Hello- I have a few questions.

[Pnut&Bull 12]

Hi Everyone!

My name is Lisa and I am just starting out. I have already gone to the informational session and will be having my first meeting with the surgeon on the 3rd. I hope I am posting this in the right place.

A little bit about me. I am 34, married, have a great job and have no children. My life is pretty nice except for being ashamed of how overweight I am and having PCOS.

I am just starting my journey and have a very supportive husband. He loves me the way I am but knows I need to do this in order to be around for a long time.

I have so many questions but will start out with just a few.

1. How long did it take for you to get an operation date?

2. What did you have to do before getting a date for you operation? Such as testing.

3. Do you have any regrets?

Thank you in advance.

[FitnFabfor2014 358]

Hi Lisa,

I was sleeved Jan. 7. My signature lists everything my insurance required me to go through. You are going to get a lot of different answers about what everyone had to do to prepare for surgery. For me I had to loose 10% of my weight prior to surgery. I don't regret the surgery at all, but that's not to say it's been easy. I would have never imagined something so simple like drinking Water could be so difficult. Or making sure you are getting in your Protein. Foods I loved pre-op I can no longer tolerate post-op. It definitely is a life changing surgery. I have stumbled a lot, but I am more conscious of carbs, sugar and Protein (but not obsessed, yet lol). It does begin to get a little easier with time. Everyone's time frame (recovery) is very different. Congrats on your decision! Enjoy your journey.

[HHHappy 225]

Your insurance will drive a lot of what you have to do. I have Aetna and was required to do 3 months of "multidisciplinary" program. A part of that was being on a supervised diet. I had no set amount of weight to lose but I was not allowed to GAIN any during 3 months. I also met with nutritionist monthly and had a psychological workup. My surgeon required EKG, EGD, Heart checkup (which I had already done), and be up to date on colonoscopy, pap and mammo. I also had two sets of blood work done before surgery. 2 weeks before surgery I was required to be on a liver shrinking diet. I drank Protein shakes for Breakfast and lunch then had a list of lean cuisines I could choose from at night. I was approved for surgery by Aetna in 3 business days. I had surgery a month later.

I'm only a little over two weeks out. I have NO regrets. I consider myself lucky because I have had very little post op issues. No gas pain at all, very little nausea. I'm able to get my liquids and Proteins in just fine.

GOOD LUCK!!

Edited February 22, 2014 by HHHappy

[IzzyBelle 94]

Hello and welcome, I had a lot of test, PET myocardial, EKG, ultrasounds, i have asthma so i needed a pulmonary assessment and pulmonary function test, nutrition classes and a psych evaluation, to name some, it was a lot of tests but honestly i felt lucky to have a such a comprehensive work up, if anything was out of sorts it got looked at and it made me feel better about being able to do the surgery.

I was sleeved on 2/4/14 and have had no regrets, I am still wondering how much my life will change, get a little sad that i will not be able to have the same life as before food wise, but quickly realize what a miracle it is to be able to loose weight and get my health back. I have PCOS, Metabolic syndrome, hypothyroidism, asthma, and need to be tested for rheumatoid arthritis. Getting weight off is going to be great for me.

As you go through all these test, remember that you are doing this for you. It will take time but it will be great. Good luck and looking forward to seeing your progress.

[Pnut&Bull 12]

Hey thanks everyone for your responses. The surgeon I am seeing requires a psych evaluation, a meeting with a dietitian, lose 8% of your body weight, a class for fitness and a class for lifestyle change.

My concern is the blood work- I don't do so well with getting blood drawn. My insurance requires the same exact thing as the surgeon.

How soon after can you start working out? I currently do cardio, step and strength training 6 days a week for 30-60 minutes. I love working out. Will I be able to walk my pups after the operation?

[kitten22996 36]

Hey Lisa. Like you I am just starting out. I go for the seminar on March 6 and have my first appt with the Dr. in March 24. The insurance lady at the Dr.s office told me for my insurance it should only be 4-6 Weeks after my initial appt before I have my surgery as long add test and everything goes ok. I do think the amount if time depends on insurance. My cousin had to wait 5 months to get her sleeve. This is my first post on here, but I have been coming home everyday after work and reading everyone else's post. This is an awesome place to find all kinds of wonderful information. I love it.

[ASKSARAH - Sleeve 256]

I did not go through insurance, I made my date in a week. In fact I am taking a good friend of mine to Mexico on Thursday and she made the decision lat night, yay for her, I digress

I had surgery on a Friday I was and you should be up and waking in a couple of hours of waking up. You should be more up than down. I flew home Monday and I was fine. On Sunday I was out shopping for a few hours for souvenirs for my kids. So your dog's will be fine being walked by you. You will probably be able to walk, elliptical etc immediately and about 4-6 weeks before any strength training. But honestly I did not work out for 10 months and the weight melted, the moment I started walling 3-7 miles 3xs a week the weight loss stopped. I stopped working out I began to lose again, I hear the same story from a lot of people. Good luck.

[FitnFabfor2014 358]

Hey thanks everyone for your responses. The surgeon I am seeing requires a psych evaluation, a meeting with a dietitian, lose 8% of your body weight, a class for fitness and a class for lifestyle change.

My concern is the blood work- I don't do so well with getting blood drawn. My insurance requires the same exact thing as the surgeon.

How soon after can you start working out? I currently do cardio, step and strength training 6 days a week for 30-60 minutes. I love working out. Will I be able to walk my pups after the operation?

I was able to walk my dog right after surgery, actually the nurse and doctor said anything to get me up and walking was great. I was released to start working out 02/03, and it is going great. No issues.

Edited February 22, 2014 by FitnFabfor2014

[Pnut&Bull 12]

That's great to hear how well everyone is doing and I am excited but also nervous at the same time. I really hate sitting around so being able to get up and move right after is great. That's strange that you would stop losing when you start working out again. I'd love to run in a race or two.

The surgeon I am seeing keeps you in the hospital for 2 days. I'd love to be able to get the operation in April.

Best of luck to you Kitten22996 and thank you everyone else for replying.

[CathyA 35]

. I first went to a seminar in April of 2013 for the lap band. The Practice that hosted the seminar took all of our information and researched my insurance coverage. The called me back in a week or so later and said my insurance would cover it, minus my deductible and 20%. However they had a $1,000 admin fee that had to be paid up front and insurance didn't cover it. As I was saving to pay this my gall bladder quit working and I had to have emergency surgery to have it removed. That is where I met my surgeon. He mentioned after the surgery that he also did bariatric procedures and he only charged $500 for the admin fee. When I went in for my follow up post gall bladder removal, I made an appointment to come back for my 1st presurgical visit. My insurance company required a medical history showing 5 years of obesity, attendance at a presurgical seminar, a 6 month physician monitored diet, a history of all past attempts to lose weight, a psychiatric evaluation, meeting with the nutritionist, full bloodwork up, EKG, EGD, Chest Xray, and speaking to their bariatric nurse. I was pushing to get this all done during 2013 as I had met my out of pocket for the calendar year! I was sleeved on November 19, 2013. My approval came through on Nov. 4th, the Surgeon's office called and said start your liquid diet tomorrow (2 wk pre op liquid/semi-liquid diet is mandatory to assist with shrinking your liver reducing surgical complications). I also have severe sleep apnea, or rather did have, so I also had to be cleared from a pulmonary perspective

I just went to my 3 mo post op apt on Wednesday, I have lost 62 lbs since 11/4, I have gone from a 5X to a 20-22. The day of surgery I was in a lot of pain but you start drinking that day, I was up and walking around that night. I was never nauseated, never threw up, I have tolerated everything. I won't lie, I followed what the Dr. told me to eat, when he told me to eat it. I count how much Protein intake I have. I tracked my calories for a while but they were consistently 500-800 so I stopped, now I do it once in a while. I drink Water or crystal light however I can tolerate alcohol although if I drink to much I will have an upset stomach the next day. If I want something I have it but in moderation. I have also learned to like reduced fat and sugar free choices.

This is so life changing, it is one of the best decisions I have made in my life!!!! I have never had a single regret!

[Susysleever 265]

There is a special group for pcos here. My daughter has it. Keep taking your metformin.

[Pnut&Bull 12]

There is a special group for pcos here. My daughter has it. Keep taking your metformin.

Will I still be able to take the pills after the surgery? I thought the surgery would reverse the insulin resistance caused by the PCOS.

[Susysleever 265]

Will I still be able to take the pills after the surgery? I thought the surgery would reverse the insulin resistance caused by the PCOS.

As always, ask your doctor.