Eureka-C

thanks for the warm welcome!

It took me so long to make the call to set up an appoinment, now i can't wait to see the doctor next week. I was thinking on waiting untill next year but now i just want to get it done as soon as possible.( but i'm still scared )

I was wondering how much research you have done, seminars, articles, reading blogs and posts? I find that I need to know the good,bad, and ugly to feel confident. I also found confidence in defending my decision by answering other peoples "why choose sleeve" posts. Finally, having to write my appeal letter sealed the deal for me. I KNOW this is what I need. Don't get me wrong. I am still scared, but I am excited too.

Keep in touch on how it goes and ask questions.

I was initially denied coverage due to the sleeve being investigational. In other words, there is not a 10 year history of maintained weight loss documented in the journals, as it is not 10 years old as a stand-alone procedure. That being said, there are various medical reasons why the sleeve is accepted such as a requirement of taking NSAIDs or diseases such as crohn's. I do not have anything like these problems, but I appealed based on a family history of diabetes and a personal preference to not have malabsorption issues et cetera. I won my appeal and I am scheduled for surgery on November 22 nd.

If you are interested in the RNY, your post describes the qualifications clearly and with your BMI, you will likely be able to meet them with no problems. Personally, I do not recommend the RNY or band, but I am not a health care professional, and it is my personal preference.

Do you have comorbid problems? These can be important to your choice.

Good luck!

This is just a guess, but maybe when they pumped all the gas in your stomach, it stretched some old scar tissue under the scar, creating a sore spot.

At 5 Months, 1 week post op I finally hit 80 lbs lost post-op. 90 lbs lost total. I figured it was time for some new photos showing the progress. In the first picture I was pre-op and around 320 lbs takin April 2010, current photo was taken today October 7th 2010 at 240lbs.

You look Awesome! I always worry about the weight loss making me look older, but you look younger after your loss. Thanks for the inspiration.

Sounds like this is definitely the tool for you. Thats a great start. I can't wait to be there too.

Here is a website that shows an animation of how it works. It looks like it is not available in the USA.

On-Q PainBuster Pain Ball

With the help from a couple of angels I filed my appeal today.

I know that wait is hard. Keep hanging around and don't give up. I finally won my appeal.

I am scheduled for November 22nd with Dr. Davidson at the Bariatric Surgery Center in Dallas, Texas at Presbyterian Hospital (unfortunately my insurance doesn't cover the forest park medical center - I know lots of people liked the staff there). My pre-op begins November 10th. I will know more then.

It is important to know if the denial is due to your company opting out of it or if it is the insurance denying due to the sleeve being "experimental". If it is due to your company's choices on coverage. There is not much you can do. If it is due to it being "experimental" then you can appeal. I won my appeal with bcbs CA. If you lose the appeal you can apply for an IMR ( I think that is right) internal medical review for a second appeal. That works for many people. You also can look into having the surgery in mexico. Good luck.

Take a sharpie and write something like "sleeve only" on your belly b4 the surgery

So so happy for you! Dr Davidson did my sleeve too, it will be 4 weeks ago this coming Tuesday. His staff is awesome, and the Nurse practitioner there Sandy is really great and gives you her personal cell # which she answers anytime except between midnight and 5 am- and she encourages you to call with any question or problem.

On top of that, we live literally 30 minutes from each other! After your surgery is done and you can eat again we can go to lunch and split a kids meal LOL.

Congrats!

Sounds great, by the time I get my surgery, you will be a pro.

I too had to wait due to appealing. Part of me wanted to give up and use the appeal as an excuse. For me I focus on why I am getting the sleeve. I don't want my body to fall apart after 40 like my parents and so many others in my family. I also know this surgery is my best option. No matter how many times I have failed at dieting, I refuse to let that voice of failure dissuade me. I will lose this time, I may not lose as fast as others. I may have stalls. I may have awful side effects like nausea, acid, and pain, but this tool will work in the long haul. I will not fail this time.

