mythreechildren2001

My surgery is scheduled for the 12th as well. I hope things stay on track for you!!

I'm sorry you're having a hard time. I only have to do liquids for ONE day...the day before my surgery, and I'm already dreading it. Hang in there, and just start over from this point on. It's not easy or else we would have lost it and kept it off already!

Thanks so much for your input and encouragement. I really appreciate it. I also know that everything you've said is true. It's now only 26 days I decided last night that I would get on the treadmill for 15 minutes at a time today. Unfortunately when I tried to get on this morning, I learned it's not working properly so there goes that. :/ I may try to do wii fit or something, or take a walk outside. I'm a special education teacher, and I'm extremely patient....I'm just not good at waiting. lol Thanks again for your kind encouragement Deborah

My surgery is 27 days away (July 12), and every day seems like an eternity!! I'm really having to fight off depression waiting for it to get here. I'm a teacher, and I'm out of school right now which just gives me more time to dwell on it! Intellectually I know it will be here before I know it, but in the meantime I'm SO MISERABLY fat I can't stand it!! I found an old post I made last August on obesityhelp when I was thinking about surgery. I weighed 255 then. Now I weigh 282!! Unbelievable!! I've been trying to talk myself into dieting and exercising to help get myself a little closer to where I at least was then. Since that time I've developed sleep apnea and sleep with a cpap, and I just feel horrible.

Best wishes to you! I still have 28 days until my surgery. I hope all goes well and easy for you!!

Thank you for your post...for all your posts. Your input is invaluable. You're quite an inspiration. Congratulations on your pregnancy! I've never been skinny and pregnant, so I was never one of those cute pregnant bellies...like you have lol When I was pregnant with my son, I looked like I was pregnant with twins because I gained so much weight. Then when I was pregnant with twins, well it just wasn't pretty at all! As cute as you look pregnant, I'm sure it is a difficult yet thrilling time for lots of reasons. Best wishes to you on your healthy baby! Thanks again for everything!!

I'm so sorry about the kidney stone and the cancellation. I hope you have a speedy recovery!

July 12....38 days at Vanderbilt!!!

I met with the surgeon, insurance specialist, nutritionist, etc. I went to the appointment with everything (I thought) and was ready to get my approval and get the process going! If they had told me they could take me that day, I would have RUN to the operating room. After meeting with the surgeon, I was so disheartened that I don't think I'm even going to pursue this anymore. First of all let me say that I was given the opportunity to have insurance that covered the surgery through my employer which covers WLS. I jumped on it, even though I have to pay a penalty of $130/month for 2 years because I didn't take the insurance when I first hired on 21 years ago (teacher) or during a major life change (birth of my children). When you're a teacher (in Tennessee anyway) you can't add on to the state insurance policy unless you're getting married, divorce, have a child, or spouse loses insurance. TN did an open enrollment for the first time EVER so I JUMPED on it...knowing I would be paying a penalty. The insurance took effect Jan 1. I knew what they required so I had been preparing for months prior to that. I completed the 6 month medically supervised visit Jan 3 and met with the bariatric surgeon, etc on the 6th. The surgeon was very nice and compassionate BUT he is not a huge fan of the sleeve and has only done 2. He said he would completely understand if I wanted to switch surgeons, but he thinks the sleeve is being prematurely dubbed the be all end all. He said that even though the procedure was done along with duodenal switch, you can't compare the two in terms of long term safety, results, etc. He thinks there is nowhere near enough data for this surgery in regards long term results/complications. He really favors gastric bypass...REALLY favors it. This surgeon is the head of a MAJOR university hospital...world renowned hospital. He did say that the sleeve is by far a less complex surgery than the gastric bypass..he repeated how 'simple' it is in terms of complexity of the procedure itself. This completely threw me for a loop, and I left completely disheartened and devastated. He wants me to do a sleep study because I told him that I sometimes SOMETIMES snore when I'm congested. He wants me to have an endoscopy done because I have felt reflux at times (when I've been pregnant and when I've really overeaten) and even though my insurance doesn't require a psychological eval, he wants me to have one. He tried to reassure me and told me I was the perfect candidate for surgery, and he would gladly perform whichever one I chose (lap band, sleeve, gastric bypass). I was so disheartened when I left, that I REJOINED weight watchers for the 500th time. I am not interested in having my intestines rerouted (no offense to anyone who has had this. I have just not even considered it for me) BUT I do have high blood pressure, diabetes waiting to happen, have horrible knee pain, just plain miserable, and I certainly look horrible. I'm 47 years old and I'm at my all time high of 270 lbs. I'm still numb from the experience because I really thought I good to go, and now I don't think I will even go forward.

Well after trying and again failing on Weight Watchers, I decided to meet with a different surgeon. This surgeon is very experienced and an advocate for vsg. I've completed all the requirements on my part (to my knowledge). It's now in the hands of the review team at Vanderbilt and then the insurance company. I don't know how long this process will take, but I'm comfortable with my decision to pursue this procedure. I want to thank everyone again for your support, advice, and encouragement. I can't wait to start my new life!

I had my psych eval this week. It lasted about 2 hours. The first 30-40 minutes consisted of one on one discussion with the psychologist. Then she had me read a list of vocabulary words that increased in complexity. After that, she gave out a long list of words which I had to define. I made it all the way through both lists. She told me that rarely happens. I guess they normally quit after a person has missed a certain number of words/questions. It's not the same as an IQ test. It was more of a one on one achievement test, so I'm not sure what the purpose was. There was no math, so I was relieved! lol The rest of the the time, I answered 2 different sets of questionnaires, one of them was several, several pages. They seemed to be screening for signs of depression.

