Hi, I have been looking on this site for two weeks now and finally decided to join. I hope that I will gain a great support system with you guys. I live in Memphis, and I have attended a seminar with Dr. Woodman. He has the reputation of a FANTASTIC surgeon but a HORRIBLE bedside manner. Is anyone here from Memphis? Is Dr. Woodman your doc? I believe I need a tough surgeon. I know I want a competent one! I need someone to tell me when I am f***ing up! I need that. I have my first consultation with him on July 26th. My insurance requires a 6 month medical diet ( my doc already started me on that the day after the seminar). I am sooo ready to start.

I have some questions......

1. if you had to go through the 6 month medical diet, did you loose weight and then the insurance would not cover it?
2. have you heard of any complications, like leaking?
3. was it really hard to change your lifestyle (eating habits)?
4. Are there any helpful sites (besides this one) or books that can help me prepare mentally, emotionally and physically?
5. When did you start getting your meal plan together?
6. How long did you stay in the hospital?
7. How long did you stay on the liquid and soft foods?

Just a few questions

Thanks in advance for the answers and all the support and the prayers you will give me!!!!!!!!

heyyy! welcome to the site. im jaz from ny. i cant answer most of your questions because im new to this myself but i can say im in the same boat as you. last tuesday, i met with a nurse practioner & a nutritionist. my NP answered all the questions i had. my nutritionist also gave me a "diet" to start but the following day, i met with my primary dr (who is a family friend) & he told me not to lose any weight. so now im confused! he said the insurance will feel like i can do it on my own and may say to wait another 6 months and see how i do. i asked a few ppl on here.. some ppl said that their insurances go by starting bmi. when i called the bariatric unit, they told me my insurance will look at all 6 months. so now im lost! do i lose the weight? do i try very little? or do i go HARD? i lose weight quickly but i put it on even faster! thats my issue. so now im lost! :/

well, anyways, i just wanted to share my experience with you. im 1/2 way thru the process of getting all my tests done & it hasnt even been a week. i have a 6 month process as well.

Hi, I have been looking on this site for two weeks now and finally decided to join. I hope that I will gain a great support system with you guys. I live in Memphis, and I have attended a seminar with Dr. Woodman. He has the reputation of a FANTASTIC surgeon but a HORRIBLE bedside manner. Is anyone here from Memphis? Is Dr. Woodman your doc? I believe I need a tough surgeon. I know I want a competent one! I need someone to tell me when I am f***ing up! I need that. I have my first consultation with him on July 26th. My insurance requires a 6 month medical diet ( my doc already started me on that the day after the seminar). I am sooo ready to start.

I have some questions......

1. if you had to go through the 6 month medical diet, did you loose weight and then the insurance would not cover it?
2. have you heard of any complications, like leaking?
3. was it really hard to change your lifestyle (eating habits)?
4. Are there any helpful sites (besides this one) or books that can help me prepare mentally, emotionally and physically?
5. When did you start getting your meal plan together?
6. How long did you stay in the hospital?
7. How long did you stay on the liquid and soft foods?

Just a few questions

Thanks in advance for the answers and all the support and the prayers you will give me!!!!!!!!

Hope this helps:

-My pre-op diet was only two weeks long...thank goodness. and my insurance did cover the vsg.

-This site has a complications forum that may help you with that question.

-I'm having a hard time learning to eat slow...i was a wolfer and a gulper. now i take teeny bites and sip. make sure you follow the rule not to drink a half hour before and after meals. you will be overfull and your tummy and esophagus will ache.

-obesity help is a site a lot of people go on, and there's all sorts of video blogs on you tube

-my doctor gave be basic instructions for meal plan, i follow those

-i was in the hospital two days. i didn't need any pain meds when i got home. this surgery is more discomforting than painful in my opinion...but the discomfort lasts a lot longer; something new comes up with each change in your diet.

-i was on liquids for two weeks; pureed for two weeks; and now soft foods for 3-4 weeks, then amy "normal" diet starts in september.

-my surgeon is very competent and experienced, but also has lousy bedside manner; but that is fine with me. everything he has told me has been spot on and i have had no complications...knock on wood and thanks be to God.

I wish you the best on your journey...I think it will be worth it!

ur insurance didnt request a 6 month diet?

Hope this helps:

-My pre-op diet was only two weeks long...thank goodness. and my insurance did cover the vsg.

-This site has a complications forum that may help you with that question.

-I'm having a hard time learning to eat slow...i was a wolfer and a gulper. now i take teeny bites and sip. make sure you follow the rule not to drink a half hour before and after meals. you will be overfull and your tummy and esophagus will ache.

-obesity help is a site a lot of people go on, and there's all sorts of video blogs on you tube

-my doctor gave be basic instructions for meal plan, i follow those

-i was in the hospital two days. i didn't need any pain meds when i got home. this surgery is more discomforting than painful in my opinion...but the discomfort lasts a lot longer; something new comes up with each change in your diet.

-i was on liquids for two weeks; pureed for two weeks; and now soft foods for 3-4 weeks, then amy "normal" diet starts in september.

-my surgeon is very competent and experienced, but also has lousy bedside manner; but that is fine with me. everything he has told me has been spot on and i have had no complications...knock on wood and thanks be to God.

I wish you the best on your journey...I think it will be worth it!

Insurance companies typically use your starting weight to go off of to gauge your BMI, not what you lose. They want to see that you're going to take it seriously and willing to make the changes necessary.

