LisaDM

My first week post op I learned a very valuable lesson: Never trust a fart.< /p>

My friend took this candid picture of me cooking yesterday and I was shocked that I looked so adorable! It's the first time I've ever been pleased with a candid shot of me it feels so good!

Knee-high boots!

It makes me want to just fly around the world and sprinkle Oreos on everyone to calm them down!

I have my consult on June 14th. No insurance approval yet, but a list of other appts to start making. My worry is if I make all these appts and then get denied its a lot of time and money wasted. Of course I would appeal, but still. I also need a letter of medical necessity, but haven't even spoken to my primary care doc about it. My insurance doesn't require referrals for any specialists so I didn't even think about it. Good luck with your appt, I hope everything goes smoothly!

I have my consult on June 14th. No insurance approval yet, but a list of other appts to start making. My worry is if I make all these appts and then get denied its a lot of time and money wasted. Of course I would appeal, but still. I also need a letter of medical necessity, but haven't even spoken to my primary care doc about it. My insurance doesn't require referrals for any specialists so I didn't even think about it. Good luck with your appt, I hope everything goes smoothly!

Oh geez! 250 lbs! What a typo. Never been 150 in my adult life. I fixed the error, thanks

I have heard from another member who takes Biotin regularly (and started couple weeks before surgery and she has had no increased Hair loss. That was a huge concern of mine too.

Lisa,
I have been thinking about wls ever since it became a procedure that insurances would think of covering (so years), and I too work in healthcare (ER at a level 1 Trauma Hospital). Not sure what you do in healthcare, but as much as there is not a light duty in our field, we both know that if need be we can get the help we need to lift the patient or anything heavy. I have not had the surgery, but am just waiting to finish my 6 mos supervised diet, I hope to have the surgery July/August of this year. This 6 month period I am finding is giving me comfort as the more information I gather and get closer to my goal of surgery. I read the good and the bad, take it all in, similar to attempting to get a complete H&P from a patient who has short attention span who keeps getting distracted. Everyone's story is so unique, take them all in and make the decision that is right for you. The complications from this surgery are similar to those of other major surgeries, up to and including the possibility of death. But you have to weigh out the pros and cons for YOU this is your decision. I have not found anyone, even those who have had complications. who would tell you that they would not do it again, although I am sure they are out there (this does not include those individuals who have passed due to a PE or complications from surgery). The hospital stay is normally overnight or longer if you have complications or pain control issues. As far as if I have I told friends, a couple very close friends, but no I am not telling my co-workers as a whole, it is very personal to me and my decision that only I can make so I will only tell those who need to know. I know I will be out of work for 2 weeks (as there are driving restrictions imposed by my surgeon). I don't know if this helps, feel free to message me privately if you have any questions that you are not ready to post. This is a great forum and good luck.

Hey! I'm in MD as well. I just went for my consult today to start figuring myself out. I have been researching this stuff like crazy. I can understand where you are coming from. I have only told 3 ppl and it's not due to embarrassment, it's just I want to make this decision on my own.
This is my first post and got excited to see a MD'er! I'm a nerd!

1- Have you had any major complications from the surgery? No complications
2- How long were you on restrictions from lifting? I was restricted for 6 weeks. I work a desk job, so I only had to take a week off from work.
3- How long were you in the hospital after surgery? Two days.
4- What did you tell friends and coworkers? Nothing. I didn't tell a soul about the surgery. I didn't feel like hearing anything negative about it.
5- Do you have any regrets about having the surgery? No, not at all! Best decision I ever made for my health and happiness!
Bonus Question - Yes, I did experience some hair loss for several weeks around 4 to 5 months post-op. It was really unnerving to me when it started falling out in fistfuls. However, as obvious as it was to me, it was not noticeable to anyone else and after a few weeks it stopped. I took my Vitamins including Iron and Biotin regularly and that didn't stop the hair from falling out, but it may have reduced the extent/duration of it.