ssflbelle

I didn't know there were injections given after surgery. May I ask what injections are you ladies talking about? What are they for? How many?

I am new and have to be on a 6 month supervised diet. During the initial visit the surgeon gave me a book all about the sleeve and the after surgery diets plans I was to follow. He also said I would see the NUT when she got back from the wedding she was attending out of the state. So when I got the phone call I was anxious to get started with her on June 30th and see the 6 month diet I was to follow. I drove about 45 minutes North of where I live to meet with her. When I met with the NUT she told me what I had to do after the surgery not before. She didn't tell me anything that was not in that book I had to read. When I asked what diet I was to follow for the next 6 months she said "What did the DR tell you to do? I told her I had been following Nutrisystem for the past year but had only lost about 35 pounds and the DR told me to keep doing NS. She asked me if I wanted the surgery and I told her yes so she said well keep doing NS. But I only lost 35 pounds in a year and I told her that is hardly nothing to lose when your close to 390 pounds. I told her I felt that NS gave me too much carbs. As in addition to their food I was suppose to eat 5 more carbs. She said well then cut back to 1 carb. That was the only advise she gave me and I left in less than an hour. I came to find out the insurance has denied paying her and she cost me $250.00 for nothing. When I went back to the surgeon whom I am to see each month for the next 6 months I told him what the NUT said and that she didn't give me a diet. I asked him will I be seeing the NUT again and he said no. I told him I thought it odd that I had to meet with her this first month before we even know if I am going to be approved for the surgery. I gave him my food diary for the past month on NS and he looked at it and told me to stop following NS. He said to eat only 3 meals and no Snacks, eat my Protein first and then vegetables and to stay away from carbs. That was his diet plan in the book as to what I am too eat after surgery after the first month. It seems odd to me that neither one really gave me a 6 month supervised diet. I want to lose as much as I can before the surgery and left very confused and disappointed.

Thank You for this link. I have never worn a sport bra that has to be put on over your head. I do see they would have my size but I am concerned about all the tugging that would be needed to get the boobs in to that kind of a bra. It does look like it has great support though. This one looks very similar to a bra I have now. All my bras are front closer and none have wire in them. I usually use the Goddess brand with the high back. Because of my size they aren't very pretty and really don't seem to hold me up very well ether. However being in the electric scooter when I am out not to many people see me standing. Thanks everyone else for your replies. I will have to check next time I see the Dr if they have huge gowns. I too have urine problems and was thinking of asking the nurse to help me get into a diaper or be catherized. With my injuries I can't get out of the bed many times fast enough to get to the bathroom. I am on a 6th month supervised diet so hopefully by 2016 I will have lost enough weight to be out of the 300's and better able to get out of bed and do things.

Not a dumb question at all and I thank you for asking it. My concern is not the operating room but walking around the floor with my boobs hanging down to my knees. I am not kidding just look at my before pictures and those are with a bra on. If the incision is close to the bra line how soon after surgery were you ladies allowed to wear a bra again?

OMG For a minute I thought I wrote this post as I too was injuried, gained all the way up to 497 pounds and was married to a man who loved fat girls and called himself a fat admirer. When i finally wanted to take back my life and lose weight he said those some words to me. When I asked for his help and support he flatly refused and provided none. When I tried to do it alone he sabotaged me every step of the way. Even went so far as to stay away from the house for days at a time stressing me out and this caused me to eat even more. There were lots of other problems in our marriage and finally when I couldn't take it anymore I divorced him. He refused to go to a marriage counselor. Since he has been out of my life I have lost over 150 pounds and am waiting for sleeve surgery so I can lose an additional 183 pounds. I beg you please do not listen to your husband. Do what you have to do to get your weight under control. I wish I would have had the strength years ago to do it when I was younger. Your husband seems more willing to support you then mine was and that is a great thing but if you two can go to counseling that will help tremendously. I will be following your thread and hope you don't mind if I add you as a friend. I am here if you wish to email. HUGS

Those pictures when completed look wonderful in frames. Glad to hear you found a new hobby. In addition to the coloring I do lots of other crafts like beaded banners, rug making, plastic canvas and cross stitching. If my hands are busy I can't feed my face. So my body wins and making the beaded banners and doing the coloring parties help to bring in extra money I will need for all the co-pays for the sleeve.

