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Here is what I did on my last surgeons visit day 6 days before surgery. --I met with the before surgery nurse, She checked my meds, went over the steps I would have to take to get to the surgery. Talked about the self injected blood thinner I would have to take for a while and gave me some booklets on how to inject myself and the lists and maps of where I would have to go during the day and the day of surgery. --a "fellow" (Dr intern), went over the consent form contract for the surgery and had me sign it. Got my copy. Asked him if the center ever did sleeves... he said yes, that he had assisted on 5 himself and there were many other interns that were assisting at other times. He said that the bypass takes a ton of skill, and not just anyone can do it, they do a bunch of bypasses and have for years, he said the sleeve just needs someone who knows how to do it. I asked if I could have a copy of my surgery recording... and he said no, it was a liability for them. I asked him what Bougie size the Dr used and he said of all the questions anyone has ever asked, no one has ever asked that one. He said they use a 36 and staple it loose. He said they hand stitch the staple line or sometimes us a robot to stitch. There is no advantage they have found to one or the other. The surgery is 3 1/2 -4 hours long. I said that seemed long, and he said Teaching Universities are in no hurry. There is plenty of time taken for surgery, no need to rush. The hand stitching takes a long time. I asked him why I heard so little about the sleeve before my first meeting with a Dr. He said that California is way behind the east coast as far as sleeves go, not because the Drs skill or desire, but the insurance here is so screwed up that it has been excluded until recently by most insurance companies. He said he worked doing sleeves for three years on the east coast before coming here to California. --a research representative, asked me to agree to be part of an ongoing study of WLS as part of them keeping their "Center of Excellence" status. The want to do followups for 5+ years if possible. I signed that. --the during and after surgery head nurse, Anne. She went over much of the same stuff as the before surgery nurse, and we chatted about travel, and how 50 is the new 40. She wrote me a note to give to my work saying I need 6 WEEKS! off to recover. Ouch, I have sick pay/time saved up for 3 weeks, and one staff at work is going to try and give me some of hers... well see....She said the Dr (Ali) was at a meeting and couldn't see me that day, but he would see me on the day of the surgery. She decided what my med schedule would be before and after the surgery. She put a list into the pharmacy for the dissolvable meds I would need. She did a short physical to access my state for surgery, checked my heart, reflexes, flexibility and asked questions about arthritis and such. -- the Lab for blood work and a pregnancy test, and then I went next door and got my blood and urine done. They need a pregnancy test. I told the lab tech that if I was pregnant then she was witness to a miracle. (being menopausal) They took about 6 tubes for testing. --the surgeon I went back to the office to pick up my letter for work, and the after surgery nurse grabbed me and said the Dr was back and wanted to talk to me. I went in and had a nice 20 minute visit with him. He was really nice, and personable. I asked him about the bougie size and he asked me why I wanted to know, and i told him about wanting good restriction and not to leave much of the stomach that stretches out more. He said all the parts are stretchy. He said they use a 36. I asked them about the loose cut, and he said it has to be loose because they stitch the whole thing and the extra room is to do that. He also leaves a little bit extra by the pylorus end to avoid complications that sometime happen there. He said that even people that have a 60 bougie lose weight, that the main reason for people gaining weight is their own actions, not the size of the bougie. You have to make changes in how and what you eat for the surgery to be a success. He also warned that it is his opinion that more people will gain weight back from the sleeve than RNY. Even though the long term results are not in yet. I asked him if he thought the people who gain back weight do it more because they eat around the sleeve, or because the sleeve stretches out, and he said they are related, and the people who gain weight back are more likely to look for some outside reason for it than how they eat and exercise. Those who follow the plan and exercise into the future lose the weight and keep most of it off. He talked about leaks, and nausea. He said that nausea is the most common complication. It can last one day to months. In the case of months, some people need to be fed by IV. 20% of his patients have some amount of nausea. There are meds for nausea. He said he thought I would be a good candidate and believed I could find success with the sleeve. I asked him why I didn't see or hear anything about the sleeve in his lecture or literature, and he said that until recently the sleeve was not covered by insurance in California and so he didn't bring it up as a choice. --the anesthesiology offices. They checked my meds, asked again about allergies and such. About a 5 hour day. They will call me friday to let me know when I need to go in for surgery on tuesday. The day of surgery will be about 8 hours of check in, wait, surgery, recovery and to the room. They expect I will be in over night, there will be a leak test the next day. If all looks well, I can go home the next day. They want to see that I don't have a lot of nausea before I go home and will keep me an extra day if need be. There ya go. The rundown as well as I remember it. More later!

