okayestmom

I am 5’5 and my goal weight is 140. I am sure my body has changed since the last time I weighed that amount. It isn’t so much the number as it is my mobility and ability to exercises without hurting myself. Getting in and out of my car is embarrassing now. Also I found out my heavy breathing from not much effort is from the hiatal hernia and they are fixing that when I have my surgery. Looking good in jeans would be nice too though...

I am going through Texas Bariatric Specialists, Dr. Patel is the lead surgeon, but my surgeon will be Dr. Reddy. The prices on their web site are fairly accurate. My actual surgery cost will be $8,999.00 for gastric sleeve performed in their surgical center. If the hospital was required the cost would be $13,000.00. This price includes life time follow up in their clinics, which is a big reason why I chose them. Also, they have an awesome success rate, lots of surgeries completed, and a clinic located close to where I live. If you have any health insurance your primary may cover some of the other testing required prior to surgery. My expenses prior to surgery, sleep study, psych eval, nutrition appointment, labs, swallow study and pending EKG, Chest X-RAY, more labs and 2 more office visits will total between $3,500-$4,000. The labs were the most expensive thing. I have paid for everything to date, but will use Care Credit for the actual surgery cost which they collect prior to surgery (I will be paying at my next appointment this Friday). My surgery date is 6/11/18. There are other medical credit options as well, Care Credit just had a better interest rate for pay off within two years and since I had to open a credit line at least this one can be used for vet bills as well! I will also be receiving documents from the Clinic for medical Tax right off (between the surgery and my 17 year old's allergy shots, I am hoping Uncle Sam doesn't get anything next tax year). This was the right choice for me, but everyone's situation is different and it appears that Mexico is much cheaper and the hotels in the pics look awesome. https://texasbariatricspecialists.com/pricing/

Wow, you are stronger than you think. Still walking and taking care of yourself. I hope it went well for you today.

Frust8 - Don’t do it with a local! I had 4 impacted wisdom teeth removed at one time with a local at Darnall Army Hospital 1994. No one should be awake watching someone with what looks like a hammer and chisel chipping away at your teeth. Can’t imagine seeing my actual insides...I will anxiously await the 24th with you.

HAHA you sound exactly like my husband! He is always saying two is one and one is none. Can't complain though, because I never have to worry because he does enough for both of us. I think my 24 year old daughter got his slightly OCD gene because she literally makes packing lists for everyone before any trip. YOU ARE PREPARED, IT IS OKAY TO RELAX NOW! It is also okay to let your family know you need them to help you. It might surprise you to see how much they actually want to help. One of my fondest memories is the lukewarm barely brown tea that my then 5 and 6 year old brought me while I was running a high fever and their Dad was at work. They followed my microwave hot chocolate instructions I had posted for them by the microwave (normally supervised).

San Antonio Self Pay. Even though I am originally from the Republic of California, I have been living in the of Republic of Texas for 28 years. Hubby was from D.C. (poor guy didn't even have a state) so we just stayed in the middle of the USA.

Wow!

I am having my sleeve done in San Antonio. Most of my appointments are in Killeen, but sometimes I go to their North Austin location. Texas Bariatric Specialists.

I just went through the thread and followed all the June surgery people. There were several from Texas like me and several teachers. In am not a teacher, but work with Communities In Schools which also follows the school schedule. My organization does not usually work summer school, but I do because I am in an alternative school that offers summer school. I won't be there this year because of my surgery :(. I am hoping we can encourage and keep each other accountable through this forum, and maybe us Texas folks can meet up next summer in a central location. Enchanted rock in Fredericksburg, the River Walk in San Antonio, 6th Street in Austin, or the trillion of places near Dallas where my daughter is. Heck, maybe we can walk a 5k together, just trying to be optimistic and be with some people that get it. I have attached this video before but I hope you guys enjoy my weight loss fish. Weight Loss Surgery Puffer Fish.mp4

June 11th and I am self pay as well. Very excited! I have a few more nutrition appointments. Apparently my surgeon uses a staged diet before liquid diet. Also I have to repeat some labs and do a chest x-ray and EKG. Every other test has resulted in finding something wrong i.e. sleep apnea, hiatal hernia, and they put me on a low dose BP med. so I am hoping the EKG comes out normal...

Yep, this is me. I gained weight after my first appointment back in February (celebrating). I finally got down to my first visit weight and am trying to lose more before the surgery because they say the more you lose before helps you lose after. I get that I cannot clear my kitchen of temptation because I have a thin very active 17 year old boy and a husband who has to eat extra calories due to a mass on his adrenal gland. They literally ordered 3 large pizzas and kept offering me some. I didn’t do it. One piece just turns into 3 and so on. They can have the leftover pizza. I just keep reminding myself that it is the unhealthy mass quantities of food that are causing me to not feel well. Would I continue to take a pill that made me feel good at first and then made me feel sick later? Unfortunately, I believe that is what I have done to myself. It just crept up so slow and like you I was busy and not paying attention.

Is anyone else’s family trying to feed them everything before you start the liquid diet. I have enough of a time controlling my own urges, I don’t need any help! I know they mean well. Just curious if my family is the only weirdos.

That had some really helpful info thanks for sharing.

Thanks for sharing both pics. That is a big difference in only six months. Congrats!

Good for you! Thanks for sharing both pics.

Well, I never thought I would be on here telling someone that I hope they have fat...but, here it is. Fatty mass sounds great, I hope that is your news on Thursday. Keep us posted.

More tests required within 30 days of surgery. Since my local VA was so helpful with CPAP machine (sarcasm), I am not going back there. Someone posted it isn't worth the hassle and I think they were right. Had some chest pain using the CPAP, tried not sleeping on my back, bigger pillow and finally found a you tube video to check the pressure settings. My prescription was suppose to be 7 max. After hacking into the clinical setting (thanks youtuber guy), I found that my CPAP was set at a minimum of 7 and max 12. I adjusted the settings and filed a complaint with the patient advocate. The nurse I saw also documented what looked like a full physical in my records (I never saw a Doctor). I am pretty sure you have to listen to my lungs to document that they are clear. Oh well, never going back there again. So, I have a nutrition appointment May 18th and I am guessing this is when I will start my liquid diet and another appointment May 29th (maybe this is the liquid diet one) probably to check my weight and make sure all the tests are completed? I was at work and I got really excited about getting my surgery date and forgot to ask questions. Labs-CMP, CBC with diff, PT/PTT, HIV Panel, Hepatitis Panel Plus an EKG and a Chest X-Ray I hope it isn't more than $500 for this portion otherwise it will be on my credit card. This really is a process and I am not even trying to get insurance approval!! I wish the weight loss surgery would work like the video, but alas you guys let me know it is just a tool and I am going to have to work at it. Weight Loss Surgery Puffer Fish.mp4

My old Fitbit had better battery life, but my Apple Watch tracks and updates better with my iPhone. I live in the country with slow WiFi, so that could be the issue. It is better than it used to be, I still remember the AT&T days when we couldn’t even stream Netflix.

You look awesome so soon after surgery. Unfortunately my family has a strict no social media while medicated policy after some unfortunate pics my daughter sent out after her appendectomy while in college. [emoji23] I have to support the family!

We have the same date!

We have the same date!

Just got my date today, 6/11/18. They called in a low dose blood pressure for me to start taking and I have two more appointments and a few more tests before the surgery. I will get my pre-op diet on the 18th. After the VA nightmare to get a CPAP machine, I will just pay my way through the rest. (Turns out if you make them mad by insisting they provide care, they just up the air pressure beyond the RX. Made my patient advocacy complaint, and now I do not want to go back). I have worked two jobs before, I would rather do that and have less stress. Side note, never would have known they had the setting wrong if not for the YouTube video showing how to access the clinical settings. I tried bigger pillow, more humidity, and not lying on my back, but I kept getting chest pain. The last thing I found googling was pressure set to high.

My son should be back in two or so months. Having served during desert storm (husband deployed, I did not) and living near Fort Hood, I wish all this could end. I really didn’t want my son to join, but ultimately supported his decision by encouraging him to be an officer. Long family history of enlistment. He is the first officer. Super proud Mom.

You took the first steps and have the good sense to realize you need some support. Maybe having a financial investment will help with your success. We all have the same ultimate goal, but we are all individuals with different health issues, different doctors, and even different countries! I am usually more of a reader than a poster, but I am trying to get out there a little more because I think it will help me be successful and accountable. Hope to see your continued posts.

Nothing to do with nothing as far as weight loss surgery, but came home from work to find out our gate was messed with while no one was home and our dogs were outside. My husband was telling me how he wanted to put in some rebar at one of our gates because it was pushed open and either our dogs did it or someone purposely opened our gate outward. we normally open it inward if we are using it. I immediately felt rage and spent some time going over our camera system. We do not live in the city limits, which I love because we can do whatever we want on our property (no permits required). Like any freedom it comes with consequences, our neighbor is a hoarder and the place looks like a junk yard. I was thinking the worst when I poured through the footage. It was a Buck that rammed the fence trying to get away from my dogs. The fence was open for over 2 hours before my husband got home and all the dogs stayed in the yard. The fluffy one is the oldest at 10, the next is 2 and the youngest is 9 months (on the right in pic). Super proud of my super mutt rescue dogs!