amberj

good luck!! Dr taylor did mine (same office). you should come to the support group at womens hospital on dec 14th at 6 if you are able. its very informative and meeting people like us is great for motivation. best of all, it is free! they also have sessions where different Protein drinks are offered for samples and they discuss diet exercise and life changes. I hope to see you there !!! ( the meetings are every 2nd wednesday of the month from 6 to 7 30) I'm not sure if Dr. Frelich has the exact same mannerisms as dr taylor but i assume they are close since we get the same packet. One thing to ask for is liquid pain meds!! they ordered me the pill form is it was very hard to keep down. the 2nd time the dissolved it which made me vomit. The elixir was later prescribed but my stomach rejected it too. All in all they do really good work. I have hardly any pain now and am feeling closer to normal each day. Hope everything goes great!! prayers bein sent your way!!

I just had surgery on Wednesday. I am wondering if I am drinking too much. I make 2 quarts of crystal light in the moring and by 8 it is gone. I still seem to have room for food. Today, I drank an 8oz protein drink, a coule baby sppon bites of my 7 month olds very thin cream of wheat, about a 1/2 cup of strained creamy chicken soup and 1/4 cup of spaghetti (sp?) sauce. On top of that,I have already finished my 2 quarts of crystal light. Am i consuming too much?? I am worried that I am over doing it. I don't take big gulps or anything like that;I just literally drink ALL day long. The day after surgery i couldnt even get 8 oz in. Is this okay or normal? Have any of you been through this??

well i survived--im not sure how--the first day afterwards i was wonderin what i had done to myself. i had alot of trouble with the medicine for pain. today is the first day i havent vommited or had an extreme case of naseau. i dont hurt that bad- im sore from throwing up but incision wise, i am fine. im finding it hard to adjust to food now. the thought of anything makes me sick. i can tolerate crystal light and ive had a couple sips of broth but thats it.i have a lot of issues with swallowing alittle air when i take a sip of something. it feels like my whole stomach is filled with air and hurts so bad. im trying to take it slower and make myself burp. ive walked around the yard a few times today to make the gas move some. hopefully this will get easier as the time goes on. so far so good. today is def an improvement from yesterday abd last night. glad to be home ! and glad to be on my way to a brand new life!!!

Dr. Alvarez has a video about the staples--someone posted it here before i think but to save you time ill jut re-post it for you! lots of good info!

hey everyone!! gettin my sleeve on the 16th!! so pumped!!! its so close!! on another note--i talked to a guy at work today about what i was having done because he asked why i wasnt eating anything the past few days (liquids--meh) and he is now wanting to look into it. he had no idea that our insurance covered it and ive watched him struggle with his weight and the problems associated with it for many years he asked for my surgeons name and how to go to a seminar--gave him the dr' card and directions for signing up for the seminar-excited for him to by making a decision that something needs to be done. and it would be nice to have someone at work knowing what it is really like. hope it works for me---but as for me--I CANT WAIT FOR THE 16th!!!

i have UHC too---it took one week --so excited for you you should come to the support group meetings if you are close enough. they are the 2nd Wednesday every month in womans hospital from 6 to 7 30. the next one is dec14th. If you need any info on it or directions or anything just let me know love to see you there!

yeah when i called my ins company to ask how long it would take because it had just been submitted, they told me 3 to 4 weeks pending a nurse review and she said i need a 5 year history a 6 month diet and all weightloss attempts---------i needed NONE of that. they just have to tell you stuff like that as a standard procedure. my financial adviser at the dr office said its a case by case thing. some get approved within days others take a few weeks. i just got lucky i guess. if all your stuff in order that date seems reasonable to me. i started this thing the first of last month and when i said i wanted to have it before thanksgiving i got a lot of the that may not happen comments from friends and stuff. but it did. youll have an answer before you know it! just stay positive no matter what they say

I have no shame in getting this done. I want the whole world to know that i'm doing something for myself to make me healthier , happier, and a better mother to my children. I don't necessarily care if someone has a problem with it because after all, it is my body and my heath that's at risk. I've had nothing but good responses, everyone understands and is supportive for the most part. my fiance is a little worried about it and doesn't want me to have it done but oh well, i doing it anyways. I say BE PROUD! It doesn't matter what anyone else thinks. this is for you, don't let negativity ruin it for you. own it and love it. if you are anything like me, this is the best decision you ever made for your health! you might even inspire someone else to look into it when all other options have failed. good luck with everything

