Hiccup

Not trying to sound dramatic or anything but I've been on this forum since 2016 and I've been fantasizing about having this surgery for the past decade and I always knew in my mind that the day I do it will be one of the happiest days in my life especially from watching all those YT videos of people speaking about their positive life changes after the surgery and all... now I know that that there are truly positive and beneficial changes which will come from the surgery especially when it comes to health and life expectancy apart from the visual aspect of it and I know that in a few months once I start seeing the difference and losing weight I will feel differently too BUT right now, 5 days after the surgery, from the moment I came out of the operation room and opened my eyes up until this moment I cant stop feeling but regret that I did the surgery, I'm not sure why I feel this way but it's causing me somewhat of a depression and I'm feeling sad all the time that I did it, that I had to cut a part of my inner self and go through all this pain and misery to lose weight, regrets that I couldn't do it without surgery eventhough I tried dieting hard so many times and for so long. I just really regret having this operation and I feel so unhappy about having to do it now that I've done it eventhought I've been wanting to do it for so long.
Anyome else who's had it felt the same way, and what helped you move on?

I'm so thankful for everyone who commented, it genuinely made me feel much better knowing that it is a common thing that most of us who did the surgery went through it too. It's honestly so comforting to have a forum like this to constantly talk about my experiences with the surgery to people who are either going or have already gone through the exact same things as me.
I will be looking forward to completing my 2 weeks so start feeling better.
Thanks again everyone!

I'm sorry to hear that you are having such a difficult time after surgery. It is a big adjustment, and the first few weeks can be very challenging. Something that many of us enjoyed or found comfort in has changed-eating! It is not pleasurable those first few weeks, this big change can feel like something is missing. When you are so restricted and only drinking liquids, purées, or soft foods it can get boring. When it is difficult to swallow, or you get nauseated after eating it can be upsetting. You might be tired or in pain from surgery on top of these issues with eating. You might wonder why you did this to yourself. I had brief moments of thoughts like this, but ultimately, I know this is what I wished for and wanted (eating mindfully/less, feeling full). Things get easier! You will be able to see results, eat more easily & more variety soon. It will make the challenging moments worth it.
Wishing you lots of luck & happier days ahead. 😊

Insurance paid for my vsg and pre- op clearances. I had to pay my deductible then everything was covered at 100%. If you have insurance through an employer, It will depend on the specific policy inclusions/exclusions that are chosen by your employer more so than the insurance carrier that you have. For instance all Aetna, bc/bs, tied healthcare etc policies are not the same regarding coverage.

My surgery was paid by insurance. I have a 20% co-insurance, but an out of pocket maximum of $5k a year. I ended up paying around $4000 because it was early in the year, but on the flip side I'm going to have hip surgery in a couple months and will pay nothing.
California / Cigna

Insurance provider is Regence in WA state and my copay was $300 five weeks ago.

I have BCBS of TX and I paid my out of pocket of $2400 and the rest of covered. It's nice having my out of pocket met, and I'll be having some other things done next month to take advantage of it. My insurance only needed a month, but since I needed it around spring break and I started in the fall, I decided to stretch it out to 6 mos but that was my choice.
Every insurance is different even with the same company - I think it depends on what your employer included in the package so you should definitely call your insurance and just ask if it's covered and what they require.

I will be doing self-pay in Mexico, surgery on 9/21. All in (hotel, flights, surgery, meds, spending money, etc.) will be just about $5,500. I did the math and using insurance would have put my out of pocket at about $7,000 and take roughly 9 months, versus about 3 months with my current surgeon. I wasn't so much concerned about the cost, though it was a factor, but I did take issue with the timeline. I have consulted for bariatric surgery multiple times and always chickened out. I didn't want to give myself that option this time. Putting down a down payment and a date on the calendar made it non-negotiable to me. On top of that, going the self-pay route cuts WAY down on the red tape and pre-op crap that insurance requires.

Regarding the pain - walking helped me immensely. I had pain for two reasons - the gas pain from the air they fill the body with during surgery and pain/pressure whenever I ate or drank anything. The thing that helped me the most was pacing up and down the hallway. To this day I still do that if I'm feeling any discomfort at all.
I had the best luck sleeping on my back, but elevated and with my legs elevated. I was so thankful that my best friend had the surgery years ago and knew exactly what I was going to go through. She has one of those adjustable beds and offered for me to recover at her house. The bed was just what I needed to sleep well. I stayed for almost a week, but learned to still elevate myself and my knees when i went home. I just had to use pillows. This also made it easier to get up without straining. I couldn't tolerate being on my side or my stomach. It was a few weeks before I went to my side, and I still used some pillows to help lower pressure points.

