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+change

Gastric Sleeve Patients
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Posts posted by +change

  1. Posted

    I am 51 years old, and a working professional. I have 7 wonderful children and my husband had a bout with cancer in February. My cholesterol is 345 and climbing, my blood pressure was climbing, I lost weight and gained more, lost weight and gained double. This life style had to change.

    I arrived in Calexico on Tuesday morning, was picked up by a very nice driver Ernesto. My husband and I were taken across the boarder to Hospital Almedan, We were very swiftly taken for all of our lab work, ECG, Blood work, X-rays.

    After that we met with Dr. Aceves and Dr Campos, they went step by step through the surgical procedure, we were able to ask questions and tour the hospital. It was clean and the staff was attentive.

    We were then taken to the hotel, It was a Holiday Inn and our rooms were terrific. We had a great dinner of shrimp and tres leches cake. Early the next morning, we were picked up by the driver and taken to the hospital , where we were checked in and preped for surgery.

    I went first, I was on the table for 45 min and in recovery for 4 hours. I was able to walk that same night, some slight pain, but very well addressed by the staff. They are clean freaks, they cleaned my room 4 times a day. LOL

    Day one post op was walk, walk, walk, some no lots of gas pain. Walk, sleep, walk sleep, walk sleep. Had the blue die swallow test, it went great, no leaks! YIPPIE

    Day two post op I felt much better and had my first bowel movement. Can you say OUCH? But finally gas was on the move. Had the barrium swallow test, and got see my new stomach. WOW. amazing.

    Day three post op, picked up by the driver and taken back to our car in Calexico. We picked up our very dirty car and drove to Idyllwild, Ca to rest and recouperate and as a side line to Celebrate our 25th anniversary. The trip was long and tiring. I slept all afternoon.

    Day four post op got up and walked around a bit in the town square. Enjoyed our day in the fresh air, slept in the afternoon. Some slight back pain but feel wonderful

    That is where I am at right now. Started at 205 and havent been able to weigh since surgery. But I am sure that all the swelling it would not be a great idea anyway.

    Congrats on your sleeve! I was sleeved 10-12 in Portland, OR. It's amazing how fast the recovery is from this procedure. I was walking at the park on Sunday after having surgery on Wednesday. Will look for you on the Oct 11 sleevers blog. This surgery was the best thing we could do for our health. What a gift we gave ourselves. Take care, Jan

  2. Posted

    Awwww thank you so much those 3 months will fly by in no time!<3

    my patient navigator called me bright && early guys my surgery date is the 17th at first she said she only had the 24th but called back a few minutes later with thee earlier date awww im so excited I know its hard & tiring being patient but with time & fully committing effort to do whatever to get approved you will keep fighting guys<3

    You have surgery coming up Monday:) I wish you a successful operation, a speedy recovery, & a tool that fights obesity. Will look for your updates. Take care, Jan

  4. Posted

    Hi my name is Karen. I wanted to introduce myself in hopes of making new friends, finding a mentor and sharing experiences. I am 48 years old, stand 5'7" and have about 175 pounds to lose. I am still a couple of months away from surgery but getting closer every day. I've passed my psych test and done the sleep and metabolic testing too. All I have left is my meeting with the surgeon next week then completing the last two months of the insurance required supervised diet. I am very excited and can hardly wait to start this new journey. I would love to hear success stories, concerns or any advice. I would also like to make some connections here and am hoping there are others from the Northwest that have gone to the OWLS or have had Dr. Patterson. Look forward to hearing from you!

    Hi Karen,

    I had my surgery 10/12 & was home the next afternoon. Dr Halpin was my surgeon at Legacy Weight Mgmt Institute, Ste 520 right next door to Dr Patterson. I am feeling good - lucky not to have nausea, vomiting, or much pain. Looking forward to weeks 3 & 4 to start adding food back. Let me know how things are going for you. Jan

  6. Posted

    Thank Jan & I a sure you are recovering nicely from your surgery today! I called the insurance & they said they received my fax, however they haven't reviewed it yet... and that I should call back next Wednesday! Really, you think I am going to wait till Wednesday, I think not! I plan on calling daily LOLOLOLOL!

    Hoping for great news soon!

    Glenna

    Glenna, I'm home & sleeved. I already have favorite liquids & yogurt:)

    Keep calling BCBSIL every day & get a rep that will contact medical review for you. You need to know if they have everything they need. I'll look for your approval soon. Hang in there.

    Jan

  11. Posted

    so i am a newbe, and need to ask a question. are we not supose to be on a Pre-Op diet all along? i have to complete 6 months of classes for my insurance, so am i supose to start liquids now?

