Mere228

Wow your doing awesome! I had my first dr visit 3/28 and then had my psych eval 4/4 and EGD on 4/11 now I am just waiting on the office ladies to send all my stuff for insurance and then I get a date which is killing me not to know! Lol I’m trying not to drive them crazy . I still have a few things to check off yet but it all hinges on when my date will be since it has to be with in a few weeks of surgery:/ I am hoping for June but who knows at this point. Good Luck with all your stuff! I hope it keeps moving along for you!! Oh I almost forgot I am getting the sleeve too:)

Wow your doing awesome! I had my first dr visit 3/28 and then had my psych eval 4/4 and EGD on 4/11 now I am just waiting on the office ladies to send all my stuff for insurance and then I get a date which is killing me not to know! Lol I’m trying not to drive them crazy . I still have a few things to check off yet but it all hinges on when my date will be since it has to be with in a few weeks of surgery:/ I am hoping for June but who knows at this point. Good Luck with all your stuff! I hope it keeps moving along for you!! Oh I almost forgot I am getting the sleeve too:)

Wow your doing awesome! I had my first dr visit 3/28 and then had my psych eval 4/4 and EGD on 4/11 now I am just waiting on the office ladies to send all my stuff for insurance and then I get a date which is killing me not to know! Lol I’m trying not to drive them crazy . I still have a few things to check off yet but it all hinges on when my date will be since it has to be with in a few weeks of surgery:/ I am hoping for June but who knows at this point. Good Luck with all your stuff! I hope it keeps moving along for you!! Oh I almost forgot I am getting the sleeve too:)

Once you get approved it’s usually with in two months you have surgery.. my dr said 6-8 weeks from the last visit but it’s already been almost 4 and I don’t have a date yet:/

Wow your doing awesome! I had my first dr visit 3/28 and then had my psych eval 4/4 and EGD on 4/11 now I am just waiting on the office ladies to send all my stuff for insurance and then I get a date which is killing me not to know! Lol I’m trying not to drive them crazy . I still have a few things to check off yet but it all hinges on when my date will be since it has to be with in a few weeks of surgery:/ I am hoping for June but who knows at this point. Good Luck with all your stuff! I hope it keeps moving along for you!! Oh I almost forgot I am getting the sleeve too:)

Ugh - Well I hope you get the call soon!!

Congrats!!! I have the same insurance .. hubbie is a teamster too and I am dying to know lol I might have to call and bug them ... so excited for you and congrats on your son graduating !!

Yay! Congrats! I submitted mine to BCBS of IL and got my approval quickly. I hope you do too!

Today has been a whirlwind! I had my second weigh in with my bariatric clinic and we have been looking at a late June date for the VSG. I would have been eligible in May, but I teach Seniors and we have graduation to contend with, so it just wasn’t a good time.
I went to my appointment and was completely surprised when my NUT said “well, you are ready to go!” I looked at her confused and told her that I had one more month of weigh ins. She said “nope, we finally got your paperwork from your PCP appointment in December, and it has everything we need to count that as the first month.”
I had no idea!! I was told that the paperwork did not have the necessary information, but turns out they were looking at the wrong notes. So now I am scheduled for April 16th!