Hi everyone. BC/BS covered my surgery but I'm still giving a receipt for every penny I put out in relation to the surgery to my tax guy in case he can count it from prescriptions to all my co-pays to the pre-op protein diet. I figure it's worth a try when added to other deductions.

Wheetsin, I have a name for one other set of body parts: The "girls". I used to joke that the "girls" had to be fed whenever I ate because I was always dropping food on my shirts. I don't do that much anymore. My shirts AND the girls thank me for it. Most other body parts get called by their real names (arms, legs, butt, etc) unless one or more of them is hurting, then there's often a swear word in front of the name. That's usually when I'm on the Helliptical (thanks for the name BK Mama).

People often ask me what's it like post op. I'm almost 4 months out. My explanation. Have you ever been around a baby when it's being fed? Yep that's me. They eat one bite yay, then the second. If my tummy decided it didn't like the first, even if it did 100x before. You guessed it out it comes. So the story of my new life. Finally able to eat eggs and sausage for a few weeks. The inside of a sausage burrito from McD's. This morning "roo" my pouch says nope I no longer like that. After working a 10 hour shift at one client on my way to a 5 hour client now I just want to go home and hug my specially devoted trash can. Ugg. So I regret my decision, not one bit, but some "roo" cooperation would be nice Sent from my 5054N using the BariatricPal App

I took liquid pain meds until they ran out. At First it was around the clock and then it was only in the evening bc by then I was usually sore from the days events. Tylonal doesn't work for me, but apparently that is all I can have!

On the bus going to my last Dr. supervised weight loss appointment. Tuesday is my pysch eval (hopefully my Dr. will do it) and then I get to send everything to my Dr. for insurance approval. I'm so excited right now and really hoping everything turns out the way I want it to. Fingers crossed that BCBS Fed approves me. :-)

Yep! Mine is starting to fall out like crazy. I see some bald spots. I'm heading to my hairdresser right now. Not sure what I'm going to do yet. I'm blonde w long shoulder length hair. Might just chop it all off bcs these long strands all over the place are really annoying.

It can be difficult to maintain especially if your not consistant and continue to follow this lifestyle change. I remember I was around 185 before my cruise next thing u kno 1 week later im back in the 90's! no way!!!! LOLThats too close to 200...I want to go as low as possible without looking sick. I do believe 160 will look good on me, so I can have a gap to play with (between 160-170 for weight gain) You always want to leave enough room to play around for weight gain bc nobody truly stays the SAME weight forever...If you want to stay away from the 200's, I would say 160 would be extremly safe. For a person whose 5'8, 160 is a good weight

Haven't tried it bc I'm still losing and following guidelines.... Just am now getting to the GREEN. But, I saved this website as a possible future reference..... Thanks and Good Luck!

