Flagstaffian

You are a rock star and you WILL make it through. PS- There is a youtube video with Dr. Aceves (Mexico's sleeve guru?) talking about diarrhea and "going to the bathroom after VSG". Sorry to be so blunt, but we're all in this together!
SF

Hey y'all. Sarah here. I was active on the boards until about a year ago...now I'm BACK! I am a 30 year old retirement planner, living the dream in the SF Bay Area.
Oh wait- almost living the dream- first I need to take off this 160 lb fat suit I've been dragging around the last 7 years.
See, I've always been fluffy, voluptuous, "a big girl". Still, I was ususally happy with who I was and how I looked. It wasn't until I broke up with my college boyfriend of 4 years at age 23-24, that I started gaining serious weight. I was about 170 back then, and had always worn a size 12 or 14...now I'm a 22. I just started eating to deal with the serious depression, then I would get more depressed because of the way my clothes stopped fitting, and thus began the ugly cycle that I've been in since 2006. At this point, I'm in treatment for depression (for WAY more issues than just the weight) and luckily, over the last 3 years, my depression has become manageable. It still rears its ugly head once in a while, but I can handle it now. The meds have really worked. I KNOW that WLS isn't a cure-all, but I also know in my heart of hearts that if I wasn't super-morbidly-obese, I would be loving life a lot more. Just ask anyone who has lost weight and kept it off. ANYONE. I also have co-morbidities: carpal tunnel syndrome, joint pain, foot pain, back pain, mild-to-moderate sleep apnea, hidradenitis suppurativa (its BAD right now). Most of the time, I can still buckle my airplane seatbelt, but I know it's because I have a pretty small frame (I'm 5'0")...still, I had to "fake it" during one flight because I couldn't bear the burning shame of asking for an extender. I'm effing fed up with this bs.
I have been trying to lose 35 lbs for the last 18 months. I have not been successful thus far. Gee, it almost seems like I have an overeating issue.... HENCE WHY I NEED VSG! Unfortunately, Kaiser Permanente NorCal approved me but only if I can get my weight down to 250. I have been in counseling and I've been trying to eat right...GOSH ITS ALMOST LIKE I NEED SOME SORT OF PHYSICAL RESTRICTION TO KEEP ME FOCUSED ON THE GOAL. Kaiser offers no ongoing counseling or diagnoses for overeaters, compulsive overeating, or binge eating disorder (even though it is in the DSM...they don't care). I was allowed one appointment with their eating disorders clinic therapist: She told me to buy Judith Beck's book, "Diet for Life"....that's right, that is the treatment offered to me by Kaiser: buy a book. They don't offer personal training or exercise programs, they don't offer ongoing counseling for overeaters, they actually told me, "Ma'am, if we did that for you, 20% of our patients would qualify for these programs". Ok, so....too many people need help, so they're just NOT GOING TO OFFER IT.
Look, I know that ANY surgery is safer if you're at a lower BMI. I know about fat on my liver, too- but I also know that the liquid pre-op diet DOES help to shrink that down. I know KP is VERY conservative when it comes to treatments, hey, they're a health maintenance org. However, I have begged just about every department I can (including seeing my surgeon, Dr. Baggs, personally & begging for the surgery)- no one cares. It's up to me to lose 35 lbs, or self-pay. Because you know what?? Chris Christie (governor of NJ) just got the lap band. His BMI must have been sky-high, but HIS TOP NOTCH WORLD CLASS DOCTORS still gave HIM the surgery... I truly believe that I am a fine candidate for VSG, and that is why i am now considering, very seriously, self-pay.
I'm going to post this in the main forum also. However, since I am on a limited budget, I am seriously considering surgery in Mexicali or TJ.

