sleevegenie

I was very lucky, my insurance had to pay for my surgery 100%. They denied me and i had to fight for it but i got it. I'm three months post op and i have lost 50 lbs which is exactly haflway for me, in three months? what a difference i feel and look so much better, I say go for it, whatever it takes, you will love the new you, jeani

cool, thanks for the 411 I could swear ive heard talk of it being done thru the mouth with no insisions but i haven't seen anything about it. I also heard they can do it vaginally as well. its truly amazing what they can do. Congratulations to you on your surgery and success. Yes I'm sure that the post op is the same basically, its still a sleeve and my post op diet was the same as yours, my doctor was fairly lenient with us compared to some post op diets i've heard of, :confused1:) jeani three months post op 50lbs gone forever, halfway to goal yahoo!!

anthem blue cross denied, appealed, told after 3o days i couldn't appeal because i wasn't officially denied? (hmo confusion)then officially denied, then appealed again for an independent medical review which took 35 days, then surgery 2 weeks after being approved.

i've told everyone, some of them are jealous, some think i should just have changed my diet and exercised, but i don't really care what they think, and my closest ones are very happy for me and i get complimented a lot, so to each his own. I was denied and had to fight to get my appeal thru and made several calls from work and i'm sure i was overheard but like i said, all i cared about was getting this done and i'm so happy at 3 months out, jeani

congratulations, that's so great. remember to get up and walk right away, really helps with the gas pains and reduces risk of blood clots, just gets everything moving and flowing. also remember to sip sip sip. so orders are walk, sip, rest and enjoy your new sleeved life, will be thinking healing thoughts for you take care jeani

every doctor gives different instructions, mine had us do 10 days full liquids, then two weeks or so of soft mushie type foods, then you can slowly start adding more dense protein types. again let me say that all doctors have their own thoughts about this. some have you on clear liquids for 2 weeks, then full liquids 2 weeks, then soft food, it just depends. but you do need to give your tummy time to heal.

they stay forever, your skin grows scar tissue around them and this is what seals them closed, this is the reason we do liquids and soft foods for so long to give the scar tissue time to seal off the tummy so no leaks, jeani

Hey Joanie, congratulations on your surgery. Today is three months post op and down 50 lbs, 50 more to go, what a great ride. Hope all is well with you, take care jeani

I have my sleeve already but i'm very interested in this. Is this done by going down the throat? or is this done laparascopically? or both.? i saw a surgery on youtube but it was a band revision so they had to take the band out first. Couldn't find one that wasn't a band revision. Thanks in advance if someone can answer this for me, jeani

i take mine first thing in the morning, never had reflux except the first day post op and when the doctor came to see me he told me i didn't need a ppi and that i couldn't have acid because i hadn't eaten anything. "Really:?" i've never heard that the stomach only makes acid when you eat? anyway he wouldn't give me a script so i buy otc generic prilosec all very interesting.

no way, i've never heard that. they do say to put down your fork and take your time and chew well, but 15 mins is absurd. I'm 3 months post op today and i have no problems. Just take your time until you know how much your tummy can take and try new foods slowly to make sure they are agreeing with you. You will do fine the sleeve is a very different animal than the bypass. Much easier to deal with imho, good luck jeani

congratulations, i just say know that you are having major surgery and give yourself time to heal. Be good to yourself, the very best thing you can do is get up and walk right away, and i got some of the little cups from the hospital and sip sip sipk so walk sip and rest. Your body will need time to heal and this is a great gift you are giving yourself. I suggest taking chap stix with you , best of luck jeani

Hi, i just saw this, i don't come to this site a lot, i should come more. I really enjoyed reading the post and by now you must be doing really well. I agree, we all have to make the best of the choices we are given. I'm hoping that it works well for everyone who gets one. whatever surgery they choose. They are always coming out with the next generation whatever,,,,improving, fine tuning, i think its great, i thank the powers that be Thank You. Look forward to hearing how you're doing. take care jeani surgery 5/28/10 SW 240 CW 191 yeah 49 down 51 to go Thank You,

if you are denied d/t investigational they will send you the info about the IMR (independent medical review) i faxed them my appeal letter and it took about 5 weeks to find out i won, good luck jeani

Hi Sandra, i live in California, here we can request an Independent Medical review where 3 independent doctors review your case and vote i won 2-1. I'm 60 and i have arthritis, so the sleeve studies indicate this is the best option for older people and the only procedure that can still take nsaids. i have a copy of my appeal letter on ObesityHelp.com my user name is the same as on here and you are welcome to look at my profile page and read the letter, copy and edit it with your own info if you like, i wish you all the best. Studies also indicate this is a great option for people with a lower bmi, my bmi was 38.? with co morbidity of high bp arthritis and borderline diabetes, hope this helps, good luck jeani

Love the new picture, you are so cute, take care jeani

i googled vertical sleeve gastrectomy diet and several came up, all very similar, one from Mayo Clinic, one from Louisiana State University, one from Cornell Weight Loss Center, they have diets for every stage starting with the preop all the way thru, good luck jeani

my instructions said no veggies at first, and that if i had to have brocolli or cauliflower to make sure it was cooked to death,, VERY SOFT, so i cook it to death, at first you really have to baby your new tummy, just be very careful the first 6 weeks should be softer type foods or chewed really well. I'm sure you'll do fine, just go slowly,

I LOVE my magic bullet, so easy all you have to wash is the blade and the cup, use it every day

congratulations, that's great, i went thru the same thing, in feb BC denied my d/t investigagtional. CA has a state office you can appeal to and i won my Independent Medical Review. Surgery was scheduled for two weeks from day of approval, 5/28/10 Two months out, almost, and i love my sleeve, you'll love yours, good luck, hope they schedule right away

in a heartbeat, no question, people say they get mad when people say this is the easy way out, but i don't get mad, for me this is the easy way out, there was no way out for me until this, I could never have lost this weight or improved my life so well without this help. i'm off my blood pressure pills and i feel great. i love my sleeve, i'm almost 2 months post op and i've had a very easy time of it, i'd do it again and again if i had to, go for it,

i took two weeks, probably could have gone back after one but i was very tired and i'm glad i took the two weeks. Some of the healing is physical but some of it is emotional and you have to wrap your head around the new life you have to live and the changes you have to make.

only 6 weeks out so no hair loss yet, i too have really thick hair and its so hot, my consolation if it does happen is maybe i'll be cooler this summer?? and i'd rather have thin hair than stay fat,

my insurance denied me because they say the sleeve is investigational, my surgeon wanted to do the rny but i was totally opposed to doing that, he refused to help me appeal so i did it myself, i got a letter from someone else who appealed and won and i won. i got my sleeve about 6 weeks ago, you are talking about the rest of your life, don't let a couple of weeks compromise you. If you really think you can live with the bypass then i wish you the best, but if you're like me i say fight it, good luck

i have no idea what size my tummy is as my doctor doesn't use a bougie. He uses an intragastric balloon. He has published books and invented tools used in the bypass and he couldn't give me a number to compare, which i was not very happy about. That being said, i eat more than most people say they can eat, but i'm a lightweight (not by my personal standards) and so i do eat less than i used to and i am losing weight. Lots of doctors use a 40 that's all Kaiser will use and they are doing lots of sleeves these days. And you can eat a lot more of the soft foods than you can dense protein so its too early to tell really how much you can eat. So we play the hand we are dealt and we will be successful. So good luck to all of us, Jeani