txdee

Yes, thank goodness for the online info! I just got off the phone with a therapist I found that is a WLS guru, so I think I've got that covered. I have had MANY years of therapy to try to overcome my weight problem in the past, and yet here I am today, so I might be a bit jaded. I think I've got the nutrition part covered fairly well now after some phone calls. There are also group seminars one night a week that are included, so I will probably go to those when possible. I'm feeling better today, I'm just cranky due to being on the first few days of the pre-op diet!! Take away my precious food, and I get like that, but I know I can do this thing!

Thanks for the info. I'm self-pay, so I don't get any bells and whistles! I'm already on pre-op diet and I haven't even seen a nutritionist. I get ***one*** pre-op visit and one post and they are group, not even individual. To add insult to injury, my health insurance premium is about $800 a month and it excludes weight loss. Can you tell I'm angry - could have to do with eating basically NO FOOD!!!!! Grrrrr.......

I can't wait to look and feel fanfreakintastic for a change when my son gets married next spring!

Good luck! Let us know how it goes - my date is June 5th!

Good luck to you!! The whole thing is just nerve wracking! Just curious, do you have a plan to keep your dogs and kids off your stomach? I've been worrying about that a bit.

We have had a death in the family, family coming in from out of town, travelling to do, etc. I feel like I would get off to a much better start for 2 week liquid pre-op diet if I start it Wed. instead of Tues, can one day be that big of a deal? Did any of you start it a day late? Thanks!

I'm with you, I think I'll forego the toenail polish this time. Also, I wasn't told to wash with anything special but I think I will. I wash with deodorant soap and an antibacterial soap that I can't think of the name of right now. Maybe I'll look for hibiclense - @ Walmart??

You are lucky - all I get is one GROUP consult before and one after. I don't agree with that, but I guess I'll go and see if it is as ineffective as it sounds. Maybe it will be a really small group! Fingers crossed!

May be a stupid question, but I'm getting a pedicure next week - can you wear polish in the operating room or do they remove it anyway? (I have a friend who is in nursing school and she said they can't wear it.) Also, what is a good, quick substitute for canned sodas, since no more carbonation? What is everyone's favorite go-to drink now? Probably tea, but is there a good, canned or bottled tea? Another dumb question - what all IS carbonated?? Sodas and champagne - anything else? I don't want to inadvertently make a mistake and drink carbonation. I am so glad to have this forum! So far, it is the best source of info for WLS that I have found. Other sources aren't as reliable as they should be...I'm just sayin'... Thanks in advance!

I feel the same way - I love, love, love my Diet Dr. Pepper, but I've had a million of them; enough to last me 4-ever. I've been meaning to quit them for years now. I'm not saying that it is not going to be tough, but I'm ready, as of 06/05/12!

Is there one or two places online or otherwise where I can go and buy a variety of what I will need to sustain me pre and post op? Of course, samples would be good, or smaller quantities because I know my taste may change post op.

Finally have a date, 06/05/12! Now it is beginning to feel so real. Have a lot of loose ends to tie up (no pun intended). This is a big step in the right direction - onward and upward! I'm so glad to have this forum for reference. Need to find some protein liquids I can tolerate.

I finally had my first consult! Have another one today also. Anyway, 1st doctor requires same extensive testing for me as a self-payer as he would as if I had insurance to pay for it. This is just standard operating procedure for him, but I really have no symptoms to warrant sleep study, EGD, visit with cardiologist, etc. I had talked to several doctor's offices who said such extensive tests not done in most cases with self payers. I know it is better to be safe than sorry, but all those tests evoke stress which isn't good either. What do YOU think??

My friends says to be leary of self-pay prices. That advertised prices such as $12,000 for sleeve do not include everything and could in fact run up to like $50,000. Sounds like she is quoting price that is passed on to insurance companies. If a WLS doctor's website says in writing that $12,000 includes surgeon and anesth. fee, 2 nights hosp, pre and post op visits and a few other things, seems like I could trust what is in writing. Barring complications, has anyone ever been ripped off after being quoted lower self pay amount??

Hang in there! I haven't even had my first consultation yet, and I know I feel like that too. One day I feel one way, the next day I wake up and think something else. To me, it is almost a good thing, because I think I can always look back and know that I considered all options and gave this major decision lots of thought. I know my loved ones are the same way too - they really would prefer I not do it - because of the risks but probably also because of the overall change. Humans just don't accept change well. Make your decision, stick with it, and be positive...that's what I plan to do! Good luck!

I'm hoping for June sleeve also @ Forest Park with Dr. Victor Gonzales. I think a DFW support group is a great idea!!