OK, my #1 fear about having getting sleeved is pain. I have never had surgery, never had kids, never even gotten stitches!! I've never broken a bone! I find menstrual cramps debilitating!! I have a really tough job where I sometimes have to work with terminally ill people, and I lost my mom when I was a teenager, and I am a TIGER when it comes to dealing with emotional pain, but I am so scared about the hurting. And I know myself, I am going to be ALL OVER those pain meds- luckily, I can take two-four weeks off from work so my main priorities will be getting Water, Protein, and walks in. ANd I can do all of those things doped up on Vicodin!
But my question for you is, have you had any other procedures? What was the pain like, specifially? Was it gas or incision? Can you feel your stomach inside your body hurting? TMI?

Y'all are freaking me OUT! I mean, I know we are grown-ups and have to consider the risk of pain and complications, I mean, it's MAJOR FREAKING SURGERY, but I am a sad little baby kitten when it somes to pain. As in, I am terrified of pain and blood. I brought this up to my surgeon, and I wondered out loud if that should disqualify me from surgery, but he assured me that it does not disqualify me.
But I'm scared!
I'm so scared.
Of pain, not of being thinner and healthy :ack2:

I have a good story. I had just moved to a new city and didn't have a PCP yet, so I went to a Patient First. I get bronchitis every winter like clockwork and I know the signs. So off I toddle to the doctor and the jerkoff told me that they wanted to run a bunch of tests on me because (and get this) my coughing and pain when I breathed could be a sign of a heart attack because I'm overweight. So I refused an EKG because, well, I had bronchitis. So the jerkoff was standing right outside of my curtain talking to the other doctors about me and how I was refusing care and gererally mocking me. So I whipped the curtain open, told him the next time he wanted to mock a patient that maybe he shouldn't be on the other side of a curtain, and asked him if he cheated his way through med school as I had serious doubts about his competency and IQ. As I walked away I pulled out my phone and dialed the Patient First hub number and spoke to a customer service supervisor and filed a formal complaint. I don't know if it did any good, but the look on his face when I glanced back was priceless. Trust me, if I have to I can do the stereotypical "big girl with attitude". Oh, and I went to a different doctor that same day and it turned out I had (surprise!) bronchitis.
I think a lot of doctors look at overweight people as lazy and that all our ailments are because of our weight. Granted, many of them are, but somtimes it pays to dig a little deeper into a problem.

Ya, you could go in with a gunshot wound and they'd tell you to lose weight and exercise. Go to a chiropractor. I had the same knot, and it would SPASM all the time. It was bad. It was coming from my neck which was horribly out of alignment. Mine is 100% better now. My chiro never said ONE word about my weight. He knows I know I'm overweight and what that means. My two cents...

I don't think you're hearing something different at all. In my experience this has happened numerous times. I use Tricare, and whenever I visit doctors at a military treatment facility the issue is ALWAYS my weight. I seem to get more understanding care from non-military doctors I've seen off base but I see from this post that it can be an issue everywhere.
I broke my right leg in 2005. I broke three bones in five places and completely shredded a ligament. I was in a wheelchair for four months and totally unable to walk. After moving to a new base, I went in for a referral for physical therapy because the humidity in our new location was giving me a lot of grief. I was refused a referral by a doctor that clearly didn't even bother to open my chart. I was told to lose 50 pounds and my leg would feel better.
So yes, it happens. It happens all too often in an industry full of people that blindly repeat what they were taught: that weight loss is a simple matter of willpower and exercise, that a 1200 calorie diet is one-size-fits-all and that if the patient isn't losing weight they're either not trying hard enough or lying about trying in the first place. And heaven forbid you're on an Army post because doctors think the sun rises and sets on the BMI chart. The first thing they do is plop you on a scale and heaven forbid you're considered overweight or obese! I'm still right on the line between normal and overweight and just got scolded by my doctor - again, one who didn't even bother to look at my chart and see that I'm half the size I was two years ago.
And while some of my heath issues are dramatically improved post VSG (namely, resolution of my diabetes) the other issues (back pain, endometriosis, occasional pain from that old leg injury) are still here and still bother me.
I really dislike doctors, and because of the discrimination in the past I'm more inclined to nurse myself through anything other than a major problem or injury simply because I don't want to hear another lecture about my weight.
~Cheri

Yes, a heating pad and a lidocaine patch could help (if you can get those) Vitamin D may help, may not. I get those "knots" on my shoulder blade alot . . . and I've lost 150 lbs! Go figure, bet you anything it's caused primarily from stress. . .especially if you spend your day working on a computer or sitting doing something that keeps you in a certain position. . . ibuprophen 800 mg helps me with that pain especially at night, massage has not. . . lidocaine patches help too. . . you may try those pain patches from the pharmacy that you can just put on the area. Good luck, hopefully something will help!

