Fusilli66

Just sending positive thoughts your way from someone who can empathize. I'm being sleeved in 2 weeks, and I am 2 weeks into my 4 week pre-op diet. It was very rough at first, but it actually does get easier as time passes. Day 1 I was very week and then I felt fine for about 5 days. Then I had a total meltdown that I wanted to eat mashed potatoes or something. I also had a meltdown that I couldn't sit down to eat with my family. Fast forward a week later and last night I made a complete dinner for my family, sat in the room (but not at the table) while they ate and I felt fine. I will admit to being slightly tempted, but it was easy to resist. I didn't feel hunger at the time so I was good. I still have to do this for almost 2 more weeks, so we'll see how it goes, but I really have my good days and bad. Good luck! I'll be rooting for you!

My surgery is the day after yours 10/11. I'm 45 and I'm lucky that my husband is very supportive of my decision. Try to focus on all the good stories. Actually, there seems to be a lot more good outcomes than bad. I have yet to read an actual horror story, but I pick and chose what I read. I guess I am a glass half full sort of person, but I truly believe that it will all be worth it. I don't expect complications at all, but if there are, I will deal with them then. Worrying about what may or may not happen isn't going to change what happens. And it seems that complications are the exception in this surgery and not the rule. I do expect to feel some amount of pain, I'm sure there will be gas and some nausea for a short time, but I don't consider those complications, just things that come with this surgery. I wake up with terrible back pain daily from all this excess weight, so if I have to suffer in some pain for a few days or even a week post-op, in the end it will result in less painful mornings from carrying around all this excess weight. So it is worth it to me. I am very excited about my surgery, not nervous at all. But I think some amount of nerves is very normal. I think if your boyfriend was supporting your decision, that would probably ease some of the anxiety. But you said your father is supporting your decision, so try to spend some time with him and get some positive vibes off him. You have made the right decision for yourself and it will all be worth it. Good luck! We'll compare stories after surgery!

Everyone here has an eating disorder, ones that made us eat until we were too heavy. You had surgery, but you did not get rid of your eating disorder. You just took whatever underlying issues you had, and channeled it into a different type of eating disorder. My heart goes out to you and your family. We can all empathize with an eating disorder. When I read your post it reminded me of Portia DeRossi's book. I strongly suggest you read it, you will see yourself in it. I started my journey over a year ago. I put my surgery on hold because I realize I needed to fix my head in order to fix my body. So I went into therapy for a year before I decided that I was mentally ready to have this surgery. I feel like I discovered a lot about myself in that year and I have the tools now to make this a success. There is absolutely nothing wrong with seeking help from a therapist. It does not mean you are crazy, it means you have issues you need help dealing with. It was the best thing I ever did for myself. Do something for yourself before it gets worse. Hugs to you and I hope you get better.

Getting sleeved in 2 weeks and I have to follow a 4 week pre-op diet. So today is 2 weeks since I started. To say it has been a struggle is an understatement. I have had some metldowns about it and really not happy about having to do this for 4 full weeks instead of the 2 weeks most people do. To add to the frustration of it, the scale says I have lost 6 lbs in those two weeks, & I hit that number a week ago, so basically I have lost no weight in the second week. But somehow, it feels like more than 6 lbs. because my size 20 jeans arevall so big on me. I mean, pull them down without undoing the button big. So today i tried on a pair of size 18's that I haven't worn in a while...and they fit comfortably! And they are not even stretch jeans, regular blue denim size 18 jeans! Very excited about that. So instead of focusing on having to follow this liquid diet for 2 more weeks, I'm going to try to focus on how many more moments like this I am going to get once I am sleeved. How many times a pair of old jeans will fit me again. Or I put on a T-shirt and not have to stretch it out with my arms before I put it on. Or put on a bra and move it to the tighter hooks, or better yet, a smaller bra. My closet has clothes from size 20 down to size 14. I can't wait for the day that nothing in that closet fits! I am looking forward to so many more of these moments! Moments that taste better than anything I have ever eaten! I have also decided to buy myself a large tub/bin and I'm going to leave it open in my bedroom. And every time I put something on and it doesn't fit, it goes in the bin. Once the bin is full I will donate it to charity, and then put out a new bin until I am done. I am not saving anything "just in case". It all goes away forever, just like the pounds. That will be one of my motivations, to keep on filling up those bins!

Thank you both and SmokyMtnGal - please get a bin! I just felt good after putting on the jeans and thought to myself "thats a feeling I would love to experience over and over" and so I think I might just get that feeling everytime I put something in the bin and especially every time a bin is full! Hope you get the same feelling! It's a little bit like a high! My surgery is 2 weeks from tomorrow - 10/11, so a little over a week before yours. I expected to start feeling some sort of nerves, but so far none at all. I feel excited and impatient, but not nervous. Almost like when you are going on vacation and you are counting down the days until you leave. That's, how I feel right now. @ Ismini - I hope you are right. I am nervous that my body is going to be one that holds onto weight. That is probably my only fear going into this, that I still won't lose. But I hope you are right. I would love a dramatic drop in weight quickly!

I've heard of them but I haven't gone there. I am in Long Island though. I go to Dr. Gohil at the Center for Bariatric Specialties in Syosset Hospital. I couldn't be more pleased with him and his office. They are so efficient and a pleasure to deal with. I had no trouble getting insurance approval at all and I'm scheduled for my surgery in 2 weeks. He really explains everything so well and just makes you feel at ease. This is my second surgeon also. I had originally went to Dr. Cussatti near Good Samaritan Hospital in West Islip. Its closer to where I live. But they didn't take my insurance in network, only out of network, and I really didn't care for him all that much. He was more like a salesman than a doctor. He also changes practices and that didn't sit well with me. So I moved on and I'm so happy I did. Good luck to you!

Thank you all for your words of encouragement and wisdom. It has gotten better in the last few days, no more crying at least. lol. I am managing to get along but I'm not following it perfectly. I just can't. But I've only been adding a few healthy things here and there just to get through. According to the plan the doctor gave me, the diet is: 4 shakes a day (made with skim milk or juice) -or- 2 shakes a day + 1 moderate size meal of lean Protein and vegetables. In addition, I can have as much as I want of sugar free clear beverages, sf Jello & popsickles, broth. He also said I don't have to do the same every day, i can do the 2+1 one day and the 4 the next. He said this should give me 1000-1200 calories a day. So far what I've been doing is the 2+1. I have a shake in the morning (I like the unjury - with skim milk = 180 calories). Then at lunch I have broth with some vegetables in it. Around 2:00-3:00 I have another shake. Then i have a dinner of either chicken breast or shrimp with vegetables. In between I'm having jello and usually a popsickle at night while watching tv. That is a good day for me. On days that i'm starving or craving food I've been throwing in a some Peanut Butter or some low fat cheese. If you figure it out, my doctor needs to buy a new calculator because 4 shakes at 180 calories is only 720 calories! If you add in a popsickle or 2 at 15 calores each, and jello which has no calories along with all the clear beverages its not even 800 calories. Chicken broth has barely any calories also. I also figured out my meals. There are very little calories in vegetables (if any) and the chicken breast is about 150 calores. When I have shrimp it is even less calories. But I only have 2 shakes a day when I have a meal. So say 360 for the 2 shakes + 250 for the meal = 610. So if I have 2 or 3 string cheese at 50 calories each, its no big deal. Even the peanut butter which has more calories, still doesn't put me near the 1000 mark. I still have 2 weeks and 2 days to go. I really think my biggest problem was the 4 weeks. I sooo could have done this a lot easier for 2 weeks like everyone else. I mean, this would be difficult for someone who doesn't have an eating disorder, so for me its some sort of torture to expect it for 4 weeks. But I know it will all be worth it in the end. The funny thing is 2 weeks of this and I've only lost 6 lbs. Makes me a little nervous for after i'm sleeved, like my body just doesn't want to lose weight. But hopefully thats just my nerves talking.

Wishing I had your doctor! I'm a lower BMI person at 40 and I have to do a 4 week diet. Really blows! My first instinct was to ignore the doctor and just do 2 weeks, but I didn't and it has been difficult and I still have 2 weeks and 5 days (but who's counting) until surgery. My diet consists of 4 Protein shakes a day or 2 shakes and 1 small meal of protein & vegetables only (no carbs at all). In addition I could have all the clear sugar fee liquids, Jello, popsickles I want as well as broths. I don't get the different thinking from all the different doctors but who knows who is right so I'm just following my doctors orders. But, like I said, it blows!

I would definitely call my surgeon right away and ask him what that means exactly!

So many great posts and things that people want to do. They are all so personal to each of us and there is no right or wrong in what you want. Those who said what they wanted was shallow, I say baloney - they are want you want and that is ok. Its so okay to want things for yourself! When I started this I was hoping to see variety and I got that. You guys all made me see some things that I wanted also, without realizing it before. Of all the things I want, the thing I want the most is to look in the mirror and like what I see, like I did when I was young. I wasn't always heavy. I was actually very thin as a child and even into my teen years. I started gaining weight when I was around 20, and only a bit then. It wasn't until after I got married (at 22) and then had my kids a few years later that the weight really became a problem. I am 45 now, so I have been overweight for 25 years, and obese for most of those years, and morbidly obese for the last 10 years. I envy those of you who are doing this while you are still so young! I wish this had been available to me then. But I'm glad I'm doing it now while I still have a lot of good years ahead of me (and probably even more once I lose the weight). Thanks again for posting all this. You guys are all so inspirational.

I was faced with my first challenge yesterday and it was difficult! I am in day 4 of the pre-op diet (4 weeks as my doctor wants it). My son plays on a varsity football team and each week the night before a game the parents cook dinner for them and they have a team dinner. This was my week and I was making chicken parmigiana. I managed to get through the smell of the sauce cooking, and I even had my butcher bread and fry the cutlets for me so I didn't have to do that. But the hardest part was when I started cutting up the cutlets into pieces so that I can make layers of it. Usually when I would cut up the chicken I would take a bite size piece here and there (and here and there and more here and more there). So that was tough. As I was cutting them I guess my son saw the look on my face and put his arm around me and said "you okay mom, I know this is tough" and that helped a bit. He also then popped 2 or 3 pieces in his mouth - lol! But I got through it, baked it, brought it, served the kids and ignored the leftovers and all the Desserts that were around. I survived! At the end of the day I felt so accomplished that I was able to get through it. I really felt like if I could get through that and I can really do this. I can't wait for my surgery already! I got this!

I just started my pre-op liquid diet and so I went to the Bariatric Fusion online store to order. They are really pricey! Alot more than the Unjury. I really like the taste of the Unjury, but they don't have the same variety as the Bariatric Fusion. Although I've been mixing the flavors with crystal light to get more varied tastes.

Congratulations and best of luck to you! Isn't it so exciting! I just got my date also - 10/11 and I was practically jumping up and down with happiness. I have to start the liquid pre-op diet on Tuesday. For some reason, my doctor likes 4 weeks. Its the only part I'm not thrilled about, but I'm sure I will survive it. Lol. Good luck to you!

According to your signature you are going for a pre-op visit and not pre-op. Therefore, why do you have to lose weight so fast for a doctors visit? Who was it that told you that? Unless it was your doctor or the doctors office, I wouldn't listen to that. I would, however, call the doctors office tomorrow morning and find out if that is true. I wouldn't start the pre-op liquid diet before they tell you too. Every doctors office seems to say something differs - 2 weeks, 4 weeks; no pre op diet. I am dreading that I have to start a 4 weeks on Tuesday. But I certainly wouldn't start before my doctor tells me to. He actually specifically said not to follow the liquid diet for more than 4 weeks. Again, you should check with your doctors office. Good luck to you!

Hi All! I am just soooo excited. I finally got my date and my surgery is scheduled for 10/11. I had actually expected it to be end of October or beginning of November because I was told that my insurance company takes 6 weeks to approve and that they need to submit it to the insurance company with a date in order to get approved. But as it turns out, I have GHI which has become Emblem Health. GHI apparently takes 6 weeks (according to docs office, they take the longest). But Emblem gives approvals much quicker and they were told to submit to Emblem and not GHI. So that worked out very well for me. So it is 4 weeks from Tuesday which means I should be feeling fine by the holidays, which was one of my concerns. Of course this is pending approval, which is another concern, but according to my doctor I should not stress about that. He said that they give you and us a list of requirements and I have met every requirement and therefore they have no reason to deny me. From his mouth to gods ears. My starting BMI was 40.2, I have sleep apnea, high cholesterol and Osteoarthritis (which is on the list of comorbities for Emblem). So hopefully this will go as planned. Now here is the kick in the a$$. I was under the impression that I had to do a 2 week liquid diet, but noooo, the doctor wants me to do a 4 WEEK liquid diet. That is going to be tough, but I know I can do it and it is sooo worth it in the end. So I have to start that on Tuesday (but will probably start Monday, just because it is engraved in my brain that you start diets on a monday). At least I have the weekend to prepare and buy what I need to do this.

One of the reasons I chose the Sleeve is because of the removal of the grehlin producing portion of the stomach, therefore less hunger. With the plication they aren't removing that so your body is still making as much grehlin as it was before. So for that reason alone, for me, it wasn't something I would consider. I really want to lose that feeling of always being hungry and the thought of being hungry and having a stomach too small to satisfy that hunger wouldn't be good for me. I also like the idea that the sleeve is permanent, I don't want a temporary fix, I want a permanent solution. I haven't had it yet (should be getting my surgery date today) but of all the options, the sleeve was the best choice for me and that is what I'm going with.

I have to say that things like this just piss me off and scare me at the same time. I know every insurance company is different, but you have 2 co-morbities and your BMI is over 35 - how dare they deny you. I would certainly try appealing - it seems like you should qualify - but I don't know what the requirements are for your insurance. I hope it works out for you - I haven't gotten that far yet. I am hoping that they will be sending in my paperwork on Monday as by then they should have everything they need. My BMI is 39.9 and I have sleep apnea so we will see if I get approved. Good luck to you!

I think feeling nervous is very natural. But please don't listen to people and have them put that fear into you. I would guess that most of these people are uninformed about this particular surgery and probably don't know anyone who died from this surgery. Of course there can be complications, but they seem to be very minimal and considering that it is laproscopic and you are not being open up like traditional surgery, the risks are even less. And it sounds like this Dr. Kelly has done soooo many of these (it seems so many people on here have used him) that he could probably do it in his sleep. Think positive thoughts and realize that the ends justify the means. The truth is if you have 120 lbs to lose you are putting your life at greater risk by staying heavy than you are by having surgery. And if you have little kids imagine how much better it will be to be a healthy active mother than one who is so overweight. I can't wait to read your posts in 6 months and a year when you are saying it is the best thing you have ever done! Good luck to you!

I would do the sleep study. If you have apnea it may get you approved easier and lord knows these insurance companies make you jump through many hoops before you get approved. Take a look at my list below - I had to do all of that, and that was after the 6 months. I had the sleep test done years ago so they already had on record that I had sleep apnea. The more reasons you can give the insurance company to show them that you are a good candidate for this surgery, the better your chances of being approved. As far as deductible - if your deductible is $1100 and you have $900 left to pay that is all you have to pay - whether it is for the sleep study or the surgeon, it is still going to cost you no more than $1100 total out of pocket for the year. So I assume you already paid some doctor $200, and say the sleep study costs $200, you now have $700 to pay to the surgeon. At least that is how I've always known it to work. Once you have spent your full $1100 out of pocket, be it at 1 doctor or 20 doctors, you still are paying no more than $1100. At least that is how mine works.

@ fern - glad your Mom is doing better now. What a horrible ordeal to go through. Please tell me she contacted a lawyer because she is owed something for her pain and suffering as well as a lawsuit might bring attention to this and make others think twice about the lap band.

Congratulations! I am being submitted to insurance this week so please pray I get the same result as you!

When I had originally considered WLS a year ago, I went to a seminar that was REQUIRED attendance before the surgeon would even make an appointment with me. As it turns out, although the seminar was said to be about all the different surgeries, there was a speaker that spoke after my surgeon - and he was an employee of the company that makes the Lap Band (aka Salesman) as well as a lap band patient. Although they talked a little about VSG as wells the Bypass, there was no where near as much information as there was on the lap band and I really left the meeting more confused than when I walked in. The whole thing just didn't sit well with me. I think it was the main reason that I chose not to have surgery back then. Of course there couldn't be a speaker from a VSG company because there is no such thing. With VSG there is nothing to sell, no salesman, no plastic pieces to push, no fill ups to sell etc. So after a year I did research on my own and really liked what I read about the VSG and when I chose my surgeon (a new surgeon, not the same one from the meeting) I called the office and the first question they asked me was what surgery I was interested in. When I said the sleeve they made my appointment with the surgeon in their office who specializes in the sleeve. I was very happy about that because my doctors office website does talk mostly about the band, so i thought they would try to talk me into that. But not at all. When i met with my surgeon for the first time he told me that he prefers the VSG as a permanent solution and that there are to many problems with the band. The whole conversation made me very happy and I felt very at ease. Surgery is a huge decision, and its not like buying a car or a washing machine. The last thing I need is some salesperson with an agenda and a quota trying to push me to buy something. So glad I am going to have the sleeve done. Can't wait to be sleeved - should be getting a surgery date this week!

Have you met with a surgeon yet? I found that my surgeons office was extremely knowledgeable about the process and very helpful. When I first called my surgeons office I asked a lot of questions, including what was required for my insurance (GHI). When I met with the surgeon he gave me a slip of paper for each doctor I needed to see and what I needed to get done. The process was a little tedious and I had a lot of appointments, but it is done now and hopefully I am being submitted to the insurance company this week. Good luck!

So I went for my Nutrutionist evaluation and when she walked in the room I was a bit taken aback. This may sound rude, and judgmental, but she was very obese. Even more obese than I am. As an obese person, I am the last one to judge anybody on their weight, however, how can I take advice about how and what I should eat from someone who obviously doesn't follow those same rules. I only needed the pre-op eval from her and although I did plan on going back after surgery, I don't feel like i could now. I feel like I might find another nutritionist to help me after. Am I being silly or would you feel the same way?

I would call the doctors office and leave a message for the doctor to call you back with an explanation. You need to be told what it is you have and why they feel this way before you can make any kind of decision. You have every right to find out the results of your test and what the problem is with your body. If they won't tell you on the phone, than get an appointment as soon as possible to get your test results.