As for your surgeon...surgeons notoriously have TERRIBLE bedside manner, but that's also more the old school ones. lol. Frankly, I'm more concerned about how good he is both in skill and knowledge than how well he plays nice. KWIM?

As for books I have the Weight Loss Surgery Coping Companion by Tanie Kabala...it's excellent. I also bought Eating Well After Weight Loss Surgery. I've started using both of them in hopes of being better prepared when I have my surgery in August.

hi jasleeve, no i only had a two week pre-op diet. First consultation to surgery was about 4 months. From what i see on these boards i think that's a record! My insurance is blueshield ppo in so.california, surgery at UC Irvine Med Center.

i have a 6 month monitored diet but im confused on whether i should actually lose weight. my primary dr told me not to. im so confused! & the bariatric unit had told me that the insurance will look at all 6 months :/

hi jasleeve, no i only had a two week pre-op diet. First consultation to surgery was about 4 months. From what i see on these boards i think that's a record! My insurance is blueshield ppo in so.california, surgery at UC Irvine Med Center.

Hi!!!!! Dr. Woodman is my surgeon. He is a wonderful surgeon. When ppl say that he has no bedside manner, its bascially that he does not want to hear excuses. He just wants ppl to admit to their eating disorder or weight issues and be honest. So many ppl lie and make excuses to him and he just calls them out if they do. Like if someone died in your family and you ate (emotionally) and went to his office for checkup and you gained some weight.....he dont like that. He says you eat because you eat.....nobody or nothing can make you. He just wants all of us to know that we are the ones that control our bodies......some ppl call it mean, i call it being straight forward and honest. I am glad to find you. I have been looking for someone kind of close to my location. I am in Henderson. My insurance didnt require the 6 month diet program....just psyh eval, dietitian and 5 yrs of recorded weight history. I was just approved yesterday. I will have my labs and xrays done next week, then come to Memphis to Dr. Woodmans office to discuss the surgery with him and schedule the date. I am so excited!! Hope to hear from you.. I dont have any info regarding pre-op and post-op diet or anything yet but when I hear something I will keep you posted. ttys

Hi, I have been looking on this site for two weeks now and finally decided to join. I hope that I will gain a great support system with you guys. I live in Memphis, and I have attended a seminar with Dr. Woodman. He has the reputation of a FANTASTIC surgeon but a HORRIBLE bedside manner. Is anyone here from Memphis? Is Dr. Woodman your doc? I believe I need a tough surgeon. I know I want a competent one! I need someone to tell me when I am f***ing up! I need that. I have my first consultation with him on July 26th. My insurance requires a 6 month medical diet ( my doc already started me on that the day after the seminar). I am sooo ready to start.

I have some questions......

1. if you had to go through the 6 month medical diet, did you loose weight and then the insurance would not cover it?
2. have you heard of any complications, like leaking?
3. was it really hard to change your lifestyle (eating habits)?
4. Are there any helpful sites (besides this one) or books that can help me prepare mentally, emotionally and physically?
5. When did you start getting your meal plan together?
6. How long did you stay in the hospital?
7. How long did you stay on the liquid and soft foods?

Just a few questions

Thanks in advance for the answers and all the support and the prayers you will give me!!!!!!!!

• if you had to go through the 6 month medical diet, did you loose weight and then the insurance would not cover it? ~ I didn't have a 6-month diet. Most people have said that the insurance uses your starting weight, not your weight at the end of the 6-month diet.
• have you heard of any complications, like leaking? ~ there are always complications possible, there's a 'complications' forum here but try not to spend too much time there. I scared the crap out of myself early on reading all the posts there. you really need to just remember what the statistics are for possible complications, and how those statistics compare to the statistics of maintaining an obsese weight for the rest of your life and figure out which is riskier.
• was it really hard to change your lifestyle (eating habits)? ~ I'm 11 days post-op and am having some difficulty with the 'full liquids' phase. I move onto purees in 2 1/2 weeks so there is some light at the end of the tunnel. My main issue has been head hunger and nothing physical.
• Are there any helpful sites (besides this one) or books that can help me prepare mentally, emotionally and physically? ~ this site has been great, ObesityHelp also has some good forums and info. You might also look into support groups in your community. I haven't gone to one yet (first one is next week) but a lot of people swear by them.
• When did you start getting your meal plan together? ~ I didn't have a pre-op diet other than the day before surgery, but I spent the last week before surgery purchasing a variety of protein samples, and my full liquid foods. I would find out what your post-op diet will be before you buy a bunch of stuff, I didn't realize I'd only be on clears a couple days so I bought a crapton of jello and broth that I likely won't be able to use up for a LONG time.
• How long did you stay in the hospital? ~ I was the first surgery of the day on a Wednesday and went home Friday around 11 a.m. I could have gone home on Thursday and would have probably felt OK, but I was exhausted and wanted the second night of sleep in the hospital without having to worry about my daughter, husband and dogs at home.
• How long did you stay on the liquid and soft foods? ~ My diet plan is pretty conservative based upon others I've seen. I had clear liquids only for the first two days after surgery. When I got home I was released to full liquids, which on my plan also includes refried beans, soft cheeses, cottage cheese, etc. I have to stay on this for a month (UGH) and then I am able to add purees and more proteins like chicken, turkey, tuna, and some veggies/fruits. I can't wait!