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You said weight but not height/bmi That's a big factor I have Aetna. And less pre complications with my health than you and got qualified! I am 19 days post op. Get excited, you'll get it done. ????

This is the time to make your list of all the questions you may have. Any and all of them. You will probably see the surgeon, who will evaluate whether or not you qualify for the surgery. Now is the time to ask them ANYTHING. Then they will probably go over with you what type of surgery would be best. They will go over all the complications that can arise, and, depending on if you are to also see a dietician and nurse, they will set up a schedule for appointments, and the plan you will need to follow. You might have a long session with the nurse in regards to your health, and they may ask you millions of questions regarding your health. They may do bloodwork. They will weigh you. Just a whole bunch of stuff. They may set up a psychological exam for you. They may go over financing with you. Or talk with you about insurance. Bring anything and everything you think might pertain to the surgery. Bring a friend for support, if you wish, although they may not be allowed anywhere but the reception area. So LOTS of stuff, but then again, it may just be a preliminary meeting, to see just if you qualify. All surgeons have different ways of doing things, so just be sure you ASK ASK ASK!!!!! Good luck to you on Monday! I'll be thinking about you!

It must of been the week of the sleeve! ???? I also had mine on June 3rd 1230pm. Unfortunately last year I had the band removed from a bad complication so my dr wasn't sure if he would be able to do it laparoscopically because of the tons of scar tissue and hernias from the past surgeries. Thank God he's awesome! Cuz he spent 2hrs separating the scar tissue so he can get to my stomach! It was a rough first 3 days I was very nauseous and in in pain. I was discharged on Friday late afternoon with a drain still coming out of me though so I can't do too much running around and it's hard to go anywhere because of the drain bottle and bleeding. But I feel better everyday! Im trying to cram in my protein shakes and liquids. Has anyone else had to leave with a drain? Also does anyone get hunger pangs through out the day?

Posts like this will always get a polarized response. The best I can suggest is to follow your plan and don't get so independant. The stages are established through observations on tens of thousands of bariatric patients and what actions cause horrid complications that could have been avoided. Eating food too soon is one of them. Your tummy has been brutalized. Your brain did not get the memo. That is common. Head hunger is a crazy-maker. Please take care of yourself.

It will be worth it...be very happy your parents are helping you..I borrowed from my 401k and pay it bi weekly for the next 5 years. My total was 15grand and I did stay overnight and glad I did..had no complications but I felt like I needed to stay there I was ready to go though by the next morning! my doctor makes his patience stay overnight but I got released by 10am the next morning. its hard because you think of all you can do with that money but I wouldnt change a thing. Im only 3 weeks out and had a rough first week but never regretted it!

My current employer's insurance carrier doesn't cover any bariatric surgeries. For two years, I've been after them to get on board, but it's just too expensive, they said. I asked again a month ago if they thought there was any chance that Aetna would offer coverage for bariatrics this year. They said they really didn't think so. A month ago, sick and tired of being on the fence for so many years about it, I decided to just withdraw $10,000 my from retirement (ouch!!) (of which I only realized $7500 due to taxes and penalties), and I paid down my outstanding bills in anticipation of being a self-pay in MX (which I would also finance). I researched surgeons, prowled boards, viewed YouTub vlogs of other sleevers. And finally, last Thursday, I pulled the trigger: I chose Dr. Ariel Ortiz, OCC (who had a high American profile, the lowest complication rate, operated at a Center for Excellence, and who could see me soonest). I scheduled the surgery for April 30. I submitted the down payment ($500). I bought the pre-op diet Meal Replacements and Vitamins ($240). I booked my flight from NYC ($400). And I told my employer that I would be out 2-3 weeks for surgery. Then yesterday I get a call from HR - "We wanted to let you know asap.... we MAY be switching to an insurer that would cover bariatric surgeries. We'll know next week." Wah-Waaahhh.... So the dilemma, if there is one: IF the company DOES switch insurers, should I cancel with OCC (and probably lose the down payment?). If I change the flight (for vacation, etc.), I will lose $200. Also, I don't know if the new carrier would make me jump through all the old hoops that I had jumped through 3 years ago (waiting six months, etc.). I don't want to wait.... But I also don't want to finance my surgery ($6000), either, if I don't have to.

