Basham53

I had surgery last July and I've lost 70 lbs. When I see people that I haven't seen in a while that is usually one of the first things that comes up. Immediately after "You look great!" comes the "How are you doing it?". What is most frustrating to me is that it seems like when I open up to people about my surgery so many choose to share that they know someone who did it, lost a bunch of weight, then gained it back or weigh more than before. I'm SO sick of hearing that! I feel bad to mislead people about how I'm losing so much weight because I know that desperate feeling of hoping to discover the "perfect" diet. I could just say that I only drink water and mostly eat protein but I'd feel like I was lying because I know I couldn't do this without the surgery. I've tried losing weight so many times. I am seriously surprised about the number of people that have reacted that way. In a way it is motivational driver to keep the weight off but it is also annoying because it keeps happening. This journey hasn't been easy and I'm proud of my accomplishments so it is depressing when someone's first response is negative. Has anyone else experienced a lot of negativity when you open up about having surgery? How do you respond? Just wondering.

I know everyone is different but I didn't have much pain after surgery so hopefully you will be the same. I was worried about getting sick because I've had issues with pain medicines making me sick in the past (my chart says I'm allergic to Demoral but it isn't really an allergy, it just made me terribly sick after I had my wisdom teeth taken out). I'd just be sure to tell the surgeon about your concerns. ...They put a patch behind my ear to help with nausea before surgery (I think I wore it for a couple days). They were also giving me liquid medicines for nausea for a while too in the hospital. I never threw up. Now that I think of it I have nausea medicine that I got filled prior to surgery and I've never had to take it (surgery was last July). Good luck with your surgery!

I'm 44... will turn 45 in a few months. I had surgery on July 23rd. My starting weight was 234. Current weight is 164, so I've lost 70 lbs. which is hard for me to wrap my mind around. I'm in a size 10! I never thought I'd see that size again!!!

My surgery is scheduled for July 23rd. I don't have a pre-op diet either. I'm excited and a little nervous. My pre-op meeting with the surgeon is this Friday. ...The thing I think I'll miss the most is Diet Coke.

I started this process in late January. I was scheduled to meet with the surgeon right away and I really liked him. After speaking with him I talked to the Coordinator, also very nice and assuring. I kept hearing, "Call us if you have ANY questions or concerns." Admittedly I am too easygoing and didn't want to seem impatient so I waited. And waited. Three weeks later I called the number I was given for the Coordinator. First off there was a LONG intro message that kept repeating that the process takes time because of the insurance company, patience is required, don't keep calling about a surgery date, and please expect 3-4 days for a call back - is this normal? Anyway, admittedly this made me very uncomfortable because of my personality... I hate confrontation and didn't want to be annoying (I know that is ridiculous since that is there job, but I'm being honest.) I did leave a message but no one called me back in the 3-4 date range. When I finally did get a call it was a reminder of my surgery date for the following week and I knew that was wrong because I hadn't even been scheduled for the required appointments yet. The caller apologized when I told him this and we both knew I had been confused with another patient. No wonder I wasn't being called to schedule appointments. I wasn't sure what to do so I found the email where I was first contacted about my interest in the program so I replied to it and explained my situation. I received a prompt reply saying they were sorry and that my email had been forwarded to the Coordinator. Still no call, but I did get calls from providers to schedule my other appointments. I finished up all of my requirements in mid May and I sent another email which was forwarded to the Coordinator and left a voicemail and still no calls. It's so frustrating and I'm starting to worry because I've spent so much money toward my deductible and if I don't have the surgery this year I don't know if I'll be able to afford to have it. I know I could find another surgeon at a different facility but how complicated is it to switch this late in the game? And it sucks because I really liked the surgeon. I'm just not sure what to do. I feel like if I call and leave a message for the surgeon he would make sure they submit my paperwork (I don't think they have because on the Cigna site there are no pending authorizations for me), but would I be stupid not to switch given the experience I've had? Surely this can't be normal. It blows my mind that they didn't call after finding out about the mix up to reassure me that everything was okay. And you'd think they would make sure that they stayed on top of my case to make up for the mistake. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I'm happy to say my surgery has been scheduled for July 23rd. The coordinator finally called me this week and apologized for the earlier mix up. She went into a big explanation about what might have happened but honestly I was so glad to finally talk to someone I didn't care. Thanks!!! 😊