Donna415

If your surgeon has a death rate of 1 out of 50, you need to find a new surgeon. The normal death rate is more like 1 out of 1000, and an excellent surgeon may well have far better stats or no deaths.
The truth is that being morbidly obese is a lot more dangerous to your health and life than surgery is. By choosing weight loss surgery, you are actually reducing your risk of death in the near term by 90%. If dying is what scares you, you should be running as fast as you can to sign up for surgery.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1356432/

I have been reading thru these forums for over six months now, and I'm finally posting my own thread!
I have been overweight my whole life. I have non-alcoholic Liver Disease that consists of Fatty Liver & several hepatic adenomas, PCOS, Metabolic Syndrome, Insulin Resistance, Leukocytosis, Infertility, Severe GERD, IBS, Chronic unspecified inflammation in the body, the list really goes on and on. On top of my own co-morbidities, I have a very very strong family history of Heart Disease & Diabetes. I thought about pursuing Bariatric Surgery a couple years back, but after doing research, I talked myself out of it because I didn't want to have to wait ANOTHER 18-24 months to conceive. Well, after 6 months of fertility therapy & horrible side effects, I decided I needed to stop and reassess the situation. I went thru all my requirements, and submitted my Pre-Auth to insurance in March '16, to be denied 2 weeks later due to lack of support from my PCP. My Primary is very "old fashioned", and doesn't believe in "Non-Traditional Weight Loss", so I was left hanging & she would not right up a letter of medical necessity or provide documentation that I have been actively trying to lose weight for the past umteen years. So, I ended up going to my Bariatric Center & just doing another 3 months of NUT appointments to add on to everything I already had to HOPEFULLY achieve requirements while by-passing my PCP.
My appeal was submitted June 10th, and I was getting multiple responses for "Wait time" from my insurance. One person said it was the standard 7-10 days, and then another said that an appeal isn't the same thing as a pre-auth, and they are allowed 30 days. At this point, my lab work is getting worse; liver is getting worse; retaining ridiculous amounts of fluid; CRP is thru the roof; in ER with sky-high WBC; I just need this done! Just got word from my insurance today that my denial has been overturned and I have been APPROVED!
Going thru these threads for 6 months, I never understood why people cried when getting the approval. I now understand... Something that seemed so unobtainable the last few months is finally real. It's my Holy Grail honestly.... I woke up today just having an awful morning & that 1 phone call just turned my day upside down. My golden birthday is 1 week from today (27 on June 27th), and this by far is the best present ever!
Now, to just wait on a date! So many happy tears in my cubicle today!
-Brooke

<---- Look at me!! There is nothing about me that isn't awesome.

And if you take the time to KNOW me as a person, you'd also agree. I may be loud mouthed, opinionated and blunt, but my heart is where it should be.

September 2015 to May 2016

Is that what that thing is called?

I interrupted my bath to write you this post!
I am exactly 1 week from surgery and I have been making a list of goals and rewards; like ... tying my shoes straight and not at the side because I can't been over to tie them correctly. You know what I mean; I got that sideways bow that looks as if someone standing next to me tied my shoes!
Well, It wasn't until just now that I realized that I have yet another goal I want to achieve after WLS: I want to take a bath and have my WHOLE body under Water at the same time. No more visions of my stomach sticking out of the water like Gilligan's Island!
Well, I hope this put a smile on someone's face today. It made me chuckle thinking about the little things that are going to means so much!
I could go on but I'd rather hear your goals too. Please share.
Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I can think of MUCH more fun things, but I wouldn't want our more "delicate" forum members to start twitching.

You can also put pizza toppings in a Portobello mushroom and have a no carb version.

