animallover1247

Hi ZetaStar I'll let you know my experience. I have been diabetic for about 12 years (insulin dependent), and I also have high blood pressure and moderate sleep apnea. I had done a lot of research before I went to my consult. My surgeon told me gastric bypass was the gold standard for diabetes. I told him I was aware of this fact but I did not want to have bypass surgery for many reasons. some of which you listed l. I told him I wanted the sleeve and he did not have a problem with it. As a general rule, I would say go with what your surgeon recommends and if you have questions or doubts about it, then talk to him/her. Yes, I'm sure a surgeon can refuse to do a certain procedure on you. If that happens, you could seek out another surgeon but keep in mind they may tell you the same thing. Let us know how your consult goes!

The biggest fear I'm dealing with is not the surgery itself or worrying about if I could do it on my own (because I can't) but the fear of failure. Failure I won't get to my goal weight and the fear of regain, even if I do reach that point. So basically I'm worried about regaining weight I haven't even lost! How messed up is that?

I've read many posts on the psych evaluatipn. I finally had mine a few weeks ago. A couple of things: 1) If you are seeing a psychiatrist, you will likely only have an interview. If you have to see a psychologist, you are likely to have an interview and psychological testing. A psychologist typically uses the MMPI. 2) Regardless of which professional you see, there's no way to predict what they will ask because they are all different. There are some questions I think should be reqired such as past addictions, trauma, support systems, etc. I had a bizarre evaluation with a psychiatrist who was morbidly obese herself. I posted my experience on BP. Overall I think people stress too much about it. Good luck.

I'm pretty sure it depends on what the requirements are with your insurance and even with your surgeon. Your insurance may require you to lose a certain amount of weight or to not gain weight or your surgeon may have specific guidelines even if your insurance doesn't. The state employees where I live (with PEIA insurance) have a 12 month waiting period and if they gain one pound during that time, the 12 months starts all over.

Its Highmark BCBS through my employment. Its not federal. Did the surgons office call and tell you about the approval or does the insurance notify you??

How long did it take to get your approval? My surgeons office said it takes 2 weeks for BCBS. I THINK that might be a bit exaggerated.

Yes to be above post. Was your insulin decreased any after surgery and before you went home? How much insulin are you on now.? Some people can dramatically reduce the amount of insulin after surgery but may not be able to stop taking it completely. There are 20% of people who are type 2 diabetic and their diabetes is not weight related.

I am so glad you didn't have any problems with your pcp because it did create a lot of stress for me wondering if u could find another one. GREAT NEWS

i think it's an excellent idea. You may get rid of some of your problems with WLS but you can gain a new set of problems. My PCP told me the other day she recommends I stay in therapy post surgery (I've been in therapy for over a year). I chuckled and said " I would NEVER consider having this surgery and not being able to attend therapy sessions."

I wish you luck! I've had some awful experiences. My PCP refused to supervise me and i have diabetes, high blood pressure and sleep apnea.. I think it had to do with the fact he had never done and it didn't know what the h*** he was doing. So i had to find another PCP. Then last week i had my psych eval and the psychiatrist, who was morbidly obese herself, was obviously against the surgery and said she would do it herself if it wasn't so "dangerous and risky." However, from reading these forums I think the overall consensus is most people did not have any issues with their PCP. If he seems to be reluctant to supervise you or even refuses, just ask him why. Besides the only thing he really has to do is talk to you about diet, exercise, nutrition, etc. and complete the documentation.

BLERD GIRL is correct. I would call the surgeon. Does the dentist have you on an antibiotic or did he have you on an antibiotic for your tooth? I just know that if you have an infected tooth and it is not treated, it can lead to serious problems, the infection can poison your body but i'm sure your dentist is monitoring this, right? I personally wouldn't want my surgery until the dental issues are completely cleared up, even if it had to be postponed. Make sure your dentist knows about your upcoming surgery.

