mmcclure

Not recently. My daughter and I had VSG by Dr. Macik almost 7 years ago. He was great! My daughter had a leak, which was VERY scary, but not only did Dr. Macik stay by her side almost continually, the staff at Emory was, in general, wonderfu.l (There was 1 intensive care nurse that was taking care of my daughter who I got very upset with. When Dr. Macik found out what happened, he immediately went to the nurses' station and she was never seen in my daughter's room again.) I ended up losing way too much weight (got down to 104 pounds!), but after some stern talking to by my PCP, I gradually gained 30 pounds and have stayed there, plus or minus 3 pounds, every since. I am 5'5" and 62 years old. I lost 140 pounds. I got to a size 0 (with all of the extra skin) and would wear a size 2 now if I didn't have the extra skin. My daughter ended up having her gallbladder removed by Dr. Macik about a year after the surgery, and everything went off without a hitch. That surgery was done at Northside Hospital. She went on to complete her undergraduate and graduate degrees, has a job she loves now, and is at a healthy weight. She lost over 200 pounds. Hope this helps.

Hi everyone, Some of you may remember me and some may not, but I thought it would be a good time for an update on myself and my daughter. I also have a question regarding VSG and diabetes. I had VSG in November of 2010. My highest weight was 251. My lowest weight was 104 (too low for my 5'5" frame) and now I am holding steady between 108 - 112 (has been this low for over a year now). My regular doctor still thinks I am too thin, but my labs have been great so he isn't nagging me too much. My biggest problem other than what I address below is that I have a hard time finding clothes that are small enough (yeah, I know - stop complaining). My daughter had surgery the same day as I. Unfortunately, she developed a leak and was in the hospital for quite a long time. She has since lost over 200 pounds and feels terrific. She has new-found confidence (she is 23) and is much happier than she used to be. She has always been beautiful, but now the way she feels about herself makes her even more so. Now for my question. I went to my PCP on Friday and he is concerned because he said that my blood sugar could be going too low. I "had" type II diabetes but haven't been on any medication since the surgery. So, I got a new meter and have been checking my blood sugar levels. They have been about as perfect as they can get, with the exception of me gorging on a lot of candy last night (I'd like to say it was an experiment, but I love candy and eat too much of it, too often). About 1/2 hour to 1 hour after eating a lot of sugary candy, my blood glucose level was 179. Within another half hour, it came back down to 103. So technically, if I had waited until the 2-hour mark after eating, my glucose level would have been fine. I don't like the 179 though. I have been craving candy, especially in the evening. It is almost as if I am a junkie and have to have my fix. But, once I start eating it, I can't seem to stop until I brush my teeth before bed! I've always had a sweet tooth, but never this bad. My husband tells everyone that I have a "tootsie roll pop problem." Also, if I don't eat candy, I start losing weight again. (Yes, I've tried Protein or good carb Snacks.) Anyone with any insight on this issue? One theory I have thought about is either that my blood sugar is going low so I crave sweets to bring it back up or that my body goes after sweets because I am so thin and it is trying to get me to not lose anymore. Or, something I don't like to think about - I am tempting my diabetes to come back and need to kick the sugar habit asap! Oh, and one thing I neglected to say - my current weight also includes my extra skin, which my PCP figures is somewhere in the 10-12 pound range. So, I'm actually a lot thinner than the scales say. Thanks. Marilee Quote MultiQuote Edit Report

Hi everyone, Some of you may remember me and some may not, but I thought it would be a good time for an update on myself and my daughter. I also have a question regarding VSG and diabetes. I had VSG in November of 2010. My highest weight was 251. My lowest weight was 104 (too low for my 5'5" frame) and now I am holding steady between 108 - 112 (has been this low for over a year now). My regular doctor still thinks I am too thin, but my labs have been great so he isn't nagging me too much. My biggest problem other than what I address below is that I have a hard time finding clothes that are small enough (yeah, I know - stop complaining). My daughter had surgery the same day as I. Unfortunately, she developed a leak and was in the hospital for quite a long time. She has since lost over 200 pounds and feels terrific. She has new-found confidence (she is 23) and is much happier than she used to be. She has always been beautiful, but now the way she feels about herself makes her even more so. Now for my question. I went to my PCP on Friday and he is concerned because he said that my blood sugar could be going too low. I "had" type II diabetes but haven't been on any medication since the surgery. So, I got a new meter and have been checking my blood sugar levels. They have been about as perfect as they can get, with the exception of me gorging on a lot of candy last night (I'd like to say it was an experiment, but I love candy and eat too much of it, too often). About 1/2 hour to 1 hour after eating a lot of sugary candy, my blood glucose level was 179. Within another half hour, it came back down to 103. So technically, if I had waited until the 2-hour mark after eating, my glucose level would have been fine. I don't like the 179 though. I have been craving candy, especially in the evening. It is almost as if I am a junkie and have to have my fix. But, once I start eating it, I can't seem to stop until I brush my teeth before bed! I've always had a sweet tooth, but never this bad. My husband tells everyone that I have a "tootsie roll pop problem." Also, if I don't eat candy, I start losing weight again. (Yes, I've tried Protein or good carb Snacks.) Anyone with any insight on this issue? One theory I have thought about is either that my blood sugar is going low so I crave sweets to bring it back up or that my body goes after sweets because I am so thin and it is trying to get me to not lose anymore. Or, something I don't like to think about - I am tempting my diabetes to come back and need to kick the sugar habit asap! Oh, and one thing I neglected to say - my current weight also includes my extra skin, which my PCP figures is somewhere in the 10-12 pound range. So, I'm actually a lot thinner than the scales say. Thanks. Marilee

