lasmith0802

I have only told my husband my mom and a few close friends. I told my dad (whom I am very close with) but he just couldn't understand why I would do that to myself, after all if I just eat a little less and exercise a little more(his words). Then to top it all off he asked if I had told my grandparents!? Who are extremely judgmental! I decided right then and there I wasn't telling one more person. Don't get me wrong I love my dad and grandparents very much they just happen to be very judgey people. So I waited a few months to call and tell my Dad I didn't qualify after all. To which he replied "see I told you." Now I am on my 5th weight in out of 6 and looking to have surgery in late June beginning of July. It helps that my dad and grandparents live out of state, so I just keep talking about how much I have been working out. Maybe one day I'll tell them... Maybe not[emoji6]

I was sleeved December 2nd my starting weight was 333, SW 299 and CW is 220. I'm 5'11" and 34yrs old. Good luck with your journey!

I am 5 days out, have lost 22 lbs, and have only told my wife, and my two assistants, who would take it to the grave, I too started laying the ground work with my friends a month age, saying the time had come to get healthy. I went to florida for the weekend before the surgery, but told everybody I was there a whole week. I also returned from vacation with a terrible case of food poisoning,( not really ) and had to miss my bf 60th two days after surgery, where my wife made it a point to tell everyone how sick I was. I always joke that a stomach virus is the best way to kick off a diet. I plan on keeping this up as long as I can, and no one needs to know! My 17yr old daughter did not even realize I was at the hospital for two days, haha!

The following is simply my opinion...
At 12 days out, you can't cheat with the post op 'diet'..
At 12 days out, you're not on a weight loss diet...
At 12 days out, you're on a post-surgery, what's best for your healing innards 'diet'..
At 12 days out, what you're doing is going against a medically 'prescribed' eating plan that is given to you to assist with the quicker healing and recovery from what is major surgery, and should see you thru until you're able to start eating regular food again...
So (again, in my opinion), at 12 days out, what you're doing is CHOOSING to ignore the doctor's orders and eat something that, while calorically won't make a scrap of difference long term, could (repeat, COULD, not will) have a massive effect on the time it takes to heal properly...
Of course, I'm no doctor...
I'm just some guy who has an opinion on stuff...
And yes, I know EXACTLY how difficult this stuff is...
But believe me, the rewards are so worth the inconvenience...
Good luck with your choices in the next few weeks...

@@lasmith0802 Thank You! I am enjoying sharing it. Therapeutic somehow. I will keep sharing!

I have only told my husband my mom and a few close friends. I told my dad (whom I am very close with) but he just couldn't understand why I would do that to myself, after all if I just eat a little less and exercise a little more(his words). Then to top it all off he asked if I had told my grandparents!? Who are extremely judgmental! I decided right then and there I wasn't telling one more person. Don't get me wrong I love my dad and grandparents very much they just happen to be very judgey people. So I waited a few months to call and tell my Dad I didn't qualify after all. To which he replied "see I told you." Now I am on my 5th weight in out of 6 and looking to have surgery in late June beginning of July. It helps that my dad and grandparents live out of state, so I just keep talking about how much I have been working out. Maybe one day I'll tell them... Maybe not[emoji6]

I called insurance today and I was APPROVED!

