ella37

My surgeon does the drug testing. I thought it was weird but I don't do any drugs, so whatever. Wow, they really put you through the wringer! Do you have some pre-existing health problems or something?

Curious about the "floating away" feeling, lol. I haven't heard that term before

Gain the 7 lbs and see if they approve you. 7 lbs isn't much to lose if they don't. Insurance can be a nightmare. I'm BMI 37 with no "serious" co-morbidities and they wouldn't approve me unless I got diabetes or severe sleep apnea or something. I would've had to gain 20+ lbs for my insurance and then dieted for 6 months and if you dip below 40 they won't do the surgery (most insurance co's take your weight from BEFORE the supervised diet, not mine), and if you gain even one lb the 6 month clock starts over. i decided to just self pay but if it was a matter of 7 lbs I definitely would've gained it. Not the healthiest but they're kind of backing you into a corner. You either do that or wait until you have more serious health issues.

Sounds like we all have to be pincushions and lab rats for a while, lol. I've had SIX appointments since Friday and I have 3 more before Tuesday. Hopefully then I can get a surgery date!

Yeah my surgeon is saying to plan for about 4 weeks but I'm curious as to what people's actual experiences were.

Same results...as in weight loss results? That doesn't mean they aren't damaging their organs or losing muscle, screwing up their metabolism, have abnormal labs, etc.. I think I'll stick with the thousands of other surgeons who follow national standards and evidenced based guidelines. Sent from my KFFOWI using the BariatricPal App Interesting. I wonder if it has something to do with the fact that post op patients get so many less calories.

Meant to post this in gastric sleeve! Sorry!!

Hi folks! This is my first post ever. I've been researching VGS on and off for about a year and I think I may be ready to bite the bullet. My insurance will not cover the procedure since my BMI is slightly below 40 and with what I have you need two co morbid conditions as well so I'll be self paying. I have been a decade long yo-yo dieter. I gain and lose the same 35 to 75 lbs every year. I lose fast, then I regain even faster. I have fairly severe anxiety and the extra weight makes it so much worse. After much research I feel like this is a tool that could finally move me forward. Now that I'm getting more serious about it I've been going from general information to reading people's actual experiences. It seems like every single story I read and every video I see is someone relaying an AWFUL and miserable recovery that lasted months on end. Is this just how it is? I don't know if I'm uninformed or if people are more likely to share a more extreme story. I had a DCR 3 years ago and a full laparoscopic hysterectomy about 2 years ago and I understand that this will be my biggest surgery ever. It's kind of scaring me though! I'm not expecting a pleasant time and I can handle post surgical pain but some of these stories make it sound like a year long horror show. Just looking for input. Thanks!

Just my personal experiences as someone with long time and severe anxiety issues. I find that my anxiety increases with my weight. The bigger I am the more miserable I get and the more anxious. When I lose weight I feel good about myself and relax. I've never struggled with depression so I don't know if that is effected as well, but I assume it could be. Like another poster said, depression and anxiety aren't issues that typically "go away", so there may be no improvement if you wait a while. Only you can know what's right and I encourage you to talk to your doctor and make the best decision for you, but that was just my 2 cents.

This is why I'm not telling anyone. I was super heartbroken when my best friend who I told (and swore to secrecy) told me that I was giving up on myself. I think it's just one of those things you can't understand until you've struggled with it. It's like telling someone with depression to just, "cheer up!", or someone with anxiety to "calm down!!" (I've literally had that yelled at me during a panic attack). food is so weird because it's the one addiction that is supposedly all your fault. If a heroin addict had managed to quit by himself for a few weeks or months or even years but kept going back to it no one would be saying, "no.. you can do this on your own! don't give up on yourself!!" We would be rightfully applauding them for realizing that they had an issue that was effecting their health and acknowledging that they needed more tools to get healthy. Fat people are one of the last groups of people in this country that no one will bother you for shaming or making fun of. Everyone else gets a pat on the back for getting some sort of professional help. Instead it's, "GOD, just put down the fork and start exercising! It's not THAT hard!" I'd just once like to hear someone say, "GOD just put down the needle and stop shooting up, it's not THAT hard!" If people haven't experienced something they just don't get it, the decent ones among us REALIZE that they don't understand and try to have sympathy and not judge. After I explained more about the surgery to my friend she got on board with my decision, but I can't have that conversation over and over again so it's just her and my husband who know. If you're looking for an answer to people saying that, the best you can do is explain what kind of sacrifices really go into this surgery. If you don't want to keep explaining that just nod and smile.

