eriadne

Hi guys, While I'm not 100% sure if I'm going to get the sleeve (talking to surgeon tomorrow to see if he thinks I should switch from band surgery to sleeve surgery... I certainly want to), I know it'll be at least mid-June or later until my surgery date. It makes me all nervous and excited just thinking about it, but I feel like the time is passing so slowly. I've got at least 45+ days to kill! What kinds of things would you recommend doing now to prepare mentally/physically for surgery, or to get out of the way or enjoy because post-op it might not be possible for a while? The only 2 things I have really been working on are good habits like walking each day and journaling my food. I feel like I did when I was a kid and it was the night before going to a theme park!

This! Ugh, I am trying so hard to work on this, but I love my drinkies and chewing feels so tedious. I start out well but then a few bites into it, my mind is whispering "you should enjoy yourself now, before the surgery, while you can still do this!" :thumbup: A definite work in progress. Has anyone carried a timer around or something to remind them when to drink and not to drink? I am thinking I'm going to need to get one of those kitchen timers you can wear around your neck for at least the first few weeks to remind me to sip sip sip and to remind me not to drink! My memory is pretty friggin shot lately (anemia, not to on the ball to begin with, etc. :biggrin0:) so I use calendars, reminders, alarms for just about everything.

I really hope my sleep apnea goes away! I have had terrible sleep quality for friggin ever, and while the CPAP helps me sleep better, it still interrupts my sleep and doesn't get me to 100%. Plus, I hate not being able to fall asleep anywhere but in my bed (and taking it on travel... ugh, takes up so much room!) What I was wondering is did anyone have to have CPAP adjustments while actively losing because their CPAP pressure was now too strong? I just had to have my CPAP pressure upped after a few years and about 35 lbs weight gain, so I am wondering if after losing that weight if I'll need to drop it back down again. Luckily, I was right there when they adjusted it in the office so I know I can do it at home (no special anything required other than knowing what buttons to press.) Just wondering what experiences everyone has had, and if there are any helpful clues or signs that your pressure is too high.

Found this article that addresses this very thing - Will Weight Loss and Exercise Make Your Penis Bigger? | Fitness, Weight Loss, and Diet Blog by Better Body Journal I've always heard that cardio exercise like jogging or running can help things a lot too and is the only truly natural way to improve things, because it increases blood flow and sends oxygen everywhere, including "there". On top of that (no pun intended) it helps you build up stamina and improves your performance overall. Don't ever tell him I said this on here, but my husband was a track guy and even though he's put on a few lbs and I'm noticing a bit of a fat pad, he still definitely has very sturdy and impressive erections and good stamina to boot. O_o Actually, I have been encouraging him to pick up the Couch to 5k program... maybe my subconsciousness is in the gutter. :thumbup:

I've got a Wii Fit too (which is great, since it is the only way to weigh myself until I get back under 300 and my regular scale doesn't barf at me!), so I've been using that as well! I really want to get the "Walk It Out" game for Wii that is all about walking around and building a neat little town, exploring and playing mini-games -- it looks like the Wii Fit running game on steroids! I think I'll save it for post-op though so I have some extra novelty/motivation to walk walk walk. One thing I am REALLY looking forward to is being able to actually do the strength training and yoga activities on Wii Fit... right now I am just tooooooo heavy/bulgy to do any of them without my body screaming "oh HELL no!" I'm also working on cleaning out all the "bad" foods. Our freezer was overflowing with stuff anyway, and I'd love to be able to come home from surgery and not worry about having tempting stuff all accessible. I want my cupboards to be bare! It is kind of a fun challenge to figure out how to use up what's at hand! I'm trying very hard to avoid ordering too much stuff in advance. I do plan on buying a sampler kit each from unjury and the nectar people and then using them post-op and order more based off what I like. I've seen so many people say how their tastes change post-op that I'm definitely going to try a variety of things before I commit to one of those big jugs of stuff. I have been mixing up Protein shakes every so often since attending my surgeon's seminar (to get used to drinking them in place of meals and to replace for bad Snacks like ice cream!) so I'm already sitting here with 2 big jugs of powder that I'm trying to use up after like 6 months... oy! :thumbup: Caffeine is definitely in check. I've been on my husband to give it up for over a year, so I've gradually switched us to decaf almost-everything. I get craaaazy migraines sometimes, so I'm super vigilant to stay away from getting a caffeine habit. I don't need yet another migraine trigger! Even given up soda, which was hard since we were already doing diet caffeine-free and giving up the fizz entirely made me a little sad. Oh well, maybe a few months post-op I'll be able to tolerate it. It's probably for the best, I usually get soda cravings while eating some horrible greasy, salty, junky food. Oh, and I did just get back from seeing my surgeon. He's all for me doing sleeve over band and thinks it's a much better option for me. So they are going to be calling my insurance to switch the approval. I shouldn't have to move my surgery date, but I won't know for sure until they hear back from insurance. But yay, it's good to know I'm good to go!