I am VERY scared too, one day I think I'll do it, the next I think I won't. My BF and my hubby don't want me to do it because of the risk. It is a lonely decision, because I know I have to make it by myself - and I hope my dr. will help. I've yet to have a consultation, but I am SO ready to at least do that and get off this fence. I feel like such a baby! I made my pros and cons list last night - it is evenly divided! One thing I have definitely decided, once I make up my mind, I'm going to try to put the negative behind me and go forward positively with whatever decision I do make. But know you are not alone! I guess a little bit of fear reminds you how serious it is, but then I think surrounding yourself with positiveness is the way to go! Good luck!

I can only speak for myself, but I am most certainly a food addict. I don't think or see why anyone would "want" to be a food addict. I think it takes a lot of guts and courage to admit any kind of addiction. In the simplest form, the reason I know that I am food addict is that here I am, I'm intelligant, I know exactly what causes me to be morbidly obese, I know exactly what ill effects this weight causes my body, intellectually I know what I can/should do to correct it (and have done it to the tune of 1,000 (yes, one thousand) pounds over 50 years (my parents took me to a diet dr. when I was 7), and yet here I am....powerless over food....and still morbidly obese. I was very beautiful, and all this weight distorted my looks and robbed my self esteem. It has caused isolation and insecurity that I cannot even describe. I am invisible to most of the world. It is no fun not to be comfortable in your very own skin. Yet, I'm am SO extremely scared to have any kind of weight loss surgery, I'm on the fence about having any at all. Close friends and relatives are scared for me have surgery, due to the inherent risks and complications. It is a HUGE decision. I am not overexagerating when I say it is the biggest decision I'll ever make and I am not making it or taking it lightly. If other types of behaviors are addictive - such as illegal and prescription drugs, alcohol, smoking, gambling, sex, just to name a few - why not food?? It doesn't surprise me one iota. I live it everyday and so do lots and lots of others. It is something I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. It has basically ruined my life.

I didn't put this in insurance category, because I thought it would get lost since most people are concerned about insurance paying the surgery to begin with. But what about after the surgery? What if you or your spouse loses or changes jobs so you have to change insurance companies or you apply from group to individual coverage or whatever. Anyway, I heard you are excluded from new health insurance coverage for 5 years, and that is only IF you lose weight and maintain that weight loss. My insurance runs out 08/01/12. Does anyone have any experience with this (esp. in Texas)?

That is exactly why I am on the fence about getting surgery at all; I don't mind small portions but all that chewing to mush - good grief!!!!! Could you take a break with no fill and splurge now and then when you reach your goal weight? Other than that, I would make a copy of what you wrote here about all the positive stuff and look at that while you eat, and/or before/after pics or something like that. De-emphasize the negative and accentuate the positive. That would be my tactic.

It's a shame that in this day and age, all that is offered to us are these alternatives! I don't mind making good choices and eating small amounts, esp. if I'm not very hungry, but...tiny bites, chewing to mush, getting stuck and sliming...and that's after you go through a certain amount of risk having surgery, either jumping through an insurance company's hoops or spending $$$ out of your own pocket, so you can have a foreign object implanted in your stomach. Oh, or you can have most of your stomach lopped off or have your intestines rerouted. Wonderful.

What is getting stuck? It sounds like choking. And sliming, what the heck is that???

So...if you don't get a fill, can you not worry (as much) about tiny bites and chewing to mush? And about the getting stuck thing as well? Can you ever eat "normal" again after WLS??? I'm not talking about junk food @ every meal, I'm talking about good choices, but geez, can you not worry every minute about not eating and drinking @ the same time, tiny bites, chewing to mush, and getting stuck episodes?? Sounds like trading one obsessions for another, in a way.

Thanks for your replies; I'm so on the fence! I started out...band...then band with plication....then sleeve....now I'm back to band...if anything! I'll be so glad to have seminar on 05/01 and then hopefully one-on-one with dr. to see what he says. Yea, my husband is not too thrilled with any WLS, much less sleeve! My friends are also freaked out about the higher risk of the sleeve. I'm not thrilled about an object in my body; I'm not thrilled with having a major organ cut off. But, it's now or never, and I would love to lose a boatload of weight and live the rest of my life comfortable in my own skin. But, frankly, I'm not looking forward to tiny bites and chewing to mush the rest of my life either! So...I'll be sitting here on the fence a while longer!

I'm assuming most people on this site are banded, pre-op and post-op. What do YOU think of the gastric sleeve? Did you even consider it? If not, why not? Thanks in advance!