Momonanomo

It looks like he already had his surgery on 12/31. . .

good for you, don't let them confuse you into just paying and paying. It could be an honest mistake on their part. But, unfortunately some businesses (all kinds of businesses) count on people just taking their word for it that they owe, they count on people not speaking up or asking questions. If they can't work it out to your satisfaction then "vote with your feet" as they say!

for clothing, w = womens for shoes, w = wide But I agree with Vicki -- wide may be more descriptive!

Ahh I'm in the same boat -- after attending the seminar I called the surgeon's office and the lady who answered my call kinda indicated that my file had been set aside because my BMI is 'only' a 38. Yeah well the holidays happened since then and I've gained like 10 lbs! No doubt I'm a 40 now. . . I've got a call in to the dr's office to s specific person who I hope will give me some guidance. I know my patterns, and I know that I'm on my way back up the scale if I don't make a change soon. Do I have to get so much worse before they will accept me in the program? Why wait until I get sick? Why not catch it before I get sick? My knees and ankles and back hurt -- but apparently that's not on the list of what's a comorbidity. I saw my poor mom have to have both her knees replaced, and my grandma before that was wheelchair bound because of her knees. I'm afraid I'm headed in the same direction if I don't get the help I need. But my file has been set aside? Don't they realize that when I went to the seminar I saw this as a ray of hope? If I was being "set aside" I wish I had been told that! I want to talk to someone who will say a definitive 'yes' or 'no'. Hopefully a 'yes'! So -- I can relate very much to what you're going through! Being considered "borderline BMI with no comorbidities" is very frustrating! i hope you and I BOTH get quick response from the dr offices today and that they give us news we want to hear!

Sorry to hear you're feeling not-so-great. A lot of the symptoms sound like Celiac Disease. Including the anemia. Maybe try cutting ALL gluten out for a few weeks and see what happens? I have a friend who is gluten-free and she swears it was almost miraculous how much better she feels now. best of luck to you!

Hi ! Thanks for the list and cost run-down. I'll be curious to hear what kind of preop diet you're put on and how far in advance! Question: Does Dr Fowler plan on doing a single incision for your surgery or the traditional multiple little ones? I was very excited when he mentioned single incision at his seminar -- seems like only one puka means easier healing.

Just like Hollyrock100 a couple of days ago, I dreamed last night that I had had my surgery and felt great. In my dream I had been released from the hospital and kept telling myself to not get too frisky even though I felt good. And not hungry! I wonder if maybe the metformin I started yesterday had anything to do with that? Last night I had a long and productive discussion with DH, and he has a greater understanding and is looking forward to meeting my surgeon. I basically spilled everything that I had written in my blog entry yesterday, and joy of joys, he 'gets it'. He even asked about insurance, and I explained about the BMI thing and how I would have to get approval since my BMI is not the 40+ where they give you automatic go-ahead. He actually said that if insurance won't cover it, we will still make it happen. Awesome! My surgeon has a comprehensive program and requires a pre-op program that includes nutritionist, phys-ed and psych, so this won't be an immediate thing. And as a wise sleever here on the boards said, I can call it off any time up until they put me to sleep. DH will have plenty of time to really wrap his head around this, as will I. So DH asks that while this process is developing if I would please help him get used to the idea. Because he still just really doesn't understand why this will be different from all the previous efforts I've made to lose weight, because he's never struggled with his weight, nor did anyone in his family growing up. I also now have an assignment to share with him all the things I'm learning about weight related diseases (as Vicki suggested -- thank you!), the dangers of yo-yo dieting, and all the pro's and cons of WLS. He is open to learning Yay! I also apologized to him for being snippy about his lipo question. I did shed some tears when he asked if my love for him and our life together was not enough to help me to be healthier without having surgery....and that is so sad but just illustrates how powerless I feel to my weight struggles at this point. It is because I love him and our life together that I am ready to take this big step so that I can finally start a diet & exercise regime that I will have a real chance of sticking to. I will still need to do the work, but this time, if I do it, it will be effective. I don't want to waste more of my life not living it to the fullest! Got a call that they've scheduled a consult for a sleep test. Just a consult, don't bring your jammies lol. K that's it for now. aloha!

I just read this -- Thank you for discussing the binge eating. I'm going to look into getting that book.

Thank you thank you for posting as a 2 year veteran! It means a lot to us newbies to have the long term success stories check in! Congratulations on your success. I appreciate too your straightforward advice about SO's. It is important to realize that 'S' stands for significant, and they should always feel that way in our lives. I can't imagine getting to a point where I need to put ON some weight, but I sure look forward to the possibility! Sounds like you have managed your weight very well, and I applaud you for it!

WOW!! good job!

Hi! When my time comes I'm going to study this thread in depth: http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/10081-the-official-what-you-will-need-for-your-gastric-sleeve-surgery-thread/ best of luck to you!

Hi I've always heard not getting enough potassium leads to muscle cramps.....maybe that's what it said in the thread you're talking about?

