Finally got a call from the surgeons office yesterday and have been approved! SOOO excited, scared, nervous, but very happy to finally have an actual date. This has been quite a journey already with all the insurance hoops to jump through. Now the "real journey" begins! I just can't believe it is happening, finally! Would love to find others with same date so we can support one another along the way.:confused:

My self pay in Mexico is $7000 and that is with a lifetime of fills, but I live 10 hours away so I am going to a fill Dr. in Ft. Worth Tx. I had to save a long time just for that much.

I'm scheduled for the 16th. My self pay is $12,000 including all visits and fills for a year. I'm having it done in Chicago.

Hi Myturn, That actually sounds like a pretty decent deal since everything for a year is included. Does it include your hospital costs or stay? Mine is covered by my insurance (BS of CA) but I still have to pay $2800 out of pocket to cover my part of the hospital. Also paid $200 for the psych eval. and $350 to the doc's office to cover my co-pay. My fills will cost an additional $150 each time after the first one since Blue Shield only covers 1 every 6 mos.

How are you doing on your pre-op diet? Or do you have one? I am a little worried since my 2 year old is coming down with a cold now and surgery is a week away now...YIKES. I don't wanna get sick!!:glare:

Peggy-

Yikes(!) about the cold. I say take as much Vitiam C as you can handle. Plus good hand washing is key to not getting sick. Though with a 2 yr old it's hard to maintain cootie distance :sad:.

I'm doing ok with the pre-op diet. I haven't been 100% perfect. But I'm back on track and plan to stay that way! I'm on a liquid only, no salads, veggies,etc. How are you doing?

Time seems to be going very slowly to get to the 16th. What do they say- good things come to those that wait. ??

Peggy-

Yikes(!) about the cold. I say take as much Vitiam C as you can handle. Plus good hand washing is key to not getting sick. Though with a 2 yr old it's hard to maintain cootie distance :sad:.

I'm doing ok with the pre-op diet. I haven't been 100% perfect. But I'm back on track and plan to stay that way! I'm on a liquid only, no salads, veggies,etc. How are you doing?

Time seems to be going very slowly to get to the 16th. What do they say- good things come to those that wait. ??

Hi Heather,

I got some zicam last night and hope that will helo me...hey I have 6 days to get better! I am gonna try like heck to keep from sharing this cold my family seems to have. My son is doing okay, just a small cough and no fever today.

Good job on your pre op diet! I am not required to be on one, but trying to watch what I eat and trying different Protein shakes to see what I like.

It does seem like it is taking forever, that is another reason I don;t wanna reschedule this! I feel like I have been waiting forever already!:thumbup:

Hang in there and keep up the good work. We are almost there now!

Peggy-

I do not deserve any kudos for doing well. I lost it last night and ate very poorly. After the fact I felt so miserable, mental & physical. I did a lot of soul searching last night. Today I've been looking up things to help me adjust my behavior and looking at food differently. One thing that has jumped out at me while searching is "Mindful Eating" techniques.

Peggy-

I do not deserve any kudos for doing well. I lost it last night and ate very poorly. After the fact I felt so miserable, mental & physical. I did a lot of soul searching last night. Today I've been looking up things to help me adjust my behavior and looking at food differently. One thing that has jumped out at me while searching is "Mindful Eating" techniques.

Heather, you DO deserve kudos in my book. Your ticker says you have managed to lose 15 pounds, right? Take a look at mine...I have lost nothing! My doc doesn't require a pre-op diet, so I have been eating pretty poorly too...Had a steak last night. Won't do that again since I am sure red meat is the worst! But it is really hard not to eat stuff for the "last time".

I think the main thing to concentrate on is that our surgery is in 6 days away and we need to make those 6 days count. Even if you had a bad night last night, just do better today and it will be okay. I know that the band will definitely help me adjust my eating behaviors. I cannot wait for the day to get here.

Now if I can conquer this cold! I got the Zicam fast dissolve strips and hope they are making a difference...I am sneezing today and have watery eyes, but not a lot worse. How are you feeling today? Just don't beat yourself up too much. This is not easy. If it were, we wouldn't be where we are.

Hang in there! Hope you feel better too:smile:

Hello All, I am being banded on the 16th also. I am so excited. I will be packing my bag this weekend. I feel bad for my hubby cause I know how much he hates hospitals He's been so supportive. I will be banded in Los Angeles, CA No pre-op diet for me. But I plan to start one myself on Monday (after Easter) just because I feel like my metabolism is so slow I want to make sure everything is out of my system before Thursday. Good luck to everyone :drool:.

