Hi! I just started my journey and I am looking forward to chatting with those of you who are on a similar time-frame as myself. My insurance is Cigna so they require a 3 month supervised diet, psych eval and sign off from my primary (which I am worried about, I haven't seen him in 5 years so what if he wont sign off? should I find someone new? suggestions?)

I am aiming for an early September surgery date, my Dr. said it is doable! I am excited and nervous.

I have learned so much already from reading about everyone else's experience it has really helped to calm me down.

I feel like I am obsessed with this and it's all I can think about. I have probably watched 200 youtube videos so far. LOL

Any tips, tricks or advice is welcome and appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

I'm so excited to find this thread! Just read all of the posts to date… here's my story.

I started researching this surgery 15 years ago, but insurance wouldn't cover it back then. Flash forward to new job & insurance that does cover the sleeve! I was required to do 6 months of supervised weight loss before I could get the insurance referral. Had my 6 month visit with my PCP on 7/2 (lost 6 lbs in 6 months), & got my initial referral on 7/3. I quit smoking on 7/12, had my consult with the surgeon & first NUT visit on 7/13 & psych evaluation on 7/16. So everything is done that needs to be done for them to submit for final approval, which they were going to do by tomorrow. I'm hoping for a 9/8 surgery date!

I still need to go have labs done & a chest x-ray, so planning to do those this week. And once we set the date, I'll schedule another appt with the surgeon & NUT & metabolic/body composition testing… and that's it! I'm really glad I quit smoking when I did, because I have to be 8 weeks smoke free before surgery… and I'll be 8 weeks on 9/6!

I'm probably going to be out of pocket ~$2400, which includes 2 years of fitness & NUT follow up.

And I'd love to be added to the fb group… imsjfink@comcast.net

Welcome yo our little family of September sleevers;

Just a vent, it's 3:37 am and I'm up as usual with my back killing me. After breaking twice, and 5 surgeries I'm miserable with the extra stress of the weight on my spine. I can't wait to get this surgery and get started end of pity party Lol.

Add me please. Sarah1732@gmail.com

Welcome sjfink!

Might be a foolish question but.....

Everything I have been reading suggests that the goal of the pre-op diet is to loose weight around the liver and thereby making the operation easier. The 2 week liquid diet helps this process. This 2 week crash diet yields about a 10lb loss prior to surgery.

Why not just diet 2 months prior to surgery to get the same result? Is the purpose of the 2 week clear liquid diet for something else?

I was told to shrink your liver

But a pound is a pound. If the goal is to loose weight prior to surgery, why do a crash 2 week diet vs something else. Could a clear liquid diet serve another purpose?

I was told to shrink your liver

I feel like I'm obsessed as well. I called my insurance and asked them 100000 questions and made my husband watch hours of video. Kinda far away but I want mine in January so I can start the year fresh

My book from surgeon explains it is to shink the liver and also serves as a bowel prep for surgery. But I think the 2 week guideline is because that is as long as we can tolerate such low calories prior to surgery. I know others only have 1 week or even less, but I also have 2 weeks to do - I hear it is the HARDEST part of the entire process. I know I practiced just one day of it recently and was starving so it will be hard.

I just got off the phone with the surgeon's office… I'm officially on the schedule for September 8th!!! And I've also put in my leave request at work and scheduled my pre-op visit with the surgeon & nutritionist for August 20th. I'll get more details then, but at my initial visit they told me that they do a 2 week pre-op low carb diet.

I can't believe this is really happening! I'm so excited!!

I just got off the phone with the surgeon's office… I'm officially on the schedule for September 8th!!! And I've also put in my leave request at work and scheduled my pre-op visit with the surgeon & nutritionist for August 20th. I'll get more details then, but at my initial visit they told me that they do a 2 week pre-op low carb diet.

I can't believe this is really happening! I'm so excited!!

Congrats! Everything is smooth sailing from here on out since 9/8 is my birthday!!!

Might be a foolish question but.....

Everything I have been reading suggests that the goal of the pre-op diet is to loose weight around the liver and thereby making the operation easier. The 2 week liquid diet helps this process. This 2 week crash diet yields about a 10lb loss prior to surgery.

Why not just diet 2 months prior to surgery to get the same result? Is the purpose of the 2 week clear liquid diet for something else?

I will be doing a week-long liquid diet prior to my surgery. Neither my surgeon nor my NUT said anything about wanting me to do the pre-op diet to lose weight. The purpose is to shrink the liver to make it easier for him to get to my stomach during the surgery, as the stomach lies partly under the liver. Weight loss is just a bonus, not the goal.

Edited July 21, 201511 yr by EggplantMassacre

Add me on FB?

Dana.oschmann@gmail.com

The pre-op info from my surgeon says the purpose of the liquid diet is to shrink your liver and to ensure your stomach is empty. It also serves as a bowel prep.

Your body will have an easier time recovering from surgery if there is nothing to digest in your stomach for a few days before. Then the "nothing by mouth after midnight" is so you don't vomit during anesthesia and aspirate your vomit, which can be extremely dangerous.