I've had some stomach issues for the past 2 weeks and I went in to a gastroenterologist today and they think I may have an ulcer. I'm concerned with how this will affect my plans for surgery. Did anyone else have ulcers before surgery? If so, what happened after the surgery? I'm terrified this is going to make my surgeon not want to do this, although I haven't been able to speak to him and have no idea. Any experiences?

Thanks for the info. They're going to schedule an endoscopy on Monday so hopefully I'll have more info after that. I'm nervous because I'm self pay so I can't switch to bypass. :/

Seems like he might want it on a long weekend so he can be around to help out? Is there anyone else you can enlist to be your helper for a few days?

You lost over 100 lbs!! AMAZING! I'm a little shorter at about 5'6 and 1/2 but my reality based goal is 150, which is a perfect size 10 in jeans and M on top for me. My fantasy world goal is 130, lol. I chose my goal based on BMI (high end of normal) and a weight I've been comfortable at before.

That's so annoying. I think most of us know how to lose weight, we just keep gaining it back. So it can basically end up being a 6 month diet where you try to not lose anything, ugh. I hate the way insurance companies interfere with doctor's opinions.

I'm just curious for people who went through insurance. If your BMI is close to 40 and you go on the supervised diet, what happens if you lose enough so that it drops below 40?

My dr told me that 1-2 cups/day is fine once I am done healing. The problem is that coffee is a diuretic and will interfere with getting enough Water if you drink too much of it and don't add extra water to your intake to make up the difference.

Does this eliminate the nausea? Taking Vitamins always makes me feel so barfy

Let us know what they say!!

I have no WLS experience yet but I will say that my surgeon also recommended against the balloon. He said that it is more of a jump start and for people who have gained and lost over and over again there isn't much hope that 6 months will be long enough to change that. I was told that the sleeve can indeed stretch, but it will never be anywhere near what your stomach used to be. For me it seemed like the better options. As another poster said you can def get sleeved in Mexico with a lower BMI. Best of luck!!

I'm definitely no expert and you didn't say your height or starting weight but from what I've read they recommend bypass if your BMI is over 45. Best bet is probably to talk to your dr!

Ok so disregard my last post cause yeah, that would be most of the paperwork, lol. Ask about the echo but all docs are different and want different things. I don't have to get an endo. Good luck!

Also just to add, make sure you have ALL the info. Just because your insurance DOES cover the procedure doesn't mean they won't make it a hassle. Most companies make you go through 6 months of supervised dieting via your GP on top of their other requirements. It might end up good that you have almost a year EDIT: I didn't read through the new posts and realize that someone had already said all of this. Sorry!

I can't comment on the insurance stuff b/c I'm self pay but right now I need to get an echo on my heart, a psych eval, and a clearance letter from my GP so I have all of those appts scheduled for the last week of August. Once they get all the proper paperwork on all of those appointments I'll get a surgery date as long as everything is clear. Some people also have to have an endoscopy. I know that going through insurance is usually a bit of a nightmare so I'd say you got lucky on that one!

Did you have the sleeve? Sent from my SM-G930T using the BariatricPal App Not yet! I'm getting my paperwork in order still. I just used to be terrified of vomiting so I was commiserating. It happened about 10 times after my last surgery and I overcame my phobia. It's really not as bad as you're remembering. I REALLY HOPE NOT! Lol. Good luck with everything!!!! Sent from my SM-G930T using the BariatricPal App I promise! I used to be so afraid of throwing up (until I'd get so nauseous that I couldn't stand it but even then I never could). It's really not that big of a deal. I still don't ever do it but I'm not scared any more and now I really wish I could when my stomach hurts, lol