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thanks for the advice, angeleyes...that is something I will talk with my insurance company about judysart: I hear ya...what makes me so angry is that it is proven that the long-term costs of treating complications from diabetes, for example, far exceed the cost of the WLS...I don't understand why insurance companies don't recognize this

Welcome to the forum Amanda! I think you'll find this is a very special place. It is a simple truth that one pound of fat is equal to 3500 calories. So logic says that creating a daily 3500 calorie deficit would result in losing a pound a day. Even if creating that daily 3500 calorie deficit is theoretically possible, it isn't realistic, sustainable or healthy. Perhaps creating a 3500 calorie deficit per week is a more appropriate goal? But unfortunately, even with that change, there's more to consider than the deceptively simple math. Proper diet and exercise following surgery will result in weight loss. As long as there is a calorie deficit, there is no question you will lose weight. But all of that weight loss cannot be attributed to fat loss. Some of it will be loss of lean muscle. And some of if it will be loss of Water. And to further complicate matters, individual metabolic rates are different based on a number of variables including genetics, fitness levels, and size. A heavier person has more muscle mass and requires more calories. So a heavier person will lose more weight with a weekly 3500 calorie deficit than a lighter person will. That's one of the reasons that the rate of weight loss immediately following surgery is usually more dramatic on a weekly basis than it will be six months down the road. Now add to that the fact that as you progress in your journey, your metabolism slows in response to the lack of calories. Our bodies have evolved to be much more efficient at defending a higher weight, than at allowing weight loss. And every single one of is unique so our bodies respond differently and at different points in our individual journeys. The good news is that you don't need an advanced degree in nutritional science to lose weight. What you need is a plan. Stay positive. Stay patient. Follow the protocol as closely to the letter as you possibly can. Maintain a food/exercise log. Trust the process and allow your body to find its own way in its own time. The laws of science and the universe cannot be denied. Resist the temptation to second guess yourself. There are simply too many variables. No matter what your weight is doing, follow your plan. Keep it simple. You'll find your journey to be so much less stressful and so much more rewarding. Do these things and before you know it you'll be celebrating your success every day. You're gonna love the new you!!

After waiting years it is finally here and I am so excited!. I have researched, and done additional testing to make sure I don't have any health complications and now, finally, the surgery. I am looking forward to the pre-op liquid diet because it will mean that I have started my journey to a better health (and body) Bring it on world!!

MNB, Congrats on your upcoming surgery!! That is my date as well and nervous is an understatement. Many sleevers have been giving me wonderful advice though. They say to relax, think of the positive, acknowledge the complications but DON'T dwell on them and overall just try to prepare your mind and body for the change. You will do great!! Welcome to the Jewels of June! Hugs Heather :cheer2:

Hi everyone, I am new and super scared for surgery. I have so many fears such as being allergic to general anesthesia and having crazy complications. I have never had surgery before and it seems that weird things always happen to me. I am having Dr. Chae preform my surgery. He did the lap band on my mom and my friend 5 years ago. He also did my friends mom's gastric bypass. All three are still successful today. Has anyone had a sleeve done by him? How was it? Complications? I am going through Kaiser. I hear he is awesome, but I would like to connect with some people sleeved by him. I'm 27, 5'5 and 306lbs. Due to be sleeved in November.

Thank God I'm not the only one! Not that I'd want anyone else to have this issue. It's just that I felt, "of course I'd be the only one!" lol I had surgery last Wednesday, with complications, came home Saturday. Woohoo! :-) And now I am starving! Jello hits like a rock! As does water. So no help there. Hoping it will subside soon. :-)

I used generic gas x chewables they are a god send for gas. Idk if you’ve had a bowel movement yet but once you do gas seems to subside. I feel so good honestly no side affects, pain or complications thank god. Water is going down so much faster and smoother. Everyday gets better 4 more days until purée and I’m ready because I have hunger pains. Sf food makes me have the runs so the doctor says nothing is lasting in my stomach to make me feel less hungry but purée will help. Good luck