Hi guys. Can you believe there are only 6 days until we get banded :laugh:. I am getting so excited. I have been on the pre-op diet since last Thursday. I did have a hard time last weekend. I can blame it kinda on my work schedule though :drool:. When I work my part time job on weekends it comepletely changes my eating pattern since the hours are drastically different than those of my regular job. But on Monday I really got back into it and have dropped 5 pounds since then (well on my scale anyway) so I am pretty excited about that. Now I am just hoping I can keep it together for this weekend so I can continue to lose. How is everyone else doing on their pre-op? Well those that have one that is...LOL

I am on my second day of the pre-op diet. I am struggling to find a protein shake that does not make me gag. Luckily I can have 2 small meals a day (protein and green veggies) and one cup of fruit. I just reviewed the paperwork about what we can eat the first week after surgery and the recommendation is three protein shakes a day- so it is imperative that I find one that I can get down!! I remember reviewing some other posts and people were talking about how many different protein shakes they had tried and I thought that would never be me. Wish me luck in the am as I am trying another.............. It is really starting to set in that I have chosen to drastically change my eating habits- it is different when you have to put it into action versus reading on a piece of paper. I just can't wait to lose weight so it will be fine. Hope everyone is doing well.

Hey contemplating,

Yeah I feel ya on the protein shake thing. Luckily I have found one that I absolutely love. And I will say right up from that No I am not a rep for this product..LOL I just really like this shake. It is Nectar brand, flavor chocolate truffel. I blend it with 1 cup of fat free lactaid milk and half a banana. Put a little ice in it and YUM. It tastes just like a milkshake to me. Without the banana it is a little sweet, but doable. I found this because on a post here someone posted a special that Nectar is having where you get either 11 or 12 sample packs each a different flavor for 9.99. Well so far the chocolate truffel is the only one I have liked. I have been trying the others with water (most of them are meant to be with water and be like a fruit juice) and I have not found one that I like yet. I was hoping to find one that I could use for the first week post op where we are supposed to be on clear liquids. I still have a few left that I have not tried and I will post and let you know if I find anymore that are good. But if you want to try the sample pack look for a post entitled Nectar. Good Luck

Hey contemplating,

Yeah I feel ya on the protein shake thing. Luckily I have found one that I absolutely love. And I will say right up from that No I am not a rep for this product..LOL I just really like this shake. It is Nectar brand, flavor chocolate truffel. I blend it with 1 cup of fat free lactaid milk and half a banana. Put a little ice in it and YUM. It tastes just like a milkshake to me. Without the banana it is a little sweet, but doable. I found this because on a post here someone posted a special that Nectar is having where you get either 11 or 12 sample packs each a different flavor for 9.99. Well so far the chocolate truffel is the only one I have liked. I have been trying the others with water (most of them are meant to be with water and be like a fruit juice) and I have not found one that I like yet. I was hoping to find one that I could use for the first week post op where we are supposed to be on clear liquids. I still have a few left that I have not tried and I will post and let you know if I find anymore that are good. But if you want to try the sample pack look for a post entitled Nectar. Good Luck

Okay, I am gonna get some of that chocolate truffle kind and try it. I am also having a heck of a time finding a shake that I can live with for at least 6 weeks! I did try a brand called Worldwide and the chocolate was tolerable, but not something I would say is "good". Thanks, Jen, for the recommendation. I am going to try it.

Hey girls I was on vacation for a week and I have been doing decent on my diet I have to do high protein low carb diet for 7-10 days. So far I have done alright, most days are good I have had a few bad days.

Protein shakes - my doctors office said the best protein supplement was called bene protein and it was tasteless you could even put it in water I havent gotten it yet but have heard good things about it. apparently you can only get this from a pharmacy because most places dont carry it. I googled it and you can order off there website I think it was made by nestle but just google beneprotein.

I am excited just 4 more days to a newer us whoohoo.

Okay, I am gonna get some of that chocolate truffle kind and try it. I am also having a heck of a time finding a shake that I can live with for at least 6 weeks! I did try a brand called Worldwide and the chocolate was tolerable, but not something I would say is "good". Thanks, Jen, for the recommendation. I am going to try it.

Glad to be of service Scooby.. I even let my sister taste my shake yesterday and she liked it too. I think I will keep this stuff on hand all the time. Then when the rest of the family makes milkshakes i can make one of these instead..LOL I hope you like it too.

Hello All,

I can not believe we are just a couple days away!! I totally screwed up my diet yesterday. My plan is to do a clear liquid only diet for Tuesday & Wednesday. I know by being honest about my failings I'm opening myself up to being slammed. But I feel like you guys "get" where I'm coming from since so many don't have pre-op diets.

I have had any Protein shakes besides Slimfast or Carnation Instant Breakfast No Sugar Added. Both of which I really like, Carnation just a bit more than Slimfast.

Peggy- how are you feeling? How about your family? I hope the colds have left the building :smile:.

I just got off the phone with the surgical center. They moved me up from 8:30am to 7am. I'm so excited, nervous and 10 other emotions :smile:. It's really happening! I'm (we're)going to be banned on Thursday! HOLY COW!!

Tell me how you're doing/feeling, pretty please.