Peg Haggerty Hefti

M

I am about 5" 2' and when I started on my weightloss journey I weighed in at 245!!! I can't believe I weighed that much but I guess the scales don't lie. I had my gastric sleeved on Halloween 2012 so that is about 7 months ago now. I also had a thyroid issue which was under treatment so my loss has not been as great as others that I have heard about but I have to date lost 80 pounds! I may be a little off from what the statistics say but I am so happy with the results. According to the BMI chart my surgery says I only have to loss about 20 more pounds and he said from the very beginning to give yourself a year to get to your goal. So with that being said I have 5 months to lose that 20, no pressure on myself I have now made it my goal to lose 5 per month, that way I don't have to really stress. I am only 2 pounds from what I should be at the end of June so I am ahead of the game....that is good! I have also recently started with a personal trainer to see what we can firm and tone up. If I could go back I think I would have gotten permission from the surgeon to start on this earlier. Wishing you all the best in your journey

I was one week post op yesterday......I am getting to the point where I can't choke down any more cream soup, jello or pudding. I am not wanting a burger or anything like that I am just ready for the next phase that includes a little mashed potatoe, veggie, soft fruit, a lttle cottage cheese, maybe even a hard boiled egg mashed up. I have had no issues what so ever, in fact I was no longer taking pain meds 2 days post op. I realize that we need to give our bodies time to recover just having a hard time with so little variety at this point. Cream soup, sugar free jello, sugar free pudding and yogurt one can only have so much until it's hard to take at least for me it is. I am ready for the next step on this journey. Waiting to hear back from the MA for my surgeon I would not try to move on without permission. We all need to practice a little patience I guess......and that has never ever really been my strong trait.

Yes insurance covers me....first $1,600 that I have spent was meeting my deductible. This round of testing was almost $1,800 and some is covered and some is my coinsurance. I see my PCP tomorrow and will talk with him about this and see what he says. I do have an appointment setup with another endrogrinoligist in a week to see what he says. My biggest thing is why the urgency and what's the liability he is talking about. My mother's friend had this and she said they took a biopsy before they did anything because if it's cancer that makes the treatment surgery not the killing of the thyroid. This doctor never even suggested a biopsy...hmmm that's a bit strange. It's just so frustrating to be this close to surgery only to find out it's not going to happen now. Peg

Well I got some distressing news today.......if I was a cryer I would be in the corner crying. Last requirement before doctor would sign my letter of necessity for the insurance company was all done. Doctor said he hadn't gotten a blood sample for baseline information.....ok so we did that and found my thyroid was low. Not a biggie I was pretty sure it was from the HCG I had taken. He said to see a specialist just to be sure. After $1,800 in tests and more blood drawn (total of 9 test tubes) I got the results today. He says I have a small nodule on my right thyroid and we need to "kill" it with radioactive iodine and that takes 4 months and then medication to bring my levels back to normal!! WHAT that is my only option??? He said yes it was and that I needed to start that today. Wait I need to digest this and also a second opinion as you never did tell me the results of all that testing. So he says you have 1 week to get this started or there is liabilty here and I won't continue to be your doctor??? What liability? Why the hurry when originally he wasn't going to give me the reults for another 2 weeks I kept calling for a cancellation so I could get in and get them. So I said what does this now do to my bariatric surgery that was to be next month.....nope you can't even begin to think about that surgery for at the very earliest 1 YEAR!! Ok so I have now spent $3,400 out of my pocket to get ready for this surgery and it can't be done! So I will just be reading an hearing how you all are doing with your surgeries and wishing I was having mine.....all is not lost I do have an appointment for a second opinion in a couple weeks and I want to know if there are 2 drugs for treatment why this doctor was pushing kill it and pushing for it to be done immediately with not really explaining it all. Even when I asked questions he didn't answer them. Guess maybe I will look into HCG if I have to wait a year....hire my trainer back and see what I can do while I wait. Peg (:

WOW all your visits and you have only $400 towards your deductible. My psych eval was almost that much alone. I had to pay that since I hadn't met my deductible yet.

Thank you thank you thank you! She is truely an inspiration and she is now not the fat girl and she IS beautiful! For one who is still one day leary of the surgery and then the next excited this video has really shown me that my decision was the right one. How could one not be inspired by this video?

