Trinn

I am also going to recommend the Syntrax nectar flavors. You can either call them for a sample box, or one of the other Bariatric supply sites has an assortment. They're not milky. Like many people, I like the "Fuzzy Navel" flavor, which is kind of like Tang. You can dilute them to get in more Fluid, even. I tried a mess o flavors, and my favorite are the Fuzzy Navel, the Roadside Lemonade, and the Ice Tea with Lemon. I usually like my Premier Protein shakes just fine, but after surgery, I could not handle the milky thick thing at all, so the Nectar stuff saved me. :-) And if you order them, you can have them in two days. Oh, and I tell you what, that unjury chicken Soup isn't half bad, either. Salty, but a definite change from all the sweet flavors of shakes.

Look, we're not trying to be mean, but yes, there's clearly a big psychological component here. Look, you still haven't told us what brand or flavor of shakes you're using. That would help us. But again, stop focusing on trying to get it down. I promise you, if you sit down and say, "OMG, I have to choke down this shake, it's going to make me throw up," then you're going to do that. Instead, look, put on a TV show you like, put blend the shake up with some ice, and throw it in a cup, and get a spoon, and say to yourself, "I'm gonna eat this lame-ass Wendy's Frosty and watch the hell out of this episode of "How to Get Away with Murder" or "Duck Dynasty" or whatever you like. Take small bites, and don't worry about drinking. If it gets too warm, or you don't like it that way, put it in the freezer. If it's chocolate, add some coffee flavor to it. Honestly, I'm gonna tell you something -- you have got to work on having the very useful skill of drinking stuff when you feel iffy about it. You will not *magically* be able to drink your liquid Protein after surgery, and you're going to be even more unhappy about barfing at that stage. (Though, I have to tell you, it's a lot *smaller* a barf when you do it post-surgically.) So, you need to up your mental game on this, because the very FIRST thing you're going to have to do after surgery is walk around, and drink cups of liquid when drinking liquid feels queasy making to you. Get some strategies! You can do it!

I didn't have a problem with the pre-op liquids, because I had spent a lot of time finding liquid Protein sources I enjoyed. If you don't like what you have, try something different. If you're stuck with a fixed menu, try having them at different temperatures. I like ice cold Protein shakes more than room temp. Remember, with a blender, you can turn a Protein shake into a frozen smoothie -- just add ice to it and blend. You can also try adding sugar free flavoring -- I like using Torani Sugar Free syrups to change the flavor of things. Mio drops work well for that, too. Orange flavoring drops + vanilla protein shake + ice = blended creamsicle smoothie. But in part, you may not *feel* full on the liquid diet. Liquids are going to go right through you, and even protein liquids won't give you a feeling of satiety the way solid foods will. You have to let go of that expectation. You're not going to die of not feeling full enough. Have a cup of hot tea. Have some blended ice with sugar free syrup -- it's like a snow cone, but gets you more fluids into your body. However, it sounds like a lot of this is psychological for you -- the gagging and crying. If you convince yourself that you can't handle a short liquid diet, then that's exactly the negative experience you're going to have. Instead of that, focus on the positive aspects. Wow! It's a lot easier to multi task when you don't have to chew. *grin*

Also, it's not your job to write to the insurer -- your care provider will submit the pre-auth request with all the documentation. Do not try to "write a letter" in advance of a denial. You just end up looking like you don't understand how the system works.

I got my date about 7 days before my surgery. :-)

It's called coordination of benefits. The birthday of the primary insured on each policy determines which policy is used first -- so if your birthday comes earlier in the year than the parent on the insurance, your insurance will pay first, then they will submit the claim to your insurance, then the second policy. However, to be covered by both, you have to have pre-auths from both. Also, be careful about secondary coverage as an under-26 person. If the coverage you have is part of an ACA-based plan (Obamacare) it may have a restriction that you are not allowed to have secondary coverage from your parents -- that you cannot "double dip." Doing so when you're not legally allowed to would be a reason to refuse your claim and could cancel your coverage. I'm not saying it likely because you don't have enough info here to comment more about it, but it is a concern if you're not aware of it.

The written policy doesn't have a three month waiting period. It has a suggestion of a minimum of 3 nutritional visits, but everyone I've talked to at BSCA was very clear that there are no solid requirements. Look, they have really loosened up the policy. I was approved two months after my first NUT visit, less than three months after I attended the first information session. What they wanted was the medical info and clearances, and not a "really think about it" period. If anyone has told you differently -- well, I'm going to be honest, some of the folks at my care provider's were so used to the six month timeline that they repeatedly insisted that *surely* BS was not going to approve me quickly with only two NUT visits. However, the BS reps repeatedly told me to just have them submit the pre-auth -- and that if they were confused, they should talk to the BS reps directly. And you know what? It *was* approved immediately. And yes, my surgeon's office and NUT and other folks did not know the policy had changed, did not believe me, and kept looking for a secret checklist to follow. I had to print out and carry the written policy with me to reassure them. Advocate for yourself!

After you do all the things they've asked you to do to be cleared for it *AND* the insurance pre-auth has come through, for many places.

I can't think of anything I wish I'd done, but I put a lot of effort into doing stuff that I'm glad I did. @@LadyWarren covered a lot of it. I made sure to have tasted a huge range of Vitamin options and Protein sources, so that I had at two options I like of each -- one and a backup, for when I hated whatever was my first choice. I stopped caffeine 3 months before surgery, along with carbonated beverages. I started eating increasingly more like I would after surgery, tapering down to small meals that were mostly protein. So, from 2 months out, I was doing about 1200 calories, and by the time it was time for my 2 week liquid thing before surgery, I was already at 800. As a result, I never had the "shock" of suddenly post surgery going to far fewer calories. I had already adjusted. Basically, the closer your eating and life habits before surgery are to what they will be after surgery, the easier that transition would be. When I went in for my pre-admittance visit to the hospital, one of the other people having surgery the next week was still drinking a 2 liter of Coke a day -- he told us that -- and didn't know he would need to stop carbonated beverages or caffeine.

This. Syntrax Nectars are great for getting Protein *and* water. I usually mix mine up with more water then they call for, just for that reason.

So if i ordered a turkeyclub ..and removed the bread i would be ok? Only you are going to know. For *me*, I have a problem if I order things and have stuff "on my plate" or in my order that I "can't" eat, because I will nibble on them anyway. So, right now, at 2 months after surgery, it's really important to me that I order exactly what I am going to eat. If I know I can eat one scrambled egg and one piece of turkey bacon, I order one scrambled egg and one piece of turkey bacon -- not "the Breakfast special with scrambled eggs and turkey bacon." I went to Cheesecake factory the other night, and I asked to order off the children's menu, because I had checked and they had a grilled chicken children's entree, with vegetable. I asked what those were (carrots) and kept them, but not the mashed potatoes, because I shouldn't be eating those. So, what they brought to the table for me was a little bit of grilled chicken and carrots. On the other hand, when we had some BBQ the other week, I wanted their pulled chicken with no sauce, and what I got was their pulled chicken sandwich. There was a bun. And first I ate the pulled chicken, but then I started picking at the bun, and ate almost half of it -- because it was there, and because I like bread like that. And it didn't feel good and made me a bit queasy. My point here is that if you know you can't eat the bread (or the lettuce, because man, lettuce, not good), then I'd order what you can eat. Like, you can pull up to a Burger King drive through and say, "I want the Tendergrill chicken sandwich, no bun. Just give me the chicken." If nothing else, order something simple like a sausage biscuit and then immediately throw away the biscuit, leaving just the sausage to eat. I swear, they'll let you do that, and they won't think you're crazy or anything. It's entirely possible that you can order food and have it in front of you and just not eat it, but you know, I am not like that at all, and it's OKAY if you have problems with it, too. It's just important to recognize it, because as others have said, the sleeve is a tool, not a magic wand. You have to use it well, and that means skills like knowing where your limits are.

Flavors I like, which change from day to day, and bottles all over the place. I find if I don't have one on the desk, next to me on the couch, in the bedroom at night -- that I forget. So, I'm all about the Torani sugar free flavors (there are like 30 of them) and Mio drops, and Thermos Intak bottles. :-)

Are you thinking of the Calcet Creamy Bites?

Egg drop was on my allowed for Clear liquids, and it made me so happy to eat it! Hot and sour often has tofu (which I don't really like, but it's okay in tiny cubes in the soup) and is tangy. Other than that, I would suggest egg foo yung, which is sort of omelet-like, and things that are simple stirfried meats with simple veggies that are not fiberous. Pumpkin/squash/sweet potato are easier to eat than broccoli. :-) And like I said, I got creative and ate the inside of the pot sticker. As a warning, though, when I tried to eat the outside, I ended up getting sick and barfing -- the gummy texture of the dough was just too much.

Hi! I've got some resources for you: http://www.rabbiblock.com/archive/the-mitzvah-of-weight-loss-surgery/ http://www.timesofisrael.com/health-concerns-weigh-heavily-on-jewish-clergy/ https://www.ou.org/jewish_action/03/2015/second-chance/ Now, I'm not a rabbi, but I'm a big ol' Talmud geek. Chief among the arguments for allowing for bariatric surgery is the central precept, "and he shall live by them" (from Leviticus/Vayikra 18:5). Basically, the phrase "shall live by them" is interpreted rabbinically that following the mitzvot should (with one or two possible exceptions) never endanger your life. When there is a choice between living and following a mitzvah, the choice should be for life. That's why it's permissible to break shabbat for life threatening illnesses, or even things that *might* at some point become life threatening. That's why it's not only okay not to fast on Yom Yippur if you're diabetic, it's REQUIRED that you not fast -- that is, you don't get to choose to endanger your health. So, even with regard to loss of a body part, no reasonable rabbi would say, "Oh, you're going to die of gangrene if they don't amputate your leg? Too bad, you'll just have to die!" And in the same way, if removing part of your stomach would help save your life -- because obesity can be life-threatening -- then there is no halakhic justification for refusing to allow it. Now, I can say that, but ultimately, you have to live in your community. But one way you *could* try to approach such a thing would be not to make the argument yourself, but to have a doctor say, or write a letter saying, "This patient needs this surgery, it's serious, and her level of obesity is life threatening." Bonus for it being a male doctor. You could also look at some of those links -- at least one of the rabbis who had the surgery was Orthodox.

Were you eating spicy foods as soon as you got cleared for regular food? Because you know, I love spicy stuff, but at 8 weeks out, I can't do that right now. It makes me really queasy.

Your nutritionist is the best place to start. I have no idea what the menu of Jimmy Johns is like. What I'm going to tell you is that initially, you will not want to try raw veggies -- lettuce and like that, and extra chunky/crunchy vegetables like broccoli. They're just hard to chew into tiny pieces, and take extra effort to digest. You can try them, but remember, you are going to want to eat the Protein first, and after you've had the right amount of that (2 oz, probably, right now), then you can try a bite of the vegetable. Lots of folks have problems getting to the vegetables at all. Look, the bottom line is that while you will probably be able to eat small amounts of those things eventually, right now you need to be gradually adding foods, sticking mostly to lean protein with not a lot of veggies, and no raw veggies. So, it looks like the Jimmy John's unwich is a sandwich wrapped in lettuce -- you can probably eat the lean meats and cheese, but the lettuce is going to be a problem. It gets stuck really easily. For chinese, when I first had that, I stuck with the Soup (hot & sour) and ate the *inside* of one pot sticker -- just meat part, no wrapper -- and that was plenty. You need to remember that at this point, chicken and broccoli *is* "something heavier" than what you can eat for a while.

Oh, and in general, "regular food" means "regular food as listed in your dietary guidelines." So, you probably have some nutritional info provided, and regular foods are going to be listed on that. It doesn't mean "whatever you ate before" -- it means, "things on this list, and you don't have to puree them in advance."

You're going to find them on your own, some of them. For example, I'm on regular food, and last night we had chili for the first time since my surgery. I didn't even try to eat the beef in it -- just spooned some of the liquid part and some Beans over a little chicken breast piece. Had a few bites and nope, nope, it wasn't happening. I felt queasy and gross and couldn't manage much more of it. In general, what "regular food" has meant for me is really simple foods -- chicken breast, turkey slice, fresh mozzarella -- and not complicated mixes of foods.

Hi, Meggiep! I just wanted to stop in on this older thread and say I really agree about Dr. Feng! I had my sleeve Sept 1 and have had a great experience. My recovery was really easy, I had no complications, and Dr. Feng is great to work with. I don't see him mentioned enough on the site, but he and the staff (and El Camino Hospital) are really top notch.

Yes. First NUT appt Jun 4. First surgical consult June 29 -- he cleared me for surgery pending completion of the other steps (psych, EKG, upper GI, etc). Second NUT appt July 30. Insurance approved Aug 25. Surgery Sept 1. Total time from first NUT visit to surgery was less than 3 months.

Wow, that does sound intense. Could it be a hot flash? *grin*

It's both. It's a meal (protein) and it's liquid.

Yah, dumping is not just barfing stuff up -- it's specifically related to a quantity of carbs/sugars hitting the small intestine quickly and causing an insulin-related reaction. Given you weren't eating something with a lot of sugar in it, and that you're a sleever -- our stomach valves don't "dump" stuff into the small intestines the way bypass folks' do -- it's unlikely you experienced dumping.

I was cool with the BA chewables until the day I wasn't, and then suddenly they started making me nauseous. I switched to a Celebrate flavor, and then that bothered me. Right now, I'm using the newish Celebrate chewies that are like Starbursts (not chalky). They're waxy and the taste is sort of plastic, but they aren't making me gag. If those start giving me problems, I have the PatchMD Vitamins to try.