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knitlil09

Gastric Sleeve Patients
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Everything posted by knitlil09

  1. My surgeons office has certain brands that they prefer, but didn't try and push one. They do sell Chike powder in their office, but they specifically asked if I was planning in doing powder or ready made. When I said ready made and that I had tried a few and liked Premier Protein the dietician said that was great because that's their favorite to recommend to patients, though she have me a sheet with some other options listed. I don't know if kick back is the right term for what they're doing, but if they're selling in the office then they purchased their stock at wholesale price and are selling to you at retail, the same way any other store would. It is a good money maker for them and is convenient for patients who don't care to do all the research on their options.
  2. I just got on the schedule today for June 9th as well! Super excited/nervous/scared, but mostly excited :-)
  3. knitlil09

    Losing weight slow

    I don't think that's slow. I think that's great. Don't worry to much and just follow your plan and you will be fine.
  4. My surgeon won't even release his patients from the hospital until they swallow their meds whole.
  5. I finally met with my surgeon last week to begin the process of getting my sleeve. It was a very emotional meeting because I had originally thought that my insurance would cover the surgery. Well I found out I was wrong. It turns out that it is an exclusion in my plan. Not the insurance's fault, my employer who decided it wasn't important to include Bariatric Surgery. Everyone at the office was so kind and put up with my crying on their shoulders, and I unfortunately need more than one shoulder, haha. I don't personally have the money to pay for the surgery out of pocket, and really didn't want to get my dad involved. I have a lot of unresolved issues with him and the last thing I wanted to do was have to ask him for money. A little history, I used to have a Lap Band (2005-2010) which had to be removed due to complications. My dad paid for the original surgery as well as the emergency removal. He had told me at the time that if I needed another surgery, the only one he would pay for would be the Duodenal Switch. I do NOT want a DS. I left the doctor's office completely defeated. I called my brother to check on my mom (who's been having some health problems) and immediately got some more bad news in regards to her health. I couldn't keep it together and broke down on the phone with him. I had not told anyone about wanting the surgery yet, but I ended up telling him. He was incredibly supportive and immediately got off the phone and drove over to my dad's house to talk to him. He called me back not 15 minutes later and told me to atop worrying, and that everything would be covered. My dad agreed to the Sleeve thanks to my incredibly wonderful brother. To say the least, I had a VERY emotional day. Long story long (haha), I am now in the process of taking care of pre op appointments. Since my insurance won't pay, my surgeon's office thought it would be best to have my Primary Care Physician order the sleep study so that the insurance would definitely pay for it. I have an appointment with him to discuss the sleep study on Wednesday. I have also scheduled my appointments for my psychological test and meeting with the dietician on May 15th. My surgeon wants me to lose 30-40 lbs prep (yikes!). It sounds scary, but I know I can do it! Hopefully after my meeting with the dietician, I can get a date scheduled. I am hoping to have it done sometime this summer when it's slow at my workplace, plus it gives me the time to lose the weight. I still haven't told my mom what's going on. Though I know she will be supportive, I am having trouble finding the right time to bring it up with everything going on with her health (she has breast cancer). I have some time, I just hope the right time presents itself. I can't wait to get going on this new life journey!
  6. knitlil09

    One step closer

    Good luck! You'll do great. I'll be thing about you tomorrow!
  7. knitlil09

    support groups

    What info do you need to add us to the group?
  8. knitlil09

    One step closer

    Congratulations teshadb! So glad you are finally able to get your revision. I'm hoping to have my surgery in June. I have scheduled the majority of my preop testing for the next few weeks including the nutritionist so I can get on a preop diet. I also spoke to my HR department today and let them know that I will be having surgery. Everything is moving very fast, but I'm excited and ready to get going.
  9. I haven't had my endoscopy yet, but I have reflux. I discussed it with my surgeon and the reflux has been brought on by my weight and food choices, so he feels it won't be a problem once I get the weight off/change my habits. Unless something he wasn't expecting comes up in the endoscopy, I should be fine. He also prescribes Nexium for all his patients for the first 6 months post op just in case.
  10. Yes, Dr Seger and Dr D are partners, both amazing! Dr Seger took my lap band out about 3 years ago in an emergency surgery. It was done at Foundation Surgical and I agree, best hospital experience I've ever had. I've already confirmed with him that I will be at the same hospital for my sleeve. I think they actually schedule all self pays there because they seem to have some deal with them to help reduce the hospital charge.
  11. I am in Austin and I checked out Dr Gantas website recently. Not saying he's not a good doctor, but it turned me off a bit that he had specials listed on his website. Maybe I'm just really picky, but I've never liked the idea of a doctor running specials. Their work should speak for itself. That's just my own pet peeve though. I personally am using Dr Seger in San Antonio. He has an amazing reputation and his office staff is wonderful. I am self pay as well. I might be paying a little more, but I very much trust my surgeon.
  12. It all really depends. You need to request a copy of your coverage if you can't get it online. I have bcbs of Texas and was able to view my specific plan online. All plans are different, so just asking if that company covers it won't help. I know many people who have been covered by bcbs of Texas but my specific plan does not cover it. It is an exclusion. Basically my employer decided not to have it included and there is not much I can do about it. Get ahold of your specific plan and there should be something in there discussing wls.
  13. knitlil09

    This is so difficult!

    I am so sorry to hear you are feeling this way, but it will get better and easier. I haven't had my sleeve yet, but I used to have a lap band, and I remember those first few weeks post op. It's not the funniest time. Yes, at the moment your life is consumed with when, what, and how to eat, but it won't always be that way. First if all, as you heal, you will be able to eat a larger variety if foods. The rules you are following with also become second nature to you and you won't have to think about it so much before. Just keep that in mind while you are going through this. It's not forever!
  14. knitlil09

    support groups

    I live in the Austin area as well and would be interested. I am still pre op and will hopefully be having my surgery early/mid summer.
  15. knitlil09

    taking reviews with a grain of salt

    It really all depends on you. Are you comfortable having someone like that be your doctor, or do you need someone with a better bed side manner? Personally, my surgeon for my lap band was like that. He was a great surgeon, but I never felt like I could talk to him. I am getting a sleeve soon and I am working with a different surgeon who is both an amazing surgeon and has wonderful bedside manner. In fact, I broke down in tears in his office and he was so incredibly supportive. I feel like I can go to him if I have any issues, nit something I felt with the other surgeon.
  16. Badwitch, I am in Austin as well and am in the process of getting a sleeve. I had a lap band previously through a dr at Southwest Bariatrics and was not that impressed at the end of it all. There was not good follow up and my dr was not very supportive. I ended up having my band removed with Dr Seger in San Antonio at BMI of Texas. He was absolutely amazing and will be doing my sleeve this summer. I don't know if driving to SA is too far for you, but I highly recommend their practice. Both him, the office staff, and the other dr are incredibly supportive. Dr Seger and my pcp are also being very flexible with me on working with getting some if my pre op testing done in Austin. I feel like I am in excellent hands and am so glad I've gone this route.
  17. knitlil09

    Incentive clothing

    I have an amazing pair of size 10 jeans from the Limited that I used to wear all the time when I was at my thinnest (before my band slipped). They're tucked away in a storage bin at the moment, but I plan on getting them out soon in preparation for my upcoming journey with the sleeve :-)
  18. Will, I'm still pre op so I can't say I know what you're experiencing, but maybe you need to find a Dr in Austin for follow up. I live in Austin as we'll and I know there are some really good practices in the area. One that comes to mind is Southwest Bariatric Surgeons. Though you didn't get your surgery done there, I'm sure they would be happy to assist you post op.
  19. I live alone and will probably be asking my mom to come stay with me for a few days post surgery. How much help from others did you need when you got home from the hospital, if any? I want to be able to tell my mom how long to anticipate staying with me , while still balancing my sanity
  20. So I am have my first appt with my doctor at the end of the moth to discuss gastric sleeve. I previously had a lapband but had to get it removed about three years ago. Would my sleeve be considered a revision or a stand alone procedure? My first surgery was self pay but I am needing my insurance to pay for this one. I'm worried if they consider it a revision that the insurance may not pay. Now I'm worried :-/
  21. knitlil09

    Revision?

    Thanks I guess I'm just nervous about it now. I wasn't insured by this insurer at the time and we paid out of pocket regardless. I'm just worried that I will have to ask my dad to pay for. Yet another surgery. There always seem to be imaginary strings attached to his help, so I would like to do this on my own if possible.
  22. I'm in the same boat. My consult is April 25th mainly because I am using a doctor in a different city and I happen to have vacation scheduled that week. I don't see why a consultation should take that long and it certainly wasn't mentioned when I set the appt up, but maybe someone else that had been through it can elaborate. That being said, I'm sure every doctor is different. Good luck!
  23. knitlil09

    Just getting started

    Thank you all for being so great. I don't know if this was around when I had my first surgery, but if it was, I wasn't aware. Definitely makes me feel less isolated. I look forward to getting to know some of you better :-)
  24. Hi all, I have been reading up on all y'alls posts for a few weeks now and finally have gotten up the nerve to post myself. I have been overweight all my life. It runs in my family. My father had WLS when I was in high school (2000). Long story short, he has had some complications over the years, but is doing okay right now. My sister had a gastric bypass a few years later. She has been successful, and while she still has to work at it every day, she is happy and healthy. I had lap band surgery in 2005. I was successful, or so I thought, for a while. I hit my goal weight, but realize now that I was not healthy. I was frequently burdened with acid reflux and severe restriction. In one instance, I ended up in the emergency room on the 4th of July in the middle of the night because I could not keep Water down and I was severely dehydrated. I had been dealing with a doctor that I didn't particularly mesh well with, and who I felt was not terribly concerned with my health, but more with the money (my father had paid out of pocket for my surgery). That night in the emergency room, I was able to get in touch with my sister, who had me give the emergency room staff her doctor's name. He and his partner were a God's send. About a month later, I called him again because I was having restriction issues again. He was able to see me immediately and was able to see that my problems had been stemming from the fact that my band had slipped. He immediately rushed me into emergency surgery to remove my band. I was still not covered by an insurance that would pay for a surgery, and both my parents were out of the country at the time, so we held off on making any decisions on future surgeries. I tried to keep the weight off myself. I knew I couldn't realistically keep it all off, but I hoped to be able to keep a majority of it off through exercise and nutrition. It worked for a while. I had a personal trainer and went to the gym every day. I eventually ended up in a very destructive relationship. I became severely depressed and ended up gaining back all of the weight I had originally lost. I ended the relationship a year and a half ago, and a year ago my ex passed away, having lost his battle with alcoholism. Getting another surgery has been something I have been thinking about for a long time but had not been in a good place mentally or emotionally. I did not want to jump into a decision while I was dealing with so much happening in my life. I feel ready now and I have pretty much decided on the sleeve. It still scares me though. It took me three days to finally pick up the phone and call my doctor's office to make an appointment. I have an appointment next month and have already started a list of questions to ask him. I have not told my family yet that I am thinking about doing this again. I know they will be supportive, but I also want to be absolutely certain before I involve any of them this time. Thankfully I now have insurance that covers the surgery. My biggest concern is taking time off work and people I don't want to tell finding out. I work in a very customer facing business, and I don't know yet how I am going to handle all the questions I know I am going to inevitably going to get from my clients. I look forward to getting to know some of you on this journey, and all appreciate all the support.

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