snowkitten

Wow, that's crazy! I'm so glad you were able to get something done anyways. Congrats!!!

Thank you all for your input. I appreciate the ideas.

How did things go when they all discovered what your surgery was for? We're they upset with you for taking the time off? my boss is new and relies HEAVILY on me. I've hired a new employee so we won't be in the hole with workload, but I do the work of 3 people so I still forsee a backlog and I'm concerned I will be frowned upon for taking even more time off

Yeah the situation is really hard. So many people think of WLS as a cosmetic elective surgery. I'm especially concerned if work knew they would judge me for leaving work to get something "frivolous" done. But for me it's to save my life. I just don't think they will "GET" that. I think I'm gonna be vague and say I'm having surgery on my stomach for my immune system issue. I'm really concerned I'll feel pressured to elaborate tho. I hope you figure out what to do. Good luck

So I don't plan to tell HR a lie. I just don't think telling my boss would go over well. Shes great but my office thrives on gossip and shes not immune. A coworker who has had the surgery warns me not to tell anyone and i think shes right. I think I'll go with telling her I'm having surgery on my stomach for my immune system and leave it at that.

JCP- colon surgery is a good idea, thanks cmoore25- OH! a fellow coder. I am as well. Your right, we are doing this for our health, but unfortunately people will not think of it that way. Katesuccess- Thank you SO much for your support and suggestions. Its extreamly helpfull and i will definetly use them. Pookeyism- not exactly, i DO have short term disability i can apply for but my boss wont need to see that paperwork. But i still need to tell her SOMETHING so we can arrange coverage. I know i dont have to say anything, but in reality people are going to ask. Candypants81- Thanks, its nice to know others understand

I realize i dont HAVE to tell my boss anything, my dilemma is that its not in my nature not to tell people what going on. Wynnie- all the preop work was done at the hospital i work at but the procedure, and the surgeon are at another hospital. I do like the idea of a hiatial hernia, its close enough to the truth that i wont feel weird saying it. AND i love the idea that the diets are the same. Thank you all so much for your ideas and support.

Ugh, i know that a real procedure! can you imagine having to have that done!? I gag just thinking of it. How long was your recovery time for the hiatial hernia?

I dont HAVE to tell my boss why. but like i said, were pretty close so it would look suspicious if i refused to tell her what it was.

Im really hoping someone can help me figure out what to tell my boss. I HATE to lie. It doesn’t come easily to me but I know its necessary in this case. I work for a very large hospital (billing part) that requires both pto and advance notice for time off. The problem with that is I don’t have any pto, and probably never will as Im on FMLA for a chronic disease (Immune Deficiency). Because I don’t have to give advanced notice or have pto for anything related to my immune deficiency I would like to tell my boss my surgery is for something related. Technically the wls IS related (obesity lowers the immune system, there are increased infections associated with it, and my treatment isn’t working because Im at the max dose because of my weight); however I don’t want to tell her im having wls because I don’t think they will believe me when I say its for my immune system (she’s kinda anti-wls). I know by law I don’t have to tell my boss any details, but im kinda close to her and tell her everything so It would look funny if I all of a sudden decided to be secretive. This would especially be true since were both coders and we tend to want to know everything about medical. SO my question is this; do you have any ideas of what surgery I could tell my boss that im having that is related to the stomach/immunity. Im thinking something like worm removal (since she knows I have a Protein deficiency and this would be consistant) or intestine obstruction. Something just embarrassing enough that she wont ask questions. Any ideas??

Im really hoping someone can help me figure out what to tell my boss. I HATE to lie. It doesn’t come easily to me but I know its necessary in this case. I work for a very large hospital (billing part) that requires both pto and advance notice for time off. The problem with that is I don’t have any pto, and probably never will as Im on FMLA for a chronic disease (Immune Deficiency). Because I don’t have to give advanced notice or have pto for anything related to my immune deficiency I would like to tell my boss my surgery is for something related. Technically the wls IS related (obesity lowers the immune system, there are increased infections associated with it, and my treatment isn’t working because Im at the max dose because of my weight); however I don’t want to tell her im having wls because I don’t think they will believe me when I say its for my immune system (she’s kinda anti-wls). I know by law I don’t have to tell my boss any details, but im kinda close to her and tell her everything so It would look funny if I all of a sudden decided to be secretive. This would especially be true since were both coders and we tend to want to know everything about medical. SO my question is this; do you have any ideas of what surgery I could tell my boss that im having that is related to the stomach/immunity. Im thinking something like worm removal (since she knows I have a Protein deficiency and this would be consistant) or intestine obstruction. Something just embarrassing enough that she wont ask questions. Any ideas??