I have Aetna (actually an employee) and I have a $1600 deductible to be met and then my surgery and all the other things like cardiac and pulmonary clearance and psych eval will all pay at 80/20. Unfortunately I am healthy other than overweight so all my pre-op doctor and psych eval, surgery consult all have to be paid by me .....am hopeful that all of these will have me meet that deductible befor surgery so then I will only have to pay that 20% as I understand I have to prepay that...or maybe I misunderstood....If I have to that's ok I have that money put away.

Congrats!! It is good to be home and "officially" starting on your journey. I have a few more hoops to jump thru with my insurance yet ......I am so ready to start this new page in my life. Madison yeah the day is finally here! See you once you are "sleeved" LOL Peg

I wanted to make the decision for this by myself with people trying to influence me so I haven't told anyone in my family yet. I have a co-worker who had bypass 8 months ago and I have talked with her about her procedure and what all our insurance requires. I have one other co-worker that is like a daughter to me and I have told her....she is supportive even though her mom died from bipass years ago. Also have a good friend from Indiana that I told as I needed to have someone to come be with me for the surgery and to watch my dogs when I am in the hospital. I "tested" telling my daughter by only saying I needed surgery and would need her help for a few days....when she said I either needed to buy her airline tickets or come to where she lived to have my surgery I decided that maybe it wasn't such a great idea to tell her...she wouldn't be too supportive I don't think since she thinks I "abandoned" her when I moved away for amy job. Please....you are 30 years old have a hubby and 3 kids how can I be abandoning you??? I already feel like this surgery will be the best thing that has happened to me and I haven't even had it yet! We can all be supportive of each other on here and also support what each person decides as far as telling people. This is something that is really no one's business but your own....feel good about yourself and what you are doing. I know I do!

I also will be having mine in late August or early September

I think you are on the right track coming here to these boards. Read thru some of the sucess stories and they will help guide you to your final decision. I am going thru all the hoops that the insurance company requires and am looking at late August early September for my surgery date. I think it's natural to go thru the is this the right thing for me and being nervous about it and then you read some of the posts here and you get the excitement that you can feel the members here have with their decision. Only you can decide don't let your family and friends infuence your decision it's YOUR journey to take or not take. Best of luck!

As we go along this journey I think we will pick up some without even thinking about it. I can't wait for my surgery date to be scheduled...going thru this alone is making it scary one day and exciting the next. url=http://www.TickerFactory.com/weight-loss/wFb6elV/] [/url]

Ankle weights...that is too funny. When I was weighed they didn't have me take my shoes off so I think you will be fine that day for your weigh in.

Oh say it ain't so that you feel hungry or have problems when you are home post-op. I work from home! I don't have to go to the office unless there is a meeting and that doesn't happen very often as we do most meetings by home. This is how I ended up gaining 40 pounds this past year!!!! I was ok with my diet and exercise program until I came home to work....it seems I mindlessly eat while staring at that computer for 10 hours per day. I am hopeful that this will be something that I can control with exercise once I have the surgery. I worked so hard to lose that 50 pounds last year only to gain 40 of it back. I have gotten so I watch alot more tv while working just to keep my mind off the run to see what I have in the cupboard to eat. I have cleaned those out and will be buying only what is absolutely necessary from now till surgery time.

So happy to find others here in the Valley of the Sun! I am both new to the Valley and this board. I have started all my prereqs for having the sleeve surgery. I will be done with all but my nutrition and PCP visits this week. I have 2 more months of those visits before we send in the paperwork for my insurance to give authorization. The plan is to have my surgery sometime last August or early September....all depends on that authorization time. At this time I think my son is going to be coming in from Chicago to stay with me for a few days, if he can't I will have to ask a couple of neighbors to watch my dogs for the overnight stay and then another neighbor to bring to and home from the hospital. I am nervous but very excited to start on this new journey. I am going thru Bridges and will be using Dr. Fang. I am so impressed with him and liked him very much at my consult last week. Peg

I have a 90 day plan that I have to follow for my insurance to pay. I am 30 days into this now and I have gotten all my "ducks" in a row already. This week will be my cardiac clearance, pulmonary clearance appointments. I have had the seminar, surgeon consult, 1st nurtrition class, and psych eval all done already. I have to just finish with the other 2 PCP visits and get my letter of medical necessity and we can submit it all to my insurance. I had a list of things that had to be done before they would give auth for it. I am like everyone I have read on here....a little nervous but very excited. Too many diets too many pounds lost and gained ready for this journey. Anyone from AZ that has been thru this that I can connect with to be my mentor as I think that is a great idea. Ever hear that phrase so excited I can't hardly sit still?? That is me!