former_vbg

So, I had all last week off, part holidays, part vacation time I had to burn up or loose. I have been noticing the past few weeks that the "smaller" clothes I was wearing were now starting to look too big. I'm not really a clothes hoarder in the traditional sense (some may disagree), but I have been UP and DOWN for sooooo many years that I started keeping all these various sizes. No, I don't have infinite closets. I actually put up closet dollies down in the basement held up from the ceiling. I actually have 3 of them. One dolly is 12' long, another about 6' and another about 4'. It's a combination of work clothes, everyday clothes, jackets and then my show outfits when I compete at horseshows. Anyhoooo, I decided it was time to shed my bedroom closet and go "shopping" downstairs. I actually have some pretty nice things in the smaller sizes, so there wasn't really a need to pay money at the store. Then, yesterday a very good friend of mine who retired a couple of years ago offered to let me come raid her closet today for her work clothes since she doesn't need them anymore. I had to go to the store to buy some more hangers- LOTS of hangers. Some of the fun was some of her clothes were too big, but like me she had different sizes from times when she was thinner. How cool to be able to say, "I'm sorry but this is too big". Some really nice blazers, blouses, sweater sets, dress shoes (we wear the same size shoe!). Also, when I was "shopping" in my basement, i was trying on some skirts and such and to my amazement several fit. I have not worn a skirt in several years because I didn't want people to actually "SEE" my legs and see the roundness of my fat calves. They are still bigger than I like, but I'm not one to wear short skirts anyways. But, I'm to the point where I am now willing to wear skirts again. I actually got some panty hose today, something I haven't bought or worn in many many years (no need if I didn't wear skirts or dresses). I had no idea what size I would need to buy and so I looked at the sizing chart on the back and it said I should wear a size "B" pantyhose, not Q, not 1x, 2x, etc... Wow, talk about an amazing feeling!!! After I got home from the store and my friends house, hanging up all my new clothes, I decided I should try on the new panty hose because I was still in a little disbelief that I could wear a size "B". Sure enough they fit.... I hadn't seen my friend in a couple of months and when she saw me her mouth just dropped. She was like WOW, you look amazing. Her young adult daughter was there and she says, "wow, you are so skinny". Of course, I'm not skinny, but compared to where I was, I'm a lot thinner. Talk about ego boosters!!! It will be funny when I go back to work Tuesday and people start seeing me dressing so different. I have had a tendency to wear bigger clothes and didn't really spend a lot of time trying to dress super nice- just felt like it was a lost cause when I was so big. What a way to start out 2012!!! 102# down in 6 months, and 10 days!!! wooot!! wooot!!!! Final goal, here I come!

You guys are all just awesome! I soooo love this site. I loved coming here when I was in the beginning /research stage, and have continued to find it such a great place having gone through the surgery. I think besides the WEALTH of information on here, is that everyone really tries to be so nice and supportive. There are some sites where people are just snarky or mean spirited. The support you guys give is just been so helpful to me and I know to others. Most of us who tend to become more introverted as we gain the weight tend to have a smaller circle of people they can confide in, especially if they are single like me. Having a place to go to either get the needed "kick in the pants" or just some support is so appreciated! Thank you everyone for all your kind words!

Thank you and YES, I have saved a bunch of money. I just wasn't willing to let those smaller clothes go because psychologically it was like I would be giving up that I would never lose the weight to get back to those sizes again. Bonus is that I don't have to replace my whole wardrobe. Now, if I do buy something it can be just something special "because I want it". I have a pair of size 4/5 jeans that are brand new when I had gotten down just about as low as I am now thinking it would serve as a motivator/ reward for me to keep going. Sadly, I never reached that final goal then, but I still have the jeans and this time I will make it. What I'm not sure about is with all my loose skin is even if they should fit, they may not because of the excess skin. I'm not going to wig about it either way. Right now I'm wearing a size 10 in most pants, so we will just see what happens.

That is fabulous! What a way to kick off 2012!!! Just think where you will be come 2013!!! It only gets better baby!!

My one week check in. I did quite well this week, but have been on all liquids to kick start my stall. I moved from the Obese BMI category to the Overweight category. 10# to get to goal as of this week. Surgery weight: 271 Starting V-Day Challenge weight: 179 Current weight: 170 Valentines goal weight: 160 Final goal weight: 135

Well, I don't think there are many Dr.'s who encourage soda- but several have different reasons for doing so. My Dr. said it was because of the carbonation and the air it would create in our stomachs. He does not believe it stretches the sleeve, says its physically not possible. I am a Diet Pepsi Wild Cherry addict (before surgery and now). I have about one 20oz Diet Pepsi Wild Cherry per day and it has not affected my weight loss at all. Now before surgery, I could drink several bottles or cans of that stuff, now it takes me an entire day to drink it because of the carbonation. I do drink some Water, but usually more crystal lite. I don't like coffee, tea, etc.... so my choices in healthy things to stay hydrated are limited. Anyways, do what you feel works best for you and of course follow your Dr's orders. What I am doing works just fine for me. 101# down in 6 months and 1 week, 35# more to go.

Kind of silly to Celebrate being "overweight" using the BMI scale- but today I moved from being obese to overweight!!! I'm going to ask a friend to take some pictures of me next week. VERY few people know I had surgery and I'm still self-concsious of having photos taken, so will ask a friend who knows I had the surgery. And, 2# away from 100# weight loss

PM me your email address and I will try to get those to you in the next few days. I'm in the middle of a bathroom remodel, so things are a bit hectic at the moment.

Well, that does suck with a capital "S". Before you start thinking you would be better off with self pay, you might check to see what the contracted rate they have for the Sleeve. Depending on the area, I'm going to say the Dr.'s only get around $8K, but then you also want to think about all the ancillary charges like the anisthesiologist, the overnight (or 2 ) at the hospital, etc, etc.... Everybody puts their hand in the pot looking for money. Not to scare you, but I have Aetna PPO who approved me pretty quickly. I saw the EOB and Aetna was billed $83,000 for my hospital bill (2 nights) and I had absolutely no complications or special needs (they were "only" paid $52,000). Then, there was a bill from the Dr. for the surgery and I want to say he billed something like $15K, was only paid $8K, then there was misc bills for blood work, anisthesiologist and I can't remember what else. If you want to see my EOB's, I am happy to share them. I will omit any confidential information, but that can give you an idea of what all is billed. The other thing to consider since you have no cap is that if there are complications, you won't know that until after its all done. I would say just do your research on all your options and then decide what you are most comfortable with. I know some people have said they have purchased some sort of post-op care insurance for U.S. patients that covers them if they paid a set price for their surgery and then encounter complications. It's been quite some time ago, but I want to say it was like maybe $250. I have a friend who had the Sleeve the same day as me, same hospital, different Dr. and paid $12K for the whole thing. Don't ask me the desparity on that one because it made no sense to me except they know how to work the insurance companies. Good luck!

Thank you for the support guys, it means a lot!

Ok, I'm scratching my head on this one. A way I have found recently to combat these long stalls and the weight loss that has slowed dramatically in the past months, I have gone to doing all liquid diet (mostly just broth, crystal light and sometimes diet pepsi wild cherry). It's been working to break the stall. Please no lectures that doesn't support long term healthy eating/ maintenance. I have a long history of sabatoging myself when I do really well on weight loss only to have it come to a grinding halt short of my final goal and puts me into a vicious cycle of lose/ gain/ lose/ gain. Yes, I am seeing a therapist and have been since before surgery. I am getting so close to my final goal, I can't bear to go through any sort of lose/ gain cycle. So, here is my question that baffles me. Normally, I only get gas if I eat chocolate, Beans or pepperoni slices (don't understand that one). But, anyways, I find I have an abnormal amount of flatulence while doing the all liquid diet. They don't have an odor, just small noisy ones. Anyone?

Thank you!

Thank goodness for soft squissy office chairs! I am afraid I might "toot" on the way to the bathroom. LOL

Like Catie said, every plan is different. Just to share my experience, I had Aetna PPO. I did not need a referral from anyone because I had and still have a PPO plan (does not require referrals for anything). I was sure to be familiar with their policy bulletins, talked with customer service to be sure I understood the bulletins. Also, bonus was I did not have to do a supervised diet for the approval (thank GOD!). Good luck to you on getting a speedy approval!

Ok, so my surgeon uses a size 30 bougie and so anyone having a sleeve by him have a very very small tummy. He asks people to come back 2 wks after surgery for their first follow up which also involves sitting through a 45 min post-op discussion w/the nutritionist. I wasn't in this session, but heard about it from someone else who was there. So get this.... they were talking about what foods to eat and when, etc, etc... This lady just up and says how she had heated up a hot pocket the other day and started eating it and SOMEHOW realized after she had eaten almost the whole thing that she wasn't supposed to eat that because she just had surgery. :blink::blink::blink::blink::blink::blink::blink::blink: I ask, how is it possible to forget that early out- not to mention I couldn't have eaten more than a bite or two before getting that overfill feeling. The time to heat up the hot pocket would have been enough to have made me come to my senses. I guess the Nut just moved right along. I mean, what does a person say.....

That is AMAZING!!! Congratulations!!!

I'm in!!! I have a habit of setting the bar a little too high as well, but like you Forensikchick it tends to make me work harder. Plus, I bought my ticket to go see my friend in Germany at the end of March and I really want to rock this sleeve! Surgery weight: 271 Current weight: 179 Valentines goal weight: 160 Final goal weight: 135

Almost everyone goes through the 3 week stall. It appears to be related to your body moving from the liquids/ mushies to solid foods and your body is adjusting. Just stay on the program and you will break your stall- I promise. Hang in there!!

I am just barely 6 mths out and the weight loss has really really come to a slow. During the past couple of weeks, I actually gained 4# with the various treats non-stop at the office. I think I can gain weight just looking at bad food. Thankfully, I got it under control and lost it now. It's time to crank it up a notch and loose the last 45#!!! Winter time is much harder for me because it forces me inside more. It helps when I can be outside doing the mowing and other things that help burn the calories.

Well, I didn't quite make it. I fell short 4#, a bummer, but just going to keep going. Surgery weight: 271 Starting Halloween weight: 195 Current weight: 179 Xmas Goal weight: 175 Final Goal weight: 135

I feel fortunate I never had to do any sort of pre-op diet, only 12 hrs before surgery. As for worrying about the 1 or 2 wks of liquid diet after surgery- not to worry. Your body goes through such a major change, between your recovery process and adjusting to your new stomach, you will not have issues with with the liquid diet. Good luck!

This lady was one of 3 recommended by my PCP. I looked at all of them and settled on the one that seemed to have the most experience dealing with WLS patients. I looked at her gallery of photos and for the most part I thought they were ok. It's hard to know when the ones that don't look as good what the reasons were. When I was at my heaviest weight, I was a size DD. After doing some reading, it appears that depending on whether your breasts are made up more of fatty or fiberous tissues depends on how they will turn out. I really don't think I want anything added. They just look like flat tires right now, I mean serious BIG flat tires. They have gone down to probably a "D" size, but am not running out to buy bras. Just curious for anyone who has had a breast lift if you have any words of wisdom, questions to make sure to ask. I've already been documenting w/my PCP skin rashes and such. And, since I still have about 45# I want to loose, she may suggest waiting which is ok, cuz I may need more time documenting rashes if I'm going to get the ins. to pay for this. I took down the CPT codes someone else posted. Boy, wouldn't that be cool to get them to pay for that. Thanks for any thoughts/ suggestions!!

I am 40. The surgeon told me the implants are not forever and I have seen research that seems to back this up. That the implants will have to be replaced likely within 10 (maybe 15 yrs). I'm not interested in that. She said if you don't do that, the implants can become hardened and make it difficult or impossible to detect breast cancer and possibly create other health issues. That's assuming the implant doesn't rupture or leak and while technology has improved, it is still taking on a known chance it could happen. Yes, my insurance will be well aware of my VSG- but so would any other insurance company. There is a file just like your driving record that ALL insurance companies have access to on this type of information. I used to work for Quest Diagnostics and there isn't hardly anything they can't see with or without your permission. HIPPA does play a part, but there are backdoors that allow insurance companies with much more information than what we might expect. So, as far as approval, really I see it as a bonus that they know really. I am documenting the heck out of all the things that I know will assist in getting approval. It can be done. I still have about 40# to loose before I do anything at this point. THey also recommend being stabilized in the weight loss for at least 6 mths- so I will just continue to document the issues and deal with the approval process when the time comes. My question was more back to everyone about my expectations of the surgeon and her general lack of displaying confidence about what I could expect. Like I said, I am not trying to become some Barbie- but if I end up paying $7K on having the girls lifted, I want to know what I can expect and not just a "wait and see" attitude.

Ok, so I just got back from my first consult w/a plastics surgeon. I'm sort of on the fence whether I like her or not. I understand that all surgeries carry a risk, results not guaranteed, blah blah blah.... I just couldn't really get a sense of confidence from her that I would be happy with the results. All she really could say with confidence is that I would look better than I do now. They did take pictures (ugh!!), but I know that's important for documentation purposes. I don't have some preconceived notion that I will look like Barbie or some silly thing. But, I want my "ta ta's" to be taunt. I'm ok with waiting until I get to my goal and my weight has stabilized- that's fine. I know that will lead to better long lasting results. I just can't help but feel like the surgeon should have more confidence in the outcome and be able to tell me they will or won't be able to "stand to attention" instead of like the flat tires they are now. I do plan to visit at least one more plastic surgeon just for another opinion- had planned to do that anyways. But, just want to know if I have the right expectations going into this. Oh, and she quoted me just a tad above $7,000 for the breast lift (no implants). I'm not really wanting implants, I fear leaks or other things down the road. She told me I would be looking at having another surgery in 10 to 15 yrs to redo them just because of the body's changes that go on as we age. That's enough for me not to do implants. Am I being unreasonable?

I'm going to go out on a limb here that by the decreased number of people posting their progress, people are maybe struggling meeting their xmas goal. So, imo- the sooner the better. I personally had a good break through, but then all this past week I've been struggling with all the goodies at work and soooo... I'm up 3# from where I was. It's nobody's fault but my own. Thank God this sleeve keeps me from doing too much damage!