Yes it is relaxing. As a Joy of Coloring Consultant I hold these parties to give adults the chance to see if they find this activity reduces their stress. When they see it does they then order books and supplies from me and may even book and host a party. I wish I could figure out how to post a few pictures of what folks colored today. Oh well we had a fun relaxing time.

This is the first ever National Coloring Day- A group of adults get together to color in adult coloring books. It is the latest stress reducer for adults.

I have been busy with planning a party for tomorrow is National Coloring Book Day. I had no idea till today that you had your surgery. So glad you documented it and that you are doing so well. One year is a long time to wait and have such a positive attitude. I will be following your journey on the sleeved side and know you will do very well.

How Cool. Now have some idea what people were saying when they wrote those Abbreviations. Thanks for doing this I am following it so I can CBL Come back later and check if I see an Abbreviation I can't remember. I hope more will add to this.

I am in Florida and have Coventry Summit Health Insurance. It is a Medicare Advantage Plan. I have researched and can't find any info on this insurance about WLS. My Dr's office has told me I need to do the 6 months supervised diet and a lot of the other tests and they will handle all the paper work for me. I am wondering what my Co-Pays would be as they haven't told me. Does anyone have this insurance and had the sleeve? What were your Co-Pays? Being on disability it is going to be difficult for me to save money but I need this surgery in order to regain my life and walk again.

I too am on a 6 month supervised diet as well as a load of testing and a mental evaluation per my insurance and I was not told a certain amount of weight to lose either. So if I am even approved my surgery will not be until 2016. The Dr told me (just last week - the second visit) to get off of Nurisystem (which I have been on for over a year.) He is trying to get me to eat only 3 meals a day high protein/low carb and no snacking which is what he said I will have to follow a month or so after the surgery. I am finding it difficult not to eat between meals as I am use to a snack between lunch and dinner and another one later at night. They are Protein Snacks I am eating but he doesn't even want me eating those kinds of snack. He does want to see a food diary and he does look at that to see what I am eating, I lost 10 pounds the first month and he was happy.

Your looking super cute too. So happy for you! I saw the Dr again and he said this counted as my second visit and I need 4 more to qualify for the 6 months supervised diet. This doesn't make sense to me as June 17 was the first meeting got my starting weight July 22nd was the second visit, but only the first month of dieting. Anyhow I lost 10 pounds this month. I suppose they know better than I do what 6 months means.

