VSG4aHealthierMe

Thank you!

TBH I haven't asked. I will make calls tomorrow. Thank you.

Good luck!!¡!!!

Can I find that out online or do I need to harass some offices? I hate to say it but its harder to research US docs online. When I planned to go to Mexico there was info EVERYWHERE and one pretty obvious standout rock star... in the states I am finding it difficult to find much of anything on surgeons near my home(within 50 miles), and not much more further out. If I am required to do the 6 month waiting period, anything further than 50 miles would be very difficult too. How do you decide with so little info wherever you look?

Are you seeing Dr. Ditslear? Or is there another surgeon at IU that does the VSG? If so who is your surgeon and what is your impression of them? I am currently looking for a surgeon so any info is helpful

Just posting in case someone has this question later and does a search. I bit the bullet and called. I was afraid to because I didn't want to be denied on the bases of inquiring about a bariatric procedure. Anyway, I called and was told HIP does cover on a case by case bases, and pre-op requirements are also case by case as determined by current health.

Hello, my name is Kristie and I have been trying to get sleeved for a couple years now. At first my insurance didn't cover the surgery so I planned to go to Mexico to get it done. Then we discovered both my kids are special needs( one is autistic and the other has a brain cyst which has severly slowed his development. DH and I agreed that they come first so paying $9000+ out of pocket was no longer a possibility. Then in oct of 2011 he switched jobs and his new job doesn't offer insurance and thanks to me and my weight we cant afford private insurance because most refuse to cover us because I am consider "high risk" and the ones that will want $600 a month JUST for me. So.... we are applying for HIP. Dont know if we will qualify yet but we shall see. Now that the background is out of the way, I will ask my questions. I will ask all of my questions in hopes that someone will know but I realize I may not get answers to all my questions. Will HIP cover WLS? Will it cover the sleeve? What are the requirements? Like is there a certain number of comorbidities required or is a doctor's referal enough? What is the process? Can I choose my doctor or do they choose? Any other helpful info is appreciated.

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Yeah I saw that but its pretty old so I was hoping to get some more recent info, possibly from a recent post op that had hip. Thank you for looking for me

Hello, My name is Kristie, I am 28 and I am considering a GSP through OCC in Tijuana Mexico. The prospect of surgery alone is both terrifying and exhilarating( because, god-willing, I will finally have a shot at the life I have dreamed of for so long). I settled on the sleeve because it seems to be the safest option for me, because there is no cutting, no rearranging (or removal of a portion) of my intestines, no chance of leaks, dumping syndrome as with bypass or slippage as with the band. The idea of permanently removing a portion of my stomach kinda gives me the willies, I am not at all comfortable with that idea. I considered it for about a day because of the speedier weight loss and such but couldn't MAKE myself be okay with idea of cutting up my stomach. The one semi-major downfall I have read about it is that the thing that produces grehlin remains intact so you still feel hungry. I had an experience like what I imagine the person posting that went through when I was pregnant. I was hungry constantly and even if I did manage to get satiated within and hour I was hungry again... I don't know how I feel about reliving that since I hated it so much the first time around, and this time I may deal with it for the rest of my life. On the flip side I don't generally eat unless I feel hungry, so maybe its a good thing, I am not really sure. My reason for posting today is to get some feedback on having the surgery abroad. I will probably never be able to afford it in the US since my insurance won't touch it and my credit is non-existent, so I feel like surgery abroad is my only real option. My family thinks I am insane, and sometime I wonder myself, but I see it as my only option. Can you please fill me in on your experiences? The more detailed the better. How long where you gone? What happened when you got there? Was the staff professional and knowledgeable? What happened after surgery? Would you do it again? If not, is that because of the facility or the procedure itself? If you believe it was the procedure do you believe you would have had better outcome in the states? Thanks in advance! ETA: Oop's I think I put this in the wrong place. Sorry!! Feel free to move it if you can.

OMG! Wow! We get this surgery to save us from our waistlines... but you are getting saved TWICE over by the sleeve!!!! Wow! I pray that the spot was the only one and that you are now cancer free!!

YAY! That sounds promising I really don't care if I am cutting out my triggers by cutting carbs or if its the carbs themselves that are my trigger as long as I can maintain an IBS-free life. Maybe I need to do a test run... go low carb for a few more days then eat some pizza or pasta or something carby and see if I get a repeat of symptom disappearance then return.

I have been trying to low carb it (REALLY low carb) and, while I am still having a hard time hitting "the mark", I noticed a vast improvement in my IBS symptoms. However, 3 days ago and day b4 yesterday,we had to haul our hineys up north to rescue my mom and grandma who were stranded on the side of the road in this heat (both of which have heart conditions) then again the next day to rescue my mom's van (tow it home) and those were days were horrible nutritionally speaking. We had to eat what was available. I made the best decision with my options but they were still very carb heavy days (for example I got chicken strips, no fries, and a yogurt.... but the strips were breaded and, I am fairly certain, deep fried). All day yesterday I had some symptoms and last night and all day today I have been an IBS MESS! I am even more miserable than usual Even my nightly heartburn has returned with a fiery vengeance....pun intended. Is there a correlation between the 2 or was it all just coincidence? I am kinda loving the idea that there might be a correlation because if so I have FINALLY found a way to control my symptoms which means that my life post-op will be even better than I imagined and my quality of life will improve even more than I had hoped.... if not its gonna be a bummer! I found a couple ubber small studies online (13-17 ppl in each study) but they were too small to make a real case with. Although small they seem positive but does anyone know of any larger studies that were done that say 1 way or the other if in fact there is a connection?? FYI, there are 3 types of IBS and I suffer from IBS-D... did any of you post-op'ers have the same pre-op and noticed an improvement or complete relief (please god?!?!?) of their symptoms post-op?

There really isn't anything you can do to convince them. I sent my mom 4 weeks of research handed to her on a silver platter and her face STILL drops the second I mention surgery. Alot of it is fear, they care about you and they imagine dirty floors and chop shops in Mexico. This surgery is hard enough for ppl to wrap their heads around then throw in Mexico with ppl uneducated on the topic and there WILL be resistance. The only thing I can suggest is that you sit down with your mom and have a very open and honest talk with her. Ask her why she is so against it and when she tells you very calmly respond to her fears. Hopefully you have a mother that can believe that she raised an intelligent daughter who wouldn't rush into something without checking it out from every angle. Her fear may still overpower her logic, as it has with my mom (fortunately I doubt your mom has an uneducated nurse whispering horror stories to her so you are already ahead of me) but all you can do is try. Perhaps she would feel better about it if she accompanied you and hubby to Mexico. Considering you need her on your side to get the surgery it may be worth the additional cost to let her tag along and see the facility first hand. There is a big unknown for her and perhaps her knowing she will be with you will calm her fears a bit. (((HUGS))) I hope she comes around for you.

I have been watching the vids of those ppl I could find that had them but I have been able to find 1 or 2 ppl so far. So who all has a YouTube Vlog chronicaling (sp?) their WLS journey??

Lol. That's a thought!

Thanks That's informative! But help me out please? DH isn't here to explain... what is the "rack" and why would he be worried about it? DH has never hunted, that I know of, but he wants to go out with his brother and learn. WE bought him a gun last year and then I backed out of it because I don't know how to cook the meat. So he has been like a kid with a dollar in his pocket since lol. Deer season is during the winter months right? If, so its not far off and maybe he can bag a couple of them so we can really stock up so it might last at least half the year. I just gotta figure out where the heck to hang the deer to bleed it....(you do have to bleed it,right? that is what I have always heard is that you have to bleed it or it will be too gamey) Our community office would have a stroke if we hung it out in our yard (its kinda silly that we had more freedom when renting than we do now that we are buying, but I imagine it would attract rodents anyway). I will have to talk to my BIL and see where he bleeds his... maybe he won't mind sharing his spot Oh and what on earth do you do with the parts you can't use? Can you like send it somewhere to be used for dog food or something?

<---- Alert: this lady doesn't know how to cook very many meals I like venison and DH is itching to go hunting hehe. If its cooked right its got an ever so subtle hint of game flavor (its kinda like frog legs for me...ppl tell me they taste like chicken and I say if I want something that tastes like chicken I will eat chicken lol... so I don't like when ALL the gamey flavor is removed, just most of it, just enough flavor left to seperate if from something like beef) but I learned the hard way that you HAVE to know how to cook it or its gonna turn out bad...very bad... regurgitation inducing bad. Well... I haven't the foggiest on how to cook it Never tried and scared to have DH go out and kill a poor deer and then not even be able to eat it. That's why DH hasn't been "allowed" to go hunting. Its one thing to kill an animal for food, quite another to kill it for sport and right now since I don't know how to cook it it would end up being for sport and not food. I would love to learn how to make deer jerky! I loved it when I was younger and it would make a nice Protein rich snack... (can you eat Jerky once your tummy has healed completely post-op?? I hear alot of ppl say there tummy doesn't set well with meats like that) but I don't know how to do that either

Oh good lord! Bison is NOT for penny pinchers! Yeesh, $8.00 a pound I think I will stick with chicken and beef lol.

How does bison taste? I am kind of a "meat snob" (not a big fan of ALOT of meat products) so while I am curious I am not sure about it at the same time. Does it taste anything like a more mainstream meat that I might have tried b4 (like hamburger for example)?

Thanks, I ended up making this today! It was yummy!! AND juicy!!!! Took longer for *my* oven (for some reason I didn't get a notification that I had a reply) to cook it but it was worth the wait!

I am 28, will be 29 two months after I am sleeved. Should I just move ahead and join the 30+ ladies? For reference, I am married with 2 kids so I may not "fit" with the 20 somethings. Just wondering you thoughts

Ok, right up front I am going to admit I skipped Breakfast. Its still something I struggle with everyday and in my defense for today I slept in and ate within an hour of waking so its not like I starved myself today. I said all that to explain why I have only had 1 meal thus far, I will be eating dinner shortly- A chicken Cesar salad. So I am giving a go at this pre-op diet and HOLY CRAP! I use whole wheat bread so to be perfectly honest (since I try to low carb it anyway because of my PCOS and because I planned a very low carb dinner) I didn't even check the label for the carb content. This morning I changed all my daily limits on my online calorie counter, before today I had not a huge amount but a decent amount of carbs allowed daily. So I ate lunch trying to get my protien in I ate some leftover grilled hot dogs from dinner last night (2 dogs- all beef... I don't do the everything-but-the-kitchen-sink dogs). I was really proud of myself for choosing the high protien option over what I was craving which I don't think would have had a lick of Protein and alot more carbs than I knew I am now allowed. So I go to put everything in that I ate- 2 dogs + whole wheat buns w/ ketchup, mustard and a bit of relish (for the bit of sweet I was craving). I was all grins when I saw that my meal totaled over 20 grams of protein but my expression changed very quickly when my eyes moved over to carbs... holy ****! I have already eaten more than TWICE my max allotment!! :cry_smile: And my dinner will add an additional 7 g of carbs ( and only 11 grams protein, so I won't even hit my protein goal unless I have a Protein shake for a snack later which even further increase my carb load) :thumbs_down::Cry: This is gonna be ALOT harder than I thought... *gulp*:doh: :faint: I usually allow myself a couple slices of bread or a small amount of Pasta each day but I obviously need to work on cutting them out completely... at least until I get a grasp of this super low carb regimen!