Kelsey Marie

Called Aetna this morning and.....it's been approved! I e-mailed the coordinator and the office will be reaching out to me to schedule my pre-op and surgery dates! There were so many tears of joy!

Surgery scheduled for August 27th! One week!

So today was Day 12 of waiting, I couldn't take it any longer, so I called Aetna and I spoke with the sweetest woman in the world (and yes, she would have been the sweetest regardless of the outcome). I had to wait on hold for about 5 minutes while she looked up the information, but finally she told me that I had been approved to have the surgery!
Tears started pouring. I asked her to confirm it, and she said yes again. I told her that she had just given me the best news in the world and that if I could, I would hug her.
I've reached out to my coordinator at the office and he said the scheduler will be reaching out to me soon to schedule my Pre-Op and Surgery. It's all happening!

Surgery scheduled for August 27th! One week!

@@Kelsey Marie Ok you convinced me to call! My paperwork was submitted on Monday(8/17/15). Maybe mine is just sitting there too, I guess you don't know unless you try

So today was Day 12 of waiting, I couldn't take it any longer, so I called Aetna and I spoke with the sweetest woman in the world (and yes, she would have been the sweetest regardless of the outcome). I had to wait on hold for about 5 minutes while she looked up the information, but finally she told me that I had been approved to have the surgery!
Tears started pouring. I asked her to confirm it, and she said yes again. I told her that she had just given me the best news in the world and that if I could, I would hug her.
I've reached out to my coordinator at the office and he said the scheduler will be reaching out to me soon to schedule my Pre-Op and Surgery. It's all happening!

@@Kelsey Marie Congratulations! That's great news!!
@@Doubletruble#2 I hope it goes smoothly for you! I have Aetna insurance as well and the insurance coordinator at my clinic said they're one of the better ones they work with. The coordinator submitted my paperwork on a Tuesday and the approval came through two days later on Thursday. He said it was a record for them.

Congrats! Isn't that the best feeling? I didn't call because I was at work, but I like Aetna's chat feature through the Aetna Navigator portal. That's one way I found out! I found it easier than calling.

@@Doubletruble#2 My advice would be once everything is submitted is call them daily! All of my stuff was submitted on the 4th, and people told me to call, but I was too scared. When I called today, she told me that it had been approved on the 6th, the paperwork just hasn't made it's way out yet. So call!

So today was Day 12 of waiting, I couldn't take it any longer, so I called Aetna and I spoke with the sweetest woman in the world (and yes, she would have been the sweetest regardless of the outcome). I had to wait on hold for about 5 minutes while she looked up the information, but finally she told me that I had been approved to have the surgery!
Tears started pouring. I asked her to confirm it, and she said yes again. I told her that she had just given me the best news in the world and that if I could, I would hug her.
I've reached out to my coordinator at the office and he said the scheduler will be reaching out to me soon to schedule my Pre-Op and Surgery. It's all happening!

@@Doubletruble#2 My advice would be once everything is submitted is call them daily! All of my stuff was submitted on the 4th, and people told me to call, but I was too scared. When I called today, she told me that it had been approved on the 6th, the paperwork just hasn't made it's way out yet. So call!

I'm so happy for you. I know I will definitely cry also when I get my approval. I have Aetna also and hope everything goes smoothly. I wish you the best of luck, God bless.

Called Aetna this morning and.....it's been approved! I e-mailed the coordinator and the office will be reaching out to me to schedule my pre-op and surgery dates! There were so many tears of joy!

So today was Day 12 of waiting, I couldn't take it any longer, so I called Aetna and I spoke with the sweetest woman in the world (and yes, she would have been the sweetest regardless of the outcome). I had to wait on hold for about 5 minutes while she looked up the information, but finally she told me that I had been approved to have the surgery!
Tears started pouring. I asked her to confirm it, and she said yes again. I told her that she had just given me the best news in the world and that if I could, I would hug her.
I've reached out to my coordinator at the office and he said the scheduler will be reaching out to me soon to schedule my Pre-Op and Surgery. It's all happening!

Called Aetna this morning and.....it's been approved! I e-mailed the coordinator and the office will be reaching out to me to schedule my pre-op and surgery dates! There were so many tears of joy!

@@Eclectick I went through a very similar situation, only we never gave up sex during any of it, which I think made it worse. Shortly after I had my first consultation with my weight loss surgeon, I found a book called "Oola:Find Balance in an Unbalanced World." It's all about the 7 F's of Oola: Family, Faith, Friends, Field, Fitness, Finance, and Fun. When I was reading the part about Friends (and kind of Family since I considered him Family), it talks about what a real friend does, and how a real friend makes you feel. I can only speak for my case, but in my case, I let him go. For me, the thing that made me realize that it was a toxic relationship was when he said he was going to buy me the Princess Leia slave costume after my surgery. I had been thinking all these different things up until that point about him being a good friend vs. bad friend, and that comment released 3 years of emotions.
It's not fair to you for him to not want to make anything official, no matter the weight. And if that's not the case, then what he's doing to you just isn't fair to you mentally. You deserve the best of the best, no matter what your weight is.

All of my stuff was submitted on Tuesday, so I'm in my waiting period now!