Oops, I posted this in the wrong forum. Apologies. Marilee

My daughter and I are having VSG on November 12th. I originally told my boss that I would be back on November 29th, which would give me 2 weeks to recuperate. Now I'm wondering if I was being a bit hasty. I am 55 years old, have diabetes, high blood pressure and MS. The diabetes and MS already make me tired and I've been getting the idea from people that this surgery takes a lot of your energy out of you. Do you think I should plan on taking some extra time off to get on my feet? I have the time (and short-term disability), so that isn't a problem. But, I am sure my boss would be happier if I came back to work. Oh, and BTW, I have an office position - sit at a desk all day - but it is a long way to the bathroom (I keep hearing about liquids in, liquids out)! Thanks! Marilee

It's amazing how every doctor seems to be different. I thought I had to give up caffeine 2 weeks before surgery, but after 2 days of no coffee, I called and they told me that it is okay for me to have it. It does seem smart to stop before surgery though, if only to prevent the headaches. Now if I could just stop the people where I work from either coming in sick or bringing their sick kids to work with them, I would be a very happy camper. I will be unbelievably angry if I have to postpone my surgery because I get sick, especially since I don't know if they could fit me in by the end of the year and I am not picking this insurance up again for next year. Why do people go to work when they are sick or take their kids with them? I'm talking about professors and or department chairs who have tons and tons of sick time accumulated! Surgery in 8 days! Marilee

I know that this topic has been around - how many times I'm not sure, but I'll bet it is plenty - but maybe this is a question that no one has asked before and it has been on my mind for several days. My daughter and I are having VSG surgery on November 12th. We had to do a 3 month low carb diet for insurance purposes and now we are supposed to be on a two-week high-Protein diet consisting of meats, green veggies, eggs and cheese ONLY, staying under 20 grams of carbs per day. We started a day early (THAT was a mistake! LOL) but have been religiously following it since with the exception of having a Protein shake (Premier Protein with 30 grams of protein) for lunch instead of one of the listed solid foods. Tomorrow will be one week. My question is - what would it harm if, after the pre-op visit (which takes place 3 days before surgery), we went out and had a nice dinner and possibly dessert? I am soooo hungry for fajita nachos, I can't stand it, and that is something that I might never be able to eat again simply because of the bulk of the chips, lettuce, peppers, onions, cheese and chicken. I know that, if someone goes to Mexico to have surgery, the surgeon makes them follow a two-week liquid Protein diet and then they get to have whatever they want to eat the night before surgery. So, what would it hurt to have one meal a couple of days before the surgery? Our livers can't possibly get slippery or large again that quickly, can they? Please don't slam me with the, "you aren't taking this surgery seriously enough...you aren't ready if you can't follow the diet..." and so on. Believe me, we are definitely ready for the surgery. My daughter has lost 34 pounds in a little over 3 months and I have lost 18 (she weighs more than I do and is a lot younger). It is just that fajita nachos are my most favorite thing to eat (with the exception of pizza), and I can't understand how two days before surgery could impact the liver all the much. I'd ask my doctor but I kind of don't want him to tell me no and then be suspicious the day of surgery that we may have cheated. Does anyone know if the liver can change that quickly? Did anyone cheat just a couple of days before surgery with any consequences? Thanks. Marilee

