ChynaDollMUA

My last nutrition appt is November 3rd. Then I have to wait to be cleared so I guess I'm looking at December

Mine may be in December. Dr. is hoping that it can be done then.

Hi, I was told I should have my surgery 2 to 3 week of October. I am very close to your November and who knows with insurance companies it may be November.
i will start with my schedule. I am not required by insurance to wait but my WLC has a very strict policy of 6 months of group meetings , doctor appointments and a slew of medical test and a mental evaluation. I already have had my first round of blood work, I am already using a CPAP machine for sleep. I have to lose 1 pound a month . I had to laugh at the 1 pound.
I would like to keep in touch while we go through this together . We are very close in the process.

Our pre-op class gave us a ton of materials, but I brought a notebook to make my own notes - I've found that for me, writing it down in my own hand makes it true. You may find many of your questions are answered as part of the presentation. Do make note of brands that they recommend that are available to you locally. And if you don't have a food scale, as for recommendations on a scale - as I have found that to be my most valuable tool over the course of the last year and a half.

It's great that you're being proactive getting your questions together. Since you're already doing that, my advice is to keep your ears wide open. Listen not only to the answers you get, but also the questions & answers the doctors & other patients have. Be open & you'll learn something you didn't know you didn't know or at least develop empathy to understand what others are going through. You are not alone. Good luck!

hey guys well just wanted to say hello and welcome to the boards i am about 3 months into a 7 month journey i have my 3rd weigh in on Tuesday. all i can say to those just starting this process is it moves at a pace you do not expect like the days can sometimes be long when you think about the process its self but the weeks and months go by so fast. i mean it feels like yesterday that i filled out my new patient paper work and met with the surgeon so yeah so crazy and that was back at the end of February so just keep your eye on the prize and do not be discouraged if you think you are not making progress as fast as you think you need to be or should be. dont compare your journey to anyone else's dont compare your preop program diet what have you to anyone else's every surgeon is wildly different the reason i say this is because at the end of the day the end of the day we all want the same thing weight loss surgery and to be successful in our journey

Yes I am starting an Instagram account. Still nervous though but excited as well

I "officially" no longer feel like I have to go through a lot, I too have BCBS but my list is not as extensive. It looks like you have done a great job and made it through it all. Congrats!

An answer for all of us. Was to WallyWorld today, they have come up with an Equate version of Premier Protein, $5.25 as apposed to $7,27. only in Chocolate-Vanilla-Caramel versions so far but 30mg Protein also. Might be a savings if they only taste as good.😈

I’m not at the very beginning of the journey. My surgery is set for May 10 and I started the Optifast diet to shrink my liver today. I’ve been waiting for 18 months to get everything complete and approved by my bcbs. I had to do three visits with my surgeon after the consultation, initial lab tests, 12 months of monthly nutritional counseling, 4 visits with a special psychiatrist, a meeting at the office with other pre-op patients, a meeting for instructions on pre-op diet and after care, 2 weeks Optifast diet and a second set of lab work. I still have the endoscopy, meeting with the anesthesiologist, X-rays and labs right before surgery.
It has been a LOOOONG journey. It seems like a lot of people had way less hoops to jump through, but I’m glad mine was incredibly thorough. I’m still nervous of course, but I feel super prepared at this point thanks to everything I’ve had (and still have to) do.

Goodness that seems like so much to go through! I have BCBS as well but don't have to do a majority of what you did. I don't think I could have handled it.

Just starting here as well. My first appointment was 4/11. I have to do the 6 month nutritionist visits and all of the test that people have mentioned. Nervous but excited. I appreciate all of the advice like finding a Protein Shake now. I haven't told anyone other than my husband. Estimating surgery by the end of the year. So far I have met with the nutritionist 4/18 and yesterday had the psych eval which she said she was clearing me for surgery.
Thank you for starting this, I look forward to going through this process together!

So I had my first appointment today! My insurance requires me to do a 6 month supervised diet and I’m ok with that! I got a projected surgery date today but I won’t post that until I get a little closer. I feel much better after today’s appointment! I’m super excited

Hi hun! I’d definitely be willing to support one another! I have had all support as of yet! Don’t let anyone make you feel less than! I did the same up and down with my weight and frankly I’m just tired of that! We are doing what is best for us and if people don’t support that, drop them

I had my initial assessment in January and I'm at the phase now where I've done most of the tests including sleep study, and first meeting with the dietician, etc, and I have an appointment on Monday where they determine fitness for the surgery. I'm hoping it goes well. I also have a second dietician appt next week, so after that, it's surgical consult and wait for a surgery time. I'm in Canada so everything is covered insurance wise, other than the Optifast. I'd love to have a couple people to talk to about this. My husband is very nervous about the surgery and it's hard to talk about my excitement for it when he's worried.

