rdt210

I had planned to use the gallbladder excuse (I didn't tell anyone about that surgery either), but my big mouth husband told one of our friends, who told his wife, who told two other people. So annoying. This is the exact reason I am not telling anyone. Re work clients (I work from home), I'm just making myself unavailable for a week for in-person meetings and will probably say I'll be out of town for a few days just in case I don't feel like checking email. Everyone is not entitled to know every detail of my life.

I'm glad you asked this question... I'm curious to see what people say. I hope to be sleeved in March and have already started to try to get in the habit of full body lotion every day to keep my skin hydrated in the hopes that will reduce hanging/wrinkly skin. I use Kirkland (Costco) brand lotion. It comes in a 2pack and it's really think and smells nice but not too strong. I'm 44 and have carried 50-100 extra pounds around for about 15 years, and I'm most concerned about my thighs.

I always find it funny when people hound you for answers on how you lost weight and innevitably ( at least in my experience) when you tell them, the response is usually something like "oh I could never do that" or feel the need to either approve or disprove your method. What about something like "exactly the opposite way I gained it...portion control, more exercise and really watching my sugar intake." That's sensible and boring enough that they will likely drop it after that.

I think there's a stigma involved...I think every conversation I've heard that involves wls ends with people shaking their heads and saying "they know someone who had it and had nothing but problems and gained all their weight back." I know because I was one of those people before I started seriously researching surgery. I totally agree with the need for eduction (and agree with JennyBeth), but personally I would rather wait until after the surgery so I can provide first-hand knowledge about my own experience.

I have not had the surgery yet, but have only told my husband and my hairdresser (lol... but only because she had gastric bypass 7 years ago, and has kept every bit of her weight off). I don't plan on telling anyone else - I don't need the judgement, and don't feel that I need to defend my decision to anyone - it's not their struggle. I did a 12-step program about a year ago (didn't tell many people about that either) where I totally gave up sugar and flour. Lost a bunch of weight (65 pounds... have gained 45 of it back), but it was way too restrictive and I was not comfortable with the "turning my life over" part. Anyway, everyone knows that I work out and just plan to tell them that I've stepped it up and am going back to really watching flour and sugar intake (I was losing roughly 10 pounds/month doing that). They were kind of used to me showing up with "my" food everywhere, so I don't think it's going to be a big deal.

Hi all, Thought this might be helpful for anyone with Blue Shield of CA - just got this straight from the insurance company about what is needed for approval. This is by far the most frustrating part of the process... Anyway, I thought it was interesting that they will accept documentation from Weight Watchers and other programs as long as there is documentation for 6 consecutive months and they occured within the past year and a half. Good luck to everyone dealing with insurance!! The following bariatric surgical procedures are considered medically necessary when meeting the criteria listed below: . Open or Laparoscopic Gastric Restrictive Procedures with a Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass up to 150.0 cm . Vertical Banded Gastroplasty . Laparoscopic Adjustable Gastric Banding (LAGB) (e.g., LAP-BANDR, REALIZET) . Biliopancreatic Diversion with Duodenal Switch (BPD/DS) for patients with a BMI >/= 50.0 kg/m2 . Sleeve Gastrectomy The above bariatric surgical procedures are considered medically necessary as a treatment of morbid obesity when all of the following criteria are met: . Body Mass Index ο Adults (>/= 18 years of age) (one of the following) BMI >/= 40.0 kg/m2 * BMI >/= 35.0 kg/m2* and <40.0kg/m2* with at least one significant obesityrelated disease complication which has failed to be controlled with medical management including, but not limited to: ο Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus ο Hypertension ο Coronary Artery Disease ο Obstructive sleep Apnea . Continued obesity despite trials of weight loss through lifestyle changes, diet modification and exercise evidenced by all of the following: ο Documentation of prior weight loss attempts without successful long-term reduction ο Documentation of active participation in a non-surgical weight reduction program supervised by a registered dietician, healthcare provider (e.g., physician, nurse practitioner), or an organized weight reduction program (e.g., Weight WatchersT, Jenny CraigT), for at least six consecutive months occurring within the last 18 months prior to the request for bariatric surgery. ο Monthly documentation of all of the following weight reduction program components: Weight Dietary regimen, which may include medical nutrition therapy (e.g., MediFastT and OptiFastT) or a recognized commercial diet-based weight loss program (e.g., Weight WatchersT, Jenny CraigT, etc) Physical exercise unless medically contraindicated. Behavior modification or behavioral health interventions . Bariatric surgical consultation and recommendation by a trained and experienced bariatric surgeon associated with an institution that supports a comprehensive bariatric surgery program, which includes all of the following: ο Psychological evaluation and clearance for bariatric surgery ο Nutritional evaluation ο Long-term monitoring and follow-up post surgery Note: A physician's summary letter is not sufficient documentation of active patient participation in a non-surgical weight reduction program. Documentation must include medical records and/or diet or weight-loss logs, and assessment of the patient's progress throughout the programs course. *BMI >/= 50.0 kg/m2 for Biliopancreatic Diversion with Duodenal Switch (BPD/DS) .

My doctor had me do an abdominal ultrasound and upper Gi series as part of my pre-op tests (I'm still in my 6-month supervised diet phase). Anyway, the ultrasound showed that I had gallstones and I had told him that I had some pain along with it (though nothing at all what the original poster experienced!! i actually didn't know what it was until he asked me some questions - the pain came and went so I just thought "hmmm that's weird".) Because of the gallstones, he suggested we remove the gallbladder prior to my sleeve surgery - he said once it starts giving you problems, you never know when it's going to "blow up" (and he didn't want that to happen). No hoops whatsoever to jump through (I have Blue Shield ***) - I was authorized within days and just had my surgery this past Wed. It was my first surgery ever - it went very well, I have no pain at all. Well, that's not true - it was done lapriscopically (sp?) and the incision in my belly button is still quite sore 3 days out, but not enough to take pain meds. I wish you a speedy recovery!!

Kaui is one of my most favorite places and I can't imagine a better place to be!! Have a great time.

I also had the super long questionairre for my psych eval, then discussed the results and a couple others things with the psychologist after. The whole appointment took about 1.5 hours. Not a big deal -they just want to make sure you have realistic expectations and try to detect if you have an eating disorder.