February 8, 2016: I attended the Elmhurst Hospital free bariatric seminar. This is where the surgeons, bariatric Dr and nutritionists talk about what to expect before, during and after the surgical process. It was clear that this group greatly preferred the sleeve and the RNY bypass. In their opinions, the band just doesn't work. I'm sure others on this board would disagree but they said that failure in the long term was the norm rather than the exception. They explained the available support groups and the topics they covered. They discussed potential complications, the success rates, what the procedures entail and the pre and post op diets. Honestly, I already knew everything they covered from obsessively reading right here on bariatric pal.
I asked questions, introduced myself to the surgeons, bariatric dr. and nuts and left feeling very good about their competency and the prospects for being successful. Oh my God, I may actually succeed in losing 150 plus lbs.!
February 16, 2016: My first appointment with my bariatric surgeon. I learned very little here but this is where we got to know each other a bit better and he explained the process I have to follow. I learned about visiting the bariatric dr (who acts as a kinf of coordinator), the psych, the nuts, cardioliology, pulmonology, etc. It felt overwhelming because I knew making and keeping all those appts. was going to be a big challenge. I also learned that the two surgeons at the seminar always do surgery together. I liked that because I was really unsure if I had picked the right one of the two, though both seem excellent.
This is also the appointment where I filled out massive health history forms and talked a bit about my weight history and struggles with losing.
February 18: Visited my PCP to get his blessing. He gave it. He also gave me an ekg and referred me to cardiology for clearances and did some basic bloodwork. I was afraid he would not approve, and he was hesitant but he came through with the support.
February 25: Visited my pulmonologist. Easiest appointment yet. He listened to my heart and lungs and reviewed my CPAP record. All looked good and he signed off on surgery. He seemed very pleased that I was doing it and suggested that my sleep apnea would improve immensely.
February 29: Visit with the bariatric dr. This guy does not do surgery but is kind of the "glue" that holds everything together in the practice. It was an hour and a half appt.! We covered nutrition counseling, weight history, basic psych profile and he asked tons of questions to determine if I was ready for this big step. When I left, I made an appt. to see him again as he required.
February 29: Killed two birds with one stone and saw new cardiologist today. He checked the swelling in my legs, listened to my heart and lungs and ordered both a nuclear stress test and an echocardiogram. The nuclear is a two day test and the echo a siple sonogram of the heart.
March 2: Appointment with Nutritionist. This seemed like a waste of time to me. She covered the same things that the bariatric dr. covered. But she did give me a "big book of bariatric surgery" that covered all the steps leading up to and immediately after the surgery. She covered how I would eat for the rest of my life and covered the basic stages of Bariatric Eating. I already know most of this stuff from Bariatric Pal. She had me make some excercise and eating commitments.
March 8: First half of my nuclear stress test. I couldn't eat or drink any coffee. They had me walk on a treadmill and injected me with something that made my heart race and made me out of breath. This simulated exercise in lieu of traditional running on a treadmill, which I can not do because of my obesity and bad knees. I was injected with a nuclear dye then I laid on a table and was scanned with a machine kind of like a Cat Scan. This first part of the test images the heart under stress. The next part, two days from now will image the heart at rest and they compare the two to determine heart health.
More later

Hello everyone! I thought it would be helpful to have a detailed account of my experiences from first pre-op meeting through surgery (have a date but have not yet been sleeved) and perhaps beyond. These are my experiences which I think are fairly typical though yours may differ. Much of this same information is available here on bariatric pal but may take a bit more digging than I hope to lay it out here. So, let's begin.
May of 2012: I began to seriously consider bariatric surgery and began hunting around for information and resources. It was then that I found Bariatric Pal. I thought my mind was made up about getting the lap band but after reading numerous posts here, I also began to consider gastric sleeve. The band seemed simplest and safest to me. After reading many, many posts here, I learned that that was not only untrue but that the band simply didn't work for most people.
June of 2013: I finally got up the courage to see a surgeon about the surgery. After seeing him I was sold on the sleeve. It has a great long term success rate of an acerage of 60-70% (depending on the study) excess weight lost for five years or more. He highly discouraged the band and simply said it just doesn't have the success rate and he is not recommending them.
August of 2013: I learned that my insurance at the time would not cover the sleeve, band or any other bariatric surgeries or weight loss programs. I was very upset but renewed my determination to lose weight "on my own". I did. I went from 385 lbs down to 305 and felt like a million bucks. I was absolutely positive I would shrink all the way down to my then goal weight of 225. Hah.
Mid 2014: I ballooned back up to about 365/370 and began experiencing extreme knee pain, occasional chest pain, increased sleep apnea and rising blood pressure. My quality of life sucked.
December 2014: I had a total right knee replacement. It was horrible. My weight prevented from attending the inpatient rehab clinics that I wanted to attend which had weight restrictions. I wound up in what was essentially an "old folks" convalescent home that made me feel old and invalid. I was ashamed to be there.
February 2015: I severely injured my replaced knee while leaving physical therapy. I tore my hamstring and the tendon which attaches to the knee cap. It sucked and I know it was largely due to my weight. The injury still has not healed properly and I continue to feel very handicapped and I am only 48. I can not run at all and standing and walking long distances is out. I again renewed my efforts to lose weight. I went from about 375 to 345 by May and was feeling pretty good.
May 2015: I learned I had a diaphragmatic hernia which is like a hiatal hernia but not as close to the esophagus. I had it repaired, which went well but developed an incisional hernia at the site of the laproscopic repair. My efforts at losing weight again turned around. It was at this time that I renewed my intention to get bariatric surgery. I came back to bariatric pal and researched Mexico.
July 2015: I was just about set to go to Mexico. I did a skype consultation with Dr Altamirano in TJ and joined his FB group. I began putting the money aside in hopes of going in Mexico for surgery in December. I had strong reservations about Mexico at first but got over it after much reading on here, the consultation and the FB group. Still, I worried about follow up care if there were complications. I had new insurance at work but it still did not cover bariatric surgery.
November 2015: I learned from some folks on here that they bought an insurance plan off the Obamacare insurance exchange and used it to cover their surgery right here in the U.S. Some of them even had it as a secondary insurance policy and it worked. My interest was piqued and I began exploring the exchange for an affordable policy that covered bariatric surgery. Some of the others I referred to had success with BC/BS of Illinois and I learned that Illinois requires companies participating in the exchange to cover bariatric surgery. Since I live in Illinois, this was great news! I found a policy that covered the surgery at 100% after a deductible of $3500. Steep but doable. The premium is $398 per month.
January 2016: Now we're getting to the meat of the potato. I bought the plan off the exchange, receiving no discount, and it took effect on Feb 1st of 2016. It was the BC/BS IL PPO Silver Plan. Pretty good coverage after deductible.
February 2016: I called the insurance company to verify benefits, and they were confirmed. I learned that they did not require a six month diet, or many of the other things that many insurance companies require. They simply said the require a "letter of pre-determination". I also learned that they do not cover the hospital or the surgeon that I initially consulted with. I researched their website and found out that Elmhurst Hospital, and their surgeons were covered. Hallelujah, I live in Elmhurst!
I will pick up here later with details of my visits so far!