I am 10 days post surgery and I can drink Water without any restriction at all. I drink constantly and it is really helping with the weight loss. I am down over 12 pounds since the surgery day and that does not include the 6 pounds of fluids I took on while in the hospital, so 18 pounds since discharge. I consume 600-700 calories a day and about 90 ounces of water minimum. I walk for 45 minutes a day on most days, sometimes in 2 different sessions. I am now down over 34 pounds since starting the preop diet. Follow the instructions to a T and it will really kick in.

I'm so thankful for everyone who commented, it genuinely made me feel much better knowing that it is a common thing that most of us who did the surgery went through it too. It's honestly so comforting to have a forum like this to constantly talk about my experiences with the surgery to people who are either going or have already gone through the exact same things as me.
I will be looking forward to completing my 2 weeks so start feeling better.
Thanks again everyone!

Insurance covered my VSG, and then my recent revision because of Gerd. After I jumped through all the hoops, of course. Cardiac clearance, 2 visits with dietician, psychological evaluation, blood test... Etc.

I was self pay for my sleeve - my employer-paid insurance plan had a specific exclusion against bariatric surgery. All in all, it was just under $20k. Had a stuck to my original practice, it would have been much closer to $30k (I'm in the Washington, DC area).
Timing from start to finish is hard to comment on in my case... I switched practices at the beginning of COVID so that slowed things down incredibly. And then I was a bit slow in getting some of the requirements done (like getting my endoscopy, etc) because life and work got crazy. If I had been more on top of that sort of thing, it would have been faster esp with no insurance involved.

Even though my BMI was on the lower side, insurance paid due to high blood pressure and pre-diabetic. Took a little over a month from 1st office visit, pre-op tests, ins approval to surgery. My insurance did not require several months of weigh in's, only letter from PCP and psych eval. Out of pocket was $1800. Anthem BCBS
P.S. I did slide into a cancellation spot, or it probably would have been longer for surgery date.
P.S.S. I also did not wait for my surgeon's office to schedule my pre-op tests. I was very pro-active and reached out to hospital to schedule tests.
Be your own advocate!

My insurance paid and my out-of-pocket was $1900. I have BCBS of AZ. It was 7 1/2 months from my initial surgeons visit until surgery day. I had to do 6 months of supervised weigh-ins and a few evaluations. It flew by pretty quickly.

I was insurance paid. Took about 5 months start to surgery. I had office notes to satisfy one of my monthly supervised weight management appointments.

I paid out of pocket because I didn't want to wait until the holidays to have the surgery done, and I wanted some control over my surgery date. Insurance takes about 6 months start to finish. I was also on the cusp with my BMI being too low, and was told if I lost even a couple of pounds, I would disqualify myself for insurance. Once I was self pay, I was scheduled for the surgery within a couple of weeks. Also, in total, $26,000.

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I have Medicare with a type G supplement. My surgery was paid for entirely, except that I got a bill for $350 from some assistant that Medicare apparently thinks isn't necessary.

I had my surgery in July 2020, and I was self-pay due to a lower BMI. My surgeon said if I gained 18 lbs. I could qualify, but that was not going to happen as far as I was concerned. 3-4 lbs. maybe, but not 18. I went to Cleveland Clinic because they had done a heart valve replacement on me the year before and there was some degree of comfort having them do the sleeve surgery. $26,000 out of pocket. Ouch.

Mine is being covered by my insurance. I owe my 20% co-insurance up to my out-of-pocket max, so this should cost me somewhere around $2,000.

I feel that after every surgery! Pain meds can be a depressant plus you don’t feel good and are tired. It gets better I promise!

I certainly was questioning my decision in the first couple weeks. I was miserable for much of it. But now, 5.5 months out, I am very happy with my decision. Hang on and hang in-there...

Dannon Oikos triple zero 5.3oz with hemp hearts, chia seeds, matcha powder, toasted edamame and raisins
Fin!

Wish I could comment, but I don't have this issue. Interesting that you both do, though...I'm sure others must!
Your post did, however, make me giggle enough to startle the cat. Enjoyed it.

I'm so thankful for everyone who commented, it genuinely made me feel much better knowing that it is a common thing that most of us who did the surgery went through it too. It's honestly so comforting to have a forum like this to constantly talk about my experiences with the surgery to people who are either going or have already gone through the exact same things as me.
I will be looking forward to completing my 2 weeks so start feeling better.
Thanks again everyone!