former_vbg

No, it was something that just came up in conversation when I saw her at Thanksgiving. She didn't know I had had surgery, and told her. She thought it was really neat, and has an interest herself. She currently has a BMI of 41 and has several other health issues. In fact, she is considering going on disability. I don't know all the details on that- but I guess the best thing is for her to call her state medicaid program since it appears maybe the state gets to dictate the different types of allowable coverage. The only thing I would be concerned about in seeing other people post about this is that it looks like calling people at Medicaid often becomes pretty futile as they aren't very forthcoming or helpful. Does anyone know the CPT code Medicaid uses for the VSG? Maybe its different for different states- not sure how that works. It seems to be the same between private insurance companies. This is just all new territory for me.

I had Dr. Daryl Stewart. Fine surgeon, but HORRIBLE bedside manners, and WAY OVERBOOKS his office appts where you end up waiting long beyond your "scheduled appointment".... Don't expect to see him again after your surgery, and you may not even see him in the hospital after the surgery itself. You will see one of his assistants if you go back for post-op follow ups. I was out of state, so I will never be going back. It seems he has high turnover in his office staff which I suspect is the chaotic manner in which he runs his practice. Sometimes I guess he schedules as many as 5 surgeries in one day which I only recently found out from another patient.

I'm trying to look at your pictures and every time I click on one, I get an error saying the pics aren't available. What am I doing wrong?

I concur with the advice already stated here. Aetna only pre-approved a 1 night stay also, but I ended up staying 2 nights. I knew that going into surgery and so when they wouldn't release me after 1 night due to not getting in enough fluids and such, I made sure to talk to someone from their admissions to be sure they were on top of this. What they told me is that they would be submitting contacting Aetna that day to let them know why I wasn't being discharged and that it wouldn't be a problem. I made it clear I couldn't afford a 2nd night stay on my dime. I didn't have any issues with the billing thank god, but I did worry for a few months that I would start getting misc. bills on this. Aetna told me that after surgery, the hospital has up to 6 months to submit bills, so technically I have 1 more month before they could sneak something in, but I'm hoping that won't happen. The key is did your Dr.'s office or the attending Dr. while you were at the hospital do the proper paperwork/ insurance approval for the 2nd night. Your in a vulnerable position after having surgery and should be able to rely on the medical professionals to know what needs to be done in these situations.

I don't think its possible for you to have done any damage just from walking. And, leaks won't be caused by leaking either. Keep in mind that they put an awful lot of carbon dioxide into your stomache when doing the surgery and it can take a week or two for it to all get released out of your body. In my case I had A LOT of gas pain the first few days after surgery, then it got less over time. Then for some odd reason about the last week I experienced intermittent stabbing pain in my left front shoulder area which from reading and posting on that issue back then, it is very common. It's just the bodies way of trying to work the carbon dioxide out of the system. A couple of things to watch for is a temperature and any signs of infection at your incisions. I'm sure others can chim in on other things to look for, but those are two things I have seen people mention in the past. Just get some rest, get your fluids in and REST! :-) Congratulations and welcome to the loosers bench!!!

Well, a slow week- just 2# down, but at least it's continuing in the right direction. Hope to stay away from the Pumpkin pie tomorrow... Surgery weight: 271 Starting Halloween weight: 195 Current weight: 187 Goal weight: 175

Well, a slow week- just 2# down, but at least it's continuing in the right direction. Hope to stay away from the pumpkin pie tomorrow... Surgery weight: 271 Starting Halloween weight: 195 Current weight: 187 Goal weight: 175

Just to throw my 2 cents in. I am an adjunct instructor AND I am a student pursuing my Masters. I continued to take classes as a student while I had surgery. Just do yourself a favor and contact your instructor BEFORE you have your surgery and tell them you have surgery coming up and when (don't have to give them any surgery details), but tell them when the surgery is and that you may struggle the first few days out of surgery with your participation but that you will make it up. Or, better yet if possible, try to get the assignments ahead of time and either get them turned in before you go in for surgery or have them ready to turn in when you get home. Most if not all instructors will work with you when it comes to something medical or some other type of hardship. The number one key is to communicate with your instructors!!! I don't see any issues why you should not continue with your classes.

I concur with everything already said. I have always found that every time I lost a lot of weight and was more "normal" that nearly everyone treated me better. At work, I would hate walking into a room full of people because I always felt the first thing they noticed was how fat I was. After a certain point of weight gain, I would stop trying that hard to dress nice because it just felt like a lost cause. I got tired of trying to find nice dress clothes as my sizes kept creeping. Nothing ever really fit right, either too big in the legs or pouchy in the front, you name it. It's a self-esteem issue totally, but knowing that even if I did dress to the 9's I would still have to contend with people who would still treat me like I was less than capable. I also find that when I'm heavier, I tend to come across more abrasive to people which I know is just a defense mechanism. Like Diva, it was something I learned as a coping mechanism growing up always having weight issues. As my weight has dropped, I know my self- esteem has improved, my self-confidence, etc. I now feel like a more "normal" person.... not thin (yet), but average. The discrimination against fat people is very real. It's a vicious cycle though because most who are overweight don't typically present themselves with the same level of confidence and so that just feeds into the stereotyping. I must say one thing though that really annoys me. No disrespect to any men on this board- or men at all really- but I think most women will agree with me whether in professional or personal life that it seems more acceptable for men to be heavy than woman. A guy with the potbelly is just viewed as cuddly with a few extra pounds. I have never understood why its more acceptable for men to be heavy and women not.... but that's been my experience.

I'm so happy you were able to find the culprit!!! I look at the labels of EVERYTHING, and if I am in a situation where I can't because someone else prepared the food or I'm at a restaurant, I really try to stick to things I know are pretty safe- Protein, salad and such. I also have found that the "fat free" things actually are higher in sugar and carbs than the regular stuff- not always, but often. When I'm at restaurants and I order salads, I request no croutons, and dressing on the side so I can control the dressing portion I'm eating. Again, I'm so happy for you. I know how difficult stalls can be, I really do. Keep up the great work!!!

How exciting! I'm so happy for you. I'm struggling right now to keep the scale moving right now. I'm right at the top of the 180's and it's just so frustrating! Keep up the great work!

There are different sites that offer this for free. Many people here seem to use www.tickerfactory.com. They will have the instructions on how to put it in your signature here. Good job on your weight loss!

I understand your frustration. I'm going through the same issues right now myself. We are about the same weight. I just started going back to the gym a week ago, things were just too hectic for the prior month. I'm staying on program with my eating, it is frustrating when the loss slows down even when we're doing all the right things. But, like you even though I haven't dropped much in the past month and a half, I can tell I have lost inches based on how my clothes fit. I am happy that some slacks for work I am putting in my "fat" pile and are now too big to wear. So, that is comforting. We can do this!

So, I wasn't really planning to start dating just yet, but well, it happened. Met him online, and so we met at a local restaurant which was cool. Since we met at 7:30 tonight, we just sat at the bar area (Grill and Bar restaurant) and talked about an hour. Every so often, he kept looking around and such like he was seeing someone he knew or something, had what appeared to be a nervous tick with his legs which annoyed me. Anyways, I knew pretty much right off there was no chemistry. I noticed him looking "at" me a few times which was fine. He then asks if I want to go somewhere and do something. I said sure, what do you have in mind? He was like, I'm not really sure, and says well we could go back to my apt but you may not be comfortable with that. I was like that's fine. He was ok looking, but I probably outweighed him still by 20# and am pretty muscular anyways due to all the work I do to take care of my horses. So, I knew I could probably quite easily knock him upside if I had to. We go back to his apt and your typical bachelor pad, ok can deal with that I guess. Then, we are sitting on the couch together and he's flipping through channels insanely. Ok, whatever... Then, like 5 minutes later he wants to start kissing. And, then he wants to go to 2nd base and like a pesky fly had to keep saying, "no". He would stop, but then minutes later trying it again.... He was ready to go to 3rd if he had his way. Ok, so I'm flattered to be attracted to someone with having lost 80plus #, BUT... this guy was just a horny sex craved fool. I finally was able to leave gracefully after an hour THANK GOD!!! He thinks we are going to go out next weekend, and that ain't gonna happen. Will send him a courteous email tomorrow morning and nicely say I appreciated meeting him, but I don't think we are a good match and be done. Something that was kind of funny though and sorry if I'm getting too detailed for anyone, but I have a fair amt of loose skin in the midsection, so I wear one of those body suit things to kind of compress that area to keep things more conformed under my clothes. He seemed so confused about why he couldn't access the goods or feel them as well through my blouse.... LOL I was wearing a blouse /shell under a casual dress jacket. I finally told him that ladies who wear shells typically wear camasouls (sp?). He probably doesn't even know what that is, but that seemd to help him understand why he was having such trouble. I wasn't gonna tell him what it really was.... LOL Good grief.... Guess I will write that one off for the humor books. Anyone else got any good after weight loss stories to share?

Several others have already said what I believe. But, to add to that, I'm going to ask you if you have found any documentation that shows any issues with having your stomache removed that would justify your fears of having your stomach removed? Like someone else said, why would you go into this surgery with the idea that you may reverse it and then be back to square one? Also, if you are self-paying, be prepared for multiple Dr. visits for numerous fills and unfills and that's not counting if you have complications with the port eroding into your stomach doing permanent damage to your body. More money out of pocket.

I understand how you feel. I had Dr. Stewart and also had surgery at Forest Park. His staff say how interested he is in his patients and that he cares about them but it is ALL lip service. He could care LESS!!! He routinely overbooks his office appointments and so there is little time to talk to him. I FORCED him to answer all of my questions on my office visit prior to surgery which I could tell annoyed him some. Then I was supposed to go back to his office a few days after being discharged from surgery before I came home to Kansas City and when I got there they told me I would just be seeing the PA. I threw a bit of a fit and did end up getting to see Dr. Stewart but I could tell he wasn't happy about it. I also did not have a very good experience at Forest Park, their nurses were not horrible, but not great either. I would never be able to recommend someone having their sugery there personally. I asked one nurse on day2 if I could have one of those trapeze things so I could get out of bed because I was having a lot of abdominal pain. She says to me, "well, just use your arms to pull yourself up out of bed". I'm like wtf, do you not understand when you have abdominal pain that is not really possible??? Finally I got one after enough complaining. They wouldn't use gloves to pull blood which is an OSHA violation. When I told Dr. Stewart about this, he acted like it wasn't any big deal. I had to call Dr. Stewart's office on day 2 from the hospital when he hadn't come back to check on me and his staff said, "well, he is very busy and may not be able to". Talk about SLEEVE AND LEAVEM.... Oh, and when you call their office, 80% of the time you got their answering machine. They wouldn't return phone messages and acted like it was a temporary glitch they were working out because of some turnover issues with their staff. I am betting his staff gets sick of the way that practice is run and then leave. His OR nurse is very knowledgeable, but he has her so overloaded she doesn't have time to spend more than a few minutes with you. They couldn't understand why when I told them I would NOT be coming back for any follow up appointments. I see my PCP locally. I would be willing to come back to Dallas for follow ups if I felt like he cared at all about his patients, but all he cares about is how many patients he can push through the pipeline. I did not have any complications from surgery and think everything went really well, so from a surgical point I would say he was fine. But, call me silly, I expect a surgeon to show at least some interest in their patients after the procedure. Why would I want to drive 8 hours, take time off from work just to be shuffled through their pipeline to be seen by a PA for 5 minutes, then drive back home.... Don't think so.

In some cases upping your calories is necessary if your body thinks it is starving because it thinks it isn't getting enough, which can cause your body to hold onto the fat for self-preservation- just the bodies reaction to this situation. So, upping calories (the RIGHT kind of calories) can help the body come out of that mode where it thinks it is starving. I would just try to document the foods you are eating for a week, and share them with a registered dietitician that is familiar with the weight loss surgeries and see what he or she thinks. Don't get too discouraged, just keep your eye on the prize.

I have been up and down in my weight so many times, but I know this time it is going to last. I've made pretty good progress so far with just 55# left to loose, and LOVE being able to cross my legs. I like being able to clip my toenails without having to contort myself to reach my toes, wearing belts (which I didn't do when I was heavier- just drew more attention to my bulging waist). I hope I get to a point where my thighs don't touch, but with all the sagging skin that might be unlikely and doubt there will be $ for plastics. 1. Wear cute sundresses ---I never wear dresses because of how fat my calves are... 2. Wear a swimming suit --- May have to wear a 1 piece due to loose skin issues but that's ok 3. Not be so hesitant to date for fear of being rejected 4. Be "rockin" in a cool pair of jeans 5. Sit indian style on the floor w/out it killing my legs 6. Oh, and definately ice skating. I haven't done it in years, my ankles would hurt so bad with my weight I couldn't take it. Oh, I'm sure there are plenty more. I do hate all the loose skin and since I have been up and down so many times over my life, I doubt it is going to bounce back. A rubber band can only be stretched so many times before it looses its elasticity.

I know you no longer have the dilemma with what to buy for an event that you won't have to attend, but make your local thrift shops your best friend- SERIOUSLY!! You wouldn't believe some of the great clothes you can find there for basement bargain prices. You might keep this in mind as you start to loose weight after your surgery. Personally, it pains me a great deal to spend retail price on clothes except the RARE occasion I see something that I just have to have- but that is pretty rare.

You mention that you try not to go over 60g of carbs a day. To be honest, that is pretty high. My recommendation to you is to cut your carb inake way back. I think you could jump start your weight loss by doing a few days of liquids, and then ease back into the post-op diet and really watch what you are eating. Some people (not all) are carb sensitive and I'm going to guess your body might be one of those. Watch processed foods and anything with sugar. I would recommend trying to eat more fresh food even if its frozen. For example, I found Aldi's has great frozen fish options including sammon, white fish and some others I can't remember at the moment. Sometimes i will put some of that in an egg with a slice of cheese for some variety. I have started buying broccoli and asparagus, cooking up a bunch for the week and incorporate that into my lunches. Another option if really feel your diet is ok, is to find a registered dietician who has experience w/weight loss surgeries. Bring them a food diary of what you eat for a typical week. Ask them for some input on how to get things back on track. I really think though that you need to really evaluate the foods your eating to be sure that hidden carbs and calories aren't causing you issues. Now, personally, I never pay attention to calories- only carbs. I still have stalls and in fact the past month, I have had a really slow loss. But, I also notice that anytime I have something with sugar or processed foods, it's like my body latches onto it for dear life- thus causing problems with regular weight loss. We are all human, so don't take this as bad. It's a process. At least you are keeping it off. Find a professional who can really sit down and look at what you are eating.

I have really had a tough time the past week and a half. I've been staying on program, did eat 1 or 2 things a little off plan but it was just a very small piece of a dessert each time. I guess that sugar just messed me up because I kept going up and down 2 to 4# for the past week until a few days ago. I started back to the gym this past Monday, but it's been a struggle. Am down 2# from my last weigh in, but I'm 2 days overdue. Just didn't have the heart to post a gain.... Ugh.... For some reason I can't seem to update my ticker. I never had a problem just clicking on the ticker below and it just takes me right to the page to update things. When I click on it now, it does nothing. I've tried IE and Firefox..... grrr Anyone else have any issues? Surgery weight: 271 Starting Halloween weight: 195 Current weight: 189 Goal weight: 175

I think lots of folks here focus on the carb count more than calories. So, for example, hamburger can be real fatty depending on what grade you buy- but it doesn't affect the carb count, only your pocket book when you buy the leaner stuff. For me personally, I have fat in my diet because I focus soley on carbs, nothing on calories. I try to eliminate sugars and processed foods from my diet all together. I don't know that fat does or doesn't contribute to hair loss, but like most things they say--- moderation. :biggrin:

hair extensions are VERY hard on your hair. If anything, I think it would only make things worse really. It might hide thinning hair, but in the process possibly do permanent damage to your scalp. They have been doing reports on this and showing the consequences people pay when they get hair extensions. It seems they are recommending hair extensions only be for a temporary thing, like for an event (wedding, graduation or some other major thing). Then, have them removed. Do some googling and I think you will come across the same articles on this.

It is not the procedure itself that causes hair loss. It is the drastic change in diet, and in the earlier months you are likely to not get in enough of the regular foods that would have a more balanced diet. Anytime I did Atkins before, I would also have hair loss, but it was never permanent. Just try to keep up with your Vitamins and know that it will not be be permanent.

I can't agree with this. I have had plenty of procedures requiring anesthesia and never once did it cause hair loss.