crossviewcutie11

Congrats Chunky. Glad to hear you're doing well I'm being sleeved in the morning as well and reading your post has helped my nerves a bit. LOL

grrr.. im mad... i just wrote out this whole story and then accidently turned of my internet and it deleted the whole thing.....

ok take two.. so i am deathly afraid of needles so im getting a little nervous about the surgery.. even tho i should be used to it by now since ive had 4 knee surgeries.. lol but anyways.. im going in tomorrow at 8:15 am and then my surgery is at 10 am.. im excited to get my journey underway... but i have been hearing people talk about having a drainage tube... i was wondering what it is and how long its gonna be there.. cuz im very quezy if i see blood.. any ways.. i have kaiser and no one has mentioned anything like this so im wondering is it something that everybody gets? some one please explain!

I'm getting sleeved in the morning at 10:45! Please don't get yourself worked up over the IV and needles. It only takes a min and shouldn't be a bother. I had a drainage tube for a previous surgery and it really wasn't a big deal. You will be just fine and good luck tomorrow!

Great job. You look wonderful!

Hi all. I got my surgery date today...December 12 and pre op diet starts Monday. Didn't think it would be this quick, but I'm definitely not complaining. They actually offered me Tuesday the 6th but I have to get things in order at work first. Anywho, just wanted to share!!

OMG Congratulations. I actually teared up for you.

That Last sentence is EXACTLY how I feel and what I am excited about. Actually having options of where to shop where I can get good deals for not having to buy YARDS of fabric to fit me. I am still meeting requirements so I have a journey ahead, but I KNOW this feeling.

Funny thing about Lane Bryant...i went into one tonight to find a top (sweater/shirt/whatever) to wear Saturday and just walked out. I'm 2 weeks away from surgery and just refused to buy anything else from that store. I really didn't need anything anyway, just wanted something new. Just wanted to share because I am seriously over LB!

Love, love, love it Rainsong! Wonderfully said.

Hey Favored!

I was thinking the same thing last night. My husband and I are very social, having parties all the time at our house. We have big game nights with food and drinks and everything. He is actually throwing a birthday party for me on Saturday and I will be on my pre op diet. Some of the people there will know why I'm not eating, but....

Anyway, like I was saying, I was thinking about that too. I decided that the games night could continue and since we are the ones preparing the food, we can make them (or at least some of the items) sleeve friendly. I also decided to move away from doing so much with our group of friends at home and try to venture out more. We all love to bowl and things like that, so I think for our February social, I'll suggest we do that instead of game night at my house. I know it is going to be a change, but you're already on the right track thinking of alternatives. It amazes me how much of my social life revolves around food. I catch up with friends by going to dinner. A day out always involves a meal in a restaurant. Believe it or not, Thanksgiving was the first time my stove and oven have been on in 2011!!!

Good luck and keep thinking of ideas. I'll definitely be stealing the ones you mentioned. LOL

Hi fellow December sleevers!

I'm so excited, just had to share...

I just received an email from my case manager (yes at 9:34 on sunday) stating that I should come prepared to schedule my surgery for the second week of December to my appointment Friday. She said have a plan in mind of what days that week may work for you. I wanted to respond and say EVERYDAY THAT WEEK, but I just politely said 'Thank you'. I'm really super excited now...moreso than before and just wanted to share with you all!

Have a great week everyone.

I have always walked by the Misses sections at the mall and joked that if I could fit into that size we would be broke. I may now get my chance to actually try on some of that cute stuff in a few months. I'm really excited but don't share that with anyone. My daughter asked me what store I wanted to shop in first and I said Victoria Secret. I have always just wanted to buy a sexy bra from them. I'll probably hate it when I can finally get one to fit. HA HA

My sister in law asked what store will I be most excited about and I said Victoria Secret as well.

I bought a few smaller summer dresses last summer at yard sales, we are talking dirt cheap so if they are too big/small they wont be a loss. I have been doing the 6 month doc visits so i new my appt was going to be Nov or Dec so i put myself on a NO clothes shopping rule. Dont know where you live Cutie 11 but most consignment stores LOVE getting plus size clothes. They rarely get any good stuff is what one lady told me. The thing with plus size clothes is people usually wear them out, cause it is so hard to find nice clothes that FIT. I have a lot of lingerie from Fredricks and LB (TMI?) that i am hoping i can sell on Ebay or Craigslist, so i can shop at Vickies Secret (YAY) So if your worried about all the $$$ for new clothes try that!. I already have some ironed creased and in a garment bag ready to go!!

