M2G

\/ \/ \/ CHECK OUT MY NEW GOAL LADIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Had a chat with my surgeon today and everything went really well. We chatted about how I'm doing and he said he thought that I should change my goal because he wants ME happy with my BODY. Not the BMI chart or his stats, but he wants me to be happy WITH WHEREVER I LAND. God, I love this man! He also mentioned pastics (GASP!) because he felt I was too pretty to not "finish the job" as he put it. He said it's his nature though to FINISH the job. He said his closet is cleaned out, his car is tidy and to him personally, having WLS and then not finishing the job with plastics is like driving a car around with no paint. I'm not sure how I feel about plastics yet, but he really felt like my arms and legs look great, but the wrinkly tummy, well that is another story. At least he has me thinking. I don't know why but feeling like I'm THAT much closer to goal has me super happy today! Thank you all for your input...it is so valuable to me!!!

Jes you've done amazing!!!! I believe you will attain whatever goal you set for yourself!

:jaw: OMG NO WAY!!! You look amazing I would not have guessed that you were even the SAME PERSON!!! Incredible. Congrats, well done!:clap2: I noticed your "Diet" soda is missing in the 2nd photo. :wink: I haven't had a single sip of the stuff in over 13 months...but I wouldn't trade one sip for the way I feel now!

WOW!!! Absolutely amazing! YOU LOOK GREAT!

I'm Sheila and on the 'fence' so-to-speak about my final goal. I have not been a super-fast easy loser (unfortunately) BUT it's not because I'm eating crap and not working out, so it's all good. I figure that the worst part of my journey is over. The insurance required hoop-jumping, the surgery, recovery, and learning a new relationship with food is all hard work and that is done. So now it's just onto the final goal however long it may take. I've been a regular exerciser for 7+ years (I was a religious 3x a week for the last 6 years but in the year since being sleeved up I'm to 7x a week or more...some days I workout twice!) I do low-carb, track my food, drink tons of Water and get in all my vits. I average about 80-100g of Protein daily. So all is good, just having patience with being on the slow loser train!

I had blurred vision for a good week post-op. For me I was told it was normal and it would pass and that was true. No dizziness for me, although for my hubby (who is also sleeved) he was the same as the above poster...he was told to keep taking his BP meds and 10 days post-op he passed out. Our PCP immediately took him off all BP meds and he has been without ever since. (He is 7 months postop.)

I have lost 83lbs and several band sizes but no cup loss yet (still a D and sometimes a DD ) but I still plan on losing another -40lbs...I am guessing I will eventually maybe end up in a C cup...only time will tell.

Here is a portion of my other post just in case you don't see it addressing what the requirements were for ME and MY PLAN! Also our plan stipulated that it was BMI of 35-39.9 with at least ONE co-morbidity (and it actually spelled out which ones would qualify as a co-morb) OR a BMI of 40.0+ or greater, no co-morb needed. I fell into the 40+ category and my husband did too (just barely) but he also had a covered co-morb so he would have been approved even if his BMI had slipped below 40, whereas my BMI HAD to stay above 40+ the entire duration of the 6 months of check-ins. My UHC nurse case manager made sure to spell that out for me that I could NOT slip below 40...I appreciated her honesty. It is ALSO part of the reason that I did not do any type of pre-op diet, of course I could have lost a few lbs since my BMI 4 points above the danger line, but I wasn't planning on risking denial over my BMI!!! _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ BMI of 40 would qualify if medically necessary. The last part probably all you need is a letter from your PCP stating that they THINK surgery is medically necessary...I had to get that from my PCP who was a willing partner in helping me get surgery...thank goodness!!

Cheri, I do think that each plan is very specific and while UHC may have some generalized guidelines, there are still little details that change per plan. I would absolutely TRY to submit any and all records you have to get out of whatever waiting period is needed, but don't pin all your hopes on their requirements being satisfied. I spoke with my PCP because I was concerned about my husband. He did all of his monthly (6 of them) weigh-ins at my PCP's office while I went another route and used my surgeon's office (our PCP is MUCH more convenient for my husbands schedule and MUCH closer to our home whereas the surgeon's office is a good 45 minute drive.) Anyway, I was concerned about my husband getting "denied" based on him seeing them vs. the surgeon and guess what? My PCP told me he had someone that had UHC and they did all the required check-ins and the man was waiting for bypass surgery. They denied him (obv. not sure of the specifics of "why") but in the meantime the man developed diabetes, HPB and high cholesterol. Isn't that awful? My husband was approved without a problem, so that was a big sigh of relief. Also I did check with a WW leader who goes to my Curves. She has been a WW Leader for over 20+ years. The WW leaders do NOT have to be registered dieticians...so I guess it would give UHC grounds for denial. Also our plan stipulated that it was BMI of 35-39.9 with at least ONE co-morbidity (and it actually spelled out which ones would qualify as a co-morb) OR a BMI of 40.0+ or greater, no co-morb needed. I fell into the 40+ category and my husband did too (just barely) but he also had a covered co-morb so he would have been approved even if his BMI had slipped below 40, whereas my BMI HAD to stay above 40+ the entire duration of the 6 months of check-ins. My UHC nurse case manager made sure to spell that out for me that I could NOT slip below 40...I appreciated her honesty. It is ALSO part of the reason that I did not do any type of pre-op diet, of course I could have lost a few lbs since my BMI 4 points above the danger line, but I wasn't planning on risking denial over my BMI!!! Good luck, do not give up, that is what they want!!!

