Paris38

I have a friend who is also having surgery tomorrow around that time. Best of luck!

I'm IN!!
Heard from the Lindstroms today and Aetna approved me!!
Kelly and Walter Lindstrom were absolutely incredible. My second level appeal was nothing that I would have ever come up with!
So waiting for the surgeon to call me back, to get a date!!
Thank you to all who have helped and encouraged me the past few months after my denials. I think I would have lost hope if it wasn't for many of you.
I had a really tough year, and this is my light at the end of the tunnel.
I cannot wait!!!
Katie

When I first started posting on this forum in August 2013, I loved, and still do love, reading the stories of people who had hit certain goals. My surgery was in September 2013, and I knew the three postings that I wanted to make....the one year surgiversary post, the 100 pounds lost post (which is the exact pound that puts me into the normal BMI range), and of course, the day I reached my final goal weight.
My one year surgiversary was in September, so knocked that one out, but as of today I have lost 100 pounds and I am finally in the "normal" range on a BMI chart! In the past I have lost 80-90 pounds a few times, but never 100, and I am now 1 pound thinner than I have ever been over the age of 21. Also, 137 is the cut-off for my height between "normal" and "overweight", so technically my entire adult life I have been classified as "overweight" according to the evil BMI chart, and as of this morning, I am normal!!
Thirteen months ago I was sitting at my computer reading through all of these posts wondering if I should risk my life (surgery freaks me out) in the hope that maybe I could lose weight with a sleeve. I am now totally in the group of people that can say that the only thing I regret is that I didn't do it sooner. I have 8 pounds to my original goal and 18 pounds to 119 which was always my goal when I was younger. Fingers-crossed I will get to make my third posting sometime soon!
Thanks to everyone for all of their postings over the last year- it has been nice to not feel alone on the sleeve journey!

Okay and the nauseous and belly pain when does that stop a week

I am a patient with Dr. Eibes at Iowa Weight loss specialists and I cant begin to explain just how great of a doctor he is and I would recommend him to everyone. I started with another doctor in Des Moines and was tired of the long waits just for an appointment and the doctor just didnt seem to really care about me personally. So I transferred over to Dr. Eibes after a friend recommended him to me and they have always helped me with my crazy schedule and he always takes his time to stop and really seems to listen and care.
The insurance person would call me monthly to check up to see how I am doing with my 6 months of diets and then last week she called to say that I no longer need to work on my diets as BCBS of Iowa changed their policy and to say that she went ahead and submitted my pre auth and I was approved.
I am planning on having the sleeve surgery October 27th at Iowa Specialty Hospital in Belmond, IA. Its a small town and I was a little skeptical until I went up there and took a tour of the hospital when my friend had her surgery and the workers are fabulous. I stopped a person to ask directions to her room and the man escorted me to her room where I then found that he was the ER doctor and all their employees do that and every employee stops to say hi if they are walking by.
I am so excited to have my surgery but also a little scarred. I would love to get to know others in Iowa who are just about to have surgery also and hopefully we can go through it together and bounce experiences off of each other.

I'm so excited I'm scheduled for October 30 to have my surgery and just received a letter of approval from my insurance company! Now I just need the clearance of my cardiologist and pulmonologist which I find out the 22 so hopefully I'm good to go! Anyone just have surgery? Any advice?

Congrats! I'm over three years out, and I love the sleeved life. I've been at goal for more than two years and I'm about to wear out some jeans, instead of growing out of them!
Looking forward to your two years plus success story. I'm saving you a spot on the goalies bench. There's room for lots of us cuz we are so much smaller :-)
Lynda

grateful for my good health, being fit, not as flabby as I feared, NO celulite, thin legs, still have big boobs, I'm 10 pounds from goal, 100 lbs lost since my heaviest recorded weight, I'm active, I wore a 2 piece for the first time in almost 20 yrs this summer, almost flat belly, and the most important results... no more high blood pressure, no more border-line suger diabetes, no more shots in my back to stop chronic back pain from herniated disc, My biggest surprise other than my success of finally being successful at weightloss and how well I eat and work at staying alert on my eating habits is that after I lost alot of my hair post surgery... it came back curly!!!which I love. No REGRETS, I am happy with my choice but understand that it is a personal one... and it takes commitment. This is not a sure thing and I respect my little stomach and though... I guess I've changed on the outside I hope that I am still the same on the inside. Thank you for allowing me to brag a bit...I hope others will share their 1 + year out stories too.

So excited! Was just told today that BCBS of Iowa has indeed changed their surgery prerequisites. I will be required to have one appointment with a registered dietician, along with a documented history of weight loss attempts. I will not have to complete the 6 months worth of diet & exercise counseling. So, basically, once I have my psych eval done, all other testing completed, and the pre surgery modules required by the bariatric center completed I can have my case submitted for insurance approval. I understand, the whole process could take some time, but I am
Super excited that it's a good possibility I could be scheduled for surgery yet this year ! Keeping fingers & toes crossed!!!

Hey everyone im finally home, Got discharged around 2 today.
Feeling a little better, was sent home with anti nausea meds and pain meds.
Going to camp out in the livingroom tonight in the recliner.
Thanks for all the well wishes and prayers!

Being only 19 years old and a month post op, I realize that there are a lot of things that I will not be able to do anymore.
Take shots on my 21st birthday, drink soda, enjoy a drink with my dinner, and others. Some of my friends that know were worried for me before the surgery because of these factors. And yes these are things I will not be able to do, but everything comes with a price. In my case, all the things that I gain from this surgery completely outweigh those that I am unable to do. I now can have more confidence in myself, have a smaller chance of developing heart problems, have a smaller chance of developing diabetes, be truly healthy for the first time since I was young, I can buy smaller clothes, I can buy clothes is sizes that don't have an X next to it, I can eventually wear a bathing suit comfortably, I can finally stop the excuses of why I haven't lost the weight, I can love my body, and I can stop feeling like I am wasting my "glory years" by being overweight. These are only a few of the things that I have and will gain from this surgery, and I could not be more content. For anyone who is on the fence about this surgery, yes there are disadvantages and life changes that need to be made, but it can also give you your life back. After years, I am finally going to love everything about myself, including my body.

I figure I've lost close to one third of my excess weight, which is fine. But for the first time in many many years I feel hopeful. I'm very grateful that I was able to have this surgery. I've received some dumb feedback--like the "friend" who told me she doesn't "believe in stomach surgery," as if it were some kind of religion. Who cares what she believes in. I'm beginning to believe that I'm going to start feeling good again, as in good about myself, stronger, healthier, and at peace.