Kat Crowder

I went to Alexian Bros. and everyone was very nice. It's just a little closer for me, I didn't really have a particular preference. Yeah, I'm a bit on the shrimpy side so I was a good candidate for the single site. I do believe the recovery is easier with just one incision, but that's just based on general logic. After a few weeks everyone's at about the same level.

PS, Dr. Wallace was great! I had a single-site surgery, with my tiny little scar in my bellybutton, and a little puncture for the liver retractor which is already gone, and I still have a mark from where the IV was in my hand. I love showing people my tiny little scar!

Hi, I just had a sleeve from Dr. Wallace on 5/21. Do you have a max out-of-pocket? I would say if so, you're likely to hit that. I have a big project due this week, but if you send me a message as a reminder I can give you my exact calculations. The hospital charges alone were $65K, but that's before the provider discount. I also had to stay in the hospital until the 4th day because I didn't pass gas - frustrating! I had already accumulated a number of medical bills that year, so I just ended up having to pay the rest of my out-of-pocket maximum ($1500 left out of a $2500 OOP max) and that was it.

KZBen, all insurances are different, even different flavors of the same insurance company (e.g., BCBS IL is different from BCBS MD). My BCBS had BMI requirements of 40 without comorbidities and 35 with at least two.

That's probably the best plan. Some doctors aren't as restrictive about the alcohol, but anything bubbly is bad. It's also generally pretty high in calories, and it can affect you pretty quickly because you can't really have a lot of food in your stomach to absorb it. One bite of cake would probably be fine except for the sugar rush, but if you have any sort of carb sensitivity (which a lot of people who need this surgery have), it's just going to make you want more more more and it's best to avoid it. Have a happy birthday, and enjoy all the non-food-and-drink things that are great about life!

Ooh, that sounds good! I'm 8 weeks postop, and didn't get enough protein today, and now I'm wishing Applebee's was still open!

I've nothing to add to what Chimera said. Great post!

Congrats on your approval! I also needed a peer-to-peer review before I got approved by BCBS.

If things are set up for you at all like they were for me, you shouldn't have to worry about pain. I was on morphine for the first day and a quarter, and basically told me to push the button whenever I needed to. I don't remember much of the first day! I had to stay in the hospital longer than I'd hoped, because they wouldn't release me until I'd passed gas - have to make sure all the pipes are working! I was on narcotic pain meds for the rest of the first week, then only to sleep for most of the second week, tylenol for about another week, and no pain meds since. The sleeve is wonderful! I wish you the best of luck!

I bought a living social deal - thought I'd share it with folks. I'm a sucker for marketing... http://t.livingsocial.com/deals/387532?ref=email-jp&rpi=69080454

It took me about a week, too, for me to feel better. I still took pain meds at night into the second week, as well, but after a week and the half I didn't have anything but the occasional children's tylenol chewables.

I did cheat, and I was terrified that my surgery was going to be cancelled, but things went well. Having said that, do your best to stick to it, not only is it important to shrink your liver, but it's important to get yourself into the habit of what you're going to be eating post-surgery. It IS much easier to eat less post-surgery, though! I do think that starting out at a lower BMI gives you a better likelihood that your liver's not too huge, but that's not always the case.

Awesome change!

Katcrowder - please add! I'll try to get a bunch of you in tonight, as well.

Hi, Kristal! OTR's suggestions are great! I would also suggest trying to move your diet to a protein-based diet, and minimize your carbohydrate intake. You don't necessarily need to eat as little as you'll eat when you're sleeved, but moving yourself to the type of diet you'll want to eat after surgery (at least, after you're healed from surgery) will be helpful. I'm much better at sticking to a low carb diet now that I'm sleeved, but there was a several year period about 12 years ago where I was able to stick with it religiously and was slim and strong and healthy. Now I've got the sleeve as a tool to keep me in check. *hugs* to you, and keep us all posted about how you're doing!

You'll really need to talk to your doctor(s) for specific advice. If you want to go web surfing on the topic, I googled post bariatric pregnancy and found tons of things. The main reason they want you to wait for pregnancy is to make sure you're able to feed the growing baby and not on calorie deficit. One site recommended maintenance caloric intake + 300-400 calories, which could be ~1600 for you! You might also need to change up your calorie balance between protein/carbs/fat because you may need more or less of some for the baby. If it were me, I would definitely call my surgeon's office ASAP and read everything I could online. Good luck, I'll keep an eye on you!

Talk to your surgeon's office, and your primary care doctor. They may be able to recommend an OB who has experience with post-bariatric, or even post-sleeve patients. I think the main concerns are getting enough nutrition for the baby and having your compromised abdomen (b/c of surgery) stretching. I've seen a number of folks on here who've had successful pregnancies "too early" after the surgery. Don't worry, just insist on getting good information from your doctors. Ask all the questions that you've got!

I'm sorry that they didn't provide the financing that you had hoped for. Is the Lap Band the surgery that you want? I'd be uncomfortable with choosing your surgery based on what the financing company will allow. If your fiancee has great credit, and you have good credit, you should be able to apply for a personal loan through your bank or credit union. Maybe scroll through the Financing forums, there might be some additional ideas. The best self-pay option does seem to be going to Mexico - consider that you would obviously not be able to see the same doctor for follow-up visits, but you could still find a local doctor to do so. Just like when you move from place to place, you need to find a new doctor to work with. Good luck to you!

Oh, Buffy, I'm so sorry things haven't gone well for you! I'm so impressed and humbled by your attitude that it will pass and you'll be able to share your success story with us soon! Keep up the positive thinking!

I'm doing great since my surgery 5/21 - was back to work on Monday after 2 weeks off, and other than being tired, it's not bad at all. No pain, I have to remind myself not to do too much in the way of lifting/abs stuff. I'm having a hard time finding time to work out along with working, though! I'm absolutely NOT a morning person and am so far not willing to get up any earlier than the absolute last moment before I need to get to work. It takes me a lot longer to eat (well, drink) my breakfast than it would before, so I still need to get up somewhat earlier. I also LOVE Sharon's FB group for us May sleevers. The only bad thing about it is that it's so much easier to work with than this forum, that I tend to only interface there, and I'm not spending time with the wider VST group very much, if at all. It's valuable to have a group that's narrowly focused to us folks at the same approximate time interval in the surgery, but there's such a wealth of information from all the longer timers on here, and we can also help encourage those who haven't yet had surgery. I need to make a point of getting on here every once in a while!

There are new approved devices for lipomassage that have apparently met some definition of effectiveness. I haven't researched it, though.

Awww! I'm sorry to hear that you're delayed. But, it's good that you'll have a chance to work out whatever's going on with your back before surgery! I know how it feels like it's never going to get here, but it will!

Congrats on moving forward! This forum is a great way for me to stay motivated and focused. I also use all my connectedness stuff for tracking things (SparkPeople.com for food tracking, fitbit pedometer, cardio trainer app, withings scale). I enjoy the gadgetry and looking at different ways to evaluate my progress. I also think having goals that aren't scale-related can help a lot - like your Crossfit by January goal. Things that you'll be able to do that you couldn't do before, or changes in health that have tangible milestones (like decreasing/eliminating diabetes/BP meds, or not needing a CPAP machine) - quality of life changes that are the amazing thing about this surgery. Those are my quick thoughts, before I go get my morning walk in.

I'm a week out now - it was very bad at first, but it seems to have calmed down. It seems to be a combination of the surgery gas and the air I take in if I'm swallowing too quickly or if there's air in the shake I'm drinking. I think it's a good reason to stay away from work for 2 weeks after.

I would probably agree with Polly, but it doesn't hurt to call the doctor's office. Do you have a post-op visit scheduled soon?