ssflbelle

Oh No have a stock pile too. However my surgery doesn't look like it is happening until Feb so I would have plenty of time to drink them now. Later after surgery I can see if I still like them by buying a 4 pack and if I do I can get more. This waiting is really getting to me. It is going to be over 8 months or more. I still do not have a surgery date despite having gotten approval and finished the supervised diet the week of Thanksgiving.

Destiny is so right it is a roller coaster ride for many of us. Unfortunately I am one of them as well. I have been trying since June 15 2015 to get the sleeve. I have been done with the 6 months supervised diet since before Thanksgiving, have insurance approval and clearances from all Dr's except for the PCP. The PCP wants a surgery date and the surgeon doesn't give out dates until they have PCP clearance. It is a Catch 22. So I called the surgeon today and told them they have to give me a date. So they gave me a dummy date to give to the PCP. When I asked will my surgery be close to that date I was told NO the surgeon is filled up for Jan and you will probably be in Feb. It is very frustrating and I have beating the heck out of my punching bag. It is a sit and wait game as well. Wait for referral, wait for an appointment to see the different Drs, if more testing is needed wait for that approval and then wait for the testing appointments and wait to see the Dr for the results. Unless your insurance and Dr are a heck of a lot better than mine I would not get so excited. I did and now I am so deflated and upset by what has happen. I am even thinking of changing Drs to see if another will take me soon than Feb.

Since June 15 2015 I have been trying to get the sleeve surgery. I have jumped through all the hoops imaginable including 7 visits with a Psychologist, CAt scans, Pulmonary, Cardiac and a 6 month supervised diet that ended Nov 23rd. Finally this week I have been told I am approved only to learn that the Surgeon has no opening till February. I am so upset as I was hoping and praying I would have this surgery before my 60th BIrthday Jan 24th. I am so disabled that I can't walk and this surgery was suppose to help me to lose the weight so I could get other surgeries so I could once again walk. I am so frustrated with all the delays with the insurance company getting referrals and having to wait over 1 month for some appointments only to be told I have to have additional testing done and needing to wait another month for a referral and an opening for those tests. I am so ready to change Surgeons and see if another will take me sooner than February. I have all my clearances and approval. Has anyone changed Dr after getting approved and how soon after that change did you have your surgery? The Dr I have not only does the WLS but he also does all surgeries on obese people. I need my gallbladder taken out and possibly a hernia as well as the sleeve. What are your opinions on this? What would you do wait out the additional 6 weeks or more or see if a different surgeon would do the surgeries sooner?

I am in Palm Beach County and the one I went to wanted to see me more than 1 time. Be prepared that you may not get your clearance in one visit. I believe it was 6 times that she wanted to see me. Finally after the 6th visit she gave me clearance. I have been at this since June 2015. Had so many darn hoops I had to jump through including a 6 month supervised diet which was finished Nov 23rd and now I am being told the surgeon has no openings until Feb. Another wait of over 6 weeks, this is the most frustrating thing I have ever had to go through.

OMGosh you have been waiting for 2 years? If I may ask what were the delays? Were you on a supervised diet all that time? I think I would have been so frustrated if I had to wait 2 years. So glad to hear you have a surgery date and I certainly hope and pray there are no more delays.

Oh my I am swooning all over the place. I have taken pictures and will continue to do so.

200 in 10 months is awesome. Keep going strong. Hopefully you took pictures. I am going to be taking some more pictures tomorrow I hope since I lost 35 with the 6th months supervised diet.

I never heard of the horsepower thinking. When I went to see the surgeon I was 352 and he tried to talk me into the Gastric bypass because of my weight but I told him NO! I once was 497 and lost 145 on my own and felt that with the 6 months supervised diet and the sleeve I would be able to lose down to 155. This past month my 6th visit when I asked the Dr what was the expected weight loss monthly. He felt he couldn't give me monthly but gave me a 6th month weight loss of 95 pounds. He felt I would get to 200 and then the rest would be skin removal. When I stated that would be 45 pounds he stated yea that is the amount of excess skin I predict you will have. I still do not have a surgery date so we shall see what happens by next Christmas. If you feel comfortable with the sleeve don't let the Dr talk you out of it. I think those of use who have BMI's over 50 have to be more strict and stick to the Protein Vegetables and keep out the other foods far longer than the thinner ones. I am so dedicated to making this work that I am willing to do just that and will have to change my mind as I am a person who enjoys variety in everything including food.

VSGAnn2014 Thanks so much for sharing the calories you had eaten and what you are doing now. I haven't had my week before surgery workshop yet so maybe they will tell me more. But if they don't this is great info that I have copied and will refer back to if I don't get any more. I have a very long journey and hope I make it to my goal of 155

Thanks for sharing about your exercise. So sorry to hear about your foot. I have had that many years ago and I know what I went through was very difficult. I hope that with the weight .loss it will be easier for you to heal. I am sure there are still some exercise you can do even if it is just sit down for now. Don't let this derail you, keep on going strong.

