Brighteyes

Ok, I have been on pins and needles. The BCBS Fed received all my paperwork the other day. I am trying to get this surgery done while I am in between jobs. Suppose to start my new job on 4 Nov. My surgical office won't even discuss a date until I get my insurance co to do the preapproval.

Oh crap...I didn't realize this was posted in the men's room. I have made a point of not posting in here...sorry guys

At least I am not the only one! I am waiting on my insurance to do my pre-approval but it didn't help that my insurance coordinator dragged her feet. I have to start a new job on 4 Nov (though since I am not getting paid right now because I work federal service I am not sure what their rush is to change my job) so I have been on a time crunch to get this done. But I decided that if I don't get a least a week recovery before I have to start this new job then I will postpone surgery until I can get things sorted out. Such a pain in the butt!

Being reminded of the fact that I will be discouraged from having a beer after surgery (carbonation) this makes me want to go grab one. Earlier last month when all the seasonal beer started to come out I went and got a mixed 6 pack of anything pumkin. I certainly have been tempted to polish off the bottle of vodka I have. But I have refrained since I am doing my pre-op diet. Having a drink has certainly crossed my mind a time or two.

Finished all my pre-op 1 Oct. Was told that my surgical office just got all the paperwork and they submitted to my insurance company. On a time crunch with this whole surgery because I am suppose to start a new job 4 Nov. I don't know if it will all happen in time.

Fantastic!

Celebrate your success. And when you can, be a blessing to others.

I am putting a playlist together of these songs for my workouts.

Everyone is giving you great advise. I have been thinking about this issue and here is the conclusion I have reached. I have never been attracted to men who are overweight. That's me being honest. I am a firm believer that you must be a reflection of the values you seek in a partner. It's not that because I am overweight that I am undeserving of love. I just need to reflect those values that are important to me. Being physically fit is one of those values. So basically, I hold no resentment to those that wouldn't even give me a second look because if the tables were turned I would do the same thing. This is me being brutally honest. I wish you the best of luck! And no one deserves to be someone else's secret.

When reading my insurance plan they say they don't cover cosmetic surgery at all. But I know of two people who got their surgeries paid for by the same insurance company and plan. They had their doctors document that it was medically necessary- the one lady had a fungus issue under the skin flap from her tummy. The same lady worked out with her surgeon to have the health insurance company pay for the tummy tuck and she paid the difference on her breast lift. It might be worth investigating to see if you can do something similar.

Wow! Such a difference! Way to go!

You and I have talked about this some already. I am completely certain I wouldn't be where I am at without a therapist. Trying to do WLS without one would be disastrous for me. But that's me. I do EMDR, which is used for PTSD and anxiety. If this is part of your problem then I highly recommend it. Finding the right therapist is key. The thing I think helps the most is that my therapist doesn't let me bullsh*t her. I can rationalize the hell out of something. I work in a social services type field, so I know all the lingo to make myself seem mentally fine. She holds my feet to the fire and keeps me honest. And the times when I have had real mental breaks she has been available to talk me off the ledge and get me in for an appointment preventing me from being hospitalized. My experience with my psychologist who screened me for surgery was completely different. I was open and honest with him because I thought that was the right thing to do. But he wouldn't be someone I would see outside of the required screening. In talking to him he sees things very black and white. It's his way or it's wrong. Example, my screening showed I have depression and anxiety (things I already knew). He thought I should be on meds and I disagreed. He also said I shows signs of "adjustment disorder." My response to that was that I am sure if there is something I have some uncomfortableness then there is a "disorder" diagnosis to go with it. Which makes me think of another reason things work well between me and my therapist. We agree on my treatment plan. I went in there knowing I didn't want to be put on meds right away. I wanted to go through treatment and would discuss meds if my issues were affecting my ability to work and function in life. She agreed. Thankful we did this cause I am now being monitored for a possible bi-polar II diagnosis that we wouldn't have discovered had I already been medicated. I believe life should have moments of extreme joy and it's set of struggles. My therapist agreed and supported me in my decisions. Things work between my therapist and I because we can be very candid with my mental health overall. It's this type of relationship that I have come to value in my therapist. Okay - I feel like I am writing a book. I hope this helps you make some decisions. If you want to know more about EMDR and how it works just send me a PM and I can go into greater detail. It's not the typical "talking things out."

Congrats! Great job!

My surgeon has as strict no caffeine rule. My choice through all this is to work my sleeve the way my doctor and his team has directed. So I have already given up caffeine so I am not going through withdraws afterwards. Maybe once I know I can keep up my hydration well I will consider it...lol

I am doing EMDR with some traditional talk/cognitive therapy. I am being treated for PTSD (depression and anxiety because of the PTSD). I don't take any meds; personal choice. I manage my issues with behavior modification. I started going once a week and had a few emergencies that I had to come in twice a week. I go once a month right now, but will readdress after surgery. To understand why this works for me it helps to understand why I chose this route. I was sexually assaulted 15 years ago and didn't tell anyone. My way to making sure it didn't happen again was gaining weight, which I consistently did. Prior to being assaulted I rode horses professionally and was in great physical shape. I have tried to loose weight but would self sabitoage. Last year I reached this point that my weight was causing real physical restrictions. After loosing 30 pounds a male Soldier I work with made a comment of "noticed you are dropping weight and just wanted to let you know that I am really happy for you." I thanked him and went directly to the soda machine and drank a soda and mentally give up on my diet. I found my therapist a week later. My purpose was as to stop myself from self sabitoging. Through the process I discovered that I wanted to WLS. The fact I did the hard work in therapy gives me the confidence to know I will be successful, but self aware enough to know that success will come with struggle. However, I have the tools in place to help me. I have a great therapist, a few close friends that understand what I am doing, and good behavior modifications to help.

I guess I haven't even thought about not being successful at this. I have thought about complications, trusting my judgement, and if this is the right choice. But I have had this confidence that if I did do this that it would work. I attribute this to the therapy I do.

Lol...right there with you - no kids, 3 times a day. Still preop. But have been doing cross fit to build up some endurance/strength and incorporate some healthy habits now before I add in the pressures of the sleeve. My first two weeks I was dead on my feet. But now I have a ton of energy all the time. Can't wait to be sleeved and drop some of this extra weight. I remember my skinny days with sex and can't wait to get back.

My doc says no coffee... :-(. Mainly because it's a diuretic and dehydrates you.

I haven't experienced this (still preop). But it almost sounds like you might be lactose intolerant. You also might want to look into a gluten intolerance. When we have food allergies but constantly eat the foods we have an intolerance for then our bodies don't always react severely to it. But when our diets have been stripped the way they are with our pre op and post op diets our bodies can have severe reactions to foods that we have always been slightly intolerant of. This is in part because our bodies have and a chance to heal and we no longer have the antibodies to fight against the intolerance. I hope this makes sense....

Get back to your doctor's and have them take a look at it. Better be safe than sorry.

I had a similar issue, unrelated to WLS. I called my insurance company and filed a complaint. Needless to say the doctor and his practice was taken off their network.

I had surgery last year. It was $300. I was told by my insurance rep that it would be the same this time.