OilSooner

So, tomorrow I am officially two weeks out from surgery. I go back to work tomorrow as well. As far as eating, I have restriction, but have no digestion problems other than lactose intolerance. I can eat anything, only in small portions, and very slowly. My surgeon didn't use a bougie, so I wonder if thats a factor. Anyway, I had chicken pot pie last night ( the small Marie calendar oven kind), and even a mcdouble (the dollar menu one) for lunch today. WAY less than I used to eat, but I'm still clearly ahead of most people I read about on here. I'm sure some will be angry and shocked, but surely I can't be the only one. If you are or were in my shoes, please let me know. I am actually very happy with how the surgery worked out and with the restriction I feel, but am a bit worried that I can eat what I can. Weight is still coming off (I'm averaging about 1000 calories per day), and there was no real post up diet from my surgeon, so I'm basically winging it by just going with what feels ok. I plan to start crossfit next week. Anyway, ready for people to start flaming me.

I had a rash from the binder as well. And, I still have another rash from the pain meds. I just stopped wearing the binder (solved that problem) and am using a topical ointment for the rash from the pain meds.

Congrats to you! My Doc took me off the Diabetes meds as well, and this morning (4 days out from surgery) my blood glucose was 121!! Only one point above normal! Its just incredible!

It's been four days since surgery for me, and still a no go. I started miralax on day two, but it hasn't helped. I have been able to pass gas, but that's it. At what point should I become worried? Thanks, and sorry if TMI.

So glad to see youre home and doing well! I was wondering how you are doing. Keep moving and hydrated, and keep us updated on your progress!

I know mileage will certainly vary from person to person, but I couldnt be happier with how things have gone for me thus far. Today is the second day after surgery, and my Doc said its usually the worst for people because thier bodies finally start to realize what happened, but I still feel pretty good. I am taking my Multivitamins, and pain meds, and am trying to stay on my feet. Laying down seems to make things worse, so I am trying to stay moving.

Well, I had my surgery yesterday morning, and it went really well. I'm not in near as much pain as I expected to be, though I am pretty drugged up still. I mean, dont get me wrong, there is pain, but its not like I'm bed riddden. Anyway, here are some things I am dealing with that I did not expect: 1. They shave your stomach after you are under, then you have to wear a body wrap for 6 weeks after surgery. That is great, except that the tiny left over hairs ITCH like all get out! I have started putting the body wrap over my tshirt, but it still itches. And you're scared to scratch, because if you were to scratch an incision.....well let just say that would be bad. 2. I instantly realized that my view of hunger was so messed up that I couldnt tell if my stomach was in great pain, or if I was hungry. How messed up is that? I associat(ed) a hurting stomach with food (because I used to eat so much at one time), that I couldnt understand what my body was telling me. 3. Looking to be honest here, but not advocating it: I was terrible on my liquid diet (I had the two weeker, and would eat the shakes during the day, and a regular meal in the evening, but was supposed to be all liquid only). I didnt eat for 24 hours before the surgery because I didnt want to need to go to the bathroom after surgery, which was a good call. Nevertheless, the surgeon said my liver looked good, and wasnt an issue. So, I'm not saying this to encourage people to not follow the liquid diet, but instead to let people who trip up on it know that all is not lost. I'm really loving the sleeve at this point, and think that if I can stick with the Meal Replacement shakes for a good while, this will go great. And, staying away from food at this point is COMPLETELY different than pre-surgery. I have NO desire to eat right now, and honestly havent eaten anything in nearly three days. Anyway, I hope this helps someone, as I received so much peace of mind from this site as I was going through the process. Congrats as well to all of my sleeved brothers and sisters! EDIT: I am a male, if that matters.

thanks vance. got it done, and am waiting ok the Dr to come and check on me so I can go home! really glad I did this so far!

Just a few more hours until we are officially there! Its 4:45am, and I am leaving for the hospital in 10 mins. Extremely nervous, but ready to get this part over with! I'll try to post after surgery, and if not, I will for sure tomorrow when I get home.

I'm right there with you Joiebean. I have to be at the hospital tomorrow morning at 5am. Thats great to me, because I get up early anyway, so I will be happy to get there and get it done. On my preop Dr appt, the dr said "the surgery after you will either be 45 minutes or 3 hours." I said, "How long will mine be??" "Oh, you'll be 45 minutes." He said. I was relieved! He said it would be an hour an 15 minutes from the time they take me back until my wife can come in and see me!

On my liquid diet I am only allowed 5 sugar free carnation instant Breakfast drinks per day. WTF!!! I have been going to therapy as a compulsive/binge eater, so this diet is unbearable! Why do some people get to have salads at night, or protien shots/drinks, and we only get these stupid instant breakfasts??? My BMI is 40, so i don't know if that's too high or what. Anyway, just venting... btw, I HATE THE LIQUID DIET!!!!!! Surgery on the 17th.....cant get here soon enough.

Jan 17th for me. Liquid diet starts tomorrow. Boo!

Those that have Aetna, how long did it take you to get approval once your paperwork was submitted?

No. I am wondering what the cost is that insured people have to pay (I assume self pay people pay less). I am trying to figure out what my out of pocket expense might be. I have approx $100 left on the deductible, then have 10% coinsurance after deductible is met. So, if the surgery is $25000, I'll probably owe about $2600 out of pocket. So, I am wondering what the surgery generally costs for insured patients (in Oklahoma if that helps) so I can calculate my part.

Thanks! Does anyone know how much the surgery costs?

So, I have been to all of the pre surgery appts, and have a tentative surgery date of Jan 12th (yay me!), but am wondering how "co-insurance" works on my insurance (Aetna POS II). On the website, I show a $200 deductible ($91.83 remaining) under just my name, and $600 deductible for family (oddly $91.83 remaining here as well). Then, it shows $4000 for coinsurance ($3981.99 remaining) for the family, and there is no co-insurance showing under just my name. My wife and daughter are on my insurance as well. I am the account holder though. Does this mean I will have to pay $3981.99 for my surgery when I go to the hospital?? Its odd that only $18.01 has been used on coinsurnace, because I have had MANY claims from all of the psychiatrists, nutritionists, pulmonologists, etc. Its all very confusing. How does co-insurance work? If I have to have $4k when I check into the hospital, do they take a payment plan, or do you have to write a check right before they will admit you? Thanks in advance for all replys!

Thanks so much for all of the great advice! I'm now really thikning I should be okay, and am going to proceed with getting the surgery set up for the 12th. I am certainly going to call the hotel to get a fridge set up, and will also be bringing a tiny food processor (in factm talking to my wife about this last night, she said she already has one!). Thanks again!

So, I found out I have to go to a conference for work (read all day meetings) for two weeks in Feb. I was planning to have my surgery in Jan. My surgeons nurse says I can have the surgery Jan 12th, and then should be okay to travel Feb 19th to the conference. The conference will require a 3 hour flight, and I will be away from home for the entire two weeks, and will have to live on food not coming from my own kitchen. Can this be done, or is it a bad idea? There is always the option of waiting until I return, though I hate to wait until late March or early April, as this process has already been soooo long. Those that were sleeved....am I asking for too much, to try to travel just 5 weeks out from surgery? Or, should I be okay by then? I wont be doing anything more than sitting in meetings all day, but I do need to be mentally sharp. And, could I be able to make mushies (or whatever you are on at 5 weeks) work from a hotel room setting? It will be a 4-5 star hotel, and I will have a rental car and access to grocery shopping, but likely no fridge or kitchen utensils, etc. Thanks in advance for all advice! I'm really torn here and look forward to hearing perspectives from those that have been there.

Save others from making the same mistake! I am about 3 months away from surgery, and am trying to make sure I have all of my ducks in a row.....but there is no substitute for experience! You that have completed the process, is there anything that you wish you had known, or that you wish you had done (maybe advice you wish you had followed), but didn't? Maybe your advice will reach someone else and keep them from making the same mistake! Thanks in advance for all replys.

How much therapy did you get, if any, before and after surgery? Have you found that you still struggle with feeding your emotions even after surgery? Those that got little or no therapy, do you feel that the surgery may have been wasted, or that you wish you would have gotten more therapy than you did? Or did many of the cravings disappear after surgery, purely as a result of the surgery? I have been diagnosed with BED (prob not that uncommon among users of this forum), and am working to address it with counseling/therapy at a high quality clinic not related to the bariatric surgery program. I am wondering how long I should attend counseling before surgery. I am in process to get the surgery (no known date yet), but don't know if I should put things on hold until I know I have the condition under control. The main "con" for waiting is that I have Diabetes, and really struggle to keep my carbs in check...essentially I binge on them, and it destroys my glucose levels, making me sick. I was just diagnosed with Diabetes type II about one and a half months ago so I am still relatively new to it, but do get pretty sick after daily binges. I know I will have to get BG under control before surgery, but I don't know if I can do it long term without the surgery. Thanks in advance for all advice.

So, I'm all amped up to get the process started again to get the sleeve (process stopped earlier in the year when I was laid off). In the time that I was laid off and since back to work, I was diagnosed with diabetes (REALLY need some WLS now!). Well, now my bariatric Dr. says that RNY (Gastric Bypass) is the gold standard for diabetes patients, and its gives a significantly better chance of getting off meds than the sleeve. I only take pills now, but I still want to stop taking them. Can those with, or who had diabetes give me some insight on this one? Maybe some studies or some such? Or, was the doctor right, and I should start thinking about RNY? Thanks in advance

So, I was going through the process for getting the sleeve when I was laid off at my previous employer. I was sad that I had to postpone my surgery, but as soon as my benefits kicked in at my new employer (last week) I called the doc and got the process going again. It will probably be a 3-4 months before I am ready for surgery. My problem is that I dont want to let my new supervsor or co-workers know what I am having surgery for. I dont want my manager to think that I am having an "elective" surgery that will require time off just as I am starting at a new job, and I also learned from telling my previous co-workers that I really would rather them not know for several reasons. So, what should I do? I know some will respond that this is not an elective surgery, and should be treated like any other surgery, and I agree with that. But, I am also a realist and know that not everyone (esp those who dont have a weight problem) sees it the same way. I have considered faking a benign mass in my stomach that has to be removed. But, I hate to lie. Yet, its the best I have come up with so far. Finally, I would also like to just stick with "personal reasons" for the surgery, but the reality is that if you're not completely open, people catch on to the fact that you're hiding something. Thanks for your advice.

^^^ haha, not thanks. I'd rather get sedated than have that thing in my throat with me knowing about it.

how much do one of the mexico surgery's cost?

Saturday would be awesome! Thanks for the reply. Also: did it hurt?