Help, considering surgery, scared. Need some knowledge from "friends".

Hi Bonne,

Me too....had a consultation on Friday , given a list of doctors to check out but very confused also.

kim

What would you like to know? A lot of people share their journeys both here in the blogs and in the main forums so you may want to start there--lots of very happy/satisfied people with their sleeves. If I can be of any assistance, please let me know. I wish you luck!

I think being scared is a normal part of the process. Read everything, ask tons of questions, here and at your doctors. There is a wealth of knowledge to be gained here. Good luck!

I think my biggest fear is that I don't stay with anything. I am afraid that this is a commitment i won't complete.

I want to know is why we have to go on a program with our doctor for 6 months before they'd consider if your a candidate. Isn't having a BMI of 40 enough. I dont know what to do, do i go to my doctor, i alreasdy told him i have a consulation so now i have to go back and ask for him to put me on a diet. i just did WW from Oct to April with a bare loss, isn't that good proof.

it depends on if you are using insurance to help cover the cost of your surgery. most insurance providers require 6 months of scheduled weigh-ins with your physician. You would need to talk to the doctor to verify. I was on jenny craig for over a year and that did not count..

Below is a copy of my experiences and if you go to my pictures you can see a sideways view of my progression over the weeks.

Well I had the sleeve done - This is the story. Left for Vegas on Tuesday got off the plane and headed for my appointment for Pre-surgery - everything was a go. So my wife and I hit the strip and I played black jack and won.... not much but still won. We ate normal and I did not drink alcohol. Went to bed on time for a 7:00am surgery at a surgery center. We had signed up on one of those package deals where the hotel is included. So we were up and headed to the center (by the way rent a car it is better to have the freedom to go) I went in and filled out some more forms and headed to the prep room. Met the anesthesiologist he went through a few items and the nurses were wonderful. Then I saw my Doctor (Thomas Umbach ) not long after that I was being wheeled to the surgery room. I was give something that made me feel very sleepy but could understand everyone. Then told to breath deeply two breaths and I don’t remember anything except being woke up saying surgery went fine and it is done. This was about 10:30 or so I think. Surgery was about an hour and recovery 2 . I took some pill for pain and they started me walking. It did not hurt to walk so I kept going after hearing everyone on this site telling me how walking really helped. Dr Umbach also installed a pain drip system that hung around my neck and had some small tubes planted around where the surgery took place, with a big ball that would dissipate in 3 days, this provided a pain free experience. I was released at noon to go back to my hotel which I walked and slept and drank water (very very very small sips) the fist night I had some small discomfort felt like acid reflux so I called the doc on his cell phone which was nice about 10pm and he said I could get some pepto or any over the counter acid reducer I wanted. My wife drove out to get it and also got liquid Tylenol which I recommend very much. I burped a lot and had to raise my arms when drinking water to get it down. The doc said for the first day my stomach would be swollen and until it went down it would be a bit tough. It was, but by the end of the next day it eased up. Sleeping and walking is the trick and the Tylenol made everything right as rain. On Friday we went back for a follow up with the doctor, and everything was perfect so we said our good bys and we headed for the Hoover Damn wanted to see it. I even drove – I don’t feel the surgery hardly at all it is the drinking that lets me know it is there. So we got back from there and got our flight out back to Kansas City – Because I have traveled so much we both were in first class so that was nice, bigger seats if you know what I mean. This is the first day back home and since the 2 weeks prior with the protein shakes to today I am down 27 lbs. I am just starting to feel hungry this whole time prior I have not had a desire to eat. I have force the drinking because I know that is good for me. I hope this helps with those who have not taken the plunge yet. I plan to keep you up to date on the progress. My doctor told me to walk everyday so my wife and I are headed to the gym in a little while, course I will be on slow mo for a while. Thanks for listening and hope it helps someone else.

Thank you so much for the comments and experiences. I am still going back and forth between should I or shouldn't I. I really wld like to talk to a few people who have regrets re the surgery. I kind of want to know if the regrets are because the didn't use the tool or other reasons.

Hi Everyone,

On my way making my appts for the Dr's I need to see. I'm throwing this out there. Did anyone have to pay for their psychiatrist evaluation. I go to one and her office told me it's not covered by insurance and it would be $350.00 OMG