cryzlynn

Hi All,

I've seen a lot of people posting about the whey protein powder and I wanted to post my two cents worth lol. I was banded on June 28th (in Kentucky) and I'm a little over two weeks post-op. I first started mixing chocolate flavored whey protein in my carnation instant breakfast mixes, but I was in walmart the other day and came across sugar free fat free chocolate syrup. I figured if you want to save some money, mix a little bit of that in with skim milk and then whey protein and it tastes just like chocolate milk! Don't know if any one out there has tried it but it makes it a lot easier on me!

I am starving too. I was banded on the 9th of July. I had to fast for the 3 days prior to surgery and I just got home today and I'm sooooo ungry. I have been sippign my water and had a frozen pop and the not so yummy protien drink. Question I need to drink a total of 64 ounces a day? this is all fluids combined? I also feel like I need to rurp but nothing will come up. I wonder if I drank too much too fast. My surgery went well however...the surgeon said it was text book and of course I made them all laugh before I went under....I don't recall a thing but was told I should do stand up and a face lift does not come with the band...darn it all....guess there was no harm in asking wish I knew what else I asked for!!!!!!!.

Mona

Hi! I was banded on 6/28/07 and I too had them all laughing before I went in. The last thing I remember was the nurse giving me the sedative, my mom and dad were there and I just busted out laughing because it felt so good! lol... and apparently they said I continued giggling on into the OR. I don't even remember them putting me out, I just woke up and it was over! But I just remember laughing my butt off while they were wheeling me into the OR.

As far as the food goes, it is exactly 15 days post op for me. Whoo hoo! only six more days until I can have REAL food!!!!! I am starving as well, but the potato soup has been a BIG help. My doc also says I can have scrambled eggs and that is awesome. So... anyway, good luck to everyone!

Crzlynn,

I am also new to this board where are you in KY I am also in KY. I am just trying to get thru the getting approved by insurance. I see a pyscholgists on Tuesday and I am suppose to see a dietition this week too. I am hoping to have the surgery in July. Are you in Louisville by chance?

KYCAT

Hi there,

I'm actually in Northern KY, bout an hour and a half away from Louisville. For me, it only took about 2 and 1/2 weeks for my authorization to approved from the insurance company after I had my last consultation with the doc. That was awesome because I've heard it takes longer. But, I do work for the insurance company and know that this is a covered benefit, so that's probably why it didn't take as long (I was told it would take anywhere from 30-45 days to get approved). But I am so excited. I just got home from the hospital to have my pre-admission testing, which went really well. The nurse told me she has another nurse friend who had this done 6 months ago and has already lost 100 lbs!!!!!!!!!!!! That's a LOT!!! So, it fueled me to keep going on this liquid diet thing. I think I'll call my doc and ask him about the last meal though, not sure if I want to do it or not bc I don't want to screw anything up. But I wish you the best of luck! 3 more days for me!!

Nice to "meet" you btw!

Hello everyone,

I am very new to this board, I just registered last week. My surgery date is June 28th (only four more days!) in Kentucky, and I have quite a few concerns about my pre-op diet. My doctor has me on a 10-day liquids only diet consisting of broths, sugar-free popsicles and 100% juice. The first few days were GREULING to say the least but I have really gotten used to it after 7 days.

I have been reading a lot of your posts about the pre-op diet and I see that many people have been put on like a slim-fast protein shake diet with like a chicken breast for dinner or something to that extent. (I would MUCH RATHER DO THAT!!!!) So, I was wondering why the difference?

And also, the doc keeps saying sugar-free this and sugar-free that, and that is fine, but I have called TWICE now to confirm Am I really allowed to have the 100% juice? Twice they have told me yes, but that I may have to dilute it after the surgery. Again, fine. But why am I allowed to have this if on the nutrition label, it has 39grams of sugar for an 8 oz glass of 100% grape juice? I don't know if I'm doubting myself or if I am really not supposed to have this.

And finally my last question (and the one I have the MOST interest in knowing lol!) Is this pre-op diet STRICTLY to reduce the size of the liver? Or does it have some greater purpose to the surgery? The reason I ask is because do you think it would be okay to eat a little bit of a solid meal the day before the surgery kind of as a "last meal" so long as its at a decent time and within reason provided that I lost enough weight to shrink my liver?

Let me know what you all think and thank you so much for your time!

I have 3 insurance questions. I have good insurance now and am deliberating whether to have lap band or bypass.

1. My current insurance will cover both, but if I switch insurance due to changing jobs, will my future insurance disallow fills because it was a pre-existing condition? I don't want to go with the lap band and then be unable to afford the fills because I'm paying out of pocket. (By the way, how long does one keep getting fills?)

2. Does anyone know of an organization I can join to get GROUP insurance that does not depend on my job, such as AARP, professional organizaitons, religious organizations, etc.?

3. I have a friend who had bypass and said that she can not get new insurance at all because they disqualify her because she had bypass. Is this common? Ways to avoid it?

Thanks,

JodyG

Hi Jody,

I work for a health insurance company and I am getting banded on June 28th (here in Kentucky). I would be happy to try and answer your questions.

To tackle Question 1: Your new insurance company may not hold you accountable for pre-existing unless they have a pre-existing clause on their policy. To get the pre-existing clause waived (meaning it won't apply to you), you would have to have had continuous coverage for a consecutive 12 months prior to your NEW coverage with no bigger than a 63-day gap between the two policies. WITH THAT SAID, it is VERY important that you look into the health benefits of the job that you are considering because most insurance policies DO NOT cover bariatric surgery. I deal with thousands of policies and only about 10-15% of them actually cover the procedure. As far as how long you need the fills, I don't know the answer for sure, but I think its a safe bet its based on each individual and how much s/he has to lose.

Question 2: A lot of insurance companies (including the big ones like Humana, Anthem, BCBS, Aetna, and United) all offer individual policies. The drawback? They are no where NEAR as good as commercial group policies you would obtain through your job and I am almost 100% sure they would not cover bariatric surgery or any office visit/testing/fills that may be involved (I don't thnk they even cover maternity, which is mandated to be covered by all commercial fully-insured groups). The reason a lot of people have these policies (and cobra for that matter, which is basically an extension of your current policy, only instead of your employer paying most of your premium, you end up with the entire cost) is to close the gap between switching jobs so that they do not become subject to pre-existing again (remember, if a company applies pre-existing to their policy, you WILL be subject to it if you cannot provide proof that you were covered for a consecutive 12 months with no bigger than a two-month/63-day gap between the old and new policies). Another concern I have with switching jobs is that if you opt to have the gastric bypass and then switch jobs, AND your new policy DOES NOT cover bariatric surgery, they will NOT cover any complications that you may have with that surgery. So with a higher risk surgery, the more you are at risk you are for high medical bills.

Question 3: I have never heard of anyone being denied health coverage because they had gastric bypass. I have however heard of life insurance and other types of insurance policies denying coverage or slapping you with a higher premium because with a procedure like that, no one really knows what the complications could be and therefore view them as high risk. But for regular health care coverage, I cannot see any of the big ones doing that, especially if the policy does NOT have a pre-existing clause on it. But, nothing amazes me with insurance these days. Working for them is certainly NOT my proudest admission, however it has made me very knowledgeable in the subject. I wish your friend the best of luck with her situation and hope I have sufficiently answered your questions.