SkinnyAnnie

I have PCOS, had the sleeve, lost a ton of weight and have pretty regular periods for the first time in my life. My doc said that he thinks 5 years from now sleeve could be considered a viable (i.e. covered) treatment for the most stubborn PCOS (like mine).

If you do soup- there is a Progresso Light Santa Fe that is delish. Kind of like tortilla soup. Less than 5% fat, 5% carbs, low calorie and you can puree the soup first and then heat it up. Really good a teensy kick (makes it interesting) but not SO spicy that it will give you heartburn. Also low fat ricotta is yummy as well. Having said that, I am on pureed for a month and it's definitely starting to get old (and I have FIFTEEN DAYS to go) In any case, good luck!

Just checking in with all my September peeps. Tomorrow is 2 weeks post-op for me and so far, it has really been an amazing experience. I think I got myself REALLY worked up before hand (with good reason- it IS major surgery with life-altering consequences) and I am SO happy to report that things could not have gone any better. My surgery was on the 17th and I was in the hospital for about a day and a half. Admitted Monday morning, discharged Tuesday afternoon. The first week was a teesny bit rough. But I took the drugs, drank as much liquid as I could and walked as much as possible. SInce I've been home, I just have been following instructions and sleeping when I felt like it. Tomorrow I am back to work.... so that should be interesting. I don't know how to inlcude this info in my ticker, so here's my progress "by the numbers" Pre-"everything" = 225 09/17 Day of Surgery (after 2 week liquid) = 216 09/24 One week post-op = 208 09/30 A day shy of two weeks post-op = 205 20Lbs down 65 to go! Hope everyone else is having a speedy and healthy (and easy!) recovery.

Hi, I am brand new to this forum. I have definitely decided for the sleeve and my insurance is an absolute no-go, so I'm self- pay. I am debating between NYU and Mexicali/Dr. Aceves . I could use any advice pros and cons. It is all pretty overwhelming. Also , can someone verify that you CAN cross the border with the enhanced ID. Thanks!

I have my date... WOHOOOO! It's Monday 09/17. So excited (and nervous and scared and did I mention excited?!?!?!) Having a teensy problem with the pre-op liquid diet. Today is day 2 and well, yesterday I ended up having a bunch of string cheese, a bag of terra chips and some Peanut Butter. Today, same thing (minus the terra chips). So here are my questions in no particular order: Anyone else have struggles with getting in the groove of the liquid diet? How did you overcome them? Any tips or tricks that I should be doing? I KNOW after surgery it's no soda EVER. Period- but is it okay to have a diet dr. pepper once a day? Trying to wean myself off coffee and diet soda is proving a bit challenging. For those of you who work- how many days until you felt like you had a clear head? I have a bunch of huge meetings at the end of this week (last big thing due before the "big day") and am having a hard time concentrating. Definitely trying my best to keep to the plan, especially since the whole reason for the plan is to get the liver tight, happy and healthy- but I gotta say, it's a LOT harder than I thought it was going to be. Thanks in advance for your sage advice.

Okay. my September friends. Today was the first day of my 14 day pre-op liquid diet and well........ let's just say it wasn't all that successful. I ended up eating food (some Peanut Butter and a lot of terra chips- as in a whole bag). Not an auspicious beginning, I admit. Anyone else out there have a less than "perfect" start to their pre-op liquid phase? SO so glad that we are all the same month- it will be encouraging to watch us all go through this together.

I am September 17th too!!!!!! I am so excited.

Hi again, I need some support- I am about halfway through pre-op (did endoscopy, cardiology, pulmonologist, endocrinology, psych and nutrition)- have to go for another endoscopy. And I am feeling very unsettled and unsure. I don't know if it's sticker shock because I'm a self-pay, anxiety because I'm scared, or excitement because I feel like help could finally be on the way. Does anyone else feel like this could be the craziest and most sane thing that you've ever done? I also don't want to have unrealistic expectations - but I gotta say, the struggling stories have officially scared the pants off me. Is the pain really *that bad*????? And how long should Ilan on being out of commission? I feel like I'm going a little nuts - is that typical? Thanks for any insight and advice

Birdy, thanks so much for the link- definitely helped to hear some good stories ( like shrinkydinkforme's ) I think i'm Judy a little overwhelmed and afraid to get mt hopes up too much. But-feel much better now. Thanks to all for your thoughts .

I am trying REALLY hard not to get discouraged on this journey... It's not easy, but I am pretty determined. Wondering if anyone had any success tapping into retirement savings to pay for surgery. I am a self pay and it's all gotta be done up front. I'm a little wary of medical credit cards because I've heard the interest is CRAZY. Thanks in advance for your input.

So, I was all set to go to Mexico for surgery next month and then one of my sister's friends went down for the same procedure and did not come back. I know, I know- the odds and lots of other things- but to say that this has caused a family freak-out is an understatement. SO- rather than turn this into an all out "sh8t show" I have agreed to look into options in the US. Here is the problem- I am 100% self pay and the Drs I have spoken to in the NYC area have said that they don't do gastric sleeve for self-pay patients- only the lap band (which I don't want- I can't get my head around having a foreign object into my body AND I have very stubborn PCOS and have heard that the resopnse from the sleeve is better than the band). Does anyone know of a US based surgeon who will do the sleeve for people self paying? Thanks in advance for any advice you can provide.

So, I was all set to go to Mexico for surgery next month and then one of my sister's friends went down for the same procedure and did not come back. I know, I know- the odds and lots of other things- but to say that this has caused a family freak-out is an understatement. SO- rather than turn this into an all out "sh8t show" I have agreed to look into options in the US. Here is the problem- I am 100% self pay and the Drs I have spoken to in the NYC area have said that they don't do gastric sleeve for self-pay patients- only the lap band (which I don't want- I can't get my head around having a foreign object into my body AND I have very stubborn PCOS and have heard that the resopnse from the sleeve is better than the band). Does anyone know of a US based surgeon who will do the sleeve for people self paying? Thanks in advance for any advice you can provide.

Hi there, sorry that it has taken me a while to reply- was out of town on business and consequently offline for most of the past few days. I honestly don't know who the surgeon was. Mostly because my sister's friend did the whole I'm doing this and not really telling anyone- so the details are a little sketchy. Havind said that, I am not sure if I did know that I would feel comfortable saying because I know less than nothing about the girls medical history and given the fact that ALL surgery has risk, I feel really strongly that I could be unfairly maligning a surgeon. I know this isn't a great answer and I'm sorry if I've caused any alarm for others on the site- it wasn't my intent. Thanks to all who offered information on surgeons in the US. It is very appreciated.

Thanks. I appreciate the info. It's definitely a lot to think about. Wish I could just snapmy fingers and have it decided and done