atelux17

I feel for you. But never give up on yourself or what you want. Your plan sounds smart to me. I'm a nurse & having surgery over break should be ok because you probably don't start clinicals until late in January. You need at least 6 wks after surgery. A BMi of 45 shouldn't be a problem in order to operate. You've proven your Compliant& that's what insurance & doctors look for. I think living another year as an obese person will do you a lot of harm personally.
As for your dietician, she is obviously a nitwit who does not practice in a way that is therapeutic to her clients. Wait 2+ years? Why? You are too busy to eat right at this time? Who says that to someone who is trying to eat better? I think a lot of dietitians cannot relate to other people very well. My dietician eats celery & diet coke all the time & always tells me she is swimming in her size XS scrubs.
Never give up. Go for the WLS.

I feel for you. But never give up on yourself or what you want. Your plan sounds smart to me. I'm a nurse & having surgery over break should be ok because you probably don't start clinicals until late in January. You need at least 6 wks after surgery. A BMi of 45 shouldn't be a problem in order to operate. You've proven your Compliant& that's what insurance & doctors look for. I think living another year as an obese person will do you a lot of harm personally.
As for your dietician, she is obviously a nitwit who does not practice in a way that is therapeutic to her clients. Wait 2+ years? Why? You are too busy to eat right at this time? Who says that to someone who is trying to eat better? I think a lot of dietitians cannot relate to other people very well. My dietician eats celery & diet coke all the time & always tells me she is swimming in her size XS scrubs.
Never give up. Go for the WLS.

It is almost four months to the day that I had my surgery. I weighed 397. Today I weigh 297. After 20 years over 300 pounds, I am finally in the 200's, I am so, so thankful that I jumped through all the hoops (and there were so many), had the surgery, and am where I am today. At times I didn't think I would make it. I got denied over and over again by my insurance company. Give us 3 more months of attempted weight loss. Give us 3 more months. Try again. And again. And I did - and I kept at it - and FINALLY I got the ok.
I am so grateful to my regular doctor who kept encouraging me and writing letters to the insurance company for me. I'm also thankful that I found a really good surgeon - someone I trust.
A week from today I will walk a 5K in Chicago for Diabetes. I have personally raised $1000.00. My story has inspired my friends. My weight loss has touched the hearts of people who saw me struggle for energy, breath and movement at 397. How cool is that!!!! And me, walking 3.2 miles! Are you KIDDING!!!! I could barely walk from my driveway to my front door. I now park as far away as possible, Seriously?
My goal is 200 pounds - so I have a long, long road ahead of me. I need you guys to walk this journey with me. I read your posts daily and they inspire me - and kick my butt at times. This is not an easy journey. Losing weight has not miraculously healed all the pieces of my life. What it has done - what the surgery did - was give me hope that I have a future and I can actually show up for it. I was dying - and now I have a fighting chance for another 20 years of life. So humbling. So amazing.
For those of you with 100+ pounds left to reach your goal – I am here to cheer you on! We can do this together. Don’t go it alone!!! I am praying for you – and I could certainly use your prayers. Learning to care for ourselves is a new muscle we must exercise. Let’s do it together!!!
God bless you - my sleeve friends! Big hug from Chicago!!!!

I agree that these nurses are uneducated & unexposed to the difficulties that the obese face. As the fat nurse i try to educate people, but its hard to relate to people who are a size 2& can barely finish a string cheese& vice versa. Eating habits are deeply ingrained. Some people werent raised with healthy habits. It's not like you can quit eating like you can quit smoking or drinking. I'm a nurse& am Pre-op right now. When I do have my surgery, I have to have the acutely uncomfortable experience of being sent to my unit, being taken care of by my co-workers, & let these people be privy to my medical records. I've heard what co-workers say gastric bypass patients, "just stop eating at McDonald's all the time," " I guess it's OK they took the easy way out,""just eat right & exercise it's not that hard", why not just go weight watchers". That being said I've experienced incredible empathy & support from the few people I've told at work ( not like I can hide it). Many have relatives who they know are great people who just have a weight problem. What I don't understand is why hate on the people who have surgery? These people are trying to get help &go to the drastic &only proven long term method of sustaining weight loss. I've definitely been guilty of saying inappropriate things to let off steam(I'm at the point that if one more person asks me to rub them when I have a trached patient whose O2levels are plummeting I might start screaming). I would try to keep educating your co-workers. Maybe your empathy & wisdom will rub off on them eventually.

