Kennedy310

Great to see you here! I grew up in Bergen County, NJ. in fact, I am going to have my surgery out in NJ with Dr. Trivedi at Hackensack Medical Center. What part of NJ are you in? I would love to get the LGBT forum a little more active on here. I've been active on here for about a week & I'm finding all of the forums very helpful in gathering more information and support as i move towards my surgery. Look forward to chatting more!

This is a great thread for all of us who struggle with binge eating. Thanks to everyone for their contributions to this discussion. I am still pre-op & hoping to get the gastric sleeve some time in the next few months once insurance requirements are satisfied. My emotional eating & how the sleeve will affect it are things I want to be mindful of as I move forward. I have done a lot of work on figuring out how to get to a healthier place of balance and moderation. A big step for me was giving up the dream that one day I would be completely free of this issue. I finally accepted the fact that my food issues will always be lurking & I just need to continue to be mindful of them and manage them. However, it is wonderful to hear from many of you that this issue can get a lot easier to manage after the sleeve. It's inspiring. And it further confirms I'm making a good decision to have the surgery. Thanks!

Thanks, Jennie. Yes, it was a rough hurdle for sure. But you're right, it's gonna happen soon enough. That's a great story. It is wonderful when the kindness of folks lifts us up like that. More reason to live our lives open and without shame or regret. Thanks for sharing.

Sorry to hear that. What a crappy thing to have to deal with right before your surgery. I think you handled it well given the timing of it all. No need to second guess yourself. Good to hear she showed you the respect of apologizing. Although that "I have gay friends" is one very tired line. It's all on her in the end anyway, not you.

Thanks for starting this thread, Susan! I'm annoyed & relieved at the same time. Hehe. Annoyed because I too have experienced frustration with the doctor's staff. I was scheduled to have surgery this Wednesday Jan. 9th & I found myself hounding the surgical coordinator for 3 weeks. Then on Thursday with only 6 days till planned surgery she finally tells me that my insurance is requiring 3 months of nutritional evaluations before approval. This is definitely something she should have told me from the beginning. I was pretty shell-shocked because i was already in the head space for surgery. Now that i know, I will be even more unrelenting with her as i continue. So, thanks. I'm also relieved by your post though because I really feel like Dr. Trivedi was the right choice. So, it's comforting to hear your positive take after going through the surgery yourself. How are you doing now? Also, I see that someone asked you about going back to work. how did it feel for you? Do you think it was the proper amount of time for you?

Thank you so much! I've had a few days to be a little less angry and a little less sad. I'm looking at it as a minor setback now. Best of luck with your own journey!!

Hey Dean- It is always great to chat with gay-friendly folks like you to lend an even broader scope to discussions. I definitely think there is a big similarity between coming out as gay & coming out about WLS. The interesting part about weight issues of course is that they are so visible, and therefore, pretty difficult to hide even if one wanted to. As an openly gay man, I can't imagine having to keep any major aspect of my life a secret from others. So, I've already shared my plans for surgery with the most important people in my life. But I will be curious to see what it will be like at work & with casual acquaintances after surgery. I'll probably just handle them on a case by case basis. But I think the most important thing is not be afraid to discuss it out of shame or embarrassment. It sounds like you handle it very well. And you're right, anyone who has struggled with the constant roller coaster of food/weight/diet issues like we all have has earned the right to be proud of their decision to take back control of their health. Congratulations on your surgery & best of luck on your journey!

Thanks! I think you are so right about how much it helps others when you can speak informatively about your WLS with others. It really does ease people's concerns. I'm also finding that much like coming out of the closet, the more i talk about it with folks, the easier it becomes for me to articulate it. Plus, now that I'm older, I don't care as much what people outside of my closest family & friends think about my choice. So glad to find you & the others here. Looking forward to participating in the forum!

Thanks, Annie! Yes, I was really bummed. But I'm keeping all in a positive perspective. It will eventually happen. Congratulations on your surgery! Good luck with your return to work & the journey forward.

Thank you! Hopefully, all will go smoothly for you. But i completely understand your worry. best of luck in the home stretch!

Thanks! This does indeed sound like the same requirement I have. I spoke to my nutritionist & since I met with her a month ago, my next meeting with her serve as my first month's evaluation. So, that is at least a silver lining in this setback.

Thanks! And congratulations on your recent surgery!!

Yes, there probably are some nuances amongst plans. My plan is a personal PPO with Anthem. I pay for the entire thing since I am a freelancer. And I have a crazy high deductible... $4100. The requirement of the 3 month nutritional evaluation may be unique to my sitaution.

I'm not sure. Perhaps this is a new requirement for 2013. It might also be related to the fact that I haven't been on any formal diet plan in over 12 months. I have been following my own diet and exercise regimen after years of yo-yo dieting. I would just check to make sure, but I imagine if you already had approval it, they would still honor that. But definitely worth confirming with BCBS.

Congratulations! That's great news & it's inspiring for me to hear that there's a light at the end of the tunnel.

Thanks. I probably wouldn't be as disappointed as I am if I had known sooner. But with less than a week to go before the planned surgery, I was in the headspace of being ready to do it. But you're absolutely right... it could be worse & there is a benefit to working with the nutritionist. My trip to the gym this morning was not in vain. Thanks for the support! I appreciate it.