educationrulz

Donna, Thank you for letting us know how your sister Linda is doing. It's so good to hear that she is feeling well enough to send you an email. The content of her email makes it obvious that she has a strong spirit. You are both very brave to keep sharing her story and if it helps just one person or leads to one positive change, then any negative responses you get for posting her experience won't matter.

Danielle, This depends on what your employer has written into their policies as a covered benefit. Some people with UHC have a weight loss surgery benefit, some don't. For my employer, different UHC policies cover different things. In my case, we have to have the HRA plan and not the HMO plan to qualify for weight loss surgery. You'll have to make some calls to UHC customer service or to your HR/benefits department to find out if you qualify. If you don't, you might be able to change to a different plan during open enrollment in order to qualify for the WLS benefit.

Krystal, I wish you the best however things turn out. You have a great attitude about all of this. This will go a long way toward helping you be successful with your weightloss goals.

I hadn't thought of the veggie omelet instead of just plain scrambled eggs. Yummy! Definitely gonna use that one. I'm probably going to have to overload on meats in order to feel satisfied on the pre-op diet.

Hey Carla. I'm glad that you've had good support from your PCP. That's way more important than ancillary specialists because your PCP will be the one you'll see the most post-op for everyday issues. I've been lucky that my PCP has been supportive too - although I think he's peeved with me for my up and down weights the past few months. Hey, what can I say? That's why I need the surgery! :thumbup: Anyway, I debated whether I would tell my GYN since I'll be having my yearly exam before my surgery. I decided about a week ago not to tell. And your post clarifies that for me even more. Although mine may be totally supportive and positive, I can't take the chance. I don't need any negative reactions. The closer I get to surgery, the more fragile my emotions are about the surgery and healing process. I'm still 100% committed and I'm very confident about my surgeon. I know it's the best choice for me, but I'm also still worried about possible complications. I need to work through that in my head without any negative input from anyone.

I tend to agree with Anna about the diet soda contributing to dehydration. I've noticed that since I switched from regular to diet soda to transition to my pre-op low carb diet, I've been going to the bathroom constantly. It's like all the fluid runs straight through me. Luckily, my body has responded by craving more water, so I've noticed that I'm drinking more of that along with the soda without having to force myself. But, I'm also a little headachey, so I'm going to try to add even more water and phase out the diet sodas. I've never been a diet soda drinker so the artificial sweetner is probably messing with me. But, hopefully I'll lose a few pounds and won't have to worry about my surgery being cancelled due to my eating fest and weight gain a few weeks ago.

Congratulations Tiffany. It sounds like you are doing well post-op and that's good to hear. Have you been able to hold down some broth and jello?

Congratulations Stacey. :thumbup: It's good to hear how you are doing so soon after surgery. Keep the updates coming.

Hi Stacy. I started my 6 month requirements in December and I'm almost done. I'll be finished in early May. It seems like just yesterday that I first signed on here and started reading about people's experiences with the sleeve. I was hooked to the idea right away. I too had planned to get a band. I'm so glad I "discovered" the sleeve. I think by the end of your insurance requirements you'll be glad you had the extra time to prepare yourself. I haven't started a pre-op diet through my surgeon yet, but I've already started integrating low carb eating into my diet. I'm also becoming more conscious of how I eat the closer it gets to surgery. I know that I've got to prepare myself for the drastic changes that will come post-op. I went through a phase of eating any and everything in sight a few weeks ago, but I think I'm over that now. I'm ready to get on with my new life. Welcome to the forum and keep us up to date on your progress toward surgery.

VV, Have you told people at work, or have they noticed changes in your weight and eating habits and asked about it?

Sorry to butt in on this thread since I have absolutely no experience with this. I just wanted to say that I'm so excited to hear that you've been cleared to advance your diet. I remember reading about your complications and I think it's great that that part of things is behind you. I sincerely hope that the issues you're having with eating are resolved soon. If nothing else, your body has proven that it can get past extreme challenges. BTW, I recall reading a thread about people doing well with pork rinds. Have you tried those?

Go Stacey! Can't wait to hear how everything went.

Wow Carla, that's exciting! You've got a quick turn around from getting your approval to your actual surgery date. The thing I'm least looking forward to is the fact that I'm going to feel compelled to do a serious cleaning in my house since I know I won't be able to afterward. But, that's a good way to stay occupied until surgery. Congratulations!

I have really struggled with whether or not to tell people about my surgery. There is one main reason I've decided to be up front with people who will see me loose weight quickly and witness my eating habits (mostly my co-workers). I can't stand the thought of people whispering about me behind my back, playing guessing games about why I lost weight, and labeling me with an assortment of medical conditions and diseases that would explain my sudden weight loss. The thought of trying to talk around all of this makes me tired. I decided that it may just be better for me to put it out there to take away the mystery and gossip factor. Of course, the flip side of that is creating the fact that some people will feel the need to criticize and preach. I'm not sure which of these two options will be worse, but right now the behind the back gossiping seems worse to me. I'm really not sure how I will actually handle this after surgery. My sister is the only one who will know up until my surgery time, so I have the option to change my mind.

