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Hello everybody! Please forgive me for the format of this post as I am not accustomed to blogging or forums, but as I am sitting here 5 days after my surgery I was compelled by one of my closest friends to document my impending journey. I thought about writing in a journal to express my thoughts and I even played around with the possibility of making a YouTube channel focus around my own personal weight loss. I stumbled across this website some time ago and remembered it today and registered. I figured that writing to a community of people with the same struggles and triumphs that I have and will face would be the best route. So... a little about me... I am a young professional male living in New Orleans, LA... yes... the Big Easy...one of the culinary capitals of the free world and I have struggled with weight issues my ENTIRE life. While I have managed to excel in my educational and work environments I was often faced with the ridicule and pressure of being HUSKY, CHUBBY, BIG-BONED, PUDGY, FLUFFY, and all those other euphemisms for FAT. Being overweight was something that I came to accept early on as I loved to eat and most of my family was heavy. And though it hurt sometimes, I soon developed an exterior persona that would paint me as a person who was oblivious to their size; being stronger, wittier, and smarter than the people I would make acquaintances with and then going home to deal with the issues of my body in silence... and sometimes sadness. The first time I played around with the notion of WLS was back in 2009. I was 23, out of college 2 years at that time and making a pretty good living for myself. I was in a relationship that was toxic and discouraging... Voices telling you that you are basically never going to change or grow just because you are smaller can really put a damper on your outlook. Needless to say... I ended this relationship and renewed my own confidence until I was soon faced with yet another challenge. While vacationing with my friends for Memorial Day in 2010, I could sense something was different with my body. I was solemn, fatigued, and uninterested with the festivities that were taking place. I was also vomiting every morning... not food, but a weird golden substance that I decided to classify as acid reflux. On my first day back to work, my coworkers noticed that I looked dehydrated... like a fish out of Water... and that I was barely moving and slightly incoherent. My manager forced me to go to urgent care and soon after being seen by the doctor there, they urged me to go to the ER for treatment. Within in 45 minutes of being in ER I was diagnosed with Type-2 diabetes with a severe case of diabetic ketoacidosis, or DKA, which is an extreme shortage of insulin that is potentially fatal. After a week in the hospital, I was sent home with a shopping list of prescriptions to take and a whole new outlook on life. I immediately decides to sign up for a diet food home delivery service and tried that out for several months until the cost of that plus my meds became out of control. While I lost weight on the program pretty quickly, once I stopped the weight began to creep back. I knew I had to do something that would be definite... and that is when I decided to pursue WLS. I began reading, interrogating others who I knew had had it, and watching other VGS patients on YouTube. I told my close friends on my 25th birthday, on a cruise ship no less, that planned on pursuing WLS and I have not looked back since.&nSo... here I am... 5 days after my surgery... and despite the slight discomfort that is expected after surgery and a mild case of cabin fever (GET ME OUT OF THIS HOUSE!!!), I am feeling good and optimistic about what is to come.

@@Stevehud Thanks for being my one and only response . All kidding aside. I would like to know how skype works in bariatric pal would love to connect with people here.

Hi, I live down the shore as well. I had my surgery in Montclair's Mountainside Hospital in October 2007 by Dr. Karl Strom. He and his associates and office are TERRIFIC. They have great monthly meetings, a terrific dietitian and Dr. Strom has done tons of bariatric surgery (no pun intended.) I highly recommend him. Please e mail me if you need more info. I'm at exit 80 (only Jersey people understand that, lol. It's secret code.)

Did they send you anything in writing? If not I would ask for something so you can see what the reasons are behind the denial. Get someone who is very experienced and has been successful with appeals. Many years ago I worked for a psychiatric practice and my department manager was really good at that. Our practice never lost an appeal that we took on for our patients and when she went to get Bariatric surgery (I don't know what kind it was since it was way before lap band and stuff) she was denied, took on her own appeal and won! Do some research and then go at them with guns blazing! Good luck. Sometimes I think approval/denial depends upon who is in charge of that department in that region and you may have to go above them. I had Aetna POS (in TX) at the time of my surgery and didn't have any problems. I had a 4 month waiting period in which I was supposed to lose weight and I actually gained Once I was approved a nurse calls me every so often to check on my progress, offer suggestions and to make sure the surgery center was treating me well. I'm actually disappointed that since then we had to change insurance companies. Good luck!

I usually don'y eat more than a cup per meal, but my doctor say that I should actually be at 2/3 to 3/4 cup per meal, not a full cup. That just seems like so little food, even for a Bariatric patient.

I waited until after my first pre-op visit. I have Centrum flavor burst and they are delicious. I have to stop myself from munching on the whole bottle. My calcium citrate is from Bariatric Advantage and they're chocolate and carmel chews. Love them! My B12 is also one that dissolves under the tongue very quickly. I think they're cherry flavored. I need to check out the biotin and I may need the fish oil too soon. It took me trial and error to get here but I'm quite pleased with my regimen.

I don’t really know. That was what my bariatric team told me to do. Different practices do different things. I fully expected two weeks but glad there wasn’t!

What calcium (chewable or not) do you take. I bought the Bariatric Advantage and its horrible tastes like biting into chalk.

Understood. Thanks. A little positivity goes a long way. Clearly you didn't hit a bump in the road. I was asking for help not ridicule. Sent from my XT1565 using the BariatricPal App You're 3 weeks out. Are you supposed to be having anything crunchy? And you're not having "crunchy" if you're just sucking on them anyway? And where's the Protein? And DON'T tell me I'm not being 'positive'. You just had major bariatric surgery and have a post surgery diet you're supposed to be following. Grow the hell up.

So smoking isn't about just healing. I'm an OR nurse in a facility that does a ton of bariatric cases (and a bariatric patient). Ive seen previous bariatric patients smoke and have to come back to the OR to completely get cut open to fix all the damage smoking caused them. Obviously it's much worse in bypass patients, but it's still terrible in sleeve patients as well. Knowing what I know seeing what I've seen, I think someone would have to be absolutely out of their mind to smoke after bariatric surgery, the risks are exponentially greater than just smoking (without bariatric) Of course I've also seen lots of thoracic cases, of which almost 100% of those patients are smokers... If you could completley keep it under control its still bad , but if it grows into something more well than its REALLY bad

Chris, I neglected to mention a key detail in my previous post: upon resuming bariatric care, one of the first steps taken by my new doctor was to do the testing I had begged his predecessor to do - checking the band under a flouroscope. The findings were that the band had, in fact, failed in a fashion, as my body defeated it by creating a new "pouch" above the band. The temporary solution has been to remove all Fluid from the band, after which I experienced an immediate end to all my symptoms. The long-term solution, which hopefully occurs in mid-December, is replacing the band with a duodenal switch.

Scheduling my surgery currently ???? & I am paying $8900 in Mexico. My insurance does not pay for bariatric surgery.

Yea I am hoping it's him again too! On a serious note: I've said it once I'll say it again I absolutely love doctor spangler. She is conservative in her approach to bariatric surgery, etc. On more then one of the Pre appointments from January to June of this year she's said: "I don't want to be the one to say you 'have to' have surgery." She supports every choice I've made and has been very informative, on point and accurate. The students that are at Riverside observe some of the procedures that she does etc. The staff and students all have glowing things to say about her. Now with a surgery behind me I physically know, she has good judgment and is a top par doctor who actually cares. PS. My dad was with me for this first surgery and he's slowly coming around to the idea of WLS. It's been good for my dad he's seen the good work she's done, met her briefly (she was busy that morning) He'll be coming with me to my August 2016 check up with her. And my dad stated about the surgery center: It feels like a nor'easter blew through here. (It was cold)

My only regret is going with the bariatric Dr we chose.

My understanding is true results is more of a referral service they probably had to send it out to the surgeons office for clearance, I believe(could be wrong) they use Peachtree Bariatrics in Atlanta.

You will qualify for sure. The best way to get started with this is to call your insurance company and find out their requirements. Many of the larger ones require that you use a Bariatric center of excellence. Your insurance company can provide you with what facilities are covered and what your requirements are. Please don't be surprised if they tell you that you have to go through a supervised duet for 3 or 6 months. That really is the norm but I promise you it is well worth the time you put into it. Once you have the name of the Bariatric center of excellence or a doctors office that handles Bariatric surgery get yourself to a live information session right away. You need to learn everything you can about the surgeries so you can make an educated decision about which one to go with for your health concerns. Then, spend time on different on line forums learning from people who have had experiences with either the sleeve or bypass. There are tons of threads on this site comparing the two surgeries. Leverage your doctors knowledge of your health to help you decide. Good luck! By the way the only thing I regret is not having this surgery sooner. I am 52 and my obesity caused very severe arthritis of my spine and other joints. That cannot be undone. Sooner vs. later!

I have a blog, but am looking for more people going through the same things as me. Www.adorkabletreasure.wordpress.com November 13: The Major Decision Within the last month, I've decided that I needed a change in my life. This change could potentially change my life dramatically-for the better. I am terrified of what will happen, the long term effects and the process in general. However, I need to do this. I need to do this for me. I need to do this for my son. What is this change? What could possibly change my life so much? Weight loss. Yup, this is another one of those blogs. I've always wanted to lose weight. It just never happened. I think I really packed it on when I was about 12 or 13. I remember coming home for Christmas break and my mom calling my school to ask what they were feeding me. I don't remember when I passed 200 pounds. I remember passing 300 at the end of my pregnancy and being so so grossed out. I've lost about 30 pounds post pregnancy.....4 years ago. My insurance covers bariatric surgery 100%. That was a shocker. I've gone back and forth with considering this as an option for some time now, but I haven't made any progress on my own. It's time for some professional help. Hey, after the year I've had (divorced, moved to a new state, multiple family deaths, new job etc) I need to do something positive for me. And I need to do everything I can to make sure I'm around to see my son grow up. The first step that I took was finding someone who took my insurance. It's new in my area, so not many people are contracted with them. Calling my insurance didn't help, they couldn't find anyone within 50 miles of me. I did find one though! I'm set up to do the seminar on the 30th, and the first appointment with the doctor is December 3rd. I am most interested in the sleeve. Here's to a new, terrifying adventure. December 1: Today, I F-d Up. Well, yesterday and today. Yesterday, I was so engrossed in decorating the Christmas tree that I completley forgot about the WLS orientation. 6:30 came around, and so did my memory that I was suppossed to be somewhere. So it's been rescheduled. For the 10th. Maybe I won't fail at life and forget again. Todays screw up: I totally ruined my brothers Christmas. I forgot to take his Christmas present out of the car.....anndddddd he got in the car today. So his wonderful "big" surprise of an Xbox One was completley ruined. I'm thinking about putting a pair of slippers in the box instead..... On another note, my kid is back!!! December 9th: The Insurance Drama Begins.... So - I just moved to Nevada a few months ago. The insurance that I have is through Amerigroup. According to the receptionist, Amerigroup will only approve a surgery if I am on medication for high blood pressure or diabetes - no matter what the BMI is. I am on neither. Although, my doctors appointment on Wednesday, my blood pressure was 143/107. Maybe I should have that checked. My insurance that is offered through my work starts on January 1st. With Cigna. Cigna only covers 1 doctor in Las Vegas, and it's not the one I am scheduled to go to the seminar for tomorrow. So I am in a bind. Do I go to the seminar tomorrow anyway or should I just say screw it and start with the Cigna doctor? (Who has a seminar on the 15th). So many decisions!! December 11: Seminar = Completed I went to the seminar last night. There was a lot.of information given. The surgeon seems very straight forward, no bullshit kind of guy. I kinda want to know if he takes my insurance, you know sometimes the insurance sites don't list all the doctors they actually cover. I have an appointment with him on Tuesday, so hopefully I will hear good news. It did leave me debating between lap band and the sleeve though. His results from people who have had lap band are great, unlike all the horror stories I've read about it. I troed talking to my mom about it, and without a beat she said "its not like you're going to change your eating habits anyway". So I guess I can count her out for support, even though she suggested it in the first place. I'm going to try and go to the other seminar for my new insurance on Wednesday night. December 13: Officially In The Program It's official. I am on my way to VSG. I'm scared, nervous, excited, and overly cautious. I so want this, I've wanted this for years. Walking into the back office, I was shocked that I had gained 25 pounds since moving to Vegas. I had done so well, and worked so hard to lose it, and it's all back. Starting Weight: 295.2 pounds. What. The. Hell. Meeting with Dr. Teng, he told me that I was basically almost three persons. For my height, I should weigh a max of 140. Ummmm, that's only 155 pounds...no big deal... He asked me what my heaviest was - 310 at the end of pregnancy. He asked what my lightest adult weight was, from 21 years and up - lightest was 270 (I had my son when I was 20). He looked a little shocked. Then he asked what my lightest was at 18/19, which was 210. He said some things I already knew. What I am doing at home isn't working. I have to make the commitment to change. I have to work for it. Surgery is not a band aid, it's a tool. Then he told me that lap band will get me down a hundred pounds, but not much more. He is recommending the sleeve. My next appointment I make a final decision. Overall, it was just a short visit. Information gathering I suppose. The lady at the front desk, who happens to also be the dietician, said that she would discuss more about what happens at the next visit (for nutrition). My insurance (Cigna) requires that I lose 10% of my body weight before surgery. That's 30 pounds. The doctor also told ke that Cigna requires 4 months of nutrition counseling. He said that if everything goes well, I should be able to get the sleeve in March. I don't think he accounted for this being mid month, so I am going to guess April is the correct month. I am going to a nutrition appointment on the 28th. I am pretty sure she said that these were 28 days apart, but she also said something about some class being 1 or 2 times a week. I am not entirely sure what that is. Each nutrition class is $40, that my insurance does not cover. I go back to see the Dr. Teng on January 31st. That is 7 weeks into this program. By then, I should have lost at least 17 pounds to be on track for insurance approval. Here's to the most dedicated I've ever been. Last meal: chicken pot pie, ceasar salad, and lemon cream cheese pie at Marie Callendars. It was fantastic. December 21: Weigh In #1 Welp....it's been a week. I have been overly aware of what I have been eating, and how much. I've gone out to eat and ordered a salad when I wanted a burger. I stashed away the chocolate bars that were bought for me while on my period. I even went into a bakery with my mom and didn't have anything. I got on our tiny, old, hard to read scale. Its past 285, but not 290. So I'm just gonna call that a 287. Which is 7-8 pounds. Ish. Not too bad for the first week. When my new insurance kicks in, I will be able to get a wireless scale for free. Hopefully it ships quickly. I'd like to actually be able to tell what my weight is.

Hey Johanna, I understand your struggle 100 percent but here is what I think you should do. you have done a huuuuge step even though you might not notice it, * you actually realized that you have a problem with obesity and you want to change* try not to put so much pressure on your self because you might end up getting very frustrated and end up consoling your self with more food. I think you should look for a good surgeon and go to a seminar and see if you really want surgery. The way I saw the 6-month weigh-in was a tool to mentally prepare me for my new life. During these six months, you should start making changes in your eating habits and your lifestyle in general. The time will go by extremely fast. You have this forum along with your bariatric team for support. You are not alone.

I have felt the same. I am an RN on a post op bariatric unit- I understand. But also, I can answer any of your questions. Working on this unit for the past 4 years I have seen the good, the bad, the ugly- but also the inspiring. I have seen people regain their life, health, and confidence. It's a new beginning. A very big change- and change is scary. The thing is- you have to do this for you. You need to be totally educated on the choice and go in to it with the knowledge of how this thing works. Any questions at all- just ask. Ill be happy to answer.

I really dont give a rats ass what any of you think. First of all I have worked in surgery with bariatric surgeons and have watched many surgeries. Every single persons liver and stomach were the same exact size. Yes there is fat there but its not the organ its self. Dr. Paul Wizman who is a bariatric surgeon performing well over 3,000 surgeries, Dr. George Webb, Dr. Deperi and the whole north florida surgeons group said that no matter how obese any of their patients have been their liver and stomach have been the same size. Most preop diets are to prepare you for the obvious after wards. There are many surgeons that dont require a preop diet. It surely is not to shrink the liver. Your organs dont shrink they may lose fatty tissue around them but they do not shrink. If your organs shrink you would not be able to live. Seems that I am not the only one opinionated. Since you all like to ball bust people for their opinions seems your not much better. I have a right to my opinion which comes from knowledge not google look ups. I post what I know for fact. I dont care if you dont like it or what ever it is a public forum and if you ask a question then expect an answer and it doesnt matter if you like it or not.

As I read everyone's responses it is amazing that so many people swallow pills. I was told never by my doctor I buy most of my vitamin and minerals from Bariatric Advantage. The company rep for NE has been a speaker at my monthly support groups more than once. We have had tastings also of their protein drinks.

Anyone had their vsg at Presbyterian in Dallas, Texas? If so, what was your experience? I figured I would be sleeved at Forest Park, but it turns out that my insurance has a stipulation that requires I have my surgery at a bariatric center of excellence (or something like that), so Presby it is.

I happen to like the chocolate. But everyone's taste is different. Some people swear by the Bariatric advantage I wanted to vomit drinking them. I don't think the premeir protein tastes like chocolate milk though. I also lime unjury and I think their chocolate tastes like chocolate milk when made with milk

No I only have to give blood work the morning of surgery. I have been fighting a small cold the past week and thinking maybe I should have my doctor call in antibiotics to be on the safe side if it does not get any better this week. I am not sure if they are the bariatric advantage, I just remember EAS Advantage low carb protein shake. Let me know how the banana tastes, I may want a change of flavor after this case...ha

Oh, but I did get a bariatric eating shake thingie.. it's just a cup with a silver wire ball in it (I think I got it from GNC). It helped mix up shakes, and was only 2 or 3 dollars.