I totally agree with the previous posters. Never been able to loose weight and keep it off. I have had no pain , no complications, and feel better than ever, and have been able to stop taking BP and Diabetes meds. Brenda

*very big grin* Hey, I'm only a week post-op, and it's great so far. My stitches haven't even dissolved yet, and I think it's 'way cool. Of course, I've dropped fifteen pounds since July 14, and I haven't had anything that would fit the definition of "complications" whatsoever, so I think I might have gotten off pretty easy compared to some. Also, the fact that so far I haven't had to take ANY oral diabetes medication since July 4 really figures into my loving this. This has been a snap, compared with being on Metformin for the last 3.5 years and the GI upsets and nausea and headaches that accompanied it. I've had to shoot myself up with ten units of Lantus once a day, and repeated checks of my glucose levels prove this is doing the trick. I am quite certain that as I continue to lose weight and get into an exercise routine that I'll be able to even quit that. So this has definitely been worth it for me already. I'm even looking forward to joining this gym and hauling my butt out to exercise, because I'll finally get visible, measurable results!

I am considering vertical sleeve surgery. Currently, I am waiting for insurance approval before setting a date with my surgeon. I have been spending some time reading the pre and post surgery posts at this forum. And I have a question for people who have gotten the surgery done. To be honest with you, reading some of post surgery posts are making me scared. It seems that quality of life is not much better after the surgery then it is before. Before you have to deal with problems related with being over weight, after the surgery you have to deal with so many issues relating to having almost no stomach. IS IT REALLY WORTH IT???? After going through the surgery, recovery time, any complications, and the new life style you have to keep...If you had to do it all over again, would you still do the surgery?

Nancy every insurance policy is different so it is difficult to answer this. Medical emergencies should be covered on all policies. the complication you should worry about is leaks that can be devastating on the body and financially, again read your contract for specific language. of course the cost of surgery can not be applied to your deductible it is denied and hence not covered, only covered services can be put to the deductible, but you can write it off on your IRS taxes....

I'm convinced I'm making the right decision to have surgery although I'm researching just to make sure for myself the sleeve is better for me than Roux-N-Y. I'm the type to over-research and laughingly ask myself "are you SURE you know what your about to do to yourself?" My PCP is well versed and Mayo trained. He went to a Harvard Symposium last Summer that really focused on long-term gut hormone changes w/ RNY as well as long-term safety data, which leads him to recommend RNY whereas my Surgeon feels Sleeve would be a good fit for my specific body type but will do whatever I am more comfortable with. (FYI I'm 38,M, 6'2" and 298 with sleep apnea and edema in my legs). My research and meeting w/NP at bariatric clinic indicates the Sleeve is pretty comparable to RNY when it comes to hormonal changes and the Sleeve seems to make better sense than rerouting all my internal plumbing and dealing with nutrient deficiency, although I am concerned with the lack of long-term data for the sleeve. I was wondering: How many of you have heartburn? Was it only short-term or is it a case of being on a PPI for life? Do any of you have dumping syndrome with the sleeve? (some research says it's possible) Have any of you had any complications out of the norm/ not easily resolved? IS anyone aware of any studies with Long-term efficacy of the sleeve (5+ years out?) I'm excited about having surgery, but it's a life-altering experience and I want to make sure I'm making the right choice with the sleeve over RNY. Thanks for any input you can share!

So I am here @ the dr office 1 week and a day before my surgery and I just feel like I am all over the place! I watched the video with all of the risks n possible complication that can go on during or after surgery, n although the risks were all rare it got me thinking.... "What have I gotten myself into?!! Then I hve to tke a breath n regroup!! Ok, I'm back!! Spoke to the nurse n that part of it was not too bad, now I am waiting to speak to the surgeon. I'm glad I took the day off because its a lot to process all @once!! I'm just really ready for this to b over... #NoTurningBackNow

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 had my surgery on 12/8/18 with Dr. Lopez I flew into San Diego in the morning, picked up at the airport and drive across the border. I had surgery that same afternoon. He did the Sleeve, DS, hernia repair and gallbladder removal. His surgical staff was friendly and made me very comfortable. I stayed in recovery for one night then moved to a different floor for another night. Then to the hotel for three nights. I’m so glad that I went with Dr Lopez. I’ve lost 30lbs in two months. I had zero complications. I was very sore post op in my abdomen and felt like it took forever to heal from the hernia repair and took 8 weeks off from work. Airfare, surgery, spending money and passports for two people was less than $9000. HW 270 CW 210 SW 242.8 GW 135 DS Surgery date -12-8-17 I’m 42 and 5’2”

I'll be honest with you...I seem to hear nothing but horror stories from the band. Just my personal opinion, but I think they're eventually going to do away with the band. It seems people are unhappy over not losing enough, having complications, etc. etc. More and more people are getting their band revised to the sleeve or bypass. I think as technology and weight management studies advance in the future, the band will no longer be an option. Just my opinion! Bypass has been around the longest. Good luck.

i'm doing about the same as you minus the complications. however, i am extremely tired and dizzy. did you have this and if so when did it go away. i hate that burping feeling.

6 months post op nd 4 months pregnant congrats has there been any complications ? Because Alot of ppl have been speaking on how they miscarried their body wasn't ready and all that other stuff . Can you give me an update on how everything's going ill be 6 months post op (August) , I Plan on having a baby this or next year but I'm afraid my body well stomach won't carry . I refuse to go thru the depression if I miscarry .

I've had the same thing happen to me just when I've lost weight the old fashioned way. People say things like "wow, you've lost a ton of weight" without realizing they are really saying, 'wow, you were really really fat before". People who haven't had issues with their weight are quick to judge but screw them because they don't know what we've gone through. I'm hesitant to let my friends and co workers know for just that reason, though. I've told my boss and managers that I will be having classes for the next six weeks and will have to leave early for those, that I will probably need about a week or so off at some point about the beginning of March, and then I'll have some appointments afterwards, too. With the hair loss about the 3rd month I anticipate that people will think the worst as I will hopefully have dropped quite a bit of weight by then and I don't even care if they think the worst. I told one friend of mine who has been struggling with weight loss and is much bigger than me and I thought she'd be excited for me. She told me that it was a horrible idea, she would not support me, and good luck with "that". I was flabbergasted that someone who should understand was so against it. My best friend is much heavier than I am and has all kinds of co-morbidities and is against surgery because someone in her family died from complications of it so I'm just not going to tell her. She can think the worst or she can just believe me when I tell her that I made a lifestyle choice and that's that. I think as we get our self confidence back once the weight loss begins that our happiness will easily move us past all of those negative Nellys out there...I hope so, at least.

It's an awful feeling losing all that weight to then put it back on in such a short period of time. And I'm sorry you had to experience that as well. I had thrown out many of my clothes because I swore I would never get back to that size and now I'm getting back to "that size" and having to shop all over again. I want to try dieting on my own and I've somewhat convinced myself that I can do it, but really who am I kidding, I couldn't do it before and I probably can't do it after the band. There are very few people who've had the band removed and go on to maintain their weight loss--very few though. I meet with my surgeon today and I'll find out if the band slipped again (actually hoping that it did but either way I'm going to have them remove it). I'll let you guys know what I decide! I think you/your surgeon made the right decision by waiting in between surgeries, lessens your chance of complications is what I've been told. Sending lots of prayers your way for a safe and successful surgery. Please keep me posted on your progress!