Go with the insurance. It will definitely help incase of complications. My insurance took into consideration my prior nutritionist and weight watchers visits also. So I applied for insurance for surgery. They told me that they need six months of nutritionist visits. I asked them if consultations with my physician ( every timeyou talk to him abt diet) and weight watchers will do. They said "yes" YAY! ... So my physician compiled a medical necessity letter ... I am completely healthy other then the weight... So basically he wrote that if she does not have the surgery she will be at a risk of blah blah blah ! And he also included a chart of my past two years visits and mentioned that everytime I met with him we spoke abt nutrition diet n weight... He also mentioned all the diets that I have tried. Then my coordinatir in the surgeons office filed it ( with all the other tests) and I heard from them witin a week that I was approved. I have been approved since March... But I too scared of having the surgery so I am taking my time. I have United Healthcare as my insurance. Hope it helps ????

Hi Charity. Thank you for replying! Congrats on your weight loss so far. It's so good to hear that so early in your journey you have come to realize food is fuel. That's my downfall. For me still food is, a lot of times, a reward. I don't eat unhealthy which I believe is why I don't have high cholesterol. I eat entirely too much (for example I could eat an entire head of steamed broccoli and tell myself it's OK because it's healthy, along with a large portion of boneless skinless chicken). UGH! This is why I am so afraid of over eating after surgery. I don't eat bad foods......sigh. I haven't been here for a few days because I read thru the complication section and got a little scared. There are some really poor outcomes and of course some fears crept in. I have had 7 surgeries so I am not fearful of the surgery itself, but reading the complications was an eye opener. I just need to be prepared on that front. Perhaps the delay that has me so frustrated is exactly what I need to be as ready as I can be. What made you decide it was time? In addition to my hip pain I am just steady increasing in size. Never down, always up. Walking is ok, but if I put any speed to it my hips go numb and throb for days. Can you share what you've been eating and portion sizes? Exercising? What you've found hard? Thanks!

Hello! I have been approved and I think I have decided to have the LB surgery. I am going on vacation to Mexico with my DH and DS June 9th-15th. The soonest date I can get my LB is May 16th. Is this too close to flying to Mexico?? Will I be completely recovered? What if there are complications? Please give me your suggestions. Margo

this question is for vluckey, did you have a good experience with Dr. Curry? I am getting ready for surgery with him. Have you had any complications with the band. Have you had any fills yet, in general how would you rate his service. Where are you located at if that is ok to ask. Please all the info would be greatly appreciated.

Complications happen and I am sorry you went through that even though it was unavoidable. I'm glad it was an "easy" fix. Congrats on your success and best of luck! Keep us posted!!

I posted this under "My story" but maybe this will save someone searching for a surgeon some misery if they read this here first. Unfortunately, I have Dr Milton Owens as my Dr at Chapman Medical Center in Orange, CA. He NEVER remembers who I am OR my history, he is rude and downright mean. I also think he is a sadist who wants to make me suffer for asking legitimate questions about my healthcare. He is dismissive, arrogant etc. Some examples of screwed up things he has said/done: ~Once I cheated (post op) and ate doritos and I was very afraid that I would tear something or who knows what. I called to ask for advice (i.e. to throw up, slam Water...whatever) He said "If you are going to eat doritos why did you bother having the surgery?" ~I asked for a SECOND fill because I was having ZERO restriction, was always hungry and had waited 2 weeks already. He said, "Whats wrong with being hungry? You are not starving. The average person could survive on their fat stores for about a month, for you it would be even longer." ~I got an OVERFILL from him once and was in so much misery I called within 24 hours to get an unfill. As a cash patient, I was really hoping to take advantage of his alleged "24 hour FREE return visit for complications" but he said since it was a Saturday I still had to pay $200. He also said "If I called a plumber after hours it would cost $200 n hour, if I called an attorney it would be $350 an hour. I thought I was doing you a FAVOR." ~When I make appointments with him he refuses to see me 2 doors over in his practices office for $200, but forces me to make my appointments in the office that he shares with the hospital for an additional $126 a visit. Lastly, on one occasion when I asked him if he thought I should have more of a fill due to non restriction, he unfilled me then refilled me to almost maximum capacity. I was sweating and bubbling and gagging and he kept making me drink water to show me what "too much fill" was. I hate this man but so far have not been able to find anyone else who will take a cash patient for just fills. (I got divorced and lost my health insurance) but PLEASE do not subject yourself to this horrible, maybe evil ass of a human being. My whole lapband experience has been hell, and Im trapped. Don't be like me!!!