Got the phone call today that my insurance approved my surgery! Woo Hoo! It has been a long 6 months (had to do a 6 month supervised diet before insurance would approve). I find out tomorrow what my surgery date is but it looks like it will be before the end of the month. So excited....and nervous!!!

Get the sleeve and show her whats up. Last surgery you will need. I know someone with the band myself and she is definitely going to fail. She eats all wrong. Excuse me for saying this "f**k you Medicaid- you pay for people like this yet I pay over $400/month for BCBS and I couldnt get mine covered at all. Its BS".... Ah thanks I feel better now.
Sleeve is absolutely the way to go. No doubt. I was with a band to sleeve revision patient when I had my sleeve done. She lost and regained as well. I talked to alot of others that verified the same thing on their cases as well

Hey all!
Sounds like we have a lot of veteran nurses here! I'm 29 from IL& have worked on a surgical unit for 5 yrs. I'm getting sleeved on November 15 th. I'm ready to lose my 'caregiver's physique'& live a healthier lifestyle for myself.

Hey all!
Sounds like we have a lot of veteran nurses here! I'm 29 from IL& have worked on a surgical unit for 5 yrs. I'm getting sleeved on November 15 th. I'm ready to lose my 'caregiver's physique'& live a healthier lifestyle for myself.

Buckeye_ girl40
I was born in casa grand Az I just got a date if oct 9 I have been excited but now I nervous .

Congratulations!!!! I got approved yesterday.

Thanks for your post.....I feel this process is soooooooooo long. I have my psych appointment next week then all will get submitted to my insurance Heres hoping!

Good luck! I am having my surgery tomorrow as well.

Our only 8.3.12 sleever is going in the morning! Made2beme (Dr Garcia MX) your up!!! We're praying for you, see you on the other side

I was sleeved on July 11. I only stayed 1 night in the hospital. Today I have to work real hard to get my Water in. It is real hard just not hungry or thirsty

Maybe your friend is talking about plication or gastroplasty surgery in which surgeons used to sew the stomach or fold the stomach over and then suture it. Complications arose with those surgeries because part of the stomach would die from lack if blood flow or leaks would form in between sutures. The sleeve is stapled and sometimes oversewn. The staple gun puts staples closer together than any surgeon could. I know that there are gastric cancer patients who have had gastrectomies and have survived long term. I'm an RN at a unit that routinely does gastric bypasses, lots of return visits for dehydration and metabolic disturbances. I'm afraid of the lap band due to erosion, obstruction from eating any healthy foods, and the headache/cost of constant fills. The sleeve patients I've seen seem happier & lose the majority of their weight. I'm willing to try anything at this point.

Hello everybody!
I've been researching the sleeve for about a year now, which makes me feel like I'm at zero. I was thinking about going to Mexico, but got scared about insurance not covering the bills afterward, other people judging me & getting time off, I'm an RN on a surgical floor. There have been ~6 sleeves done at the hospital I work at. They seem to have a good post-op recovery, but I don't know about long term results. I'm in month 3 out of a 6 month MD supervised diet. Just gained back 7 lbs. If I approved for the surgery, I'll be under the scrutiny of all my co-workers, residents, etc. Grr. I just don't know what to do. I'm 2x the size I should be& am feeling the health & social effects to a new extreme. Anyway, I'll end my Debbie downer post& try to be more positive. Maybe by a ticket to Tijuana.