I work for insurance and also have Highmark pa, it all depends on your benefits and if your employer chose to cover revisions. If they didn't choose yes or no either way, it would come down to medical necessity and medical policy. If you call your insurance, they will send you the medical policy just for reference.
Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

This past month, my fiancé, best friend, and I went to the Ohio state spring game. Every time we go, it's always at least a 2 mile walk just to the stadium from the car. With no hills, I was almost in tears because of how bad my legs hurt so my goal is to be able to spend all day walking around and enjoying myself rather than asking everyone to stop and wait for 10 minutes while I muster up the energy to walk another 50 yards.
Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

This past month, my fiancé, best friend, and I went to the Ohio state spring game. Every time we go, it's always at least a 2 mile walk just to the stadium from the car. With no hills, I was almost in tears because of how bad my legs hurt so my goal is to be able to spend all day walking around and enjoying myself rather than asking everyone to stop and wait for 10 minutes while I muster up the energy to walk another 50 yards.
Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

As I was reading your post, I'm thinking "she should totally make a quilt out of the bigger size ones when they become too big." Great minds...
Congrats on the NSV, lets me know I can also reach my list of personal NSV's I have in my head.

Just wanted to share this-
Pre surgery, I cooked up a STORM for my family of 5, which includes two teenaged boys who EAT. And eat. My kids will bypass fast food any day for a home cooked meal. They actually prefer it, along with fruits and veggies.
So, being a typical mom, I didn't want them eating garbage while I was recovering. My lovely mom even contributed to my stockpiled freezer. My family had meals for 4 entire weeks.
Last week I was moved to a general diet and finally blew through all the cooked frozen meals.
Here's the kicker- I have been cooking all of those meals once again, and I'm ok with it. I really didn't think I would be able to, knowing there were things I could not eat at this point. But I did. And have enjoyed it. So, a different kind of NSV, but exciting nonetheless. Even made Desserts. Didn't want a single bite of any of it either.

I had my surgery through Bariatric Pal with Dr Jesus Lopez. Whichever of their surgeons you chose you could not be in better hands from the min you get there till you are ready to go home. Like being with a loving family.

Hi! Do not be terrified, it is not as bad as you think, and most likely it will be the best decision you have ever made. I did my sleeve in OCC in December 2015 and it wen pretty well, 75?pouhds down and counting, I am at my normal weight right now, I did not have any health issues either but what a difference it made! To answer your question I have started collecting infor end of September 2015 and had my sleeve done on December 4th. I would no call it a waiting time - you are only limited bt your own limitations, like time you can take off work and time you can come up with the money. I completely relied on this site for information as I did not know a single person who did sleeve anywhere, so this site is pretty good as information source, just ask the question and take time to read reviews.,good luck!

As part of my 6 month period for the insurance, the surgeons office requires progress notes from my pcp showing my weight each time.
Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Yaaaay hi Donna thts wonderful
Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Shaking my head.
To the OP -- you can be miserable for no good reason or you can act like an adult. And yes, I know you're *only* 22 years old. You're still an adult.
None of that drama llama crap you're wallowing in is going to happen.
Just follow your surgeon's instructions.
Jeez.

This is a blog. It's complete crap. You really need to stay off the internet if you're going to fall for stuff like this. STOP.
Do you have any calming techniques you use for anxiety? If you do, you need to start to use the and stop trolling the internet for clickbait hogwash like this. NOW.

I am so sorry you are experiencing such distress. Many people go through a period of regret right after surgery for a variety of reasons: hormonal fluctuations, the shock of surgery on the system, the fact that you cannot use food to regulate moods and emotions, etc.
I would suggest that this is a good opportunity to look for a good counselor or therapist to help you learn to cope in a healthy way. See if the person who did your psych clearance can see you or refer you to someone.
Whether you want to or not, you cannot turn back the clock and change what happened. The good news is that you have no choice but to move forward: you get to decide how well you follow your program and learn to make the most of this opportunity.

Hey! I'm in the middle of my journey. Still have 3 weight checks to go. I'm from Martins Ferry, Ohio.
Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

2 months post-op 58lbs

Meanwhile I'm over here like... Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-J320A using the BariatricPal App

290 to 160