TamaraS

SO sorry to hear this . I will be sending positive thoughts your way. (((hugs)))

Could the hives be from Stress? I really hope they go away soon and dont affect your surgery date.

I will not be required to do a liquid diet before surgery so I am not sure if you can have protien shakes? But if you can Unjury has a chicken soup flavored protien poweder that you can add to water. I have read a lot of people who have tried it and think its great. I dont like sweets at all so I plan on ordering it to have after surgery! Maybe you can try it out. It could be a pleasant change from all the sweet stuff Good Luck!!!

That is so good to hear!! I hope after the infection and esophegus heal up that you will be as good as new

Finally 50, good luck on your journey! I am glad to hear surgery went well and you were able to be released after just 24 hrs!! I hope it goes so well for me

Applebtmgrl77, I would have been in tears too! Ive always been more on the emotional side. Thank you for sharing your experience

Thank you ScaredoftheUnknown, It is nice to know I am not alone in feeling like this! I have finished my required appoinments for insurance and I am currently waiting to hear back if I have been approved I am hoping to hear sometime this next week. Im really looking forward to getting my surgery date and getting healthy.

Lynneo, Thank you for the encouragement I wait for the day that I wont feel so insecure and have to worry about embarassing my son. I also look forward to getting rid of this knee pain. Glad to hear your pain is gone!!

Marty, That is so excting! Seven weeks out and not having to dread the stairs!! I cant wait to live again

From what I heard, yes :/ Carbonation will permanetly stretch your sleeve. I know people who have had surgery and can ttotally tolerate soda and beer but its just a bummer to stretch the sleeve after going through the surgery. I hope you find an alternative!

I totally agree! I look forward to living a life without limited mobility and pain. Thank you for taking the time to comment

I am so incredibly sorry you have been put through all of this with little relief in sight. My thoughts and prayers are with you. Please continue posting about your journey. (((hugs)))

Sorry this is happening to you. I hope things will get better for you soon.

Sorry you are going through this!

I have been so focused on getting approved for the surgery, focusing on other people success and imagining my own that I hadn't really thought much about the possibility of dying in surgery until recently. It’s terrifying. I have a six year old boy. when my grandmother had passed in April, it was the first death He had ever experienced. I just keep replaying through my mind when he told me "mom if you ever die and go to heaven, Id make myself die to so we could be together" indescribably upsetting words to hear your child speak :’( Three nights ago I was lying in bed and panic came over me as I thought of how I will be putting myself in a position where it could definitely happen (DEATH) if I go through with the surgery. I’ve read differing statistics: 1 in 400 die, 1 in a 1,000 die, and honestly those don’t sound good. I woke up the next day still very much worried. I sat in my recliner as I do every day because my knees hurt. I watched t.v. and played on my laptop as I do every day, to numb my mind of my barely getting by existence.I sit home alone in isolation most of the day until My beautiful boy gets home and then I’m too tired to play and have a short fuse with him because I’m constantly exhausted (just like every other day). A couple tears ran down my face at the realization that my hope for a better life has to be stronger than my fears of dying this time. Im not happy being in pain and always tired. I’m not the good mom or wife I know I can be. I can’t fulfill my dream of becoming a nurse because I can barely shower and dress myself with out resting in between. I have had to stop wearing socks with my shoes because when I try to put them on, I pull muscles in either my leg, stomach or back. My life is so far from where I want it and I know I can get it back on track with this surgery. I might die because of this surgery. I will definitely die early if I don’t get this weight off. But I might be able to live AFTER this surgery… I don’t consider this living now.

smitten4glitter, I really feel your concern. I have been so focused on getting approved for the surgery, focusing on other people success and imagining my own that I hadn't really thought much about the possibility of dying in surgery until recently. It’s terrifying. I also have a child, a six you old boy. My grandmother had passed in April and it was the first death He had ever experienced. I just keep replaying through my mind when he told me "mom if you ever die and go to heaven, Id make myself die to so we could be together" indescribably upsetting words to hear your child speak :’( Three nights ago I was lying in bed and panic came over me as I thought of how I will be putting myself in a position where it could definitely happen (DEATH) if I go through with the surgery. I’ve read differing statistics: 1 in 400 die, 1 in a 1,000 die, and honestly those don’t sound good. I woke up the next day still very much worried. I sat in my recliner as I do every day because my knees hurt. I watched t.v. and played on my laptop as I do every day, to numb my mind of my barely getting by existence. My beautiful boy gets home and I’m too tired to play and have a short fuse with him because I’m constantly exhausted ( just like every other day) and a couple tears ran down my face at the realization that my hope has to be stronger than my fears this time. Im not happy being in pain and always tired. I’m not the good mom or wife I know I can be. I can’t fulfill my dream of becoming a nurse because I can barely shower and dress myself with out taing breaks in between. I have had to stop wearing socks with my shoes because when I try to put them on I pull muscles in my leg, stomach and back. My life is so far from where I want it and I know I can get it back on track with this surgery. I might die because of this surgery. I will definitely die early if I don’t get this weight off. But I might be able to live AFTER this surgery… I don’t consider this living now :’( MY suggestion to you is to wait until you know the benefits out way the risks. You will definitely know when that happens. Good Luck and I am sending lots of positive thoughts your way!!

Good luck Becky, I hope the three months flys by for you!

Glad to hear it went well!! I hope we both get surgery dates soon!!

That is so exciting and encouraging to hear! Thanks for sharing

I wanted to post about my insurance because I remember franticly trying to find information on if my insurance covered the sleeve and the requirements. I have Anthem Blue Cross Medi-Cal in San Joaquin County and It does cover the sleeve! The requirements are that your doctors says there is a need and says he believes your able to go through with the surgery, a TSH blood test, a meeting with the nutritionist, a psych evaluation and after your approved you are required to take a 4 hour pre op class. The nutritionist takes a long time to get approved through this insurance so you can greatly speed up the process by paying out of pocket. The registered dietician I saw charged $65.00. If you are in a huge hurry you can also pay out of pocket for the psych evaluation. I paid 150.00 for that. I hope someone out there finds this helpful!

That awesome, Congratulations!!! It must be exciting to have the approval already. Getting this surgery will be such a life changing experience! I have got to watch my friend's entire life become what she has wanted for so long, after she had her surgery. Pretty amazing thing to see

That is frustrating she just read from a peice of paper. you could do that at home!! Hope the next two appoinments go better for you.

The meeting with the nutritionist I paid for out of pocket because it takes my insurance (Anthem Blue Cross Medi-Cal) a while to get around to approving you to go. I met with her Monday and the cost of the appointment was 65.00. My particular registered dietician was very pleasant. When I arrived I had to fill out the diets I been on and what I ate the last 24 hrs. It took a while for me to recall ALL of the diets I've been on over the years. We spoke for an hour and a half. She had lots of children’s play food and empty bottles of protein shakes and vitamins which she used as props as she went over the new way I would be eating. It was very helpful seeing the portion sizes while we talked since I had no idea what small amounts I would be able to consume. She asked me questions about how much I usually eat, the kinds of foods and when. Most of the time was spent with her telling me about the different stages of food intake after surgery and reinforcing over and over chew at least 20 – 30 times, no water with meals or up to an hour after, and the importance of protein and vitamins. At the end of the session she tells you whether or not she will recommend you for the surgery and then has to create a report (can take up to two weeks for her) to send to your surgeon. By the way, she never asked me what surgery I was getting and assumed it was for the gastric bypass. Make sure you tell them on arrival you are getting the sleeve! Our appointment ran over 30 minutes because she had given me bypass info.

I just had my first consultation this last Friday! I was so anxious and excited I could barely sleep the night before but the actual appointment was very basic, not at all what I had worked up in my head . I met with the surgeon’s physician assistant and filled out a lot of paperwork and discussed how the surgery was performed, length of time in the hospital (2 - 3 days), nutrition, she asked me some questions about my obesity history and current health problems, I took a short quiz and she also asked me why I wanted the surgery. After about 20 to 30 minutes she sent me to talk to the lady who deal with insurance and they sat me down and told me the requirements of my insurance. I have California Anthem Blue Cross Medi-Cal so my personal insurance requirements were to get primary doc’s approval, a tsh test, see a nutritionist and a psychiatrist and get them to state I was fit for surgery. Most insurance also want a 6 month doctor supervised diet although that was not the case with mine. As soon as I got out of the appointment to the car, I made my nutritionist and psychiatrist appointment. I just finished them both yesterday and I feel so relieved!!

