kkandrod

Well, this is just me, a not even pre-op gal yet, talking but if it were me, I'd be making my list of favorite foods and tearin' it UP, LOL But, again, that's just me and I don't know if that's the most mentally sound thing to do LOL, I don't even know that I'll be approved for surgery and I've already thought of places I want to go eat and things I want to cook before a pre-op diet or surgery.

Woohooooo!! Congratulations Carrie!! So excited for you!!! I'll keep you in my prayers!! Krystal

fatnomore, is he going to do your sleeve for you too? Feel free to PM me with your thoughts on him, good and bad. I was leaning toward Dr. Norwood but there's no way for me to get to any of his seminars and he won't see me without doing that first. So, that was aggravating and then I heard from my cousin who had him for her vertical band gastroplasty or whatever that thing is called that he had made a MAJOR mistake on her friends band she almost died. So, she mentioned Dr. Merriman and then Grateful Heart on here had him do her sleeve and really liked him. So, that's how I've ended up researching Dr. Merriman now.

Grateful Heart, that's my appt time too! LOL Too funny!! I don't know your real name but you know mine so you'll have to holler at me while we are in the waiting room so we can introduce ourselves to each other. I told them that someone on here had recommended him but I couldn't tell them who because I didnt know your real name, LOL. So, now we'll be able to give credit where credit is due Look forward to meetin' ya! Krystal

Thanks y'all! Who needs luck when my Father's got in His hands right? I'm believing for awesome things!! Thanks for the prayers!

Prayers for healing for your dad, peace for you and your family. Never doubt the miracles our Father can do.

Awesome! I'll be calling them today :-)

So, as some of you know, I'm in the research phase. I feel, as of now, that VSG is an awesome option for me. I have 80 lbs to lose but a BMI of around 36 so I don't even know if my insurance would approve me. BUT, just pretending they did, I still have the husband hurdle to cross. He is the most amazing man and I am so thankful God brought us together but bless his heart, he totally does not get why I need to do this. He says that he just doesn't understand why I would need to get 85% of my stomach cut out to lose weight when if we would just knuckle down and eat right and exercise we could lose our weight. What he is forgetting is that I have been overweight my whole life. He met me at a time when I was my smallest, size 10'ish and that was only because I had went through a divorce and was partying and not eating. As SOON as we started dating and I quit living that lifestyle (and for my whole life before that) I started gaining weight. I got up to 211 and found out I had PCOS and did Atkins and lost down to 180'ish and got pregnant. After our son was born, I basically starved and did diet pills and got down to around 175 for a wedding and after that ballooned back up to 212. Did weight watchers for about 6 months and got back down to around 185. When I slowly backed off weight watchers I gained and wound up around 226. And I gained weight every time FAST, no 10 lbs a year for me. More like 10 lbs a month and it wasn't because I was just eating horrible. If I'm not doing a strict diet all the time, I'm gaining weight. That's how my body works. And, because of the PCOS, 90% of my excess weight is around my middle. That scares me. I can't sleep on my back anymore, my knee kills me, my hips hurt me, my ribs hurt and everything behind my ribs hurts because of all the fat being in my stomach area. I feel like crap all the time. We want to have another child and I know that losing weight when you have PCOS does help with conceiving and the diet that you have to eat with the lower carbs and stuff is perfect for PCOS. So, even though I don't necessarily have the co-morbidities to go along with my 36 BMI I think that with my waist measurement and the PCOS that I am a good candidate. But, even with all that my husband still doesn't get it. I've told him to go look up risks involved with excess abdominal fat and even maybe some husband's perspectives on different sites. But other than that I don't know what to do. I absolutely would not go against him if he said that he did not feel good about me doing it. But, I do want to make sure he fully understands everything before he forms his final opinion. Part of me thinks he is scared about the risks to me as well as us not being able to make going out to eat our fun thing to do on date night and maybe even a little worry about how I may act/dress once I got skinny and hot, lol. He's precious and I love him so much and I just want him on board. But, I also know that I want him to do the research and pray about it and if the Lord gives him the gut feeling that I shouldn't do it, then I wouldn't do it. Ahhhh, so much to think about. I guess I just needed to vent a little. Because in the end, even if he said to go for it, the insurance company is still a factor. They won't even tell me if they approve VSG period, just that WLS are covered but they want a 40 BMI or 35-39.9 with two co-morbidities, and unless PCOS and hurting hips/knee or reflux counts, I don't meet that. And, we can not/will not self pay. If anyone has any info/sites for me to share with hubby, let me know. He's at work and can't access any type of message board websites on their network. Just regular websites. Thanks and God bless! Krystal

Oh that was too funny Mary!! I was like, "what the heck, now why would someone post a number like that instead of the real number to UHC?" Then, I re-read your post and hit re-dial on my phone and needless to say the two numbers didn't match, LOL Operator error

Yeah, this 6 month thing's bothering me though. It took me 2 years to decide to go for a WLS period. I don't want 6 months of dieting and losing weight and then not get to have the surgery after that. My BMI is around 35 or 36 now. What if it's down to a 30 by then or something? I can lose weight, I just can't keep it off cuz of my PCOS. So aggravated. Guess I shouldn't be though. Who knows what can happen, I've prayed for favor so the good Lord may make me not have to do all that mess. I dont mind all the testing and psych stuff, I just dont want to have to diet for 6 more stinking months! LOL

