KabinKitty

The Cleveland Clinic did a clinical study of this surgery with volunteers. It has been completed but the results have not been made public. Assessment of Gastric Volume Reduction in Surgical Weight Loss Candidates - Full Text View - ClinicalTrials.gov

Anna, Thanks so much for taking the time to share that post with us. You are an inspiration to those of us who are pre-op. As great as you feel now, just think how much different your life will be a year from now! Wow, that's something to dream about! The great thing is YOU already know that dreams really do come true.

Poor Lou, I feel so sorry you've been through so much in your journey to lose weight! As a person who once lost 75 lbs and kept most of it off for many, many years I think I may be able to identify with what you're going through. I started gaining weight when I went on blood pressure meds, then came some surgeries and a job where I'm forced to sit alot. Also, throw in my age and here I am with a BMI of about 40. I don't know if you have any co-morbidities (high BP, sleep apnea, diabeties, etc) but those can make your high weight a risk to your life. The psycologist's statement "that at 310 lbs im not as high in weight that alot of men are when they consider this surgery" sounds a little crazy! That kind of weight is very dangerous to your health! It sounds to me like HE is the one who's confused if he is giving his approval for you to have surgery, but trying to discourage you from having it. Just my thoughts........

When I had my colonoscopy I drank the nasty "stuff" :thumbup1:. It is very, very salty tasting, so they have you mix it in juice or other things. I mixed up some Country Time lemonade or you can use Kool Aid. You're just not suppose to drink anything with red or purple dye in it. Honestly it's some nasty stuff to get down. With the pills the only draw back is you have to take alot of them. I think I had to take 6 pills at four or five different times. You are suppose to drink alot with those. Still it was better than the nasty "stuff" :scared0:!

Possomtrot, I am interested in this question also. I had a polop removed that "showed change" with my colonoscopy 6 years ago. I know there are pills you can take if you cannot tolerate the stuff most people are told to drink. I took those pills prior to colon surgery, and they do work. For me they were not as effective. Maybe I should have taken them earlier and drank more liquid??

The pyschologist, like all other doctors not only want to do what's best for their patients, but also have to think about their own liability. If you were to have surgery and had serious emotional problems post-op, then the pyschologist could be found liable for approving you for surgery, while being aware you have an issue with panic attacks. I wish you the very best and hope that it all works out well for you!

I'm so very sorry about the loss of your wife! You are a brave man and a wonderful father to have this surgery. It sounds like you are trying to get healthy for your children, so you'll be around a long time for them. I don't know many men that would do that! God bless you. I'm praying that everything goes smoothly for you!

Is there a reason you are eating sugar free items? If not eat the regular. Sugar free Jello and popsickles are nothing but chemicals and artificial colors. Read the ingredients label. That may be why you are exhaused and feel sick to your stomach. One of the artifical sweeteners called sorbitol, is not absorbed by the body but draws water from the body into the bowel, resulting in diarrhea. Hope you feel better REAL soon!

Hmmmm, I just checked the info we got at the seminar and my doc told us that we would have an 80 cc. stomach. My thoughts on that are....I know doc's sleeve patients have lost alot of weight and are successful at keeping it off. One patient had a small leak (his only one) and he readmitted her got the stomach to heal and she went on to lose 150 lbs. I guess I'm not so concerned about finishing a "regular" size meal. When in a social situation, I would just eat slowly (which I already do) and when I'm full I'll ask for a box or just "play" with my food. I'm looking forward to the challenge of not having anyone "notice" the change in my eating habits by not calling attention to it. Also, you can plan ahead. Since you can't eat a big meal, grab some good Protein 2 hours before, then just get a bowl of Soup or a salad, then you won't need to "box or play" with your food. I've already warned my hubby (who needs to lose weight) that I may be stealing 2 or 3 bites of his protein. Then he can help me finish my soup or salad! :001_wub: I have a super great "hubby buddy" too!

The ball is finally rolling on getting my surgery done. Now I want to know if I lose too much weight before surgery, could BC/BS not approve me? My surgeon said no, but I want to be sure. Does the doc have to list a current weight "at the time they submit me for approval"? I've been trying to maintain my weight so my BMI would be high enough at my initial weigh in. I've been eating more than I want and more often than I want and I hated doing that!!!!! I want to eat healthier and lose some weight before surgery, but I just want to be assured it won't jeopardize my getting approved for the sleeve.

Mary, Thanks so much for that info. Thanks also to others who chimed in to help. Sounds like I should go easy on the weight loss. I'll get more info from the nutritionist when I go back July 6th. Another hot summer in Ohio being morbidly obese, UCK! One bright spot is that they should submit my packet by mid August. (A 3 month diet supervised by doc's nutritionist is required.) Doc told us at the May seminar that some people could be having surgery in 4 months. That means I could have mine in September, if we don't have to appeal it. I'm seriously considering taking 4 weeks off work to recuperate. I drive a school bus, which is physically and emotionally stressful. Getting up at 4:45 am and not finishing till about 4:30 pm. I figure why push it, when he's already told us he will approve up to 4 weeks off. Hope you all don't get sick of me before then!! :lol0: I feel like we're all one big family here....(((warm fuzzies))).:001_wub:

Guess I'm not making myself clear. BC/BS is not requiring me to lose weight before surgery. My surgeon wants all his patients to make an effort to lose at least 5% of their body weight before surgery. He says that it shows him the patient is able to limit their food intake so as to not show gain for the 3 months it takes to work through the supervised diet with the nutritionist. I'm asking if my weight at the time the packet is sent to BC/BS has to be disclosed to BC/BS. I thought a loss might cause them to deny me.

pcindy, I feel so bad for you my dear! Sounds like you're just physically exhaused and frustrated. I think your doc's requirements are way out of line. It makes no sense for you to run yourself down right before a surgery. That being said, I'm not telling you what you should do, but personally I would keep my strength up anyway I could, while still eating very low carb and I would drink, drink, drink. Ya gotta play the game to win the prize (the tool to lose weight) ! Instead of getting sad, try getting MAD! Hugs to you!