Face your fears, talk back to them,and kick their a**. They have no place in your thin healthy future.

I just got my after appeal approval. Heard a rumor that Jan 2011 many more might be changing policy. BCBS CA

That means... Hmmmm... I was wearing a 12 in high school, which is an 8 by today's standards so it is possible I will be an 8 when I reach goal!

I love the blue. Awesome. I can't wait to get there too.

I am so happy for you!

I hope people who have had the surgery answer, but if not I know there are posts on here about Hair loss from 2-6 months out. I also have read some posts about deflated breasts and others not so much. Finally there seems to be a wide range of losing, but most experience stalls several times as their bodies adjust. Again I hope some give their firsthand experience.

Thats awesome. I will have to remember that.

Congrats. I thought I was going to go insane after waiting three months. You have mighty stamina. I am soooo happy for you.

I have been replacing 1-2 meals with Protein Shakes as the RN suggested while I waited for my appeal,and so I bought a box of the pure Protein bars from costco. They taste pretty good. I read the warning on the back about alcohol sugars and didn't think anything of it. About 20 minutes after I ate it the first time, I got lightheaded, felt extremely nauseous and started shaking. I dismissed my class early and thought I was going to pass out. I thought I might be getting sick. After about 30 minutes it passed. I didn't connect it to the protein bars until the next day when it happened again. It was just like the low blood sugar attacks I would get in high school when I would go without eating all day. So I did some research. It turns out that even though our body can't process the alcohol sugars, some peoples bodies are still fooled and their pancreas dumps insulin to process sugar that isn't there, so the blood sugar drops rapidly. No more protein bars for me.

Thank you all so much. I wish you all the best luck.

OMG! I am on top of the world. I have been waiting what seems like forever. I first started considering surgery and researching my options back in February after my latest diet failure on Alli and reaching my highest weight ever. :sad0:I went to some seminars in April and May, but was still unsure which surgery I wanted. I finally went to the BSC in Dallas with Dr. Davidson (I had avoided his seminar because it was not free) and had a complete health screening along with a group information session and one-on-one session with the insurance coordinator, as well as a one-on-on consultation with the RN. Of course, I also met the surgeon. I loved the way they did things and completely answered all my questions. I decided on VSG. :001_smile:They applied to my insurance for approval for all three surgeries, and I was approved for RNY and band, but not VSG. (Insurance is BCBS CA even though I am in Dallas) I had a long cry :crying:and decided that if I could not have VSG, then I would wait, because I didn't like the other surgeries. My husband told me to research a loan, and I did, even got a loan approved. I decided with some support on here that I could appeal. If I lost the appeal, then I would do the second appeal (IMR), and only if I lost that would I get a loan. I set myself up for a long wait and soon was depressed, :sad0:quit trying on the diet the RN set up with the nut for me. I appealed, but did not get my hopes up too high. WELL...... Today was the 30 day mark after my appeal, so I called the insurance. The person who was over my appeal was out on vacation. ARGHHHH!! I told myself that I wasn't going to give up. I would keep calling until somebody answered my questions. I called the number she left as a standby on her voicemail. That person was out of town as well. So I called the number she left as a standby on her voicemail. Finally I reached someone. They looked up my file and said I WAS APPROVED. I won the appeal. I cannot believe it. The letter was mailed on the 28th so it should be here today, tomorrow or Monday. I actually screamed when she told me, then I told her. "I love you! Thank you!" I can't believe I said that. It just came out. Thank you to everyone out there that said to keep trying and gave me copies of their appeal letter. A copy of my letter is on my blog at From Thick to Thin

At one week out, most people here are still on liquids/purees etc. Maybe someone can post a link to a post surgery diet plan put out by one of the major surgery centers. Sounds like you may be pushing it a bit much.

I used to teach middle school science, but now I teach psychology at a culinary school. Working on my doctorate in psychology.

Its been 4 months since you last updated this post. I was wondering hoe you are doing now?