So, the contact ppl that I have to call 4 days before seeing a surgeon are the Bariatric Resources ppl? And, it's not a call and let them know that you are going to see a surgeon type thing, you have to wait until they decide to call you back? Which would mean that you couldn't set anything up until then? Second question, lookinup and Mary have both mentioned in posts that they have to go through a 6 month program before anything can happen. Does UHC make everyone do this and if it is standard for everyone, do you know if you are approved before you go through this 6 month thing or do you do it and there still be a chance that they won't approve the surgery? I'm kinda feeling like a "what came first, the chicken or the egg?" type thing here, LOL HELP!!

OHHHH LOL, do NOT accidentally dial 1-800 instead of 1-888 for that number Mary posted!! I got some kind of bondage sex number. First it said if you are under 18 you must hang up NOW so I was like well that's cuz they dont want to do surgery on someone under 18 and then this really sexy voice started talking and said something about the number one bondage blah blah blah number. Tooooo funny!!!

Hey lookinup! I have UHC too through my hubby's employer. They said I had to contact some number (assuming it's the same one Mary posted above) before I could see anyone for surgery. I don't know if I'm supposed to do that or if my PCP is supposed to or what. It's all so confusing to me and I'm scared to call too many times and it put a red flag or something on my policy, lol. Maybe I'll call that number myself and just see what they say and go from there. How long before you are supposed to find something out from UHC? Has all the info been submitted already? ETA: Ok, so I got excited and called the number that Mary posted and they were closed. Why can't they be open on the weekends and 24/7???? Don't they know that us fluffy peeps need info when we need it and don't want to wait til Monday??? LOL Just kidding, everyone deserves days off, I know that

Cajun, I JUST got my hubby's support last night for this whole thing after a couple of weeks of praying, LOL There's no way I could go back and say "ok darlin', if the insurance doesn't approve it I'm going to head on down to Mexicali to get it done, k?" LOL No seriously, we don't have the funds put away to be able to pay cash and I really don't want another bill by financing it. Right now I'm feeling that if it's part of the plan for my life it will all work out with the insurance. And if it doesn't and later I end up with $10-15k (trust me it's happened to us before cuz God's cool like that) then I'll know what to do with it I have read great things about a couple of the docs in Mexico from y'all on here. When I first saw ppl had went to Mexico for surgery I was kinda freaked, LOL But after reading y'alls posts it seems like for the most part they are pretty awesome. I'm sure there are some who aren't worth a flip and mess ppl up but that happens here too. So, it's all in the research I suppose. Have an awesome day!

I'm still researching, not because I don't know if I want it or not but because that's just what I do. It's the control freak in me that me and the Lord are working on together Anyway, I know I want this. I'm about to start the process of everything next week. But, it's like now that I've decided for sure this is what I want all these other things keep popping into my head. I posted on here before asking what happens if you get stomach cancer after already having most of your stomach removed. Tonight, I've been looking that up, lol. Not only have I found some studies on it, most saying there's not much more risk than the average bear of getting it within 20 years of surgery and the risk goes up every 10 years after and some saying there is no greater risk no matter how long out from surgery you are. Still haven't found anything on what in the world you would do, I'm assuming you'd probably have to have even more of your stomach cut out or a full gastrectomy, which does not sound fun. Then, searching for that stuff leads me to studies on the increased risks of esophogeal cancers and both of them being caused because of increased bile and/or acid because of the size and more production. Lovely. Now, these were studies done on partial gastrectomies that were performed on people because of gastric or duodenal ulcers or because of cancer. So, there were different parts of the stomach removed for each and I don't know that the part that we have, or will have, removed is the same as for those. Anyway, it's almost like I'm trying to find something that could happen down the road to keep me from doing this. This is when prayer is so important to me. Because seriously, right now, I don't know if these things to look up are popping in my head because the Lord wants me to see what could happen if I do this or if it truly is just my control freak self doing it and I need to chill, LOL Who knows. As of right now I am going forward. But, I am freaking out slightly too, lol. UGH!!!!

Ok, so this is totally off topic! But, I'm SOOOOOO glad to see another LA person here!! I wanted to know if you would mind messaging me about your whole experience with Dr. Merriman. I'm researching Shreveport docs and was pretty much leaning toward meeting with Dr. Norwood but after talking with my cousin who had him for her vertical band surgery, I wanted to find out about other docs and she had mentioned Dr. Merriman. I know you probably are very busy and still not 100% but when ya feel like it and have the time, I'd love to know all about everything And, congrats on your surgery, your recovery and your weight loss!!! How exciting!! So sorry you had to go through the water/meds coming back up though. I guess everything takes awhile to get used to. God bless ya! Krystal

YAY!!!! So glad to hear you're doing well!!