For 20 years, I dieted, and lied to myself.
Went back and forth between two extremes. You might be familiar with them.
One was called....Screw it, you're fat, so what? I drank a two liter of Pepsi daily, loved bread, french fries, chicken tenders, and chocolate turtle ice cream pie. I also love food that was good for me. And food that had sprinkles. And grease. And sugar. And anything hot out of an oven. And....well, you get the picture. My husband laughed at me for putting excess bacon on my veggie burgers.
The other me was....The Fitness Nazi. I was the autistic savant of calorie counting. Like Rain man, I could look at a deconstructed plate of stuff and guess calories with the accuracy of a food scientist. I was all about counting my grapes, going from one fad diet to the next. This time, I'm going to find the answer to fast weight loss. Must be thin. Not healthy. Not strong. Thin. And I'd like to be thin as fast as possible, please. Need to go to the gym. I hate the gym. Go anyway, you're fat, you must repent and be punished by the gym to be excused of your sin of fattness. Must never again eat anything white, or carb, or that casts a shadow. I'm a perfectionist, dammit. I can DO THIS!
Speaking of Fatness. Remember The Hunger Games? I went to a costume party last year as the fat version of Katniss Everdeen: Fatness NeverLean. My flaming dress had porkchops on it.
For 20 years...I went back and forth between two lies. I'm not either of these people.
I'm not in denial about how bad obesity is for your health. I care. But I'm not a Fitness Nazi either. I don't care about being thin.
For me...I needed to make peace with food, not fight a war against it. And man, sometimes if feels like that's all we do. Just endlessly battle. I'm tried, man. Just really tired of the war.
What helped me the most...is escaping an extremist mindset.
I'm tired of extremes.
I don't want to binge on crap anymore. Screw that self destructive nonsense.
I also don't want to starve anymore or eat "healthy" things I HATE. Screw that self destructive nonsense, too.
I don't want to eat stuff I don't like..."because it's good for me." I want to eat stuff that I DO like that's good for me. Sometimes those things are hard to find! But they're out there. They're worth finding and taking the extra effort to make.
I'm tired of lying to myself. 20 years of dieting lies...up, down, up down. What's the point? I don't want to be either of those two people, I just kept running from both of them.
I had to find balance. I had to love my life, love my diet, love my self enough to stop the self abuse of both extremes. I HATE the fat binger. I HATE the thin fitness nazi.
Finding the plan that works for the individual is tough. And it's gonna be different for everyone. It's not one size fits all. (nothing one size fits all works for me...lol)
If I were doing low carb and crazy low calories, I'd probably shoot myself or others. I feel horrible on that plan...and I know from experience that I'll crash and burn on it eventually. It works great for some folks....but I'm not one of them.
These days I'm working on being really really honest with myself. I'm picking things for my diet on a new criteria...Do I genuinely like eating this? Is it good nutrition? Can it fit in a balanced day of healthy eating?
When I exercise, I don't think about how many calories it burns anymore, or how long I have to do it, or what gets me the most burn in the least time. I think....Do I enjoy doing this? Do I look forward to it, or dread it? Can I do this with a friend for support and have a good time?
I want to love my new life.
I want a Forever diet that I love.
I want a Forever exercise plan that I love.
I want balance.
I'm done with immediacy and urgency and extremes.
I'm losing weight slow and steady. If I lose 3-5 pounds a month, I am so happy with that. I didn't put all this weight on in a few months, I'm not gonna lose it in a few months.
They say you'll lose weight for 18 months or so after surgery. I've got 16 months to go. If I lose 2-3 pounds a month, I'll make my goal. I'm in no hurry, because I'm working on my forever diet that I can love and live with.......not my "until I'm skinny" punishment diet.
Sometimes I really think the key to this whole mess is finding a way to be honest with yourself...resolve the two extremes and find the middle ground.
Just some thoughts. Take what ya like, and leave the rest:)

Okay all, I thought I would follow up on this. Over the last couple of weeks I have been wearing more revealing clothing - arms showing, knees showing, etc. I never said anything, but as Berry78 said, it was obvious with the shorter my arm sleeves and shorter skirts . It ended up that I could have had two heads, it wouldn't have mattered!!! All is good in paradise. Thanks for everyone's input.

I reached my goal and could not be more satisfied! My sleeve was the best decision of my life. 10 months of learning how to use this tool brought me from a size 20 to a size 6.

Missing coffee, for now. I will probably abstain until my 6 month surgerversary.

The Water at work tastes worse, even with the filter I started using pre-op. It makes me gag. I bought some xtal lite yesterday to make it more palatable. Other tastes are the same, maybe diminished?

I'm scheduled for 8/07 with Dr. Illan. I paid 3% extra ($515.00) on my paypal account. I will take a cashier's check with me for the balance when I leave.
Good Luck!

I'm scheduled for 8/12 with Dr. Illan and paid the $500 down through my Wells Fargo account. I'll do the same with the remainder the week before surgery.
My wife was initially worried about going to Mexico for surgery, but knows now these are highly skilled people and this is what they do day in and day out.
Good luck!

I'm scheduled for 8/12 with Dr. Illan and paid the $500 down through my Wells Fargo account. I'll do the same with the remainder the week before surgery.
My wife was initially worried about going to Mexico for surgery, but knows now these are highly skilled people and this is what they do day in and day out.
Good luck!

I'm sorry to hear about your last-minute cancellation. Insurance companies can be the pits.
If you want to go through Dr. Illan in Mexico (I did), the process is really simple.
1. Fill out the health questionnaire on the website. The doctor will review and you will be approved or denied, and a procedure will be recommended for your situation.
2. Order your passport if you don't have one. Might take 6 weeks to arrive unless you pay for express.
3. Send in the deposit. Schedule your date.
4. Order your plane tickets.
5. (Optional) get fitted for compression stockings for the flights. Flying soon after surgery increases your risk of blood clots, the stockings minimize this risk. They usually cost about $50 from your local medical supply company.
6. Preop diet
7. Fly to Mexico and *finally* be on the other side.

Hi! I put $500 down and brought a cashier's check with me. Another refreshing thing at Dr. Illan's group wasn't pushy about making sure they had all their money like the US system. My husband and parents were all very worried, but this has been an eye-opening experience. I have never been treated so well by staff during a surgical procedure. My mom came with me and they made sure she was happy-brought her dinner and coffee in the morning. There is not much additional cost to bring a companion besides the flight and trinkets so he could come and stay with you in your room. Many come by themselves and seem to do just fine. [emoji16]

Hi! I just looked into and filled out the form for BariatricPal MX and got the email for approval! Eek! I am so excited but I was curious how much was the deposit you had to put down to hold your date and how do you pay? Credit card over the phone or once you get there? I know I need to call them for all this but my husband is really nervous about me going out of country for this surgery so I was trying to see how everyone else did it and show him that it's a great place and safe:)
Thanks everyone in adjacent for advice and I wish everyone a ton of lucky in this crazy amazing journey!!! Xo

Good Luck! Please fill us in when you can.. I am looking into Mexico too ... so excited for you

I'm in Ypsilanti ... anyone still around? lol I'm just starting my journey and would love someone to talk to locally
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Today has been super exciting for me. I can't believe it's only been 4 months and I've lost 75 pounds already!!
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After months of flirting....looks like I have a hot date for Valentine's Day! My surgeon, Stephen Fowler, is pretty dashing, I suppose!
,
I'm Dan. A longtime lurker here at BariatricPal and the various #WLS/#VSG hashtags on Instagram (hey, liquid pre-op diet, so I'm lucky.)
Anyway, I just wanted to introduce myself. Would be awesome to get to know other Sleevers. Would love to go to a meet-up or event in the future. Until then, maybe some Facebook, Instagram, MyFitnessPal buddies?
Anyway. Here is my first video; it's a lot dryer than this post, alas. I'm terrible on camera. But I do outline some goals for myself, vague as they are.

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Today-- trying on a pair of size 6 pants...down from 24's exactly 8 months post op today.  
Here is the funny thing... I knew I'd fit into a 6- and the only pair that they had was on a mannequin. Asked the sales clerk to take them off so I could try them on. She looked at me and tried to talk me out of it- saying they run very small. I repeated to her that I wanted to try them on and she obliged but kept repeating that they wouldn't fit, they run small.
Boom.
(I should add that I WAS wearing baggy clothes when I walked in...but STILL!!!)
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