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So - hormonal eating. A BIG problem for me and for someone like me who is considering the sleeve surgery, I worry that this will be a big hindrance for me. Obviously, with surgery I can't do *too* much damage, but I'm still concerned. Some months aren't too bad, but some months I do a LOT of damage with hormonal eating. I realize it's hormonal because I will literally wake up one morning (after period has started or just ended) and not feel like a raving food beast anymore. But when it strikes, it's BAD. I just can't be satisfied, I want only foods that are terrible for me - the badder the better. Some months I can get a handle on it, especially if I recognize it coming on, but some months I don't realize it until I'm knee deep in my 10th pint of ice cream....kind of exaggerating....kind of.... I'm just so frustrated by this! For so long I've thought that I just have to learn to deal with it, but maybe I'm missing out on some great help out there or idea that can help me tame this beast. I'm on birth control (lower dose hormones), we have 3 kids and aren't positive we are entirely done yet or one of us would be getting some kind of permanent BC done. I always struggle some with portion control and my love for baked goods (hence the surgery) but this is another factor that has significantly impacted my ability to ever be a normal weight.

I made it threw the first day it's very hard bc I am on a clear liquid diet so no shakes for me basically I have Water power are zero and sugar free Jello and it so hard but I just need to make it threw today bc tomorrow is surgery day Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Hi, I'm curious as to what insurance you have that approved the revision? I have BCBS Fed and I'm terrified they will deny me. I have heard that the insurance companies come back saying that the removal/revision is not medically necessary. Altho I do not have a slipped band or a hiatal hernia at this time, I wish I did. Then perhaps my insurance will approve it. Ugh. How are you doing now? You are almost a week out and I hope you are doing well. Let us know

What sizes are you wearing? I'm still 12-14-16 depending, but belk, Macy's, sometimes torrid, I love Eddie Bauer Bc the lifetime guarantee, Kohls has great options too Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

Thank you! I have found a lot of non weight bearing exercises to do on floor, after you get past your first 1 or 2 weeks... **** does happen, but it's going to be better once the sitting is over! I got a knee walker and that has been my savior bc I've been able to go walk outside and stuff. Sent from my SM-N920V using the BariatricPal App

Well the fact that i have an 12 year old and a 1 year old and husband to live for. Eating was a comfort for me especially when i was stressed and i just like food period. Then the fact that diabetes, high blood pressure, heart failure, kidney failure is hereditary bc many are overweight in my family. I also got tired of my ankles and knees hurting when i got up in morning and walked. 31 pounds down since dec 2015 im a slow loser but at least its coming off. I also realized the more weight i was putting on the bigger size clothes i had to buy and they got even more expensive, and we all know petite single digit clothes well most of them are cheaper and easier to find. Im not at the size and weight i want to be still have 75 more pounds to lose but im getting there and i am happy i made the decision to get the sleeve. It was the best decision ever.

Me too, my last dr supervised and NUT appts are on Thursday. Already did psyche. And that is all my surgeon checked as far as my testing goes. I already had an old sleep study done so supposedly i won't have to re-do that. Surgeon did not mark endoscopy or cardiology appt. Boy am I gonna be PISSED if he changes his mind. I should be ready to submit on Friday according to his initial surgery requirements sheet. My husband, on the other hand, had to do all the aforementioned appts/tests and I can only assume it is because he is 9 years older than i. His surgery was approved in 1 day by BCBS fed and is scheduled may 2 for surgery. Keeping fingers and toes crossed for both of us!

Are you waiting for your surgery approval? My husband and I have BCBS Fed and it was submitted to insurance on April 7 and we received the approval letter on April 13. We were surprised it came so fast. I have heard some BCBS patients hearing within 48 hours and others 3 weeks. We were super nervous too! Like you, I have a band and am going to my last NUT appt this Thursday. I hope I am approved as well for the sleeve. My husband and I were hoping to be going through this together. For 10 years we have been on different eating schedules due to my band and all the difficulties it presents. There is more to prove to the insurance for a revision. Did your surgeon tell you that the band and port would be removed in one surgery and then the sleeve would come later on? My surgeon told me this but when he saw how upset I became he said he would see how it looks when he goes in and if it looks safe to do the sleeve, he will. So I won't even know until I wake up if I am sleeved or not.