I am kind of going through the same thing. I found out my surgery is on November 12th and my pre-op visit with the surgeon is November 9th. I will have to be on a no/very low (less than 20 grams) carb diet for 2 weeks prior to surgery. Well, this past week and weekend, I kind of went nuts, mostly with Mexican fajita nachos and some Chinese food. I had been on a three-month diet and lost 12 pounds. Once that was officially over, I relaxed a bit and had already put on 5 pounds before the weekend. Then, much to my horror, when I got on the scales this morning, I found that I had gained 14 pounds since my last doctor's visit!!! (Note - this is a 9 pound gain within 4 days!) He is very very strict about not gaining any weight before surgery and will even postpone it if you do. I am praying that the low carb diet will take this weight off of me in time. Another thing I am stressing about is the fact that my primary physician just changed my blood pressure meds, taking away the diuretic. That means that I am about to puff up like a frog, on top of the weight gain I have already had. If I gain weight from that, I don't think it should be held against me, but I don't know what will happen. I can't believe that my surgery will be in 20 days! (Well, if I can get this stupid weight off again, that is.) Worse part of it is - there is a pizza shop across from where I work that keeps calling my name. I know that, once I have the surgery, I will be fine. It's just that there are a couple of things that I feel like I am really going to grieve over if I don't get it out of my system beforehand. I feel like a little kid in a candy shop who is being pulled out by the arm screaming! :pizza: :hurt:

I am going to have VSG in November. I already take the maximum dosage (30 mg) of Prevacid, once a day and have for years. I keep hearing that many (if not most) people who have VSG need to take a PPI after surgery to not only help with the GERD but with hunger, at least for awhile. I also read from someone that, if you are already on a PPI, you may need to have your dosage adjusted after surgery. Does anyone have any suggestions about what I should do after surgery if I am experiencing any of the typical GERD and hunger symptoms and am already at the max for Prevacid? I know that this is something I will probably need to address with my surgeon, but I'd like to be prepared just in case he doesn't think I need anything and I do... Thanks!

My daughter has been very overweight much of her entire life. She has seen the same PCP for the past 3 or so years pretty regularly so should have a record of her weight... BUT, his scales only go to 300 pounds so they have been unable to weigh her. What happens in a case like this? She only went to the GYN/OB once during that time so, essentially, she doesn't have any weight records (I'm not even sure if their scales went any higher). Can the doctor state that her BMI had to be over 40+ due to the fact that their scale didn't go high enough? Will that be enough to fulfill the weight record requirement? Thanks!

I am in the process of doing the three-month intensive diet/exercise/behavior modification requirement for Aetna. Does anyone know if this means that I have to see the psychologist and nutritionist a total of 4 times or 3? I know that this seems like a silly question, but the psychologist says it is only 3 and the nutritionist says it is 4 (1st visit, 2nd visit after one month, 3rd visit after 2 months and 4th visit after 3 months). And, does it matter if you go over or less than 30 days in-between visits?

While I don't have to be on a liquid diet right now, I am doing a liquid protein diet with my daughter to support her while she tries to lose weight (has to get back down to her initial consult weight of over a year ago). That is hard enough, but I work at a university and there is a sandwich shop on the bottom floor of the building I am in that cooks bacon in the morning and bakes bread and cookies all day. For some reason, the odors rise to the floor I am on and I am about to lose my mind with the smells coming into my office! Sigh...

Check out: Obesity Surgery. Although it looks like everyone with Aetna has to meet these exact guidelines, from the posts above, I'm not sure exactly how it is determined. Also, not every Aetna plan covers bariatric surgery. To find a good surgeon, you might want to look for a support group or two in your area and attend a few meetings. I'm sure you will find people willing to talk to you about the doctor they used. Good luck! Marilee

My daughter and I are going into our third month of the multidisciplinary program for insurance coverage but I don't know if Dr. Macik will do our surgery after we are done. When we started this whole journey, it was well over a year ago and my daughter had been dieting rigorously. She lost a pretty good amount of weight before our first visit. Well, between having our hopes up and down about being able to have surgery and it being over a year since she was first weighed, she has, of course, gained weight. So now Dr. Macik won't do surgery on her until she loses 30 pounds. The other thing is, our scales differ from his by 13 pounds. We even went out and bought brand-new scales and both of them differ from his. But he won't relent. I totally understand the reasons behind his rule of not gaining any weight before surgery (and even losing if possible), but I personally think he should cut her some slack as long as she loses some of the weight she lost and is exercising...

