college_chick

You are very welcome. Before I decided on the sleeve I watched as many actual procedures as I could. Not only so I know what will happen, but because I know there are variances from surgeon to surgeon. I also wanted to make sure I could see myself getting the procedure done :-) tomorrow is my psych eval and then everything should be sent off to the insurance :-)

Are you talking about the staples? I watched the entire procedure on youtube here (this isn't a computer generated video, this is a camera that shows the EXACT procedure so if you have a stomach that is squeamish I suggest not watching it) hope this helps and is what you are after.

Ambien and I have a love hate relationship. I am preop and I'm currently prescribed ambien because it is what my mental health insurance will cover. Recently I told my Dr. that the ambien wasn't working well and that I'd tried 3 mg of melatonin but it wasn't enough to keep me asleep. My Dr. told me that I could take up to 20 mg of melatonin with half of a 10 mg ambien if I needed to. I'm not saying this is a magical fix, but might be something to ask your Dr. about. I'm currently trying to get off of ambien, but it isn't easy. I've been on Lunesta, trazadone, ambien, ambien cr, seroquel, etc. and I'd love to get to a point where I don't need anything. Good luck with your ambien problems!

Thank you all for the responses. I was in a funk that day. Like kareenak said its hard to learn all of these new tricks and skills and not be able to use them for fear of not being approved. I should have my paperwork submitted in the next week or two yay :-)

Thanks all :-) my pcp wrote the letter of recommendation! Now my fingers are crossed for Tuesday and then hopefully the big A (approval haha) it sure is a roller coaster. It reminds me of the Incubus song "Wish You Were Here" "the world is a roller coaster and I am not strapped in. Maybe I should hold with care but my hand are busy in the air." Totally what this feels like! Haha

Y'all are giving me hope :-) I should have my paper work to be submitted in about a week. I'm hoping for a May surgery date because of school.

On the bus going to my last Dr. supervised weight loss appointment. Tuesday is my pysch eval (hopefully my Dr. will do it) and then I get to send everything to my Dr. for insurance approval. I'm so excited right now and really hoping everything turns out the way I want it to. Fingers crossed that BCBS Fed approves me. :-)

My school hosted a health and wellness fair at the rec today and one of the booths had this handheld machine that told you your body fat percentage and how many pounds of fat that equates to. Would this help me in determining what a good goal weight is? He said that the BMI is just a fancy number and has no science behind it, and that I should be more concerned about the body fat percentage. Are both important? Is one better in one way over another? ACK! >.<

I'm in the same spot, having to try and maintain for a few more months and it is driving me nuts! I ended up losing 10 pounds in January due to stress and financial issues which put me under 40 BMI so I had to gain that weight back >.< It feels so weird to not be excited about losing weight just yet. I know that with out this surgery I'll never be able to live the healthy life that I want for myself and I can't seem to reach that goal on my own. I'm willing to do what ever it takes to get that approval so that in the long run I can live the life I want to live. For me it is a complete mind game. I'm trying to stay at a certain weight, which seems so completely backwards because I know how badly I want to live a better life. Hopefully it gets better!

I'm trying to get everything together for the predetermination for my insurance (BCBS Federal) and I feel like I'm trying to walk up a wall. My BMI is 41.6 with no comorbidities, I just moved to a new college and have found myself more active because it is larger (classes and food are a half mile away from my house instead of a block away) while this is a great thing, in terms of losing weight, I can't help but feel like it is the worst thing ever. I know that this surgery is the best option for me because for the past 5 years I have been bouncing from 230-260 lbs. and while I have no comorbidities now, I feel like there is a time bomb strapped to my back. If I continue to fluctuate and never get to a healthier state I will eventually develop one or more comorbidities. My PCP tested me for diabetes last month as a precaution and I was shocked to find out that I don't have it because my weight has been an issue that has been progressing for almost 10 years now. I keep second guessing myself right now. What if I just haven't done enough and now that I have better resources around me I could lose the weight with out surgery? At the same time I know that this goes much deeper than just losing weight or exercising more, I've become so used to shoveling massive amounts of food down my throat that I look at a recommended portion and see it more as a snack or appetizer. I need something to not just help with the weight issues but a way to retrain myself on how to eat as a way to nourish my body, instead of continuing my unhealthy habits. I'm worried that with all the changes in my life right now I'll lose enough weight that I'll be denied by my insurance and be back on that yo-yo cycle of bouncing from 230-260. My window of opportunity for this surgery is small, because I'm only on this insurance plan for another 10 months. I'm hoping someone has been in a similar situation of feeling like they have to maintain their weight just to have a chance to be healthy in the long run and can give some advice on how to deal with this. I find myself getting excited because my pants aren't as loose as they were my first 3 weeks at this college (I lost about 8-10 lbs. during the moving process and my first few weeks here because of the larger campus, stress, and a few other things) I haven't gained past what I was at the dr. consult in December, so I'm basically just maintaining the weight at this point. And I can't help but feel that it is a little twisted that I'm excited because I gained back some weight so that I can qualify for a surgery that will help me lose weight. Maybe I'm just not looking at this in the best light? Thanks for reading and any advice is appreciated Also, thanks for giving me a place to reach out to people who could possible understand. I've talked to a few close friends and they think it's a bit odd, because they all cheer for weight loss, not gain

I am on my second Implanon and love it! I had great results with Depo also. I was able to get my Implanon and Depo shots for free at a local health department.

Also you mention that you just want them to leave you alone. If you go through with this surgery, I don't think they will magically disappear. I think the discussions will still center around your weight, how you are doing, what you are eating, what you are doing about exercise, etc. I don't think this surgery is the answer to getting your parents to stop talking about your weight.

I'm not an expert on any of this and I'm new to this whole process but my feeling is please don't do this for someone else. It sounds like there is already resentment between all the parties involved and I think it will only get worse if you go through with this surgery. Regardless of what your family thinks please consider what YOU want for YOUR body and for YOUR future. Hate to be blunt but there will come a day when your parents are no longer around, what will you feel like about your body then? This is a life altering change and not something that can be "fixed" if you dislike it. The way I see it you have until you show up for surgery to change your mind. Please think about this in terms of YOUR life, not anyone else's.

I've heard general stuff about the copper IUD but not anything specific from some one who has had it. I'll look into it for sure :-) With the copper IUD do you still get periods? I love not having them. Mine were horrendous! The good news is I'm switching PCP's because I'm moving to a new school tomorrow yay!

Hey all I'm VERY new to this whole process and am still working on getting everything ready to see if the insurance will approve me. I went to my primary care Dr. the other day for one of the supervised weight loss visits and she wasn't very thrilled with the idea. (Even though she would write me scripts for Adipex with out blinking an eye...) Anyhow, we were talking about what medications I am on and she pointed out that my mental health medicines can cause weight gain. I told her that I knew that but I can't risk my mental health just so I can look pretty. She kind of nodded like I said something ridiculous and then asked about my birth control. I'm on Implanon and one of the side effects that most women complain about is the weight gain. I've been on the shot, and the pill before but what I really enjoy about the Implanon is that it is implanted for 3 years. I explained this, and that the last time I was on the pill I would forget it fairly regularly and that defeats the purpose. I would go back to the shot but I lack a car atm so getting to and from the health clinic in town became a nuisance with school and everything else. I ended up accidentally forgetting to make an appointment for the shot too, so I decided long term methods were probably my best bet. She told me that the Implanon and the shot were the worst forms of birth controls to be on because of weight gain, and that I really should take better care of myself, and that I was just making excuses about the pill. She said that because I'm 24 I should have my life together enough to take a pill. ( I do take other pills but they aren't time specific so if I forget to take my morning dose it isn't the end of the world and yes I forget those too from time to time) *beats head against the wall* Anyways, so I didn't say anything. I just nodded and then asked her what form of birth control she would recommend that I switch to in order to lessen the side effects of weight gain. She just looked at me. After a while she said "Well... any of them." *tears out hair* I did my own research and all of the birth control methods that I found have the side effect of weight gain. So with that long story done, any one have any advice? The doctor that I've spoken with about my surgery knows that I'm on Implanon and didn't say anything about it being a problem or a hinderance. I know that hormones affect each woman differently but if there is a birth control that I can switch to that might make this process easier I'm willing to look into it. Also, I don't have any kids right now so I can't get IUD's. The whole reason for the birth control is that I don't want to become pregnant now. I'm a week away from being 25 and still in college. I don't have boyfriend or anything but I would much rather be on it than not especially if, heaven forbid, something were to happen. If you made it this far you deserve a gold star! * Thanks so much!

