Bypassjourney

I am also gtting sleeved on the 30th. I have only told a few good friends, a few people at work, my kids and three family members. I already regret telling so many people. I chose not to tell the rest of my family because I already knew I would not have their genuine support. The people that I have told I assumed I would have their support. I do from a few. But from others I do not. I plan to tell people after the fact when I am asked but I will not volunteer the information. My thought on waiting until afterwards is that they have no choice but to accept my decision. If you can get by without their support while at the hospital and during the first couple of weeks recovering, I would consider not telling them for now. Good luck on the 30th! I started the pre-op diet yesterday. I knew it would be tough these first few days. And it is. :-)

I am scheduled in two weeks. I am sure I will have a lot of nervousness between now and then. But I am really trying to stay strong in my faith and keep praying. I keep telling myself that God didn't bring me this far to drop me now. I took my "before" pictures tonight as I start the liquid diet tomorrow. If I ever had any doubt about the surgery before, I can tell you that after seeing those pictures I will be running to the hospital on Jan. 30th to get this journey started!

I had my education class last week at Dr. Kim's office. I asked about the drain and catheter. The nurse said that he very rarely ever has to put a drain in and also typically you don't even get a catheter since the sleeve surgery is only about an hour. She said the left side is where you will be the most sore because that is the spot they actually pull out the stomach. During that class she discussed pretty much everything from pre-op to several weeks post-op. She gave us the prescription for our pain meds so we could go ahead and get that filled beforehand. She also mentioned the Protein shots are a great way to get in your protein post-op. When I was at the hospital last week for my pre-op, I read on a sign that you can ask the nurse for a form to sign and they will give you the wi-fi information. It didn't list if there was a charge for it. I would assume there would not be. Thanks so much jhwkgrl for all the information! I hope you are doing well.

I have three answers to this question; (1) anything from a trendy store in the mall (2) my daughter's jeans :-) (3) I will never wear them in public but I want to just be able to prance around the house in my size 8 "rockies" that I have had in the attic since 1993 waiting for me to get back to that size.

I am a week before you with Dr. Kim at Forest Park. I will be sure to let you know about my experience as soon as I can. I went to Forest Park this week for my pre-op. The hospital seems nice and the staff that I dealt with were super sweet. I'm just anxious for the date to get here.

Congratulations on your approval! I agree with everyone that is the best word in the dictionary right now.

From my previous diet attempts in the past on a liquid diet, I managed to last two weeks and lost 15 lbs. I start my liquids on Monday and I am hoping for that type of success during this two weeks. My surgery is on the 30th. I know the liquid stage is going to be so difficult. I am going to carry around one of my worst "before" pictures and any time I start getting discouraged, I am going to pull out that picture and hope it gives me motivation to keep going towards my goal.

I start my pre-op diet on Monday the 16th and will have surgery on the 30th. I am really trying not to go into a full on "food-a-palooza" before the pre-op starts. My biggest issue is going to be giving up my coke zero. But I am too scared of the health consequences that could come if I don't follow my doctor's orders both before and after surgery. I do not have much support from family or friends so this site has been such a tremendous help to me.

I have only told my kids and my sister as far as my family goes because the rest of them are gossiping nuts and I know I wont have their support anyhow. I told two close guy friends at work and one female co-worker that I work closely with and consider(ed) a friend. My boss also knew I had been going to the appointments for insurance approval. I am finally scheduled so told him today and said I wasn't going to be telling people until I get back from leave. He is obligated by HIPPA laws not to tell anyone and I know he wouldn't even if that weren't the case. I told the girl I work with and then said I was keeping it quiet for now but will tell everyone when I get back. She said "everybody already knows about it and they have been asking me questions but I tell them to ask you". I am SO upset with her! The only way these people know is because of her big mouth. I am so mad at her right now. Why can't people just mind their own business? So now I am faced with feeling I need to tell people before I leave so that I can get my version of it told because I guarantee she will be blabbing the whole time I am gone. And this is for ME to tell, not her. This really upsets me!

I understand what you are dealing with because I dealt with the exact same thing in the past. Nothing hurts more than hearing your husband saying demeaning things to you about your weight. I was not overweight until after I had my daughter. Looking back, the more he said about my weight, the more I found comfort in food and before I knew it I had gained 60 lbs. I finally got to a place where I was dieting and working out with a trainer and got the self esteem back and got a divorce. But it took me 12 years to get to that place. A few years later I met a guy that seemed to love me and accept me exactly as I was. It didn't take long to figure out I was in the same situation again and refused to go down that path. The marriage lasted less than two years. I have been divorced now for over a year. I am finally starting to find the true me again and I am doing this WLS for nobody else but ME. I hope you can remind yourself that you do indeed to be treated with respect and although he has gotten by with it in the past, stand strong and tell him you are no longer willing to be disrespected in that way. Also, remind yourself that your weight is not the cause of his bad moods.Work on you FOR you and nobody else. We are here for you at any time.

Unfortunately I have more experience with a catheter than I would like. In 2009 I had a hysterectomy and the doctor sliced my bladder by accident. I had to have a catheter for two weeks! Then in 2010 I had a bladder suspension. Yep, that went wrong also! The suspension worked too well and I couldn't go at all. Two days after the surgery I was running a fever and in severe pain. I went to ER and they inserted the catheter and I had to have it for five days. When the problem didn't correct itself I had to have surgery again 10 days later. The catheter is uncomfortable but bearable. I think if you do have one in the hospital you will probably either have so much stomach pain you wont even think about it or will be on pain meds and wont care. :-)

I got my insurance approval and surgery date yesterday....January 30th! I am so excited for this journey to begin and hope we can all help support each other during this major life transition. I'm praying for us all!

I just got my date yesterday. I am scheduled for Jan. 30th. I start my liquid diet on the 16th. Keep me posted on how you both are doing. We are almost there!!

Congratulations on your success! It is so encouraging. I don't want to wish my life away but I am so looking forward to a few months down the road to see the changes. I am getting sleeved on January 30th. I can't wait!

I am in month two of the three month process with Aenta insurance. It states in the clinical bulletin that you should be losing weight during this period to prove that you are willing to make the lifestyle changes necessary after surgery. My doctor's office does not require me to lose weight during this time but stated not to gain any either. My BMI is at 39.9 with sleep apnea as a co-morbidity. I have lost five pounds and I am sure I can lose a few more within the next month but feel like its a catch-22. I don't want to lose too much afraid they will say if I did that well, I can do it without surgery. But at the same time, want to lose enough that they see I am committed to this lifestyle change. My question is did anyone lose or not lose weight prior to submitting the claim for approval and did that hinder or hurt your approval process with Aetna?

Mine is scheduled for 1/30 also! I haven't told many people either and I am actually wondering who I can get to take me for my surgery, which will be over two hours away. But, God didn't bring me this far to stop now. So I will figure something out. Congratulations to everyone that is scheduled. And to those that are already on the loser's bench, thanks so much for sharing your stories both good and bad. This site has been SO helpful to me.

I'm approved!! Surgery date is scheduled for 1/30! I am so relieved and so excited and so nervous and so....many emotions right now. I am so ready for this journey!

I am a coke zero addict. I am working on giving it up gradually in preparation for my pre-op in a few weeks. I worry that I will struggle with giving it up forever after the surgery. However, I also keep reminding myself that my unhealthy addiction and dependency on food and cokes is what got me here in the first place. So as part of my lifestyle change, I am really trying to make it my goal to completely give up soda and never look back. Good luck to you with your journey. We can do this!

At my last required appointment/class for insurance requirements the physicians asst. explained that because of the shock to our bodies of the rapid weight loss and the changes in our diet the hair tends to take a break from growing so to speak at around month 3-4. He said the Biotin and other products might help some and sure doesn't hurt. He even mentioned that some use rogaine. In the day of hair extensions being so popular I will definitely look into that if need be. My daughter has some clip in extensions that are made from human hair that she bought for prom but has really enjoyed them and the ease of putting them in so she wears them often. She paid $75 for it at Sally's. She couldn't get them matched exactly so she took the extensions to her hair stylist and she colored my daughter's hair to match the extensions. She curls them and straightens them just like her regular hair.

This post and everyone's responses have made me literally laugh out loud! I can't wait to have these problems. :-) It will be such a great feeling to be able to share more than just shoes and jewelry with my skinny daughter!!

I know all too well about hearing comments like that from a husband. And there is nothing in the world that has hurt me more than him of all people to say something to belittle me about being overweight. I have been divorced for close to a year now. At first I convinced myself that my being overweight which led to low self esteem, not wanting to go anywhere and no energy to do anything was the reason for his unhappiness and ultimately the main factor in the end of our marriage. He too was overweight by around fifty pounds and he had diabetes, smoked and drank on top of that. But I have learned by God's grace and some wonderful friends and a dose of counseling that the number on the scales was not the problem. I had to quit blaming myself and realize that if I never lose another pound in my life that I am worthy of being treated with respect...period! I believe that although he said he wanted me to lose weight that he was actually happy that I was overweight. This gave him security because we were "two peas in a pod" and also gave him the excuse not to take action for himself and lose his weight. Just as we read on these posts all the time, the people who have had success are the ones that realized that they are worth this and that they deserve to be free of hiding behind the extra weight. Not trying to make excuses for your husband's comment at all, but perhaps you can reassure yourself that he is just as insecure about his weight as you were and you can encourage him without actually coming out and saying "lets eat chicken and vegetables so you can lose weight". Point out his postive attributes more than you usually do in a subtle way such as "honey, that color shirt looks really good on you". Or reassure him in ways such as telling him how thankful you are that you have a husband that helps provide for the family and that has always supported you no matter what adventure you have taken in life. Everyone is right that his ego is hurting and his insecurities are showing through. Above al, do not let his comment or actions take away from the accomplishments you have achieved. Sometimes we have to be our own cheerleader but we also have the support of this forum board with alot of people that have been there with you through it all. I am just a few days away from getting the insurance approval and I am so ready for the new me! Part of me at first kept thinking I couldn't wait to lose the weight and be sure my ex husband sees me. But I have decided I could care less what he or anybody else thinks. I am doing this for ME! Consider yourself hugged! :-)

Great news! I am waiting on my call which should come in about 10 days. I can only imagine how great it feels to hear those words "you are approved"!!

I would love to stay in touch. We are one step closer each day to this new beginning!

Thanks everyone for your information about Dr. Kim and his staff. I finished everything last week so I am just waiting on the insurance approval. I wish he would go ahead and schedule the surgery with the anticipated insurance approval. But I know it will get here soon enough. Thanks for everyone's open and honest information about the pain and all. I think it is going to be much better going into it knowing all the good AND the bad. What I think I have liked most so far about Dr. Kim is that they are a center of excellence and seem to handle alot of the things in their office that other people on these boards have had to do themselves. That is a great help!

Although my insurance coordinator at the doctor's office turned in the paperwork last week on the 22nd, which was my last required visit also, with the holidays I expected there to be some delay. I called my insurance company today just to verify they had received everything and they confirmed they had. You may want to call your insurance company to verify they have everything so there isn't any more of a delay in case the doctor's office hasn't sent everything. Also, the insurance company may be able to give you a better idea of the timeline of their approval process. Mine told me they have a 15 day approval process so if all goes as planned, you and I will be getting sleeved about the same time. Keep in touch and let me know how it goes. I am praying for quick approvals and surgery dates for both of us!