I'm confused about this. I, too, have Aetna and my surgeon's office said that the three-month multidisciplinary program consists of the nutritionist, psychologist and the dietician/doctor visits in their office. Although it says in the bulletin that a supervised exercise program is required, she said that this was all we had to do and that the psychologist would monitor our exercise (we would talk with him about what we were doing as part of the behavior modification. She also said that they would keep track of everything themselves and get updates from the nutritionist and psychologist. My daughter and I are going on our third month and I do not want to find out now that we were supposed to be doing a supervised exercise program. Does anyone know exactly what is required? I've had people say all kinds of things.

I know that I have one because, when I had my gallbladder out years and years ago, the doctor saw it but said it wasn't bad enough to fix (huh?). I have horrible GERD now so I'm sure it hasn't improved, but it did not show up on the endoscopy I had. When I asked my doctor about that, he said that they can slide in and out and aren't always visible.

I also asked this question when I started out researching the various ways and means to get VSG. I even called the insurance company. They told me that, no, if the surgery is not covered then any complication would not be either. On the other hand - it is my impression that, after time has gone by, it would be very difficult for the insurance company to differentiate between a complication from WLS and something else. So, there is a chance that if a complication were to arise farther out from surgery, it would probably be covered. One thing I am doing is getting a referral from my PCP to my surgeon for hiatal hernia surgery. At least that part will be covered if he finds one and fixes it while he is doing the sleeve. And, God forbid a complication arises - maybe it would be caused by that and not the WLS. :thumbup1:

I don't know if this has been brought up before but, I wondered if anyone has suffered from Protein poisoning since WLS and a high protein diet? I never knew this existed until a friend of mine's mother got it and ended up in the hospital for a week because she was on Atkins! Everyone keeps talking about how low our carbs have to be in order to lose weight and keep it off but at what point do we put ourselves in danger if we eat too little carbs? I have been following a high protein diet for over a week now (on a three-month intensive diet/exercise/behavior modification program) and I have already lost quite a bit of weight. However, I've done this before and I know that, just as soon as I start eating carbs again, I'll start gaining. On the other hand, I don't want to endanger myself (or my daughter who is doing this with me). If I simply do a calorie counting thing, I seem to be hungry all the time because so many of the diet plans consist of a lot of carbs.

Ok, so this all makes sense now. The person I know that got Protein poisoning didn't eat rabbit, she is overweight and ate almost exclusively protein (animal, I'm sure). For all I know, she sat there and ate steak after steak and nothing else. My daughter and I are doing a modified carb diet, I guess you would call it. Not Atkins, but trying for 60-80 grams of protein minimum and low carbs (not really counting but all sources are low in carb count). The protein is from varied sources, including soy (protein bars, tofu, etc.), chicken, fish, milk and some beef. The carbs are almost exclusively vegetables, salads and limited whole wheat bread. Once a week, we are allowing ourselves something that we really really want (hey, we have to do this for three months before surgery). We are losing weight and I think this is pretty healthy. This is pretty much what our diet will be like after surgery, once we are on whole food again, right? Thanks!

One thing that really relieved my mind was the fact that the hospital we are going to will bill us and set-up payments for whatever the amount ends of being - interest free. When I asked the billing department what would happen if we owed a lot more after they billed the insurance company, she said, "we will work with you and set something up, unless you want to pay interest to your credit card company or on a loan" and then she laughed. Whew - that was soooo good to hear. BTW - this is one of the top hospitals in Georgia, too.

This brings up something else - if you have an insurance policy that covers 80%, don't they still have to go by the allotted amount if they have that hospital / surgeon as a in-network provider? I'll be using a limited insurance policy that only covers up to a certain amount, so I am sure that I will have out-of-pocket costs above the 80%. It is certainly more reasonable if I end up paying what's left of an allotted amount than what the hospital or surgeon charges out-of-network providers. I think I've spent months trying to figure out the best way to accomplish this surgery and the best insurance to use (of the ones available to me at the beginning of the coverage year). I've almost had total meltdowns several times!:thumbup1:

My daughter and I recently found out that we have to do the intensive diet and behavior modification program for three months in order for Aetna to cover any part of our surgeries. (This after we were told repeatedly that we didn't. - Sigh). When we saw the nutritionist (I think that is what she is) in the surgeon's office, she told us to go on very high Protein, low carb diets. 60-70 grams of protein a day for me and 70-80 grams for my 21 year old daughter. She also told us to make sure we drink 32 oz of skim milk a day and a total of 64 oz of liquids (water making up most of the rest). She said that it is really important that we start upping our protein now and it will also help us get in the right mindset for after surgery. Then, later that day, we went to see the nutritionist that the doctor's office recommends for the 3-month diet counseling. She did a practically 180 degree about-face and told us to follow a 1200 - 1500 calorie diet and her diet meal plan (that only shows 5 days worth), has a lot of carbs in it. When I said something to her about the other person's diet, she only looked at me and kind of shook her head yes. So - now I am totally confused. It has been a week since we saw both of them and my daughter and I are trying to do a higher-protein diet with limited calories and carbs. I need to work harder at getting all of my liquids in but my daughter is doing great with her milk and Water. I know that everyone seems to get a different pre-op to follow but, if you were asked for your advice on doing a three-month diet prior to surgery and losing some weight in the process, while getting two conflicting diets to follow, which one would you do? BTW, I did call the surgeon's office and asked them which one we should follow and was told, "the nutritionist" (meaning the one NOT in their office). However, the five day diet really isn't much help, especially since Breakfast and lunch are kind of prohibitive since we are both out of the house for 10 hours a day, 4 days a week and are usually in a hurry to get out the door in the morning and neither one of us really likes to eat breakfast. We certainly don't have time to put together the meals she has listed (and they can't be made ahead). However, I suppose we could try to improvise if we need to. So - votes, please. Follow the high protein, low carb easy to do diet, or the "usual" balanced diet of protein, carbs, fruits, etc that you usually see from nutritionists? Oh, and BTW, not that this should make much difference, but the high-protein advocate said that, if we really wanted something, we could have it once a week. Those of you who were required to do the three or six month pre-op diets for insurance approval - what kind of diets were you told to follow? Thanks! Marilee

My daughter and I are having surgery using a very limited insurance policy that has a definite yearly cap (and it is not very high). I have an HMO that is fantastic, but they don't cover WLS nor any complications from it. I've been worried about this as well. But, I don't want to change jobs because I love the one I have and the benefits (other than not offering WLS) are wonderful (and I can retire with them). My husband's employer (full-time one; he has two and we are using the insurance from the part-time one) covers WLS but has a rule that, if your spouse can get insurance, they have to take it. That would make mine primary and his secondary so the way insurance works, there would be no WLS coverage (their argument is that if the primary doesn't cover a procedure, there is nothing to pick up, therefore, no coverage for that procedure). Yeah, they have all their bases covered to their benefit, certainly not ours. It all came down to whether or not we were willing to risk having the surgery vs. the bad health and risk of NOT having surgery. I pay over $125.00 a month just in co-pays for my medicines, plus I can see where my health is getting worse every year (I am 55). My daughter is only 21 and already has asthma and knee problems. She is a beautiful girl, but has low self-esteem and is worth soooo much more than what she is experiencing now. I just posted a post about being nervous about the surgery and that is true - I am. But, in answering this question, I guess I am also reaffirming why we are taking this risk. So - God willing, we will have no complications. But, in any event, we will take that risk because the benefits far outweigh the risks. Money is just that - money. Your health and well-being are everything.

Hi everyone, I am in the process of figuring out whether the SRC insurance I have will cover part of the cost for the sleeve and if they will, what my out-of-pocket expenses will be. The hospital doesn't seem to be able to give me any idea what they would bill the insurance company, so it is impossible for me to get an idea. Also, I would like to know so that if my cost is too high, I can make plans to go to Mexico and have it done. I know that every hospital is different and costs can vary widely. But - can anyone let me know what your hospital was billed? I don't care what your insurance paid because mine is different, but if I can get an approximate (maybe high and low?) of what amounts were billed, I might be able to at least get an idea. Thanks!

I have a dilemma. I have a limited benefits insurance company that I am going to use for sleeve WLS. It has caps on the amounts it will pay for certain hospital charges, etc. Going round and round with the insurance company and hospital has pretty much gotten me nowhere since no one wants to commit to an amount. I can understand that, but I also need to know what I might possibly be looking at in terms of what this is going to cost me out of pocket. If anyone has an itemized bill for their surgery and would be willing to share the information with me, I would really appreciate it. I know how much the surgeon will cost; it is the hospital charges I need to know. For example, how much it cost for the operating and recovery rooms, meds, medical and surgical supplies and devices, lab tests and x-rays, etc. I know that your amounts won't be exactly the same for me, but at least it might give me an idea of what to expect. The surgeon requires a two-day hospital stay. What I especially need to know is what the hospital billed the insurance company - not self-pay. I have Aetna and this is a preferred provider, but the policy isn't a traditional Aetna policy because of the caps (I also do not need nor will they do preauthorization). So, while I'm assuming that there are allowed amounts, I have no idea what those are. Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks.