Carrie's Journey

I was self-pay and right when I checked into the hospital, they did the EKG. It was included in my total fees to my surgeon. It seriously took 2 minutes.

Yeah I wasn't happy about their long process either. My husband and I just figured out a way to finance the surgery and went for it. I swear my surgery happened like, 3 weeks after my first phone call to them. But I was able to get squeezed in to a cancellation spot. I think it was all meant to happen like this.

Did your dr set a goal for you? I'm also 31 and 5'5" and my dr said I should be able to get to 120! That seems super skinny to me so I told him 130-140. Ideally, 140 would be my max for a healthy BMI, I think. But I don't remember ever being less than 165 so anything less would be a dream.

That's a great idea! I just read about that diet too. Hmmm. I did have a hiatal hernia so I might add that I had that repaired too. Now I'm feeling a littl less anxious.

I was 32 and had high blood pressure. No insurance would cover me so I was self-pay with an amazing surgeon. I wish my insurance paid but this is definitely money well spent. 10 days out and my blood pressure is already normal again...

Sure! One of the pioneers: Dr Cirangle in San Francisco. It was 17,500 which is one the high side but I'm glad I went with him still. He includes 2 years of follow up visits but usually more like 5. And he leads the support groups that I'm planning to attend.

Really? What is your BMI?

Awesome! what are your stats?

My surgery was on 7/31/12 and it would be great to have a buddy or two share experiences and go through this journey together! I'm almost 32 and my starting BMI was 32. I live in the East Bay (CA).

I'm in San Ramon (east bay). I was self-pay because I wasn't obese enough to be covered through Kaiser...

I'm 31 (almost 32) and was sleeved 7/31/12 by Dr. Cirangle in San Francisco. Anyone out there who was sleeved at a similar time so we can go through the stages together, sort of? I was a lower BMI: 32 so weight loss is slower for me but the experience should be similar. I'm at Day 10 and have lost 11 lbs. Anyone interested in keeping in touch like pen pals?

I'm 10 days out and have told the people who matter. I go back to work in a couple weeks and I'm just waiting for the comments..."Carrie, you look great! What are you doing??" which will be nice comments to hear, but I'm just not ready for the whole school (I work at a high school) to talk about me. I know...I need to figure out how to stop caring so much about what people think. I was thinking of saying gallbladder surgery , which prompted a new diet (low fat) and once I started losing and feeling better I continued... I don't know. It's probably easier to tell the truth but I feel ashamed in a way. The nice thing is that I'm a lower BMI (started at 32), so I know the weight loss will come off slower. So maybe it won't be so obvious... What did/do you guys say?

I'm 5'5" and my doctor's goal is 120 but I'm thinking 130-140. Why do they go so low?

I did too and got the rest of the glue off today. All better now!

July 31st and 11 lbs.

The sleeve was NOTHING compared to my c/s. I remember the agony of walking the first time after the c/s, but it was pretty simple after the sleeve. I also felt like it took several weeks after the c/s to feel somewhat normal (physically), and i felt pretty darn good after a week with the sleeve. When I first talked to someone in my surgeon's office, she told me how much easier her bypass was than her c/s and I was sold. No regrets.

17,500 self-pay with Dr. Cirangle in San Francisco. I have Kaiser and I wasn't obese enough to be covered.

I'm a newbie (9 days post-op) and had a BMI of 32. I've lost 11 lbs so far, which I think is pretty dang good. I'm excited to lose more but I'm actually ok if I lose slowly...I kinda don't want a ton of attention at work (I work at a high school). My doctor believes that in my first 3 weeks, I should be around 20 lbs, so we'll see...

Awesome! I'm on day 9 and week 2 is SO much better than week 1. Just sip all day and rest and week 1 will be over before you know it.