Yeah, I've donated a lot of clothes to the thrift shop, just never bought from there. I donated 400+pieces at the beginning of the summer and about 100 a month or so ago. They are always excited to see me roll up. LOL

My problem is that I travel so much and always feel the need to buy in every city. I mean I'm on the road sometimes from Mon thru Fri, week after week and have accumulated a ton of clothes. I pack clothes then go to the malls in each city and buy things rather than sit in the hotel and watch TV. Now I plan to spend some of that time in the nice gyms that I never ever use, but I'm sure my closet will grow much faster now that I will soon be in smaller sizes.

BTW... I live in Durham, NC.

Congratulations cuteascanbelizzie!! Any advice? Glad to hear everything is progressing well. I received approval on Wednesday and have to meet with my surgeon on Friday. I believe my surgery will be scheduled for the week of December 12. Please keep us updated on your progress and any tips or nuances you discover along the way.

Estelle,

Thanks for posting. I have the same questions. Has your sleeve been scheduled? Mine will be in December.

Yea that can happen sometimes with the insurance company. It really sucks. But it once CIGNA get's it than they are normally pretty quick on getting you approved. If you have met all the qualifiers than you are automatically approved. Just hang in there. But Cigna is a good insurance to have. They are really awesome. But here's one thing to waatch out for with your nausea meds. When I left the hospital I had a perscription for 30 8mg zopfran disolveable pills. I went through those in 5 days, which was what the perscripton was wrote for. They gave me the generic version of zopfran which is ondansatron. But anyways, I call my surgeron on friday for a refill and on saturday when I call to pick it up cigna had denied the refill. They denied it sayin they need a authorization for the refill and will only pay this time for 20 pills. So I saw my surgeon today and asked him to call. They got the auth in and cigna paid for them but my surgeon forgot to write it for desolvables. So I have to crush them up, they are soooo icky to drink .But I am calling tomorrow to request for disolveables becuase I can't take them like this they are way too gross. So something to watch out for for your medications. But I didn't have to pay for any of my meds, cigna for me paid at 100%. So meet your deductibles. Than they will pay 100%. Hang in there.

Thanks for the info Krystle. I have Cigna and sure enough it took them 5 days to approve...well 5 days for me to be notified by the surgeon of approval. The IMO about medication is also very helpful. I'll keep that in mind when I have my VSG in a couple weeks.

Rainsong,

I'm feel the same way! I work from home and travel throughout the southeast to hospitals and dr offices, so none of my co workers really know anything. I do have two close friends at work that i consider real friends (you know work friends v. Real friends) who I've told. The good thing about work is that it's not strange to work on a team for years and never meet anyone in person. I was a bit concerned about if I should discuss with the nurses at some of my sites. They are really gonna be able to tell a difference considering they will only see me every 6 weeks (seems the longer you are away from people the more you notice changes).

My husband is throwing a birthday party for me this Saturday. I'm a bit of a social butterfly, but just this once I want him to cancel, but I haven't mentioned that to him. We have a lot of parties and just this once I don't want to have it because there will be people there that I probably won't see until my next birthday. I guess I just want to let the next couple weeks slide by, flying under the radar and emerge after the new year.

When I lost 75 lbs before, I used to be outside daily walking around the subdivision. My husband continues to do that, but I avoid it like the plaque. My neighbors are super close to my hubby and I'm more the hi and bye type. I've promised myself that I'm honda start the Cto5K as soon as my dr clears me. I really do want to know my neighbors and 3 of my 4 closest friends are all runners. They always want me to coming running with them. Ha. Now I can run only if provoked...like running the airports to catch flights, but don't expect me to be able to talk during and after for at least 45 minutes. LOL

I said all that to say telling or not telling is up to you. Only you know how much you want to put out there and based on passed experiences with your students, how much they can handle. I still haven't told my dad and really don't plan to. Once I tell him, it would be the same as announcing it on CNN. I'll just let him figure it out. My mom, brother, and sister know, but they wouldn't tell him either. We have a family joke - never tell my dad anything you don't want the entire world to know.

Good luck with everything and do keep me posted on how it all goes!

