LeahG

I had surgery July 20 and returned to work August 1st (a week and a half off). I too have a desk job and was just absolutely exhausted when I went back. If you're trying to go back early, I'd recommend seeing if your employer would let you do half days and work up to doing full days again.

I'm leaving for the hospital now...here goes nothing! I'll keep everyone updated as soon as I can. Thanks for all of the well wishes and good luck to the other June 20 sleevers!!

Today is my last meal day.. I am having surgery Wednesday and have to do clear liquids for the day before. I am thinking my "last meal" will be Beef Lo Mein from my favorite Chinese place! I am going to be low carbing it after surgery, so I won't be choosing lo mein from the menu anymore.

I think I orginally saw this on someone's signature around here, but it really hit home with me. You can't continue the same behavior and expect a different result.

This is so helpful Tiffykins! What does your daily schedule look like with your Vitamins? Since calcium and Iron can't be taken together, how do you deal with that? I'll be having surgery in less than two weeks and am trying to figure out how these things work. THANKS!

LIke everyone else said, it definitely depends on your doctor and your insurance requirements. From my June 6 (consult) to July 20 (date of surgery) will be exactly 6 weeks for me.

I went through the same exact thing! I got approved for surgery Friday, June 17 and all that I needed before scheduling was a final sign-off from my surgeon. Turns out, he left for vacation that day and didn't get back until the 27th. Dang personal lives!!

Thanks guys! I had the feeling that I probably shouldn't go, especially because I don't know how I'll be feeling that soon out of surgery. The thought of warm Protein drinks made me want to gag, too...so I definitely don't want to deal with that for a week...lol. There's always next year!

So, we have our annual family camping trip planned for August 8-12. I am having surgery July 20, and this would put me 2 1/2 weeks out. Is this a good idea? I will be out of work from July 20-August 1 and don't really like the idea of taking another week off so soon. Healthwise, were you feeling well enough to rough it in the wilderness for a week? We wouldn't have any electricity and the only refrigeration we'd have is a cooler and ice. If you do think it'd be okay to go, what foods would you recommend to take? At 2 1/2 weeks out, I will be on mushy/soft foods. Any input is greatly appreciated!

Yep, I do have PPO. I'm not sure if its just the specific type of benefit package I have or what, but my insurance is excellent. (It even covers Lasik!) My insurance approval process was literally someone from Barix calling BCBS and "verifying my benefits" over the phone. It also may have been easier for me because Barix actually works with Blue Cross (they have some sort of agreement). My surgery and all doctors visits are covered at 100%.

What a good idea! My surgery date is July 20th!

Although I don't have Aetna or Tricare, I was approved without any supervised diet. (I have BCBS of MI) The only thing my suregon really asked for was "previous attempts at weight loss" which I just had to explain over the phone. I think it really depends on your insurance company. Could you call them and ask if any supervised diet is needed and maybe get a jump start on it if it is? Good luck on your journey!

You look AWESOME! Loving the boudoir pics! I bet that was a nice surprise for the hubby!

AHHHHH! So, In four weeks from today, I will be getting sleeved! After continuously bugging the scheduling department the past few days, I finally got the call that my surgery will be July 20th!! I will be doing all my pre-op testing on Tuesday, July 12 beginning at 7:30 A.M. This includes all the bloodwork, nutrition counseling, EKG, and all that fun stuff. She also said I'd be doing a urine test... what is that for? Is it just to test for pregnancy? Anywhos, I should be getting a call the 14th to get my surgery time. This is all happening so fast! I have been researching this for so long, but this entire process took less than two months to complete. (June 6th consult to July 20 surgery) I won't have to do any pre-op dieting, but I may do one just to make sure my liver is in good condition. YAY!

The only type of approval I needed was for the insurance department of the hospital to call BCBS and "verify my benefits." I was instantly approved. It took my insurance lady maybe 3 hours to call me back and let me know. I was approved last friday, and since my suregon is out of town this week, I won't be able to schedule anything until Monday because he has to sign off on my chart. Everyone is definitely different with how long it takes in this process. Mine, luckily, has been very speedy!

You are amazing! That is crazy your fingers shunk so much too! I can't wait for my fingers to start getting smaller.

I am currently awaiting approval, but my suregon told me to expect it to take about ten days. He said from consultation to surgery it could be as fast as a month for me since all I needed was a psych eval for approval!

Congrats! July 11th will be here sooner than you think!

I made my psych eval appointment for this Saturday, 6/11 at 11:30! Weekend openings are so convienent! Thanks for the support!

Hi all! I finally had my consultation yesterday (after two long months of waiting) and it went GREAT! I met with my suregon, Dr. Poplawski, and he said I made a great choice by choosing the sleeve, and in his opinion, that would replace the lap-band. After going over all the basics, his advice to me was to come into surgery with my weight down, but no specific goal. He said even 10 pounds would be great. He also told me to not rely on luck to not get pregnant during the losing stage...haha! The biggest surprise? The only insurance requirement to get approved is a psych eval. CRAZY. He said that if I get that done ASAP, I can have my surgery within a month. Since the hospital I am going to works hand in hand with BCBS of MI, they get pretty quick response times from insurance and I should know within 10 days of submitting the paperwork. Let the adventure begin!

Good luck! I hope everything goes just swimmingly for you!

That book was my very first step into looking into WLS. There is a lot of good info in it, but I have learned A LOT more from VST and YouTube. Also, I agree with doggz109, there is about one paragraph in it that explains the sleeve.

Congrats!! It'll be here sooner than you know it!

Hi Emily. My doctor is also doing something similar to the consult/physical/history... they use a site called Digital Bariatrics to track patient information, doc visits, and all that fun stuff. Before my visit, I have to make sure I have my entire medical history filled out on there so I don't have to do it during my consult. Luckily, I live less than 10 minutes away from Barix Clinic here in Michigan. It is an entire hospital dedicated to bariatric surgery. I have to wait until June 6 because I won't have insurance until then. *sigh* Where are you having your surgery at?

Hello everyone! I'm 21 and went to my first seminar on April 4th. I am (impatiently) waiting for my consultation on June 6th... 39 days left!