Stacy160

You're looking great! I ran my first 5K this past Saturday...isn't it amazing that we can DO these things now?? :001_tt2:

Honestly, I think you're out of luck. If treatment for obesity is specifically excluded from your policy, then it's because your employer chose not to pay for that coverage, and not because the insurance company doesn't cover it. If bariatric surgery IS a covered benefit (and it doesn't sound like it is) but they just don't cover VSG, then you stand a chance on appeal. From the sounds of it though, it's not going to be covered. It'd be like paying for PL & PD insurance on a car, then asking the insurance to buy a new car if you crashed--if that makes any sense? Sucks, but it's your employer's decision to exclude obesity-related treatment, not the insurance's. I know...been there, done that, and it blows.

Mine was $12,200 (the $200 was for the initial consult, which the insurance did pick up). That includes his fee, the anesthesia fee, the hospital fee, overnight in the hospital, access to the NUT, two years of follow-up visits, and support group meetings. I don't think you're going to find anything nearly as cheap as Mexico in the States.

I was sooooooo dry from the oxygen then kept on me the whole time I was there, that I was very froggy for several days, but have been back to normal ever since.

I picked up some of the powder yesterday (found it in the men's shaving section at Walmart) and tried it on the upper lip/jaw area and it worked wonderfully with no irritation. Last time I did that with Veet I wound up beet red with ugly splotches (on my annversary)... this stuff's great!

Hello from another Michigander!! Here's a link to a post I made last week that pretty much sums up how it's been for me: http://verticalsleevetalk.com/vertical-sleeve-gastrectomy-surgery-vsg-success-stories/9113-best-week-ever-nsv-after-nsv.html I've gone from a tight 20 pants/jeans to a loose 14, gonna shop for 12s tomorrow. I still have 18 lbs to my original goal but think I'm gonna shoot for another 30 so I figure on getting into 10s and maybe 8s. Also on my list of things to look forward to was getting a pair of really slutty-looking shoes LOL...my first 5K is this Saturday and we're going out that night to Celebrate and I'll be wearing those shoes, which my feet can get into because now I just take a Wide instead of an Extra Wide or 2E. WOOO!! Cannot say enough about the sleeve. Who's your surgeon?

Hope all went well Emma and that you're feeling good... can't wait to hear from you as a sleever! :001_smile:

'Til you feel like it. Really! :cursing:

Believe me, I feel hugged by all your wonderful replies... you guys are the best!!

I had that moment with a pair of jeans last week, so I can totally relate! And I bet your wife knows exactly how you're doing right now. :w00t:

All I can say is, I wish all those Dr. Oz people could be shown again in 3-5 years, and let's see where they are then. If they're like 98% of everyone else, all of us before surgery, they'll be right back where they started, and worse. This is for you and your health and future... and frankly, screw what anyone else thinks! You won't regret it. :scared0:

Oh gosh you guys, your own responses are making me all misty again. :scared0: Yes, JOY is the word for what yesterday was all about! This procedure is so amazing and the surprises it gives never get old. We're doing the work, but the sleeve makes it possible for us to do the work when we never could make it work before. I love this thing and this place and everyone here! And yep, there will be pics in those jeans too, near the end of the month LOL.

(X-posted, sorry for the repetition if anyone read this elsewhere!) Very early in this process for me, there was a thread here as well as another forum asking people what their goals were, what they looked forward to and hoped to achieve with their weight loss. The last few days have been awesome for me! One of my biggest goals initially was to run a 5K by late summer/early fall. I've never been a good runner at all, even in my late teens/early 20s when I was otherwise in the best shape of my life. I've run a mile... one time. Now I'm doing Couch to 5K, and Saturday I ran 25 minutes AND hit two miles. That's twice as long as I've ever run in my entire life, ever. That alone put me on cloud nine, but then we got together with some old high school friends of mine that night and the compliments were wonderful and we had just a fantastic time. Monday I ran 28 minutes, and today made 31 minutes for 2.4 miles. I've jumped the gun a little bit and registered me and my hubby for my first 5K .... a week from Saturday, on the 25th!! And I've had tons of OMG! moments throughout this thing, but today's the first one that made me cry. I have held on to a pair of jeans that I wore before I got pregnant with my son (who's 21 1/2 now), for that many years. They're the smallest ones I ever had as an adult, a size 12 which translates to about a 10 by today's sizing. They're high-waisted, pleated, peg-legged and acid washed, and I knew I'd never wear them in public again, but kept them all these years for that "someday" when I'd be able to put them on again. They've gone from California to Michigan to New York to Michigan to Florida and back to Michigan again with me, always hanging in my closet just waiting for me to get my sh*t together and finally lose the weight (which of course, just kept piling on). The waist looks so tiny, I couldn't even remember being that small. Today I was trying to find a pair of jeans that wasn't too baggy or too tight, and just for the heck of it I pulled out those things to see if I could even get them over my butt yet. Before surgery, I couldn't even get them past mid-thigh. I was in the middle of telling my husband exactly that -- "Before, I couldn't even get...." --and one leg was in. Then the other leg was in and the damn things pulled up all the way... and I burst into tears. They buttoned and zipped (had to lay on the bed to do that LOL!) but they WENT ON! And I just cried, and he almost did too seeing me so happy and proud of myself. It was an amazing moment. The day of the 5K, the 25th, will also be my 8 month surgiversary and I VOW to take pics and put some before-and-durings up. I actually have a before pic of me with those jeans pulled up to mid-thigh, as far as they'd go at the time. Just had to share the most thrilling days of this whole thing for me so far! :thumbup:

I wondered if nuts would be an option for you since you asked for low-cal (but they payoff's worth it!)... if you're looking for something sweet, a few years ago I found sugar-free Jordan almonds somewhere online, for I think about $7 a pound. I have no idea where I got them from so you'd have to Google for them, but they were soooo good, and just perfect when I needed some low-carb sweetness. :tongue_smilie: [edit] Oh wow... I just went looking myself, and now if you Google "sugar free Jordan almonds," tons of places have them! May have to do a little shopping myself later on.

Oh lord... I'm sorry, but I think your doctor told you that just to give you an answer, so as not to look like he didn't know... but he doesn't know what he's talking about. Losing weight will not "give" you shin splints (I'm a physical therapist) in any way, shape or form. They're caused by overuse of one (or both) of a couple of muscles that run up the front of the leg that help control your foot when you walk or run, to keep it from slapping down on the ground when you step. Unless you're suddenly doing a ton of walking or running, that's not it. Doesn't sound like a blood clot either, as they do usually form in the back of the calf, but monitor it to be sure. If it gets tighter or more painful, or hard, red and swollen, get it checked out ASAP.

I'm glad to see that, cause I was just about to ask if you live with her and if not, you maybe should avoid her for a while (or just tell her to shut up, and that wouldn't be good LOL) ... I totally understand the Soup thing. For me, after a few days of Protein shakes, the most heavenly thing I ever ate in my life was tomato soup with a nice big plop of plain Green yogurt in the middle of it (makes an awesome substitute for sour cream). I'll still get a hankering for that once in awhile and it's just as yummy now as it was then...except now I'll also sprinkle some cheese on the top! :w00t:

You're welcome! Good luck tomorrow, and remember that even if you feel crappy for the first few days, it'll pass and before you know it, you'll be feeling great. Post an update when you can!

Exactly, that (plus getting healthy) is what it's all about!

DogBone, I just want to warn you not to get too excited yet about not having any hunger. You're not quite three weeks out... I had no hunger either to start with, but then at two months it hit me HARD. Thankfully that only lasted for about a month or six weeks (I don't remember). I think the people who truly have zero hunger in the long-term are the people who still continue to take a PPI every day to suppress their stomach acid. I don't do that, but I don't have that ravenous hunger anymore, either. I do get a kind of "empty" feeling every few hours that tells me it's time to eat, and I LIKE that. I feel normal, like a regular thin person would. Those little signals just remind me that I have CONTROL over them for the first time ever. So just beware, know that in a few weeks you may start feeling some hunger, and don't be too disappointed if you do... most people do seem to have some return, to varying degrees, but I don't recall anyone ever complaining about it after a few months out. If you get it, it'll calm down.... but prepare for it mentally so it doesn't freak you out when it comes. :001_huh: Sweetlover: Your husband is worried about the long term effects of the surgery (like healthy BMI, good cholesterol levels, great blood pressure, more physical activity, better quality of life, extended lifespan, etc. etc. etc....) ... you need to remind him of the far greater risks to your health and well-being if you don't lose the weight (and chances are, if you're like most overweight people, the weight will just keep creeping upward). Without it, you're looking at possible heart problems, high blood pressure, sleep apnea, diabetes, arthritis and joint problems, early death.... you know the deal. Don't worry about the holidays... I know it's impossible to understand or believe when you're pre-op, but you'll really be so full and satisfied that you won't even WANT to have everything on the spread. Plus, a few more months out, you will have room for a bite or two of everything, but will still be able to eat maybe only a quarter of what you did before, if that. You know that superb endorphin-releasing high that you get after stuffing yourself with a holiday meal and you know that if you eat one more bite you're just gonna hurl, so someone better roll you out the door right now? Well LOL... the sleeve will keep you from feeling like someone stuffed a football in your gut, but you will still have the same satisfaction of enjoying all those tastes and being full, because you WILL be full... just on much, much less food. You have to experience it to believe it and 'get' what I'm saying, but it's true. I mourned what I thought would be the loss of what for me, then, was the highlight of every holiday (gorging on all the great food)... until the holidays came and I didn't feel deprived at all. I'm not sure what "many sacrifices you have to make" you're referring to. I've sacrificed my too-tight size 20 pants, I've sacrificed my lying, cheating, diseased traitorous stomach, I've sacrificed the sadness that comes with feeling hopeless and unable to do anything to change. What I've lost, physically, is amazing to me (being that it's the first time I've had any real success losing the weight), but what I've gained is priceless. I have absolutely NO regrets at all other than the fact that I couldn't do this sooner, and I'd do it all over again in a heartbeat. In fact, I'm slowly trying to steer my 21-year old son toward it, it's that wonderful. You WILL lose more slowly than someone with a hundred or two hundred pounds to lose will, that's just a fact. You can't look at the pounds lost, you have to look at the precentage lost, and you'll probably hit goal in about the same timeframe as someone larger will. They may lose 150 lbs in a year, and you may lose 60 lbs in a year, but you'll both wind up losing about the same percentage of extra weight during that same time-frame... does that make sense? Set your nerves aside--everyone deals with nerves and second-guessing--and look at it objectively if you can. Weigh the benefits of doing it now against the probabilities you'll face if you put it off, and see what your gut tells you. We can tell you that you won't regret it until we're blue in the face, but it's just something you have to experience for yourself to really understand how awesome this thing is.

