My Journey

[VSG_FireMedic 16]

Hey everyone, my name is Frank. I'm 29 years old and I'm a paramedic in the Tampa Bay Area. I'm currently 326lbs and was 356lbs at my heaviest. At 6'3" I carry the weight a little better than some are capable of doing so when I talk about getting the sleeve done a lot of people seem surprised and try to discourage me from doing it. These people never saw me at 220lbs 10 years ago and I was a stud. A femur fracture and some tough events in my life lead to a steady weight gain and I've battled with it for some time now. Back in August 2016 I did my research and made the decision to move forward with my decision to get a VSG. My surgeon is Dr. Richard Gordon out of Largo, FL and I will be having the surgery at Mease Dunedin Hospital just north of Clearwater. My insurance requires 3 months of a physicians supervised diet so I've been doing that. I've also met with the nutritionist, had my abdominal Ultrasound, a sleep Study and this week will have an endoscopy done as well as my psych eval. All that willl be left after this week is one more meeting with my physician as well as a pre-op EKG, Chest X-Ray, and Blood work. Hoping for a mid-January surgery and excited for the lifestyle change that comes with it. I love reading all of your individual journeys and hope to share as much of mine as I feel comfortable with. I feel like this adds a special level of support and accountability that my peers who haven't experienced this can't provide.

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[sharris88619 8]

I was sleeved on the 21st I stopped telling people as well cause I always got that look like really you don't need to do that. I'm bigger boned so I carry weight a little better than some but my weight was still effecting my health and that's why I made this decision. Good luck to you on your journey!!

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[sleeveisa 333]

Greetings from South Fla, congratulations on yo it r decision. We r here to support each other. My sleeve date is Dec 7 and I can't wait. I've seen many videos but on here we seem to keep in touch better. Support is a key and we all can help with getting through our liquid diet. Good luck

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[lisam1972 62]

Had my sleeve done 19 oct 2016 . I have now lost 39 lbs. best decision Iv ever made

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[teedsg 251]

Congratulations on your new journey and welcome to Bariatric Pal. Seems like you have been rocking and rolling. I wish I only had 3months of nutritional visits..

[VSG_FireMedic 16]

Finally got a date set for my surgery. I'm a little disappointed as it's about 2-3 weeks later than what I was hoping so I'm gonna have to finagle my work schedule a bit. So the big day is February 14th....I told my wife that I'm bringing sexy back for her Valentine's Day present.

Today I had an Endoscopy done and it was discovered that I also have a hiatal hernia that will need to be repaired on the day I'm sleeved. Next week I have my psych evaluation, nutritionist consult, and a physical training session with a personal trainer. My sleep Study was scheduled at a sleep lab, but my insurance denied it and said I need to do an in-house study to diagnose my sleep apnea. Other than that....everything is looking just fine!

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[teedsg 251]

Finally got a date set for my surgery. I'm a little disappointed as it's about 2-3 weeks later than what I was hoping so I'm gonna have to finagle my work schedule a bit. So the big day is February 14th....I told my wife that I'm bringing sexy back for her Valentine's Day present.

Today I had an Endoscopy done and it was discovered that I also have a hiatal hernia that will need to be repaired on the day I'm sleeved. Next week I have my psych evaluation, nutritionist consult, and a physical training session with a personal trainer. My sleep Study was scheduled at a sleep lab, but my insurance denied it and said I need to do an in-house study to diagnose my sleep apnea. Other than that....everything is looking just fine!

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Cool! You have a date! Save room for me on the loser's bench!

[VSG_FireMedic 16]

Just an update......I've finished the entire process. My third and final month of physician supervised weight loss is complete, and all I have to do is get approved by insurance. My tentative date for surgery is 2/14/17 but that could change if I get approved quicker. So my stats on awaiting approval are 315lbs and a BMI of 39.4 with comorbidities of hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and obstructive sleep apnea.

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[teedsg 251]

Just an update......I've finished the entire process. My third and final month of physician supervised weight loss is complete, and all I have to do is get approved by insurance. My tentative date for surgery is 2/14/17 but that could change if I get approved quicker. So my stats on awaiting approval are 315lbs and a BMI of 39.4 with comorbidities of hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and obstructive sleep apnea.

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Are you excited? Good thing you only had to do 3 months of weight loss visits. Did you lose any weight during that time?

[VSG_FireMedic 16]

Yes teedsg I am beyond excited. At my highest earlier this year I was 356 but during the three months I only lost 11lbs. Would've probably been more if there wasn't a cruise plus two major holidays in the middle.

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[teedsg 251]

@@VSG_FireMedic, that's great! I just did my last 6 month diet visit yesterday. I need to get my letter of recommendation from my PCP tomorrow and then, it will be submitted to my insurance. I'm so excited, nervous, and overwhelmed at the same time. Do you know how you're going to plan your liquids and Vitamins post-op? I have no idea how to do this just yet. I need an app.

[VSG_FireMedic 16]

Got my approval letter in the mail....made me quite emotional. Had preop visit with the doc and am on schedule to have my surgery done on 2/14.

Very exciting. This is going to change my life.

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