My journey started only about 9-10 months ago when I first learned about the VSG. I approached my doctor, she agreed, and we started the process for insurance. However, by about April of this year I was entirely fed up with the constant hoops they were making me jump through, and the co-pays I was having to pay even just to meet their requirements. I started looking into self-pay with little hope as I don't just have that kind of money lying around. Then I saw Alex's post for the $4399 surgery in Mexico. My brother had suggested looking at Tijuana surgeons, but I had shot it down. I did some digging, educated myself, asked a ton of questions, and within a month I had a down payment, and a surgery date scheduled with the BariatricPalMX team led by Dr. Illan. This all included getting picked up in San Diego, brought to Tijuana, the surgery, 2 nights stay in the hospital, 2 nights in the recovery condos. And then, voila! Time to go home. Being picked up and brought over was non-stressful, easy peasy. Stacy, who works for the BariatricPalMX team, did a great job at easing my mind on the drive over. She was so warm and welcoming! Once arriving at florence Hospital, I had blood drawn, an IV put in, and chest x-rays done. Soon after all the doctors started coming in (sorry, I don't remember all names). Everything was explained to me, every question I might've had was answered. I think the first time something happened that I wasn't expecting was straight out of surgery. I was in the recovery room outside the OR and I was in PAIN. Most people didn't seem to experience much pain, but I did. Whether it was gas pain or actual pain, I don't know. They gave me two doses of morphine, and that didn't do anything other than make me extremely warm and nauseas. After another hour or two, a different pain medicine was administered with some anti-nausea, something for gas, and then eventually something to prevent infection. The rest of that day I was really weak, really uncomfortable, and did some walking and breathing exercising as much as I could. I also will say, don't expect to get some restful sleep, haha. Nurses in and out every hour or two hours. But this is just a testament to how attentive and on top of it the staff was during this time. Which was truly appreciated and made me feel taken care of. The next morning I was taken for my leak test, and once that was passed, I was given some ice chips, Water, gatorade and apple juice. Of course coming off from the liquid diet I went straight for the apple juice. It tasted like heaven, but my new stomach didn't really agree. The sugar content didn't settle well. So I backtracked to the water, took that slow, and had to take a sip of the Gatorade (not G2) every 30 minutes or so to kind of work up to it. By late that night/early that morning, I was able to drink the Gatorade just fine! (btw Gas-X strips will be your best friends!) Wednesday we came here to the recovery condos, I began just been relaxing, sipping away at water and gatorade, working out the new timeline for the medicines that was prescribed. There was a very helpful packet outlining phases and what to have and not have. Luis was wonderful and took us out into TJ and we went to Caesar's where Josh (the boyfriend) had a good looking fish dish and I had the beef broth. It was delicious and I have yet to feel full, but have stopped myself in fear of taking in too much. While we were in the hospital, Roberto was great and always checking in on Josh and getting him food and drinks whenever he needed it. He was well taken care of even though he didn't want to leave my side. Dr. Illan came in and checked on my incisions the day before we moved to the recovery condo and to see how I was doing. Again, everyone was very attentive and caring, and just been great. I couldn't have asked for better attention and being put at ease. I'm so incredibly thankful and am now just easing forward and looking forward to healing and getting my life back on track now. Thank you to everyone! Dr. Illan, Bill, Stacy, Roberto, Luis, Rosa, Jessica, Denise, and every other doctor, nurse, or staff member who's played a hand in this and helped me reach this goal and start a new life.

Even if you have never had bs issues before WLS, it is common with RNY to have reactive hypoglycemia. I have read many posts on this subject. I know that some RNYers that suffer with it carry the sugar tablets with them. You really need to follow Drs orders with this because it can be quite dangerous if you get to the point that you are fainting. Would not want that to happen while driving, etc. Hopefully someone with more knowledge than I have will come along and add more information here. Good luck to you!

Hi Melissa, I have a surgeon in mind. My husband was laid off and is starting a new job. Once I know what our new insurance plan is I'll go from there. I'd prefer to use Park Nicollet because it's closer and the wait isn't as long. But if insurance doesn't pan out I'll go to Mexico. It's good to hear BC/BS covers things now. They weren't covering it last year. Now I'm hopeful that whatever plan we're one covers it now too.

HI, I am new on this board, I normally write on the obesity help board, I have been denied by my insurance bc/bs il and am trying to appeal, I want to ask my HR dept to write a letter since my insurance is thru my work, I just need ideas for what to write, I heard that alexandra on this board fought her insurance and won, any suggestions would be great. Thanks Nicki

I am assuming you have tried the WestSoy brand, as that is very common. I use the plain and the unsweetened chocolate, and find them to be very palatable. I use both on Cereal and in smoothies/protein drinks, and to make instant SF/FF chocolate Jello pudding. There is a large group of people who believe that milk products are not for human consumption, and that it is unnatural for adult animals to drink milk at all, as we are the only animals on earth that drink milk as adults, and milk from other species. (Other animals that drink milk as adults are fed that by humans. ) Adult animals stop making the enzymes that breakdown milk, which is the explanation for lactose intolerence. I consume and enjoy dairy products, but I am NOT convinced they are an important part of a healthy diet. Not that I'm cynical or paranoid, but I do honestly believe the advertising for drinking milk as a health benefit is politically driven by the dairy farmer lobbyists. (Since in many parts of the world, drinking milk after childhood is virtually unheard of.) If you cannot get the Calcium and Vitamin D that you need from your diet of dark greens, then a supplement should suffice you. IMHO