HW - 258 SW - 246.4 2-month stall between 188-192 Started C25K LW - 182.3 Today - 179.2

Not from personal experience, but sure, keep reading these boards (and OH) and you'll find lots of ladies who have gotten pregnant after VSG, with no problems. Frankly, with it's huge failure and complication rate, I think the band would be an enormous waste of time and money for you, but then again I think the thing should just be banned anyway lol.... but back on track, yes, see first sentence. :confused1:

I completely skipped the month of surgery, then had two normal ones, followed by two months of nothing, followed by two more, two weeks apart. The two months of nothing occurred while I was in a big stall, and the last two which were two weeks apart happened when I started running and kick-started the weight loss again, so I do think it's definitely hormonal!

Emma! I think it's so great that you're taking control and getting this done at an early age, instead of wasting years and years with all the "someday" stuff most of us have gone back and forth with. That's awesome. As far as being scared goes... well, that's perfectly normal, almost everybody questions their decision and gets a little scared if they think too much about the remote possibilites. But the possibilites are just that -- REMOTE! The sleeve is the safest WLS out there. There's suuuuuuch a super-small chance of anything going wrong during surgery... but on the other hand, if you don't do something about the weight, then the chances of something going wrong with your body change to almost 100%. That's how you have to look at it. There's a tiny chance of anything bad happening, without it, bad things WILL happen. Know what I mean? Oh... and welcome!

45 +a month +a day! And LOVING my 40s. I was dreading turning 40 more than I can say... I'd been single for 11 1/2 years, was struggling with money and single motherhood, was fat and miserable and lonely, and the only goal I'd reached that I'd hoped to by then was buying my own house. But, that's the year I met my hubby (in person, we'd known each other online for 3-4 years before that), and suddenly 40 was fabulous, and it turned out to be a great year, and has been ever since then! I have a 21-year old son who's still at home trying to figure out what to do with his life but is a great kid, and two awesome stepkids who are 10 and 13 (and who we only have part-time, which makes it even greater LOL). I'm 22 lbs. away from my initial long-time weight loss goal, although I think I'll probably go for another 12 or so after that. I'm doing the Couch-to-5K program and last Saturday, ran 20 minutes straight for the first time EVER in my ENTIRE life, and plan to do 25 tomorrow. Biggest thing about the 40s, especially now that I'm happy with where I am in life, is that finally we get to forget about looking at ourselves as we think others see us (in how we look, work, act, etc.) and just enjoy WHO we are, for what we are, and be happy with that and damn what anyone else thinks. There's a freedom that comes in this decade that's so liberating! There are lots of things I'd do differently if I got a do-over, but nothing that would change where I am today. The 40's rock.

I originally was hoping to have an RNY when I first started researching bariatric surgery 4 years ago, but my insurance didn't cover it and after spending months, daily, on an RNY board and seeing just how many people had major complications afterward, I couldn't justify taking the chance on going self-pay, and then not having insurance coverage for any complications afterward. The sleeve was new then, and I just didn't look much into it at the time. Fast forward to this past December, when I started looking into WLS again, hoping that our new insurance that kicked in January 1st might cover it. Well, of course it didn't, because the creature who owns our company continues to specifically exclude it from our policy to save a few dollars (he's a multi-millionaire and a horrible excuse for a human being, truly, and I don't say that lightly). But I digress.... so now, suddenly there's all this new info and data about the sleeve, and so many more people sharing their experiences and successes, and much more in the way of complication stats--well, compared to the RNY, they were practically zilch. BINGO! For those reasons, in addition to all the facts and comparisons made by the posters above me, I knew immediately that the sleeve was for me. I saw my family doctor for blood work, EKG, and clearance, saw the surgeon a week after that, and had my Sleeve 12 days later and it's been WONDERFUL!!! I don't remember if anyone noted this above, but so far studies show weight-loss stats from VSG as equal to the RNY, with less chance of rebound weight-gain since our sleeves really don't stretch, but the RNY pouch does. My surgeon expects the VSG to become the go-to, preferred WLS sometime soon, and I've seen other people say that their surgeons say the same thing. In the end it was really a no-brainer for me, and I couldn't be more thrilled with it.