It was a lady who I went out with a few times. She basically let me know that she wasn't interested in dating a fat guy. So I started weight watchers again, and then I heard a pod cast where they got into a discussion of how hard it was to lose weight and they stated WW sucuess rate was about 8% or less but WLS was 80%. I remember say "BS" but I looked it up and dang if it wasn't true. I spent two weeks looking into it and realized this was for me. Had it done on election day 2014 and have been enjoying the new me ever since.

Congrats My husband was just approved quickly by BCBS Fed. It's a good feeling, isn't it? Next up is me. Gulp! Not sure what you mean about a pre op test?

This is always a topic that gets people riled up. Honestly when I was right out of surgery and losing weight like crazy I had no problem sharing my story with those that were truly interested. In fact I thought I would help others understand that WLS and obesity are not very well understood. As time has gone on I have learned that telling everyone really brings with it nosey people who simply choose to debate whether or not I made a good decision. Or the gossip monger so who are simply waiting to see when I fail and gain it all back. Or the skinny people who have never had to deal with dieting and clearly don't look at obesity as a disease. I am more choosy now about who I share with and this is mostly to not have to deal with the bs that comes along with sharing with the wrong people. People can be cruel and honestly I have in fact been treated poorly by my obese so called friends. You really do find out who your friends really are when you share such personal information. I get riled up when someone says that choosing not to share means you are embarrassed. I am not embarrassed by having WLS at all. This usually comes from people who have yet to experience what it's like to live post weight loss. I have no problem telling people exactly what I think and can deal with whatever comes my way but when people really are not interested in the truth and want to hang on to every crappy story out there about WLS you are not going to change their opinions. They have to be ready to want to change. Lastly I would say to share or not share is 100% a personal choice. It is none of anyone's business what I do with my body. If I choose to tell someone it is just that, my choice. It does NOT mean I am embarrassed by my decision to cure this disease.

I'm just starting my journey, but I once lost weight and kept it off for 5 years and on and off for another 6 by using a few tricks. 1. I kept my mouth busy with sugar free gum and exclusively drink water- no juice or soda. 2. I recited food is fuel not fun everyday 3. I didn't say goodbye to everything I liked to eat, so I knew there was nothing I couldn't have. I just had to wait until a scheduled day in the week to have a "cheat meal." A lot of weeks I didn't have the cheat meal bc I didn't want to mess up my progress. 4. I worked out regularly 3-5 days per week 5. I shopped often and stayed out of gym clothes. Stretchy clothes don't tell you when you are gaining, so only wear them to work out 6. I trained for events (100 mile bike, 5k, wedding, trip) 7. I made friends at the gym so I had people to look forward to seeing. 8. I ate on schedule so I didn't have a chance to feel hungry 9. I kept my trigger foods out of my house and resolved not to drive anywhere to get any food I was craving or send anyone out for it either. 10. I made myself a priority. I went places I enjoyed, I tanned, I wore nice clothes, i took time to feel good. Hen it was my time I enjoyed it, and I made up for it by giving my family their day for something special too. When I stopped all of thy I gained weight and lost my satisfaction with my life. That was my recipe through trial and error I discovered it. You just have to find what works for you and be ok with messing up a little as you discover what that means for you. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I had surgery on 4/13/2016. I had to stay 2 days in hospital bc of my nausea. I am in pain [which was expected] but not as bad as yesterday. We are about to leave hospital hopefully in the next 30 mins. I have gotten my nausea under control and hopefully it will stay under control with this 2-3 hour drive back home. I can't wait to start seeing progress! Sent from my SM-G928V using the BariatricPal App

When my a1c was 9.6..and I felt like shit, I was fed up. And my wonderful Dr helped me to the right path, and that was my aha moment... Asking for that help. Sent from my XT1575 using the BariatricPal App