In 1990 I weighed about 320 pounds and was very active at that weight. I went bowling, swimming, played mini golf, pool, belly and ballroom danced. Each weekend I was doing something with the South Florida group called NAAFA. I met a man in that group who years later became my husband. But I am getting ahead of myself. Let's go back to 1990 as it was that Thanksgiving holiday I got hurt. I had attended a chili cook off/band competition with Sharon (a NAAFA friend) and I was physically hurt. A complete stranger who was drunk was running as fast as he could (why I do not know) and he tripped over one of the tent stakes and I was the unfortunate one that was in front of him. With both hands he used my back to stop him from falling and kept right on running. I had just stopped a minute before this happened to move the folding chair I was carrying with my right hand and at my side to the front of me. So I was standing still when he did this and the upper half of my body bent right over that folding chair. It knocked the wind out of me and my friend and those around me got the chair opened and sat me down. Asking was I ok. I said yes as I thought I was. We still had to continue through the park to get to my friends car and about 15 minutes into the drive. I told Sharon I felt a great deal of pain in my back. She immediately called her chiropractor and he said to get me immediately to his office. Upon getting there before any x-rays or other tests he asked me to put my back up against the wall and told me you have Lordosis also known as swayback. (I later found out it is a condition in which the spine in the lower back has an excessive curvature. The spine naturally curves at the neck , upper back and lower back to help absorb shock and support the weight of the head. Lordosis occurs when the natural arch in the lower back, or lumbar region, curves more than normal. This can lead to excess pressure on the spine causing pain. People with Lordosis often have a visible arch in their lower backs. When looking at them from the side their lower backs form a defined "C" shape.) Once the Dr did some testing he discovered I had 2 herniated and 1 bulging disc. He set me up with months of chiropractic treatments and over the next 4 years I also had prolotheraphy, epidural injections and other treatments I can't even remember the names of, none of which helped. From 1990 I progress from walking without any problems to walking with one cane, then 2 canes, then a walker with a seat. In 1994 my insurance paid for an electric mobility 3 wheel scooter. During these 4 year more and more depression set in because I was losing all the things I use to love to do because of the pain associated with the conditions I had. In 1995 weighing 420 pounds I did marry my boyfriend, despite being in the scooter. He didn't care as he loved this obese physically handicapped woman, or at least I thought he did. By 1998 I weighed in at 497 pounds, had to use a tow rope attached to my window frame to get me out of bed and into a rolling chair my husband made for me. That was when I told him I had to get my life back and had to lose some weight. I wrote him a 3 page letter as to how he could help me and he flatly refused to do any of the things I asked of him. I tried to lose weight that year but with him bringing in all the foods I loved and me not having the will power to say no I only lost 20 pounds. Over the course of the next 7 years with Weight Watchers and various other diets I tried each New Year I did manage to lose 95 pounds. Oh yea I divorced that man in 2005. In that same year in October I lost my brother Oct 1st and my mother October 29th. In November I was hospitalized with Lymphedema and was out of work for about a month. I was weighed in a hospital bed and it registered 402 pounds. In December I lost my job of 18 years. I am surpised I didn't wind up in the mental ward with all that happened in 2005. The New Year 2006 was approaching, I had gotten a nice severance pay from my lost job, so I decide to started NS at 402 In about a year I got to 308 and ran out of the severance pay money and was trying to get disability. I did get the disability but Medicare wouldn't kick in until 2008. I was told I could still do some work if able to and get the disability. I did manage to find a new job (12 hours a week) but it paid half of what I had been earning. Even with the disability pay and the work pay I still couldn't afford to continue with NS. By 2008 I was back up to 344. The Medicare advantage plan started and I looked into the lap band. I had to have a Dr that was associated with a Medical Center of Excellence which meant a 1 1/2 hour trip one way down south. Turns out the Medicare advantage plan was willing to pay for the surgery but not the fills, so I didn't get the surgery. There was no way I was able to pay for fills. I had been on this site and others and read it takes many tries before you find what people were calling the sweet spot. In 2009, I was back at my old job of 18 years as the agency reopened and wanted me back. I told them my condition had gotten worse since 2005 and I could only work 2 days per week and they were fine with that arrangement. Once again I tried to lose weigh and lost maybe 20 pounds and each year gained them back By June 2014, I gained back up to 390 pounds. I was not going over the 400 mark again. So at 58 years of age I went back to what worked before and that was Nutrisystem. But the program had changed and was not working as well as it had before. Within one year I only lost 38 pounds and felt that it should have been a lot more. In June 2015 at 352 pounds once again I decided to try for WLS with this new medical insurance I had gotten this year. That leads me to where I am now and the next entry will start this journey to WLS as I have to follow a 6 month supervised diet. So surgery will probably not be until 2016, if the insurance approves it. I am writing about this over a decade journey in hopes of providing some inspiration to at least 1 person who feels he or she can't do it because they have a BMI of over 50. When I started this long journey in 1999 my BMI was over 80.2 Now it is 56.8 and I am striving to have a normal BMI of 24 which puts my weight at 152 so I need to lose another 200 pounds. I hope you will join me in this journey to lose weight so I can walk again for more than 3 to 4 minutes. I am tired of this cocoon I am in and am ready to turn into the BUTTERFLY I know is deep inside me. If you are reading this blog, please leave me some comments as I am on this journey alone. This group and a few other WLS groups on the internet know about my decision to lose weight. All my friends are obese and always state they would never have WLS so I can't share this journey with them. Thank you all for reading this. Have a Happy Healthy Day!!

That was March this year, 4 months ago. WOW!!!!! I am now 342 and still have 4 more months of a supervised diet before surgery in 2016 if approved. I am hoping to lose down too the low 300's before surgery so I can get to goal by my 61st birthday in 2017

HI There Glad to hear there is someone else is seeing Dr Vaughan. Do you go to the support group? When is it? The weight I have lost is without the surgery. I have been trying for over 16 years and came to realize I need the surgery to lose the remaining 200 pounds. I was once 497 pounds and hope to get to 155 with the surgery. That is good for me. I work on Tuesday and Friday. I don't see Dr Vaughan until Aug 23rd I will have to ask him at the time if I can start to go or if I should wait till I have surgery.

