MuttLover

I had the sleeve done in Nov. 2012, and I've had GERD for more than 20 years. Mine is controlled with Nexium 40 mg, twice a day -- both before and after surgery. Right after surgery, and every once in a while, I do supplement with Pepcid Complete. With VSG - some people with GERD get worse, some better. Some people without GERD get GERD after VSG -- and there has been some research showing that GERD is showing up in VSG patients and the 3+ year mark. My GERD did get worse immediately after surgery (but the Pepcid Complete took care of it) -- but it has calmed down. Just do your research and talk to your docs -- then be sure to make a decision you are comfortable with. Bypass is considered the best for people with GERD because it typically "cures" GERD, but there are other considerations. Best of luck in your decision-making process.

Here's what I'd look at: 1. What kind of job do you have? If it's a desk job, you can probably be out of work two weeks, and be fine ( a little fuzzy, but fine). 2. How long would you be out for the holidays anyway (and is your office so busy that you MUST work?). I overlapped the holidays in order to minimize the time out, and "questions" -- so I could say that I went to visit our son in NC -- and not have to answer questions about why I was out. 3. Who is going to be home with the kids during the holiday? If you are going to be home "anyway" or can get some help at home -- and your kids are old enough that they don't have to be picked up, then that still might work out -- but ONLY if you plan to be home for the first two or three days while they are still in preschool! 4. If you have plenty of leave time, etc. -- I'd definitely recommend waiting until you know you can be alone during the day, and not have to worry about the kids. 5. If you are going to wait until the beginning of the year, I'd definitely put all of the money for my copays, etc. in to an FSA. I have Basic as well, and while things went very well for me, I did end up having some additional tests, etc -- so I blew through my FSA faster than expected. 6. Do you have access to the EAP (Employee Assistance Program) -- I had my psych eval done for free by an EAP counselor. 7. While the approval is good for six months, your deductibles start over -- so try to determine what your out of pocket expenses would be now vs. 2014 to see if there is a significant difference. The 2014 book isn't out yet, so I don't know if the deductible changes. Best of luck -- I was very lucky, in that I had no post-op problems at all except nausea (which was completely expected because of my history). So my approach was to hope for the best, but prepare for the worst! So make sure that you have child care lined up in case you feel worse than you expected, etc. Take care!

I used GBMC, and have been very pleased. They have support groups, as well as an exercise program you can participate in, if you are interested. I had a very good experience there.

My advice -- just do it. Your benefits change on January 1 -- so if you have deductible, etc, that starts over. If you have a medical FSA and planned to spend your copays, etc. from the FSA, that starts over. If you are not mentally ready to have your surgery after you complete your requirements, then wait to start your requirements. There will always be reasons to put this off -- if you are committed to making these changes for yourself -- go for it. I had my surgery exactly one week before Thanksgiving -- and traveled to NC from MD three days after I got out of the hospital (5 days after surgery) -- we did stop every hour to walk around (wanted to avoid blood clots!). This surgery is a big commitment -- and if you aren't ready to make that commitment, it's better to postpone it until you are certain that you can make the lifestyle changes necessary for success. And if you are ready to make that commitment, then putting your health needs first in order to achieve your goals is something that you'll have to figure out. It's not easy, so giving it some serious consideration now, and developing a plan is critical. The holidays are not that hard -- if you don't want to tell people about the surgery, you can just say that you are just getting over some "stomach thing". Maybe make a list of the pros and cons of putting off surgery, and see if that list help clarify. Or ask the group for some possible solutions to cope with your cons. You have to do what's going to work best for you, and at a time that you feel you can put your best effort forth! Best of luck on your journey!

Sorry -- I just saw "carry on" luggage -- disregard my previous post!

If you have surgery in your hometown -- then the hospital will provide a gown, socks, even a toothbrush, etc. In reality, the only thing I "needed" was the Biotene spray for dry mouth. Really. I didn't feel like reading and I was in such a short time, I didn't have time anyway. If you are big texter, your phone!

Soup is good if you take some unflavored protein powder and mix it in, so that you get some calories with your protein. Really soft grilled fish, or even a hamburger (no bun) if it's a place with fancy burgers. Then you can eat small bites and have it again for 2-3 more meals! Beef stew is soft. Omelets could work. What are the restaurants near you? Maybe we can make better suggestions if we know! Have a wonderful evening!

I could take regular sized sips immediately after surgery, and in fact gulped down the disgusting stuff for the the swallow test easily. I could then take progressively larger sips. It's very individual.

For me -- 600-800 calories a day. On the low end when I don't exercise, higher when I do. 80-90 g of protein a day, 100 oz or so of water; tea, etc.

Did some Progresso soups too - and fished out all the potatos first! LOL!. There are 3 oz of potatoes in the beef soups. I wanted to save my carbs for something good!

Yep -- time for the boys to man-up and learn some life skills! At my office, they used to refer to my son as the "latchkey chef". He'd do the prep work and start dinner when he got home. He's 25 now, and continues to be a great cook! Same with his laundry, doing the dishes, etc. I've never seen a teenage boy starve because his mom can't fix dinner! But if that's the way you like it - then I'd suggest crock pot meals, Anybody can cut up vegetables, toss in the meat and throw a can of Soup over it! I'd also suggest going to Sam's or costco -- they have a huge variety of frozen Entrees. So no one has to cook. That would just be stuff for the guys -- but that would be OK until you are eating real food again. You will have had abdominal surgery -- IMHO, it's time for them to take care of you! It will probably give them a greater appreciation for all you do for them!

Call your insurance company and ask them. Tell them there are detailed notes for the other years, and find out if that's a deal-killer. Also, find out if you can have the surgeon submit it that way, then appeal if it's rejected. Best of luck!

What I have seen from my RNY friends and other posts (since I'm trying to figure this out as well!): 1. Medical complications that are outside of a person's control can affect their ability to lose weight. 2. Not dealing with the emotional (non-hunger) reasons why you eat when you are not hungry. 3. Grazing -- a few calories here or there add up enough to keep you from losing weight or help you gain in back. 4. Not logging/tracking food -- people "forget" how many calories they are really taking in. 5. Eating high calorie foods that are easy for sleevers to eat (ice cream, etc). 6. They want to "push the boundaries" to see what happens if they eat certain foods. So overall, aside from medical complications or problems, it seems consistently making bad food choices is what make us unsuccessful - and that all of can end up being unsuccessful if we are not super-vigilant about what we eat.

LOL -- "Do some coloring" cracked me up! So, girl, go get your self some crayons (lots of them!), a coloring book, and just color to your heart's content!

Sorry you just found out -- but 6 months of pre-op weight loss monitoring is very, very common. A lot of people begin this process by calling their insurance company first to find out the requirements, and all of the surgeon's in my area ask for your insurance information at the information session or before the first visit. You might want to call your insurance company and find out exactly what is covered, how much you'll pay out of pocket, etc.. That way you can be sure you have followed all of the rules -- like most also require a pysch eval too. Your insurance benefit book will have some of the info, so check that before you call. If you look through the boards, you'll see several insurance-related posts. I've been reading them all, so I can make sure I've jumped through all of the necessary insurance hoops! Good luck!