Well Im back from my trip to Mexicali to see Dr. Aceves and his wonderful staff. I was told by all of you who had seen him how wondeful he was and YES he was!! What a nice man and such a dedicated surgeon. I asked him if he takes any time off, well Sundays of course. He said he loves his profession so much that he could spend every waking hr in the surgery room, now that says a whole lot about the quality of this man and the love of what he does. I was in such good hands. I was scared to death to have the spinal ( i had a bad bad expeience with my baby) but the anaethesist put my mind at ease and i put my trust in him which he thanked me for.... it was a snap, he also had a wonderful bed side manner and made me laugh which lightened the moment. Surgery was over in a blink..literally and Im now one week today and down 6 pnds. I have had the normal abdominal discomfort, but id say having a C section for me was wayyy worse. Im able to get down all of my fluids and Protein requirements so i think that makes a big difference in how I feel and heal. I am sure to take my Nexium first thing in the morning and have had no problems with acid or discomfort in that dept. I have had to deal with head hunger, its so strange your instinct to eat is still there but your new tummy is not hungry. It hard to explain until you experience it, the airport was the toughest for me...even though i would never order pizza in the morning, when we went by the pizza place i just about fell to my knees..haha, but it seems to have passed(tongue in cheek), I made grill cheese sandwhich for my daughter yesterday and tomatoe Soup...a definite head hunger challenge because i just cant take a bite! pretty simple. My stab wounds are healing well, actually all but the drain incision are close to healed. I have two kids, one 5yr old and one 6 month old, id say that has been my biggest challenge...taking it easy. How in the world do you rest when a baby needs you? so im just extra careful when i lift him and try to rest when he is napping. I have had a couple of stings bending over so it just makes me put things in check and remember i have just had major surgery. Im still anxious to make it out of the complications zone, but with a surgeon like Dr Aceves on my side I feel like I made the best best best choice! Anyone trying to decide on a surgeon and worried to death like I was, rest assured your in amazing gifted hands!! Thankyou to Dr A and all of his people! I look forward to my new journey ahead... Cheers, Nikki XX ps; not to mention I met some wondeful patients while I was in Mexicali. When you talk to people you find out that we are all in the same boat just trying to get healthy, happy with oursleves and find a different quality of life that we have lost or never had.

I was just banded on 5/29 and I lost 20 # boom. Now just stuck and scales haven't moved in the last 7 days. I get my 1st fill on 6/19 and have had 0cc in my band since post op 10 days, I had complication and they had to remove all liquid. I am excited to begin this journey and walking and excising is one of my top priorities and which I have been doing so I feel your frustration on scales not going anywhere. LOL...

First of all you will only get as small as you want to, that much is directly up to you, if you track your daily calories like you should then it is your choice when you decide to up your calories and go into maintenance. Second while there is a chance of complications hence the "getting sick" part they are rare. And past the initial recovery you should be just fine. I am three weeks out I feel fine and I haven't even so much as vomited once. Third you should forget about what everyone else thinks and worry about what you think. The odds are not in your favor for taking off the weight and maintaining the weight loss on your own, so if surgery is what you think is best for you then you should do it and concentrate on being positive, leave the negative chatter out of your mind. Most people don't even know enough about the different weight loss surgeries to be able to comment on them with any type of an education. Do what's best for you! Ultimately it's you that has to live with the decision. Personally I don't regret my decision one bit.