I don't know if you are preop postop. Since this is the preop section. My surgeon only requires clear liquids the day before and the day after sugery. I'm only going to eat real Jello. Even if I was doing a week long liquid diet I would eat regular Jello. If you read the ingredients on the sugar free Jello box, it's basically a bunch of chemicals, artifical colors and aspartame as a sweetener. You can also check out pcindy's post under this one concerning liquid diets "Am I Insane, Alone....."

I'm around a 40 BMI so I doubt that I could get anywhere near that. I just would like to lose about 15-20 lbs.

Please, if anyone has had experience with this let us know! Also, I'm so darn tired of dragging this weight around that I get tired just walking out to water the garden. I'm looking for some inspiration as to how much better I'll feel when the weight starts coming off. I do remember when I was 19 and lost 75 pounds how just going up a flight of stairs made me feel like I was almost floating! Thanks for any input on the weight loss subject.

I do not think you are insane. I am looking forward to my surgery, but at the last moment, I'm sure I'll be nervous. Mostly I am excited to get to the losing side. I'm disgusted with body and my weight and scared that I am now on 3 blood pressure meds and my pressure is still high! About your two week liquid diet, if you beat up on Stacy you'll have to do the same to me. My surgeon says Clear liquids the day before and the day after sugery. The second day out I can have full liquids. I'm going to try my best to avoid the Protein powders and use pureed meats in creamed Soups. If I have to use other methods I will. Like Stacy I'm going to really knock off the carbs about a week before surgery to shrink my liver. Now that the doc has my "official" weight I'm trying to lose weight before surgery. I feel so awlful at this weight! Something else you can do to help you make your decision, is to take a piece of paper and make two columns. In one write down the disadvantages of having this surgery in one and in the other the advantages. Think positive and may God bless you in your decision!

There is hope for some BC/BS patients in Ohio! I had my first visit today and doc told me that he is going to submit my paperwork for the sleeve. (This is will be after all my testing is completed.) He recently had a BC/BS patient that had certain complications that would have made GBP more risky. He submitted a request for the sleeve and they approved it. He said since I've had 1 lap and 4 open abdominal surgeries he is going to include in his notes to BC/BS that if he was to do a GBP on me it would need to be "open", which means a longer surgery with more risks. He told me if they don't approve me, then he will appeal, if they still don't approve me, he will go to the peer medical review board. He seems to be a real pit bull when it comes to getting his patients approved! :001_wub:

I'm so glad to hear that you're home safe and sound! Congratulations on being 40 pounds closer to your goal! It sounds like you had a pretty easy time of it. You did say you had problems the first night. May I ask what happened that the doctor had to come to the hospital? Still pre-op and still curious....

The chat window has never opened for me :blushing: any suggestions?

Any new information on codes concerning bcbs would be greatly appreciated! Could you possibly call your surgeon's office and get the code that they used? I'm going for my surgical consult in two days June 17th. Thanks!

My surgeon says my sleeve size will hold 80cc's of liquid. He said that's about 1/4 of a can of Coke. Is that the normal size? All of his patients are off work for 2 wks. He will keep you off 4 wks if you ask. Sleeve patients stay in the hospital at least 2 nights. He said he has done 80 sleeves and had only one leak. The sleeve has become his "choice" of surgeries. :thumbup: He does them all. I really like this guy! He requires a 3 month diet where you must lose 5% of your body weight. If you don't, the dietition said she will not recomend you for surgery. She, the surgeon and the psych. must all agree you are a good candidate, or you won't get approved for surgery.:001_cool: So I figured the 80cc's is about 3 ounces..is that right?

I see you're down 68 lbs in about 4 months...I think you're doing something right!! Congratulations!! I'm hoping not to depend too much on the protein drinks. When it comes time for full liquids I would rather do creamed soups with ground up meat...even baby food meats if necessary. I've heard the whey protein drinks can be hard on you. I already take a hand full of vitamins every day too. My goal for the full liquids phase would be to keep my energy level up, keep my nutrient level as high as possible with a variety of liquified veggies and meats and to keep my hair! Years ago I had an ovarian cyst rupture I didn't go to the ER till the next day. I had emergency surgery that night and was full of infection. :thumbup: I had nothing by mouth only my IV for 5 days...saline only, no water no nothing. I had a week of constant IV antibiotics. I don't think my kidneys were working well, as they left the catheter in and I was retaining tons of water. In one day, after my kidneys started working again, I lost 9 lbs of water weight! After that they tried to feed me 24/7 because my blood work looked terrible. The surgeon would say, "protein, protein, protein!" I thought, you wouldn't feed me for 5 days and now I'm suppose to eat every 2 hours??:svengo: I lost alot of weight and a lot of hair! It was a long tough recuperation! I guess my body does not do well without food for long length of time.

Does anyone know what happened to "Size Seven"? She was sleeved 6/17/09 in Mexico. Her last post was in September of 2009. I worry so much when someone just stops posting suddenly. :001_tongue:

YEAH! It took me over an hour and a half Tiffykins, but I finally figured out how to accept your friend request!! I'm so proud of myself...NOT! hehehe Computer savy I am not!!! Hope I am better figuring out how to use my sleeve correctly....that is if I can get one!