gr8ful1

Checking in from my hospital room. All is well so far. It’s a real pain, literally, to get up from this bed for potty breaks. Anyone mastered a technique? Flatten bed? Raise head more? Everything method hurts.

Thank you, @Frustr8!

Checking in at the hospital. I am first of SEVEN bariatric surgeries here today. Four surgeries with my surgeon Dr Fitzer, and three with Dr Trad.

Thank you! All the best to you!

Praying! You're not alone. You've got this!

Praying. Tomorrow is our big day. You've got this!

Finally got my insurance approval just 16 hours before my surgery time! To my 7/25/2018 gastric bypass buddies @mercmerc and @Laura7, I pray for a complication-free surgery and recovery for you! I've got my hospital bag packed with 2 changes of clothing, phone charger, cholesterol meds, toiletries, lip balm, dry mouth spray, tummy pillow, and earphones. CPAP goes in the bag in the morning, then it's off to Reston Hospital Center at 6:00 a.m. for a 8:45 surgery!

I was given my date a couple of months ago, during dietitian visit #4 of 6. My surgery date is this coming Wednesday, 7/25. I do not yet have insurance approval. Hopefully that will come tomorrow, as I'm already on a 3-day clear liquid diet. Your surgeon's office should be able to get you scheduled before approval.

My PA said I won't need any help, but I can't drive until 5 days after my bypass. That said, a friend drove himself home from the hospital (against the rules) after his own bypass and said he was just fine. I'm also not supposed to lift more than 25# for 4 weeks.

Saw your other reply regarding shakes. Maybe try different flavors? You can find singles and 4-packs at Wal-Mart. Also, I put my (refrigerated) shake in the freezer for about 20 minutes before drinking it, and it makes it more shake-like. LOL

Can you drink protein shakes? I'm using them as meal replacements to lose the weight my surgeon required in the 6-months before surgery, and they do a fairly good job of providing satiety.

I’m the 25th. I’m on day two of liquids Me too. That makes at least 3 of us on 7/25!

We're both scheduled for the 25th. You've got this! I only have a 3-day pre-op diet, but it's a rough one: Clear liquids only. It's basically a water fast. It will definitely be worth it in the end, and I don't expect to wake up from surgery hungry!

I put them on my Amazon wish list. I have some Flintstones on hand for post-op, but will definitely try something like these if I can't stand chewables. Gummies are also not allowed by my program, but I'm not sure why. Maybe the sugar content.

I just looked at the label for these vitamins, and they meet all of my programs requirements, particularly the iron and folic acid requirements that most multivitamins do *not* meet. They seem to be perfect! Except...The only problem is that they are capsules, which means they must be taken with food (for vitamin absorption) and water. And drinking while eating post-op is a no-no for me. Ugh!

This. Ask your insurance company and/or surgeon's office for a copy of the denial letter. That's exactly what I did when I was denied. The letter specified the exact reason for the denial, and the surgeon's office is working with me to address the issue (supervised diet requirements in my case). I suggest you start by calling the surgeon's office. If they do a lot of weight loss surgeries, they will be able to guide you through this.

Just confirmed that it's tonight, and *not* on the 10th.

Thanks! I'm not sure what's going on with the July meeting. Based on what was communicated, I think some people are going to be showing up tonight *and* next Monday night. Doh!

Hmm....according to the annual schedule, you are right, the July meeting is scheduled for 7/10, not 7/2. According to Deby's Facebook post from last week, the meeting is "next Monday." I'll try to clarify with her.

It's support group day! This will be my last support group meeting before my surgery (7/25). Hope to see some of you there tonight!

I am going to approach this from the side of management, as I have 18 direct reports and I deal with leave and other time off requests all the time. We have policies and regulations to follow, but my overall responsibility in approving leave is to make sure I have sufficient staff on hand to do the work for which my team is responsible. This isn't always easy, because not all of my staff does the same type of work on the same project(s). When it comes to vacation/annual/comp time and time off awards, I will approve all requests for as long as I feel comfortable with the staffing level. I do not process sick leave requests in this manner, however! People get sick. People have babies. Sometimes there is a death in the family and short-notice bereavement leave is required. If I cannot accommodate these types of requests, then shame on me as a manager, because I made no allowance for them when I was approving vacation requests. I never have, and I never will ask any employee to give up vacation or sick leave to accommodate another employee. If an employee needs an extended absence and has medical certification to back it up, it gets approved. I make no judgments about the necessity of the medical treatment.

Mine is set for July 25th, too! It looks like I have a ventral hernia though, so I may have to reschedule if I want the doc to fix that, too. He's got multiple surgeries that day, so I'm thinking he may need more time. Seeing him again in a couple of weeks to discuss that.

Generally speaking (your insurance may vary!), your weight immediately prior to surgery indicate 2 things: 1: weight loss since your initial consultation with the surgeon 2: BMI > 40 (without comorbidities) or BMI > 35 (if you have at least one or 1 qualifying comorbidities such as severe sleep apnea, type 2 diabetes, etc)

Yeah, it was a bit shocking to me too when Heather asked me if I wanted to set a date when I was just sitting there in the waiting room. I thought I was just there to see Suzanne. LOL. I like having a date months in advance. It somehow makes the surgery seem more tangible and it motivates me even more to do what I need to do to prepare.

I know. She's leaving June 1st. That said, Jessica seemed nice, but she really just quietly observed and didn't really interact with me after introductions. She looks like she is still in college (maybe she is graduating this month). So she probably doesn't have a lot of experience with bariatric patients. Hopefully we can still learn a lot from her!