...all medical professionals seem to say to me....
Now, are they SAYING that? Or is that just what I'm HEARING?
A rant:
I sat down today with a primary care physican/internist to ask about a consistent, aching knot that has been living in my right shoulder blade for about 5 years. I figure it is from stress, or tension, or improper posture, or poor ergonomics at work. Sometimes a massage helps, but it never works it all the way out. I wanted some medical info on this, to see if massage really helps with muscle tension/pain, but what did I get instead?
A lecture. On being overweight. About how my gut and my boobs are too big, and how that causes back pain....
But wait, doc! I was asking about a knot in my shoulder! And I'm exercising, eating healthy, and having VSG in a few months! Can you please give me some actual advice relating to my shoulder pain?! She just kept veering back to the weight issue. Because, for me, it's hard to try to stand up to a doctor, and I'm usually not the one steering the conversation.
She eventually told me to try some Vitamin D or a heating pad. OK, fine. I'll try that. But I feel like I'm WELL aware of all of the detrimental effects of obesity. That's why I'm trying to get the weight off! Sometimes, I just want a doctor to give me an answer, and not relate it to the one medical issue I am fighting tooth and nail.
Thanks for letting me rant, VSG Talk friends. I feel better :smile1:
(HUGS)
SF

Wow! I have had this same issue with some doctors. I remember once I went in because one of the horses at the barn that I was at (not my own horse) had kicked me in the knee. I waited for the swelling and bruising to go down and probably two weeks later my knee is still really bothering me. So, I go in to see a PCP and all I manage to get out is, "So, my knee hurts...." Before I can even get to the part about the horse this doc starts going on about how fat I am and how I'm always going to have knee trouble as long as I'm fat and when I lose about 100lbs it will all go away and I'll be healed!
I just sat there looking at her. Finally after she shut up because I had been staring at her for so long. I managed to say, "Actually, I got kicked by a horse AND I'm pretty sure no matter how much I weigh that was always gonna hurt." Then I got up and walked out. I don't know if I made my point, but it made me feel better.

I actually remember being told I couldn't be helped because of my weight. Will never forget it, I cried about it. Felt terrible, still think about it at times.

Sorry you have to suffer at the hands of an insensitive so called medical professional. A doctor can tell you what they think you should do for better health but they have no place lecturing and lecturing you over and over again. Obviously if this is your primary care doctor it is not new news to her that you have a weight problem. She should be aware that you are trying your best and are not planning on have VSG. If you are not happy with your doctor and you are unable or unwilling to stand up to the doctor then I would be looking for a new doctor. I am sure that ones of your friends of coworkers know of a good doctor that you could see as a primary care physician. I work in the healthcare field and if I talked to and treated patients that way I would no longer have a job. Just because this person has been to medical school does not make them a good doctor......it also take compassion and listening and not always lecturing.
If you are unable or unwilling to speak to the doctor about the way you feel then I suggest it is time for a new primary care........their oath does say "DO NOT HARM"

I too have heard this. But it is, sadly, usually the truth. Medical professionals are not saying it to be mean. Being overweight causes lots of strain on our bodies. It can cause back and knee pain, heart pain and palpitations and much more. It can also decrease your immune system strength causing you to get sick more often and for longer.
Sometimes they may seem harsh or hasty because of how often they see people that just don't care. We, obviously, are doing something about it and care about our health but many overweight people don't care. My uncle had been told hundreds of times that if he didn't lose weight he was going to have a heart attack and he just kept eating. He died instead of trying to get healthier.
Maybe next time you go see a doctor you should start out with "I am getting VSG surgery because I want to get healthier...." I do and it seems to help.

