pandabear

Hi guys... I just wanted to say good luck to you all. I have been pretty much told by insurance that there is an ice cubes chance in hell that I will ever be approved unless I gain all my weight back and then some and then go back onto a 6 month diet, and gain a few serious co morbities because the ones I have aren't "serious" enough. So here is to me trying to diet like I have a sleeve and see how far it takes me. So you girls rock your sleeves and good luck to the ones waiting for insurance approval! Maybe I will be back around trying this again when the weight tides come rolling back in.

Congrats on being post op.. How are you feeling?

I have been denied by the insurance. I need 6 months of documented weight loss with doctor and nutritional supervision. Weight watchers doesn't count, (been there done that) my own fitnesspal doesn't count and I missed a month I between two of my appointments so now the 9 months I was going are null and void because they have to be consecutive. I am trying to wrap my mind around the bullish:t. Now I am at a 36 bmi after I lost the weight needed to get approved for the surgery so I might now not even get approved because they don't know if my previous weights will count, I might have to start over at the weight I am now. I don't want to gain the weight back just for this. I know it will happen sooner or later but I just want to fool myself and think that this weight has come permanently off. It was only 20 pounds but still... I feel better, and I look better. I just want to eat a large pizza and drink a few bottles of wine in a dark room and hide under a blanket watching really horrible romantic comedies or dr who, perhaps with a gallon of ice cream. But, I made a hummus, arugula pita instead, still contemplating on the wine though and the dr who is a given.

Been denied.... Now after going to the doctors since August, I have to start a 6 month supervised diet. Doctor supervised. I am... Beyond angry and gone into kinda numb about it. It isn't in my policy. But when you get pre authorized then it is. So I have to cancel all my appointments, And after moving heaven and earth to get help at work to cover for me now I have to go in and say "just kidding.. Boy did I get Punked into believing that they knew what they were doing". And I spent about two hours on the phone with insurance and there is pretty much nothing I can do. I am trying to be all "oh... Well I wasn't expecting to be actually approved." And "what is another 6 months?" But really I am just about crushed and I don't want people to say "oh! But you are doing so well right now, you can keep it p! You don't need the surgery". And I don't want to back slide and gain, but what if I lose too much weight? And what if I gain it back? GAH! Sorry for my little rant..

I have been diagnosed with a fatty liver, well, fat deposits or something like that. I was told that losing weight makes it better.

Blue cross blue shield of South Carolina. The biller at the drs office said the company I work for's plan is tricky to get approved. They already had someone denied two weeks ago. Just holding my breath now, still gonna go through the pre op stuff and go from there.

Hope all went well!

Got my surgery date for may 7th. I am about 40% certain that I am going to be accepted by insurance. They said my insurance is really tricky to get this surgery put through and accepted. I have lost weight by being good so I am now at a 36 bmi and it almost feels like I am going to be punished because of it. I am just a big bundle of nerves right now.

I got a phone call yesterday (less than a week before my appt to schedule surgery and all the pre op stuff) saying that my dr office is missing my 6 month weigh ins and progress reports, and that this is required for surgery. Now, I have called my insurance twice (first time when I first started this process in August) and then after I got off the phone with the dr office and insurance says I don't have anything like that on my plan. One I was damn near tears because I was so angry with the office because I gave them two years worth of weigh ins with every dr that took my weight along with the three times I have been in thier office and just now they are telling me this? And the icing on this cake is that the weigh ins have to be with their office?!? How could they Not know this and have me in there every month? Has anyone else run into this?

Good luck Nicole..

I only had two nutritionist appointments but I don't know if that is because I knew about all the stuff she was telling me because I work with food, it took about two months. I had one appointment with the psychologist. And I had to lose certain percentage of body weight before, but that stipulation has been kicked out by insurance now from what they told me, but I had already lost it. How are you guys feeling, those who have had it?

Around Rochester here myself. A little south by geneseo. Going to rgh with dr dibenideto (I know I am spelling that wrong). Had my nutritionist appointments, my psych eval., and my blood work. See the dr on march 13 where we set up the pre op stuff and the tentative surgery date. It is nice to see other Rochester people around! I too have been dragging my feet going to the meetings but that is mostly because I work crazy different hours each week and it is a haul up there.

Things are going well.. Starting up an exercise regime which is kicking my rump. Have lost about 30 pounds from my latest highest of last year though I am having troubles getting under 249 though I think that is mostly from stress at work triggering me sliding into bad habits. Though my slides aren't nearly as bad or as long as before. How are things on your end? I really like the office there and the people.

I actually shower with the hipacleanse everyday just because I am prone to rashes and painful blocked pores and let me tell you... Since I have I haven't had to go to the doctors at all for either ( except my escema but that is genetic but the hipacleanse makes it wear the cracks in my skin don't get infected anymore thank god). So I would say it does make things a lot better from my experience.

