Spicy06

I have a $350 program fee which covers nutritionist visits, personal trainer visits, and support group meetings. My OOP for my insurance is $1,750.00. I had to pay some out of pocket for the EGD and lab work. In the end I will end up spending a little over $2000.00. But can you really put a price on your health?

I will not miss wearing jeans or capris in the summer to cover my fat thighs, I will not miss always wearing a vest because I am self conscious, I will not miss double chins, DDD boobs, back, knee, and hip pain. I will not miss feeling self conscious being on top during dirty fun time I will not miss having to take 10 different pictures at different angles to hide my fat. I will not miss being a hermit because I am horrified that I may run into someone I used to know when I was smaller. I will not miss having to make up excuses as to why I cannot go for a hike with my boyfriend. I will not miss being unhealthy!!!

Some people have said they are awake and have to swallow a scope (they give you something to take to numb your throat) but I fell asleep. They gave me something to relax me and I was out like a light. I never had a sore throat and I even went to work after the procedure. I had no issues. Don't be nervous!

I think part of it is because we (people who over eat or emotionally eat) have a relationship with our food. When you are sad it comforts you, when you are depressed it makes you feel full and whole, when you are happy you want to celebrate with it. It does not judge you and because of these things we become addicted to it. The best thing I have ever heard someone say was "You are not a dog, do not reward yourself with food." It really resonated with me. I think food addiction is very real. When you are sitting around and all you can think about is what you are going to eat later. When the best day of the week is the day you go grocery shopping because you get to go look at food, you know there is an issue. That is why I am so excited about getting this surgery. It will be nice to eat to live instead of living to eat!

LMAO!! This is awesome

I am hoping for the end of February or March! I go to get my surgery date on February 3rd. We will see! I am so excited. I am not nervous like a lot of people are, but that may change as the date gets closer.

My best friend got the sleeve a year ago in March. She has lost 111 lbs and I couldn't be happier and jealous of her! LOL. But she is my inspiration and my motivation. I can't imagine not being there to support her. I know I will have her right there with me to support me. I am sorry that these women talked about you like that, You should be able to celebrate losing 100lbs!! That is amazing! Personally I would have opened the door to my house and invited them to all leave along with anyone else that was not there to support me.

I chose to do the sleeve because the idea of re-routing my insides didn't sound right. I figure God put them that way for a reason, probably not my place to change them around. I also watched my friend get the sleeve and how it helped her lose weight. I have heard too many stories about the bypass and I knew it wasn't for me.

I am getting my surgery date on 2/3 I am so anxious! It cannot get here soon enough!

This is one of the things I look forward to when I loose weight. No longer being terrified to run into people I used to go to school with. Not wanting to go out for drinks on the weekend because someone I know may be there.

I am really sorry. That is sad. You deserve a friend who is happy for you no matter if she decides to do the surgery or not. I am very lucky, my best friend of 15 years got the surgery last March and she is the one that inspired me to do it. I watched her hard work pay off and yes at times, I was totally jealous of her weight loss I was also so happy and proud of her. I really hope your friend gets out of her own way and helps support you.

I am blown away by some of the things people are saying on here. Being called fat is rude. I don't care if you were fat, there are other ways to address that issue. I think that is you are worried about someone's health whether it's because of their weight or other issues then you set that person down privately and you have a conversation with them. As for having good honest friends, I want my friends to be honest with me. If I ask my friend "Does my butt look big in these pants?" I expect them to respond and tell me "No your ass is fat, it has nothing to do with the pants." If I don't ask you, keep your opinions to yourself. That is not honestly, your being a ****** bag. Oh and @ladylipstick may be nice by not singling people out, but I will call you an ass. If you are trying to drill into people's heads that they need to acknowledge they were fat and never forget it, you are not being helpful, or constructive, or supportive you are in fact being a giant ass. Trust me not one of us will ever forget that we were overweight. We do not need people standing by the side lines yelling "Don't forget you were fat once upon a time!!!" That just makes you a bully. So go back to your other boards I am cool with that. For anyone that posts on these forums- If you are not here to make this a helpful, safe, and supportive place, so find some where else to be.

I just got my insurance approval but I will not get my date until 2/3.... So anxious!

I was really worried about telling people as well. My best friend had the surgery about 9 months ago and I was so inspired by her hard work I decided to do it as well. It is something I had thought about for years but I always talked myself out of it. I told my boyfriend and he was so supportive. He didn't talk me into it and he did not talk me out of it. He told me that whatever I decided he would support me. I recently told my sister and was relieved to find out that she was very supportive of my decision. She has even decided to become my gym buddy after the surgery. I will tell people that are on the fence to start the process. You can always back out if you decide it is not right for you. I really feel sorry for everyone that is not getting support from their loved ones. I can understand the hesitation and the concern for their loved ones safety but I do not understand significant others that are refusing to support their partners or even be there for the surgery. Hopefully everyone has someone they can talk to.