Thanks Songsmith I have been trying for many many years to lose on my own. Mostly the Weight Watcher's and Nutrisystem programs is how I lost the first 145 pounds. The last 6 months have been the high Protein, low carbs diet the surgeon put me on for the supervised diet. I lost 35 which puts me where I am today. I hope I can stay good during the Holiday and not gain anything back. I wanted to get as close to 300 as possible but not knowing when the surgery date is I have no idea if I will make it. Cindy the class you attended sounded like something everyone should attend. I know I have a 4 hour workshop I have to attend the week before surgery but I have no idea what it will be about.

My first meeting with the surgeon was June 17 2015. He supervised my 6 month diet so I saw him 5 more additional times. I last saw him Nov 23. I am going to be 60 years old in Jan and have never had a surgery in my life so they gave me every test imaginable. The WL surgeon turned in my paperwork. My PCP still hasn't give me Medical clearance and medically necessary forms. So my paperwork is not complete, I am still waiting for approval and a surgery date. I am hoping for surgery of gallbladder and sleeve sometime in January. Each insurance and Dr is different so it is difficult to know until you have talked everything over with your PCP and surgeon.

Hi All On Monday I got an appointment to see my PCP on Saturday to get the medical clearance and medically necessary and another blood workup. I showed up and it turns out a staff member told me wrong the PCP was not there nor was he scheduled to be there. So I didn't get anything none as the other Dr and I have never met. So now I am rescheduled for Thursday. There seems to be a lot of roadblock in my journey to get this sleeve surgery. I was hoping to get a date before the holiday so I could enjoy it stress free. How is it that some people have gotten surgery dates yet haven't been approved yet. I don't understand that. I have to be approved first then get my surgery date. My WL surgeons submitted my forms on Nov 23 but the PCP has yet to give me the clearance. So here I sit anxiously awaiting clearance, approval and a date.

I finished my 6 months Nov 23rd. I have lost another 35 pounds during the 6 months supervised diet for a total loss of 180 pounds before surgery. I have everything done but the PCP medical clearance and medically necessary and another blood work up to do. I thought all this was going to be done yesterday but the PCP office messed up by telling me he was going to be in and he wasn't. . My paperwork from the WL surgeon was submitted the Monday before Thanksgiving. It is the PCP that is holding things up as I still do not have a surgery date. I have another 162 pounds to lose with the surgery which hopefully will be in Jan. I started a blog in 2008 when I was trying to get the lap band but the insurance at that time wouldn't pay for refills so I didn't have the surgery. I continued with the blog again this June. Please read and leave a comment if your interested in following my long journey to walk again. I like the idea of this thread as we can support each other during our surgery and recovery.

Alex Are you wanting to promote the web site or the WLS? I did a search and there are many WLS t-shirts all ready on the market. If your wanting to promote both the WLS and the site how about On the front I Downsized with WLS or I am Half the Size due to WLS on the back And the Support on Bariatricpal.

Hi everyone. Nov 23rd was my 6th visit to the WL surgeon. I lost another 7 pounds for a total of 35 pounds down in what is really 5 months but my 6th visit. While there I asked if my PCP had turned in the medical clearance form and the medically necessary forms. He had not. The records lady told me the PCP wanted to get my cardiac clearance and my pulmonary clearance before he did the 2 above mentioned forms. My breathing test wasn't to take place until the day before Thanksgiving. My 2 day chemical stress test was scheduled for Dec 2nd and 3rd. On December 7th I called my PCP to schedule an appt for the medical clearance etc. I was told the first day I could get was Saturday Dec 12 and I also needed to get updated blood work as the June blood work was no longer good- too much time had passed. I got there today and the staff was totally different and I had to pay $25.00 which I never had to pay before. When the person called me in, I was brought into a totally different room. Then he asked me loads of questions which should have been on his computer screen. When I told him I have been coming here each month for a year you have all this information and I am here for blood work and medical clearance, He asked me who my Dr was and who was doing the surgery. I swear it was like I had never been there before in my life. I was getting madder by the minute. When he asked what surgery I was having I told him and he said to me well you need to have this test and that test. I told him I had all those tests and my Dr and the surgeon have been working together for the last 6 months and that I wanted to see my Dr. He then tells me my Dr isn't there and wasn't scheduled for today. I told him that is not what the office staff told me on Monday that is why I was here today. I asked, Who is here? I was told, The Dr that supervises my Dr and that person went to see if that Dr would clear me for surgery. NO! That Dr knows anything about me and I had to come back. He told me the days my Dr would be there. So now I have to wait until Thursday so I can see my Dr and get the blood work and medical clearance. Before I left I asked to speak with the office manager who wasn't there either. She will be getting a phone call first thing Monday morning. I just thought this whole situation was unacceptable. Don't you agree? I don't know if everyone else goes through all this crap that I have had to go through. Nine visits with the Psych, 3 Catscans, EKG, 2 day stress test, breathing test, blood work up, 6 visits with the surgeon, a visit with the Nut. My papers were submitted the week of Thanksgiving. As of Dec 12th I still do not have a surgery date and have a 4 hour workshop I have to attend, additional pre-op testing, pre-op diet, etc the week before the surgery date i don't even have yet. Will this never end? I am getting so frustrated and am stressed out with all the crap going down with insurance. I just wanted to get a date scheduled in Jan so I could enjoy the Holiday. I have a feeling I will be stressing out during the holiday waiting on pins and needles for this surgery date. Everyone that started the same time I did are having their surgeries this month and some have had it already. Here I sit waiting. This insurance of mine is taking forever and so many weeks waiting for referrals for the tests and waiting for Dr appts. I would change but I am afraid that would mean I would have to start all over again and I can't do that. I need to get this surgery so I can start losing even more weight and get the surgeries I need for my hip, and back so I can walk again. Plus the surgeries for my shoulder, elbow and hand so I can use them again. Being like this at age 60 is very difficult and I have to have the surgeries to be able to live a more normal life. This surgery is not for vanity or fashion issues. I am hoping the next time I write I will have medical clearance and a date for surgery. Till next time I hope you all have a happy and healthy life and a wonderful Holiday!!

