educationrulz

This is a serious procedure and a big lifestyle change so I think you definitely should feel comfortable about your doctor and the facility you are going to. I have a feeling that you're going to have a great experience!

I'm so glad to hear that things are looking up for your wife. Thank you and your wife for sharing her story and keeping us up to date on how she is doing. Best wishes for continued healing!

Did you change surgeon's sam?

I take a small amount of Plaquenil but my surgeon okayed me to keep taking up till surgery. Did yours tell you differently? I read something about this class of drugs in another thread and now I'm getting worried...

I've only been needing about 1 or 2 pills per week of what would normally be 7 to 14 pills per week if my condition was still severe. Since the surgeon has cleared me to take it I'll have to do some more research before I try to cut it out totally. So much to think about... Thanks

(I've waited too late in the weekend to make an original post here, so I'll just cut and paste my forum message from two days ago here.) Well, after waiting about about a week and a half since my insurance documentation was submitted, I found out today that I'm approved for VSG surgery. I am sooo excited I could turn cartwheels! I kind of knew I had everything in place to be approved, but it wasn't real until the nurse coordinator called me today to give me the news. NOW IT'S REAL!!! I've been grinning at myself in the mirror and doing the happy touchdown dance every time I went to the restroom at work today. I hope nobody heard me in there laughing with myself. I talked to my surgeon's office a couple of days ago about pre-op testing. Since my paperwork looked good for insurance, I was able to get the info I needed to schedule the various tests. I have pulmonary testing scheduled for June 1st. Then on June 9th, I am scheduled for cardiac and an upper GI. I'm so glad I don't have to have the GI test where they put you to sleep. I would have done it if they had told me to, but happy to not do it. AND, my surgery is scheduled for June 22nd! Yeah!!! I'm still a little scared and nervous about the surgery itself. But I know I would not be nearly as prepared as I am if it wasn't for the people on VST. I keep reminding myself to expect the unexpected in terms of post op stuff, but at least I have a general idea of what to look out for. I was worried that I would drive myself crazy over the next month waiting for my surgery date, but I've had a few things come up that will keep me busy right up until the surgery so that's a good thing. Thanks to everyone for sharing your experiences here. I expect to be able to do the same after surgery and hope that my experiences are helpful to someone too.

It seems like the twisting and force necessary to "knock one out" could be too much stress on your incisions and sleeve. Why risk it when you'll be in tip top shape by the time the next Battle rolls around?

oregandaisy, This is great information. I assume the info was compiled by someone on his staff - the patient coordinator. I got a little off track because I thought it was something you had written until I got to the last paragraph. One of the most important things to research about a surgeon is either verification of the training and education s/he has received on a particular technique, or even better, the fact that s/he has been given the responsibility to teach others the technique.

Bitchy wasn't exactly the word I would use, but it sounded a little condescending. Thanks for clarifying. cg, I do hope you're able to find a surgery buddy. If I were having surgery in Mexico I probably would be on my own too so I would definitely have to rely on the support of forum members in case any problems came up. Maybe you can find someone who is scheduled for surgery after you so they will be well enough to check on you after you're out of the OR. In turn, you could be a surgery buddy to someone who is scheduled to be in the OR before you so that you can check on them. You get the idea...:confused1: Keep us up to date on your progress.

40 seems to be the standard. Surely that's an insurance issue.

Wow girl! :confused1: If that's a small sample of what your daily existence is like, then I'm so sorry. It's good that you are able to recognize that this is not a healthy relationship. I suspect that you will soon find the strength to do what is best for you. Best wishes and take care of yourself.

Do you mind me asking how much and how often you were taking the methotrexate? I looked this drug up and it has some similar characteristics to a drug I take for a skin condition. I called my surgeon's office a few weeks ago and they gave me the all clear to keep taking it (and my other meds) up to my pre-op appointment, maybe because I'm not taking that much of it. But, if it could be a potential risk factor, I'd rather try and make do without it...

Whoa dude, :confused1: I just wanted to give a friendly nudge to remind you of this post of yours from the other thread about "leaks and infections". I guess this comment about bitchyness occured when the conversation was getting a little heated. Let's just try to give cg as much support as we do anyone else without any judgement. I'm sure she's read the stuff on here about her doc.

Thanks for the encouragement. I've freaked out a couple of times this weekend and started thinking that I need to go back to my failed methods of yo-yo diet and exercising. I mean, do I really want my stomach cut out and the risk of complications? I appreciate reading about complications that others have had but it freaked me out a little yesteday. I guess I've just got to go into this with my eyes wide open...

I'm sorry to hear about your complication from surgery. I hope that things begin looking up soon. It seems like a good sign that you are able to get online and post your progress so we'll continue to pray for you to get stronger every day, and back home again.

Trooper, I'm having the same problems trying to figure out how I'm going to handle the attention that I'll probably get as a "thin" woman. The thought just makes me cringe. Crazy! I say crazy because I want to look more attractive and finally get some male attention, but it also makes me want to run and hide. I've been dealing with this in my required counseling sessions over the past 6 months. Unfortunately I don't have a good point of reference because I've never been thin in my adult life. Smaller, but never "normal" weight. The therapist and I discussed some ways I can manage this but it really boils down to just deal with it as gracefully as possible and hope to learn to like it. As of right now, I don't think there's much else I can do. I've tried to move back to focusing on maintaining the proper post op diet and exercise routine and healthy healing after surgery. The rest of it is just going to have to fall into place. :thumbup: Welcome to VST!