It took a week for me to get approved once it was submitted. I got approved on the 28th of october i had another appointment with my dr to discuss surgery dates on the 7th and i have my surgery on the 16th. i think it all depends on the drs schedule as far as a date after approval. sidenote:the dr has to give the insurance company a date so if you call and they ask are you scheduled on such and such date and you were like me and didnt have any idea what they were talking about, this is why. but it doesnt mean that when itll be on. good luck!! hope approval is fast!

i don't have bcbs, but i had a similar experience. I called and was told i only had to have a bmi of 40 and it be clinically necessary. when i was called and told it was submitted to insurance, i took it upon myself to call the company and ask how long it took for approval. i was told 2-4 weeks for approval and id need a 6 month diet and a 5 year obesity record, BUT it only took a week for approval, I didn't have to have a 6 or 3 month diet and i didn't have to prove a 5 year history either. The financial adviser at the clinic told me it is simply a case by case basis and what what the insurance company told me it's standard procedure. I really hope things work out for you and you have a fast approval!

I'm in Denham Springs and Im having mine done at Women's in BR on the 16th. I need someone close by too for support and motivation! When are you gettin your sleeve??

Hi everyone! Well I start my pre-op diet tomorrow. i just got this long list of vitamins that I need to buy. My Dr office told me to go to celebratevitamins.com . I was just wondering where ya'll got your vitamins from and if it was any cheaper than celebrate. For a 90 day supply of B-12 , a multivitamin, iron and calcium it totals to be $115 with free shipping. i don't know if that's a good price or not. I am also looking at different proteins, any suggestions there??

i just had a c-section and if its anything like that O.R. they have you get onto the table for the procedure and afterwards they move you. i remember having an inflatable thing under me that made it easier for them to slide me to a different bed. it may be different for each hospital though. My first c-section i was also slid over from the operating table to a bed. i weighed around 350 when I gave birth, so i wouldn't have any concerns with them being able to be moved, there's always someone to help. on another note, the hard part was me getting onto the OR table because I had to lean over and get my epidural and feeling gets lots REALLY fast which makes it almost impossible to get my legs back on the bed and ready for surgery.

Hi everyone! my names Amber and i'm currently in the process of getting this thing started. I have already met with my surgeon, today in fact. I sat down with the woman who takes care of insurance and i got up a little confused. I asked her at least 5 times how much the actual procedure was going to cost and I never got a real answer. I have united heath care through Target and they pay 80% after i meet my deductible ( which is almost met). I know insurance companies negotiate prices with doctors so it makes it difficult for me to find out how much im actually going to have to pay. I'm pretty sure she said for just the doctors fee, without insurance, is 9000, that doesn't include the hospital. How much could that be since its done as an outpatient surgery? I called the insurance company to find out but they need the code and of course i don't have it. i am int he process of getting an appointment for a psych eval and after those results come back i can get with the surgeon for a surgery date. I guess i just need to be patient. I was just wondering if anyone had an estimate of how much it actually cost for the procedure The only requirements for approval is >40 BMI and older than 18--seems easy enough

oh my goodness!!! that does seem like a long time. I got really lucky i guess. I just started this month. however, my bmi is 51. a lot higher than yours. the only thing the nurse requested was my bmi, height and weight and the attempt is made to lose weight. I lucked out of having to do a 6 month diet, but then again I just had a baby and had gestational diabetes and with that came a diet plan so maybe that counted for something. I feel blessed to have had this go through quickly. i was so afraid that i'd get denied and wouldn't be able to have it before my insurance year was over. i have a 3600 deductible ( very high!) and i just didn't want to have to pay that again. My doctors office has been amazing through the process. the financial adviser there told me to not call the insurance company and just let her handle it. i had called and they said itd take two weeks and they'd need a diet and a 5 year record, but that was standard procedure i guess. I was told its a case by case thing. I really hope you get big approved come the 9th!!! fingers crossed!!! if you're anything like me, you need this!