Tana_Q

I will do some very small, probably insignificant things to be more active but I can't do a whole lot. My herniated discs have been acting up due to the weight and I am in pain everyday. Standing or walking hurts a lot after just a few minutes. But I can do some sitting stuff. Thanks! Yes they are! I just want to blink my eyes and have the day here already. I want to hear it all! I'm just glad I'm not the only one who obsesses over this. I am also researching all the foods from different sites, chewable Vitamins, a thermos for my protein shakes,lol. I do need to read a lot more older posts here though, good idea. Thank you, I guess obsessing isn't so bad. Aw, hun that stinks. But I do feel a bit better!

My date is the 15th, 4 weeks from now and I cannot wait for it to get here! I hate that I am so darn impatient. I feel like all I think about is the surgery. What helps take your mind off of it? And how can I make time fly? LOL.

I will also be staying 2 nights and getting discharged on the 3rd day. Funny, I seem to recall quite a few people saying they were only staying 1 night on a previous thread. I thought it was strange that my Dr. was doing 2 nights.

Wow! Thought I was the only one. I know this is almost a month late but hopefully you see this. I am having surgery in about a month and I take Suboxone film strips. I do not plan on using anything narcotic except my sub. It's not the best for pain but it'll have to do. My Dr. upped my dosage temporarily for the surgery so I can take it a little more frequently if needed. I'm hoping it will be fine. When is your surgery?

Thanks everyone. I now have a couple of different types of protein shakes and going to order some isopure too. I also got kind of excited when I saw Unjury made a flavorless protein powder that can be added to anything! I can add it to my Mio water or soup or whatever. I'm almost TOO excited about getting cut and eating next to nothing!

I agree with happy. My surgeon doesn't have to do 5 sleeves a day to get my business. He is a good doctor with good stats and he knows the abdominal anatomy extremely well! Plus stats can always be manipulated so I personally wouldn't go with someone based on numbers and stats only. A surgeon can be fantastic doing 5 sleeves a month. Also as PP said, insurances are just staring to cover it so would think that is reflective of a lower # of surgeries performed as well. ETA: There's also a downside to having a doctor do a LOT of surgeries everyday. They will be more tired! Or perhaps rushing just a bit. Productivity is not indicative of quality IMO.

Hmmm, that sounds a little weird to me. I haven't heard of people having to go back except for one poster but that was the psych's fault, My eval. was done in about an hr., no follow up needed. I think it's fine that you disclosed about the depression, it's common. I would say don't worry about it.

Speedy recovery wishes for you all!

What a great thread. I have about 4 weeks to go and I'm the type of person that would drag my whole home to the hospital. When I had my C section I brought WAY too much stuff. This time I will pare it down a bunch. It may still be kind of cold here in March though so wondering what to wear home that won't hurt.

Thank you so much Cheri, love your advice. I am going to do exactly what you said and I feel I will be better prepared that way. Especially with the mental part!

There have been a few posts about tubes and I think it may be confusing for some. A PP wrote that everyone gets a tube for surgery and she is right, it is an ET tube or endotracheal tube. That will help breathe for you during surgery as it is connected to a ventilator (respirator). The majority of the time those do come out before you are awake. Someone else here had an NG tube or nasogastric tube. That is very different. It is inserted through one of your nostrils and goes down the esophagus to your stomach. It is placed on very light suction to decompress and eliminate and blood/fluid from the stomach. It seems that this is not a common thing for most WLS but could potentially happen. I hope this helps!

I am also worried about the pain as I cannot take any narcs. I have had a C section in which the recovery was very painful but at least I got my baby out of it! Just hoping I can white knuckle it or that they have the ON q ball available!

Congrats! Feels good to have a date doesn't it? Makes it more real somehow. I'm a March Sleever too on the 15th. See ya on the bench!

Thank you both. I'm really trying to have a good attitude about the food part of this process. Funny thing is that lately food hasn't been as appealing or as enjoyable to me. Great timing and I hope that continues. I've NEVER not enjoyed food like now, so weird. But I'll take advantage of it and move forward. I'm okay with Protein shakes as I have used them many times in my past weight loss efforts. But I will also find protein rich foods I like as well. The countdown is on and I want to see what I can do in these next few weeks!

I am about a month pre-op and I'd like to lose a bit more weight before surgery. This is terrible but I bought a lot of crap food when I went shopping yesterday. Not a lot of junk food but dinner stuff that I know is not the best choices. I figure that I'll have my little food funeral for the next few days and then start doing some good. My doctor doesn't really do a true pre-op diet. I think 48 hrs. before surgery I will be on a liquid diet but that is it. I think I want to use this month to start making better choices. Should I start doing a lot of Protein now? Should I start experimenting with different Protein shakes? Isopure appeals to me so I'd like to try that as well. I'm also going to ask my NUT about this but I'd love to hear what everyone else is doing a few weeks before surgery?

Thanks for the suggestions, I appreciate it. My sister is good with insurance issues so I am going to ask her for some assistance in how to deal with this too.

I have actually had a pretty good response from most people. I've had some get really excited for me. My family did not have that reaction though.

Hello fellow March Sleevers, I just got my date today, March 15th and I cannot wait. 5 weeks can't pass soon enough for me. But I am trying to be zen about it and lose a little weight before the surgery. I have struggled with my weight for the past 13 years. It seems I was okay, never skinny but mediumish build until I hit 30. Then I started to gain, gain, gain. Now at 43 I want to live and be healthy! I have a young son who needs me and he is my inspiration each day. I look forward to this journey.

So after all the hassle of the pre-op appointments my insurance apparently doesn't require a pre-cert or authorization! My surgeon's office said they have never had that happen. The coordinator even asked me to call my insurance to double check. Nope, they don't require any pre-certs for ANYTHING. Not for surgery, hospital admissions, MRIs, nothing. I also made sure that the procedure is covered by giving them that code. It is so I now have a date. Just curious if anyone has experienced this with their insurance? I know that usually people are trying to fight to get it approved so this is weird!

Hi there, I just wanted to say that I hope your insurance cooperates, it's so stressful! I'm not sure if stomach stapling =sleeve but your insurance company should be able to tell you. I know there is a universal procedure code that the insurance can lookup for you, someone here should know it. Good luck tomorrow!

Good luck!!!

Hi all, I figured it was time to join the group. My name is Tana and live in Yonkers. After looking at several programs I decided to go with Dr. Weber at White Plains Hospital. It's a small bariatric program but it felt like a good fit for me. I have done all my pre-op appointments, just waiting for a couple of notes to make it into my chart and then they will submit to insurance. I have Empire BCBS and my policy doesn't require a 6 month supervised diet. So weird how different policies are from the same insurance company. I am anxiously wanting to schedule a surgery date asap. I have such horrible back pain from old herniated discs. They weren't bothering me for years and then I put some more weight on and BAM, the pain was back. I also want to lose a good amount of weight before the summer so I can be active with my son. He's 3 and deserves a mom that can keep up! So that is all for now, I wish you all the best!

Good for you! Now you're on the countdown :smile1:

I would think that your surgeon's office should have papers for the psych. My appt. was about an hour and my surgeon refers people to 2 psychologists that work within the bariatric program. The psych I saw asked mostly about my life, support system, past weight loss experience, etc. Everything was related in some way to weight or surgery and she didn't ask any of those off the wall questions like "do you like tall women?", lol. And yes, I actually had that question in a psych eval for a job!

Hey neighbor! I hope to be approved without the 6 months as my insurance supposedly doesn't require it. I have Empire BCBS. Good luck!