M2G

Wow, that is an incredible blow. I'm so sorry. I like the title of your post, down but not OUT. I agree with everyone else that self-pay or surgery in Mexico is an option you might want to consider. I have been reading the book called "The end of overeating" by David Kessler and it basically has nothing to do with WLS. It is all about the food industry their manipulation of food to make it hyper-palateable, and how our own brains respond and we become chronically hyper overeaters. It has some really great advice about eating less (again nothing to do with surgery) but it might help give you some direction and a plan to follow. Hugs, I'm sure this was a huge dissapointment. I'm glad you can be a support for your sister, THAT is wonderful. I wish you both the best.

Congrats! I agree, it will be here SOON! I'm headed in tomorrow for my sleeve and it has been a 6+ month wait...and now it's finally here!

Congrats on your sleeve date, I hope the insurance part goes smoothly! Much like you I was leaning towards the band and this site saved me from going down that path (that and my husband who is doing this too, and insisted I do more sleeve research.) You are lucky that you can actually schedule a date without being approved yet (did I read that right?) Anyway, I did not have to do a pre-op diet per my surgeon. I did 6 months of weight monitoring through my insurance (UHC) and all of the hoops of course, but I was not required by either my surgeon or my insurance to lose any weight. My surgeon's office only requires a liquid diet for 24 hours pre-op, although all of my paperwork says 48 hours. So I went with what I had in writing even though everyone verbally says 24. I wanted to be cleared out, and honestly I was just ready to "get this show on the road." I didn't go crazy this week eating, and sort did low carb this week. It really has helped me to visualize food left over in my tummy when my surgeon is cutting (I know totally gross, but it helped me to work on sticking to plan!) So I sit here sipping on my Isopure protien drink and Water, and realizing that I have less than 24 hours before surgery. I'll have to answer the post-op ? later...from the sounds of it I doubt it will be hard since you are mostly focused on healing.

I just signed my consent form yesterday. And I had to chuckle because in the very long list of possible complications, they just sort of tossed "death" in there. Like it wasn't first or last, just sprinkled in the middle, blah, blah, blah, death, blah, blah, blah. I know it wasn't funny but it sort of made me laugh. I think with any surgery there is a very long exhastive list of possible complications, but you need to have faith in God (or your higher power or whatever you believe), yourself, your surgeon, etc. For example, I'm trusting that my faith in God will help me through this difficult time. I'm trusting that I did my research and my soul-search and that I am taking a huge leap to get myself back to a healthy life. I'm trusting my surgeon and the entire hospital staff to do what they have been trained to do thousands of times before me. With all that said, if you aren't ready, then you aren't ready. Do you have a support system? A minister or pastor or counselor that you can reach out to? I truly feel sorry for anyone who has to go through this process alone. We need support and we need a shoulder to cry on sometimes or just an ear to listen. I would reach out if you are truly freaking out. As for myself, of course I'm nervous, I think we all are. But I know this is the right thing for me, and I know this won't be a walk in the park to get to where I'm going, I know I will struggle along the way, but I'm READY.

Does anyone mind sharing their tales of acid reducers, or PPI's, etc. I guess my biggest question is does EVERYONE who gets sleeved need them in some form? I have never had acid or heartburn or reflux, so all of that stuff is a complete mystery to me. Do some of you take them temporarily after surgery and then find that you don't need them. I know some of you have mentioned it is simply part of your daily routine. I'm curious about anyone else who never had trouble with this type of thing prior to surgery and then find that they need them after surgery. I go for my pre-op appointment tomorrow and I will ask the surgeon his opinion, thoughts etc. But just wanted to ask around here too. Thanks!

Congratulations on your success thus far! You are so close to being able to maintain...WOW!

This is a really good thread...because while everyone might not be so rude as to assume a customer has an eating disorder, I think there are lots of waiters who are "suprised" or "offended" by someone not ordering, or eating enough. I guess I haven't quite prepared myself for this yet. Need to do some thinking. Oh and I'm going to need one of those cards. I have to go to a pizza buffet place about 10 days post op and I just know there will be nothing for me to eat there. It is for my daughter's final volleyball celebration and my DH will be out of town. So not sure how I'm going to handle that just yet. Ugh.

Okay, so I talked to my surgeon and he said from what he's seen it hasn't been a big issue. I know there are LOTS of folks on this board who would beg to differ. lol. He doesn't do PPI as preventative, only if there seems to be a problem. He actually said that the band can help someone who suffers before surgery and can almost eliminate those issues once they have the band. SO I guess I will just wait and see what happens for me personally...

Just a thought...are you taking iron supplements? With it being that time of month, if you are prone to low iron, that might be *part* of the reason for fainting. If you are currently NOT taking iron, I would definitely ask about that!

I guess I'm going to put myself in the "lucky" category because my surgeon only requires Clear liquids for 24 hours before surgery. Since this has been a 6 month process, I have had lots of time to enjoy food, but not go crazy. I didn't gain any weight during the 6 months of "weight monitoring" (didn't lose any either). Yesterday was my *LAST* chance to eat whatever, and I had an egg for Breakfast, a greek yogurt for a snack, a protien shake for lunch, a protien bar for snack, and for dinner a bunless hamburger and veggies. I thought I would go crazy, but I just ate low-carb. I guess I'm in "buckle-down" mode... I know this doesn't help when you have a ton of time left on the clock (before your surgery) but since mine is right around the corner, all week I've been thinking about what the nurse told us in our group nutrition class. "The surgeon doesn't want to open up your stomach and find anything in there" ....sort of gross to think about, so I guess maybe that has kept me on the straight and narrow. It is scary to think about having to change our habits related to food isn't it?

Jan. 17th is an awesome date!!! (It happens to be my birthday ) I understand how you feel, I've been waiting 6 months to be sleeved, and at first I was SO READY to do this (back in Apr.) but I have truly used the wait time to embrace my jouney and do lots of soul-searching. I didn't have to lose weight to qualify (per my surgeon OR my insurance) so I feel for those of you who have to *prove* something to the dr. or the insurance, by committing to losing weight and keeping it off until your surgery date. That has to be really, really hard, and getting through the holidays without gaining, I don't think I've ever done that. I always gain even if it is only a little bit. Can you work on just maintaining what you have lost until your surgery or are there requirements that you must meet? Remember this surgeon is here to help you, a good bariatric surgeon has a full understanding of the pressures we face as obese people, and should not be yelling at you for a yo-yo on this diet. Remember, diets don't work for us, we have tried that and been there and this is why we are choosing surgery over going it *alone*. I guess I would just focus so much on what a great head-start you are getting by losing weight now instead of after surgery, it will probably help a ton with lose skin, etc. if you are able to maintain what you have lost before surgery. Remember too there will be less fat, etc. that your surgeon has to wade through to get in there and do his/her job. If you don't get in before then, at least know you have a great date picked out! Hang in there!

That is GREAT advice Cheri. Truly. I am being sleeved on Fri. and when I first actually decided that I wanted WLS was earlier this year, probably Jan or Feb. I had thought of it before (it's been in my mind about 5 years now), and even did searches on people where WLS had failed ...and they regained their weight. But finally in Apr. of this year I decided I wanted to do something about the extra weight. At first I called the insurance, then I called the sugeon, and later after many phone calls to my insurance company, I *finally* found out that my insurance required a 6 month weight monitoring process. I was SO bummed. I thought about giving up. Thought about trying yet *another* diet and maybe then if I could lose about 25lbs then I wouldn't be eligible for WLS under my plan. But, the wait time actually turned in my favor. It gave me time to learn about the sleeve and feel confident that I was choosing the best surgery for me and the best surgeon, etc. Now I fully understand the WAIT time because more than anything it has allowed me plenty of soul-searching time to decide that this is really what I want to do for myself. I would highly recommend a 6 month wait to anyone considering surgery. If you are not ready (emotionally, physically, financially or for any other reason) look at it like this: You can ALWAYS have this surgery later, there will be surgeons by the plenty willing to do this for you, but once this is done, you cannot go back to the *way* things were. You cannot dig your stomach remnant out of the trash and hook it back up. It is permanent. If you are not ready, YOU are the only one who can answer that question. I think nerves, fear, etc. are pretty normal for undergoing such a major surgery. So you need to decide if it is just the normal nervous stuff or if there is something bigger going on. Good luck in whatever you decide, we will all be here to support what ever happens.