Hi! Congratulations on taking the first steps to getting healthy!
A couple of tips I would suggest probably of which you have already heard but will help you build very good habits you will need down the road.
Start by focusing on 1 or 2 habits at a time. Don't try to change everything at once. If losing soda is one of them and you really must lose that one, replace it with Water or sf drinks like iced tea or crystal light. Make sure you are drinking all day long. A minimum of 64 oz. this will help prepare you for what you will need to do after surgery to stay hydrated. I am not kidding about this one, it is the number one thing you will focus on coming straight out of the operating room. Oh by the way, many times when we think we are hungry it is our brains telling us we are dehydrated. When you feel hungry drink Water.
Secondly I would try to start eating more Proteins and less bad carbs. Leverage the good ones like vegetables and fruit. Protein is more dense and will both fill you up faster and keep you full longer.
If you are really up for some significant change to get your hunger under control, you could even try leveraging the pre op diet now for a week or two just to reset your system. Your doctors office could share that diet with you. It basically gets rid of the sugar your body craves, shrinks your liver and will even shrink your stomach some. Then you could start back on normal Proteins and good carbs and lots of fluids. Yes, you will be hungry for the first few days but I promise it does get better and you will likely have to do that a couple weeks before your surgery anyway. If you choose to do this, the best thing you could do is stay away from sugar and bad carbs because it really sets you up for success down the road.
To answer the question about hunger, yes for a period of time actual hunger does go away post surgery. The problem is, you still fight head hunger. Head hunger is a real issue that every one of us have had to learn how to recognize. It is that automatic response when you feel hungry but your actually not. I fight mine by first drinking water which does the trick almost every time. If that doesn't work I go do something to disrupt my brain. After a few minutes that feeling goes away.
Post surgery your tummy will actually get full on very little food and your real hunger will likely be gone for the first 6 months or so. In fact, you may forget to eat or gave to set a timer to tell yourself it is time to have a little Protein and good carbs.
I promise this will all make sense to you but the best thing you can do for yourself is take one or two habits at a time. The ones you have chosen are good ones. Leverage sf fluids to help you and start eating some good quality proteins and good carbs to curb your appetite.
A few more good habits to focus on when you are ready to add a new one: while eating try getting rid of distractions so you can pay attention to when you are really full. This means eat at the table with no tv, iPad etc. Eat very slowly so your brain has time to catch up with your stomach. Chew your food a lot. All of these will both help your hunger and build good eating habits.
Good luck on your journey! I wish you all the best.
Oh, and to answer your question about does everyone know this feeling of being hungry the answer is YES! We have all lived it and have had to learn different habits. The surgery is a great tool that really helps you feel full faster. It is up to you to work on making sure what you put onto your new stomach keeps you full longer. If you put the same sugar and carbs in as before surgery, you will get hungrier faster and end up eating around your surgery.
You are definately doing a great job of recognizing that already! Keep up the great work! I know you can do this. Just keep asking yourself am I really hungry? Or should I be drinking more fluids or focused on something else.

I'm not in a relationship (thankfully) but I am losing my best friend. She has turned into a painfully polite person at work, but doesn't talk to me like she once did. She had the bypass a decade ago but gained back a lot of weight. She has been working out for the past year and has lost a bit, but when she found out I was going for the surgery she has since started distancing herself from me. It was hurtful at first but now I feel like she was not a real friend in the first place. Hindsight is 20/20 and now I see that there were problems in the friendship that I glossed over because she was my BFF. After the surgery, my life is going to change, and how I pick my friends is also going to change.

@chellede. Couldn't agree more. Many folks have commented and sounds like you had a rocky relationship or stressed one already and this was just a catalyst for change.
I am very lucky that my hubby is completely supportive and on board.
He loves me today and 62 pounds heavier too.
Not jealous now or then.
Together for 25 years just last week and 21 of those married.

@pinkbunies. For me jealousy is not a turn on. That person has a problem with himself/ herself and projects on the other person. My X husband was irrationally jealous and we are now divorced. He made my life miserable by accusing me of being involved with everyone; the attendant at the laundromat, the person remodeling the kitchen, the person looking into our car from their car. It's not caring, it's control and insecurity. I would find myself in the middle of a huge argument defending myself about not being involved with these strangers. Crazy! And no, this man never had any reason to believe I was ever, in anyway, unfaithful in our marriage. There was a 12 year age difference and I believe that may of been the basis for a lot of his issues. That and he was cheated on in the previous relationship. Either way it was his issues. I was not flattered in any way. I was sad and angry. Just my two cents.

I recently went to a weightloss seminar and they said divorce rates are high after WLS. Something to do with the person having more confidence. But I personally don't think that's it. I've noticed that a lot of obese people will settle on partners that they know isn't right for them, just for the sake of having someone. It's not until they lose weight that they realize they can do better.

Hey now don't put 'everyone' in the same category, I like "cute fat boys" just fine

I had the worst time losing weight during my 3 month weight management program which was at the same time as my final grad school semester. I gained 4lbs the second month and ended with a net loss of only 1lb by end of the program. Aetna approved me as my doctor said a loss is a loss.

Hello my name is Erika I had my surgery on the 9th almost two weeks ago, I lost 21 pounds already, feel healthier, shakes took me awhile to get use to but now I love them never think about soda or junk food anymore.
I meant Protein Shakes