k-statearmywife

I have Tricare Standard and let me tell you they will make you pay 15% of the total bill for the surgery, but mind you, each part of your bill is probably broken down into different departments (lab, anesthesia, surgery, recovery...all of which had seperate bills! My total out of pocket cost was over $700. Oh and I was denied on Tricare Prime twice before I switched to Standard and was approved in less than one week.

Intentional or not, like I said, I was claifying the meaning of a vegetarian. Vegetarianism is a lifestyle that people choose for various personal reasons, and when you change your entire lifestyle for a particular reason, you tend to stand by what you believe in. Let me give you an example. If I were to donate money one time (say $20), to a charity of my choosing, yet never did any volunteer work, would I be entitled to call myself a professional philanthropist? No. And I'm sure that the true philanthropists might be offended that someone would call themselves such, given all that they do for other people.

I would just like to claify something. A vegetarian is somebody who DOES NOT EAT meat. This includes fish and chicken. So if you even occasionally eat fish or chicken, you ARE NOT a vegetarian....not even close! If you choose to only eat fish as your only animal meat, then you are a PESCATARIAN. Being a true vegetarian, this offends me when people eat meat and call themselves a vegetarian, or say they follow a vegetarian diet.

Yep! Mine was 30 days prior...but 90 days is better. And the risk of clotting IS NOT MINIMAL like the other poster said. It is a serious risk in the first place because you will not be moving around much immediately after surgery, and oral birth control methods increase this already existing theat. My doctor told me I could restart my birth control at my two week post-op appt.

Try vegetarian sources of Protein...they don't have high saturated fat contents like animal sources of protein (they are superior) here are some examples and grams of protein per serving size at this site (i tried to copy and paste and it didn't work out) Protein in the Vegan Diet -- The Vegetarian Resource Group

I'm almost 2 weeks post-op and I've been beggin my husband...but he won't give in because he thinks he'll hurt me! lol. Is it painful? Different in any way?

I had surgery on a Wednesday, was back in college on Monday....so 5 days....i'm not going to lie though...it hurt

I had to stop taking the pill (risk of clotting) one month prior to the surgery (which was last week). 2 days after my surgery I was bleeding so heavy (I'm talking nickle sized clots and everything) that I called my surgeon because I was so worried. He told me I could advance to the full liquids instead of clear because I may need more nutrients, if ya know what I mean. Mind you, my periods have NEVER been that heavy...this was comparable to post-partum childbirth bleeding! Freaky stuff. It happens.

Thanks for asking this question, and also to Kiz for that picture, I learned something today!

what exactly is "sliming"?

First off, I don't want any lectures about how important it is to stick to my surgeons recommended post-op diet. I am 1 week post-op and have been slowly introducing soft foods into my diet with complete success. With that being said, how am I supposed to know if something doesn't sit well with me, or if I am full, etc.? I've eaten creamy Soups, mushy tuna, Jello, hot Cereal, etc., nothing that I have to crunch, cut, or chew very much (or at all), and I havn't had an adverse reaction to anything! I do however get adverse reactions when I drink a protien shake (immediate gas, which did NOT happen on my pre-op diet). I do feel full after about 1/2 cup of mushies, but not like I used to feel full. Someone give me some advice on what is supposed to happen if I eat foods to soon, NO LECTURES PLEASE!

I have 5 and mine are all glued. My girls (3&4) like to touch them. The only weird part is that around the edges (the surgeon more than covered the area with glue) it's started to flake off, which i'm glad because it kinda catches on my tshirt.

I was banded the 4th of November! I'm still struggling with the gas pains, but overall, I'm doing ok I guess. Congrats to both of us!

Had surgery Wednesday the 4th of Novemeber. I got released today and it's still hard to take a deep breath kuz I get that gassy shoulder pain and it hurts my tummy. OUCH! I also denied those Lovenox shots that I'm supposed to give myself in the belly. (anybody know what I'm talking about?) So instead I vowed to walk more and keep moving to keep my blood from pooling. How long does this pain last? And how soon were you able to have a protien shake after surgery?

I agree, this one's a winner!

Nov. 4th baby! I'm soooo ready! Bring it ON!

So my pre-op liquid diet was more than 14 days just because of how the scheduling worked out, it's more like 19 days...and I'm on day 14 today. I'm so sick of this! I started munching on saltine crackers (cheating) a few days ago, and today I completely fell off the bandwagon and had a bowl of soup and crackers. OMG! This is all because I was disappointed at my pre-op apptment yesturday which concluded that I've only lost 6lbs while on this liquid diet. I was so disappointed! I feel like I've lost more than 10lbs because I've adjusted my bras, gotten into size 20 jeans, and felt way skinner, but I was so sad to see that the number on the scale didn't match up to what I thought. Therefore I have 5 days till surgery and I'm panicking and eating food! Someone help me!

I'm A veg! Scheduled for sugery the Nov. 4th. Any tips for veg protien sources for the pureed diet or favorite post-surgery recipies?

The requirements for Tricare Prime or Standard are the same, (100lbs overweight with comorbities or 200% overweight). The only difference is the avenues you must take to be approved (which doctors, approvals etc.) that are required. My personal story involves 2 denials through Tricare Prime (Triwest) and after switching to Standard I was approved on the third try in a few days! Blew my mind... I would like to know more about the copays for Standard patients. I'm considered in the Western region, and I spoke to a TriWest rep about a month ago who told me I would only be responsible for unathorized procedures (which all of mine have been approved by tricare) and $15 per night I stay in the hospital. But after reading other people's responses of $700+ copays I need to know the truth!