Beadingnurse

Thank you so much for posting the details after surgery! I am a nurse and have also had abdominal surgery so I should have more than a clue but I still have a lot of questions! I am hoping for a late March, early April sleeve date so I will find out soon enough. One question, did you have an NG tube (nasogastric tube) after surgery? The tubes coming out of your nose to help drain fluids out of your stomach? I was expecting to go home with a JP drain but I've heard different stories on the NG tube. It is removed of course before you go home but it is still a pain. I don't expect to get to sleep much either as I know how noisy and disruptive hospitals often are. The good news is that sleeve patients usually don't have to spend much time hospitalized. Good luck and keep posting about your results!

I considered the lap band initially but got scared off of that when I heard about all of the complications and the intensive follow-up you have to do with the surgeons for fills and all. I didn't like the idea of the foreign object around my stomach and to me the sleeve is an elegant, obvious solution. You will still have a fully functioning stomach but it will just be smaller. Are there risks in surgery? Sure, but for me the risks of my co-morbid conditions were FAR greater than the risk of the surgery. This forum is a fantastic place to get more information from people who have gone through it and I am awed by the support folks offer to each other. You should also go to a seminar put on by surgeons in your area and you will learn a lot more there. Definitely check in with your insurance to see what fiery hoops they will make you jump through before paying. If it not covered by your insurance (mine wasn't): you can consider private pay and some surgeons will connect you with financing help. Good luck!

Thank you SO much for sharing your experience as it helps me (and I am sure others here too) to imagine what our day 4 will be like. It is encouraging that you are able to do small things around the house and still feel pretty good. Congratulations and I hope to be following along behind you soon.

I haven't had my sleeve yet but I struggled initially with the same thoughts that I "should" be able to lose the weight on my own and I shouldn't have surgery. But my wonderful husband said something that made me think about it in a totally different light. He pointed out that I had Lasik surgery several years ago to correct my poor vision without second guessing myself. My vision was easily correctable to 20/20 with contact lens or glasses but I wanted the surgery (and am thrilled with the results). He pointed out to me that I NEED the weight loss surgery because of diabetes and I actually have more of a medical indication to have the sleeve to get the weight off quickly and to prevent further damage from the diabetes.... than I did to have Lasik surgery. Thinking about it that way made all of the difference in the world to me and I was able to take the steps to get on the path to this surgery. Being overweight for most of us is NOT healthy and taking the weight off in the quickest and most permanent way is a healthy choice...not an "easy out". My humble opinion!

Wow...sounds like you had a great psych eval! Mine is tomorrow and I wasn't expecting anything that thorough. I am seeing a LCSW and I don't think she particularly specializes in weight loss issues. My work has an EAP program so I just took the first appointment that they offered me since it is free and I wanted to get it done. Thanks for posting what your session was like as it gives me something to compare mine to. I have to admit that I was considering this just a "check off" of the things that I have to get done before I get to have surgery and that 90% of the session would be made up of her assessing whether or not my ideas about the surgery are realistic. It may turn out to be more than that though and I am looking forward to seeing what it will be like. Thanks again for sharing!

That makes sense! I am just anxious and wish I could wave my magic wand and have the surgery tomorrow! I am impatient by nature and it seems to me that once I made up my mind to have the surgery that I expected to have it done the next week. Maybe this will teach me patience!

Congratulations! We are on the same path. I had my first appointment with a surgeon this past week and next week I see my PCP for pre-op testing, and have the nut, exercise & psych consults too. Just curious...why will it take 2 months for you to get a surgical date? Is your doctor that busy or are you waiting for insurance approval? I am self pay and I THINK I will have my surgery the last week of March or first week of April but I don't know for sure yet. Good luck to all of us pursuing this dream.

Thank you! Let me know when you get your surgical date and we can cheer each other on! I got my appointment scheduled with the nutritionist and the exercise physiologist and I see them both on Monday 2/28. I see my PCP for pre-op labs and EKG on 3/2 and I have my counseling appointment later the same day. I told my boss today about the surgery and she was very encouraging which was a relief. I was surprised though that she encouraged me to NOT tell my co-workers about the surgery. We work in a very large agency (over 1,000) and she said the gossips won't believe that I had medical reasons for the surgery and that by the time the story makes the rounds the rumor will be that I had a facelift and a tummy tuck! I had been conflicted about whether to tell anyone or not so I am probably going to follow her advice and not bring it up. I have only told a close friend and my daughter along with my husband of course. Are you sharing your news with a lot of people?

I am paying for my sleeve and I think I am having to do the same prep as folks with insurance. I was cranky about the psych eval but then realized that my work has an EAP program (Employee Assistance Program) so I called them and they gave me a referral to a counselor. I am approved for 5 visits as a work benefit so at least I won't have to pay for that. Many larger employers offer these type programs. Some of my pre-op blood work will be paid for by my BCBS insurance as my PCP is going to order them as part of my annual follow-up. The bulk of it though falls on my private pay shoulders! I have some serious co-morbids though and I figure the surgery will prolong my life. :thumbs_up:

My first post! I had my first pre-op yesterday with surgeon and have scheduled pre-op testing, counseling, nutrition appointment. I am hoping for a March surgical date. I am thankful to have found this forum as the amount of support and information is truly overwhelming. I am looking forward to charting my progress here!