RainbowBrite57

On 3/12/2020 at 5:44 PM, Krimsonbutterflies said:

I wish I had the space for your plan. You can even set up a clothing exchange for your friends to swap/exchange as you reach new sizes. Super cute idea.

That is a fantastic idea!!! 🌟

Oh yay, I'm glad y'all think it's a fun plan! 🤗

So, I've come up with a silly plan to encourage myself as I lose weight. I just had to share the idea with somebody because I'm excited about it! I have a ton of clothes in all different sizes, from 26 all the way down to a few size 6's. I'm wanting to buy a few of those rolling clothes rack and set up a little "shop" for myself in my basement. Each rack would contain a different size and would only include clothes that I'm really excited to get back in to. For X number of pounds I lose (enough to make a difference in clothing sizes), I'd reward myself with a shopping trip! Sounds fun & encouraging, right??? 😃

2 minutes ago, catwoman7 said:

this really isn't an issue with RNY if you keep on top of your supplements.

That's good to know, thank you! You hear so many things from different people that the truth can be hard to extract. 🐵

On 3/9/2020 at 6:52 PM, Socee said:

Agreed . My issues with that is... rny has more complications and malnourishment then the sleeve so to revise to bypass is okay.. but what if u have issues after the revision.. we would be stuck we already lost 80 percent to the sleeve .. thoughts?? I was veering to vsg but I am now thinking maybe rny I'm so confused

It's reassuring the number of people who've had the sleeve and have had no or few issues. I'm happy people are chiming in with their experiences, it's so helpful! You make a good point of not being able to do anything more if we revise to RNY from the sleeve but I'm thinking that's a chance I'll take. Especially because of the undernourishment factor. I hope you are able to decide soon!

On 3/9/2020 at 7:37 PM, SINISTER said:

I also will have to have back surgery at some point. My L5-S1 disc is badly deteriorated and was causing me a great deal of pain. I decided to have WLS first and the pain has greatly subsided. It's still there but not nearly as severe, and my weight loss journey just started. I think I made the right decision.

I'm sorry to hear about your disc and the pain it causes. It's fantastic that your pain has greatly subsided! I hope my pain will diminish for at least a little while after my WLS. Like you said, we'll probably have to have surgery at some point but the longer we are able to postpone it the better, especially until we've healed from WLS and have healthy eating habits established. Congratulations on starting your journey!

I'm glad you asked this because I am in the same boat. If I avoid the trigger foods then I don't have heartburn. I'm not sure what I'll end up doing, but I'm leaning towards the sleeve. At least it can still be revised to RNY if necessary.

4 hours ago, mgt3boys said:

First, so sorry your having this issue. I literally feel your pain as I have these issues. I’ve had 3 lower back surgeries, epidurals, disectimy, PT. You name it I’ve had it with my back. This was all done before my sleeve surgery. In 2014 I was able to have the sleeve and while I knew my back would never be normal I was hoping to at least get some relief from losing the weight. I was 252 lbs before surgery and 5 yrs out I’m currently 155. I can honestly say it has helped with my back pain. While I am never pain free(I expected this), it it’s much more tolerable. However, I will not lie and say I don’t still have issues. About 2yrs after surgery, I was walking in my driveway and my legs just went out from under me and I felt tingling and numbness. An MRI was done and the result was that my L4/5 & L3/4 disc were now bone on bone and the little bit of disc I did have left at L4/5 was herniated which is what caused my fall. My only option is to have a fusion. There is nothing else that can be done. I was about to have the surgery, but something in my gut told me to wait. That was in 2016. I still haven’t had it done and my doctor cannot explain it, but my pain is very manageable. They honestly don’t know how I’m walking around, but I am. I do have sone pain and I watch everything I do. From time to time the bones will hit and it takes my breath away, but so far I can handle it. I know it eventually will lead to a fusion, but I’m holding off as long as I can. Sorry for rambling, but in my opinion your back problems will still be there after your sleeve and I honestly believe if you lost the weight your recovery and success would be better when you have back surgery.

Thank you so so much for sharing your experience with me! You've put my mind at ease on a few things and gave me valuable insight. I'm glad you've been able to put off the fusion for this long. I hope when you do have the fusion done that it provides you with relief. Thank you again!

On 3/5/2020 at 9:04 PM, ShortBuddah710 said:

Following. I am in a similar situation. Severe low back injury last may and not yet treated with surgery. Only at home therapy, some injections that didn't help. Trying to get insurance approved for the stimulation device. I had VSG ten days ago, post op and happy to fine this forum and thread. My question for you..... What can you tell me about the good or bad about the stimulation device. The unit my pain doc would use is the Nevro. I have been declined for two different pain Patches by my insurance company and now post op sleeve I cannot use ibuprofen. Horrible because I was using it daily. I have) 4,5 herniated with deep pain in hips and sciatica going down leg with bad calf cramping and numbness in my foot. I am 47, SWM, and currently 215. I can only take the gabapentin and tylenol. Suffering every hour, and have regular job and all that. Can't just lay down.

What is your opinion of the stim devices.

I apologize for just now responding. The stimulator has been a blessing. Without it I wouldn’t be able to work. I did have an issue with one of the leads in my spine slipping down and my stimulator batter implanted in my left buttock migrated all the way up to near my love handle. I honestly think my surgeon wasn’t the best. Now that the lead has been replaced & the battery moved to the right buttock the stimulator is doing its job well. I still have pain everyday but it’s not nearly as bad as it was.
I hope you get insurance approval soon. You’ll go through a trial run first & I suggest going about life as normal during that time to see how it’ll help you in your day to day life.
Bit of advice, after spinal stimulator surgery really follow the doctors orders about bending, twisting, raising hands above head, & reaching. My lead slipped because I got a little to active about 2 weeks out. Your body has to heal & scar tissue needs to form to keep the leads in place. That was a looong response. Sorry!
Big congrats on your VSG! I can’t wait to be post-op! The very best luck to you.

2 hours ago, Xx1jpt5xx said:

I have a lower back fusion and still have chronic pain in my back and neck. I decided the wls made more sense before I had any more surgeries on on back.

Oddly enough, I had my wls last week and ever since I woke up I had zero pain in my back and neck. I'm sure itll come back but a nice surprise.

This is so encouraging! I know my experience won't be identical to yours but I have hope that I'll be making the right choice if I have wls surgery first. Congrats on having the surgery and I REALLY hope your pain stays far, far away!

2 hours ago, AJ Tylo said:

There is no way shedding a ton of weight is not going to help your back issues!

Last week me and my two teanage boys were at the grocery store - I handed both my kids just half of what i lost 80 pounds of potatoes and ask them to carry them around the store, They could not do it. That is 4 20 bags and it wore them out after 10 minutes. Now to try and carry 7 20 pounds - That will not be good for the back - Bottom line less weight will help you back out

Congrats on your awesome success! Your reasoning makes complete sense to me, thank you!

Thanks for the imput, y'all! I really needed to hear other opinions. It really is a chicken/egg situation. 😄 The steriods are a big thing to consider. I will bring all of this up with my bariatric surgeon. I have had issues finding a good orthopedic doctor but I'll seek one out asap to get their advice as well.

Hi, I could really use some advice. My back isn't in great shape. I've already had a L4/L5 spine fusion and now my L3/L4 is herniated. I know I am going to need some type of surgery to help with the pain I'm experiencing but my pain is currently controlled with medication and a spinal cord stimulator. I am really wanting to get the gastric sleeve surgery before I have anything done to my back. I'm hopeful the pain will reduce some and recovery would be easier with less weight stressing my back. My concerned mother really wants me to take care of my back before I have weight loss surgery so I'll be in a better place pain wise. If someone has been in this scenario, I'd love your feedback. I'll also take any other advice y'all want to give me! Thank you!

I've decided to start all over with appointments at the bariatric center I'll be getting surgery with. They know exactly what insurance needs so it'll be much more simple. I'm losing 3 months of progress but I'd rather do this now instead of getting to month 6 with my current doc only to be told it was done wrong. I didn't do this originally because it's a long way to drive each month but my sanity is worth it! 😋 Thank you all for your feedback!

Thanks y’all! I’ve been seeing my general practitioner instead of my bariatric surgeon for the monthly appointments because the surgeon is about 45 minutes away. I’m thinking about changing over to doing these appointments with the bariatric surgeon though since they know exactly what insurance requires. I might lose three months of progress if I do that but hopefully not.

I apparently have an unusual insurance question on my hands because my insurance company doesn’t seem to be understanding my question. For surgery approval, I am required to do six months of weight loss appointments with my general practitioner. At my initial consultation my bariatric surgeon told me to be very careful with how I do my six months of appointments because he’s had patients mess up and not get approved because of the how they did their 6 months due to their insurance companies being very strict.
What I’m wanting to know is do my appointments need to be spread out 30 days apart, which is going to be really hard to do with my doctors busy schedule, or can they just be once a month without regard to the number of days in between? All of my appointments are pretty much at least 20 days apart except for one appointment that’s I think 17 days apart.
I did reach out to my surgeons office first but was told that I need to contact the insurance company to find that particular detail out and when I call them I get the runaround. I have Anthem BC/BS.
I’m sorry if this is a really stupid question. I’m terrified of messing this up!