I also have a nasty shopping habit, i havent bought any new clothes for a few months and it is driving me crazy!!! I did go BF shopping though, i bought some Levi in a size 16, 14 12 i figure if they dont fit me for long then those are the sizes my Sister in law, mother in law, and mom wear so i will give them to them or try to consign them. I dont want to sound stingy but i havent let anyone shop in my closet yet, i am going to need "skinny" clothes and most of my clothes are all good brands so i am going to try to consign first then donate\share what is left. Thank GOD for Gabriel Brothers and Marshalls!!

I hear ya! Trust me when I say you couldn't tell she got anything. I'm always looking at clothes and styles and different trends and really just want to buy something. LOL. I've even resulted to trying to figure out what sizes I'll be in certain months to justify buying now. Unfortunately those calculations weren't making sense and I scratched that idea. I hadn't thought about consigning, but that would be a great idea. I just keeping taking bags of clothes to the thrift store for our local rescue mission to be sold. I have been holding back the. Ore expensive items though. Funny how I'm getting rid of clothes and haven't had the surgery yet. I just know everything will be just fine and want to make space for all the new things I'll bye.

Don't feel selfish for holding onto your things. I had to approve everything she took and made her put back several things. Wish I could say I haven't bought for a few months. It's more like I bought until I received insurance approval on the day before Thanksgiving. I actually received packages yesterday for clothes bought online last weekend....oops.

i completed all my testing & submitted everything that needed to be completed. i assume that ill be getting my surgery date tuesday! i cant believe it!!

as far as flying, have u spoken to ur surgeon or dr about that? i read once that airplane rides can give you bloodclots & you def wanna be cleared for flying.

good luck to you! <3

You are right. My dr is aware of my profession and all the travel involved, including air travel and told me 2 weeks would be fine. Of course I'm gonna take more time if I need it. This is just a little getaway for me and the hubby, but we are always getting away with all my travel, so it can be rescheduled. Luckily, I won't be back at work until the first of the year and I work from home so no biggie. I don't have any work air travel scheduled until the second week of January.

i meet my surgeon on tuesday & thursday is my 6month mark!!! im praying to be sleeved by dec 20th!

I really hope to be sleeved by the 16th. I ambitiously have planned a trip for NYE, which means being airplane ready. So hopefully I won't be in pain, wee too much pain by then. The airplane isn't the problem. I spend 2 to 3 days a week on a plane, for the last 2 years The movement is my biggest concern. Once I completed the 6 mos back in September, I was super ready. But, I hadn't finished with the nutrition meetings. I really believe I'm really gonna ,are myself sick with anticipation. I have to go Friday to pay and there isn't a pre op diet I'm aware of and the counselor has confirmed that once this is done, I should I have a date the next week

how long did it take to get approved?

My information was submitted on a Wednesday and I received an approval the following Wednesday, so a week. I began the process back in March, but had 6 months of supervised weight assessments, psych eval, and nutritionist.

I've been on this journey for quite a while and began the approval process in March. After my PCP retired and my dietician left the practice, I had to scramble right at the end to keep things on track. Did I mention I changed WLS surgeons as well? LOL. Well now I've found a great surgeon and received insurance approval Wednesday afternoon!!! Happy Thanksgiving to me. I have my scheduling approintment Dec. 2 and believe my surgery date will be Dec. 15. I'm extra, extra excited!

It was really strange not buying out the mall today for Black Friday. My hubby keeps reminding me to stop buying clothes, which is a nasty habit of mine. My sister-in-law actually went shopping in my closet last night. I was a bit embarrassed at the number of clothes that still have tags on them. Let's just stay I probably have more clothes than Lane Bryant, Macy's and Ashley Stewart have...scattered throughout my house across four bedrooms. Guess I'll have to start over! :smilingface (52):

Anyway, my highest weight was 338. Current weight is 308. 5'3". Size 22/20 bottoms and 2/3x tops. My goal weight is 165.

BTW...I just joined the site today and already feel so welcomed! You all are awesome and really have taught me a lot in the past 2 1/2 hours. Congratulations to you all...not only for your approvals and weight loss, but also for taking steps to make your life the best it can be. I'm so excited to be a December Sleever!!!!

Hi there! I just received insurance authorization Wednesday and am super excited. When I began the process, my husband was totally supportive and continues to be. My mother and brother were very nonchalant, which somewhat bothered me. My closest friends have been very supportive. Like the others have said, in the end, it's nice to hear opinions; however, this is your life. Those that love you will eventually come around when they see how happy you are. I thought everyone would be as excited as I was, but I have now concluded that my excitement should outshine everyone else's because this is ultimately for me! Good luck and don't take it too personally. I'm super sensitive and felt very similar early on.