WOW Sharon you lost so much in 4 months. You look fantastic and I never would have guessed you were not in the 200's yet. Have you started to exercise yet? If so, what are you doing? Keep going strong.

Glad you got a date to do the special endoscope. Am hoping your surgery date doesn't get changed, but if it does -your health is far more important and everything needs to be good to go before your surgery. I am having a difficult time too getting medical clearance and I know it is frustrating but I have never had surgery before and I suppose they just want to make sure everything will be ok. I started with this process June 15 and jumping through all the hoops is ready getting to me. I just want to know I am approved and have a date scheduled in Jan so I can have a peaceful Christmas. I had an appt especially for today as that is when the office staff told me my PCP would be there. I was to have a fasting blood work up, medical clearance and medically necessary forms filled out. Everything else is done and insurance has most of my paperwork but I have no date for surgery nor apporval yet. Well guess what The Dr wasn't there, they told me he was not scheduled to be in. Well then why did you tell me on Wednesday that he was going to be there. Oh sorry we made a mistake. To make matters worse they charged me $25.00 and I have never been charged that much before. They rescheduled me for Thursday morning. The office manager will be getting a call on Monday as I am not happy about either situations that happened.

Glad to hear you didn't have that drink. Good luck!

I haven't had my surgery yet. However I also have to have my gallbadder taken out. I have a hernia too but the Dr wants to leave that in as he feel it may come back as I lose weight with the sleeve. I don't have a surgery date but he did tell me I would have an additional incision for the removal of the gallbladder when I do have my surgery. Hopefully others who have had the surgeries already will reply soon. Good luck on Monday. Let me know what happens.

Congratulations!! Hope you get your surgery before the New Year. I go to the PCP tomorrow for another blood work up as June's doesn't count any more. Hopefully I get the Medical approval now that all the testings are done and I get the medically necessary release, and approval will come through so I can get the gallbladder out and the sleeve down soon after the New Year. One good thing that happened this week is my electric lift that gets me in and out of the house and to work got fixed on Wednesday a day earlier than was expected. I hope and pray next year this time I will not need that lift any more.

Glad to hear things are going well and you will be home tomorrow.

When you say you are drinking, what are you drinking? Water, Protein shakes, Soups etc or are you speaking about booze. You need water so you don't become dehydrated. Protein Shakes and Soup you need to drink for the protein as your not able to eat food yet. Not sure how you equate drinking water, shakes and soup with stretching your new stomach. Now if it is booze that is something I have no idea about.

Thanks Destiny and Susan- Your both so right. The Cardiologist just this afternoon cleared me. Now I need a blood work up again as Junes doesn't count any more for some reason. Once that is done the PCP hopefully will clear me and write out the medically necessary form. But surgery will still not be till Jan as the surgeon is going out of the country for the Holiday. I sent friends requests- I need all the friends and support I can get.

I do not see but one posting this year 2015. Is the group still active or have you all moved to another location? I have looked around but do not see any other 300+ pound groups or forums. I also was looking for wheelchair bound sleevers but didn't see any group like that either. I believe those of us who are wheelchair bound and over 300 have unique challenges that the lower weights do not have. Having others to talk too and discuss new ways of doing things would be helpful in additional to the emotional support for such a long journey. I hope some of the newer ones who joined this group this year and those who have lost their weight already will come forward. Maybe we can get the group posting again