As a Sleeve veteran, I am 1 1/2 years out. My wife had the RNY in 2003. She lost 100 lbs over a year and gained back about 15 lbs of it until I had my surgery in April 2012. I lost 102 lbs in 6 months to the day before I started to taper off. After one year of leveling off (my choice) I have gained 3-5 lbs, depending on which day I step on the scale (and I do every morning). My wife had alot of eating difficulties for a good couple years after her surgery, particularly with dumping syndrome. I got out of the hospital the day after my surgery and took a walk around the block that night, The next morning I started walking on the treadmill for 20 minutes at 2mph. As I began to gain strenght over the next few weeks, I would up the time and/or speed gradually until I reached 4mph for one hour. Then I would go 4mph for one hour at varied elevation until I got to 6% grade. Worth mentioning, most people have at least some difficulties like nausea, diarhea, vomiting, etc. for up to a month after surgery. Most will tell you this happened to them. I did not have any difficutlies like this at all. I felt great and continue to feel great. When I first went to my Dr. I was looking for an RNY. He suggested I go with the sleeve instead, as it had fewer complications and I did not have any co-morbidities like diabetes, high blood pressure or hear trouble. He said if I had such co-morbidities he would recommend the RNY. I took his advice and am so glad I did. I think the secret for me was to hold to 1000 net calories a day after exercise. When I started maintenance, I adjusted up to 1300 net calories. I get at least 70 grams of protein per day. I'm on the treadmill at least 5-6 days a week and burn anywhere between 640 to 780 calories, so you can see, I can eat almost anything I want as long as I don't get stupid. Good luck with whatever you choose.

Thanks for sharing your story. I have had a similar journey in regards to the lap band. I was successful losing weight with it for a while, but had complications and the weight came back. I am hoping to have the band to sleeve revision surgery soon, but I'm currently having to jump through a few hoops. Grrrrrr. I have some of the same fears as well. Fears that the sleeve will fail since the lap band did. But I think these fears are normal. Anyway, I'm happy you made the decision to do something about it and equally happy (and jealous...lol) that your surgeon and insurance are making this process quick and painless. Good luck to you!!

Thanks so much!! I might just have to do that once I have the surgery and lose the weight again. I lost 115 lbs with the band (before I gained it back due to complications), but know I can do it again with the help of the sleeve. We can do this!!! Only 1 more week for you! That's so exciting!! Please keep us posted along the way.

Wow great job!!!! That is amazing!!! Stories like yours give me hope! I have had my band for 9 years and I have been dealing with horrible acid reflux for the past two and a half years, and now I have found I have a small slip and it may need a revision. I'm so terrified of surgery, I'm so afraid I won't wake up or I'll have a horror story ( I read the complication forum first ????) like a leak or I won't be able to stop losing weight etc. I am glad I read your post! It has eased my mind a little in case I do have to have my band revised to the sleeve

I don't see why your insurance wouldn't cover the stricture even though you self paid. That's like not covering a broken leg from a roller skating issue. You self paid for the roller skates, the break is a possible complication, it gets repaired. Or a more medical example, you take a new Vitamin and have a reaction. The vitamin wasn't prescribed or covered by the insurance company and the fall out is. Stricture is life threatening. GET. IT. CHECKED.