I saw my nutritionist the other week and she has told me no more than a small piece of fruit a day, and she doesnt recommend eating fruit at all really. ("Just pure sugar..even if it is natural") Tells me to eat at least three times a day, I really don't want to eat breakfast... It makes me queasy. Not to use protein drinks, but to actually eat my protein. I was losing weight before I saw her ( I lost everything I needed to for pre op but went on vacation and gained most of it back) but now that I am trying to follow her advice I am losing nothing. I feel like my frustration at trying to follow her guidelines is making me backslide into making poor decisions. There really is only so much salad with a hard boiled egg and Italian dressing I can eat. Sigh.... I am a cook this should be easier.

My NUT also doesn't care about calories... Imagine my dissapointment when I was proud of myself to get down to 1700 a day. Mind you, work doesn't make it easy to sit down and eat. (Go figure.. In a kitchen 9 hours a day) it is all about the three combinations, my meal has to have a certain amount of fat (15 g) something like 20 G protein and then two carbs mostly from the non starchy side, then two snacks a day. I eat twice a day at most some days because I am flying, I know it isn't the best for me, and have had a candid talk with my uppers about me taking my breaks no matter what. I am no longer working 10 to 12 hour days, so that is helping. I actually have the energy to cook when I get home. I think most of my frustration comes from me thinking I know about food, being that I have worked with it for going on 10 years and studied it for 3, and when I thought I was making good choices, it wasn't good enough. Hell I don't even like sweets, I just started eating fruit because it was a better snack then my usual sandwich ( or bread and butter with tea and jam... Now that is a good snack , see where I weakness lies?!) but a positive is, is that I don't feel guilty about cooking with oil anymore, but I do miss butter.

Gman, I am still jumping thru my hoops at the moment. I am hoping early next year. My NUT won't see me less than 6 weeks apart and I have to see her 3 times. My second appt is mid November. I can't even see my doctor until I lose my pre op weight, to make sure I am serious bout this, which I am not too upset about. I did get to see the assistant and she was the one that talked up the sleeve because I was thinking about the band, but I have the beginnings of arthritis so my medication wouldn't be available to me anymore. Also, lessofme, my NUT said to stay away from yogurt even Greek yogurt, because it had too much sugar. It seems like my Snacks consist of nuts...nuts... And more nuts. I mean really, 12 nuts? As a snack to help fill me up? Anyone still use instant oatmeal? I was putting Protein powder into a packet of that and it was filling me p, but she said no more instant and I don't really care for steel cut. ( and for some reason dislike leftovers so making it ahead of time just sounds revolting to me)

Don't feel like your are a failure... You are setting yourself up to be one. Try to think positive because you have a few positives in there: you are starting your path, you know you need help doing so, and you have identified your addiction. Now... This sleeve isn't a cure all. It will not magically make you not crave things so I highly suggest talking to a therapist to get to the roots of your addiction before you go any farther. And remember think positive. I had lost all my pre op weight in 7 weeks but 8 days on vacation I gained it all back, I am back on my tracking on myfitnesspal.com and that is helping tons.

I would wear a really puffy grey and black coat during the winter to work, the hood was lined in grey and black fur also and I would always have it tied tight around my face because my hair was always wet. Add on the fact that I was always terribly tired I would have huge dark bags under my eyes, compiled with being pale to the point of looking like the undersides of a dead fish, and big and furry in my coat my friend at work would call me her panda bear. And she is my penguin because she was short and bigger like me. Lol but I am the only one who calls her that... Me on the other hand now EVERYONE calls me panda bear. And gets me panda stuff. Even got a panda bear footy pajamas from my mother in law. Though it kiiiinda made me start wearing make up like a girl when I had no use for it before that, just so my dark circles wouldn't be noticed as much. (That and a sleep study to see why I am always tired)

I want to: Not overpack when I travel because I never know what will make me feel fatter and ruin my day because I hate being in my skin. Kickboxing.... Yeah kinda always wanted to do this but I feel ridiculous. Dance for more than a minute and laugh it off because even though everyone says I dance great, I just don't think a fat girl like me should move like that. And I think people will make fun of me from a distance. Work all day and run around ( I am a chef) and just be tired, and not in so much pain I can't see straight. To look at myself in a mirror and not to be disappointed that my mental picture of myself is not what I am seeing. To actually look at the whole me in a mirror and not just pieces at a time. To wear a bra that fits well, and not have armpit fat. And then try to shimmy it back into the bra ( some of the girls here might know what I am talking about. Raise your arm to do something and plop... Right back out.) No more CHUB RUB !! I have just hit my pre surgery goal weight yesterday! I am very happy.

Hi there, just in my pre op testing in Rochester here. Probably going to go with the sleeve, though I have been looking at the band also. Just might be a bad idea with my arthritis that is starting to get worse in my knees. My dr is dr dibenidetto at Rochester general. Seems like a pretty nice guy when I met him at the seminar but tough, kinda no nonsense. I like that in a surgeon. Have my sleep study consult on the 29 th but I don't get to meet with my nutritionist until October