PRE-Operation Weight Loss Surgery Q&A

Finished last of all my appointments, surgery set for 4/3, plans made, vitamins and protein powders bought and I get a call yesterday that insurance denied surgery. I am so so so sad!!! I asked when they gave me surgery date if insurance was all set and she said she did see any problems. I was so mentally prepared and now I am lost. Dr office said they don't want to appeal since they sent all my info. [emoji19]

What am I worried about?1. The pain right after surgery. I have heard some people say that they had little to no pain (including my mom’s friend who is in her late 60’s). I have people say it feels like an incredible amount of pressure but manageable. Some say that they were in an incredible amount of pain right after surgery for 1-2 days, etc, 2. The pain post op (in general). Again, I have heard people experience minimal to no pain, once in awhile, and some say they are almost always in pain. Am I going to be throwing up , constipated, and/or sick to my stomach for the rest of my life? Is this common? I also heard some people have difficulty swallowing and it being pain…

Omg this my 4th day 11more to go March 21, 2017[emoji8] [emoji8] [emoji8]

I put pb2 in my chocolate premier shake. It was awesome.

I am having gastric sleeve surgery Tomorrow. I am getting Scared. I was going to change my mind but When I think about my health issues; The surgery would help. I think the thought of change is what I am afraid of. I don't want to fail. Has anyone else felt this way?

I got my surgery date today April 12. Im really nervous. But even more excited. Any suggestions on how not to think about this 24/7 for the next month.[emoji4]

Hey, if there is anyone in the South Los Angeles, CA area who is in the beginning stages of their journey or will be having surgery soon and needs protein shakes, liquids, i have some I would like to give away. I have premier protein shakes in chocolate and vanilla flavors, I have a couple of containers of creamy soups in tomato and butternut squash, I also have Arizona green tea zero and a few bottles of vitamin water zero... if you are interested in any of the items please message me. First come. We can meet up. I overstocked prior to my surgery and would like to share with someone who may need these items. I also have broths as well, chicken, beef, and veggie broths. …

Hello, I have one more month of a 7 month requirement for classes. However I started a new job 3 months ago and still training. So I'm put off surgery until August or September. Has anyone choose to have surgery months after requirements? Did you have any problems getting approved. Did you retake any classes or just go weigh in each month?

I have been approved to have surgery in Mexico and I wanted to know has anyone else had their surgery in Mexico and how did it turn out. Would like to get more information about this before I head there or even make a date for the procedure.

Trying to decide between bypass (RNY) and sleeve. I am leaning toward bypass but I am not sure. A little about me. I am 5'7" and my high weight was 265 (BMI of 42) current . Diabetic, HBP, Apnea and high cholesterol. The turning point was when my endo Dr was stumped at why my A1C was still high after all the drugs I was on...."duh, I eat like crap!" I went on a medically supervised weight loss diet for six months (exactly like the pre-op liquid diet) and lost 65 pounds. Transitioned off the diet and gained back 40 (CW is 240lbs). Decided the next step was WLS. My BMI is now 38 with all the same complications. According to charts my weight should be less than …

I am a full time Firefighter for the past 12 years. I have struggled with my weight my entire life and feel that it's well beyond the time that I should have done something about it. Not only do I work my Fire dept job, I also work Part time as a FF/Paramedic at another Fire Dept and part time in an ER as a Paramedic. My average work week is 90-110 hours. My concerns are that of hydration and sustenance. As I understand it, Post Op you are limited to 8oz portions of foods and Water at a time. During an incident, there are times that I'm drinking 2-3 12oz bottles of water or potentially going 6-8 hours with out the chance of eating or drinking water. Where as I know…

I really didnt want to tell anyone about my surgery in the beginning cause I didn't want people to think I was just getting wls to be skinny. But then I realized I wanted the support and love from my friends so I started telling them. Some of them are amazing. But some of them are almost getting mad at me.. even when I try to explain how it's for my HEALTH! Physical and mental.. and they try and say you could do so many other things, this is just an easy way out, etc. but they don't understand how my body works and what I have to deal with. It's really discouraging me and hurting me. It's not convincing me out of it in any way, but how do you deal with people who are agai…

Just finished my pre op appointment, started my liquid diet on Monday and have already lost 5 pounds. Lost 18 since the September 2016. My surgery is march 17, getting nervous. I have a great support system, my husband is the best, I have only told a hand full of people, did anyone else not tell your whole family I just told my mom, dad sister and in laws. I have a huge family and I know they are going to ask what I did, anyone else stuck about what to say??? P.s liquid diet sucks!

Just giving a quick little update to those who have been following my journey... My preop liquid diet started: February 8th of this year. During that time I lost a total of 15.4 pounds total. Surgery day was: march 1st of this year[emoji4] and within this last week I have lost a total of: 12.1 pounds!!! Omg![emoji15] so in a month there has been 28 pounds that are gone F O R E V E R. Yes there has been pain, and lots of tears, and flat out uncomfortableness. But this makes it so worth it. 28 pounds down and my clothes (those I can wear with has been dresses, leggings, and tanks/tees) already fit different!! Not to mention the amount of times my family tells me, "your …

I need support [emoji32][emoji32][emoji32]

Has anyone here had surgery who has Medicare? If so how long did you have to wait to get surgery once you were approved? All I had to do was have a psychology evaluation and fill out some paperwork and get my doctor to write a letter - The hospital said I am automatically approved but I am wondering how long will it be until I have surgery once that is submitted to Medicare. Has anyone gone through The process with Medicare before in this group and how did it go for you?

I just finally got everything sent to insurance today! How long was your wait for approval? How long after that was your surgery date scheduled?? I have Medicaid and I'm trying to find out a rough estimate of my timeline

Drop your FitBit email or add me keya_lawshea@yahoo.com..... I'm still pre op and learning more....

I had my EGD today. I was the second to last appointment so I was starving and SO thirsty by the time I was actually rolled back. The procedure went well, but they found a polyp (and removed it) and I have inflammation/gastritis. Anyone else have similar findings? I should get final results in 1-2 weeks.

Today's my first consultation with the surgeon, Dr. Krahn with Western Bariatrics. Only 6 more months to go lol. Anyone else have him as their doctor? Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Hello, how soon did y'all get a date for surgery? Did you guys get a chance to pick the surgery date or do they give you one? I have important dates during my estimate surgery date. Thank you.

I'm just starting my journey and trying to read as many horror stories as possible (maybe that's bad, but I KNOW the positives; it's the negatives I'm trying to wrap my mind around!) like understanding how hard the pre-op and post-op diets are... but if I can't do that then I can't make the change necessary to live with the sleeve, right? Because it's not like you go back to eating "normally" (normal for an overweight person I guess I should say...), right? My new fear is the loose skin after the weight loss is complete. I'm not against having cosmetic surgery on one spot, but am I really going to have saggy thighs, saggy arms and a saggy belly??!! I'm 5' 4" and 228 lbs…

Sleevers

Looking for local support, I'm going through the Richmond program. My surgery in March 28

Hi All, I've posted this question before and I received an answer from several of you but, I've found some info. to the contrary...that they no longer require surgery from a center for excellence. Does anyone know for sure? I will be on Medicare starting in December of 2017 and I need someone to tell me the truth. Thanks!

I've got one more pre-op test to take before my surgery on the 30th and that's the upper GI test. Can anyone tell me their experience with it? From what I googled, it doesn't seem like a very comfortable test and seems to take a long time. Any info would be great. Thanks!

Hi all! I have my 3 month diet appointment today with my primary care, and my EGD on Friday with my surgeon. I have been missing a couple hours of work each week it seems for pre-surgery related appointments (nutrition, psych, lab work, primary care, etc.). How do you handle communicating your time out of the office with your employer? They haven't asked me directly why I have so many appointments lately, but I can tell they are starting to wonder. Once I get through these appointments I'll be submitting to insurance, so surgery might be sooner than later. I am also worried because my boss recently said no one can take vacation for the next month or so because we hav…

Last year I was on statins for my high cholesterol. I began having pain in my abdominal area it felt like my whole body was going to collapse from the pain, also started having pain in my legs that wakes me up in severe pain almost every night. I was told statin drugs are the cause of this. I've been off the statins for about two months now and all my pain is still happening. The pain in my abdominal area only comes after I been doing something even remotely physical. Anyone know what this is about I have my last nut class on March 20th and I am beginning to think the pain could be from my body carrying all the excess fat but I've never had this kind of pain before. My VS…

Getting ready for surgery. A little nervous but better than yesterday. I pray everything goes well.

So you can't have nail polish or hair extensions in for surgery???

I finished my supervised diet and paperwork was submitted on 3/6. They told me it would be 2-15 business days, which seems like forever! Hopefully I will get an answer soon .

As of yesterday, I finished all of my requirements to submit to insurance for pre-certification. The lady in the nutrition class said that from yesterday it takes up to 4 weeks to have surgery. I have already done my 6 month weigh ins, my psych eval, my nutrition classes, my stress test, breathing exercises and EKG, and h pylori test. I had some issues with my surgeons office because they did not want to submit everything to insurance and wanted me to start over because I had missed my November's weigh-in with my primary due to scheduling reasons because of Thanksgiving holiday. Needless to say, I wasn't just frustrated, I was pissed too, so I called my insuran…

Hi everyone! I am at the absolute start of my journey and in the learning phase. I start with a mandatory seminar on the 7th which will likely be the beginning of a six month adventure prior to surgery if everything goes as planned. I feel like I have come across a lot of conflicting information and I am not sure if it's all just a case of your mileage may vary or if my sources are just bad. I'm hoping someone can straighten me out. I have heard that you can never take NSAIDS again. I have also heard they can be taken but with an acid reducer. Which is true? I have heard that the surgery fixes reflux and GERD. I have heard that people who never had heartburn pre-op no…

I've just begun the process and don't have my consultation until the end of April. I just met the BMI with no comorbidities at 40.7 (they need 40) so when I asked the scheduler, she said that I don't really have any wiggle room with losing weight before my consultation. It should be easy enough to maintain my weight until then, but my question is, once I begin the 6 month process prior to surgery, can losing weight hurt me at all? I know I have to meet with a dietician and such and I was under the impression I will have to diet then, as well. Are any of you aware of any cases of someone losing weight and having their insurance deny coverage in the 6 month period? I h…

Hello all! I am new here but partially into my journey already. I have at one point lost 200 pounds on my own, but have since put back on 125. I have submitted all the requirements to my insurance company so now I am playing the waiting game hoping for a surgery date in mid may. Complicating things is that I am the chef for a major league baseball team and this surgery would be at the beginning of a baseball long season. Nevertheless, I am ready for the challenge.

I get sleeved in two weeks and I am in need of suggestions for soup. I don't want to be stuck eating sugar free everything.

I just came back from my first support group meeting you are required to do two before surgery. The group is a mix of pre and post op. I am completely discourage I felt like it was just everyone telling you what you can never have again post sleeve. I know that it's a lifestyle change and things are hard after but just hearing all the post opts just telling you what you can never have again and the chewing slow forever and no water with meals my brain feels like it's gonna explode and now I'm like what am I getting myself into. Support group had the opposite effect tonight [emoji26]

I'm getting excited, date is near

Today I went for my pre-op bloodwork and EKG. Regretably, the nurse called and said the EKG was abnormal. I was wondering if any of you had this occur? She was going to show it to the surgeon and anesthesiologist and call me back. Just curious if this is always a deal-braker?

I'm scheduled for Nov. 21st. I'm not going to lie. I'm a lot anxious about post-opt. I've read too many posts about complications and difficulties. Honestly, it sounds horrifying. I live in Austin, Texas. Are there any support groups here? Thanks.

Any suggestions on meal ideas critique old something new surgery date 3-29-17

I have exactly 2 months to be prepared for my May 8 RNY so I'm hoping to find a few folks with surgery dates that are close to mine to support each other. Also, please tell me what kind on iron you're talking. Thanks [emoji5]

Super nervous now

Trinity x3 In the wake of wavering for a little while, I in the long run dove in and I requested some lawful steroids from Trinity x3. I really requested a two-month supply of Trinity x3 and a two-month supply of Decaduro , and got an additional month of each for nothing. I have been working out truly hard and putting a great deal of my time into it, so clearly I need to get comes about, however it is extremely unlikely I will utilize unlawful steroids, and unquestionably not on the off chance that I need to infuse them. http://www.besthealthdiet.com/trinity-x3-reviews/

Anyone use Dr Westmoreland from TN? If so how much was sleeve --self pay-- don't wanna wait on insurance approval

I am so excited. I have been checking the mail for two weeks with no mail for my approval date. Then I received the most wonderful call today from the surgeons office. I have a surgery date for March 2nd and I am so super uber excited!. Yay! I'm a March sleever!!!!!! Any other March Sleevers. Also I have started a YouTube Channel documenting my journey My name on there is Diva Deluxe. This link will get you directly to me please subscribe like or comment and tell me about your journey.... Im so excited I could scream!!!!

Hello! I have completed all of the requirements from my surgeon and I am just waiting for the call to schedule my sleeve surgery (hoping for late march/early April). I am having it done at the Barix Clinic in Langhorne, PA. Just looking for anyone going through this at the same time to be a buddy! Message me!!! Also- anyone have theirs done at the Barix Clinic? Would love some feedback! ️ Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Hey, So i have decided to have a gastrectomy. I was planning on using my super to fund my surgery, however I am freaking out about there being a 'complication' post surgery. Has anyone used their super to do this? If so, what was your experience? I do have PHI but am put off by the 12 month waiting period. I know this is the smartest and safest way to go, but just wanted to hear some stories so I can weigh up which option would best suit me

I am in the process of getting insurance approval...cant wait!!! 1st question tho... I had a baby in decemeber. Have u ever heard of insurance companies making you wait a certain amount of time? Even if you were a BMI of 40+ before and again now... Does anyone else feel completely nervous waiting for insurance approval???

I am so grateful, Happy, excited as well as exhausted by the journey or process for this procedure, from the initial seminar, to the first consult, the nutrition classes, the battery of tests, the maintaining and losing weight requirements and the god awful WAITING for insurance approval!!!!! Lol But in the end I thank God for this second chance at a healthier life and I embrace the opportunity and responsibility that comes with it!