The health insurance bill covers MORE people for MORE things, not less people or less stuff. :001_tt1: Your fiance should be able to call up Aetna and ask them if his plan has a "rider" for bariatric surgery. Aetna should be able to tell him over the phone. If not, he should be able to ask his HR. Aetna does now cover VSG (it was considered experimental under their policies until just a week or two ago), however VSG is not explicitly listed under the surgeries covered for a revision... so you may have to ask about that once you are covered. I hope everything aligns right for you!

Thanks for all the positive encouragement. I called my surgeon's office today to make sure he actively does sleeves and they said he did (and prefers them) and offered to re-submit my paperwork if that's the route I want to go. I asked for an appointment to talk with my surgeon about what he recommends and also to get an opportunity for both my husband and me to ask questions... just want to make an informed decision, you know? :001_smile: I have all kinds of blood issues, so when I initially talked to the surgeon about RNY vs. band, that did play a factor for both of us leaning toward the band. I am thrilled to have options for once, but it can be a bit overwhelming, even for someone who researches all this stuff like crazy before diving in. I'm glad Aetna made some big changes to their obesity surgery policies, but it's got me in a whirlwind at the moment. :sad0:

I noticed that VSG is not one of the procedures that is mentioned for getting revisions. Anyone know if that's maybe an oversight, or if they really won't revise you from, say, a band to VSG? I can't think of any reason why band-to-sleeve would be purposely left out I'm about 2 months away from getting banded (just got my approval from Aetna within 2 days of them updating their bulletin,) but I am having second thoughts now that VSG is no longer experimental -- especially if VSG isn't on the table for a revision if 2 years down the road I'm not a "loser." I am optimistic that maybe I'll beat the odds of the band and get to 100% EWL even though my BMI is 50+ and I have PCOS... but I if I wind up 2 years out, still struggling and I *could* have had VSG up front & covered and no option but to self-pay to revise... oy, that would bite. :sad0:

Congrats on your date, CurvyCat! What's your 15% reservations with getting the surgery? I've had some conflicting feelings since getting my approval, but I've chalked it up to partly nervousness and partly OMG-I-Can't-Believe-It's-Really-Happening. Reading some of the inspirational stories on here, looking up/asking questions that I never thought of until now and working on changing some behaviors I'll need pre-op and post-op are giving me the confidence and positive vibes to carry me through. Hopefully we can do the same for you, so if you feel like sharing, go right ahead!

I sooo hope I'm one of the foot-shrinkers. I seem to have been going up in size as I've put on weight over the years, and my feet are bigger than anyone in my family. Even if I just no longer need wide widths that would be great. (Nobody around here carries ww!) Ooo, this has me so excited!

It was about 3 weeks from when I last talked to the surgeon's office and they said they'd go ahead and submit what they had until I got the letter in the mail. The surgeon's office told me to expect it to be about 2 weeks, so I was just starting to get nervous when my copy of the approval finally showed up this weekend. I actually wound up calling them today to ping them since I hadn't heard anything from the surgery coordinator. I was getting impatient/worried that they hadn't gotten their copy of the approval stuff yet... err, I mean I was being assertive and making sure everything was being handled. ;D

Just got my date today, June 14th!:smile:

congrats and best of luck on your journey! :smile:

I had a similar problem with my PCP (and I also have Aetna!) The bad news was that my PCP first 'forgot' how long I'd been seeing them and didn't provide enough weight history -- then when I called them, they had to dig forever for more weight history and they had lost the only official weight I had had in 2007. My surgeon's office wanted to submit 5 years of weight history, Aetna requires 2 years (I think) and I only had 3 years after days of going back and forth between PCP and surgeon's office -- missing 2007 and 2008, the two more recent years that I thought for sure Aetna would demand! I didn't hold out any hope for getting approval but my husband kept telling me that there was no doubt that they'd approve me. Lo and behold my approval arrived in the mail on Saturday! It was definitely nice to be wrong and hear that "I told you so" from him, hehe :smile: It is totally understandable how frustrated, annoyed and impatient you feel. Definitely rant and get it off your chest, especially to people here or those close to you so you don't feel like you're going it alone. That way even when you feel down or a bit hopeless, you've got people to carry the torch for a bit until you feel up to doing it again! And you will, because this process may be frustrating, but it is going to be utterly worth it in the end :drool: You will get your approval and you're also already working on taking charge of your health, your medical records, your doctors and your insurance, all to get the healthy body you want and deserve. Way to go

I also use Livestrong MyPlate on my computer and on my iPhone (well iPod Touch, but same app :ohmy:

Some studies have shown that D3 is better absorbed by our bodies than D2. When doctors prescribe Vitamin D, it is typically D2 however. I personally was prescribed Vitamin D for a very substantial deficiency and switched to an OTC supplement of Vitamin D3 after finishing my first Rx bottle because it was cheaper. The same studies that show D3 is better absorbed also seem to indicate that you need about 1/3 the IUs of D3 to match D2. So instead of taking 15000 IUs of Vitamin D2 once a week, I take 5000 IUs of Vitamin D3 once a week. My deficiency is almost gone after 6 months and my PCP is pleased. :ohmy: Definitely be careful with Vitamin D, however. It can be toxic if taken in high doses. The recommended average intake is 200 IU/day. Vitamin D supplements with a few thousand IU are not intended to be taken every day! It might be worthwhile to visit your PCP and have them do a Vitamin D blood test so you can know if you are deficient. Then you can get an accurate dosage from your doctor to address your personal needs. Vitamin D deficiency has recently come to the forefront since recent studies have found that lots of people are significantly deficient these days, so a lot of doctors are now aware of it and checking for it even routinely. That's how my doctor caught me! Check out the wikipedia for more info on Vitamin D in general: Cholecalciferol - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

My surgeon also said my BMI (currently around 52) was toward the high side of where he recommends bypass over banding. He said that in his experience, people with a BMI over 55 have to work very hard to succeed, whereas with the RNY it's pretty much guaranteed you'll lose a significant amount of weight. I believe his cutoff point was 53, which has me a bit nervous since I've been gaining the last few weeks despite my best efforts. I'd much rather have a band and commit to exercise (something I want to do anyway) than have an RNY -- if I was to have irreversible gastric surgery, I'd probably go for a sleeve. Unfortunately my insurance company (Aetna) considers sleeves experimental still. I just got my approval letter from insurance and am waiting to schedule my surgery. Hopefully I can lose some between now and surgery or at least stop gaining so my surgeon doesn't start having second thoughts!

I live in Chesapeake, just signed up for the next seminar at WLSC with Dr. Terracina today. Pretty sobering when it asked for my weight and I stepped on the scale and got the over-limit display. At first I thought it was a mistake! Definitely time to get the ball rolling. What goes on at the free seminar anyway? I tried calling WLSC to just schedule an appointment but the calling tree didn't seem to have much other than the seminar signups so I figured that's the right place to start. Also taking my husband with since he's sort of cautious about the idea of me getting surgery, although supportive. Figure it will help alleviate his curiosity and get me going. I haven't been to my regular doctor for at least a year, just because I got fed up with being put on then taken off of different medications while my weight crept up and my energy/mood/money got sapped away. I hope that doesn't create many problems with the preliminary stuff! I have Aetna POS (ppo) and from what I've gathered around here I'll probably have a few months of prep ahead anyway. In any case, I'll be thrilled just to get started on the process. Just finding out about banding, reading up on it and making the decision to try for it has helped me feel a lot more in control than I have in years.