Hi Jeff, I've been researching Dr Rohrscheib for about a week now, and I haven't found anything negative so far. I haven't actually met him myself, but his receptionist was very informative and friendly. She didn't rush me through my questions, and sent me an info packet very quickly. My husband's insurer is BC/BS of IL. and his particular plan doesn't pay for the lap-band. We just changed to bcbs a couple of months ago, prior to we had health alliance, and they didn't cover lapbands in my plan at work, or his. They can tell you over the phone if you call the 800 number on your ins card. The cpt code rohrscheibs office gave me to check for ins coverage for the lapband is 43659. Congrats on the 50# loss so far, That must feel pretty good! Good luck, and best wishes for insurance coverage

@@Gucci believe it a head hunger, I'm 10 weeks out and that happen to me around the same time. Just keep drinking your protain shakes when u feel that way. Bc if u decide to eat what is out of your diet!, u will be stalled for a long. (My experience) Sent from my SM-G928T using the BariatricPal App

I had my surgery on Wednesday April 2nd, so I'm 2 days post op. I had a hiatal hernia that had to be repaired also. The first day I had acid sitting in my throat that wouldn't go down bc of swelling, now I'm battling the pain and soreness. I didn't have very much trouble making my laps walking around the hospital. Everyone kept saying walking is so important and it will make me feel so much better. I had to stay an extra night in the hospital bc of swelling, when I did the leak test it moved extremely slow so that's how they could tell it was swollen. I got to come home today and I never thought I'd say this but I miss the shit out of those IV meds they were pumping in me. I'm having so much trouble walking today, with EVERY step I take it feels like my stomach muscles and incisions are ripping open. Is it normal to have a hard time walking 2/3 days post op? Did anyone else experience the ripping pain every time they moved or walked? Everyone told me walking would make me feel so much better and that couldn't be more untrue today. How long did it take for the pain to go away? I know I will be sore and in pain for several weeks but I mean the pain where you can barely move or walk..

My doctor asked me what I wanted to get down to. I said 200. He said sounds good. That will still put me at overweight according to BMI standards but honestly that stuff is such bs. I'm 5'10 by the way

As with most females of age Id assume everyone had to get on birth control for the surgery.. i did anyway hehe anyways i got this new kind called seasonale its 3 months of pills then you know what i feel kinda weary about going back on BC but i know it has to be done!! But anyways anyone have any experience with this seasonale stuff? i was kinda bumed to find out my insurance copays made me pay $90 because it was 3 months worth instead of my normal $30 copay =( but other than that it kinda makes me excited to know that with the surgery my chances of concieving are better!! YEY! (we tried 3 years.. one year on clomid) sooo hopefully ill be able to pop a few lil ones out in a couple years!! =P

Went to the surgeon yesterday and my paperwork is at bc bs new england ma for approval then I set up a date with the surgeon and I will be in band land so excited can't wait. the y said bc bs approves within 14 days so well see.

First let me say-HOLY CRap! again-thanks need that to get out . What a rollercoaster. !st I finally make peace with my decision. Than 2nd I am denied & 3rd aunt flow visits unexpectedly. HOLY CRAP HOLY CRAP -I HATE TODAY! Ok I'm through. Second I want to say- Thanks all!- Delarla, you made me laugh with the sign deal. Scotty, that great news to hear about the satisifaction part.(I feel you & i are so very similar). The insurance jerks say its 3 things- one that my BMI ratio is not something or another.Ratio whats ration its 39 & fricken counting!! Two, they said that there was no recorded weight loss this past year that was supervised by a physician. Of course there wasn't-I HAD NO INSURANCE & Never went to a doctor!! Thirdly they said there was a ?? as to my psych eval. Well I spoke w/my psch Doc a moment ago & she said & I quote"What the HELL!" She said she would call over there asap & ask for a reason that I fell into 2/3rds the majority of evaluations & that i was fine if not GREAT for being a candiate. I also called the PCP & the BAND Doc & asked that they both call BC/BS network for answers. I did lie & say that the insurance CO Said that if they called & spoke w/the decision makers that they would maybe over turn it;0) We will see- At least I go one Doc calling & hopefully by the end of the week the other two will call. I don't want to wait & am trying to keep my March 29th date. I'll keep you posted & thanks for the support! GGGGGRRRRRRR! I'm so angry!