Im really hoping someone can help me figure out what to tell my boss. I HATE to lie. It doesn’t come easily to me but I know its necessary in this case. I work for a very large hospital (billing part) that requires both pto and advance notice for time off. The problem with that is I don’t have any pto, and probably never will as Im on FMLA for a chronic disease (Immune Deficiency). Because I don’t have to give advanced notice or have pto for anything related to my immune deficiency I would like to tell my boss my surgery is for something related. Technically the wls IS related (obesity lowers the immune system, there are increased infections associated with it, and my treatment isn’t working because Im at the max dose because of my weight); however I don’t want to tell her im having wls because I don’t think they will believe me when I say its for my immune system (she’s kinda anti-wls). I know by law I don’t have to tell my boss any details, but im kinda close to her and tell her everything so It would look funny if I all of a sudden decided to be secretive. This would especially be true since were both coders and we tend to want to know everything about medical. SO my question is this; do you have any ideas of what surgery I could tell my boss that im having that is related to the stomach/immunity. Im thinking something like worm removal (since she knows I have a Protein deficiency and this would be consistant) or intestine obstruction. Something just embarrassing enough that she wont ask questions. Any ideas??

I totally understand your concerns because I've had the exact same ones. But because I've been too intimidated to ask I've increased my research on the subject (to the point of obsession). In my research I've found two very important things that differentiates the sleeve from a normal diet. 1) grehlin hormone: hunger hormone that is reduced. (Which you already know) 2) The bile acids are changed: the acids don't bind to a nuclear receptor called FXR. Research has shown that In the absence of FXR weight-loss occurs So to answer your question, the point of the surgery is to restrict your stomach so you won't eat as much, reduce your want to eat, and change how your bile acids work. You will absolutely have to work at it but all these things combined cannot be done without the surgery. Hope this helps

I was hoping that would be the case. What did they do to treat the hpylori for you?

I just got all my preop testing done and the way my health care is set up I'm able to view my lab test results online. I'm concerned the surgeon will deny me because a few of them. The two I'm most concerned about is the hpylori and ptt (blood clotting) test. My hpylori is positive and my ptt came back low (just barely). Has anyone had experience with either of these results and were u still able to get the sleeve?

I just got all my preop testing done and the way my health care is set up I'm able to view my lab test results online. I'm concerned the surgeon will deny me because a few of them. The two I'm most concerned about is the hpylori and ptt (blood clotting) test. My hpylori is positive and my ptt came back low (just barely). Has anyone had experience with either of these results and were u still able to get the sleeve?

Thank you very much. I really appreciate your response

So i want real life data... Age, your starting weight and how much did you lose at 1mo, 3mo, 6mo, 9mo, 1 year, 18mo?? And most importantly how well did you adhere to the diet and exercise requirements?? Did you do both, one more than the other, or neither?? If i get enough response I'll post the results. Thanks!

I do apologize, I thought this was the general discussion board not the pre-op. Thanks for the suggestion, I'll do that

So i want real life data... Age, your starting weight and how much did you lose at 1mo, 3mo, 6mo, 9mo, 1 year, 18mo?? And most importantly how well did you adhere to the diet and exercise requirements?? Did you do both, one more than the other, or neither?? If i get enough response I'll post the results. Thanks!

Thats a good point/idea. Maybe I can set a reminder on my phone to eat. Thanks

So let’s talk head hunger… I’ve never been the type of person to eat a lot on a normal basis (binges yes but not consistent). In fact, my biggest problem is that I often forget to eat, then I get so hungry/dizzy/irritable that I eat the WRONG thing (often sugary items which I KNOW I have to control). My question is this; once you had the sleeve and the reduction of the ghrelin hormone, did you notice that the symptoms of hunger (the dizziness/irritability/etc..) were reduced? If not what did you find was the best way to control your head hunger?

Im in the same boat you are. Im just starting out and the guilt is overwhelming. I try to keep telling myself that its better late then never though.

I found out the answer to my own question so wanted to share. The band, sleeve, and roux-en-y are all done in Anchorage AK

I know those looks all too well. I've even gotten them from my sister (who has never been more then 110lbs dripping wet!). I hate when people at the gym give those looks. It makes me feel like i shouldn't be there, which is pretty ironic.