    I was on Weight Watchers for 6 mos & now on liquids the last week before surgery but each doctor (& ins co) has their own requirements. Start exercising & chewing slowly now:)

    Good luck,

    Jan

  14. Posted

    Quick update... I talked to my Dr today & I think she called BCBSIL, have I told you all how much I LOVE my Dr! Then she wrote a letter for me that explains that I was on a 1200 cal/day diet with excercise. It also states that I have daily food journals & exercise logs and I came in every month for a progress check. I was able to loose 10 lbs during that time. I also wrote a letter to send to them from my heart about how this will change my life & my family life; I inculded that my dad has HBP, Diabetes, High Cholesterol & had a stroke at 59, also that my mom has HBP, High Cholesterol etc.

    I am really hopeful that between that, the proof that my BMI was over 40 (40.8 to be exact) when I started my MSLWP, and a description of the program my Dr had me on will be enough to get this thing moving!! Can you think of anything else I may need??

    Also, why does the info always come in on Friday when they aren't open till Monday?? Patience!!! Thanks for reading this very long & rambling post :o)

    Glenna

    The explanations sound promising to me. I'll cross my fingers for you & hope you get approved soon. I know you are more than ready to be sleeved. Take care, Jan

  15. Posted

    In July both my wife and I decided to have weight loss surgery. It has been frusterating to say the least. Before we could ever meet with the surgeon we had to attend a seminar explaining the procedures. At our first doctor appointment I did not qualify, my BMI was 39.5. Thankfully the nurse had my wife put her purse on the scale and that put me above the 40 BMI that the insurance was asking for. We each did our phyc evaluation and attended a class where we met with a dietician. We were originally told that we were going to have to do 6 months doctor supervised dieting but upon reading over the insurance requirements we soon discovered that they had recently changed their policies and now they do not require and dieting (Good news for us). All of our information was submitted to the insurance over 3 weeks ago and I recieved a call on friday from the insurance company stating that they never recieved it, and both of us were being given a 45 day extension. Well after talking with the doctors office they noticed that they had faxed it to the wrong number. It was faxed to the right number on Monday morning and we recieved a phone call on Wednesday from the doctors office saying that we had been approved. Finally things seem to be going right. We now have to set up a 4 hour class that talks about what we will be able to eat and then we have to start our 2 week pre-op diet. We get to pick what date we want to have the surgery when we go through the class. Could be as little at 2.5 weeks from now or maybe as long as another month. All I know is we are now one step closer to succesfully losing weigh and being able to keep it off. I am hoping we can be at or close to our target weight by May of next year when we go on our vacation.

    I shared your post with my husband about adding your wife's purse to your weight. We were cracking up laughing. Glad to hear that you & your wife will be having surgery soon. I am having mine next week. My husband wants to see how I do with the sleeve before making his decision for WLS. My best to both of you. Will be looking for your posts.

    Jan

  17. Posted

    At time of discharge the doctor told me I could eat anything if I could puree it. Well meat comes out bad. While shopping I remembered Underwood Deviled Ham. Soft texture and no need to process. Rare chunk that can be chewed. Also have other types like chicken. Find with a scrambled egg it is pretty good meal.

    Thanks for the suggestion. Underwood Deviled Ham sounds tasty. I'm having my surgery this Wednesday so I'll have to remember to try it.

  21. Posted

    I got so disgusted with BCBSIL. When they denied me the 3rd time, I was about to cry. I called & didn't like the 1st customer service rep. I called again & got the nicest guy. I explained that my frustration was when I had my doctor fax what they wanted, next time I was told they wanted other things. I asked him to call medical review & tell me exactly what was holding up my approval. He told me & my dr again sent a fax. I was expecting to have to call the rep back b/c he had given me his ext but I got a nice surprise when he called in the am to say I was approved. Just hang in there & don't give up. Call them every day following any new faxed information.

    Jan

  24. Posted

    The 1st time I was denied in May b/c I hadn't completed a 6 mos nutritional program. The 2nd time they denied me early September they said I didn't have a 2nd co-morbidity since my bmi is 38 & I hadn't completed the nutritional program. I had completed a 6 mos class at the hospital in which I was weighed monthly, b/p recorded, exercise & challenges for the month discussed. I do have 2 co-morbidities which are dyslipidemia & sleep apnea. I had to have my doctor resend the documentation of my visits (dates highlighted) + additional information about the program & information from my sleep study. The 3rd time they said I wasn't treating my dyslipidemia in the past 6 months. I was scared b/c I do not take statins but my doctor sent them a document stating I take fish oil for high cholesterol. I called BCBS & was so frustrated b/c I wanted to know exactly what else they needed. I was very lucky I got a customer service rep who listened to me & made a call to medical review & he called the next day to say I was approved. I think BCBSIL wants to deny several times. I felt like I was holding my breath for weeks. I am so ready for my sleeve as I know you are. I wish you the best & hope you are approved soon.

    Jan

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