hm734

when did your doc say that you could move to this stage? Mine seems to move fast, and its a no-no until after day 7.

I had my surgery on 7/18 and thought I was pretty prepared for this..I was not. They gave me oxycontin for pain, and taking it makes me feel worse than if I did not. My whole left side of my stomach on the inside is TIGHT and if I drink anything I get horrible gas in my ribs, regardless of how slow I sip. I am not getting nearly enough liquid, and not even coming close on protein. i am starting to wish I did not do this to myself, and hope I feel better soon.

Looking for a friend or two scheduled within a day or two of me that I can keep in close contact with about their experience so I do not feel so alone! Anyone else looking for a buddy? I am 209 lbs, 5' 4" (if this matters)

Good luck! I am having my surgery tomorrow as well.

It is gas.

My doctor does not even require a liquid diet, only clear the day before surgery (today!) I went in yesterday and they said everything looked great and I was cleared for surgery. I have been eating only lean high proteins and liquids anyway to prepare. It will be fine, just don't slip today!

I am also a July 18th sleever! I just posted looking for sleeve buddies! Looks like I found you! I am so nervous!

This Wed, the 18th! Nice to meet you!

July 18th here!

Thanks to reading these forums, I have finally found a Protein drink that: 1.) Does not make me feel sick. 2.) Does not taste horrible (good even?) As a lot of you suggested, the Premier shakes (I bought them at Coscto) really are pretty tasty! I must have sampled 20 different kinds, this was the only one I can see myself drinking. Whew!

BTW, I bought chocolate. Is the vanilla as good?

I found a really informative website with info on VSG and other bariatric procedures. It covers just about every single thing I could think of, plus more. I did a quick search of the forums and did not see it, forgive me if this has been posted before. http://www.bariatric...y.html#Recovery

lol @ my title "informative info" - too bad we can't edit those.

Vent session: I will just feel better if I complain to someone. Feel free not to read any of this. LOL Before commiting to my surgeon on May 1st I stressed to them several times that absolutely needed my surgery to happen in July. My husbands work requires that he takes no time off from Aug 1st-Nov 1st due to the nature of his work. They are very strict on this, as they have an extremely flexable schedule any other time of the year. Not to mention, football season also starts on Aug 1st. He coaches my sons team and I am team Mom for my daughters squad. I need to be at each practice 4x a week and every game on Sat. I explained our situation in great detail on my very first visit, and I was assured by both the practice manager and my surgeon that this would be no problem. I should note that I had been planning this for over a year with my PCP before she moved her practice to another state. I already met all of my requirements for insurance, reguired no pre-op clearance other than the psych exam..and have been pretty much ready to rock. My coordinator is horrible.I have done every single thing that I could possibly do on my own to speed this up. I submitted everything to my insurance, I called them directly to get updates (without being annoying), I got the approval code, I faxed them the approval letter...the whole shabang. I found out today, that despite having been approved early last week that the coordinator still has not forwarded my information to the pre-op team for scheduling. She somehow "overlooked" it. This is the only thing this woman had to do. I couldn't help it, after being sweet as pie to her for 2 months I snapped. I asked her what exactly she does do. After a long pause she told me that it was likely I would now have to wait until late August as they had scheduled over 10 surgeries today alone because of some new Medicare approval crap. Really??!! My pre-authorization is only good for 60 days. With my schedule if it does not happen in July my next shot is November. This would require vacation time for both me and my husband, a whole new application for pre-auth and I will also be in a new benfit year so the 2000.00 I put into co-insurance will not have mattered, and will have to meet that amount all over again. As it stands right now, my insurance said the only bill I wold get would be for my TV if I choose to turn in on. Of course, I have a plan B and do have another surgeon that can schedule me for July 19th. My issue is that I really wanted to have my surgery with this specific surgeon. I have 100% confindence in him and he is very skilled and respected in bariatrics. My other option is less experienced, and most of his surgeries have been lap band and bypass. I asked for a specific number on sleeve and was not given even a round about number, just that he was more experienced in the others. This makes me really, really nervous. What do I do?

Good luck, Tori! Take a warm bath and relax. You are going to do great!

I approve of this post.

Wow! You look great! I would not even guess you were the same person. Congrats on a healthier you!

That was fast! Congrats!

YOU GO GIRL!

Congrats to you!

See: http://www.anthem.com/medicalpolicies/policies/mp_pw_a053317.htm

Oh I totally get that. BOTH are motivators for sure. I agree 100% with that. I am just saying if I had to choose between the two, I would want my health. Good thing I dont have to choose, right?

It seems safe to assume you don't have major health issues? Don't get me wrong...there is no denying I too want to be small. I can't wait to put on a LBD and KNOW I look sexy..no doubt about it. But calling BS on others wanting to be healthy, that is (in my opinion) just not the case. While being thinner will make me feel better about myself, I pray every single night that I feel better. I am 32 years young, with REAL debilitating health issues directly connected to my weight. Wanting and needing are two different things. I want to be smaller, I need to get my health in check if I want to live to meet my kids children, and thier children. Even better if I am in a size small bathrobe when I do...but if nothing changes for me health wise the honest, sad scary truth is I hope to be put out of my misery long before the great grandkids. Call that whatever you want, but I would keep every single 210 pounds to not feel this way ever again.

After I paid $1,000 in out-of-pocket co-insurance amounts, my plan pays 100% (Cofinity) which I have already met for this year. My insurance coordinator said the only thing I should have to pay is the charge for TV (5.00) if i turn it on.

http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/10081-the-official-what-you-will-need-for-your-gastric-sleeve-surgery-thread/ That should help!