Thanks for sharing your story. I'm 3 weeks on weight watcher's again and I've lost 9ish lbs. I'm going to give weight watcher's one more serious try. If things don't work out, then I am going to find another surgeon and go with. Either way, I'm not ruling out the sleeve or weight watchers. I'm just going to give this one more good, honest try. Thanks again!

I'm still very appreciative of everyone's input. It is very helpful to me and I'm really contemplating what everyone has said. I agree about having the WLS before the knee surgery although my husband is really pushing me to have the knee surgery. I think I will get a second opinion with the other dr in that practice that is a big proponent of the sleeve in a few weeks, and see how I feel after I've met with him. Thanks again

Thanks again for everyone's input. This whole thing really threw me for a loop. I was just unprepared because it didn't go down exactly like I was expecting. I thought I knew exactly how it would play out. I have been reading everything I could on these boards and other sources. I did talk to him about seeing another dr in their group, because I know the other dr is a huge fan of the sleeve because he performed it on a friend of mine. I was just not expecting the head of the dept of one of the most prestigious hospitals in the world to have doubts about the long-term safety of the sleeve. I just felt that if HE had questions, I certainly should. I'm not attached to this dr in any way. This was the first and only time I've met him, but I did get the feeling that he was genuine in his reluctance and again, I don't doubt his skill as a surgeon. He has performed thousands of WLS successfully. He said he would do whatever surgery I chose between the 3 they perform, lap band, sleeve, and gastric bypass. He said I was a good candidate for any of them. He just really REALLY favors gastric bypass, and I am NOT having that done not matter what. I've also learned through a lot of tough experiences (infertility) that drs don't know everything, and that a lot of time I actually do know better. If I had listened to some of the drs I've been to, I wouldn't have my two youngest children. I BIG TIME bucked the system to deal with my infertility, so I don't know, maybe I wasn't as mentally prepared for this as I thought. I really don't know. I'm also not saying that I'm giving up on it forever. I'm just going to hold off for a little while, and give it one more try on my own. I need knee surgery because I have 2 torn meniscus in my knee. I was planning to have WLS first and then do my knee this summer when school is out. I think I'll do my knee first, and go from there. I'm not giving up on my Quest for good health and freedom from obesity. I will never give up on that. Thanks so much for your support and input. I'm extremely appreciative of everyone's comments and thoughts.

Thanks for the link. This whole thing scares me so much. I have 3 children. I want to be healthy for them. I want to be a good example for them. But most of all, I want to be here to raise them. I just don't know what to do.

I do believe this surgeon is a competent surgeon. He has done thousands of WLS in his time. I'm sorry that I didn't add more detail. I was afraid people would get tired of reading and move on! lol The reason he has only done 2 sleeves is because he came from UAB. He said that no insurance in the state of Alabama will cover the sleeve, so they just didn't do it there. Now that he has moved to TN, it's a different story. He was extremely supportive and compassionate. I don't even think he realized the doubts he put in my head! I really don't doubt his skill as a surgeon, and I did ask him if there were other drs in the group that would be available should a complication arise. He said absolutely, and that he loves that aspect of his group/practice. Thanks so much for your input. I really appreciate it.

Thanks for your reply. Let me clarify a few things. It's not that he's anti vsg (which is how I guess I made it sound), it's just that he thinks it's too early to hail it as the 'be all, end all' in WLS. His reference to the DS was meant to say that even though it has been done as a part of the DS, you can't look at the same studies and apply them to the sleeve. He is concerned about the long-term ramifications of this surgery that we just don't know about yet because it's relatively new as a stand alone procedure. As far as the $130, that is a 2 year penalty and after that I won't pay anything. Thanks again for your support and input. I really appreciate it.

I am going through Vanderbilt, and I have a friend who is about 6 months out from her sleeve who used Vanderbilt. I'm very confident in the program they have there, and I can't wait to be sleeved (hopefully next month!!)

That's fabulous!! Congratulations!!

I've done a lot of research on dry skin brushing in the past, and I used to do it regularly. It absolutely does work. I don't know if you've heard of Teresa Tapp, but she is a big advocate of dry skin brushing. I bought her video/kit several, several years ago, and I used to do it faithfully. My problem is that I get lazy and don't stick with it. It's been a couple of years since I did it, but I think I will dig out my brush and give it another go! Thanks for reminding me!

Thank you so much for this post! It is filled with so much information and excellent advice. I'm hoping to be sleeved in late January if all goes according to plan. I think the hardest thing for me will be the not drinking while I eat. I don't even know if I CAN do that! I need to start being more mindful of that now as I eat. Thanks for all the advice!!

Thanks for all your input. I hope I remember to address everyone's comments. I have had my hormones checked. My thyroid is fine. My testosterone is in normal ranges. My estrogen is really high, and my Vitamin D was very low. I take prescription Vitamin D. I'm not on birth control, and I haven't tried any type of hormone. I did try Rogaine but it absolutely sets my scalp on fire!! I am one of the rare few that can't use it. :lol0: I was just hoping against hope that once I get the sleeve and lose the weight, it might magically grow back. I'm so embarrassed about my hair loss. It is really BAD. I don't go in public without my hairpiece. Very, very few people even know it's not my hair. I just wish I didn't have to wear it at all. There are so many times when it's a problem...airports, Disney World, when I had an MRI (metal clips so I couldn't wear it), the beach, when I do have surgery, etc. etc. It's just so humiliating. :lol0: I have researched and researched, there's really nothing that will help me. I was just hoping that maybe some have experienced regrowth after weight loss.