OHHH!!! I forgot! My husband has been praying and tonight he informed me that he feels like he is supposed to support me with this and that we should just keep researching and go ahead and go through with meeting different docs and if it's all approved by insurance to go for it. YAYYYYYY!!!!!! I told him to keep praying about it and I would too and we'd take it one step at a time :-) Praise God!! So, my prayers are now that my eyes and ears and spirit be open to what He places in my path and if He leads me differently that I not be so caught up in the excitement that I miss what He shows me and do something I shouldn't. He's my Daddy, He knows I'm good at doing that when I REALLLLLLY want something Woohoo!!!!!! I'm excited!!

AMEN lookinup!!! I agree with you whole heartedly! He gave me a perfect body, yes, I'm different and will carry weight differently and on and on but the body I have is NOT what He gave me originally. I, and I alone, took His temple and defiled it. I've done it with food, smoking and tons of other things! Praise HIM for getting me through most of the other stuff that I did to His temple and He WILL get me through this and the other stuff I have to get rid of. But, it is up to ME to ALLOW Him to do it. My Holy Father is a gentleman so He waits to be asked! He has shown me over and over in my life to never say never, and this is yet another one of those instances. I said I would never do a weight loss surgery, I would suck it up and eat right and exercise and blah blah blah. Well, here I am humbled and wanting to do weight loss surgery, lol. God did not do this to me, nor does He do bad things to ANYONE! I did this to me because I didn't let Him have control in my life and I didn't listen when He nudged me to do the right thing millions of times over these last many years. This is my fault, not His. He didn't do this to me but He WILL get me through it because I've given it to Him to take care of. So, I'm with ya on the changed attitude about weight loss surgery and I'm believing He will provide the ways for me to finally do what I need to do to get His body/temple back to where He meant for it to be. Thanks for posting on this thread lookinup! Let's pray for each other ok? I'll pray blessings, favor, healing and health for you, in Jesus' name, Amen and Amen!!

Hope you're doing great hugapug!! Like you and loser, I too am a pug lover!! I wish I still had my last one, he was awesome :-( They are the coolest small dog! One day I'll have another one. Can't wait to hear all about your surgery and your exciting discoveries each day!! God Bless! Krystal

Hey Carrie, I talked to some of Dr. Stevens office staff in Lafayette today. She was really nice. She couldn't give me any stats on how many sleeves he's done and his leak or complication rates but I gave her my email and asked if she could send them to me later. She said she's gonna try and get some things together. So, that's cool. You know, I wish you could just set up appts to meet with these docs instead of having to go through all this seminar stuff. I'm so impatient, LOL. I want to meet with the docs FIRST and get my questions answered then have a chance to pray about them and see where I feel like I'm meant to go. But, it's not seeming to work that way, lol. Why can't it be as easy as meeting with pediatricians was when I was searching before my son was born? THAT was simple, call, set up a meeting, talk and ask questions for 30 mins and done. Oh well, guess I'll just keep on hurrying up and waiting

So iron non sleeved is bad in a supplement, iron when sleeved is GOOOOOD!!! LOL Angel, I'm sorry I confused ya or made you wonder. I'm in the research/consult phase and I'm just trying to get my head wrapped around how everything is so different between non sleeved and sleeved. So, when I read something and it makes me think of a question, I just blurt it out right then and there without starting a new topic for it. Didn't mean to hijack your topic there

Ok, this may only apply to normal stomached people and not sleeved because of not getting in things through food as much as it's needed. BUT, my chiropractor, who is all about vitamins, told my husband the other day to always choose a multi without iron because it has been shown to cause heart problems when supplemented. He said only if you are anemic or a baby should a person ever take something with iron in it. SO, I'm assuming with all of you saying how important iron supplementation is, when you are sleeved that reasoning doesn't apply because with the small amounts of food that can be eaten, there's no way to have too much iron between the vitamins and the little bit of food? Hope that makes sense, lol.

Hey Carrie. I'm from Central LA, bout an hour away from Alexandria. Are there any docs that do the VSG in Alexandria, Lake Charles, Lafayette that you've heard outstanding things about? The ones in Shreveport haven't done that many VSG's and that's worrying me a little. Although the one I've spoken with thus far over the phone is a general surgeon and has done partial gastrectomies for reasons other than weight loss for years. LOL, I'm just sooooo concerned with making sure I'm in the best hands. I have United Health Care through hubby's job and I'm thinking that there are other docs in Louisiana that would be considered in network besides just the ones in Shreveport. I'm an hour from Alex, 2 from Lake Charles and 3 from Lafayette so having it done down that way would still be doable for after care and such. Anyway, let us know how everything goes! I know it will all be great for ya! Looking forward to getting to know ya! God Bless, Krystal

Anyone here with UHC through Shell Exploration and Production Co? I called the insurance company and gave them the code for the VSG, it came up partial gastrectomy, not VSG and she had my member ID and stuff so I assume she was looking at the correct policy info in regards to what Shell has set up with them. She said that was an approved procedure with medical notes. But, then when I asked if there were any other histories like weight or anything like that needed she said no but if it was for weight loss that would be a completely different story and code. So, I'm like totally confused, LOL I have heard from others with BMI's lower than 40 that PCOS is considered a co-morbidity, anyone know if thats true???