I'm not sure when making the personal decision to not tell the world all of your personal business became a "half truth" or "lie by omission" but if that's the case, I have a few scenerios/questions for those of you who think that way.
By that logic:

If someone asks me how me and husband are the day after a huge fight (or a night of great sex), is it my duty to tell them all the details or is my standard answer of "Great!" or "Fine!" now a lie?

If someone asks me why I look tired, do I have to tell them that my husband snored and farted all night/was extremely frisky/kept getting up to pee and woke me up a gazillion times or am I lying?

I am just getting over a horrible tummy bug. When people ask me if I'm feeling better, should I go ahead and tell them that I am terribly afraid that I am going to poop in my pants at any minute because my stomach still feels off? If I don't, I am TOTALLY lying by omission.

Well meaning friends often ask how my kids are doing in school. Should I tell them that my oldest is in the top ten in her class, got into a top rated university, has received an a$$ load of scholarships but that her ex-boyfriend is being a real bast@rd and making her personal life a little miserable? I mean, that's the truth.

People often ask me my ethnicity because I am olive complected in the bible belt. I tell them Mexican and Italian, but I leave out the drop of German and Acatec Indian. Pin a big red L on my chest!

Must I tell people that I am on the rag/pissed at my kids/need a glass of wine/really have no desire to talk to them/in a hurry when they ask me how I am doing? Manners be damned! I don't want to be a liar.


Do I love your skirt? Why yes, I do! But now I have to tell you that it's beautiful but looks like **** on you because I don't want to omit any info.

Why am I smiling? I just crop dusted some nasty faced woman an aisle over. TRUTH!!


I could go on forever ...

Keeping my personal business PERSONAL doesn't make ME a liar just because you choose to share YOUR personal business.

I have only told my husband my mom and a few close friends. I told my dad (whom I am very close with) but he just couldn't understand why I would do that to myself, after all if I just eat a little less and exercise a little more(his words). Then to top it all off he asked if I had told my grandparents!? Who are extremely judgmental! I decided right then and there I wasn't telling one more person. Don't get me wrong I love my dad and grandparents very much they just happen to be very judgey people. So I waited a few months to call and tell my Dad I didn't qualify after all. To which he replied "see I told you." Now I am on my 5th weight in out of 6 and looking to have surgery in late June beginning of July. It helps that my dad and grandparents live out of state, so I just keep talking about how much I have been working out. Maybe one day I'll tell them... Maybe not[emoji6]

I told nobody except my live-in BF. I'm extremely private and prefer not to discuss health issues. I told work I needed to have surgery (they can't ask what kind) and took 2 weeks PTO. I was worried about having to answer a bunch of questions from friends & family but it's amazing how little people seem to pay attention to what I'm eating when out to dinner, etc. Only waitstaff seem concerned and I usually say "I had a big lunch" or "I'm looking forward to yummy leftovers for lunch tomorrow." And even though I've lost almost 75 lbs in 5 months nobody seems shocked nor asks a lot of questions. I would advise newbies to be very selective with whom you tell, because you can't un-tell afterwards and there is no guarantee that folks won't be concerned, etc. We have lived most of our lives battling weight issues and we are the ones that have done the extensive research -- others who are not in the same position may simply not understand our choice.

Such good advice! I'm getting sleeved in June (pending insurance approval). I have lost weight in the pass and alway kept my "fat" cloths, I have never thought about them as a safety net. I did I alway kept them just in case I need them. New way of thinking for me[emoji846]

Such good advice! I'm getting sleeved in June (pending insurance approval). I have lost weight in the pass and alway kept my "fat" cloths, I have never thought about them as a safety net. I did I alway kept them just in case I need them. New way of thinking for me[emoji846]

Such good advice! I'm getting sleeved in June (pending insurance approval). I have lost weight in the pass and alway kept my "fat" cloths, I have never thought about them as a safety net. I did I alway kept them just in case I need them. New way of thinking for me[emoji846]