brittu

Day 21 for me. 10 days clears, 10 days full liquids and then 10 days mushies. I get to start them on Tuesday. It'll be a nice change, already looking forward to cereal and refried beans.

Dr. Jossart, Is there any data or written opinions or policies or anything available on the following: VSG as band revision procedure band complication statistices, particularly after band slips or pouch dilation I?ve been fighting my insurance company for coverage for over a year. They finally took the band out but refused to cover a revision. They?ve thrown everything at me from the investigational claim (which I used your studies to refute) to too low a BMI. Now they?re saying that there?s no proof that a VSG is an appropriate revision surgery and have asked me for more documentation to show that VSG is used and is appropriate for band revisions. The only people in the world I can think of who might have information are you and Dr. Cirangle. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p> Can you help? Is there any article or statistics you could point me to? Some sort of letter or medical standards or even your medical opinion I could send them for the next round of review? I'm about to be unemployed and getting reimbursed for my surgery would make a big difference for my family. Thanks! Britt

For me the problem with soy milk is it has less protein. But I do love raw, unpasteurized milk you can get here. There's been a lot written how much better it is when the proteins haven't been heated. The guy at the healthfood store told me he's lactose intolerant but can drink it just fine. It sure tastes different, it's my favorite.

The pudding on diet direct can be a pudding or a shake so I'm betting that you can make a kind of pudding with any kind of shake by putting in 1/2 the water. You can also try shake mix with diet cool whip.

I've tried just about everything and am using Lose It right now. Very fast to add new foods and you can choose which nutritional values to track. It also tells me how many calories I'm under for the day which is helpful since I'm still in liquides and getting enough in is a problem for me. I think they all have pretty much the same features. Mine doesn't support PC tracking which was nice but I'm getting along just fine with only the iPhone for now.

Face first, a$$ last. I wish it went bottom up. I have to be really thin to get nice looking legs. And when I get there this time I'm going to need a thigh lift to deal with the skin. Oh well. I just tell myself that it's all gone at goal weight no matter what order it left in...

I really like vegetarian breakfast meats. Here they're called Morningstar Farms. They have sausage patties and links. They really fill me up and are very low in calories. I actually like bacon too - well cooked there's not much fat and two pieces only has 80 calories. And I've always loved beef Jerky. In general, I think that food helps fill you up more than Protein drinks. I only do those if I need the extra protein. But protein of any kind satisfies me and fills me up for several hours (talking from my band days, I'm still on liquids with my sleeve).

Oh I'm all over it. I'd lost most of my weight before my band broke. Now I'm sleeved and know I'll want plastic surgery when I'm a year out from when I reach goal. There's a great surgeon where I live who does weight loss patients almost exclusively and his work is great. I've had fat unattractive legs for so long, they were lean and lovely when I was a teenager. That's what I care about most because it means I can wear short skirts and shorts which I haven't been able to since my early 20s. So I'm planning on a leg lift, arm lift and neck lift. I'm not sure about a tummy tuck or boobs - I have too many scars for a bikini and since I can make those areas look good with clothes or undergarments I think I'll be fine focusing on the parts people can see. Britt

I'm a freezy girl too. Exercise really helps warm me up for several hours. I love my hot Water bottle and fluffy socks too. Britt

Chewable benadryl worked wonders for me. I always get itch with narcotics. Britt

I found some really cute little white Corelle dishes at the local Fred Meyer. Little tiny bowls, some cute square plates, etc. Grown up looking dishes that match what my family eats off. Britt

If you're past clears almost anything can be blended and watered down. I had wonderful chicken tortilla Soup blended. And when I got to mushies I had blended chicken Pasta in a restaurant and even a teriyaki hamburger. I was really creative :-). Britt

Hernia repair works well too. When I've said stomach surgery not a single person has asked me what or why. Go figure. I don't think you'll have too much trouble keeping it simple. And then change the topic :-). As for why you're losing weight the honest reason is because you'll be dieting (or cutting portion size) and exercising. The sleeve is just your helper, not actually what makes you lose weight. My husband is pretty private and didn't want me to tell anyone (which annoyed me because it's my choice, not his). But it's been pretty easy to not disclose in a way that keeps me honest. I have explained in greater detail if I thought a "teaching opportunity" was necessary - like the person was biased or I could tell they were considering WLS. Britt

I was sleeved by Dr. Aceves last week and was totally impressed (it was my 7th abdominal surgery so I had a little experience for comparison). My husband and I decided it was actually a blessing that I lost my insurance battle and had to self-pay. My surgeon here is great but I think Dr. Aceves is better. I loved the fact that I had a spinal instead of just a general. I've had absolutely no pain. I also liked being in the hospital for 3 days. I couldn't imagine going home the same day like my doctor here does. The care was fantastic as is the follow up. I had a year to do research and I couldn't ever find a negative thing about Dr. Aceves. For me, it was well worth it. Britt