Awww, that is so great! My PCP has been the same for the last 10 years and has also seen me try AND fail every single fricken diet! I always brought up WLS to him but he never jumped right on and said LET'S DO IT. However, when I told him what I was doing, he was 100% supportive. I think he just liked the idea that I had done my research and it was ME saying let's do this and NOT coming from him. He's been totally great about me and my husband both having surgery. Gotta love those good drs like that.

Congrats on your success!!! You are right, we have to WANT this bad enough to cast aside all the fear and doubt and really dig in and make those changes.

Awesome NSV!!! I am buying jeans and other clothing at goodwill and thrift stores and finding good deals on brand-name stuff! Side note: ARE you planning a tummy tuck? I am just interested on a man's take on this...hubby is sleeved also and about 25lbs away from goal, although I doubt very seriously he would want/need any plastics. His BMI will hover around 27-28 when he is at goal which is he FINE with, to get a 'normal' BMI he would need to go down to around 160lbs and he feels that is too small for his frame/build (I agree!) I see that your BMI will be NORMAL when you hit goal...just curious on the whole plastics discussion from a male view point!

My specific plan stated that it could be submitted but it had with a dr., registered nurse, or registered dietician. I don't know how strict some of the weigh loss plans (like WW, Jenny Craig, and other diet-type centers are but I am not sure that they strictly employ "registered" dieticians.) I think a lot of WW leaders are people who have had success with the plan and believe in it, and go on to become leaders (again I don't know what their process is at WW.) And of course it all had to be documented. And you couldn't skip a month, etc. It had to be 6 consecutive months. I'd done a million diets over the last 18 years but only had documentation on a few of them. Plus they all had to be within the last year. So doing WW 5 years ago doesn't count. Wish I had more concrete information and maybe someone who's plan was accepted for approval will come along here and spell out what rules they had to follow. I would say generally *most* insurance companies want you to START OVER and then can ask for specific documentation instead of accepting someone elses documentation. Sorry, wish I had better news for you!

Ricotta is awesome. You can make it savory or sweet...it's flavor is much more mild than cottage chesse and it blends well. You can sweeten ricotta with sugar-free Torani syrup (or whatever brand you like) or with splenda and a little cinnamon and eat it for "dessert" ...YUM! I'm not sure on Protein from cottage cheese vs. ricotta... I'm guessing they might be about the same ...okay I just looked them up on my food logger and it seems 4 oz of 2% cottage cheese has about 15g protein whereas the same amount of part-skim ricotta has about 12g. There you go! I do think the ricotta has a milder flavor and takes on whatever you add to it whereas the cottage cheese is a bit sharper ...more overwhelming. Good luck, either choice is yummy!

I am now in love with shredded chicken. Place chicken breasts in about 1 cup of chicken broth and leave on low for 8 hours or high for about 4-6 hours and take out the chicken before serving and run your fork through it. YUM. I've done it with taco seasoning and also with BBQ sauce...you could add whatever seasoning you like. Leftover meat in our household *always* gets eaten later or the next day!

I bought one...shoot I can't even remember which one it was, but the two recipes I tried were both awful. I'd stick to Eggface...her stuff is awesome, the whole family loves them and they are FREE! Can't beat that!

Absolutely STUNNING!!! I saw the after on OH (different befores, right?) and I will say it again, your LBD that you got for a STEAL needs to be posted in the LBD thread over in the success stories. I can't believe you are SO close to goal...HOW EXCITING!!!!

