VSG AJH

Hi all -- love the threads! So much good information and conversation.
My name is Amanda. I'm a 37yo homeschooling mom to six kiddos, and I'm hoping to be a December sleever. Having been overweight since late childhood, I've been hoping for bariatric surgery since seeing a documentary about RNY fourteen years ago. I've not had insurance coverage for bariatric surgery before last year, and even then, it came as a surprise. I would check at the beginning of each year when we'd renew our benefits, and my husband's company would not only not cover it, they would specifically exclude it. The surgeons I'd call would tell me that exclusion would make an appeal impossible. Anyway, last January I didn't bother checking because I assumed after years of exclusions, there would be no change. I've been looking at the VSG for about a year now and lurking here on these boards, and I began exploring cash-pay options with surgeons in the U.S. and abroad. At the end of last summer, just as I was making a plan to go to Mexico for surgery, my husband double-checked our benefits, and LO AND BEHOLD, our insurance now covered bariatric surgery just like any other surgery -- standard deductible and 20% copay with a few other minor costs here and there up to a $5000 max. Thrilled, at the end of September I made an appointment with a bariatric surgery group just down the highway from our house. I then cancelled in early October because we discovered I was pregnant with my sixth babe.
I was told to call back after six weeks of post-delivery recovery, and for those weeks after baby, I wrestled with the choice to call the WLS. Maybe this would be the time I could get the weight off. Forget the fact that I've been over 100 pounds overweight since middle school and have tried every single diet and pill and plan under the sun -- maybe this would be the year. In retrospect, I was terrified of seeing the doctor because I was afraid he'd reject me for WLS. It had always been the option in my pocket, the secret bullet for the day when I realized I really couldn't do it on my own. If the doctor rejected me, I would truly be without options and hope for real weight loss and health. Despite being severely overweight, I felt like I was in pretty decent health and would be rejected because of a lack of serious comorbidities. I have prediabetes and have had gestational diabetes when pregnant -- both of which increase my chances of Type 2, a disease that killed my grandmother. My mom died of cancer last year, and my obesity increases the risk of my developing cancer. My dad had high cholesterol and HBP. Stroke and heart disease run in my family. I also have Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, and while that's not caused by my obesity, it complicates any effort at weight loss. Other than that, I have neuropathy in my feet and weight-bearing bone problems in my feet. I'm prone to injury and have to see the podiatrist several times a year for medical care. I also have numbness in my arms and hands, and I'm concerned it's moving towards a total loss of feeling like my feet. My knees and back ache, and getting up and down and moving around a lot is exhausting -- a real problem when you're with six kiddos all the time! So, while I don't have a large number of documented medical comorbidities, I'm feeling the chronic effects of a lifetime of obesity beginning to creep up on me, and I just don't like it. Additionally, my mom died from a type of cancer she could have avoided (lung cancer specific to smokers), and her grief was complicated by the fact that she could have made different choices all the years she smoked and maybe lived longer. I don't want that to be me. I don't mind dying at 56 like she did, but I'd rather die from falling off a mountain I've just climbed or because the chute didn't open when I went skydiving, not because I chose a habit that destroyed me, and I never got a handle on it.
After that brief post-baby wrestling period, I decided to pursue surgery, and if by some miraculous chance I lose 100 pounds between now and my surgery date (ha!), I'll call off my surgery. I saw the surgeon on August 5 -- my 13th wedding anniversary -- and not only did he not reject me, he said I was the perfect candidate. (He probably says that to all the girls. *wink*) I weighed 262 at the appointment, and I'm now 5'7" (was 5'10" before my weight began destroying the bones in my feet -- sigh.) My BMI was 41.1, thanks to my new shorter stature.
I'm still very new to all of this, and while I have a few hoops to jump through, they don't seem all that complicated to me. Maybe I'm missing something. My insurance (Cigna) requires a 3 month diet with the nutritionist (4 total meetings), and I see her this coming Tuesday -- just a week after my first appointment. I also attend my first support group at that time. I'll have three more nutrition meetings and one or two more monthly support group. I've already had initial labs drawn, and I'll see my PCP on Monday for a physical (per his request) to have him write the letter of recommendation my insurance requires. The surgeon requires a physical therapy evaluation, which I also already have scheduled on Tuesday. Besides that, I'll do an EGD and a psych evaluation, and that's it. It doesn't seem like a lot to me, and the fact that half of the requirements will be completed within a month of my initial meeting with the surgeon blows my mind. It's impossible for me to believe that after 25+ years of obesity and 14+ years of researching bariatric surgery, MY day is coming.

