SarahSleeve

16 hours ago, mbuczkowski said:

I bought the contraption to make those, haven't tried yet

I just steam them in a ziploc steam bag after and then eat them like they're spaghetti. Very tasty IMO!

Syntrax Nectar has fruity flavors, if the thick milk based ones aren't working for you.

Zucchini noodles are great!

Wow!

Tuesday March 7, 2017

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Day 2 of my pre-op diet. It's 1200 calories of high Protein, low carb.

I can have:

2-3 shakes a day

1 Protein Bar OR a greek yogurt

4oz lean protein

Decaf liquids with no sugar

2 small fruits and as many non-starchy veggies as I want

I'm feeling the hunger, but i'm sure it'll go away after a few days! Had my hospital pre-admissions appt today, they took (another) medical history, told me the details with regards to timing, meds I can and can't take, etc. I'm their first sleeve of the day, so i have to be there at 6am for a 7:30 surgery. I like being first, rather than waiting, so I'm OK with that! I also met one of the anesthesiologists and they took some blood for a few more tests.

Tomorrow is my pre-op NUT appt, then next week I have my 1 week pre-op surgeon meeting (they want to make sure I'm losing weight on the pre-op diet so they know I"m following it!).

2 weeks from today I'll be on the other side!! So exciting

My clear diet does include broths.

Starting my pre-op diet tomorrow! It's just high protein/low carb so it's not too bad. Just need to pick up some veggies and meats tomorrow and I'm good to go 16 days to go! I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS IS REALLY HAPPENING!

March 3, 2017

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Just checked my insurance website and it looks like I got an approval for surgery! I wasn't super concerned since I've done everything required but it's still nice to know that's done and good to go

Pre-op diet starts Monday!

Just got scheduled for the 21st! 20 days to go

I just got scheduled for March 21st!

I start my 2 week preop diet Monday, but it's not liquid - just low carb/high Protein and one day Clear  liquids the day before surgery.

Ack!! I've been doing this since LAST March - I can't believe it's finally here!!

Got my date!!! March 21st - my new, healthier life begins [emoji4]

March 1, 2017

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Meeting the surgeon today!! I should walk out of there with a date so I'll know if I can get in before March 27th or if I'll have to wait until May. Fingers crossed I get in before, I'm so ready to get on the other side of this. But I'm also fully prepared to wait if necessary. It will just be so nice to know one way or the other

14 hours ago, goingtothebeach said:

Hi there. I've just had my initial consult with the Dr. to whom a friend referred me. It went well, as in i was "approved" to start the process. 1st step was me calling my insurance to see if the surgery is covered. IT'S NOT! I'm devastated. I have been considering this for over ten years. I was so excited to start the process.

My options are to:
1. Wait for open enrollment and try to start the process next January.

2. Get a new job, this new insurance.

3. Use a very recent minimal inheritance (that I wanted to save for skin removal later) and potentially have surgery in a month or so. I was told I would only require one nutrition visit and the psych evaluation. I'm sure there are labs and such to be completed. I have recently had labs done and all was normal.

Any thoughts? I only have one friend to talk to about this.

Thank you!

That's a tough one! Honestly if it was ME, I'd probably choose to use the money I had and pay cash. BUT, that's just me. I've been doing this for almost a year and am still on the pre-op side. On the other hand, I truly believe the time I've had to wait has given me enough time to truly prepare for the changes I'm about to endure. I really think that if I only had a month to prepare, I'd be in for some shocking revelations about how bad my eating and exercise habits really were. I do see that you said you've been considering this for a long time, so you may not have the same issue I would have as I had only been seriously considering it for about a year.

This truly is a personal choice - no one can know the best thing for you except YOU. good luck on whatever you decide!

Feb 23, 2017

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Finally met with the doc today. She cleared me to meet the surgeon and is submitting my application to insurance. I meet the surgeon next week! She said this could move fast since she was out for three weeks and they didn't have anyone scheduling people. I might get in before the end of March after all!

I found Premier Protein brand bars and they are pretty good! They have meal bars with 30g Protein and snack bars with 15g protein and 7g. So far I've liked every flavor I've tried.

I'm still pre-op but I've been on here reading for about a year. It seems to be very common to lose quickly for a couple weeks and then stall for a bit right after surgery - your body is healing and is like "what's going on??" Give it time, keep doing what your surgeon recommends, and don't get discouraged! The weight loss will start up again.

If you search "Week three stall" I bet you'll find a lot of posts with people facing the same thing you are, at the same point.

February 19, 2017

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So after some consideration and calendar calculations, it seems it might actually be best for me to assume I'm not going to get surgery until after my scheduled vacation in April. I don't want to be miserable and ruin vacation for my family just to get in there 3-4 weeks earlier.

So I'm planning now for an early May surgery date and will be doing my best to keep losing weight and being active until then. It can only help my recovery

Thanks for the replies. I will have to play it by ear and see how fast the process moves after my appt next week, then decide from there. If it's less than 4 weeks I'll probably push it off until after vacation (which is disappointing beyond words after waiting this long already, but such is life!)

I have 2 weeks high Protein low carb and only one day of liquid the day before surgery.

My surgery keeps getting pushed back by the doctor's office (the doc who determines if we're ready to meet the surgeon had a medical issue a couple weeks ago and hasn't been cleared to return yet - my appt with her has been rescheduled twice, adding 3 weeks to my process so far. I'm supposed to go back next week). I have a vacation scheduled for April and I'm worried I won't be more than 3-4 weeks post at that point based on their timeline estimate. (2-4 weeks to meet surgeon, then insurance approval, etc).

It's not a crazy busy vacation, it's just to one of those Water park hotels - lots of wandering around watching my kids do stuff, with a hotel room an elevator ride away if I need a nap My husband will drive. Do u think that will be OK at only 3-4 weeks post? I know I won't be able to swim but that's OK - I have hated swimsuits for so long that I tended to sit out while my kids swam anyways.

I never thought I'd still be pre-op almost a year after deciding to get sleeved. I started with this office in May/June and this is just exhausting!!

This sucks. I just talked to the office again and after my appt next week I'm still looking at 2-4 weeks before I meet the surgeon, and *then* they submit to insurance. This is taking way longer then I thought it would. I thought the hard part was over when I meet the requirements last month. I've been doing this since last March when I started comparing programs, I never thought I'd still be pre-op at this point.

I'm so angry!

Annnd I was rescheduled again, pushed back a week because the doc is still on medical leave. I can't believe they don't have a second person who can do these appts! Fingers crossed this is the last delay.

Feb 12, 2017

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My final appt was rescheduled for this Thursday so hopefully I'll get some surgery timeline info then. I'm just so ready to join the other side

The only thing I'm waiting on is a final meeting with the surgery coordinator, which was supposed to be earlier this week but was cancelled by them due to doc emergency - I'm just waiting on a reschedule. They should be submitting to insurance after that meeting and then hopefully I'll get a surgery date not too far after. I'm getting excited!

Sent from my Nexus 5X using the BariatricPal App

No news at all on the reschedule?

I asked today when I talked to them and they couldn't say if it would be days, weeks, whatever. She said she didn't think it would be too long, but she couldn't commit to a time frame :/ I guess the doc I was scheduled with is off until further notice and the other doc is not in the office currently??? I didn't ask for specifics but she said "when Dr. *** gets back" they'd start filling her schedule (with reference to the doc taking over future appts). I just hope it's sooner rather than later! It sounds like they are very chaotic there right now so I didn't want to add to the stress by being pushy