. I can't explain why every doctors plans are different. My doctor also uses the Bariatric Advantage that @@LadyReyven mentioned but also adds either a cup of skim milk or a banana a day to keep your potassium up. Maybe this is only something they do when you are on it for 4 weeks. They also limit how many of the sugar free popsicles or sugar free Jell-O's I can have. Is that once again because of my BMI? I don't know but it could be.

Sorry @@JacksdadShane but I don't have an answer for you. I start my 4 weeks of liquid diet next Sunday. All I get is 4 Protein shakes, 2 Protein Bars, 1/2 cup skim milk or 1 banana, and then a choice of 3 servings of either/or sugar free Jello or sugar free popsicle. Good luck on your liquid diet . Let us know how it is going.

@@IWantToBeALoser - Last year when I started looking into Gastric Bypass I was informed that Tricare Prime (not sure what Tricare North is) changed to 3 month supervised diet. I did that and had everything in order and they approved me very quickly for surgery in February. I had to post pone that surgery and am now scheduled for a 6 October surgery. I have found the doctors office to be very knowledgeable about what it takes for Tricare approval. Good luck in your process.

Damn Boombalatty that is just awesome man! You give me hope. 395 now and still 2 months to go before surgery. I have an appointment this Thursday and will ask how I will be on liquid diet and what my doc considers a liquid diet. I know it was mixing up something that either made a Soup or pudding but whatever they gave you was ALL you could have. If I remember correctly from the last time I tried this. Keep us posted on how you are doing I am very interested.

I hate sights that make you sign in to read the full story. This is what I finally found on a another sight: Hospitals are beginning to turn to “enhanced recovery” protocols for surgical patients. Traditional surgical protocols, including fasting, heavy IV fluids, powerful narcotics after surgery, and bed rest can have several side effects that lead to a longer recovery time. Enhanced recovery protocols still require patients to fast, but they get a carbohydrate-loaded drink 3 hours before surgery and are given non-narcotic pain killers and epidurals before surgery, which are kept in place after the procedure. Patients only receive IV Fluid when needed. Soon after the procedure, patients are able to walk and ingest solid food. This new protocol has been used for several different types of procedures, including colorectal surgery, joint replacements, and hip fractures. Studies have found that the new protocol reduced the length of patients’ hospital stays and helped with postoperative pain control. The only part I could understand not happening is this part: Soon after the procedure, patients are able to walk and ingest solid food. Walking yes but solid food no. I wonder how recovery would be different with "epidurals before surgery, which are kept in place after the procedure." Would that mean feeling no pain for a couple of days after surgery? Interesting for sure.

Might wake up early and go running but I also might win the lottery, the odds are about the same

These might not be true after surgery but they sure are now: If my body is ever found dead on a jogging trail, just know I was murdered elsewhere and dumped there.

I am located in Southern Maryland. I am just beginning the investigation process. Tomorrow I am attending my first weight loss seminar in Fairfax, VA. My wife and I are driving 68 miles (that's at least a 90 minute drive in our traffic) to Inova Fair Oaks Hospital. I am planning to look at some other hospitals in the area but am looking for suggestions. Where did you go or are you going in the Maryland/DC/Northern VA area? Thanks for your input. Have a great day! "And you thought you were a newbie."

Once I come home from the hospital will I need help doing things. My wife is trying to figure out if she needs to take time off from work beyond just the hospital time. Will I need help getting up from the bed, from a sitting position, do I need to be escorted on any walking exercise down the block I may do? Is there another reason to have someone there and if so for how long? Any of your experiences would be helpful. Thanks.

Wow carolm1965 why were you there a week? Complications? We are planning on getting a hotel for my wife for 4 nights just in case. My surgery is scheduled for a Tuesday and that would be a Saturday checkout for her. I am hoping to check out Wednesday or Thursday but I know things can happen.

It is nice to know that kind of customer service is still around.

F4T-TRAP that is good to hear. I had to put off my surgery for a while after my Psych eval put the brakes on but I am scheduled for 6 October at Fair Oaks.

Thank you catwoman7 my wife let her boss know she will be taking that week off just in case.

