Sleevie WonderLand

This is an awesome thread, it would be even better if there was a way to sort the information by state or country.

Yup, we sure are!

Hey Ya'll..

My name Is Heavenly...and I'm from Upstate NY!..but I be all overall NY pretty much...lol .....I have not been sleeved yet, but Its in the works!!...I plan to be sleeved at Albany Medical Center in Albany NY, but surgeon Paul Singh!!.....I wish everyone well and too please keep in touch along the journey!!

PS: KayyBeee I believe we are buddies on OH.com as well..

Hey Ladies!

I have no idea what I'm doing with this group. I just wanted a place for the NY Sleevesters to get together and cyber mingle, exchange info, etc. If you have any ideas, suggestions, tips, whatever that you think would enhance the NY Sleevers experience, please share. If you'd like to take the reigns and be the "leader" let me know, I will humbly step aside. Thanks for joining, and dont be a stranger! Please share a post or two; we should all be prepared to put our NY two cents in!

I initially started in the 38 range (before I saw the PCP). When I went in for my appt with the PCP that sucker dropped down to a 36.6.

U never said how close u were to the 40 bmi???? I was at 39 with no co morbidities so i gained 15 pounds in 1 1/2 weeks to qualify...( im trying to have surgery next month ) ....now that i qualify, my pcp also found that my cholestoral was up high....supposed to be at 150 mine is at 268 so he prescribed med's....(fishoil) .....wich gave me my 1st co morbidity lol

just gain some more weight and get ur blood stats checked again after u gain, u never know what u ( doc) will find lol.......

i'm falling in love with my VST people more and more everyday. Thanks for all the suggestions/tips/tricks and mostly encouragement. If I didnt have you guys I probably would have already given up hope. Now to recap for someone else who may be considering WLS with a low BMI:

Drink lots of Water before your appt with your PCP - dont pee until after the appt to get that weight up!

Eat like you have no idea what a "smart" calorie is the day/nite before your pcp appt so your levels may show some cholesterol or other possible co-morb

Invest in some weights - tuck them suckers in places only you or your significant other can find!

If you're gonna wear ankle weights, be sure to where clothing to disguise them.

Slump during the height check in. The shorter you are the higher your bmi goes in conjuction with your weight.

Most important - consult with the witty and clever folks on VST for support, encouragement and lots of laughs!

Girl you're a mess! Weighted panty liners...too funny!

How far from 40 BMI are you? I was at 37 and need to be 40 to qualify since I don't have any co-mo's. So eating more wasn't really an option but I did quit dieting. I also drank about 2 jugs of Water before I went to my weigh in appointment. I will say that some insurance companies require a BMI history. Luckily, mine did not require this. So I made my weigh in... went home and pee out a few pounds and took a massive... well. You get the picture. LOL

Gaining 25 is not a good option. I have heard of people using the ankle weights, but put them in your bra so no one sees them... or wear very long, baggy jeans. You could even... just saying.. wear one as a pad. LOL I know.. but it is an idea and at 4 lbs each, well, you might be over 40 BMI haha!!

Oh last tip... don't stand so dang tall.If you are an inch shorter, you instantly go down on the BMI scale.

Good luck. If it is meant to be, it will be.

The title was "The OFFICIAL what you will need for surgery" list or something like that. Maybe you can try to find it in the search box above. (that's what I did). The author's name is LilMissDiva. Good luck!

I am scheduled for surgery in about 5 weeks and am working on a list of items I need to get pre and post-op. Does anyone have a list they don't mind sharing with me? Thanks in advance.

I saw a list on this forum some time ago, I think it was created by LilMissDiva.

I am scheduled for surgery in about 5 weeks and am working on a list of items I need to get pre and post-op. Does anyone have a list they don't mind sharing with me? Thanks in advance.

I'm gonna "weight" it out and take my chances with the sleep apnea test. Hopefully my weight will increase and/or I'll be diagnosed with apnea severe enough to qualify me.

The funny thing is that I wanna eat all that stuff you mentioned and I'm not even near the pre or post op stage! I LOVE trader Joe's!

Thanks for the tip...however, I dont think I'll need it. I'm sleep deprived as it is with 4 kids; one with severe asthma and allergies, so I usually dont sleep much anyway because I'm up alot of the times with him making sure he can breathe. Gosh, I sound like such a loser with all these issues, but despite it all, I'm able to find the time to smile. I'm grateful to my VST peeps. Thanks to all who replied.

Oh, and if you don't have a prescription for ambien, get one! It is not easy sleeping with all of that stuff hooked up to you, so anything that you can take to help knock you out, take it! The tech at the study center seemed very pleased that I brought a sleep aid with me

Oh, and congrats on the no-more-blood-pressure-med status! That's so awesome!

Before insurance approved my surgery for high blood pressure, I thought my approval would come down to the sleep apnea diagnosis. I was confiding in a doctor that I work with about this and he "suggested" that I go into the sleep study sleep deprived. He basically told me to stay up the night before the study. I got notification of insurance approval before my sleep study so I just went into it normally (yes, I still had to do the stupid thing). I am sorry that you are going through this! I really wish more insurance plans would be more liberal concerning weight loss surgery. I am already off of my blood pressure pills (one week after surgery!) And I think of all of the stuff that I am heading off by living a healthier life style: heart attack (dad), stroke (mom), diabetes (sister), and so on. Don't give up. I was kind of in your boat...if insurance didn't approve me, there was no other option.