Where were you would that amount? I am self pay in Wisconsin as well. I have a consultation with Froedtert in May. I am fearful of cost as well so I am starting to look at other options as a back up plan. Sent from my SM-G920V using the BariatricPal App I was quoted that at Columbia St MAry's. I was quoted $35,000-38,000 at Froedert. It took forever for Froedert to call me back and had a long wait time to get into see the nut. and dr. and do all of the requirements. I knew I wanted it done fast as I was self pay, I shouldnt have to jump through the hoops. I got fed up and went to Tijuana for a quarter of the cost. Worth it! Good luck in your choice! Thanks for your response! I have decided to use Blossom Bariatrics in Las Vegas. They have been great so far...looks like June 29 will be my date! Sent from my SM-G920V using the BariatricPal App

Where were you would that amount? I am self pay in Wisconsin as well. I have a consultation with Froedtert in May. I am fearful of cost as well so I am starting to look at other options as a back up plan. Sent from my SM-G920V using the BariatricPal App I was quoted that at Columbia St MAry's. I was quoted $35,000-38,000 at Froedert. It took forever for Froedert to call me back and had a long wait time to get into see the nut. and dr. and do all of the requirements. I knew I wanted it done fast as I was self pay, I shouldnt have to jump through the hoops. I got fed up and went to Tijuana for a quarter of the cost. Worth it! Good luck in your choice!

Anyone get BC/BS to pay for excess skin removal surgery, ex: tummy tuck? I'm in the Chicago area. Please give me your plastic surgeon's info, thanks. Sent from my GT-P5113 using the BariatricPal App

Hi, I have had the surgery and I am 23 as well, I already had seen so many obese persons (including me) with their neverending struggle to diet/lose weight, etc without any sucess, and I was so fed up with my weight and all the other problems. There is nothing to be scared about, this surgery is not that painful (well it is during a week, but yeah 80% of one your organ was removed. Also you won't be missing class too much, I have been given a one month "holiday" after the surgery, but after two weeks I was feeling well already. Having the sleeve will change your feelings about food, I personally no longer crave fat food. You have to eat slowly and actually start to enjoy what you are eating rather than shovelling industrial quantities of food down your throat without asking questions. So yeah, I was scared too because I devoured so many things all the time, but now that I had this surgery, it seems that this past behaviour is relatively absurd. It's not a diet, it changes too many things (and permanently for the most). I know there are differences between what's following the surgery from my country to the US (I keep reading about Protein shakes and weird stuff like that, and I don't understand a thing about these approvals/insurances things), but the results are astouding and I feel way better even though it was quite recent (end of February). Cheers!

How is everyone doing? I am feeling great and back to work. Looking forward to moving onto pureed food. Getting mighty fed up with shakes and Soups. Sent from my SM-G920F using the BariatricPal App

