420gal

Just found out that my insurance won't cover the sleeve because my BMI isn't high enough. So they're basically telling me I'm fat enough for bypass or the band but not fat enough for the sleeve. What kind of messed up logic is that??? But I digress.... My question is: for those of you who self paid for your sleeve, what was the total cost? Also, are there finance companies available for this sort of thing or did you just go to your local bank? Thanks in advance!

My husband is 7 weeks post op and eating soft foods. He gets a "gurgly" feeling in his sleeve after he eats anything but liquids. He wants to know if this ever goes away or is it just part of living with the sleeve?

Just got the call last night that hubby and I were both approved for the sleeve by our insurance company. The shocking part is that it took about one week from the time my paper work was submitted until the insurance okayed the procedure. My doctor told me it would take about a month to hear back. I have Anthem BCBS. Just wanted to let everyone know that quick turn around is possible with insurance companies. It may not be the norm, but it happened to me. For those of you waiting to be approved, hang in there. It could literally be any day now for you too.

I just met with my surgeon and he said that I will have a urinary catheter placed while I'm anesthetized. My question is, will the catheter be uncomfortable or painful when I regain consciousness? What about having it removed? Thanks in advance!

I have my endoscopy on Friday, so I'll be thinking of you!

I paid $50 for my psychiatrist to prepare the report. I asked him if he could just charge my insurance an extra half hour or something and he said that the insurance company would not pay it. My insurance company paid for the visit because I was due to see my psychiatrist anyway to get my meds refilled. I paid the $10 copay for the office visit and the $50 fee that the psychiatrist charged me to prepare and fax the letter. So, $60 out of pocket seems reasonable to me.

Interesting. Thanks for sharing that!

It was my understanding that the FDA approves products, not procedures.

I have to pay $600 out of pocket. It covers the pre-op shakes, the fee for the office submitting my info to the insurance company, and some other stuff that I can't remember right now (sorry). The surgeon's office lets you break it up into 3 payments. With hubby and I both pursuing WLS, we've got to come up with double the moo-lah.

I'm absolutely terrified of failure. Probably more scared of failure than of the surgery, recovery, etc.

No one should ever ask about a woman being pregnant until they actually see the baby coming out. That's the only way to be safe. So sorry that happened to you. You handled it very well though.

I'm stuck with a dilemma. There are two surgeons at the office where I'm doing my WLS (I'm still in the 6 month pre-op hoop jumping). One of the surgeons has never done VSG before but he has over 18 years experience in WLS (lap band and bypass). The other surgeon performed VSGs during his residency in medical school but has fewer years of experience doing WLS in general. So my question is: which is the lesser of two evils? Do I take the more experienced surgeon who's new to the sleeve procedure or do I choose the surgeon who has at least performed the sleeve in the past? Any insight would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

My doctor told me it was to prove to the insurance company and your surgeon that you can change your eating habits and follow a diet plan.

Very helpful information. Thanks for the "heads up"

My husband and I are going through our WLS journey together. He's in his 4th month of the pre-op diet and I'm in my third. We met with our doctor today and found out that hubby has lost about 17 pounds since he began the hoop jumping. His BMI has gone from 42 to 38. Our insurance (Anthem BCBS) requires a BMI of 40 (35 with co-morbitities) in order to have the sleeve covered. Hubby has high blood pressure and high cholesterol (and possibly sleep apnea...a sleep study has been scheduled). Since finding out that his BMI has dropped to 38, hubby is really worried that he's going to be denied because he's lost too much weight. I keep telling him he still fits the criteria, but he's freaking out. He feels his co-morbities aren't "strong enough." Meaning, because his BP is controlled with a low-dose Water pill and because his cholesterol is controlled with medication, the insurance company is going to say "too bad....you're not sick enough." Now he feels he should gain the weight back to get his BMI back up to 40. I told him that was a bad idea, but that he should definitely stop losing weight at this point. He asked me to post this here for you all to read and (hopefully) reply. Has this ever happened to anyone before? Has anyone ever lost too much weight pre-op only to be denied because your BMI fell a few points? Has anyone dropped a few BMI points and was still covered for the sleeve? Any advice or words of encouragement are welcome. Thanks in advance!

Does anyone here take Effexor XR? I take 150mg twice a day and I'm sooooo worried about not being able to take my meds right before (as in the morning of) and right after (as in the evening of) my surgery. If I don't take my meds, or even if I take them too late in the day, I have terrible withdrawal symptoms. I contacted the manufacturer to see if the medicine comes in liquid form or if it can be compounded somehow. The answer was no. The only advice they could give me was to empty the capsule contents into a spoonful of applesauce. That doesn't do me any good though. For those of you on Effexor, how did you handle this the day of your surgery? I'm so scared to not take my medication because of the terrible way I feel if I don't. Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

I think there's a guy on Obesityhelp.com that has lost 300 pounds with the sleeve.

I just ordered sample kits of Protein powder from Chike, unjury and Syntrax. Does anyone know of any other companies that offer sample packs/kits? I've been scouring the internet with minimal results. What kinds of protein powders have you tried? Thanks in advance!

Cool. Thanks!

I'm pre-op so I can't sympathize with you, but I know from my reading that the first three days can be a real pain in the butt. Hang in there. I'm sure it will get better. Hugs.

Wheetsin: your statement that I quoted above really hit home with me. You're absolutely right. That's exactly the kind of information/support/guidance I was looking for when I posted originally. Thanks so much for the insight!

I'm in the very beginning stages of my WLS journey (just getting ready to start my second month of the 6 month pre-op diet). I'm having conflicting thoughts on the subject of the VSG. Sometimes I think to myself that I'm okay with the surgeon removing a majority of my stomach. After all, my complete stomach is bigger than it needs to be, right? With a complete stomach, I routinely get myself into trouble by over-filling it when I overeat. Hence, I'm morbidly obese. Then sometimes I think to myself, "Am I nuts? I'm going to let them take out most of my stomach?" I can tell you that the band and RNY are not right for me. VSG seems to be a good fit for me in that I need the restriction and the ghrelin decrease. So, I guess I'm looking for a little reassurance and support from the community here. I'm scared, but I know I need to have surgery to ultimately save my life. Any thoughts?

I found this article online. Since it's from the Internet, you have to take it with a grain of salt. However, the reason they give for hair loss makes sense. I provided the link at the bottom as there are tips on how to minimize hair loss in the article as well. Hope this helps: Why We Lose Hair After Weight Loss Surgery First of all, everyone loses hair every day as part of the natural cycle of hair growth. But after weight loss surgery, our bodies are forced to live on drastically lower amounts of calories. To compensate for the reduction, all the remaining nutrients are channeled to the organs that need them most. And our hair isn’t one of them. So suddenly, our hair must do without the nutrients it needs to grow. And it also has to compensate for that loss. It sends more strands into “resting” phases and temporarily suspends production of new strands. Not to mention the fact that hormones go haywire after surgery and while all that fat is being metabolized. That just doesn’t help matters. http://gastricbypass...ng-more-faster/

What's a 'protein shot'? Nevermind...I'm in idiot.

Has anyone ever been diagnosed with BED?