When you finally get your VSG the weight is going to just fall off. It's like a miracle!
Dr's don't always have good bedside manners. This lady is one that needed some feed back on jumping the gun and making assumptions. Of course, you know that your weight contributes to health issues, but you don't need her to tell you that. Next time, stop them when they start talking because your time is very valuable, not only that, she made you feel really small, embarrassed and humiliated. Stand up and be heard.

It reminds me of what happened when I went to my doctor to ask him about what he thought of WLS. He is old school and keep in mind he has told me in the past that I HAVE TO lose atleast 100 lbs.
I went in and starting talking to him about the sleeve and he just shut me down and said "oh no......all you have to do is eat just one big salad a day and nothing else" Oh..... that is all, never mind my bottomless pit and never ending hunger feeling. Sometimes I wonder if they hear themselves. Don't you think we look in the mirror.

Have you tried switching up your gym routine? I know that can sometimes kick start things for me. But you're doing SO GREAT!! You've lost the equivalent of a 2 year old!! That's right, you've lost anough weight to make a toddler !! Say good bye to little Tommy!
(I know that's weird, but I like to equate my weight losses to tangible things. For example, last week I lost 2 boxes of pasta

Have you tried switching up your gym routine? I know that can sometimes kick start things for me. But you're doing SO GREAT!! You've lost the equivalent of a 2 year old!! That's right, you've lost anough weight to make a toddler !! Say good bye to little Tommy!
(I know that's weird, but I like to equate my weight losses to tangible things. For example, last week I lost 2 boxes of pasta

Have you tried switching up your gym routine? I know that can sometimes kick start things for me. But you're doing SO GREAT!! You've lost the equivalent of a 2 year old!! That's right, you've lost anough weight to make a toddler !! Say good bye to little Tommy!
(I know that's weird, but I like to equate my weight losses to tangible things. For example, last week I lost 2 boxes of pasta

Hi guys, just a quick update.
I had my psych eval last week and it went great. The psychologist for KP Richmond is a very nice lady in her late 60's. She looked at my 8 page questionnaire and basically asked me the same questions that I had already answered, maybe to see if my answers were consistent?
We talked about triggers, family background, and most importantly, she wanted to gauge how realistic my expectations are in regards to what the sleeve can and cannot do. She also recommended some support groups. She told me that they don't usually deny people based on the psych eval, and she also slipped in a few horror stories of "VSG's gone wrong"...like the family that went to Mexico to get their 11 yr old sleeved...ouch, it did NOT go well for that poor child. All in all, it was about 90 minutes, cost $15 on my KP plan, and left me feeling better about my decision to have the surgery. Pretty painless!
((HUGS)),
SF

Shells, you are a goddess and I just said a prayer for you...You're beautiful and I can't wait to hear how your recovery is coming along!

Girl, I hear you loud and clear! It is simply not fun to shop with your friends when nothing fits!

Keep rocking that sleeve girl! You are an inspiration!

I can only speak for myself and what ive read from others but its a little info. They asked me about my support system, family, they make you fill out a questionare about depression, sucicide, your moods. Do you think you will be able to handle it after surgery, how are your relationships. Do you have an eating disorder. Just basic questions about your life. He did ask me if i was sure i was ready and if i would be able to handle the restrictions after. He told me in the 10 years he had been doing evals only 2 had not been approved. One was completely crazy and one had an eating disorder. After he treated the disorder they went on to have the surgery a year later.
Good luck, dont stress about this part too much! It will be done and over with in an hour!

also the diet for the first month after surgery is really tough!! And i would reccomend trying really hard to go by their diet, they might reschedule the surgery if you havent lost the weight they reccomended. Good Luck i know it is really hard! We all have been through it!

Please let us know how your appt went!