Hello everyone! I thought it would be helpful to have a detailed account of my experiences from first pre-op meeting through surgery (have a date but have not yet been sleeved) and perhaps beyond. These are my experiences which I think are fairly typical though yours may differ. Much of this same information is available here on bariatric pal but may take a bit more digging than I hope to lay it out here. So, let's begin. May of 2012: I began to seriously consider bariatric surgery and began hunting around for information and resources. It was then that I found Bariatric Pal. I thought my mind was made up about getting the lap band but after reading numerous posts here, I also began to consider gastric sleeve. The band seemed simplest and safest to me. After reading many, many posts here, I learned that that was not only untrue but that the band simply didn't work for most people. June of 2013: I finally got up the courage to see a surgeon about the surgery. After seeing him I was sold on the sleeve. It has a great long term success rate of an acerage of 60-70% (depending on the study) excess weight lost for five years or more. He highly discouraged the band and simply said it just doesn't have the success rate and he is not recommending them. August of 2013: I learned that my insurance at the time would not cover the sleeve, band or any other bariatric surgeries or weight loss programs. I was very upset but renewed my determination to lose weight "on my own". I did. I went from 385 lbs down to 305 and felt like a million bucks. I was absolutely positive I would shrink all the way down to my then goal weight of 225. Hah. Mid 2014: I ballooned back up to about 365/370 and began experiencing extreme knee pain, occasional chest pain, increased sleep apnea and rising blood pressure. My quality of life sucked. December 2014: I had a total right knee replacement. It was horrible. My weight prevented from attending the inpatient rehab clinics that I wanted to attend which had weight restrictions. I wound up in what was essentially an "old folks" convalescent home that made me feel old and invalid. I was ashamed to be there. February 2015: I severely injured my replaced knee while leaving physical therapy. I tore my hamstring and the tendon which attaches to the knee cap. It sucked and I know it was largely due to my weight. The injury still has not healed properly and I continue to feel very handicapped and I am only 48. I can not run at all and standing and walking long distances is out. I again renewed my efforts to lose weight. I went from about 375 to 345 by May and was feeling pretty good. May 2015: I learned I had a diaphragmatic hernia which is like a hiatal hernia but not as close to the esophagus. I had it repaired, which went well but developed an incisional hernia at the site of the laproscopic repair. My efforts at losing weight again turned around. It was at this time that I renewed my intention to get bariatric surgery. I came back to bariatric pal and researched Mexico. July 2015: I was just about set to go to Mexico. I did a skype consultation with Dr Altamirano in TJ and joined his FB group. I began putting the money aside in hopes of going in Mexico for surgery in December. I had strong reservations about Mexico at first but got over it after much reading on here, the consultation and the FB group. Still, I worried about follow up care if there were complications. I had new insurance at work but it still did not cover bariatric surgery. November 2015: I learned from some folks on here that they bought an insurance plan off the Obamacare insurance exchange and used it to cover their surgery right here in the U.S. Some of them even had it as a secondary insurance policy and it worked. My interest was piqued and I began exploring the exchange for an affordable policy that covered bariatric surgery. Some of the others I referred to had success with BC/BS of Illinois and I learned that Illinois requires companies participating in the exchange to cover bariatric surgery. Since I live in Illinois, this was great news! I found a policy that covered the surgery at 100% after a deductible of $3500. Steep but doable. The premium is $398 per month. January 2016: Now we're getting to the meat of the potato. I bought the plan off the exchange, receiving no discount, and it took effect on Feb 1st of 2016. It was the BC/BS IL PPO Silver Plan. Pretty good coverage after deductible. February 2016: I called the insurance company to verify benefits, and they were confirmed. I learned that they did not require a six month diet, or many of the other things that many insurance companies require. They simply said the require a "letter of pre-determination". I also learned that they do not cover the hospital or the surgeon that I initially consulted with. I researched their website and found out that Elmhurst Hospital, and their surgeons were covered. Hallelujah, I live in Elmhurst! I will pick up here later with details of my visits so far!