CONGRATULATIONS!!! You look fantastic. How long did it take you to lose 100 pounds? Are you close to your goal?

HI There Glad to hear there is someone else is seeing Dr Vaughan. Do you go to the support group? When is it? The weight I have lost is without the surgery. I have been trying for over 16 years and came to realize I need the surgery to lose the remaining 200 pounds. I was once 497 pounds and hope to get to 155 with the surgery.

Hey there! I'm in Wellington and am a little over six weeks out of my surgery. Very very happy about it all. Loving my tummy! So sorry to hear about your family but am more than happy to be here for you. Wishing you all the best! Congratulations in getting your surgery. I see Dr Larsen did it. I hope you don't mind if I ask you a few questions. Was that at JFK? Do you like him, how is his bed side manner, does he have a support group? Do you like the NUT? What kind of a diet before surgery did you have to be on? Was it a 6 month supervised diet or just the 2 weeks before surgery? What is the after surgery diet like with Dr Larsen? I am seeing Dr Vaughan as I have a friend who had the sleeve done by him and really like him and his before and after surgery diets. . But he is about 45 minutes north of where I live. I live just down the street from JFK. I am wondering if I should change doctors and if I do, I wonder does that set me back. I do believe Dr Larsen is on my insurance plan. Hello there..I'm in west palm beach....I'm always looking for support/advice etc. When was your the procedure done I added you as a friend. I am in this alone too.

Are you at risk? Anyone can develop a hernia - it does not matter whether you are male or female, young or old, physically active or inactive. But you may be at higher risk if you: Are male - men have a natural weakness in the groin area that increases their hernia risk Are over age 35 - as we age, our muscles and tissues naturally become weaker Are born with a weakness in the muscles of your abdomen Have close family relatives with hernias - weakness in the muscles or connective tissue may run in families Lift heavier objects - particularly if you are not used to heavy lifting Are overweight or obese - carrying extra weight stretches and weakens your abdominal muscles Have a heavy or chronic cough - the force of a cough or sneeze can tear weakened muscles and connective tissue Are frequently constipated - straining to have a bowel movement puts pressure on the muscles and connective tissue in your abdomen Have a sport injury or accident that tears the muscles or connective tissue in your abdomen You are a smoker - smoking adversely effects the body&lsquote;s ability to produce enzymes which promote cell creation and growth.

I have an umbilical hernia and a porcelain gallbladder. My WLS may not be until 2016 due to a 6 month supervised diet. The Dr told me during the WLS he would remove the gallbladder but not the hernia. I asked why and he said because the kind of hernia I have can come back while I am still losing. He would rather wait until I am close to goal before he does the hernia surgery. So I guess it depends on the type if hernia you have. I was hoping he would take all three out at the same type.

Had my 2nd of 6 months supervised weigh loss diet. I had a CT as the Dr requested as I knew I had a hernia and possible gallbladder problems. The Dr stated I had an umbilical hernia and he would leave it alone until I have had the surgery and lost weight. Reason being is that the hernia could come back if he took it out before I was thinner. However he did say I had a porcelain gallbladder and that would come out during the WLS surgery if I was approved for it. If not the gallbladder still had to come out before it became cancerous.

Nylaj Is Coventry under the Atena umbrella or are they a totally different insurance company? I have the Coventry Summitt plan down here in Florida. I have a Insurance Case Manager and when I get calls from her I see the Id as Atena. She told me she had to do research on what requirments Coventry Summitt wants for the sleeve and she would get back with me. Would you happen to know what the fine details are for Coventry Summitt Insurance to approve me?

Ok I am a newbie. WIll be one month tomorrow on a supervised diet. Why would I need to take this Omeprazole (Prilosec)? Is it for heartburn and why would there be heartburn if we are hardly eating the first 3 months? Is the heartburn really that bad that you have to take meds for it? Many many years ago I use to have acid reflux that got in my throat at night and the ranitidine helped. That acid burning in my throat was horrible, I would hate to think I will have that feeling again. Hockeyfan that was terrible what happened to you. If you don'tus Prilosec what do you take?

I know you just asked this question today and it is the weekend. However I hope you will get some answers to your question. I am in the same situation as you are but also have lots of other test to do. I too am wondering if I should even do them before I know if the insurance will approve of the surgery.