*slim*

This is a question that ONLY your doctor can really answer. The quick answer is NO because the reason for the liquid diet is for your stomach to heal with the band around it. If the healing is not done correctly, you are more at risk for band slips and complications. Call you doctor before making any diet changes that you are not scheduled for.

Congrats! :biggrin:I remember fighting with BCBS, and they can be tough! Continued good luck on your journey!

28 pounds is fantastic!

How awful for you! I wondered how you were doing. I hope that they are able to get you cleared up soon!

That's ok. Freaking out is allowed. I am sure that I will be right there with you! Let the freaking out commence! jk You are going to do fine. It is just a matter of us getting in more calories I think. I think we are taking in so few, that our bodies are scared spitless. I don't know about you, but I was consuming somewhere around 2500 calories a day at least. Now all of a sudden I am getting 500? We are going to get over this hump. P.S. I forgot to say happy birthday to you too Debbie.

How rude! :thumbup: They could have at least had YOU a cup of pudding or something for you to "enjoy" while they had your cake. That's just mean. I am sorry that they did that to you. This is hard enough without the cake temptations. I feel your pain. I pretty much felt awful yesterday after trying to force more calories in. I will admit, that must have done something because I lost a pound. I can't believe how excited I was about that one pound. I know, how sad am I?:crying:

I don't know about the rest of your life, but my surgeon says they will do a port revision once I have lost a significant amount of weight. I guess I can understand why they don't use the smaller port to begin with because it would be hard to find under the fat. That being said, you are probably swollen around that area and that is making it stick out more than it will. I know, my port site looked like a huge egg, but now almost 2 weeks out, it doesn't stick out as much as it did the first few days. I hope that it goes down enough for you to be comfortable with it being there.

Hi. You will find a lot of information here. I have found that if you have a question, you will more than likely find someone here to answer. Good luck on your journey!

I am sorry, it must have me. I will take it back, not gladly, but I will.

Me too! My short term disablity was approved through October 23. I go for my first fill on that day. I am glad that I will have to do liquids the next day since it will be my first day back at work. I don't want to PB or slime on my first day back to work.

You are so NOT alone. I can't even stand the smell of them. My surgeon also allowed me to blend ANY soup and whatever went through the strainer, I could have. I don't know if you have ever looked at blended/pureed soup with veggies or something in it, but let's just say it looked like it had been digested by someone before. gross

I would recommend the pill prep. That is much easier to deal with. You still drink a lot, but not that gallon of gross stuff. If you have a problem taking pills, it might be possible to split them in half (they aren't that big).

I did 7 days of clear liquids. I am now into my 7 days of full liquids. At the end of this 7 days, I will have been on liquids 24 days (including 10 days of pre-op liquid diet).

What does your check list look like and where did you put it? I am struggling to get my water in. I was never a drinker of much of anything (water, soda, milk, etc).

My doctor said nothing but walking until after 4 weeks. They said that is when I will be released for regular exercise.

Well, you keep me posted about how they handle that. I don't know if we are going to have to form a revolt or what. Surely if we complain or something, they can either explain it better, or do something about it.

I have BCBS of Illinois. I was afraid that I would end up being charged for things that I was told was included. I don't understand that at all. I don't know if it is a problem with Johnna handling the insurance, or if it is them trying to get over on us. It is just really hard to tell.

She had it at the beginning of September I think. I know when I went to pay for my part of the surgery, she had already had it. She looks amazing. The $1000 probably is a part of what you were quoted. I had to pay that on top of my portion of my insurance charges. I was also charged the $250, but they billed all but $75 to my insurance. I ended up paying $95 of that.

You just need to keep it in perspective. Everyone's weight loss is going to be different. There are people that know that this is hard work and are following their doctor's instructions to the letter and still aren't losing weight. It doesn't mean that they won't lose weight, it just means that their experience is going to be different. We didn't put the weight on overnight, so we can't expect it to drop off overnight.

I did have to do a psych evaluation and a nutrition class. They sent me to Memorial for that. It was $95, but that paid for both of them. The people at Memorial said that it would have been $50 if we were using their surgeons. I didn't get that, but I guess we are never supposed to understand the inner workings of billing and insurance. Also, supposedly, 4 or 5 more visits with the counselor and also use of Memorial's exercise facilities are included with that.

I was just thinking about since you are self pay, they charge you differently. They are going to push to get as much money out of my insurance company as possible. They actually charge you a few thousand dollars less as self pay than what they charge the insurance company. I bet in the end, they will do the same for the fills. I know that all I get is a global period of 90 days that supposedly I don't have to pay for visits (I still have to pay for the fills).

week 1 Clear liquids (broth, apple and grape juice, and crystal light) week 2 full liquids (blended and strained Soups, thin mashed potatoes, creamy soups w/no chunks, yogurt w/no chunks) week 3 soft foods (soft boiled eggs, scrambled eggs, refried Beans, tuna) week 4 regular foods

That wouldn't be so bad. I guess I was so excited about everything else, I didn't think to ask about the cost of fills. I had assumed (never assume) that they would be like regular office visits since they do them there at their office. I found out later that they filed them as procedures. I don't know how my insurance will handle that.

You should visit chattanooga some time. Not that were are the mecca of travel destinations, but we aren't too bad. I had a cousin that was a pastor in Johnson City, but lived in Knoxville. i never got to visit. I love your ticker.

I think that as long as you are going what your surgeon's office said to do, you are ok. I know one of the books that I read about WLS, their post op diet started soft foods on day 7. I think especially since you were feeling so bad, that they just moved you up a litte.