Sassie, I hope that you are feeling better soon and on the road to recovery.

Unless your insurance requires you to lose a certain percentage before you can be approved, the 6 month supervised diet plan does not mean you HAVE to lose weight. As a matter of fact, I ended up with a net gain after a few ups and downs over my 6 months. I was worried about this too but I had read from others that it really wasn't an issue and sure enough, I still got approved for the surgery even with my weight gain. Now some surgeons do have requirements for weight loss before they will do surgery so if you've already seen a surgeon, that may be an issue. My surgeon only requires that his patients not gain any weight after their first consult (thank god for some sanity in this process). But, since I've had a gain, I'm in the process of "tightening the belt" and dropping those few pounds before I go in for my pre-op appointment.

Well, after waiting about about a week and a half since my insurance documentation was submitted, I found out today that I'm approved for VSG surgery. I am sooo excited I could turn cartwheels! :001_tt2: I kind of knew I had everything in place to be approved, but it wasn't real until the nurse coordinator called me today to give me the news. NOW IT'S REAL!!! I've been grinning at myself in the mirror and doing the happy touchdown dance every time I went to the restroom at work today. I hope nobody heard me in there laughing with myself. :thumbup1: I talked to my surgeon's office a couple of days ago about pre-op testing. Since my paperwork looked good for insurance, I was able to get the info I needed to schedule the various tests. I have pulmonary testing scheduled for June 1st. Then on June 9th, I am scheduled for cardiac and an upper GI. I'm so glad I don't have to have the GI test where they put you to sleep. I would have done it if they had told me to, but happy to not do it. AND, my surgery is scheduled for June 22nd! Yeah!!!:001_tt2: I'm still a little scared and nervous about the surgery itself. But I know I would not be nearly as prepared as I am if it wasn't for the people on VST. I keep reminding myself to expect the unexpected in terms of post op stuff, but at least I have a general idea of what to look out for. I was worried that I would drive myself crazy over the next month waiting for my surgery date, but I've had a few things come up that will keep me busy right up until the surgery so that's a good thing. Thanks to everyone for sharing your experiences here. I expect to be able to do the same after surgery and hope that my experiences are helpful to someone too.

Champ (and that you are!), I'm going to go a little off track here and go back to someone's earlier point that you might need to get a second opinion. You haven't given us any indication that this leak was caused by negligence on the part of the doctor, nor has the aftercare been lacking. (Is the doctor taking care of the leak the same doc who did the surgery?) But, I think at some point when there is not a clear pattern of improvement, you owe it to yourself and your wife to get another medical opinion. A second doctor may totally endorse what's being done and then you can somewhat put your mind at ease and continue caring for your wife. But I recall you saying that it seems like the doctors are just trying things hoping that it will fix the leak. Maybe you could do some research on bariatric docs who have experience with fixing leaks and see if you could arrange a consult. I'm sure there are some difficulties with this, like the possibility of out of state travel, but if nothing else you may find some info that could be useful to your wife's healing. To get back to the most important thoughts, best wishes for your wife's healing and your family's peace of mind. We are thinking of and praying for your family.

I had the same experience Carla. I've always said that I was 5'4". When I got my height taken at my first PCP supervised diet visit, I was 5'3". Now I could have sworn that someone had measured me at 5'4" sometime in the past so I must have some age shrinking going on.:thumbup1: I didn't need the extra inch for BMI purposes but it could definitely make a difference for some people.

Congratulations! I can imagine how excited (and nervous) you must be. Best wishes for a speedy recovery.

Hey Jenny, It sounds like you've got alot going on. It's stressful enough thinking about starting a new job without trying to plan a surgery at the same time. You probably don't have any choice but to tell the new job about your upcoming surgery but I wouldn't say anything until you have worked out a plan with a surgeon and get a date. Based on the issues you've had with the band, there's no reason you couldn't present it as an urgent procedure that has to be done ASAP. From what others here have said, the initial recovery time seems to be about a week just to get back to basic activities. It's great that the surgeon's office is willing to work out some creative billing. That's what insurance is all about anyway - how they bill for a service. Good luck with everything and I hope you're able to get your revision soon.

I'm not sure how old you are (graduating high school or college) but it sounds like your parents are going to be very involved in your WLS. Maybe you should have them come on here and read some of the posts from people who have already had surgery. That would help them get a better insight into how the surgery really works. I think you could be playing a dangerous game adding weight loss medications on top of a surgery as drastic as the sleeve. You will be loosing the majority of your stomach! Also, consider asking one of the VST forum members to act as a mentor for you after surgery, somebody that you can email or call when you need advice. Find someone whose posts you enjoy reading and whose spirit speaks to you. Reach out to that person for more individual support. I think you'll be hard pressed to find someone here who wouldn't be willing to mentor you. Have faith in yourself and expect the best!

Clearly I'm too lazy for this because it made my jaw hurt just reading your post. :001_tongue: