KarenLR75

I haven't had surgery yet like you and the others have and since they've gone down this path I'm sure they are correct..the only thing that came to mind when I read your post since I didn't have much contribute as I'm waiting on a new July surgery date...is that if you ever get extremely concerned, I've made the mistake of not reaching out to my specialist (you mentioned your GP) and asking. In my situation I had gotten PE's in my lungs in 2011 - massive amount of clots. One of the things that you find out after an event like this is you can get pain that almost identically mimics the pain felt with a heavy clot burden and after going to ER once and finding out no new PE's, I hesitated ever to go again..and on a forum I joined they said ALWAYS better to be safe and embarrassed and alive. I know you aren't talking the same level of possible threat to your life/health, but it's just something I keep in mind when I get really concerned, that it is ok to call a specialist and just ask. THANKFULLY, ppl on this board are familiar with the myriad of "things" that you can feel post surgery and can help winnow out better than I can, when it is time to go ahead and call.

So glad it is over...sorry to hear about very rough 72 hours! I never even thought of taking Gas-ex, what a great idea..my surgery is postponed a bit and even if I had had it, I hadn't run across this idea before! I hear you about the heat, I'm in TX..so I feel ya! Sounds like you are a trooper though to come thru all of that and you are still pointing out positives. I love your attitude. Was thinking about you the other day. Best wishes on your continued recovery - keep us posted!!

Very, very small. He broke off with his partner in Arlington (who has good reviews - Dr. Lyons) and according to 1 review about 'old practice in Arlington) - basically docs were both good but the office staff was decidedly NOT. He responded to that review that this was, in part, why he decided to go into private practice & is opening up his own office in North TX - closer to my end of town. Ironically, I feel he took at least 1 of the problem ppl with him! Right now he is sharing office space with an OB/GYN until his office gets built out. So he only has an "office manager" (a very young woman who lacks experience to be office mgr from everything I've seen) & the med tech who has given me so much heartache & stress. So he has to be well aware of fact that I have left. His office mgr finally called me...guess that is only reason I got to talk to her on phone..the med tech couldn't block me, but as I said she is young and she just sounded confused about my reasons. She also tried to defend their 'blocking me on calling Cigna' as she said she had called Cigna too & they told her same thing as med tech told me. I've already looked into their old policy (CIGNA) - the 1 effective before the 1 I have & their interpretation of that, assuming CIGNA is somehow kept quoting a policy no longer in effect - still does not = what they were telling me. She is WAY out of her element. The med tech is...the...well, if I were talking about a pack hierarchy, she is the alpha dominant..not the office mgr. After I told Office Mgr how awful the med tech had been to me, she never apologized...never said that should not happen..basically nothing. Who know what they told the Dr....oh she did say the dr always writes notes like that for patients on sticky notes that is "just what he does". She did ADMIT on phone that they had received the request for my records.. Really wish this staff wasn't the way they are as I still like the Dr in most ways and would like to see him take in some constructive input so that other patients don't undergo the same thing and maybe he revisits sticky idea. I don't wish failure/lack of success on anyone. I fear whatever they told him was likely filtered to not reflect everything I said.. Absolutely agree on your recommendation about medical paperwork. Even if you have best dr and best office staff in the world - always best to keep/get a copy of everything!

30 days?! They could take up to 30 days??!! If they do that I may have to postpone surgery for 9 months!! OMG, I want to throw up. No, I was planning after surgery and the initial post-op visit to not ever go back again. This is so completely unprofessional. So how do I figure out if the DR is encouraging it or if it is that spiteful employee? IF they take 30 days, I will be sure that everyone/everywhere I can let ppl know...will know about what they have to be willing to put up with if they choose his practice. I wasn't planning on leaving any negative reviews, I just saw this as best choice for me given all of the loads of concerns I have/had...and was tired of a med tech treating me like I was a piece of crud. Heck, forget the title, tired of anyone treating me or anyone else this way. I could go 'hand collect' all of the freaking stuff I had submitted to his office. Lord knows it's not like they handled the letter to Cigna (my primary did that). I had my own psychiatrist and she filled out info and did a letter. My cardiologist will send my cardiac clearance and results of my tests to wherever it is needed. I did use a 'group practice' called Tri-S in downtown Ft. Worth for my nutritionist visit and attended a 3 hr clinic they did in early June. Since they provide this support for several bariatric docs in the area, I can call and ask for the records of my visit (what I don't understand is that CIGNA has ALL of this as these were their requirements - I guess I can't ask CIGNA to send copies to me/pay for copies?). So...in the end, what could he possibly have that I cannot...at some GREAT inconvenience and time infringing on my work life...get myself and have it sent to new dr? Trust me, I've made it EASY for both docs.

This!! This is what I worry about with doctor..initially I was a 'prospect' so lots of attentions and allusions to things being doable..but now I'm a 'customer'..no need to "court" me. It is wrong. Not sure how many ppl in your area but maybe another practice would appreciate you more. Doctors forget that having 'success stories' and ppl willing to reference, maybe even drop into a meeting of newbies....ya know?

Am glad to hear this for you. I'm walking away from the dr I was going to go with as I became very uncomfortable with several things (there is a post on this). The other dr practice is now not getting any response to the request that was made to get my records days ago. Unfortunately, this is the type of behavior his office staff, one specific person pulls. Even when it was stuff THEY were to submit for me, they'd forget...they (one person) argued with me and CIGNA for TWO months - finally CIGNA and I were BOTH fed up, they called while I was at an appt with original surgeon and I took the policy in and had him look at the KEY PHRASE "has patient WITHIN the last 6 months...done xyz". Nowhere in it did Cigna's bariatric surgery policy say "patient must meet with a nutritionist every month for SIX consecutive months and if they miss one, they must start over". LITERALLY, this is what the med tech/insurance checker told me. She and I went around and around. The initial 3 to 5 times I tried talking to her, I was alway polite and professional. Guess what, she bulldozed over me in every conversation. Finally told me with great exasperation that I needed to quit calling Cigna as I was getting things confused!!! I finally played hard ball and was ready to walk away if the DOCTOR did not force them to push the paperwork through. Like "magic", they put the paperwork through..a few days later of course. It got immediate approval. When I went to my next appt, the med tech was so rude and hateful to me, I couldn't wait to get out of there. I stupidly didn't say anything to surgeon as she has worked for him for yrs and with my luck, she was a relative, niece, daughter in law. I had PLANNED to have a frank discussion with him AFTER surgery on 7/1. Well, since then they dropped the ball on a few more things, I found out the name of the anesthesia partner's name that my dr. uses and looked at their reviews...they were NOT GOOD! Frustr8 will tell you, my gut had been telling me I need to walk away...so with what..7 days left until surgery, I met with another dr. I liked him very much but most importantly, he made more sense, he has more surgeries (by the 1000's under his belt) his anesthesia partner checks out with good reviews, his office staff was NICE! VERY NICE! My original dr's staff has left me in tears over the phone (didn't let her know) at least 2 times. My dr. wrote my coumadin to lovenox bridging instructions on a sticky note and gave it to me. I took it up front and gave to his staff expecting them to type something up..nope, they handed it back. It was my husband who actually pointed out how crazy that was. I have thrown clots (PE's) after surgery just LAST year from inaccurate amounts of Lovenox for the bridging (bridging means getting off a major blood thinner like Coumadin and on to something like Lovenox which presents less chance for huge bleeding risks during surgery. So it is critical for my life and health to have those instructions documented on a dr's office papers...by him. All I had was this sticky. Now though, things are feeling even worse. My original dr's office is not responding at all to the request to transfer my records. I fear, like they have before, that they are going to fight me all the way. I've already looked up that I will have to send a certified letter..and they have FIFTEEN days to comply. OMG, I cannot believe it has come to this. I warned the new dr that I was so afraid about what they would do and he was like "no, we'll get the paperwork". Well, his main surgery coordinator just emailed me asking me to try to intervene!! It's FRIDAY NIGHT! This is so wrong...but after trying for 15-18 months to do everything right....I feel like I should have just let the original dr. operate. I'm so completely freaked out now..

Hey Mom_of_Chaos, had a last minute dr. change so my surgery will not take place on 7/1 (bums me out cuz I had so many surgery siblings!)...I will be in July but won't have a date for another day or 2.

I don't have much time as I'm in a time crunch at work, but thank you for saying this...sometimes when ppl post...especially when new and having a surgery date looming, it is not that in the back of my mind I cannot accept the answer in the end. I'm anxious, excited, fearful, relieved....and so many other opposing emotions all at the same time. These past 15 months doing keto and for a long long period in keto towards the last 6 months, getting to a point where even thinking about food became..more of a chore. Food was just...food. Honestly, I crossed the line into it being almost an inconvenience which I will have to be careful of because unlike keto when I could eat a whole chicken breast (maybe divided over 2 meals) and drink a shake and have well in excess of 80 gms of protein, this won't be ANYWHERE near as easy to do. I didn't express myself well in my post and only let my fear show through. I didn't feel like I was only searching for the negative, but I'm open to the fact that perhaps that is what I was doing. I did not elucidate the fact that I did expect some hunger pains, I just had been trying to soak up more knowledge and was on a thread where the 'true hunger pains/pangs' where...what I would call extreme in the amount of hunger (like basically never had any relief from hunger pangs ever, not even when they have consumed their protein). Maybe something else is going on for them..or maybe I misunderstood. I was just honestly...taken aback. However, that doesn't mean I stay fearful or allow myself to be trapped by the negatives. If that was true, then I wouldn't be on this board still and I wouldn't be pursuing surgery. Thank you to everyone for your input. It gave me time for additional self reflection and to process my concerns.

You are SO right on both counts!!

I haven't said much about this unless you aw my posts on struggle with my dr's office staff in trying to get them to push paperwork through to Cigna. It was such an awful experience and it wasn't the insurance company! I had talked to Cigna 15 months ago about their requirements then before I ever found a surgeon. When I asked for recommendations on here and in personal life, several docs recommended but out of 2 recommended, I knew 1 took Cigna and he had good reviews. I didn't call the other doc as he was in Frisco (30 min drive) and doc I chose was 10 mins away. My knee is messed up & driving aggravates it. He is sharing digs with another doc (OB/GYN) as his private new office ais being built. His 1 med tech/office person (he also has office mgr) is one of the most difficult people I have EVER encountered at a dr's office and that is saying A LOT! Especially since I helped care for both parents and have a kid that had an immune system issue growing up. I've had her be hateful to me, be rude, dismissive. The doc; however, was so nice that I've shrugged off med tech's behavior as I have no idea if maybe she is maybe related and was afraid of losing him if I said something. I felt dr & I were a good match though. I had planned to talk to him after surgery about how rough it was to deal with his tech. Flash forward to this week & she called to tell me to come to hospital at a diff time for my Mon. surgery to check in (origcheck in time was 12:30, new check in time is 1:30. I was a bit surprised and as I'm curious..I blurted "what happened?".then said, "sorry, never mind...so when will actual operation take place as I have some people planning to come". Well, I obviously had 'exceeded my question quota' as she sighed & quickly said "2:30" (orig surgery time was 2). Then she basically ended call. Now call me crazy, but changing hospital check in time to be an hr later and NOT changing surgery time seemed odd, but ok. Oh, she did say that "the hospital changed things around". Well, since I got to know a nice lady at the hospital when I called to schedule my appt for surgery and found out she didn't even have my orders/show I was on list for surgery - this was a WEEK after my dr. had told me my surgery date and grouchy tech said to be sure to call hospital ASAP if I didn't hear in a day. When they told me they had no info about my surgery, I sighed as this has been story of my life anytime this person is involved. I've had to deal with her icy attitude anytime I'm in the office as I ended up pushing the 'put things through to insurance' with the doctor as she absolutely REFUSED to and said that I needed to quit calling my insurance as I was getting them confused. CIGNA themselves was frustrated with her& called the Office Mgr to ASSURE them they were ready to APPROVE me. I took a copy of the policy and showed him wording that she kept misinterpreting (did not point it out, told him Cigna was waiting..and asked what his 'take' on "within the past 6 months" meant. He agreed easily that I had indeed met all requirements based on wording of policy and he'd have them push papers through. Next visit, she would not make eye contact. Her face was in a scowl and she only spoke the bare minimum. I've kept telling myself - the only person I care about is the doctor and I like him, he gets my 'clotting issues'...and he understood immediately that my info on CIGNA was correct. AFTER all this, when I call hospital back about surgery/check in time change, the nice lady there said "you are not scheduled for 2:30 (sad thing is I knew med tech lied), the doc made some changes and you are now on list for 3:30. That is all I wanted to know, what time the SURGERY is. And no, the hospital changed nothing. The changes came from dr's office. Why be dishonest about that? Makes no sense. So all this "history" is simmering in the back of my head/heart obviously & past few days all I can think of (well, I do think of good things too, but this is the 'really getting to me stuff')..is how awful and hard she has made the process. Who knew an office staff person could be more difficult than insurance? Cigna was a dream! Now to top it off, my husband is unhappy that my coumadin to lovenox bridging plan was given to me by dr on a sticky note. Maybe he intended office staff to type it up (I showed it to them though & they just handed back), but when I pulled it out yesterday, my husband expressed BIG concerns that something that is so critical to my health (my last, MINOR surgery - I ended up throwing more clots even with a filter in because lovenox bridging was dosed wrong).. Hubby uncomfortable that info just on a 'sticky note'. No dr signature, no official paperwork, etc. When I was at hospital for pre-op...all I kept hearing was about the"some dr" up in Frisco..in glowing terms - they weren't talking to me, the hospital staff was talking to ea other. I said at one point "he must be a really good dr" and the woman said "he is incredible". NOTE: All docs @ this hospital are either contractors or part owners if they wish. Both my current dr & the one ppl were talking about are both contractors so there was no 'reason' for them to 'wax poetic' about the other dr. My dr is new to this part of DFW area. All of this to say....I'm so torn - turns out this other dr is the one I decided not to see as he was in Frisco. I've been willing to put up with abusive/rude behavior from my drs staff that I like as I don't want to 'upset apple cart'. I've ignored my misgivings &husband's misgivings about getting my critical coumadin and Lovenox schedule handed to me on a sticky. I still feel he is a really good dr. Now though, I have found out that this other dr has much more extensive reviews..and they are just as good if not better...and ppl rave about him and his staff. What is more, they are willing to meet with me and have a discussion (I called to ask if they had ever had anyone switch at last minute) to see what would be best for me and even likely my surgery date will not change. Do you think this is all part of jitters - I'm not SEEKING to postpone my surgery at all. Have I been ignoring what my gut has been trying to tell me all along? I KNOW my husband is not thrilled with the dr I've chosen. Am I nuts for taking another look at this???

Yes, it is supposed to be laparoscopic either way. That being said, original dr said much like what you said, that most ppl he would discharge the next day. He said due to my major clotting history, he would keep me an extra day at least. Not really sure why as I'll be bridged to lovenox....and this time 'adequately bridged based on my weight'. Will ask new dr what his usual process is. I figured I would sleep the day I came home or the next day because you are correct, anesthesia can do a whammy on you. Most of what I need in the first week or 2 does NOT need to be prepared. I work remotely and have for years so honestly, I just planned after a '1 day sleep in' that I'd just 'get back to work'. Now that I've said all that, I would LOVE to get out of litter box duty for a couple of weeks!

Hey, thank you. Do you know James' last name? I typed in '@JamesM but came up with only ones with full last name..

I'm so bummed now. I thought we would have less ACTUAL physical hunger as some of the hormones like Grehlin (sp) are eliminated? Am I having 85% of my stomach removed to be just as hungry as I am now on an all liquid diet at almost starvation level calories? Is there some sort of known % that get NO relief from true physical hunger pangs (not head hunger, not stomach acid, not cravings and not from someone who has stretched their pouch out)?? I'd rather know the unvarnished truth rather than be looking at surgery on the 1st thinking I'm...going to get one thing and yet, not be getting it at all in the end.

I think you should get yourself one too! I was trying to think of finding water bottles that aren't so obviously meant to be used with a straw. I've been trying to drink out of my 'Yeti-like' cup and it just dribbles all over me. I love it because it keeps stuff cold and I live in TX but I feel like a toddler who needs a sippy cup because I've obviously forgotten how to drink stuff without a straw!!!! Was hoping to also find those little container/cups that most ppl find at Dollar General only because with work at a high peak with ppl worried because I'm having surgery wow...this coming Monday...I need to spend as much time working as possible.

Amen! I think it was Mom_of_Chaos..oh my gosh I need to verify her name but she was starting a list of everyone in July by date which I thought was really cool. I'm on July 1st in TX. I'm 50 but if you ask me in public you may hear me say 49..LOL Welcome! We are all going through this together!! We'll be in very close stages of recovery too!

Can someone tell me what a 'super sleeve/sleave' is? Is it your doctor's terminology for a special process that he has come up with /developed or is using?

Congrats! I'm having mine on 7/1. Now that I know they may weigh you before you are leaving, I'm going to close my eyes..I don't want to know. Each time I've been in the hospital, if I'm on an IV, I swell up like a balloon.

Oh my gosh - totally in my prayers! My orthos said both knees need to be replaced and urged me to get bariatric surgery to get my BMI lower (I had already been planning to get surgery)..and I have a long way to go, but hopefully in next year or 2 I will hit the right BMI. When my Dad was alive he did both knees at once. I've considered doing the same but my Dad had a huge tolerance for pain and it was..interesting. I think I'll only do one at a time. What an accomplishment! Lost your weight and now on to one of your key goals! You go, MstressB69!!!

Oh my gosh...you have the BEST IDEAS!! LOVE IT!! 1- @KarenLR75 (VSG)

I am 50 and did keto this past year. Well, when I intensely focused on it, in about 9 months and NOT being able to exercise at all due to torn knee and it had not gotten warm enough to get in pool, I lost 45 lbs in that 9 months (although keep in mind I weigh a GREAT DEAL more than you so consider your possible loss on more of a % of ttl basis & if you can manage some things at this time of year like getting on pool, I still think you could lose a nice amt of weight...but I'm also so angry/frustrated on your behalf..but want to encourage you as well if Keto is your only option left) My primary dr. is huge fan of keto but my bariatric dr is not. I actually do not have cholesterol issues but my primary, who I have known now for over 20 yrs, has had other patients whose cholesterol,diabetes, etc. improved. However, I think 'impact' of keto on things like cholesterol can be very individualized. Also, my bariatric dr said if people didn't go to the 'extremes of keto' like eating a ton of beef each and every day, if they limited some of the things that we know often impacts cholesterol, then he'd be more a fan of the general approach. So yes, even at 50, I lost 45 on Keto and that was not working as hard as I could. 18 yrs ago, I lost 80 lbs on Atkins and kept it off for over a decade as I was finally able to be active and yes, was MUCH younger at the time, but hey, I did lose on Keto. I'm torn for you though and I apologize if you've answered this 100 times...does your insurance not have an Appeals process??

Anyone who thinks that WLS is the EASY way out has no idea of what they are talking about!! EASY?!?! I also referred to it as the 'nuclear detonation' option...because of what is involved and the impact. It is not the first easy 'go to' thing for "gee, I need to lose a few pounds". It is something that I imagine NONE of us would have opted for and I'd guess 99% of us are 'experts at losing weight'. It IRRITATES the crud out of me that people seem to think that we just woke up one day and said "Hey, I wanna run through the whole messy gauntlet, pre-requisites, counseling, fighting with insurance, hunting for a doc to trust, losing weight before surgery, pre-op diets, knowing what this does to our insides, knowing and accepting how our lives are going to change"..and just said "oh yeah, SIGN ME UP FOR THAT CUZ IT IS EASY!! You got this, girl! Your name 'CelfLove' says it all. Can't always make ppl understand but those that love us are the ones that we ask to at least accept the decision (acceptance doesn't mean they have to like it..last time I checked...my body is still my own). Go get 'em!!

One of my "new friends" on this board and I were chatting via posts and they made a comment that made me question something on the 'clear liquids' portion of the pre-op diet with is coming up in a day or 2 for me. I have on my list that I can have sugar free popsicles and even jello. I remember though when I was getting an upper GI and a colonoscopy several years ago, they required the popsicles and jello to either be yellow or green in color. I've looked at the list from my nutritionist AND my list from my doctor and they do not stipulate a color restriction (i.e. no red, orange, etc.) but I know they are going to do a leak test. Has anyone been told that they need to stick to greens and yellows for popsicles and jello?? I'd hate to just keep eating red/orange items and THEN find out this was a big no-no!!

I so get this! Yes, Mexican food is the same for me...and alcohol..not like I drink a lot, but it has been a part of the 'kids are out of the house'..let's go to a winery, etc. type thing.. Basically what you said. Um, after hearing about your experience with trying Saki, while i hadn't planned on trying anything alcoholic under 6 months (I'd love to tell all of you that I'll wait until I have a year under my belt but I don't feel the internal conviction on that point yet)....I definitely will keep your story in mind if I start thinking about it. I DO NOT want to crave anything if i can help it, but especially NOT CARBS

Sometimes..it would be nice if we could get consistent answers from our care team (hospital, nutritionist, doctor, etc.) I just did my pre-op appt at the hospital and asked them the question about the popsicles (didn't mention jello) but stated that I had red and orange popsicles. They said "not a problem"....but when I look at the number of people who have replied that said "no red"...I've got to take that into consideration. Kroger had NO Sugar Free popsicles that were only yellow and/or green...like literally..NONE. Tried TWO stores. I can do lime sugar free jello but of course I stocked up on not only the lime, but also many 'variations of red' OK, when I go to clear liquids on um..the 28th or 29th (surgery is July 1st), I'll remove red jello for sure. Guess I'll have to send family out to try to find green/yellow only popsicles. I'd call my dr's office as well but one member of his staff, the person who most often answers, is so hard to talk to/deal with that I hang up feeling completely stressed out - even if it is a simple inquiry. Feeling a bit confused...concerned and all of a sudden..frustrated (not at y'all - I appreciate your input)..this has just been bad work day and bad personal day. No worries.. ??????????????????

Seriously? ARGH.....um...heck.. But they didn't specify like..no red popsicles? is it a 'red dye' thing you think or ??