Khloé

I'm a Dr. Nick patient, scheduled for April 8th. I love Dr. Nick! He put my husband and I at ease. I started out as a patient of Dr. Barker's, but didn't like the assembly line feeling I got in his office, so off to Dr. Nick I went. His staff has been nothing short of amazing. I started the process on February 1st and could've had my surgery on March 4th, which meant that they moved the insurance process speedy quick. Any time that I have needed them, they've responded quickly via e-mail or telephone call. Like, they return calls back within 30 minutes. They're just great so far. I feel completely secure in my choice for him as my surgeon.

My experience was quite different. I contacted my surgeon's office directly about two weeks before my insurance was actually going to go into effect. They scheduled me an appt for February 1st, which was the day that my insurance became effective. I met with the doctor's staff, who weighed & asked me questions. Then the surgeon came in and we discussed everything. He answered all my questions. We had a nice chat. Then, I met with the insurance coordinator, who gave me a printout of all that my insurance required before they would approve surgery (one nutrition visit, one psych evaluation, and clearance from my pcp.) The ball was in my court after that. I called the next day (a Saturday) and scheduled an appt w/ the psychologist for my psych eval for the following Thursday. I also made an appt w/ my pcp for Monday (three days after my surgery consult) and my nutritionist for that Tuesday (four days post-first surgical consult.) I completed all my requirements in less than a week. My insurance coordinator had all the documentation she needed within a week after my first appointment with my surgeon, and she sent it all to the insurance company on February 11th. I was approved on February 18th. My surgeon's office wanted to schedule me for March 4th but I took a date in April, because I needed time to get all my stuff together. I have a 2 year old son and had to make arrangements for his care while I'm recovering, as my husband will be working from home the week of my surgery but then has to return to the office. Plus, I wanted to give myself time to make sure I had covered all my bases. All that is left is my pre-admissions medical testing to the hospital, which consists of another EKG, blood work, and a barium swallow. That is scheduled a week before my surgery, and are my surgeon's requirements, not my insurance. I should also mention that I had been through the pre-op process before with another surgeon in 2011. I lost my insurance last minute and had to start back over. I was very educated on WLS before going into my appt so I didn't have to attend a seminar or anything like that. It can happen quickly. I walked into my surgeon's office thinking I had 6 months of a medically supervised diet ahead of me, only to find out that all I had to have were three visits that would be completed in less than a week. Had I taken the March date, I would've had my surgery a month from the day I started the entire VSG process. My advice is to be fully prepped, because you never know how fast it will happen for you. Best of luck to you!

Have you had an appt w/ a surgeon yet? They should be able to tell you what your insurance requires. Or you could contact your insurance directly.

My insurance didn't require it. All I had to do was an appt w/ a nutritionist, a psych evaluation, and have medical clearance from my pcp. I started my journey on February 1st, completed all my requirements the following week, submitted to insurance on February 11th, and had my insurance approval on February 18th. It just depends on the terms of your insurance policy. Who is your insurance through? Mine is BCBS of CA.

Just sent you a request.

I just sent you a friend request. My name is Khloé T.

Added you both

The information packet I received from my surgeon's office says to use the Bariatric Advantage crystals in protein shakes three times each day as soon as I'm discharged from the hospital. Then, on another page it says I can begin taking a chewable multivitamin a week after my surgery. I'd rather wait 'til a week after to take a chewable. The crystals don't sound desirable at all.

Ok, everyone should be invited by now. Please let me know if your request didn't come through. If you haven't received an e-mail from facebook with the group invitation, then please check your SPAM folder in your e-mail inbox. And if there are anymore people getting sleeved in April that would like to join our group, please send me a pm (private message) of the e-mail address you have associated with your facebook so I can send you an invitation. Thank y'all for joining! I'm so happy we all have this support system.

Just sent you an invite

Just sent you all invitation requests. Please let me know if you did not receive them so I can try again. Thanks for joining! Our group is really growing.

I invited everyone that I received messages from. I just approved your request.

It is soooo nice to see that I'm not alone on this 200+ lbs to lose journey! My surgery date is April 8th, and I'm counting down the days. It can't come soon enough. I say that but I keep alternating between ecstatic and terrified. Ahh, the confusion!

Go to my profile here: http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/user/50638-khloe/ On the right side of the page above the green box, there is a button that says, "Send me a message." Click that button. Then just type in your e-mail address or whatever you want to say in the box that pops-up and click "Send"

I had to change the privacy settings to "Secret" to protect the privacy of the April sleevers who aren't telling people about their surgery. Unfortunately, this means that, in order to join the group, you have to be manually added, which is no problem for me. Please pm (private message) me your e-mail address that is associated with your facebook account and I'll add you right away.

I had to change the privacy settings to "Secret" to protect the privacy of the April sleevers who aren't telling people about their surgery. Unfortunately, this means that, in order to join the group, you have to be manually added, which is no problem for me. Please pm (private message) me your e-mail address that is associated with your facebook account and I'll add you right away.

I changed the privacy settings to "Secret." Please pm me your e-mail address associated with your facebook account and I'll be happy to add ya.

I have very low-tolerance for putting up with people's snide comments and negativity toward something positive I'm doing for myself, so I'm not telling anyone. The only people who know are my husband, our son, my mom (who will be helping take care of my son after my surgery), my great-aunt & great-gram (who raised me), another great-aunt, my sister, and my niece. That's it. Just my family. No one in my husband's family knows. And no one needs to know. If asked how I'm losing weight, I plan to say that I cut way back on carbs, fats, and sugars, and am eating lean Protein, drinking Protein shakes, drinking lots more Water, and eating clean, whole foods. I've lost roughly 42 lbs on my own prior to starting the WLS process and was asked how I'm losing weight by a couple of people in my husband's side of the family. I told them the same thing as I wrote above, because it is true. And, really, it won't change. I'll just have way less room for food and some fabulous restriction.

The facebook setting says that only members can see posts. It's not a "Secret" group but is a "Closed" group. I'm not telling anyone about me getting the sleeve either. None of the posts have shown up on my newsfeed. I can change the settings to "Secret"if it would help us all feel more secure. Just pm me your e-mail address and I'll add ya to the group after I do so.

I'm nursing a stomach flu. Feel like crappppp! A little over a month til my surgery date. I hope this stuff hurries up and goes away. Ugh.

No prob! I'm pretty sure I added everyone. Let me know if you didn't get in.

Crap. Ok, I fixed it, I think. lol... Try again, please. https://www.facebook.com/groups/April2013VSGers/

likeomgitskhloe

Super! I went ahead and created the group. Feel free to join here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/468542983211702/

Congratulations on getting sleeved! Just remind yourself that while, yes, you cannot gorge anymore, you still can enjoy food. And coming from where I do, enjoying food rather than gorging on it, is something I'm really, really looking forward to. I want to be able to eat like a normal person and not like, well, me. I'm still pre-op but I'm pretty sure what you're going through is normal. My mind keeps torturing me, but overall I know that getting sleeved is the best thing for me. And I'm sure you didn't make a mistake, because working on become a healthier, happier you is NEVER a bad thing when done in a healthy way.