I think it is okay to mourn the loss of food. I mean really, when things are bad, there is always food. When emotions get the best of us, there is always food. When it is time to Celebrate, there is always food. Good, bad, or indifferent, FOOD has always been my friend. However, I read something different into your post. It sounds like you constantly feel like you are going to throw up. Is that normal? Do you actually throw up or is it just nasuea feeling? Is that something that you should talk to your surgeon about? I don't know maybe some of the other vets can chime in with whether or not that is normal. You sort of have me worried now. I choose the VSG over the band because I can't stand to throw up and from what I can tell there is a whole lotta throwing up with the band.

Thanks for the laugh guys... :laugh:

Congrats! So exciting but scary at the same time!!! You will do great! I'm meeting with my surgeon today then downstairs from his office to the hospital for my pre-op...surgery on Fri. I've been wanting this for so long (first called insurance in Apr.) and now I can't believe it's really here. The next month will hopefully fly by for you!

Thank you! I am definitely going to ask him tomorrow. I know if I did searches I would probably find tons of mentions of PPI's, etc. But just thought I would start a new thread. I understand some people had problems BEFORE being sleeved, so then it's hard to attribute it to JUST the sleeve.

Congrats! 64 gone for good! I bet that feels amazing!

I'm so sorry to hear of your troubles. I hope Tiff was able to give you some comfort and advice. I hope you continue to heal and get some rest. Thinking of you!

That is great news! Congrats! I'm being sleeved on Fri. using UHC insurance but I had to do a lot of hoop jumping to get here. I'm sure others will be very interested in what sorts of things you used to sway them in your favor!

That is an excellent attitude! LOVE THAT!!!

Congrats on your success! :happy: Halfway to goal is pretty exciting!!!

It is frustrating "shopping" for medical procedures isn't it? My husband and I are both having the sleeve (my turn this week, his *hopefully* in Dec.) and we have a High Deductible Plan, that is ever-so-confusing! We have a family of 4 on his plan and we need to pay $5K out of our Health Savings Account to hit our "deductible", then apparently our insurance (we have UHC) will kick in and pay 90% (we pay 10%) of every bill submitted AFTER we reach our deductible. To be perfectly honest I don't actually know what the negotiated rate will be for each of our surgeries. I know the self-pay price for my surgeon is $20K. I'm hoping that the insurance has negotiated a lower rate, but I really don't know what that exact cost will be. Then you factor in that I have done all my pre-op stuff already, and I'm sure that self-pay price of $20K includes all the pre-op, but since we've already paid for all of that, the cost would naturally be lower. Sorry I doubt this is helpful. Just wanted to say that I know how frustrating it can be trying to figure out the nickles and dimes when it comes to insurance.

Thinking of you, praying all goes well!

It is exciting isn't it? Scary, yet exciting!!! I'm being sleeved on Friday (THIS FRIDAY!) and I can hardly believe my time is almost here. We can be sleeve buddies, with our dates so close. This week I was planning on doing lots of last minute organizing, and whatnot, but I have a sick kiddo at home. I took my 9 year old to the dr. today and had them run a strep test, (it was neg) but now she is sleeping, running a fever and generally not feeling better (so I'm praying that the 2 day doesn't end up as Positive!). My 8 year old daughter has the cough and the runny nose and I'm just praying that I escape this week without getting any sickie germs. UGH! It dawned on me today that I probably need to pack a bag for the hositpal (hoping for only 1 night in the hospital) but I haven't put anything together and I need to do that. Anyway, didn't mean to hijack your post, just wanted to say I'm right there with you. I'll be following you on your journey!

That is GREAT news! I would ask if they could send you something in writing. Just something saying bariatric surgery is allowable under your plan. Fingers definitely crossed for you! One time we had an unusual FSA that allowed actual purchases to be made up until March 15, of the following calendar year (I think this was in 2008 and so our specific plan allowed for us to use that money through March 15, 2009). When I found it I printed out the information, and then later when I wanted to confirm that it was true, I could not find that information ANYWHERE. I called to ask if they could find it and they couldn't find it either, but assured me that it was true. I kept that printout just in case they ever came back to me with a problem.