1. First question may be a bit silly and I know everyone has their own unique experience, but I'm wondering what to expect on the actual day of surgery. For some reason the surgery itself doesn't make me nervous because I know I have an excellent doctor, but being put to sleep makes me a little nervous. Also, I'm nervous that I'll wake up into excruciating pain.. Is this the case ? Either way I know eventually it will all be a minor detail but I'm just curious to see how others have reacted to surgery. For my surgery, I was wheeled into the operating room, had a few pleasantries with the staff, then bam woke up in the recovery room. No mask being put on my face, no slow fading out . . . I was just there chatting with people one second, then the next second woke up. When I woke up I did have pain in my shoulder (from the surgical gas) but I wouldn't call it excruciating. My team did an excellent job on pain control the whole time I was there. It wasn't a big deal. 2. My second question has to do with hair loss. Is there anything I can do from now to prevent my hair from falling out/ thinning. I know getting in my Protein is key, but is there anything else I can do? No, there isn"t anything you can do to prevent it. Don't waste your money on massive amounts of biotin or some sort of special shampoo. It will either happen or it won't. There are good ways you can cut and style your hair, as well as cosmetic tricks, to hide hair loss if you get a severe case of it. Usually the hair loss starts around month 3 and stops and the hair starts growing back somewhere around month 6. 3. My third question has to do with excess skin. Again I know each person is different and there are many factors to this. My question is did anyone find that toning exercises or any kind of body butters/lotions help at all? No. If there were some sort of magic trick to prevent excess skin, no one would need plastic surgery because word would spread and everyone would do it. The thing is, you already have the skin you have. You can't prevent it, it's already there. If having excess skin is going to bother you a lot, start saving your pennies for plastic surgery now. 4. My fourth and final question has to do with pregnancy after being sleeved. I don't plan on starting a family for another 4-5 years but I'm curious if the sleeve has affected anyone's pregnancy.. Did anyone find it hard to take in the proper nutrients ? Was it hard to bounce back from pregnancy? Did any complications that may not be obvious arise due to the sleeve? I haven't had personal experience, but my sister (a physician) says that pregnant women require an extra 300 calories per day to nourish the fetus, plus a prenatal vitamin. It's not hard to get 300 calories per day. Make a protein shake with whole milk and a tablespoon of peanut butter and you are just about there. Or eat a handful of nuts twice a day. Instead of having yogurt for breakfast, have scrambled eggs with cheese and avocado, plus eat a couple slices of dried mango for an after-dinner snack. Trust me, once most sleevers get a year or two out of surgery, they don't have trouble adding in 300 calories. They have trouble *not* adding in 300 calories when they don't need to! You'll be fine

Several surgeons across the country have been consults on my case due to the rarity of the complications and no one is 100% sure what caused it. But their best guess has been a combination of me being short 5'3 (short torso, short stomach, shorter sleeve) and my anatomy ( the curvature of my stomach and the way it empties. I have read studies that say short people tend to feel more restriction. Not so sure I could have prevented this one.

I hope that the doctors and surgeon on your team will use your experience to educate themselves and others about possible risks and complications. You say you had really bad reflux before the sleeve?

I was sleeved on 7/31 and I am feeling fantastic! I was feeling great the day after surgery and have had zero complications so far. I walk a lot, am getting 60-70g of Protein a day. I'm just working on upping my calories since I'm on the low end still and trying to drink as much Water as possible. I'm on Protein shakes and broths mixed with unflavored protein. Not sick of them yet, I'm stocked up and ready for my puree stage. Looking forward to a little more sustenance.

Here's a new update. I went home from the hospital Friday, and over the weekend became very short of breath. Monday I was readmitted. I had a moderate amount of fluid in around my right lung which was compressing my lung causing a partial collapse. They also discovered that I have extra fluid in the the sack around my heart. Yesterday they drained my lung which gave me immediate relief with my breathing. Right now the cardiologist is just going to keep a close eye on my heart to ensure it doesn't worsen. All of this extra fluid is from when I went into septic shock, they had to resuscitate me with so much fluid it just collected everywhere. Also yesterday I found out that due to my nutritional status, I am in liver disease. Today we started tube feedings through my G-tube. Hopefully this will improve my nutrition until I get get it my oral intake up. You know...... It just seems statistically impossible that one person would have this many complications. I am over 5 months out from my initial surgery and still going through this. Everyone pray I get to go home tomorrow to celebrate thanksgiving with my family. God bless you all.