This may sound silly but what is a drain tube? I'm assuming it allows fluids and such out of your body after surgery, but I guess what I haven't found the answers to are questions like where do they put it? What comes out? Is it better to have one? Thanks!

Hey all I saw 3 articles today about studies done on women who have undergone weight loss surgery and then got pregnant. Basically all of the articles say that the studies show that women should wait 12-18 months before conceiving. My doctor said in his info seminar that he reccommends 2 years. I never would have thought to ask when I went to the seminar. Partially because I'm too focused on getting out of school already! (It's taking sooo long, but it's my fauly for that sooo... ) Anyways I thought I would post here about it, Not sure if I can post links or not? But I have them if anyone is interested. Any thoughts? Have a good one all!

Congrats!

Thank you all for your questions and advice! I feel my visit with the Dr. went very well. He took the time to answer all of my questions, which made me feel better. Sorry it took me so long to respond, I'm in the middle of packing up and changing schools and responding slipped my mind! Thank you all again!

Thank you all for your questions and advice! I feel my visit with the Dr. went very well. He took the time to answer all of my questions, which made me feel better. Sorry it took me so long to respond, I'm in the middle of packing up and changing schools and responding slipped my mind! Thank you all again!

Thanks Ronda and Katsmeow! I am 9 days away from moving to MTSU, really excited and pretty nervous! Congrats Douglas! As far as how I'm getting along personally, I've got to do a couple more monthly doctor supervised weight loss visits, and a bunch of paperwork, but I'm hoping to get all of that done by March/April timeframe. And *crosses fingers* hopefully have the surgery in the summer before summer classes start. Hope everyone else is doing well!

I'm transferring to MTSU for Spring 2013 semester (Move date sometime in the middle of January) and so I'm looking for support groups in Murfreesboro? Anyone know a good place to start looking? I'm going into this move some what blind, I don't know anyone in Murfreesboro and I don't know much (if anything) about the town. I don't think I'll have my surgery in Tennessee because I'm still on my parent's insurance and apparently it is trickier to find an in network doctor and on down the line, so I will most likely have it done in Alabama.

Thank you all very much for taking the time to reply! It is helping so much. I think sometimes the best way to learn is from those who have been there, done that.

When I went to the seminar they stressed that the doctor has had a 0% fatality rate which is nice to hear but they didn't stress much on how long he has been doing the surgeries. (or maybe I missed it with all the information they gave us) I guess that's probably pretty important to ask. Thank you for taking the time to reply :-) it is helping immensely.

Hi, I'm a 24 year old college student and I am considering WLS and am particulary interested in the sleeve. I'm new to this site and still learning about WLS but I would like to hear from people who are around my age who are either in the same place I am (just starting out) or have been through the surgery. I have my consultation tomorrow and I am finding it difficult to come up with questions that I would like to know the answers to. I feel like I might ask something and the doctor might feel like I'm wasting his time. I have a few questions written down that I feel are pretty basic (How many sleeve procedures have you done? What are common complications? etc.) But I am interested in questions that other people have asked, especially if they pertain to how this will affect my ability to get back into school after the procedure. I hope this makes sense and isn't just a bunch of rambling nonsense