Ready4success

To not have to turn sideways and get on my tippy toes to go through a turnstile.

I'm in Cypress, NW Houston. Howdy, lol!

Great post! It was very insightful, too. I'm an OR nurse and sometimes we forget how fast everything is going and how the patients feel when they're going to sleep. Thanks for the reminder.

Hi, I know you're frustrated but try to calm down and think a few things through. If insurance was submitted and approved, then I think you should escalate the issue up to an office manager? Supervisor? There has to be someone to talk to besides the co-ordinator. Also, all those pre-scheduled people won't have their co-pays, or pre-op requirements completed for a date this soon. Doesn't Medicare have a co-pay too? Anyway, let the office know that you want to be notified of anyone canceling, or pushing their date back. One last thing, FILE a formal complaint in writing to the office about the way your case has been handled. It sounds like the co-ordinator is purposely not being helpful. Good Luck!

I totally agree that moms will be moms. A lot of my mom's co-workers had gastric bypass, so she started selling the R-en-y to me before I decided to have WLS. Now, since I decided to get the sleeve, she's always asking me, "Are you sure you're doing this right? So and so lost 100lbs with the other surgery." So, it doesn't matter, they'll always have something to say to remind you that they're the mom, and they know best.

I'm an OR nurse so I'll always tell the truth about what goes on in surgery. Do gallbladders sometimes tear and spill yucky bile inside the abdomen during surgery? Yes, it happens all the time. When it does happen, the surgeon irrigates the entire cavity to the point that it's all washed out and the fluid including the bile is sucked out. Honestly, it's in the patient's best interest to remove the gallbladder during WLS surgery, because they're usually back in surgery within 6 mos because of gallbladder pain. The only bariatric surgeon I've ever worked with that didn't remove the gallbladder during WLS knew the patients would be coming back, and it would be more money in his pocket for the additional surgery. Tell your surgeon you would like your gallbladder removed, and they'll usually do it unless the insurance company lists it as an exclusion during WLS. Good Luck!

I was just about to post a question about this topic, and decided to use the search button first. You saved me a lot of time. Thanks!

I had a run-in with those myself. It was not pretty since I suffer from dumping after having had my gallbladder removed. They are very tasty, though.

Hey! I'm still pre-op myself, but I just wanted to welcome you to the board. I live in Texas too, and I'm an RN also. There are a few groups for Texas sleeves and one for nurses too. Welcome!

I've told everyone who talks to me. Amazing, the more people I tell, the more people admit to considering it too. Two of my co-workers are going to my bariatric surgeon, and I never would've known had I not thrown it out there first.

Congratulations everybody. I'm hoping to be an August sleever. Yay us!!!!

Thanks everybody!!! I can't help the feeling that it's going too easy. I hope it keeps going that way from approval to recovery.

All the worrying I did was for naught. I went to see my PCP for the letter of medical necessity and I was deliberately evasive about what type of WLS I wanted. In past appointments, she would always talk about the lapband. Today, she asked if I had considered the sleeve. I could have jumped up and kissed her. I had 3 journal articles showing statistics about how the sleeve is better than the band. I didn't have to prove anything. She said she didn't know much about the sleeve, but several of her other patients have done very well with it. By this point, I had zoned out, and was doing the "happy dance" in my head. I had an example letter (courtesy of Sandy) and my PCP said it was perfect. Yay me!!!! The icing on the cake is that I lost 6lbs since my visit last month. I have my last NUT appt tomorrow and they'll get everything ready to submit for approval. Excuse the lack of grammar and punctuation, but I'm so happy, I don't even care. I feel like I could work out for 5 hours, but I'm usually dying after 30 min.

Wow!!! You are amazing, and you did it in half the time! Congrats!

Thanks everybody. My feelings are hurt, but it doesn't stop me from wanting to call or text her. I can't imagine having the surgery and not telling her, but I'm afraid she wouldn't come see me and it would be even more hurtful. I just don't understand.

I am really excited about this decision in my life, so I talk about it with everyone, even people who don't agree with it. The one person that I expected to get support from, who has been morbidly obese her entire life, ignores anything I say about the surgery. She had an open R-en-Y back in 2001. She lost like 125lbs, but has since then gained all but a small amount back. If I even mention a doctor's appt about the sleeve, she either ignores me or says something snide. It really hurts my feelings, because back in 2001, when she had WLS, I was totally supportive. I knew that R-en-Y was not for me, but I supported her because I knew how bad she wanted to lose the weight. It's sad because I really want to share this experience with her, but my family has told me not to tell her anything else and not to tell her when I'm having my surgery. We've been friends since 1st grade.

ROTFL!!!! I really appreciate your humor, especially on a topic that's as worrisome as this one. Thanks for lightening up the mood!