ab123.

Help! I' m so sick of Protein Shakes, Beef Broth and Sugar Free Popsicles and Crystal Light!!! I can't reach my nutritionist. Does anyone know if I can have low sodium V8?

Wow! good for you for taking it so well! I would have had a meltdown lol after all the waiting. I am scheduled for thd 30th. Just trying not to catch a cold of anything between now and then! Does anyone know if you can have low sodium regular V8 juice on your preop diet. I can't get ahold of my nutritionist. She said sugar free juice and vegatable broth and it meets those criteria.

Just completed my first day of pre-op liquid diet. I did a "trial" day Saturday to see if what I had picked up Shakes, low sodium broth, sugar free popsicles were going to work out when it mattered. aI was super bummed when having only consumed 500 calories I went up a pound the next day! My surgery is on March 30. Unlike some of you brave souls I am not going to work out for the next two weeks while on this liquid diet. At 56 years old I feel that I will pass out on the treadmill. I am looking forward to my surgery but I must admit that reading some of the posts about slow weight loss, stalls and regrets does get to me. There are many more posts of happy sleevers though! I have lost 28 pounds on my own since January 25th but I know in the past I have not been successful long term. My husband is supportive and has completely changed his lifestyle this time. So I am going to take advantage of my insurance authorization and have the much needed surgery.

Sounds like your doing great! Hitting those milestones like into the 2's are awesome. I am still pre-op, am having my surgery in a couple of weeks on March 30th. I'm sure I will have the same issues as you. I know it helps me to read all these forums to know what expect. That way I won't be shocked by anything I feel or come across! I think this site has prepared me way more than my MD has in the 1 visit I've seen him before he operates on me lol. Plus I've made a couple of friends. I see you are new too. I hope you enjoy the support and message me anytime.

Thanks!

@@mdlange I am so happy to see you doing so well! I got approved!! My surgery is March 30th. Your words of encouragement here mean so much. Hearing "it works" is great for those of us getting ready to have the Sleeve!!

My surgeon's coordinator was unmotivated from the beginning. One the first day she told me my insurance didnt cover the surgery when they had given me his name So she calls them and "Yes if it's medically necessary". What insurance covers non medically necessary WLS? She also said she wouldn't fax "200 pages of documents to the insurance " so she hoped hadn't been to the doctor very much. She was impossible to reach. I began Emailing her instead of calling. So I am on my website for my insurance this morning checking my prescription prices and I notice a tab that says "authorizations". Curious I click it and lo and behold I find out that I have been approved for my surgery for March 30. On top of that it was not my surgeon's coordinator (who is still collecting documentation she said I needed) who got the approval it was my PCP'S office. Now he referred me back in January. So how long has this approval been sitting here? What really frustrates me is that I told this coordinator that I shouldn't need all this documentation and testing as my BMI had been greater than 40 for the last 2 years and I have Medicare, even though it is an Advantage Plan. My PCP's nurse had supplied me with all of my BMI's and had faxed them to this coordinator as well. Obviously she submitted this information to my insurance and while the surgeon's office was wasting my time I was already approved. Well Water under the bridge. The great news is I am getting sleeved March 30th yea‼️

So I am on my website for my insurance this morning checking my prescription prices and I notice a tab that says "authorizations". Curious I click it and lo and behold I find out that I have been approved for my surgery for March 30. On top of that it was not my surgeon's coordinator (who is still collecting documentation she said I needed) who got the approval it was my PCP'S office. Now he referred me back in January. So how long has this approval been sitting here? What really frustrates me is that I told this coordinator that I shouldn't need all this documentation and testing as my BMI had been greater than 40 for the last 2 years and I have Medicare, even though it is an Advantage Plan. My PCP's nurse had supplied me with all of my BMI's and had faxed them to this coordinator as well. Obviously she submitted this information to my insurance and while the surgeon's office was wasting my time I was already approved. Well water under the bridge. The great news is I am getting sleeved March 30th yea‼️

So good to read others in my boat!! I have had my NUT visits, sleep study, psych eval, PCP and other MD fax 2 years of charts to my surgeon. The psych eval was that online/phone - supposed to have report to surgeon by Tuesday. Then they are going to submit. My office coordinator is not motivated to say the least. So I don't know if she will sit on everything for a week or more before she submits. Then my Medicare Advantage program says they do not cover the surgery. Then shen you call they say they do shen it's medically necessary. Hence the 2 years of documentation of a BMI greater than 35 and 2 comorbidities. But They are vague on the comorbid conditions. So I am really STRESSING!!!!! I am losing wright on my own but have gotten to this point before and always gain it back p,us more!

Everytime I read the forums I've come to realize how different each M. D. 's protocol is! Some people are allowed to eat pureed or solids much quicker than others. I am still pre-op waing on insurance probably end of March beginning of April. I can't begin anything but liquids for 8 weeks! Clear, then full, protein shakes increasing. Lots of vitamins.

Has your MD recommended such a low calorie diet? Sometimes our metabolism can slow down if we consume so little our bodies go into starvation mode and you will actually lose less. Post-op bodies are different than pre-op bodies. Wishing you the best on your journey.

@@time4change15 I know you will get past this stall! I think you are doing great! Your ticker is insane girl!

@@time4change15 I'm not sure if I understand your situation correctly. Are you just 15 days post-op? I am still pre-op but my surgeon and nutritionist have given me my packet for my diet from step down, my liquid 2 week pre-op prep, then Day 1-3 Post-Op, Days 3-7, 7-14, 14-21, etc up to the 8th week which is the first time I get to have solid food. At that time I get to have pea sized soft foods. I must wait one minute between each bite. My surgeon may be conservative. He has never had a patient with a leak. Do you make your chicken salad with mayo? I no longer eat high fat foods or breads and I am pre-op. Also it seems really early for you to be doing anything but walking. Again I can only go by my surgeons guidelines. Despite all that your weight loss is incredible!!!! Twenty pounds in 2 weeks! Your body is stabilizing. Many people have said they gain in the first few weeks due to all the IV fluids. Don't be too hard on yourself. I'm sure you will fo great. You should have a follow up appointment real soon and the MD will allay all your fears.

Of course it counts! Congrats!!!!!! Keep me posted on your progress, you can add me as a friend if you want.

I'm not sure what Medicaid covers. You can probably Google it but I have Coventry Advantra Medicare in Louisiana and they cover it with a BMI > 35 and 2 co-morbidities. Sleep Apnea diabetes would count as the 2.

Call your insurance tomorrow yourself! I was given conflicting information but was able to have it clarified. If you have an approval you should be able to find out. You do need medical clearance but that is something your primary care physcian can write and fax to your surgeeon to send in to your insurance. You must advocate for yourself. I am going through this right now. I do not have a date yet, in the data gathering process and it is like pulling teeth. You would think the surgeon's office would coordinate the whole thing but that is not the case. I have scheduled tests I thought would benefit my case then hand carried the results to my surgeon. I call my other MD's and prod them to fax results to the surgeon repeatedly. I call AND email my surgeons Coordinator to see what she has and has not received. I have called my insurance company several times to clarify the guidelines. Have I ruffled a few feathers? Probably. The squeaky wheel gets the grease. I retired 3 years ago after being a RN Supervisor for 20+ years. These MD offices are busy -don't let them put you on the back burner. Sounds like they admitted missing a deadline. Organize this project yourself - you can do it!!

Only my husband and my daughter that lives with me knows. My sister knows that I was looking into it and was supportive. My mother was afraid of me dying in surgery so is not. I don't have a date yet but I don't plan to tell anyone else until Thanksgiving when it will be obvious to family by my eating choices. No one else because I don't want to hear that I took the "easy" way.

Retired RN (2011) From Louisiana. Hoping to be Sleeved by the end of March. Should be submitting for approval in the next 3 weeks.

@@Salonboi how did your appointment go? I have had Bronchitis so I haven't posted much. I have my next appointment March 5 with the NUT. Still trying to get all the documentation required in before then. Please update me on your status!! If you prefer private message me - Lynne.

I am so happy to hear everything went so well! I have not posted much lately due to my bronchitis which is resolved (fingers crossed). Looks like your decision to go to Mexico was a great one!! Wow I hope I can do as well as you! I'm still waiting for my Dr.'s offices to send records to my surgeon. Then I will do psych eval. I did my sleep study and hand carried the results to the surgeon lol! I still don't understand why they need 2 years of documentation of co-morbids when my BMI has been over 40 for the last 2 years and it is a Medicare Advantage Program. Supposedly they have to follow Medicare guidelines... Well now I need one more co-morbid but as I explained before they are not cut and dry. Really wish it was not so nebulous. Please keep up the play by play. It is so helpful!! What medication i.e. Gas-Ex strips has been your best ally against gas?

@@JerseyCityGal Thanks, I read your link. What I am worried about is that my insurance list the surgery as a specific exclusion on my policy. The only comorbids they accept are DM, HTN, Sleep Apnea and Hypercholesteremia I have come to find out and I must have documentation from the ladt 2 years. My Dr. has documented my blood pressure as within normal parameters and my cholesterol lab values are normal although I do take medication. If my surgeon's office was more motivated I guess I would feel more positive.

They also don't count GERD which I Have so bad it has caused blood blisters on my vocal cords that are not responding to treatment.

I'm sorry this is on here multiple times. I'm seems my iPhone app had a brain fart.

So I went to my consult on the 5th and the office says my Coventry Advantra medicare Louisiana excludes WLS when they call customer service. I push so they call back and it's BMI >35 with 2 comorbids. But what if I had left? Then she wanted me to get the records from my PCP. Now she says she'll try once but then it's on me. She has 200 patients and she also isn't going to photo copy 2 inches of paper work. (they want last 2 years). So i'm redoing my sleep study tomorrow. That's 1. But all my labs over the last 2 years are normal. So is my blood pressure. I'm pre diabetic and my blood pressure is controlled with HCTZ. I am on atorvastatin for my cholesterol and that has kept it between 195 - 209. My LDL is great and always has been. So last chance - arthritis. I was treated 10 years ago at a pain clinic. MRIS whole bit. They no longer have my records. New law, you can destroy them after 6 years. So my PCP probably has me complaining about my back but I weaned myself off the duragesic patch and narcotics years ago. He doesn't treat my arthritis. Am I doomed?

Thank you all so much! I am looking into all your suggestions as we speak. I knew I could count on my Bariatric Pals!