So im Ok!! The big scare was my high fever and sore stomach, it scared every one. but after two long days at the hospital and hours of testing I'm Ok. I've been cleared of all complications. and had bad gastritous

Hello! I'm new here. I'm a Juvenile diabetic and was diagnosed when I was about 5 years old. After that time I had gained weight rapidly. Once I was about 18 I was also diagnosed as a double-diabetic. Now not only am I a Juvenile Diabetic I also suffer from insulin resistance or type 2 diabetes. I haven't found much info on type 1 diabetics getting this surgery. I really need help as I have been suffering from the complications of becoming insulin resistant. While in the mean time if I'm able to lose the weight I might be able to reverse the type 2 diabetes and be able to manage my type 1 without much issues. I have lost a very little amount of weight but not enough to make a dent in this issue. Yet ...but someday I will! My A1c is embarrassingly high! I try so hard to manage a disease where I'm completely dependant on insulin, BUT my body is strongly resistant against it. This feels like a lose-lose battle without the extra help. I also heal slowly and suffer nerve damage, and I'm still pretty young. This scares me horribly! Since turning 26 I outgrew my parent's insurance, so maybe I can find a nice insurance plan to help cover the procedure in the marketplace. Back on subject though, Is there any other double diabetics, type 1's or any one else out there that has any of these troubles? Like the slow healing... I really want to get this surgery, but will I be more open for complications? Sure! I was just looking for any kind of tips, advise from other diabetics whom have had the sleeve. I was even thinking of getting the sleeve and see if they can take not remove as much of the stomach just so I can have some additional stomach there. In case of any surgical complications the extra "stomach" might be life-saving. Leaks are scary and so is the aspect of healing slowly from a procedure like this is something to prepare for? What would you do if you were in such a situation that this is a viable option but with huge risks attatched? My mind is going in all sorts of directions and I would love to go in the right one, if you know what I mean. Sorry for the length, and thank you for taking the time to read this post ♥

Well, I can understand a lot of what you're talking about. Most assuredly you're in a better place for pregnancy (at least as a doc would view things) being more than half a year from surgery. And some doctors will let their patients try to conceive even sooner post op. My twins were nearing the same age when we decided to get pregnant, too. I didn't want too much of an age difference, so I really do understand that part of things. If there isn't a fertility concern I would wait one year post op but that's me. I had issues eating for more than a year post op. It wasn't until the six months prior to my two year anniversary that I could eat more normally, skip shakes if I didn't want them and had my Vitamin deficiencies under control. Would a healthy and happy pregnancy prior to that time been possible? Absolutely. Other people have done it and had no real problems or complications. A lot depends on where you are in your diet and overall health. As far as baby weight, unfortunately, very few folks have come back to update post op. It could be that they're too busy or that they're ashamed because they haven't been able to lose it. I do know that of the handful of regain posts I've seen, some of them were ladies that had babies post sleeve. But I think that the same principles that apply to maintenance/loss prior to a baby apply afterward and that a lot of this can be avoided if you're healthy, don't develop bad habits or go completely off track because you're pregnant and if you've got the emotional food issues under control. I've had a perfectly normal weight gain with my pregnancy and anticipate no real issues shedding the weight afterward, though I do expect it to go slowly much the way losing my last twenty pounds to goal went before I got pregnant. This is really something you should weigh and consider after seeing both your OB/GYN and your surgeon, to see what they have to say. Good luck, ~Cheri

I went into surgery with no blood disorder. Still I had those ow up leg balloons while in hospital and was on blood thinning shots for 2 weeks. I would ask PS their experience in operating with patients with your condition as well as how many complications they experienced in the subset of Stoney's. Stella

My "moment " came in May of 2018 with a series of events. I was 246 pounds, and didn't want to hit 250. I was wearing a 3x in clothes and they were getting tight, and I didn't know where I'd find clothes. I was out of breath and sweatty just walking to my car from work, and I had diabetes type 2. High blood pressure. I was literally a hot mess, and I said to myself "that's it!" I went to the informational session with my husband at my bariatric surgeon's office on May of 2018, completed Anthem's 6 months of requirements, and had my gastric bypass on March 27, 2019. Although I've had complications Im thrilled that I had the surgery! Sent from my SM-N960U using BariatricPal mobile app