Nick'sMom

it sounds like you have to do few more things for them to approve you. You did the pysch evaluation right? Did you do the pre-op dietary meeting? Hmm, it will be interesting to find out what it exactly means. I just talked to Donna re: scheduling. Unfortunately my schedule and Dr. Rantis' schedule doesn't jive well. He will be off for the Jewish holidays soon and that's when I have a block of time available. I will talk to my husband today and see when we can do it next - he needs to be off to get my son to/from school, etc. Frustrating, just when I was getting myself psyched.

That was me too. No sleep apnea, my bp is a little high but I take meds for that and my cholestrol is a little high and I take meds for that also (hopefully not for long!) but my family history isn't great so that may have helped a litt. I've read that people have to go for a cardiac clearance...I didn't have to, did you? If you want to give Maria a call and check I'm sure she wouldn't mind - I just think they are soo busy -- she called me about 8pm tonight with the news.

I'm having it done at St. Alexius in Hoffman Estates. It took about 1 week to get approval from BCBS once they sent over the paperwork.

I just got the call - I'm Approved! Holy Crap I'm Approved! I'm trying to have this done the first week of September since my husband will be off of work that week and he can take care of our 5 year old. I have to pay for my 15 day pre-op meals and pick them up on Saturday and try to start the preop diet on Sat as well. Geeze what a rush. Maybe it will help me from being terribly scared but I doubt it. I know alot of people have written that they are scared that they may die from this and I try to remind myself that this is a good life changer. But as I sit here typing this, tears are rolling down my face as the reality of this is hitting home...and hitting hard. I've read so much about the emotional side of this journey but, man it's already started. I feel scared, excited, anxiety-ridden, hopeful....

I'm so glad to hear you had a great experience. I woke up this morning with such anxiety and coming to this board and reading your post really helped! Thank you and congratulations.

Hang in there! I haven't had my surgery yet but I'm sure I will go through the same feelings. A friend of mine has gone through the surgery - as well as many other on this site - and she assures me that before long you will be feeling better - especially when you are finished with your liquids only portion. You can do it!! Get a good night's sleep - everything is always better in the morning.

I also had my pre-op dietary appointment today. Went pretty good especially since I didn't know what to expect. My homework is to cut down then out caffiene, slow down my eating and plan my meals. She will submit my paperwork back to the coordinator at my doctor's office and they will submit the paperwork to my insurance company. So I guess I could have an approval within the next 2 or 3 weeks!

Good Luck - I'm sure you will do great. Keep us posted on your progress!

Keep up the good work!

I am going to my Pre-op Dietary appointment on Wednesday. This is my last hurdle so my insurance information can be submitted for approval. I would like to get the most out of this meeting so I am putting together a list of questions. Since I don't know quite what to expect, my questions are focused on protein, types of protein, pre-op diet itself. Is there anything else I should be asking? Thanks for your help!

\ Good Question - I am very interested in hearing this also. I will be starting preop in the very near future.

I'm sorry, I can't do Sunday because I'm going to be out of town this weekend. Please don't let me hold you back but let me know when the next meeting will be and I will be there.

Congratulations! That was so fast! i can't wait to hear all about it and Dr. Rantis. Take care of yourself.

Schaumburg is great for me too. Thanks for geting us organized Chitowngirl...I'm downtown quite a bit too if you want to meet for lunch or a smoothie/protein drink

I'd be up for it. I'm probably a little north from you but I can meet wherever too.

Dr. Crane is great. Very gentle manner. Who decided that you had to go for the sleep study? I haven't had to schedule that but when I set my appointment for the pulmonary apt., they asked me about issues re: sleep apnea. I don't think I have it but we shall see.

Good Luck! I haven't been sleeved yet but I should be getting my date soon. I can't wait hear how you are doing!!

You're going to do great! I will definately keep in touch and please keep us posted on your progress. You are right, it's nice to keep in touch with people in the area and it's a huge plus that we have the same doctor. Take care and we will 'talk' soon

Good luck on Monday Sherry77! I'm sure it will all go well. How was/is the preop diet?

I've been working with Jason - I think he's the only coordinator they have so he's pretty busy. I would suggest that when he calls you to set up the psych eval, ask him what other appts you have to schedule so that you can get those going. It was my experience that then I went to schedule my dietary classes and my pulminologist appt they were 4-6 weeks out. So the sooner you can try to schedule, maybe the better. My insurance required that I have the psych eval and the predietary class completed before they would approve me. I have my predietary appt 8/8.

Kat - did you have your surgery at Alexian Bros or St. Alexis? I have a friend that had it at St. Alexis and they were wonderful. I haven't decided which hospital yet. Also, is the recovery easier with the single-incision? I was told that I may not be a good candidate for it since I'm longer from my belly-button to my stomach area and the instruments cannot reach.

When I went for my psych evaluation, the Dr. suggested 2 books: Eating Mindfully: How to End Mindless Eating and Enjoy a Balanced Relationship with food and The Beck Diet Solution: Train Your Brain to Think Like a Thin Person. They also have this on CD and there's a workbook you can buy that goes with it. He said they are both good since they don't focus on a specific diet but on changing the way you think about food and yourself. I have both but have only started reading the first one yesterday. I also have The Sleeved Life and that was a good book, depending on how much research you have already done. If you are far into the process, you may not learn too much but it's still a good read. I also ordered recipes for Life After Weight-Loss Surgery, Revised and Updated: Delicious Dishes for Nourishing the New You and the Latest Information on Lower-BMI Gastric Banding Procedures. I reviewed it and have begun to mark recipes that I'm going to test. The best part of this book is that it associates each meal with which phase you are in. So it has liquid, puree, soft, mechanically soft and regular meals. It also gives you eating tips for the type of bariatric surgery you are getting. This is one of the few that specifically discussed The Sleeve. Hope this helps.

Great information. I have been worrying about lose skin also but had never heard of brushing your skin. So I'm wondering if I should do lotion at night and then brushing in the morning or do the brushing before applying lotion? I am looking forward to hearing about people's results. I'm going to do more research and if I find anything helpful, I'll post it.

Good Luck on Thursday. I took 2 pages of questions with me when I went for my consult and Dr. Rantis took the time to answer each one. Really put me at ease so I would guess Dr. Wallace will be just as great!