hello ChynaDollMUA id love go on this journey with you and maybe share some experiences......... i have my bariatrics workshop on Wednesday of this week the 25th i am excited and nervous.... does anyone else have people making them feel less than for going this route? i feel i need to do this and every time i lose the weight i gain it right back and most of the time even more than before

I had my first meeting with the nutritionist today. It went really well. I already started a low carb diet so we just went over what I've been doing, and coping strategies for my vacation next week (going to visit family who do NOT know I'm doing this, for good reasons). She also reviewed the pre-op diet; they use Optifast, it's $100 a week for the two week diet, but you pay for that and it's literally all you eat. Apparently my surgeon likes it because in addition to the Protein, it has a lot of added Vitamins that I would need otherwise. I'm going to do more research before the time comes. I can put the money aside with this much notice.
I also found out that my insurance doesn't actually require any kind of supervised diet, so I made my consult much earlier than I needed. I still can't move up my surgery due to a 12 month waiting period from my enrollment in the insurance plan. 12 months will be December 1st, but I'm going to push it back to January so I have my full FSA for next year for the initial deposit, and so I'm not coming off of surgery still being tired with people taking vacation for the holidays. I'm a medical coder, so at the end of the month, there's a big push to get charges out and if people are out over Christmas, somebody has to pick up the slack LOL. I don't want to worry about that while I'm still lacking energy from surgery. Also I'm going to have to talk to my PCP about a different form of Adderall, because I need it to work, but I'm on the extended release form and I can't open the capsule and sprinkle it on applesauce or something.
But I have a plan! And I lost 3 lbs this week! I'm feeling pretty good right now.

Is this the same as the healthy weight program with Kaiser I wonder? I start mine on 5/7!

I have my orientation for Kaiser’s 12-week Options program on Wednesday. I am so so excited and nervous to do this- it does not feel real yet. I am from Southern California[emoji5]

I just had my first phone apt with the NP that will be following me throughout the process. I have to attend the orientation and meet the surgeon... they will give me my expected weight loss to get surgery (they want to make sure I’m committed so they request you lose however much the surgeon asks 10-20 pounds). Then I’ll meet with psych to do an evaluation and all that... I was told that after I do all that plus blood work and a sleep study that can get the surgery in as soon as 90 days... just depends on pre surgery requirements and how fast I’m meeting them.

I have completed the seminar and initial consultation. I will be doing the nutritional workshops in 2 weeks. Then the end of May I will do my pre-surgical psych eval and 1st week of June I have the consultation with the surgeon. My surgery date will be set in 2 weeks by the end of the workshop. Happening pretty fast!

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After my 6 months all I have to do is get a surgery date. Starting in my
4th month the WLC will get the letter from my PHP and I will have my endoscopy procedure that month or just in my 5th month and my mental evaluation will be durning my 4th month also. I will see my cardo doc in month 5 . A week before surgery I have my second round of blood work and X-rays. Just before my 6th month ends they get my insurance stuff together and it gets sent out the day after my 6 month appointment.

I had to start my food journal after my consultation appointment so they can see how I am eating and help me change what needs to be changed and guide me along the way. Do you go to class monthly or what? I go every month for a 2 hour meeting with a group of patients that started at or around my same time for 1 1/2 hours and then the NUT for the rest if the time to review my journal and talk about any issues. My first meeting in group is 4/25 this Wednesday. I will let you know how is goes.

Are you using Protein power yet and if so what do you use?

I would like to be a accountability buddy, that would help me so much also. If you haven’t gone through this or are not going through it people just don’t understand. I am thankful I have found this group and you.

Have a great night.

Thanks!

I don’t need to do the 6 month supervised weight loss program because I have a history of doing watchers, which counted. They didn’t seem to verify that but I have been on and off with them a few times, totally well over 6 months.

During the 12 week class I start on 5/7 I will have to do a food journal. They are looking for loss for sure but I don’t think there is a required amount for surgery. I’m hoping to really focus on once the journaling starts to lose some weight before surgery anyway.

I would love to stay in touch! It looks like you hit the ground running which is really inspiring to me! it sounds like we’re both SO ready for this! I could use an accountability buddy!

Maybe my surgery date will be in October too! This class finishes in August and I’ll have several appointments before surgery which will probably take a few months. Do you have much to do after the 6month program?

Welcome. It sounds like we are very close to the same starting point. Do you have to do a 6 month supervised weight loss program for your insurance and doctor before they will do surgery?

Like I said in my first post I am so ready for this new life I have started on. I would like to keep in touch . We can support each other in the journey.

I’m just starting as well! First step for me is a 12 week Healthy Weight Management class which starts on 5/7 through Kaiser.