I am hoping for a January or February date! My information is being sent to my insurance for approval this week! I still have 1 nutritionist appt left and I need to meet with our trainer. I have had issues with my doctor getting results from other offices so I feel the need to keep on top of everyone. I hope I am not annoying them, but I started this whole process back in June and I am so ready!!

Thanks for posting! I had started to wonder about this too!!!

The test has about 570 question. They are all yes, no, multiple choice questions. They are just trying to make sure that you are stable. They need to know you are not depressed and thinking about suicide. I have anxiety and am on medication for it, so clearly that is not a issues. It is the levels. Half my appt was filling out the test the other half was sitting with the psychiatrist and talking about my home life, decisions I made in life, they are really just trying to make sure you are mentally in a good place. There is really nothing to be nervous about. The guy that I spoke with said he has never denied anyone. He said he has had questions and even recommendations, but never denied them. My appointment was about an hour- hour and a half.

When I went to my seminar they gave us information about the sleeve, the bypass, and lap band. I too do not like the idea of my organs being rerouted. I figure God put them that way for a reason, far be it from me to change what he did. I like the idea of the sleeve because it reduces my stomach size, but leaves the rest of my insides alone. The thing I liked about the seminar was it gave you all the information and allowed you to choose. Do the research and find out which one is best for you. Then find a doctor who will do it. Where I am going they have two different providers. One is an expert in Lap Band and Bypass, the other is an expert at the sleeve. I went to both of them, go the information on both and chose the sleeve.

I have started my process this month. I have had my psych evaluation and I have seen the nutritionist once. I have my second appointment with her in November and I am going to my support group meetings this month and the next. I got my EGD done yesterday so I am ready to do this!!!! To say that I am excited/anxious is an understatement. I think my surgery will be in January!

I am in the same boat as you. It took me a while to get all of my appointments booked, but it looks like it will end up being December or January. I think January would be best because it gets us past the holidays and the temptation to chow down and drink!

I am actually starting out this month. I have been to my initial visit, now in October I will have my psyc evaluation, my EGD, my first nutritionist visit, and 2 of my 3 support group meetings. I am hoping that by December or January I will have my date.

That is so exciting!! Congratulations on the weight loss!

I still have to go through the support group meetings, psyc eval, and the nutritionist appointments. I have only told 3-4 people and I will not tell anyone else. I have the support of the people who mean the most to me and that is all that matters. You will do wonderful! I am excited for me and for you!!

Something that my best friend encountered when she had her surgery was people giving her a hard time about the surgery. She did not tell a lot of people but apparently some of the people she did tell, talked to other people and quickly it got out. She did not want people to know about her surgery. Not because she was embarrassed by it, but because people who have never done it do not realize how much work it is. Yes there is an advantage because you have built in portion control. But there are so many emotional, physical, and mental side effects that can be very tough. In the first seminar you go to they will tell you, don't tell a lot of people about the surgery. They will tell you it is the easy way out, not because they are trying to be mean (usually) but because they don't understand. You do not owe anyone an explanation. It is your body and your decision. Do not let anyone try to tell you what you can and cannot do. Your future and your health belongs to you. Take charge and make these decisions yourself.

I have struggled with my weight since I was 22. I had always thought I was over weight, looking back I wish I could smack my younger self... I has healthy and beautiful and had no idea. I am not a self loathing person. I do not look in the mirror and hate myself. I look in the mirror and realize I am slowly killing myself by the weight I have put on over the years. I feel tired most of the time, I have back, hip, and knee problems because of my weight. I am 5'6 and 270lbs which my body was not built for. This is the heaviest I have ever been. My weight has always fluctuated...I lose weight, keep it off for a while, then it comes right back on, usually bringing extra friend pounds with it. Anyone else who has experienced this, knows how depressing this can be. It has gotten to the point that I not longer care to work out, I don't really want to do anything, I have become lazy and sedentary. My boyfriend is an outdoor person who loves to hike and fish and move around and I want to do those things with him but I have a really hard time keeping up which makes me feel crappy. I had looked into gastric bypass surgery a long time ago, but the side effects were not worth it to me. Then my best friend had the gastric sleeve and told me how much better it was. She had her surgery in March and I have waited to see how she reacted to the surgery, how her body handled it, what she went through, her struggles and her successes. She has lost 90lbs since March, looks amazing, is happier, healthier, and more active. So I sat down with her and talked about the process she went through and all the steps that she had to do. I contacted the same doctor and have already met with him, set up my support group meetings, set up my dietician appointment, and will be calling to schedule my psych evaluation. I am so excited and anxious to get this ball rolling. I am ready for a new healthy life. I am ready to learn how to eat to live and not live to eat. I am excited about how this will effect my energy levels, how I can lose enough weight that I will no longer have chronic back, hips, and knee pain. I am also excited about how I will look. Anyone who says looking better is not part of why they want to do it is lying! LOL. It should never be your main reason and you should never do it for someone else. My boyfriend did not encourage or talk me out of it when I was making my decision. He told me he would support me either way but would not sway my decision. Now that I have decided to go through with the process he is with me every step of the way. He will be going to support meetings, appointments, and anything else I need.