Litecaramel

Well the nurse checked and apparently there's an emergency surgery going on since this morning in the room I'm assigned. Normally they would find another room for me but the surgeon performing the emergency surgery is my doctor. Nurse said I should be going in around 1:30

It's 12:10pm and I'm still waiting. The iv is being run through vein in the bend in my left arm so I have to keep it straight. Of course I keep forgetting and end up bending it. I've gone to the bathroom once and they gave me another bag of fluids to do. Mom is here. She posted a pic of me in hospital telling everyone I'm having surgery on fb. Once again confirmation not to tell anyone. Sigh.

11:10am so they're running behind. So I'm just laying here waiting. Received another needle this time in my thigh for medicine to prevent blood clots. Now I have something running through iv. Once bag finishes they'll take me to bathroom to empty bladder.

No way

10:40am. Iv finally put in. Couldn't find my veins at first so tried different spots. Did I mention I hate needles

Ugh almost time. About to get IV put in. I just started crying. Ugh scared. It's 10:13am

Ok it's 9:36am. I have had blood drawn and gave a urine sample. My height and weight was checked. Surgery day weight is 225.1 pounds. They also checked my blood pressure. I am now in hospital gown laying in bed.

Made it. Got here at 8:43. Wasn't a big deal being late. Had to wait a little in reception and now I'm checking in.

So this morning was rough. Got up and the milk of magnesia finally kicked in. Soo took long time in bathroom. Ended up running late dropping kid off at daycare. Now I'm in Uber on way to hospital. I decided to tell mom to meet me up there. Looks like I'm not gonna get there by 8:30. More like 8:45. Hope that's not a problem.

Thank you. Well just finished all my water with 20 mins to spare. Now I'm off to bed.

Surgery tomorrow 7/12. Getting anxious...

Ok got an hour to go before I can't drink anything. Still have 1/4 gallon of water left to finish. Sigh. I'm a little nervous about how tomorrow's going to work out. I have to drop my child off at daycare at 7:30 and then head to the hospital but I have to be there by 8:30am (2 hours before surgery) which during rush hour will be pushing it since it takes an hour to get to the hospital.

Around what time were you released from the hospital? I'm trying to figure out around what time to tell my ride to be there. Also how soon after surgery did you start walking? I know it's important to start soon.

Thanks LetGoJo! Ahh I'm so hungry. Man I wish I wouldn't have missed lunch or had something solid for breakfast (had protein shake). Been on liquids all day at this point. Also milk of magnesia has not kicked in yet though I took it at 1. Not sure what that's about. Still trying to get this water down. Got a half a gallon to go.

So due to a meeting that ran over I missed my opportunity to eat lunch. Sooo I'm on liquids from now til midnight. Sigh.

Well good news. I talked with my doctor's office and I was worried for nothing. They said that's the standard letter my insurance company always issues and that my surgery was already approved. I have my surgery time scheduled for tomorrow at 10:30am and I have to be at the hospital at 8:30am. Generally I will agree, with one caveat that one thing about working in the public sector is we have great insurance. I just picked up my pain medicine for when I go home that the doctor prescribed and it cost me $0.35 for the prescription. I also only paid an initial $10 co-pay through this process. When I worked in the private sector my health insurance barely covered anything and my deductible was ridiculous.

So first potential issue has popped up. Get home from work today and there's a lovely letter from my insurance company waiting for me (letter is dated 6/28/17 but I didn't get it today and it was mailed in NJ). Anyway letter states that on 6/26/17 doctor's office sent in request for approval of my surgery (wonder why they waited till then to submit it, seems kind of close). Insurance company saying they need more information before approving, including: documentation of previous participating in weight loss program, i.e. Weight Watchers; documentation of participation in multidisplinary surgical regime, documentation of psych eval; and my current weight, height, & BMI. Now all of this I have done either through the doctor's office or in case of the psych eval I did it own my own and submitted the report which they evaluated and said was fine. However, the nonsurgical diet program was never a requirement for my insurance. Horizon only required BMI +40, 2 doctor visits, 2 nutritional counseling, & psych eval. Now I have done weight watchers in the past and only recently stopped so I don't think it will be a huge issue but still I'm not sure how to get the right documentation and my surgery is scheduled for Wednesday so doesn't give me a lot of time either. Also, doctor's office of course was closed by the time I got home so I have to wait till tomorrow to see what they say. Ugh.

Thanks for the tips. I'm having the sleeve. My plan is to start walking as soon as possible.

Not exactly sure what you mean by drainage ball as I was never informed of such a thing. I'll ask my doctor but I don't think this will apply to me. Thanks for everyone's comments. I originally spoke to my doctor about returning to work and was told it shouldn't be a problem but of course if the situation changes after the surgery I'll do what is necessary. I do really need to go back to work on that Monday though so if it's at all possible I will do it. I'll just have to be diligent about getting my protein and fluids in. Unfortunately this was my only option unless I wanted to wait until next year to have the surgery.

oh good for you with the time off. I wish I could take off. Thank you.

