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I'd love to know about people's insurance coverage and out of pocket expenses for the sleeve procedure. I'm not sure what to expect ..... :s

I haven't seen any blogs or vlogs yet of people who have had bariatric surgery who don't have excess skin by the time they reach their goal weight.
It must be quite uncomfortable for you.
I like shopping at Harris Scarfe, Rivers and Best and Less. All are cheap, have decent quality and not made for tiny girls with skimpy taste. Good luck x

@@wombatski Congratulations! It must feel good to be 'done' but I'm so sorry you are feeling unwell. It's been a few days now and I hope you are on the mend and your husband is being a good carer for you. All the best x

Hi @@MzGee thanks such for your reply.
Everywhere I go for PCOS info the focus is on fertility and pregnancy, and I feel mean but I feel like saying "enough! There are other forums out there for this!".
PCOS is such a complicated health issues (Dr's don't even fully understand yet) and each individual has a variety of different symptoms present in varied degrees.
I'm so glad to hear your hair is growing back in. Was your bald spot from losing hair before or after surgery?
At the moment I take Biotin daily and use a biotin special Shampoo and conditioner.
I also take a whole host of other pills and supplements but it doesn't seem to help me much.
I just do want to be bald AND have facial stubble .... Is that too much for a young woman to ask? Haha
At least I could probably join the circus xx

Congratulations! So jealous!
What do you guys mean by ton?

OMG @@chez ,,,,,,,,,,I will have to see it,,bet it looks gorgeous!!!!
I am thinking about getting the side shaved and leaving all the rest long
Freaking out thinking about it but it looks soooo cool I LOVE that look.
Growing it back will be a Biatch tho
If it's a hiatus hernia I am fairly sure they will fix that during surgery, at least that is what my surgeon said he would do if he found one.....don't stress all will be ok.
Ok so this is a little off topic and I am sweating just writing about this but, last year I went for an ultrasound and xray on my knee to see why it was swelling and they found a tumor in the bone (unrelated to swelling), which, thank you God, turned out to be benign.
I had to have mri, ct and then finally a bone biopsy which was very unpleasant but worth it to find out I was ok.
I have to have it monitored every year for 3 years to make sure it hasn't grown or changed, and have recently been for an mri and ct to compare to last years.
More common that we know, apparently. People may have them but until they go for an xray or scan for something else, they don't find them till then.
Hopefully mine is that one and not the one that has recently come on and is still growing
So I have been waiting for ages as I got it done at a different hospital and they did a report but didn't compare it to last years so I had to go back and take all the films again and am still waiting for the results.
The first results I got back I don't think it has grown much so hopefully the results will be ok.
I know deep down that they will be but there is always that horrible voice in the back of your mind saying PANIC!!!!!
I want to slap that voice in the face.
Anyway I just felt like I needed to talk about it as I thought writing it down may help with my anxt with waiting for the results.
I think what has made this all so much worse is I didn't go to see my regular doctor as I couldn't get in, so when they got the results back from my ultrasound they called me that day (on hubbys birthday) and told me that I needed to see them straight away....when I went into her room she told me to sit down, put a box of tissues in front of me and said....these tests have come back looking like you have something sinister....you have a tumor and it looks like it could be cancer.
My regular doctor whom I went hysterical to the next day told me that she should never have said that and that a lot of the time these tumors are benign but still once you have been told that by a Dr you tend to lose the plot.
Anyway I am trying to be positive, but I just want to know that its all ok and I want to tests back and results to be positive so I can relax about it all for another year.

Hi ladies, I'm about 10 weeks away from being sleeved.
I have had PCOS for over a decade, at this stage I have a pretty terrible problem with facial hair and I am also balding. I'm really worried about the additional Hair loss post op.
While I'm hoping to have children in the next few years my main area of interest/concern is with excess unwanted body hair and scalp hair loss.
Has any other PCOS sleever got a success story to keep my spirits up?

It's called a hiatus hernia. It's as I explained before about the opening of the stomach to the esophagus... They ask about the reflux as it us a symptom of a hiatus hernia. If you suffer reflux it indicates to your surgeon that while he's exploring your innards, he should check it out and see if he can tighten it up. Most surgeons will do that as well as inspect your gall bladder and remove it if needed.
Don't be concerned about guarding information from your surgeon in case it may delay surgery. Your surgery going forward and being successful is in their best interest.

It's called trichotillomania and I am not in the position to diagnose people but my guess would be that before surgery you would have been living with an underlying anxiety or stress issue. Maybe your mode of coping mechanism was eating, cooking or planning meals previous to surgery? Now that you are unable to use that coping mechanism, you are pulling hair... That's OK and well done to you for picking up on it.
People develop very sophisticated means of directing their attention energy into tasks, chores, hobbies etc and can quite successfully 'cope' through this. Meaning that they can continue to live quite happily.... but if the coping mechanisms are noticeable to others or you are prioritizing carrying out the behavior without the ability to anticipate negative impacts on yourself, others or your lifestyle; drugs, alcohol, obsessive behavior like shopping, eating, gambling or even self harm etc ... Then the means of coping has become toxic to you, not helpful at all.
We all carry 'baggage' and most people aren't aware... Just look into some cognitive brain therapy, counselling or whatever form of help you feel most comfortable with.
Above all, remember that you are human and humans are strange, complex and amazing animals . . . we all need a bit of help figuring out what is really up with us. Xx

My surgeon also asked me about reflux. He explained that when they go in to do the surgery he will check my gall bladder (won't stop him doing the surgery, it's just a courtesy) and also check the opening of the stomach to osephagus. If this is lose, it can be the cause of frequent indigestion/reflux and also as a courtesy he'll tighten it up if required.

I also wanted to share some info.
I know a lot of people (if not all!?) Talk about addressing your underlying relationship with food, that just because there is a physical restriction in place, it does not mean that you have had a personality or habit transplant.
The Swinburne Psychology department run a 3 months program (10 sessions then some over the phone follow up) called the Mindful Moderate Eating Group. I attended one session but due to a personal issue I had to defer until Jan 2015.
The group is small 6-8 people and 3 PhD psych students. They encourage discussion and exploration of our thoughts, patterns, habits and relationships with food. They use cognitive brain therapy, self awareness, guided meditation and food journaling. It may not be everyone's cup of tea, but if you have an open mind I'm sure it could be very complementary to surgery.
The waiting list us quite long and it costs about $400 but if there is anyone out there who is waiting around for their insurance to clear 12 months and wants to be proactive with their time, give it a go.