I have UHC and was originally going for the band. My case manager was the one who spelled out the 3 types that MY plan covered: RNY, Sleeve or Band. I had never heard of the sleeve. Even after going to the surgeon's seminar, I was still planning band. Then my hubby wanted to join me (I was about 3 months into my 6 month required supervised "diet") and he didn't like the sound of the band. Begged me to research the sleeve and I did switch mid-stream from band to sleeve. Same surgeon, he never blinked was totally fine with choice because it was my decision. I had not yet submitted to insurance (as I was still in the process of the 6 month supervision) so the surgeon's office changed all the paperwork to be sleeve and I moved foward. I'm now almost a year post-op and am soooooooooooo happy I don't have the band. One surgery and you are done. My hubby is now also sleeved and we both love it. We did both lose our hunger but not every VSGer does, so beware. Also please don't have surgery thinking you will never again have to "diet"...you will have to work your sleeve giving the proper amount of Protein, Vitamins, Water and don't forget you will need to exercise. It's not easy but it is SO worth the effort. In my personal opinion the band should be marketed as TEMPORARY. Very few people have the same band for 10 years or more, especially without trouble. The is erosion of the stomach tissue, band slippage, vomiting, acid reflux, port trouble and there are TONS of people who get bands and either have them taken out or revised ot a different surgery. Even my surgeon's nurse had a band for 5 years and it slipped and she revised to the RNY. She was the surgeon's nurse and was a perfect bandster...there is just too many things that can go wrong with a band. With the sleeve, once you are healed you are done worrying about future problems (at least I was!) Do your research but if you can get the sleeve, I would recommend it over any other type of WLS. You have to do your part and of course the sleeve won't prevent you from eating cheesecake, Cookies, ice cream and all the junk food in the world, that part has to come from you. You choose to eat healthy and have a healthier life so that you can battle the obesity monster. The sleeve is a great tool but you have to use it properly. Good luck to you on your journey!

Oh I forgot, my plan stipulated that my surgery had to be at a Bariatric Center for Excellence surgery site...and it was not outpatient, although I have heard that some VSG procedures are. I spent one night in the hospital and was released the next morning.

Were you assigned a "case manager" I had two. I had a case manager - the person who answered all my questions and could look up specifics on MY policy and give me yes or no answers, and a nurse case manager - the one who all the paperwork was submitted to and she was the SOLE decider of whether or not I was approved. My case manager was much more accessible than my nurse case manager. When I made the inital call to my UHC insurance and spoke with someone concerning having WLS, I also wasn't told about the 6 month diet....but that was the FIRST of many calls, it wasn't until I was assigned a case manager and moved forward that I was told about the 6 month diet. So initially all I needed to move forward was the BMI over 40 (or 35+co-morbs)... so just beware that you may not be getting the whole picture just yet. Not to burst your bubble or give you bad news, but I felt totally defeated when they told me it would take 6 months. Now of course I would do it again in a heartbeat, even if it meant more $$ by going into the next year because the sleeve was worth every red cent I paid for it. Your plan I'm sure is different from mine and maybe you don't have to do a 3 or 6 month supervision diet, but most of them do have some type of requirement like that. Don't forget there is also all of the tests, cardiac, pulmonary, blood tests, physch eval, etc. It sounds as if you are planning on having surgery this year and I obviously don't know the details of your plan, but if you are at the very beginning, just be prepared that having surgery may take a while. It may not happen this year. Best of luck to you on your journey and PM me if you have questions because I miss a lot on here...soon you will be where I am, but be prepared for things to take a while. Hang in there!

Yep, the face definitely changes...for the better! You look so much younger, but still have the same great smile!

I used to think that everytime I would stall (which started at 4 months post-op and has continued through today) that I was DONE, but now I know better. This is a tool and even if things slow down we still continue to stay on track with eating right, Vitamins, exercise & Water, the weight will eventually come off. It is a LOT more frustrating to lose slowly but I keep working my tool and keep getting results. Slow & steady....

WOW you have been through the ringer, but look at you now. Congratulations on the surgery/recovery/loss and moving onward and upward in other aspects of your life! You look wonderful!

I also had UHC with a high-deductible plan. After shelling out $5K my plan pays 90% and I pay 10%. I think you are going to find it hard to get an exact number PRIOR to surgery. There are many fees associated with the surgery. There is the dr. fee, hospital fee, I also had a separate fee for my leak test, and a separate fee for a surgical assistant. Oh there was also a fee for the pathology report on the portion of my stomach removed (I think they just generally test it out to make sure there is nothing wrong with it, etc.) So I can't tell you how much I paid unless I wanted to sift through all my bills and add them up. I do know that the actual surgery was over $32,000 BILLED to insurance and then there was of course the "discounts" through insurance and no one actually paid that amount. My portion ended up being very small because I hit my deductible. Also beware that going through insurance means that you almost always will have some type of waiting period. Mine was 6 months of required check-ins with a nurse, dr. or registered dietician before getting approved. If you miss a month you are back to square one. I did all my NUT counseling through my surgeon's office so they would have all the proper notes required to be submitted and approved. Good luck it is worth the wait to save the money if your insurance covers it!!!

Wow, that is really interesting. That sounds like a huge amount of truama for a little girl. :broken_heart: But I hope she continues to survive and thrive. Thanks for posting this. I am continually amazed at the things our bodies can do without, compensate for loss of, and generally heal. I had my gallbladder taken out almost 13 years ago and recovered perfectly without a single issue. It was something that helped me be not so scared of losing 85% of my stomach, seeing it first hand. And now since having been sleeved almost a year I am still amazed at how our bodies can function without certain organs, etc. The sleeve has been such a blessing for me!