Also my surgery is scheduled for Wednesday and I want to go back to work Monday so we'll see how that works out. I have a desk job so it shouldn't be too difficult once getting there it's really just the commute since I will have to take the train since I won't be allowed to drive.

I'm from Woodbridge NJ. Surgery scheduled for June 12th.

I see that you are in NJ as am I. Would you mind telling me what hospital you had your surgery at and the name of your surgeon? I'm scheduled for overlook so just curious. We also have similar stats so I'm hoping my surgery goes as smooth as yours seems to have gone. Thanks.

Well I have 4 days until my surgery. These last two weeks I have been on a roller coaster of emotions, both related and unrelated to the surgery. I fluctuate between calling it off and going through it on a daily basis but I guess that's to be expected. I even went through a period of great exercise and diet (working out every day and eating right) and I started to think maybe I didn't need the surgery. I'm also scared. My co-worker told me how her friend went to Miami over the fourth of july weekend to get breast enhancements and died (she doesn't know I'm having surgery). So of course that got me to thinking about elective surgery and whether I should do this. Also since my surgery will remove a part of my stomach it's permanent so there's no going back and saying I changed my mind afterwards. Ugh. Then I remember all the reasons why I want to get the surgery (some vain like looking better but also to get control of this weight, be more active and be around for my kids) and also all the research I've done and the year I gave myself to get it together and I become more determined than ever to do it. So yeah this is where I'm at now. I am a very private person so other than the people that read this no one knows I'm having the surgery, not even my family. I looked at the pros and cons of telling someone and decided I need to be true to who I am as a person and decided that for me it's best to keep things private. So when I feel unsure or want some support I come on here. I don't post a lot but I read a lot. I hope to share more to help someone else.

Hi Everyone, I've been reading these boards for a while but first time posting. I decided to post today since I officially scheduled sleeve surgery! My journey has been interesting thus far but not nearly as long/hard as some posts I've read. I originally started thinking about wls over 2 years ago. I had always been thin growing up and it wasn't until I had my first child that I began to gain weight. Actually after I had my first child I lost all the baby weight and fit into my pre-pregnancy jeans 2 weeks later (size 5). But it did not last long as I found my appetite had increased and the weight would not come off like it used to. That was over 16 years ago. Since then I've tried numerous diet & exercise programs. Bootcamp, weight watchers, slim fast, intensive bootcamp, jenny craig, well you get the idea. Each time the same thing would happen, I would lose a bunch of weight and then slowly regain the weight lost and some. I grew tired of the see-saw but never really thought about wls as my immediate friends & family view it as taking the easy way out. Also at 5'4 and 220lbs (my heaviest to date), I was looked at as not having the large amount of weight which would deem wls appropriate. In other words, you don't have that much to lose so you should just work out and eat right. That stuck with me for a long time. I think during the exercise and diets the lowest I came down to was about 180lbs. Anyway about 2 years ago I began intensely researching wls. But before making the decision, I decided to give myself one year to do it on my own without surgery. Well a year later and although I initially lost 20lbs, I gained it all back and am at my heaviest weight to date. That was it for me. So I began the process of getting approved for surgery. Since I have BCBS, the only requirements were BMI over 40 or BMI over 35 with co-morbidities. Every doctor I checked out online was in-network so I made a couple of consultation appointments to feel them out. Next I just had to have 2 dr. visits (the consultation satisfied 1 visit) and one psych consultation. At both consultations I received a script for blood work. The one I ended up going with was more thorough with their bloodwork requirements, while the other one set me up with a surgery date on my first visit. I didn’t go with the second one because I felt like they were treating me in a rushed manner because of my “easy” approval requirements and it felt kind of like they were a salesperson. The first place, (nj bariatric center) I felt they were more professional and I felt more comfortable with the doctors but the office staff leaves much to be desired. I almost went to look for another place because of my dissatisfaction. I decided to go to a different psychiatrist rather than the one associated with my doctor’s office just due to logistics of when they would be in the office (I missed my first appt. and so had to reschedule for one a month later). I found one that had Saturday hours and met with her and she was able to write my report and send it off that same day. My bloodwork came back with some issues requiring follow-up: had low iron so was put on iron pills, EKG came back with something troubling on my heart so had to see a cardiologist to get cleared (the cardiologist required 3 visits before clearing me). So I finally got all of my “extra” clearances and met with the doctor for the second time to go over the results of my tests. I was then told that now that I was cleared I would be called to schedule my surgery. The next day I was called and was offered surgery dates as early as June 5 but I decided instead on July 12 because my daughter will be out of school by then and able to help me around the house. So here I am. I still have to get some pre-surgery bloodwork done at least 2 weeks before surgery. I also have to meet with the doctor again to sign some consent forms and I have to view a video on the surgery. So from my first appt on 2/10 to my scheduled surgery date of 7/12 it will have taking me approximately 5 months and some of the delay has been self-inflicted. I am excited and nervous.