amymina

This website is so refreshing! We have armpits disappearing and "jina's" reappearing!! It's like a WL magic show in here today!

I personally do not smoke, but my surgeon will not operate on anyone that smokes, he does a nicotine test, and if u do not pass it, he will cancel your surgery. He is not trying to be cruel, but it can be a problem if you still smoke with healing after the surgery especially.

I smoked 5 packs a week until a week ago. It is a requirement with my surgeon. I got Patches and a Nicotrol inhaler to help, but I haven't used any of the patches and I hardly use the Nicotrol. It's not easy. Being on the phone and driving are the hardest for me, but today is Day 8 for me as a non-smoker. The whole idea of having WLS was to be healthier, so quitting seemed like a natural step in the process. I have only gained a pound. I gave myself a little leeway on the food this past week. My surgeon said since I'm pre-op AND quitting smoking, he'd just be happy if I didn't gain weight, but I'm still down a few pounds with about 80-90 days before surgery. I have already set up a weekly automatic withdrawal from my checking into savings that equals what I spent on cigarettes. That extra $$$ will add up quickly and I'm really stoked about it! Find a motivation that will keep you inspired, consider nicotine replacement, and good luck to you. You can do it!

Alot of insurance companies up front will tell you what you need, so it is something that you could always call and ask them. Before I even went to the first open seminar, I called to confirmed that it was covered and see some of the steps that had to be done.

I can imagine how you feel, I had to wait three weeks for the information session, and now have to wait another month for my initial consultation and I feel like it is taking forever!! I still have to see the counselor, nutritionist, have an EGD done and get approved by the insurance company. Keep your head up, get in a support group and surround yourself with people who support you, find something that makes you excited about it again!! You have come so far, don't give up now!!

I am just starting the process of getting approved and having the surgery done, but I can tell you that I talk with people day in and out as part of my job that have had this surgery done or are planning to as part of my job as a RN. I recently talked with someone who was doing this with a friend and backed out because she didn't feel ready to do it and wanted to try is again on her own. This is something you need to be sure you want to do, you need to be at the end of your rope, and know that you don't to end up as a statistic down the road. If you need to take pause and weight a few months or a year until you are comfortable and sure it is what you want to do, that is better than going through with it before you are ready. But I can tell you that almost every person that I talked to that has had the surgery said that they wished that they would have done it sooner.