Thanks a bunch Holly. I was totally wondering if being sleep deprived would work in my favor. My husband actually suggested it (everyone has these good sneaky ideas!) and it is definitely a part of my evil VSG plan *insert villain laff here*

Before insurance approved my surgery for high blood pressure, I thought my approval would come down to the sleep apnea diagnosis. I was confiding in a doctor that I work with about this and he "suggested" that I go into the sleep study sleep deprived. He basically told me to stay up the night before the study. I got notification of insurance approval before my sleep study so I just went into it normally (yes, I still had to do the stupid thing). I am sorry that you are going through this! I really wish more insurance plans would be more liberal concerning weight loss surgery. I am already off of my blood pressure pills (one week after surgery!) And I think of all of the stuff that I am heading off by living a healthier life style: heart attack (dad), stroke (mom), diabetes (sister), and so on. Don't give up. I was kind of in your boat...if insurance didn't approve me, there was no other option.

@Thinoneday.... I soooo deserve this surgery right now, and if I can have it done at little to no cost, why shouldnt I? It's the light at the end of the tunnel for me. So I too disagree with you, but I appreciate you sharing your suggestion.

Hate to be a downer here but this is happening for a reason. Maybe this isn't your year for surgery. . . with all the problems you listed with hubbie down and out, house lost, etc maybe realistically this isn't the time for you to have this surgery. . . maybe you need to look into something else for now. . . start saving a little here and there and when everything has leveled out then you could try again and get it done. Just my suggestion

I'm a Boogie down baby too Jay Miss....born in the South Bronx (139th Street) and then moved to the North East Bronx when I was six...I still rep 241st /White Plains Road!

Hey ladies!!!

Also from New york here, Warwick ny previously from the B.X

I am being sleeved on July 11 by Dr. Silva in Paramus NJ

hoping this journey turns out great!

Hey Ladies...our group is picking up...slowly but surely!

If it were an option for me, I'd be on the first thing smoking to Mexico. Unfortunately, we're still trying to recover from my husband being laid off, losing our home, and everything else the rest of our country is going through. Our credit score is probably lower than my BMI.

I'll still research it some more, gotta resesarch all options...

I'm going through alot of emotions right now because this surgery thing isnt looking so definite for me. According to my doc, I'm 100 pounds overweight, but according to the BMI calculator and Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield (EPO), I'm not big enough to qualify for VSG. I dont quite meet the 40 requirement and because I have no co-morbidities (blood tests show that I'm "pre-diabetic", I'm not a viable candidate, unless i'm slowly dying in my sleep. So now in addition to world peace, I have to pray that my sleep apnea study will be so horrible that I'll qualify for surgery. I'm pissed off because the whole point of losing this weight is to get more healthy, but yet the insurance co isnt willing to let me have access to this tool that has proven to be the best method for someone like me to get the weight off and possibly keep it off for a long time.

So now after 2 years of retraining my fat brain to make healthier choices (which helped me to lose a little weight, but nothing significant) I have to go back to eating junk and lots of crap so that in six months time I can have a 40+ BMI and therefore qualify for surgery. I dont go for my apnea consult until July 5th; they will then schedule the actual study which I hope will be sometime soon after. I've only been on this Quest for WLS for about a six weeks, but already Im tired and getting increasingly discouraged. Anyone have any advice? Apnea tips/tricks that'll help qualify me (lol)? Suggestions?

I was just being NOSEY. Saw the letters M-A-S-T-U-R and my fingers clicked on the link before I could finish reading the title...:001_tongue:

See? So many people walkin around with hernias not knowing. I had a bout with chest pain some years back, the doctors never found anything and eventually the pain subsided (or maybe I just learned to cope with it). I do get a weird stomach cramp/spasm thing at times when I do a deep bend (to tie my shoe or something like that) and have to lay or sit down to ease it. I'm definitely thinking I probably have some sort of hernia.

I just googled (images) "hernia" to get a little more insight. Yikes. Double yikes.

Hey PYT!!! Congratulations on your surgery! I live in Mt. Vernon - where exactly do you live? It's awesome to finally have another person in this lonely group.

Duh, that's what an upper GI is huh? Sorry, no need for a response on that last question. I suffer from dingbat syndrome from time to time.

So if I have one, will they see it when I have my endoscopy?

So if I have one, will they see it when I have my endoscopy?

*bends and curtsies*

Why thank you Tiffykins! I had no idea they were so common until this forum. Every other person mentions it in their post, so I was just wondering.

Hiatal hernias are very common and often go undiagnosed. Acid reflux or chronic heartburn is a common symptom, and some doctors just treat with RX meds, and neglect to dig deeper into the cause.

And, yes, hiatal hernias are extremely common among the obese population. I personally didn't have one, but they are common. If you have an upper GI performed as part of your pre-op requirements, it should be diagnosed before VSG and can be repaired simultaneously.