Hi all -- love the threads! So much good information and conversation.
My name is Amanda. I'm a 37yo homeschooling mom to six kiddos, and I'm hoping to be a December sleever. Having been overweight since late childhood, I've been hoping for bariatric surgery since seeing a documentary about RNY fourteen years ago. I've not had insurance coverage for bariatric surgery before last year, and even then, it came as a surprise. I would check at the beginning of each year when we'd renew our benefits, and my husband's company would not only not cover it, they would specifically exclude it. The surgeons I'd call would tell me that exclusion would make an appeal impossible. Anyway, last January I didn't bother checking because I assumed after years of exclusions, there would be no change. I've been looking at the VSG for about a year now and lurking here on these boards, and I began exploring cash-pay options with surgeons in the U.S. and abroad. At the end of last summer, just as I was making a plan to go to Mexico for surgery, my husband double-checked our benefits, and LO AND BEHOLD, our insurance now covered bariatric surgery just like any other surgery -- standard deductible and 20% copay with a few other minor costs here and there up to a $5000 max. Thrilled, at the end of September I made an appointment with a bariatric surgery group just down the highway from our house. I then cancelled in early October because we discovered I was pregnant with my sixth babe.
I was told to call back after six weeks of post-delivery recovery, and for those weeks after baby, I wrestled with the choice to call the WLS. Maybe this would be the time I could get the weight off. Forget the fact that I've been over 100 pounds overweight since middle school and have tried every single diet and pill and plan under the sun -- maybe this would be the year. In retrospect, I was terrified of seeing the doctor because I was afraid he'd reject me for WLS. It had always been the option in my pocket, the secret bullet for the day when I realized I really couldn't do it on my own. If the doctor rejected me, I would truly be without options and hope for real weight loss and health. Despite being severely overweight, I felt like I was in pretty decent health and would be rejected because of a lack of serious comorbidities. I have prediabetes and have had gestational diabetes when pregnant -- both of which increase my chances of Type 2, a disease that killed my grandmother. My mom died of cancer last year, and my obesity increases the risk of my developing cancer. My dad had high cholesterol and HBP. Stroke and heart disease run in my family. I also have Hashimoto's Thyroiditis, and while that's not caused by my obesity, it complicates any effort at weight loss. Other than that, I have neuropathy in my feet and weight-bearing bone problems in my feet. I'm prone to injury and have to see the podiatrist several times a year for medical care. I also have numbness in my arms and hands, and I'm concerned it's moving towards a total loss of feeling like my feet. My knees and back ache, and getting up and down and moving around a lot is exhausting -- a real problem when you're with six kiddos all the time! So, while I don't have a large number of documented medical comorbidities, I'm feeling the chronic effects of a lifetime of obesity beginning to creep up on me, and I just don't like it. Additionally, my mom died from a type of cancer she could have avoided (lung cancer specific to smokers), and her grief was complicated by the fact that she could have made different choices all the years she smoked and maybe lived longer. I don't want that to be me. I don't mind dying at 56 like she did, but I'd rather die from falling off a mountain I've just climbed or because the chute didn't open when I went skydiving, not because I chose a habit that destroyed me, and I never got a handle on it.
After that brief post-baby wrestling period, I decided to pursue surgery, and if by some miraculous chance I lose 100 pounds between now and my surgery date (ha!), I'll call off my surgery. I saw the surgeon on August 5 -- my 13th wedding anniversary -- and not only did he not reject me, he said I was the perfect candidate. (He probably says that to all the girls. *wink*) I weighed 262 at the appointment, and I'm now 5'7" (was 5'10" before my weight began destroying the bones in my feet -- sigh.) My BMI was 41.1, thanks to my new shorter stature.
I'm still very new to all of this, and while I have a few hoops to jump through, they don't seem all that complicated to me. Maybe I'm missing something. My insurance (Cigna) requires a 3 month diet with the nutritionist (4 total meetings), and I see her this coming Tuesday -- just a week after my first appointment. I also attend my first support group at that time. I'll have three more nutrition meetings and one or two more monthly support group. I've already had initial labs drawn, and I'll see my PCP on Monday for a physical (per his request) to have him write the letter of recommendation my insurance requires. The surgeon requires a physical therapy evaluation, which I also already have scheduled on Tuesday. Besides that, I'll do an EGD and a psych evaluation, and that's it. It doesn't seem like a lot to me, and the fact that half of the requirements will be completed within a month of my initial meeting with the surgeon blows my mind. It's impossible for me to believe that after 25+ years of obesity and 14+ years of researching bariatric surgery, MY day is coming.

