hopeliveshere

yayyy plus ill get my discount since i work there lol! gonna check it out today!

thanks so much. i did read a little about this before. i will def give this one a try

OMG i been skipping around on the pages of these replies. Now i feel satisfied to know who it is finally. lol. btw can i sit at this table too? never got to hang with the cool kids in high school.

Hello and welcome. If you are interested in the sleeve you might want to check with your insurance company first. Just a suggestion b/c Some insurance companies (mine included) require that you have 6 months of weigh ins with your PCP. If your insurance company is like that, and you wait the 6 months before starting, then you probably wont be looking at surgery for about a year. Good Luck!

honestly i would just tell people to mind their own business or to "eff" off. My bff at first was unsupportive and i told her she can either get on board or i wont discuss anything about it with her. Its my decision. For me, this is not what god gave me....I made myself this way with no exercise and disgusting eating habits. My body is a temple and i am trying to find the way to take care of it properly. Personally i dont care if ppl at my job know or not. Im not much of a social person at work....i have a close circle of friends here and thats about it. As long as i get a paycheck every two weeks im happy.

i hear you on that. i had a stomach flu a few months ago so bad i didnt really eat anything for like 4 or 5 days. i had no appetite at all. I actually think i am going to give the pre op diet a trial run just to see how my body reacts to it and deals with the hunger.

Hello and welcome! i am way at the beginning of the process as well so would be happy to answer questions. what insurance do you have? i agree with the others about checking with your insurance first. The other things you have to do will depend on your surgeon. I went to to the seminar first and then had a cosultation with the surgeon. They gave me a list of all the things i need to complete before i go back to them for my second consult in 3 months. My insurance requires 6months documented weight loss attempts with my pcp. my surgeon also requires a nutrtional visit, cardiologist, pulmonologist, gastroenterologist clearance as well as a pshyc evalutaion. Good Luck!

I would love to hear your experience with the hospital and the doctors. I am going to a seinar next week for dr stephen merola and dr armando castro. Thank you

weel i had my nutrtionist visit yesterday and it went awesome! she said that i was a highly motivated patient and she thinks i will have great success. That was so good to hear. Anyway i am going for my full bloodwork today at 3. I know i have to fast but am i allowed to drink any water??? its going to be a swelterting 93 degress here in ny today. thanks

I had my 2nd weigh in with my pcp on saturday. I gained 3 lbs putting me at 254lbs. What the heck is all i have to say. I did a pretty good job writing down everything i ate which she was happy about. I was honest as could be even if i ate something that would be considered cheating. The day i felt most satisfied was the day i had a tomato basil salad and grilled swordfish. She said it was because for once i had a well balanced meal. She said that i am eating too much processed food and gave me a list of a few things i should be eating daily. I have my 1st appt with the nutritionist tomorrow. This 6 month wait feels like its dragging on forever. I have to go for my bloodwork on friday and i did manage to set up an appt with the cardiologist for june. Hoping to set up the psyhc or pulmonologist for june too along with weigh in #3 with PCP Back to the drawing board for now i suppose.

aww i thought the group was going to be made on here.. i dont have a fb

its so great to see how many ny are ppl there are! im down with a playdate. i have 2 girls ages 2 and 5.

congrats to you katie! keep us posted on your progress.

id like us all to keep in touch since we are from generally from the same area. im way at the beginning of the process still. I have to do all of my preop testing still. i dont have a fb either

I think we spoke briefly on the hospitals board. Im using Dr. armando Castro out of NYHQ.

I am over in ridgewood now! I lived in queens most my life except for 2010-2012 i lived in greenpoint.

hey guys I am a queens girl as well! I dont think ill be looking at a surgery date until octoberish i have to do six months of weigh ins with my PCP

Hello all. I am new to this website and have been considering vsg for quite a while now. I am 30 years old and i am 5'3" my highest weight is 255lbs. I am currently hovering around the 247 mark. I have struggled with weight since i was a child. Name a diet and I have probably been on it. I have tried weight watchers, slim fast, south beach and a host of diet pills including dexatrim, stacker2, hydroxycut and alli. My greatest success came from the alli pills in oct of 2009. I went from 230lbs to 189lbs.After the birth of my second child who is now two, i just cannot lose any wieght. I restarted the alli pills in Jan and have been yo-yoing with a 6lb weight loss. My BMI is 44+. I have no other co morbitities (that I am aware of) besides for having high cholesterol. I do not take medication for this. I think that vsg will give me the tools i need to succeed finally on this journey. However, I have no idea where to even begin. I have done research on the procedure itself so far. What is my first step? Do i need to go to visit my regular dr and discuss this with her or do i start the search for a surgeon first? Does anyone know anything about Magnacare insurance covering the procedure. Looking forward to getting to know everyone in the community. Thanks in advance for your help

I asked my doctor this as well and he also told me that it depends on how much weight you have to lose. he also said that someone younger would have less loose skin than someone older as it depends on your skin elasticity. He said most of the time the biggest issue he sees is that the women will need a breast lift.

Can you request to be knocked out fully for the egd? My problem is i cant even swallow pills and i doubt ill be able to follow a command to swallow when they are inserting the scope. Im afraid i am going to panic

I am still pre-op but had to comment on this as well. Ive been asked twice recently! My winter jacket def made me look pregnant. A family member asked me and i just told them no and to piss off. Then I was at work and an older gentleman kept staring at me out of the corner of his eye and finally came up to me. He said "oh you're expecting, how nice" and he proceeded to touch my belly at this point. i just said somethng like i wasnt comfortable with that and walked away. how mortifying!

Good luck, please post your experience about this if you can. This is the one test i am terrified of and most likely im going to put it off until last.

Def check with your insurance. I have a bmi of 44.6. I do not have diabetes, hbp or sleep apnea. But i do suffer from urinary incontinence, sciatica, high cholesterol and migraine headaches.

Im just trying to get an idea of when i might be having surgery. My final weigh in will be in september with my PCP.. So after that and all if my testing is completed by then when does the surgeon usually schedule for you to go in? Thanks in advance