Kennedy310

I say to hell with 'em if they are really that shallow. But if it is a big concern, I agree with Roserie's suggestion (although VSGKirk's is very funny). Lots of surgeries are done laparoscopically these days, so you probably have a few cover stories to choose from. Hehe

Hi Joe! Good luck with your surgery. I'm scheduled for March 29th. Feel free to keep in touch. It would be great to chat with someone else on a similar timeline as our journey begins! -Jeffrey

I'm on March 29th & getting a bit nervous as the day approaches. But I'm still very excited for my surgery. I feel rather lucky since my doctor does not require a pre-op diet. I was just advised to reduce my food intake somewhat in this final week. My heart goes out to you all dealing with pre-op restrictions. I'd loved to hear how everyone's surgery goes. Good luck to all!

I saw a few articles about the house & the guy who bought it. Pretty cool move. Nice to see the negativity that Westboro puts into the world be balanced out with some positivity.

Yeah, I guess with 4 little guys there is no "off" to be had. But great that you are giving yourself the 4 nights away for a little recoup time. I'm going to take a week off from work after surgery. From others' experiences, it seems that everyone's recovery time is different. The thing I am concerned about is just getting tired easily. So, fingers crossed that isn't too much of an issue.

Congrats! Me too. March 29th in NJ. Overall, I'm excited... with the occasional nervousness. How much time do you plan on taking off for recovery?

Glad you're okay. And good to hear you resolved the issue with your doctor. Thanks for sharing. I'm on blood pressure medication as well. So, I will definitely monitor it after my surgery.

I will be having surgery on March 29th. Happy to finally have insurance authorization. I'm excited, but I also anticipate some nervousness as the date approaches. Good luck to you both!

Feeling pretty bummed this morning. My doctor's office informed me that Anthem Blue Cross will not make their decision on my surgery until I have 3 complete months of evaluations from a nutritionist. I know it's only a setback and it definitely could be worse but I'm still very annoyed since I had to wait till less than a week before the planned surgery to find it out. Has anyone had a similar experience? Is it worth calling the insurance company to see if they will waive this requirement?

Thank you! Yes, I'm scheduled for March 29th. I'm looking forward to the next step in the journey.

Happy to report that I was finally approved for gastric sleeve surgery! It was quite a frustrating journey. They initially denied it because I'm having surgery out of my home state. Then, approved it incorrectly as an outpatient procedure but denied the hospital (which I had confirmed was in network months ago). They eventually got it all correct after a few tries. It's a relief to finally have everything approved and in place.

Hi all- I'm thrilled to see an LGBT presence on the forums here. I know there are aspects of WLS that are unique to LGBT & it's great to have a place to support one another. I had a rough week. I was scheduled to have gastric sleeve surgery on Wed, Jan. 9th. But with less than a week before surgery, I found out that my insurance would not approve me until I submitted 3 months of nutritionist's evaluations. I was shell-shocked because I had already put myself in the head space of having the surgery, only to have a setback in the eleventh hour. I've had time to gain some perspective & connected with a good nutritionist who I'm confident will get me to the finish line on this. One unique issue I've encountered as I plan for surgery is who I choose to tell & how I choose to tell them. It really does bring me back to my days of coming out as a gay man in my early 20s. Interestingly, I think more people have stronger opinions about weight loss surgery and food/weight issues than about LGBT issues. So far, all my friends and family have responded positively with a few that are just concerned. But I've made sure I'm well-versed in the details of my tentative WLS as well as the details of why I've decided it's the appropriate choice for me. But it is really interesting how similar it feels to coming out & how I often have to evaluate who I want to tell & who really just doesn't need to know. Anyway, I'm excited to use this forum as a support resource as I move forward on my journey. Glad to see you all here!

Hi all- I'm looking forward to having gastric sleeve surgery some time in the next few months. I currently live in Brooklyn, work in NYC & am often out in NJ. I'd love to connect with other LGBT & gay friendly people in the NYC. Let me know if you're here.

I will have to check out the Obesity Help forums. I haven't been on there yet? Seems like this LGBT forum is pretty slow unfortunately.

Ugh. I'm sorry to hear it happened to you as well. That is the exact scenario I had. I'm disappointed by the lack of individual attention I've received. Honestly, I don't think they understand how just a little attention goes a long way in making the patient feel at ease. I still have to call multiple times to get the surgical coordinator on the phone. And I don't feel like she's really on top of the details. I'm trying to schedule a new date for surgery now & she really seems disinterested in helping me figure out how to coordinate it with my work schedule in the next few months. Really is a shame because I like Dr. Trivedi very much. Thanks for the post-surgery info. It seems like I will have to go back to work after one week as well (I had planned on 4 weeks off to adjust with the oriel surgery date, but hat doesn't look possible now). I will have to try to be conscious of the tiredness issue. Thanks again.

Thanks, Annie B. It was a depressing setback. But I'm glad to hear you had a good experience with Dr. Trivedi. Interestingly, my father just had a gastric bypass on Wednesday. I've been my dad's advocate in the hospital & Dr. Trivedi and his team have been great. I'm still confident with him as my surgeon. Unfortunately, I'm still having issues getting my surgical coordinator on the phone and getting answers on that side. But I'm gonna persevere.

Thanks. No doubt about it, everyone has a slightly different experience. But, it's helpful to hear everyone's experience as I plan my surgery & recovery.

I'm currently trying to plan out my next few month which will hopefully include my gastric sleeve surgery. As a project-based freelancer, I have the challenge of trying to find an appropriate time for surgery & recovery that will gel with my current & future projects. One thing that I'm trying to figure out is how much time I should truly block off for recovery. My doctor says I should be able to go back to work in 7-10 days since I have an office-based job (little physical activity necessary). In your experiences, what is realistic when it comes to recovery time?

Thanks for the info. I suspect I'll have to be cautious of feeling tired when I go back t work.

Thank you!

Thank you! I'm looking forward to the positive changes.

That sounds like a pretty good idea to ease back into work with half days. Thanks!

I have a feeling I will miss my afternoon coffee break/caffeine boost as well.

Hi WillowAnn- That is a really interesting concern that your workplace presents. First off, kudos for the self-awareness it takes to realize that you may be internalizing the issue & worrying more than necessary. That very well may be the case, but it is still a legitimate concern even so because so many of us who have dealt with weight/food issues are uniquely sensitive to those issues. I can share a recent personal experience that may be helpful. I have a co-worker who is also overweight. She & I have become friends over the year we've known one another. I decided to share my journey to surgery with her. I followed her cues as to how comfortable she was in discussing it & didn't over-share information with her. I approached our discussion from a "I know you can relate to this frustration" point of view & it went very smoothly. In fact, she revealed that she has thought about WLS & will be interesting in my journey to see if it is right for her as well. I know not everyone reacts or handles things the same, so the people at your work may be different. And being a boss can make it a different dynamic that may not make a lot of persona discussion possible. But so far, I have found that it can be a supportive relationship rather than an adversarial one.