Oh I soooo understand. I was just sleeved with Dr. Aceves last week and right up until they were pushing the medication in in the OR I wondered if I'd wake up. And of course I did :-). It was my 8th abdominal surgery so I've gone through that fear with each surgery except for the c-section because I was still awake. I actually get so scared that I write a "just in case" letter to my family. So I'm kinda way over the top when it comes to anesthesia fear. It all went well though. I had a spinal too which was amazing - never once felt pain in the entire week since the surgery. And I'm not hungry either which has made the liquid diet far easier than I'd imagined. Congratulations on your plan, you'll be happy you did it. And when you wake up in the recovery room you'll be just like me, wondering why you were so worried. Britt

Count me in! I'm flying to San Diego on Tuesday with surgery scheduled for this Wednesday the 9th. I'm a band to sleeve revision (my band was removed in October). I was almost at goal when my band went kaplooey and I regained all of my weight while fighting the insurance denial. I'm just planning to let that go and be excited about returning to the wonderful world of restriction. Scared and excited both... Britt Anyone with new dates should copy this post and add their name to it..... For those who have had it already, I hope it all went well... for those of us soon to...I wish you all the best of luck, and may everyones recovery be smooth and without problems. 1 ? Laurel80, Willbesexyboytoy 2 ? Kat1018, Gardinerwife, Nannieg 3- Lessofme2010, Steve-0 4 ? Dsarg1 5 ? 4meandmygirls, Rollermom 6 7 Kimber29 8 ? Avilda, NadiaLinISgoing2beThin, Texaschick,Mommyof4 9 ? Zephra, Tlynnles, Determined, Terry Frances, Brittu 10 ? Sparkle, Nsalex75 11 ? Ntvtxn, Ads, CGshrink 12 13 14 ? BandMomsRock, Lotusflwr80 15 ? Chellebelle0880, Delawaregal, Sam30204, Syry180, Sunnyinaz, Bigkahuna, Cottoneye 16 17 ? Jenni80, Bryan2088 18 19 TDL 20 21 ? Jdavid, Asiancajunmom, Kalex21211, Songbirdkay, Dixienorco 22 Educationrulz, Anniegg 23 - Swany 24 25 26 27 28 ? CurvyJudy, Forcarolynk, MP8BTPC 29 Beentherewasthat 30 ? Greenize,

My band slipped. I tried an unfill for 6 weeks. Any time it was filled I got dilation again. I had to have it removed and am revising to a sleeve this week. I realized that, even though it worked and I lost weight, it didn't feel great. food getting stuck, sliming, even just normal eating wasn't too pleasant. So my doctor recommended the sleeve and after some reasearch I decided that was the way I wanted to go. Time will tell I guess. I'm not looking forward to another surgery but I'll be happy to have restriction again. Britt

I'm heading down to have a sleeve with Dr. Aceves this week. I've heard nothing but good things about him. Hope you get the info you need as you make your decision. Britt

Federal BCBS covers VSG as of 2009. But since each state has a different administrator some can be behind the current policy. If it helps, I included a bunch of info on the 22 approvals I found for Fed BCBS and other research on a blog. My Revision Appeal: From Lap Band to VSG Britt

Medicare and many insurance companies cover appeal with out any requirement but failure of the first procedure. And the policy of the ASMBS (American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgeons) says the same thing. If it helps, I posted my lastest appeal letter containing my research on revision coverage at: My Revision Appeal: From Lap Band to VSG Britt

Wow, a spinal sounds great. It sure helped with my c-section. Another reason why I prefer Aceves if I have to self-pay. I also like that he oversews - to me that seems much more likely to prevent leaks than just a staple line. Actually, I'm wondering if I shouldn't just go with him anyway. I'm scheduled for Saturday but the OPM is reconsidering my appeal this week. My life would be easier if they'd just call and tell me flat out "no" today so I can get this done and move on. The 7 months of waiting for an answer day after day after day is killing me. Britt

If it helps, I've posted all my appeal letters on a blog site. I was able to convince Regence that VSG is not investigational. Now I'm just fighting to get them agree I don't have to regain all my weight before they pay for the revision (grrrr). Britt My Revision Appeal: From Lap Band to VSG

So I've been in a 14 month fight for coverage of a revision from lap band to a sleeve. I should finally know the outcome this week. Over the weekend I found some great info on policies and standards of care for revisions. I put together one final letter that I overnighted yesterday. Just in case it's useful to anyone (I sight the policies of Medicare, 8 other insurance companies, and the ASMBS) I'll post a link to my blog. Thanks, Britt vsgappeal: Final Letter - Why revision doesn't require a high BMI

Hi all, I'm in the final stretch of my legal appeal. If I win, I have surgery at home with a surgeon who staples only. If I lose, I head down to Dr. Aceves who oversews the staple line. For those of you who've suffered leaks, any idea whether it was a staple only or staple plus suture surgery? Thanks! Britt

You should be just fine. I've been fighting the OPM for many months over a revision. In what they've written to me it's pretty much a done deal with a BMI 40+. They've even indicated if I gain to 40 they'll change their minds bout my revision (grrr). I don't think you'll have any problems at all. Britt