It still feels like a dream. There are moments where I can't believe I did this, and then I see my incisions, and go "oh yeah."

I've lost about 7lbs since the surgery date, and even though that's great, I somehow am telling myself it's not enough. Like I needed to be 20lbs down by now! Crazy, huh?

The good news is, I was finally approved by Cigna...which took going all the way through to an independent review board decision...but it was approved, so that was a load off. The hospital stay was great, and my surgeon, Dr. Gregg Jossart, was nothing but perfection. I've had no nausea, hunger, etc. He repaired a hiatal hernia that I didn't know I had, and that has been the most painful part of the recovery. I get those sharp shoulder and chest pains from that. My incisions are fine, my largest one is probably the most sensitive, but overall, they're ok.

It's so weird, I'm not hungry, but man do I salivate when I see good food! Like I miss the taste, texture, etc of it. It's hard right now, because I'm almost half way through the 14 day liquid-only phase. I'm totally bored with my options. I swear I feel like I could totally eat a bowl of chicken noodle Soup (without straining it), but I know I can't. I've been drinking the Premiere shakes from costco, which are GREAT btw, and having Mio in my Water, and doing broth here and there. Occasionally, I add-in some SF popcicles or Jello, but I am dying for more variety.

I know time will pass, and I'll be able to eat mushy, then normal food again, but it feels like it's just creeping by, second by second.

Anyway, just wanted to share where I was at. If anyone has any "liquid" ideas that are yummy, please share!

Thanks for listening

Wow that sounds Great !!

Congratulations on your surgery! Can I ask what the problems were with Cigna? I'm getting ready to play their games too.

Best of luck!

Congratulations on your surgery! Can I ask what the problems were with Cigna? I'm getting ready to play their games too.

Best of luck!

I fulfilled all of the requirements for Cigna, but they still gave me the runaround. They "claimed" they never got the required information my dr's office sent them, even though they did. Rather than looking at the SECOND fax my dr's office sent over, clearly outlining the info they said they didn't receive, they elevated it to IRO (Independent Review Organization). That basically means that some other random group of people get to make the final decision based solely on the info that Cigna gives them. Luckily for me, they decided in my favor. The hard part was waiting. The IRO doesn't have a deadline, so it could take weeks/months. I heard my decision 5 days before surgery. Whew!

My dr's office even said that they think Cigna was being totally shady. Oh well. Don't want to bite the hand that fed me (so to speak)

Good luck!