This is hilarious Tiff. I agree with you that this kind of stuff hurts. People should know it's hard enough without them trying to point out how difficult our situation is. Unfortunately, showing weakness or hurt in these kind of situations can open you up for further rudeness. Sometimes, you just have to shut people up. I think if anybody asks me if I'm sad about not being able to eat as much, I'm going to tell them that I'll shed a few tears while I'm in the dressing room at Macy's trying on cute little outfits. :crying:

Nikki, I agree with you that a lot of people don't know when to shut up about this kind of stuff. I'm glad your sisters are supporting you with mom. Everyone, please check this out... http://verticalsleevetalk.com/post-operation-vertical-sleeve-gastric-surgery-vsg-questions-answers/5046-snappy-comebacks-rude-comments-about-wls.html

Hey guys, After reading and posting to a thread by Nikki about some issues with people commenting on her surgery, I started thinking about some ways I plan to deal with this post-op. I've discussed this in counseling and I've read some other threads here and there on the forum about how sleevers have handled people who go too far with comments about your surgery. I was thinking that maybe we could have a dedicated thread to discuss this. I tend to be a little sarcastic in nature but I try to keep it under wraps. I guarantee I'm going to let it out full blast when I have to deal with rude comments. But, I'm sure others will deal with it in a more philosophical way, like this great comeback posted by mistiblu - "don't you feel like you're cheating by having surgery?" My reply, " yes, cheating obesity, heart disease, and diabetes, but cheating weight loss no". Please post here with some situations/comments you've had and what you said or plan to say to bring all discussion to a STOP! I appreciate everyone's input because I tend to think of great comebacks 20 minutes after the person has walked off, so I'm gonna need some help in this area. I'll kick things off... Rude comment: You sure took the easy way out. Response: (with a big smile) You're right. It's been SOO easy for me doing it this way...except for that pesky 2 month stringent post-op diet, and making sure I don't get dehydrated, and counting Protein and carbs. Yeah, it's been VERY easy.

Wow goodlife, that sounds like quite a pre-op diet. It sounds like you're doing really good considering the circumstances. What's in the scoops that you have to take? Like is it high Protein, low carbs? How much longer do you have to go? IMHO I think you're going to be in good shape for surgery even if you can't get all those scoops in. The amount of weight you've already lost says alot.

This thread is making me chuckle a bit because over the last couple of weeks, I've been trying to transition into my low carb pre-op diet so that it's not a shock to my system next month. Well, for some reason, I've been salivating over the pork rinds lately at the gas station/CS I go to, but I didn't get them because I always thought of them as a guilty pleasure and useless calories. Now I find out that I can have them without feeling like a bad girl. My daughter is going to be so excited when we get to stop by "snack central" at the gas station tomorrow afternoon so I can get me some pork rinds. :wink0:

Congrats Imagine! I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a quick approval with my UHC plan when my paperwork is submitted next month. I forgot about the thing with the vitamins not being covered thru HSAs/FSAs. I'm going to definitely get something from the doc so I can use my FSA for supplements too. That's my little medical life saver. Did you have the 6month diet/counseling requirements?

Well, MINI, you won't get any harsh judgements here because I know we've all been there and done that, pre-op or post-op. I have had times in my life when I've been really gung ho with exercising, whether at home or at the gym, and I can honestly say it became addictive as my frequency increased. The problem is getting through that first month or so of establishing a true pattern and habit of working out. I'm at the beginning of trying to get a pattern going (AGAIN!). I'm not feeling the gym right now because work is hectic and I"m feeling self-conscious (not always a problem). So, I'm sticking to in-home exercise. If you're interested in equipment, check this out. AeroPilates Premier w/ Cardio Rebounder & 2 DVDs - QVC.com It combines cardio and excellent toning/strength training. I see results after 3 full 30-40 min sessions. I've seen people totally transform their bodies with Pilates, with no intense cardio and no joint pounding. There are more and less expensive versions of this machine out there, and of course, you can also do floor pilates with a DVD and inexpensive equipment. Maybe this could be another option for you. Once I get MD clearance, I'm hoping to keep working on my machine most of the time and throwing in some gym stuff to mix it up for my post-op routine. BTW, I do have this specific QVC pilates machine, and it's very high quality and worth the price. I would recommend it to anyone who's interested. The only negative is that when fully extended, it takes up ALOT of room, so you'd have to be sure you'll have room for it.

I know this is not really healthy, but at some point do you have to just suck down some milkshake to get some calories in? I think I could handle the thought of that. :wink0:

Does anyone know of a good PDA/smartphone app to track this stuff? I tend to do everything on my phone, so I don't think trying to do it on the computer will be realistic for me. My phone is near me all the time, even when I have the ringer off, so I think doing it that way will help me be more consistent.

This thread has some great info. I plan to come back to it post-op. http://verticalsleevetalk.com/pre-op-post-op-diets/1822-dr-aceves-information.html

Congratulations guys! You sound so excited and upbeat. I hope I can feel that way post-op. Kathy, can you elaborate on why you think the exercising before surgery helped you. I've already started making some pre-op diet changes and starting to exercise two months before my expected surgery date. I know I need to ease into this pre-op diet thing, but not really sure where I'm going with the exercise. I'm sure anything I do will benefit me, but if you or anyone else has some thoughts about specific pre-op exercises that will help with recovery, I'd love to hear them. Grace, Why were your teeth blue?:001_tongue: