kmoore

Welcome! I am 43 and started at 100lbs over weight, now down to 70lbs over (30lb loss) during my insurance required medical management over the last 7 months. I am in the final steps towards approval and hope to schedule the sleeve around the beginning of October.

{{{HUGS}}} Sending you healing prayers. I hope this swelling lessens soon for you.

That is how I convinced my husband, bogeydog. I clued him into the fact that I am on 5 different medications for 3 co-morbidities, 3 of which have lowered libido as a side effect, which is sometimes an issue ever since I started taking them 5 years ago. And that although my "numbers" are controlled with the Rx's I take, I am at a MUCH higher risk of complications because of the co-morbidities. I told him that the risk of me dying young without having the surgery is higher than the risk of the surgery itself...which is the only thing he is really concerned with. He supports the procedure, but is concerned about me having any surgery because of anesthesia risks and so forth. He will remain concerned about that, but is supportive of the decision I am making. I am waiting until insurance approval before telling anyone else (besides my co-workers who already know).

Definitely nothing to be embarrassed about, LDallas. Though I understand your feelings there. I thought I could do it on my own too, and was in tears after being stuck at 25lb weight loss for 3 months out of 6. I know that the weight that I have lost with diet, exercise and the help of phentermine is nothing to sneeze at, I love that I've lost that much...but I am still 70lbs overweight, and still have hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and diabetes. I want more than anything, to get off of meds and be healthier so I can lead a longer, healthy life. My medical management PA assured me that I am not a failure for deciding to go the surgery route. I just am one of the lucky ones for having "bad genes"

I'm in Rock Hill. Hoping for sleeving around October 2012 with Dr. Voellinger at Southeast Bariatrics in Charlotte.

Congrats and good luck. Sending you speedy recovery wishes

I went to bariatric with my mind set that I just wanted medical management to help me lose weight with diet and exercise alone. I am now complete on my 6 month insurance requirements and though I did lose weight, I am struggling and changed my mind about surgery. So now I have my appt's with nutrition, exercise and psych on June 14th, and my final pre-op consult with Dr. V. on July 5th. I have to wait until I see him to see if he wants a full endoscopy or just a barium swallow on me. After that, it will be waiting on approval. I have CIGNA, and another girl in my office who has same insurance and had the VSG was approved quickly after she completed all of the above with BMI of 43 (I think) and zero co-morbidities. My starting BMI was 42 with 3 co-morbidities, so I don't see an issue with approval on mine.

Thank you for all of the ideas everyone. I think I will tell both my mom and my step-mom, though I am not going to say anything until my insurance approval is done. You're absolutely right, Calicolea, it is my body and my decision. I read WLS for dummies last night (yes in one evening, cover to cover...lol), and though they do not really cover the VSG much at all, the precept is the same. I think reading that, along with all of the information here will help me to explain better to my mom and step-mom. Everyone at my work knows...and is completely supportive. The perks of working in a small medical office...and that 2 of my co-workers have had WLS already I will also tell my bestie from childhood. She had always supported me, as I have always supported her. And, of course, my husband knows. He is scared of me having any surgery, but understands and supports my decision completely. I think I will have a pretty decent support group here, even if my mom and step-mom do not jump on board.

Just an FYI, the person at the insurance that checks on the statis is not the one/s that are determining whether or not to approve you, so it won't slow the process down by calling. It just might not speed it up either. I work in a medical practice and have to deal with insurance on a daily basis, so believe me, I know...lol Good luck to you Hope a yes answer comes quickly for you!

Hi all. My name is Kim. I am a 43-year-old who has struggled, as I'm sure alot of you here have, with weight issues all of my life. I did go through one "thin" phase during high school, where I was my perfect goal weight, but that did not last very long. Otherwise, I was a "chunky" kid and now, an obese adult with several health issues. I have Hypertension, Hyperlipidemia, and for 1 year now, Diabetes Mellitus. My 63-year-old father passed away 2 years ago this month from a massive heart attack. He was not obese, did not have blood pressure issues or DM, but he did suffer from Hyperlipidemia and had a heart attack when he was 42. He exercised daily and aside from a few splurges now and then, tried to eat a healthy diet. His death was a complete shock and a definite eye opener for me. It took me a little over one year from his death, but I got serious about my weight loss journey October 2011, when my weight topped at 238lbs. I did NOT want surgery and was convenced that with serious dedication and hard work on my part, I could accomplish this without "drastic" measures. So my PCP referred me to Dr. Voellinger of Southeast Bariatrics in Charlotte, NC for medical management. This is ALL I was coming here to do...medical management. And I started off great! Lost 25lbs the 1st 4 months! Then...SCREEEEEECH! Completely halted any weight loss for 3 months! No matter how I up'd or changed my exercise or how I modified what I ate and when, nothing. Last month, I decided to try my standard serving of oatmeal for Breakfast, Protein shake smoothie for lunch...and ADDED a Protein Shake smoothie and a small salad for dinner, instead of cooking a meal for dinner. Yes, I started losing weight again, but at what cost? Absolutely zero variety in my diet. I have now managed a total of 31lb weight loss, arriving at 207lbs as of last Thursday. During the month long journey of oatmeal and smoothies, I really started changing my thought pattern, and researched more on the sleeve as my surgery option. Last Thursday was also my 6-month mark for insurance purposes with Southeast Bariatrics. I spoke at great length with Candace Bishop, PA and told her I would like to proceed with the VSG, as I do NOT want to be my dad. I want to be healthy. I know if I do not get my weight under control, I could very well suffer the same fate as my dad. Though I do miss him terribly, I am not ready to join him. So, I have appointments with nutritionist, psych, and exercise therapist June 14th. I have my final pre-appointment/insurance sign-off with Dr. Voellinger on July 5th. I see my PCP this month on the 23rd for a physical. He will do the EKG and I have bloodwork orders for my standard PCP stuff AND bariatric pre-op which I will have drawn the beginning of next week at the office I work at (I am a CMA at a family practice). There is another girl in my office that had VSG in December last year and she did/does not have any co-morbidities and has the same insurance and she qualified just at a BMI of 41. Mine started at 42 (BMI) with 2 co-morbidities, so I will definitely be upset if my insurance gives me a hard time. I am shooting for a surgery date of the beginning of October this year. I work in a smallish office and any one person out is felt throughout the office...October gets through everyone's summer vacations and the 1st month of back-to-school illnesses and immunizations. Then I can just focus on me and recovery. So, I have gone on and on and on. I mostly want to thank you all for being here. I was so excited to have found this site and have been "lurking"/reading for about 2 weeks now. There is ALOT of great information here and I love the support you all give each other. I am looking forward to being in your "family" too The picture below is a collage of pictures of me...the 2 "skiiny" pics are high school (25years ago), the 2 middle pics are within the last 4 months and the pic in the workout clothes is me at my biggest, 238lbs. I bought the workout clothes for pictures only...I intend to use the same clothes to document my journey;) Believe me, I do NOT work out in that...lol

I have not gone through surgery yet, but I know all too well about stalls. I know it'll be hard for me to not weigh myself daily, let alone weekly....but my thought pattern is to hide the scale for the 1st few months and only weigh with my doctor check up's monthly. That should undoubtedly be a nicer number to see than a big number 1 week and nothing for the next two Hang in there...and CONGRATS on the 12lbs in 3 weeks!

Sending you well wishes for a smooth surgery and fast recovery