Okay...so a lot of people have posted questions on here about the psych evaluation. I don't expect this to necessarily help anyone but I wanted to share my experience. It is somewhat different that any other post I have read. First of all I struggled with the decision to see a psychiatrist or a psychologist. I know a psychologist on a professional level so I knew I would feel comfortable with him. I also knew if I went to him I would have to complete testing whereas if I went to see a psychiatrist, it would only be an interview. In the end it was money that made the decision for me. I only had a copay with the psychiatrist whereas I would have to pay for the testing and interview with a psychologist, which was considerably more than my copay. How did I find the psychiatrist? An acquaintance had the surgery and said she could only find one who would do the evaluation. I would have to drive 90 min one way. Fine. I asked about her experience with the evaluation and the first thing she said was "I felt like she was trying to talk me out of it." The acquaintance was 5'5 inches, 300 lbs and had no co-morbid conditions. So, I was curious to see if I felt like she had tried to "talk me out of it." I am 150 lbs overweight. I have diabetes, high blood pressure, sleep apnea, and a long history of high cholesterol and triglycerides (although I do not currently have this problem). The psychiatrist asked questions I expected to be asked: current medical conditions, medications, family history, occupation, marital status, past and current mental health issues, past trauma, past relationships and how long they were, etc. She asked me what procedure I was having (sleeve). She did not ask me anything at all about my weight history, if I had a support system or if there were any stressors in my life. So at the end of the interview this is what she had to say: 1. You need to know there is currently NOT a cure for obesity. If there were, everyone would be having the surgery. You should also know the statistics say there is a high rate people who regain their weight back. My response to her was i felt like without the surgery I had a 0% chance of losing this weight and keeping it off. With the surgery, at least I will have a chance! I added I think the benefits will outweigh the risks. 2. There is a phenomenon known as addiction transfer and you are at a very high risk for this. I immediately stopped her and told her I was aware of this concerned about this as well and talked to my therapist about it. With regard to the transfer of food to alcohol addiction, I don't drink at all now. So, in order for me to avoid this, I should not ever drink. Of course, at this point she had to tell me about her "friend" who never drank before surgery who ended up being an alcoholic. I'm not quite sure why she said I was at a "high risk" for this because the only addiction I've ever had is food. However, my father and sister both died from drug addiction so I am statistically more likely to have addiction problems. I understand this may occur so I will be more cognizant of it. 3. You need to be aware this is a "dangerous and risky procedure." Well so is life saving brain and heart surgery! She said this on two different occasions. First, she told me about another "friend" who had a leak at the staple line. Then, the kicker of it all is this psychiatrist was morbidly obese herself! Not just obese, morbidly obese. Round as she was tall. So then she says to me I would have the surgery myself if it wasn't so "dangerous and risky." So..did I feel like she was trying to talk me out of it? Hell yes! I find it ironic that a person who I know understands the struggles of being obese would have this perspective on WLS. Her responses were the kind of feedback you get from a normal, lay person. Another oddity...she also out of the blue said "you look good." What does that mean? My hair and clothes were clean or I didn't act like was experiencing psychosis? I didn't ask. She did clear me for surgery so I guess that is the most important thing but that experience left me scratching my head......

Many people who have WLS have mental health issues prior to surgery. What they are looking for is to see if your are addressing the issue (which you are) and if you are stable. Additinally that is also the purpose of your psych evaluation. They want a professional to determine if you are stable. If there are issues, they may want you to address them before surgery. They may require some ongoing counseling or at least a few sessions. Of you are self pay, the surgeon may still want the evaluation.

I am very sorry you are going through this as well. I have to ask...do any of your problems have to do with your surgeon? Was your surgeon experienced? Did you research your surgeon to see if any malpractice claims had been filed? The reason I am asking is because i have been researching this for a LOOOOONNNGGG time and I haven't seen anyone to have the wide array of issues you are dealing with. Are the doctors telling you that all of those symptoms are complications from the surgery? Of course some of the symptoms are common like acid reflux and nausea. Dealing with all of this would be very difficult.

I really hope you don't have any problems. Do you have have any co-morbid conditions? I have posted this a few times and have seen a few other similar posts but i had problems with my PCP. I have diabetes, high blood pressure, and sleep apnea. Even with my co-morbid conditions, my PCP refused to supervises me. So,. I told him if he wasn't willing to do it, I would find someone who would, so that's what I did. There are many PCP's who are not educated about weight loss surgery and therefore are reluctant to do the supervision.. With respect to my PCP, I think he even had the mentality I was taking the easy way out which is absurd. Good Luck and please post to let us know how things went. P.S. If your PCP is reluctant, tell them to call and talk to the surgeon.

Yep, I am having the same issue. I go see my PCP on Friday and I'm going to tell the nurses they need to use the same scale every time they weigh me because they have been using different ones AND especially since it is being recorded for bariatric surgery. It's never been 21 lbs off though

I personally would be upset as well, especially since you don't want others to know. I'm a private person too, always have been. If you think about it, when you go into a doctors office and sign in, you are able to see all the patients who came before you and I would think that would be a violation of HIPPA as well but this still occurs in many offices (but not all offices) You are always given a copy of HIPPA rights but I see them being violated ALL THE TIME in doctors offices. Heck I was recently at my urologists office and I heard the nurses talking about my cousins mother in law who was not even there! Not only that but I am a professional bound my confidentiality myself and I see violations happen almost every single day. It's disturbing and unethical. I would be picking that phone up the first thing in the morning and calling the doctors office.

Have you had your surgery yet? The surgery can worsen acne due to all the hormonal changes in the body.However, after everything stabilizes, you should go back to normal.

My preop testing was tons of blood work at initial appointment with the surgeon, EKG, chest x-ray, and endoscopy. I will have more blood work right before the surgery as well. That was it! Oh and the psych eval!

Okay so I am not even going to address the you succeeded because you were "lucky" except to say it is absurd. What I want to say is this...they next time they say it is "luck" that got you were you are, you could say that damn Mountain Dew can is why she didn't get to where she wanted to be !!!!!!!! WTH?

You've had a stomach virus for an entire WEEK? Why did they give you antibiotic for a virus? Antibiotics are given for bacterial infections, not viruses. It sounds like you have something else going on besides a stomach virus. I would be seeking additional medical treatment....

I agree with tera1982, it is a personal choice. The first thing my surgeon said to me was bypass is the preferred surgery if you are diabetic. I told him I had done the research and I understood this. However, I personally did not want to have the bypass procedure for many, many reasons. The surgeon told me he did not have a problem doing the sleeve on me; it's a good thing because if he refused, I still would not have done the bypass. I would have just risked having a heart attack or stroke! I will say this as well....there is NO way I would even consider having bypass if I was diabetic and only on oral medications. I would say just continue to do your research.....

I know you didn't ask me but i'm volunteering the information. I am on a medication called Trulicity. I haven't lost a significant amount of weight (10 lbs) but it has helped my A1C. Before my last A1c of 5.9, it was 6.6. However, I have made significant diet changes..no fast food and limiting the carbs so I am sure that has contributed to the low A1c. I think Victozia has to be taken daily and Trulicity is only once a week. My endocrinologist told me that after about 6 months, the weight you lose from these medications always comes back

No, i haven't had my surgery yet. My insurance requires a 6 month waiting period and the other requirements that need to be met (psych eval, nutrition classes, 6 months of PCP visits). I have completed four months so I will be eligible for surgery on Jan 15th. You may also want to check with your surgeon to see if your cholesterol and triglycerides have to be at a certain level as well. I have seen at least one person on here who could not have their surgery until they got those numbers down. However, all surgeons are different in their requirements so just ask.

I am diabetic. I noticed on here a while back someone posted their surgeon wanted their a1c at a certain number before they would even do the surgery. Freaked me out so when I went for my consultation, I asked my surgeon. He told me no, he doesn't have that reqirement. He's operated on people who had a1c's of 12 and 13. However, he did check mine and it would not have made a difference, mine was 5.9...the lowest it's ever been. So I would ask my surgeon asap so if it's too high,you will have time to lower it.