dragongrl75

So I finally have a surgery date of Feb 7th....I was told I don't have to do a liquid diet at all prior but I think I am going to anyway just to get my body ready for this. My question is I have been hanging around here a looooong time and am trying to figure out if I am being realistic. I am currently 299/301ish depending on the day.....I am hoping to lose 20-25lbs per month after my surgery and am hoping I can be at or very close to my goal weight of 140 by Aug 21st. That would mean I need to lose 150ish lbs in 6 months. Is that pushing too hard?? Should I lower it some? I am so excited for my new life that maybe I am being a little too gung-ho....lol Appreciate any and all input....

Just got my date today....Feb 7th!!!! I am so thrilled and excited, can't wait! :biggrin:

I have my appointment with the surgeon next week for final clearances and was told I should be able to have my surgery sometime around Jan 15th! I am so excited!!!!! I have been working toward this since June so I can't wait now that things seem to be moving forward!!!!

I know the VSG is covered by Medicaid in Colorado but I do believe it is a state by state thing...the code for it however is the same everywhere. Medical codes are a nationally standardized thing. For the VSG I believe it is 43843

I know you can get it done in Texas, Washington state, Bethesda MD, Evans Army Hospital at Ft Carson CO....those are the ones I have seen people say they had their surgery done there. I don't know the names of some of the hospitals. I know Walter Reed used to have a program but I heard it was closed because they got too many people and couldn't handle the volume anymore but that was a while ago so it may have changed. The thing is if an MTF has a surgeon that does the VSG and that person gets deployed than they won't offer that surgery anymore until the surgeon gets back or they get another one. I am in the process of going to CO to get my surgery now. Hoping it all goes well and I get it soon.

I think in order to do the sleeve at the MTF you have to have a pcm at the MTF do the referral through the MTF program. Have you talked to the MTF that does the surgery to see if they can tell you how to go about doing it?

I am hoping maybe someone might know the answer to my question. My husband is currently stationed in Connecticut and there is no place to have the sleeve done here. They only offer the lap band or bypass. We just got orders for North Carolina and there is no place to have the sleeve down there either. What I was thinking about doing is going back to our home of record and staying with my parents for a few months. My parents live in Colorado and I just found out that there is an MTF that does the sleeve near their home. Would I be able to do that? My son is currently out there with my parents and he has received medical care while out there and no one has asked us about it or said anything. I get the statements from TriWest in the mail at our Connecticut address. Thanks in advance for any advice/info :-D

Apparently if you can have it done at a Military Treatment Facility then there is something different with the insurance and Tricare doesn't actually have to pay for it but we don't have an MTF that does the surgery that is near me. I am hoping to get good news when I talk to the surgeon......so keep your fingers crossed for me! LOL

My name is Nikki, my hubby is Navy and we are currently stationed in Groton CT on shore duty but should be getting orders soon or something...(hubby is trying to cross rate)! I have gone through all my preliminary testing, nutrition visits, etc and just found out that Tricare doesn't cover the sleeve :-( After all my research I know the sleeve is the only option for me so I don't know what I am going to do yet....I am still waiting for an appt with the surgeon at Yale Bariatric and we will see what he says but I might have to wait until we go to a duty station where the MTF can do the surgery or hopefully next month when the new fiscal year starts maybe I will get lucky and Tricare will begin covering the sleeve..... We are hoping to get orders for the west coast, either WA or San Diego....I hate living on the east coast!!! LOL

I love this idea...I am going to write one up myself and keep it on my refrigerator for those times after surgery when I get discouraged and tempted to eat something I shouldn't! I am also going to share it with my best friend. We are both going through the process to get the sleeve surgery. Here are some that are going to be included in my list for sure but my list is pretty long...I have never been thin so there are a lot of things I can't wait to experience for the 1st time! 1. Get rid of my PCOS once and for all! 2. Be able to get cute clothes at the thrift store 3. Hoping sex with hubby is so much better when I am thin...not that it's bad now 4. Ride a bike, go for a hike, be more active 5. No more knee pain 6. No more horrible, itchy rashes on my thighs and under my fat apron from the heat and humidity 7. To go to my high school reunion as a thin woman 8. Hoping to see a particular ex boyfriend and rub his nose in it (sounds silly but the last time I saw him he sat at a table in a restaurant w/his buddies and made fun of me) 9, If I get pregnant again....to have a real pregnant belly and do belly pictures and belly art 10. Most importantly...to be healthy and live a long life, to be a positive role model for my kids and hopefully be able to save them from the same problems I have had.

I am 36yrs old and have been heavy all my life. I have PCOS with IR and Hypothyroidism. I am lucky enough to have conceived 2 beautiful children. My son is 15yrs and my daughter, who was conceived with Clomid, is 4yrs. I am currently on thyroid medication and 2000mg of Metformin. I rarely have periods, have horrible hair growth everywhere, bouts of severe depression and most recently have developed problems with my knees. I am at my heaviest I have ever been. I also have developed sleep apnea since the birth of my daughter. I hate the way I look, hate the way I feel and want something better for myself so my husband and children can have better from me. I have had so many people discourage me from getting this surgery but have a few who continue to be very supportive, including my husband. I just want to be healthy, to have energy and to not have my every thought focused on food. It's all I think about anymore it seems....what's for Breakfast, lunch or dinner...do we have the junk food I love so I can have dessert.....I can't wait to have the surgery and embark on a new journey for a better and healthier life!!! I am working on making better food choices now but it is so hard when you have such strong addictive feelings to certain things and I am just so tired all the time I have no fight left in me. I have spent the last year or so researching the band and went from "absolutely no way is this for me"...to "well maybe this is something that might help"....to "I can't wait to get this done" and I really hope I have made the right decision for myself. I have seen/known people who have had Gastric bypass and they seem to have so many health problems and then end up gaining a lot of it back. My sister had the surgery and she weighed only 40lbs more than I do now. Well she ended up pregnant within 6 months of her surgery, had her baby boy really early, thankfully he was fine and is now a robust 5yr old but she has had so many continuing health problems and I am hoping to avoid all that mess by doing the lap band instead. I look forward to making friends and continuing to learn about this new lifestyle I have chosen for myself!