taylokat

I'm 48, 5'10" and 250lbs, BMI 36. Just found out I have sleep apnea. I'm kind of glad for that, as it should help my insurance to cover. I just went to my PCP who I have known for over 20 years. (I have been his official patient for about 10 years). When I told him about the surgery he said "you only need to lose about 70 lbs....just don't eat bread!" Really? That's all I need to do???? But he also said "I'll support you in whatever you want to do" so he wrote the letter of medical necessity. Just don't eat bread... Classic!

Got mine today too!

April 13th! I ordered the Unjury sample pack from their website. I tried the unflavored but it wasn't too good mixed with iced tea...but great with milk and crushed ice in a blender!

I'm so sorry to hear this but it is one of the reasons why just my husband and teen/adult children know. My mom will not understand it and just isn't capable of not talking about it with other people.

I have my scope tomorrow morning. I've never had one but I work in a place that does them often. It's very simple. After the nurse admits you, she starts an IV, you speak with the anesthesiologist and the GI doc. They hook you up to the heart monitor, and the next thing you know, you blink your eyes and you wake up in the recovery room. 30 minutes later you are ready to go home!

April 12 at Centrastate, Freehold, NJ! Woo Hoo! Pending insurance approval of course... Scheduled for endoscopy and sleep study this week!

I would take Vitamin C and echinachea tea also!

I understand where you are coming from, sheetmetalgirl. I've been married almost 27 years and my husband has no intention of changing his eating habits-he is currently about 100 lbs overweight. Although he hasn't said "what about my food?", I know he is thinking it! I'm hoping that he will be inspired by my weight loss, but I'm not counting on it. I'm just saying a prayer that it all works out!

LOL, what goes around, comes around! That's good, but I suggest you write down specific places and times you have experienced this, just in case you need it for the future. Any complaint must be in writing and also state your fear of retaliation. Hopefully she floats away and won't be a problem so you won't need that documentation, but you never know!

Welcome Rickster! I'm from NJ too but I'm having my surgery in Centrastate by Dr. Sadek on April 12. I have heard great things about your Doc and Princeton Hospital is beautiful! Good luck, I'm sure you will do great!

Great feeling, right! I'm scheduled for April 12th (pending insurance approval). Having a date makes it seem real!

I saw the GI doc last Saturday, 2/10. My EGD is scheduled for this Thursday already. He also wants to do a colonoscopy the following Monday because I told him about 2 months ago I tried to give blood but my hemoglobin was low, around 10.5. It's usually borderline, around 11.5. He said that's still too low. I'm not worried about it, just thought I wouldn't have to bother for another 2 years until I turn 50. Better safe than sorry! I'm not sure how I'm going to take those 2 days off from work on such short notice. I hate calling out but I will do that only as a last resort. I also saw the pulmonologist this past Monday. He cleared me with no problems. My sleep study is Thursday also. As crazy as it sounds, I'm hoping I have at least mild sleep apnea so that I don't have a problem with insurance covering it. This month is just flying by with all the appointments I have had! The next 2 weeks will be plenty busy with more appointments!

Yes! Even though I have a date, I always add "pending insurance approval" because I'm afraid I'm gonna bust!

Z

Congrats Shannon! I am also 5'10 and looking forward to Onederland! Scheduled for April 12th pending insurance approval!

I'm not scheduled until April but I have only told my husband and teen/young adult children. Months ago when I first mentioned it to my co-workers, I had only negative feedback...That's crazy, your'e not heavy enough for that, just go to Weight Watchers....I need support, not criticism! so after my surgery they can think what they want. The only "lie" will be the lie of omission. Everything else would be true...cut portions, exercise more, make better choices. In other words, a total life-style change!

I just made an on-line photo album entitled "Before and After". Of course, right now I only have before pics in there. I am so embarassed by my size. I cropped most of them but I left 2 of them so I can compare myself to other "normal" sized people. I am horrified. If I ever start to question if I am doing the right thing by having weight loss surgery, all I need to do is go back to those pics. It's quite a motivator. I never realized how much I cross my hands over my belly, as if I'm going to cover that massive size!! I had my first consultation with Dr. Sadek in Somerset, on January 21st. According to his scale, my BMI is 37. There is no guarantee of insurance coverage with a BMI less than 40. Over 35 requires a co-morbidity. My BP and cholesterol have always been fine, so we will see what my sleep study shows. If I have sleep apnes, even mild, he said he will be able to get coverage. I have seen the nutritionist on January 28th. I lover her!! She is very supportive and non-judgemental. I also had my psych consult on January 31st. She remembered me from when I worked with her about 15 years ago. She asked alot of questions and wrote down everything. She said she would send her consult to Dr Sadek and she sees no problem with me having the surgery. Of course I didn't disclose EVERYTHING she asked, because I want to keep this pre-approval process as smooth as possibe. I know what I need to do for my mental health. My next clearance appointment is with the pulmonologist on February 11th. I need to schedule a sleep study ASAP as my clearance depends on the result. I hope I can schedule that sleep study by the end of the month. I also see my PCP the following week, the 18th. I think he will be supportive of surgery. I return back to Dr. Sadek on February 28th. I think as soon as he had the nutritionist report, psych eval, PCP approval and slep stufy result his office will send it to the insurance. After that, it is just my GI eval/EGD and cardiology clearance, which I have the entire month of March to get that done. Pending insurance approval, I am scheduled for April 12th at Centrastate! I am so glad I didn't have to have it done at RWJ, as I know far too many people who work there, especially in the OR and PACU. Even if I made it thru pre-op and post-op without recognizing somebody, I would be so paranoid about running into someone I know in the hallway. Even though it's only a one night stay, I think I will be much more relaxed at Centrastate. So far only my husband and 3 children know about my pending surgery. Right now I don't want anybody else to know. I love my in-laws but they are very judgemental and I don't think mom would not be able to tell her brother and sister, and maybe one or two other people. If I tell people, I will now when the time is right but for now, it's mine to tell. My husband and kids understand that.

Is there a reason why everybody drinks Crystal Light? How about other brands of sugar free mix-in drink powders?

I'm so happy you finally had your surgery! I was following your insurance appeals and was almost as excited as you were to se that you were approved!! How are things going post-op??

I also have a BMI with no known co-morbidities. My doc said he would be able to get approval even if my sleep study shows just mild sleep apnea. (I haven't done it yet). If I don't have sleep apnea he may even use arthritis. A good surgeon knows how to get what they need especially if you are that borderline. I know what you mean about gaining the weight to get to a BMI of 40...but I'm so miserable at this weight, I couldn't imagine weighing more!!

Congratulations! I hope to say those words in the near future too!!