Hey Jack, Thanks for your concern. I'm a nurse, so I'm well aware of what they're talking about, and what's involved in bypass versus the band versus DS; I've talked to several nurses at my work who've had the surgery and have been able to ask really detailed questions that the average WLS consumer might not think of. I have a list of 25 things I plan to ask the doctor during my consult. Apparently, the smaller the amount bypassed, and the earlier in the digestive process it takes place, the less malabsorption there is. (This "jibes" with everything I learned in nursing school, and has been verified by my husband who has a BS in Biology and who's counseled people on nutritional counseling). Obviously, ANY malabsorption is a problem, especially for someone with an autoimmune disease as I have. I need all the help I can get to keep my inflammatory condition at bay, which is why I take roughly 25 vitamins, mineral, and other various supplements a day. So that's an enormous concern. OTOH, not having anyone able to follow me after banding is a huge concern as well. Even the one doc up here who does fills is difficult to get in with and is talking about not doing them anymore; and he wont' actually touch the band, just do the odd fill. Yikes. There is literally no one within 2500 miles who would follow me and help me if I had a complication; I'm not sure people who don't live in Alaska quite understand how isolated we are up here, and how limited our health care choices are. It's really quite frustrating how limited we are. The lack of follow up care is scary for me, and why I'm reconsidering banding. The safest operation in the world becomes dangerous without proper follow up care. The money situation with us is enormously difficult. Without going into details that I'm uncomfortable sharing, there is no way I can have my surgery financed. I have to go through my insurance company or it will not happen. We've figuratively cut the fat out of our budget in order to support a family of FIVE on two health care worker's incomes (we're not doctors, just a nurse and dental assistant) in one of the most expensive states in the US. So it's not as though I'm not motivated; there is literally no way to do it (and I'm a persistent one). I can always wait until we move to Washington or Oregon sometime in the next 5 years, but how much weight will I have gained by then? (I don't wanna know). So it's frustrating right now. My insurance would cover me going to Texas for the band, but I'd have no follow up care. My new insurance (as of April 1) won't cover WLS at all. So if I'm going to do something, I have to do it now or else possibly wait several years. In the meantime, my mobility is failing, my comorbidities are getting worse, and my Sarcoidosis is getting worse as well, in part because of my inability to exercise and the stress of my weight on my lungs. (I was in the ER the other night because of a flare up, which led to a panic attack). Sucks to be me, doesn't it?

Well, I have gained 14 pounds since DOS so I am really depressed, I know it's early but it feels like this isn't worth anything, I literally eaten NO FOOD for 2 weeks, so that's how you know calories in/calories out is BS...I am so angry and I am going to bed .

The past 2 weeks have been so hard! I haven't had surgery yet it isn't until september or october but I am trying to stay on track with weight loss and working out and I've been cheating several times ....like last night I went out and got a huge ice cream Sunday and felt horrible afterwards. I feel like a failure. My husband has been laid off here and there for about 2 to 3 days a week for the past 2 months and it has been very stressful. I decided to let my gym membership go because I couldn't afford to pay for it anymore. I have a horrible problem with binge eating. I use to be bullemic (sp) a long time ago and every now and then I binge eat and want to do it again...obviosuly I don't bc I know its not the right thing to do or healthy. I just keep wondering if I can really make these changes and do this. Im feeling kind of lost and sad lately. Has anyone felt like this before surgery? Idk maybe its because it is still so far away that im feeling this way. I just want to be able to change my life. Im only 22 ...I have alot of years ahead of me...hopefully. I just wanna live my life and be able to do more things with my 4 yr old daughter. I need some advice Sent from my Verizon DROID3 using RNYTalk

There is a very high turn over- a lot of the $$ you see advertised is for sign on bonus's which are nice to get you in the door. They have to put up with a lot of BS for very little $$ in the long run.. I speak from experience.. doctors are cheap- they dont pay well