India928 and MrsYoungblood thank you. Yes I am excited and anxious. A lot of changes coming soon enough. India September 21st will be here before you know it! Then you will be on the other side looking back and saying hmmm that didn't take long. MrsYoungblood hopefully you are putting in practice now what you will need for later. So right now you are building your foundation for success. Good luck to you. Good luck to us all

Mechanicsville, Maryland Having surgery in Fairfax, Virginia Inova Hospital

jdc121975 thank you so much for your post! It is amazing how my arms have shrunk. In fact my best friend gave me a nickname of Tyrannosaurus Rex and I feel that way in everything I do and don't do anymore. I too am extremely analytical so I feel your pain there as well. When I first began looking into bariatric surgery I immediately bought 15 books on it and began analyzing what I needed to do. I couldn't understand how they could call the surgery a success if I got down to 250 pounds. At 5' 8'' I would still be obese at 250 pounds. Then I saw a picture of a healthy liver and then an obese guys fatty liver and finally his liver after he lost a lot of weight but was still in the obese category and it looked like the health liver. The light bulb came on then and I realized what they meant. God how I hated the word "Husky" and yes at 52 I did use those rotary phones lol. Without video games I wouldn't be social at all after work. My new surgery date isn't until 6 October since I didn't want it to interfere with Special Olympic kids I teach Golf to. I can't get out on the Golf course anymore but I can teach them the putting, chipping, and driving skills part. Hope I didn't ramble too much. You have 6 more days before you bust out of your Clark Kent outfit and become the "Super Man" and Dad that is just waiting his turn. I wish you the best of luck in dealing with the next 6 days and I look forward to hearing about life and your many successes on the other side.

red37 Thank you!! I appreciate you guys taking the time to respond. Unless I hear from someone else saying differently I will let her know she is not absolutely needed but it would be nice the first couple of days if she could be there.

Thank you James!

Thanks pik! Will check with them to see what is going on.

Hello all, I am in Mechanicsville, MD. I am still in the 3 month supervised weight loss part with Bluepoint Surgical Group. Just had my last online NUT meeting and should be finished sometime in January. Expecting an end of February time frame for my surgery with Dr. Moazzez.Hope everyone that has had the surgery is doing well and good luck to those coming up soon!

Hello, Have you started or are already on a medically supervised weight loss program? Looking for support? Looking to find out what other people are doing? Let's share our information and support! My story: I started on my medically supervised weight loss program just over 4 weeks ago. My insurance requires 90 days. When I went in for my initial dietician consult I expected to be given a calorie goal. Instead I was told to continue working on my satiety (satisfied). When I started looking into Weight Loss Surgery (WLS) and settled on having Gatric Bypass I went to Amazon and started ordering a bunch of books on the subject. I found that people were talking about chewing their food 30 times and taking time between bites. So I started eating my meals at the kitchen table without anything to read or listen to so I would not be distracted. I would be able to concentrate on the taste and fact that I was eating. I also started chewing my food at least 30 times. This is a lot tougher when talking about canned fruit which sometimes seems to melt in your mouth. I also started out with 20 secs between finishing chewing and the next bite. Then when that was ok I increased it by 10 seconds. I worked up from 20 seconds to now I am taking 90 seconds between bites. I don't think I will be increasing it anymore. It now takes me 30 to 40 minutes to finish a meal. My bother, father and I used to race to see who could get done first so this is a huge change for me. I stop eating eating when I am satisfied. Whatever that is. It is funny but sometime while I am eating I realize that I am not as interested in eating anymore. Sometimes I will leave the food on the table go in the other room and see if I go back to eat. So far I have not and sometimes I am actually suprised when I walk back in there and realize there is food on the table. I have been eating a lot less since I started this. I also stopped eating sweets but that was a personal decision because I am a raging sweetaholic. So this is what my dietician said was my continued goal for my weight loss program. Weird, very weird! I have never heard of such a thing. But it is working for me. So far I have lost 20 pounds. I have had a few difficult days. I used to get a frosty every time I went home a certain way. I had to go that way a few times and so far although I was extremely nervous I have not given in. The same goes for drugstores. For some reason with all their ready accesible candy I have always had a hard time with them. This week work celebrated a birthday with giant cake. As soon as they said we could leave the room I was gone. That was a difficult day. I don't know if it was not eating the cake, not exercising that day, the choice of food I brought home or the fact that when I got home and before I could eat I talked with my next door neighbor for a long long time. So much so that when I finally did eat I stuffed myself. That is where I am at. How long do you have to do the medically supervised weight loss program? What does your program consist of? What hurdles have you overcome or are strugling with? Good luck!

Just made it through a visit with my parents and still lost weight! That is unusual for me.

I have Tricare Prime as well. They just reduced the medically supervised weight loss program requirement from 6 months to 3 months. That is as far as I have gotten so far. Good luck.