I just had my first consultation this last Friday! I was so anxious and excited I could barely sleep the night before but the actual appointment was very basic, not at all what I had worked up in my head . I met with the surgeon’s physician assistant and filled out a lot of paperwork and discussed how the surgery was performed, length of time in the hospital (2 - 3 days), nutrition, she asked me some questions about my obesity history and current health problems, I took a short quiz and she also asked me why I wanted the surgery. After about 20 to 30 minutes she sent me to talk to the girls who deal with insurance and they sat me down and told me the requirements of my insurance. I have California Anthem Blue Cross Medi-Cal so my personal insurance requirements were to get primary doc’s approval, a tsh test, see a nutritionist and a psychiatrist and get them to state I was fit for surgery. Most insurance also want a 6 month doctor supervised diet although that was not the case with mine. As soon as I got out of the appointment to the car, I made my nutritionist and psychiatrist appointment. I just finished them both yesterday and I feel so relieved!! The meeting with the nutritionist I paid for out of pocket because it takes insurance a while to get around to approving you to go. I met with her Monday and the cost of the appointment was 65.00. My particular registered dietician was very pleasant. When I arrived I had to fill out the diets I been on and what I ate the last 24 hrs. It took a while for me to recall the info. We spoke for an hour and a half. She had lots of children’s play food and empty bottles of protein shakes and vitamins which she used as props as she went over the new way I would be eating. It was very helpful seeing the portion sizes while we talked since I had no idea what small amounts I would be able to consume. She asked me questions about how much I usually eat, the kinds of foods and when. Most of the time was spent with her telling me about the different stages of food intake after surgery and reinforcing over and over chew at least 20 – 30 times, no water with meals or up to an hour after, and the importance of protein and vitamins. At the end of the session she tells you whether or not she will recommend you for the surgery and then has to create a report (can take up to two weeks for her) to send to your surgeon. By the way, she never asked me what surgery I was getting and assumed it was for the gastric bypass. Make sure you tell them on arrival you are getting the sleeve! Our appointment ran over 30 minutes because she had given me bypass info. I went to see the Psychiatrist yesterday. I also paid out of pocket to get in and be seen sooner. He was the least expensive at 150.00 but some of them went up to 450.00. I spent around 45 minutes there. I will share something with you; I wasn’t at all nervous about seeing him but as soon as he seated me in his office and went to go get paperwork for me to sign, I had an anxiety attack. I wanted to get up and run out of his office for no explainable reason. I knew if I didn’t get his ok for surgery I couldn’t get it so I am not sure if it was self-sabotage or if I just put too much emphasis on the importance of the meeting. Either way, he was gone long enough for me to pull myself together and as soon as he started asking me questions everything went really well! The majority of the appointment was him asking me questions and I realized my answers were too long based on how he kept cutting me off! I’m sure you can tell by this, I am all about the details. Better to keep it short and sweet with the psych since they have so much information to cover. The questions were about where you grew up, family relationships, have you seen a psych before, medications you have been on, any history of trauma, are you an emotional eater, what’s your stress level like, hobbies, do you have a support system, what you expect from the surgery and why do you want the surgery. He then gave me a survey to take home of almost 400 questions which ask about drug/alcohol abuse, violent or suicidal tendencies and self-esteem. (I did the survey in my car outside the office to cut down on mail time to send it back.) At the end of our appointment he told me he would be recommending me for surgery! What a relief Now I just have to play the waiting game and wait for the registered dietician and the psychiatrist to send their reports to my surgeon and hear if my insurance approved the surgery! If the surgery approval comes through I will take a four hour pre op class and that’s it!!