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I am so freaking excited!!!! After all the hoops that I had to jump through and classes and Dr appointments, I am finally meeting my surgeon tomorrow!!! I have three appointments, one with the surgeon, and internist and a shrink!! and them I'll be getting a surgery date!!! I started this back i September and to finally be getting a date is making me so happy!!! I don't want to get my hopes up, but the surgery center has been scheduling pretty quick fo people so far...so Im hopeful that I'll have surgery by July!!! Just wanted to share my joy and thank everyone on here who has helped me along the way!! This forum has been a savior to answer my endless questions and help me through the long process or insurance requirements!!!

I have mine tomorrow - someone told me that they really just want to make sure you aren't nutty and that you have realistic expectations

Thanks for posting this..I'm curious about it myself. I don't really want to be vegan totally but prefer my diet be plant based.

Congrats !!!!! So exciting!!! I'll say a little prayer that everything goes well!!

Let me know if anyone has some good questions to ask the surgeon!!! I have some but I know Im going to forget something in my excitement!!

YEA!!!! Dr Ray is super nice!!! He basically give you the approval to enter into the program and then once that happens, Barbara will put you into a class. I really think that meeting with Dr Ray in the beginning is just a formality. He just goes over any questions that you have and explains the program. He'll go over your medical history (if you have had any surgeries on your abdomen in the past) and then send you through!! If you have made it this far, you're good to go!! I'm excited for tomorrow myself!!! get to finally meet the surgeon!!

The classes are informational depending on who your teacher is...let me know who you get!! My teacher seemed to have a certain belief that anyone who is overweight has some deep childhood issues that made them that way, but a bunch of us in the class just couldn't get her to see that maybe we just ate too much!! My teacher also really pushed exercising, which is great and I totally see the need for it, but when you are spending 45 minutes of class exercising, and 30 minutes of catch up going over issues from the last week, then you only have 15 minutes left to cover whats in the book!! But Im just complaining, overall, I feel 1000% prepared for surgery...being on this site and reading about the journeys of other people really helped also!! My understanding is that talking to the shrink is just like having a conversation with a friend. They mostly want to make sure that you have realistic expectations!!

Hi there!! Im in San Diego also and I finished up my classes on May 1st and I'm meeting Pacific Bariatric on Wednesday to meet my surgeon and the shrink!! Im very excited - the Kaiser process is kinda long, but it actually goes by pretty quick. Let me know if you have any questions!!

Thanks for posting this!! Im curious myself!!

I'm pre-op but I know I will have to have them, and I have done them before... The needle is tiny so you don't even feel it for the most part... You can feel the medicine going in,but it's not bad at all. You do bruise after...so don't worry if you notice bruising even after you stop the injections. As far as giving yourself the injections... Once you do it once, it's easy... That first time seems odd trying to stick yourself, but once you do it once or twice it's a piece of cake!!!

Thank you for the updates.... I hope you are doing better as time goes by!!!

I don't think you need to take it down a notch....the insurance hoops can be a lot depending on your insurance company... I started my journey last September, so the though of now being so close is crazy exciting. I have to calm myself almost daily as I'm waiting for calls or appointments....I definitely wasn't this excited until my classes ended...but now I think about it daily... Which can be good... I'm very confident that I'll be fully prepared when the time comes

I'm totally with you!!!! I finished my six months of insurance required classes on May 1st.... I met with the doctor on Wednesday and I have a few more hoops to jump through before surgery but the doctor said I should be having surgery in about a month.... I'm crazy excited!!! Just waiting for the call for my physical now!!!

I agree that it depends on your insurance. My insurance requires a 6 month class and you are supposed to lose 10% of your weight in that time frame....in the long run, it doesn't effect the surgery if you didn't lose the 10%..they still sent you through to the surgeon regardless, just told you that you couldn't gain anything from that point (seeing the dr after the 6 month program) to the point where you have surgery.

Does anyone know the reason why some people can have the sleeve outpatient while others stay in the hospital for 3-5 days? Is this just a dictation by the insurance company? Or is there an alternate reason?

I know that there are all sorts of threads online about all the things that you need to bring to the hospital with you, but they seem kinda surprising to me?? The last time I was in the hospital I just wore comfortable clothing and had my phone and charger and that was it. They supplied everything I needed. I'm sure there are great extras, but I'm curious what you took with you and actually used at the hospital. Like did people use the extra comfy clothes or nightgowns?? It just seems that you would use what the hospital provides....am I way off base here?? Also, I'm only referring to a hospital stay in the US...I'm sure there is extra comforts I would bring to Mexico also, but I really don't see myself bringing anything besides my phone / Ipad and chargers. Was there something you were totally bummed that you didn't have at the hospital??

Well except all the people who post they lose weight and are in smaller sizes, posting excitedly about things they can do now they couldn't before... I more so meant that there aren't people on the forums talking negatively about surgery in general, that it doesn't work...etc. I welcome all the positive posts I can find. I'm clearly someone who commented in this post after only reading the first page of comments. Now that I've read through all NINE pages.....my comments seem out of place and all I can say is that this forum is a lifesaver for me. I get knowledge and support and guidance from all the posts, positive and negative, but sometimes people need to just let stuff go. You've made your point and the posts lose the validity when people are just squabbling over semantics.

Just a thought (slightly off topic, but it popped on my head as I was reading this) Do you think that maybe the difference between those that are very successful and those who arent as successful as quickly is research and commitment. It just occurred to me that you don't see too many people on these forums stating that they are losing weight (with the exception of the stalling that everyone experiences). Im in a class right now that is necessary for insurance, but I really feel like I learn more in my own research. We have one of those teachers that is against the surgery and so she tries to push people into natural weight loss techniques as opposed to teaching us what we will need to do after surgery. I worry about some of the people in my class who never check out the forums or do any research because the class is the only learning outlet they have. There were several people in class last week that were legitimately shocked to hear that they couldn't have bacon right after surgery...we have been in class for 19 weeks now!!!! Anyway...I think I began a rant somehow!! Thank you if you are still reading!!

Im right there with you!!! I started back in September and I finish my classes on May 1st so Im hoping for a late May or June date. In the beginning all the appointments and requirements were daunting and seemed like they would take forever, but now it seems like time is flying. I can't wait to be a "after" as well!!!

Im still preop, but most people I've seen answer this question say that the only regret they have is that they didn't do it sooner...I know you were asking the vets, but I just thought I would chime in too!!

I agree with Blondiee...how does your tummy react when you have a clear liquid?? Going back a stage may help and slowing down if you were drinking too quick. If you try those things and they don't help, then I would put a call into the doctor and see what they suggest...better to be safe!!

Yes, I'm going through Kaiser, but the hospital that we go to isn't a Kaiser hospital in San Diego...Its a bariatric hospital. Regardless, I'm starting to worry less about being bored!!! I think I'll just try to enjoy the extra rest along with drinking and walking so they'll release me on time!!!

I agree with PDX...Im still pre op but with all the things I have read on here, I don't plan on weighing myself for at least two weeks to a month after surgery. I know I will get discouraged by stalls and there are always going to be natural fluctuations while your body is healing!!

Thank you for the responses!!! Thats totally what I was looking for...some of the lists I've seen just blew me away with all the extra crap they have on there. One more question...did you load up movies or something on your tablet? Or did you find you just slept most of the time and didn't even use it? I think Im worried about being bored!!

You have to stop beating yourself up!!! You're not a failure, you are human. If we didn't all mess up on diets now and again, then we wouldn't be here!! This is hard and anyone who thinks it isn't is very mistaken. By posting on here, you have owned your mistake and you need to just move forward...you got this!!!