Have you chosen a surgeon yet? What I've done is put it all in the hands of my surgeon's office-- they have experience dealing with the insurance requirements (and interpreting them!) Plus, your surgeons may have a specific "team"of all these specialists that they work with. I think most surgeons have a comprehensive program, and they will navigate you through all this. best of luck!

princesstia, my prayers go with you on your big day. I am so sorry you had to lose your grandma like that. She sounds like a wonderful woman. I have faith that she will be right there with you tomorrow and will keep you safe and strong. best wishes! Keep us posted!

Went to the seminar required by my surgeon this past week. I didn't learn anything I hadn't already heard about in great detail by my own research and by spending a lot of time here on VST The benefit to the seminar, as far as I'm concerned, was taking DH along so he could hear it all. He found it very interesting and informative. Oh! One thing I did learn that I am VERY excited about is that this surgeon does all his sleeves with a single incision through the belly button! That is SO cool!! Wonder if anyone else here on VST has had this? I also found out that my insurance requires a 6 month medically supervised diet. Ugh. Like I haven't already tried aaaaallllllllll the diets out there, supervised or unsupervised. My big thing about this requirements is this: yep I can do the diet, and I will lose weight. I've done it before -- lots. My problem, however, is that I cannot keep the weight off, hence the need for VSG. So what is a 6 month diet going to do except maybe get my BMI down to where insurance might not cover it? I'm sure as we progress and I can speak with a coordinator from my surgeon's office I will figure out more. Maybe there's a loophole or a work-around that we can do. I've been reading a lot of people's entries about insurance qualifications, comorbidities (or lack thereof of as far as the insurance approved list), and employer exclusions. What's frustrating is this: quite a few of us are borderline BMI (39) , have been yo-yo-ing for many years if not decades, do not have comorbidities YET, and therefore may not get insurance approval. My mom said I have a serious case of the "Yets" (I thought she was attempting to speak yiddish there for a minute lol). What she was pointing out is that I don't have high bp -- yet. I don't have diabetes -- yet. I don't have any of the other serious problems that the insurance deems worthy -- yet. But I will soon if I don't do something. My knees and ankles and back already hurt, but I don't see that on the insurance's list. . . actually I may have sleep apnea, but I don't think it's "severe". Will find out when I get my sleep test in a couple of weeks. I just think the insurance companies are being foolish with their requirements in many cases. ANYways. So 6 months. From when I don't know, waiting to hear from the surgeons office to see if the clock has started ticking yet. I think right now they are getting the ball rolling and hitting up my insurance co. Perhaps we can find a loophole or a work-around. I'd like to have this done like, yesterday. I've been regaling DH with stories from the message boards here. You guys are really fun I'm talking specifically about a recent thread entitled: "So, really weird inappropriate question" That was awesome (and informative hehe) Best to all of you out there. Happy holidays!

@rootman -- how very generous and selfless of you! hahaha!

Maybe we should market this?! "Better than prilosec! More effective and definitely more fun!"

omg that is hilarious!

Gosh him saying "They didn't like you back then, but now they do. I was there when nobody wanted you" is super manipulative. Don't fall for that -- just see it for what it is: manipulation. If it were me, I would split with him. And make it very clear that the split is because of his insecure behavior, not because of any weight loss. He's got to stop this jealousy & insecurity or he'll never have a successful relationship in the future. YOU on the other hand, have a chance to be happy in life! Control what you can -- YOU. You can't control him or change him. The best help you can be to him is to tell him the way he's been acting is what has led you to break it off. He may well be a great guy and all that, but he doesn't sound like the guy for you. I strongly encourage you to not waste any more time on a relationship that makes you unhappy. I wasted too many years with a guy who drank too much. Then it dawned on me: Love is supposed to FEEL GOOD! And a couple of years later, I met the love of my life best of luck to you !

I'm looking forward to the responses because I'm also preop. From what I'm reading here at VST, what you describe is largely the case. Not always, everyone is of course going to be slightly different, and maybe that has to do with how far out from surgery they are. And then there's the issue of true hunger vs head hunger. But as far as real hunger, the hormone grehlin, the hunger hormone, is produced mostly in the lining of the stomach and it's thought to be the culprit for out of control appetite for food. Since the sleeve removes the majority of the stomach, less grehlin is in the body. I know that, for me, this is precisely why I've chosen the sleeve over the other WLS available (well this and some of the complications/side effects that are common with the other WLS and are not with the sleeve)

I'm so sorry that you're hurting! Of course you're nervous, but try not to torture yourself because you don't know what it is at this point. From everything I've heard 4 months should be well past the time that a leak can happen, but maybe someone more experienced can comment on the subject? Try to stay positive, know that we're sending good vibes your way, and keep us posted on what the dr says!

well ya know, all this talk about barely being able to take a sip of water immediately post surgery made me start wondering but it sounds like once the tummy swelling goes down a little bit, it's all good. So maybe no need to refrain completely, but refrain from....ahem...swallowing....for a period of time :wub:

I am sooooo glad you asked this question!

Sounds like you came up with a good strategy for yourself! Planning ahead like that shows your committment. Good job!

love it -- happy shock! That's great! Your body & immune system are thanking you!