I've always wanted to volunteer for Search & Rescue in my county. I live in a heavily active, 4 season community. There are people lost in the snow every winter, out in the desert every summer, hiking trails, River rescues..... Every November they out a news article out seeking volunteers, every November I say "next year is the year" I am going to do it!

Ha ha me too, its all I think about, sometimes I'm like I can do this, then other times I am just scared I will never be able to taste the things I like. Its all the what ifs....... I got word today my insurance changed their policy and the sleeve is now covered! I have my first Nut appt this month to get the ball rolling.....
I'm tired of being FAT!

I am 3 months out and have zero problems with lettuce. I see no reason in drinking pop whatsoever, even though others do it. I was told the carbonation does expand your stomach (which it does while you are drinking it) whether or not it stretches is a highly debated issue on VSG.
There are those of us that would rather not take the chance. Should you get the sleeve and start eating candy bars, I would say the answer is NO, do people do it, I am sure they do. I have read people eating potato chips as early as a week out.
If you are going to go back to your old way of eating after surgery, then surgery should put off until you have enough psychological counseling to change the emotional eating issues, and get proper nutritional counseling to see the hows and why on how you gained so weight in the first place and realize that this is something you need to do for life.
The sleeve is for you if you want to make lifestyle changes. Can you gain the weight back after you get the sleeve and lose all your weight? Yes, if you do not make lifestyle changes.
The sleeve DOES stretch. It will never get to the size your stomach was pre-surgery, but it does get bigger and it is easier to eat more food as time goes on, so it has to be a lifestyle change.
I can eat just as spicy a food now as I did before surgery. I do not drink caffeine, pop, beer. I have had a glass of wine with no problem.
When I hit goal I will probably have a glass of champagne and deal with the bloating of my sleeve and come what may whether or not my sleeve with stretch a bit.
The issue is, people thinking it's okay to drink real coffee, eat what they want right after they get sleeved. Your stomach gets cut from the bottom to the top and it's a massive surgery. Your stomach is extremely swollen inside and out and putting things like caffeine (which could cause ulcers), carbonation which is very rough and acidic on your swollen stomach or foods that are rough could cause a leak.
After you reach goal I think what you can and cannot tolerate is up to you. If you start throwing high carb food in, you will gain weight. It's a lifestyle change, not just a diet.

The day of the surgery i was pumped! But i was was getting nervous laying in the pre op room but then my doctor came in and said a prayer with me and my family.Then they wheeled me into the room and next thing i know I'm waking up which seemed like i was out for 5 minutes.Not gonna lie i was in some pain.The hardest thing was not being able to drink anything that whole day until the day after.I tell you what whatever that crap is they give you to do the leak test taste just like crap! They gave me a cap full of Water to chase it down with and that wad the best water I've ever had in my life! following 6 weeks was pretty easy because i didn't care to eat anything.I just wanted to drink.At this point right now i would take a big glass of tea over a steak or chicken.The surgery changes your appetite so much to where eating is not something i enjoy but something i do like skinny people did do.Before i would look at there parts and think wow there's mi way that would full me up and now that's exactly how i eat.I try to ride my bike 9 miles a day or jog 3 miles but i usually drop a pound everytime i do one or the other.I was losing 10-15lbs a week for the first 3 months.The main thing is do what the doctor says.

I also was a size 46 pants and now I'm a 34 and from 4x shirts to xl! Now i can buy clothes at the mall instead of Casual Make XL! I work on cars for a living and my knees and ankles was always killing me but now when I'm not busy working on cars we have stairs at my shop that i make a point to run up and down 40 times a day.

Hey how are doing today?