Hi Ladies. It's been many many months since I have been here. I went back and read over the posts from the last couple weeks but I doubt I'll go back six months and read to catch up. Life has been crazy and incredibly sad for me since I was here last. I know it was around the time that we found out my dad had pancreatic cancer that I was here. He passed away on February 12th, and his funeral was on February 20th. He passed away 5 months to the day we found out he had cancer and what an incredibly long, heartbreaking 5 months it had been. Shortly after he was diagnosed he had surgery to remove 1/2 of his pancreas and all of his spleen. They thought they had removed all of the cancer but a few days later the pathology report had stated that there was cancer that had grown out and above the pancreas and it was also in some of his lymph nodes. He did pretty well for a week or so after the surgery and went home but a couple days after he came home he ended up with complications; a leak where the pancreas was stitched after it was removed so pancreatic Fluid was leaking and was very painful. Back in the hospital he went. That's when the nightmare began. He was so very sick and just didn't recover well. Day after day something would go wrong. At one point he had 6 drains and also a drain into his stomach for tube feeding. He just couldn't recover from these complications. He developed wounds in his incision and it was all just a awful. We finally did get him home right before thanksgiving but he was in his bed most of the time, very weak with a nurse coming to the house daily. He had to recover from this in order get strong enough to have chemo to begin to deal with the cancer that we knew was, at that point, in his lymph nodes. He never did recover, we had multi visits to the hospital to see doctor and wound care. By this point all he could do was walk to the bathroom and to the car but other than that he was in a wheel chair, he was just too weak to do anything. In January we found out the cancer has spread to his liver and that he likely had a few more months to live. His oncologist told him he could start a mild form of chemo. My mom and sisters and I didn't want him to do it Bc we knew he was so weak and sick already. He decided to do it and we knew we had to respect whatever decision he made. He had chemo on a Monday in the beginning of February. He was very tired over the next few days and by Thursday my mom called me in a panic saying he was shaking so bad and had a high fever. I rushed over and we took him to the ER. I should have called 911, by the time we got to the ER he couldn't even stand on his own and they had to lift him out of the car. The next day, Friday, we found out the cancer had spread everywhere in his body. He decided he would go home on hospice. While in the hospital for a couple days, hourly he was getting worse. The pain was worse. He could actually feel tumors popping up and feel the cancer growing in his body. He went home in an ambulance on Monday. Hospice started and we were hoping to have a few more weeks with him. Again, hourly the pain would be worse, we had to figure out pain meds and he was getting so many different ones, every hour, just to keep him comfortable. By Thursday of that week he went into a coma. He came out of it for just a bit on Thursday night, he and my mom slept pretty well that night together. Friday morning he woke up again for a few minutes but was in much pain. We increased pain meds even more. He went into a coma again and never woke up after that. He died that Friday night surrounded by his family. It's has been an incredibly emotional time for all of us. From the time he was diagnosed, it was bad news. Non stop hospital/doctor visits. Just one thing after another. I kid you not when I saw we never went more than a couple days and he would go back to the doctor to find out more bad news. Now we are learning how to grieve. None of my sisters or my mom have ever lost someone so close to us so it's a learning process. We are all a close family. It's hard seeing my mom so very sad, she doesn't know how to live after losing her best friend of 50 years. I don't know how to help her while I am trying to grieve the loss of a wonderful dad and gramps. I have good days and bad days and I know I'll make it through. I've only gained 5-7 pounds, depending on the day I step in the scale. I'm not too concerned about that. The last couple weeks I am finally getting back into my regular exercise routine. This is helping me emotionally. The weight will go back down now that I'm eating normal again. For 5 months every single day was in limbo so my regular exercise and clean eating took a back seat. My whole life, my husband and my kids all took a back seat. Deep down, when I found out he had cancer, I didn't think he would make it long. When he developed complications after the surgery, I knew in my heart, it was going to be a downward spiral. I am so thankful I was able to devote my time to be with my mom and dad and to help. I went to every single doctor appointment with him and I was at the hospital almost daily with him. The last week I was with him at his house day and night. I was able to say everything I wanted to say to him. My children and husband were able to say anything they needed or wanted to say to him while he was still alert and knew what was going on. He was at peace with dying and the only thing that made him sad was that he didn't want to leave my mom alone. They loved each other so very much, a love I am so thankful to have witnessed through the years. Thanks for reading, if you read all the way through, I know it was a long one. It felt good to type it out. I needed some time away from here but I am back now so I'll try to post more.

I chose to keep my surgery to myself because I knew it would bother me when people said that I took the easy way out. I also know that bariatric surgery has a stigma attached to it and I wasn't willing to deal with that. A lady I worked with had a surgery and everyone knew about it. When she lost weight all anyone said was well, she has lapband so it's not like she's working hard and when she gained it all back, everyone was all smug about how her cheaterhead surgery failed. That irked me and it contributed to my decision to keep it to myself. My three best friends know and no one else does. I am now 2.5 years post-op so my weight loss really isn't a topic of conversation anymore. When people asked what I did I just said I worked out more and ate less, which was entirely true. I like the idea that lies by exclusion are not lies. I don't feel that I have any personal obligation to other large people to tell my story- it's my business, not theirs, and I plan to keep it that way. My boyfriend, now ex-boyfriend, once said something like...it's almost like you had that stomach surgery. I was thin! I also have major plastic surgery scars that someone who sees me naked and isn't stupid can conclude that I had been larger at least at some point. The big contributor is the fact that food makes me puke, so when I'm dating I either can't eat half the places we go or I do eat and then barf. All I said to him was...I thought that surgery wasn't supposed to make you barf? And he was like, ohhh yeah, you're right. End of story. My mom said once..."did you have your stomach cut out?" and my response was, "what?, why would I do that?. Again, end of story. I am fine lying to protect my privacy because in the end it is about number one, and this number one did not want to deal with the bs people like to throw at those who have had this surgery. I am ok with that, and in the event anyone finds out I lied to them, I frankly don't care.

I'm so glad I was simply upfront with folks from the very beginning. It's been the biggest nonevent imaginable. There's been zero judgmental comments voiced nor has there been any blowback.....simply good positive supportive comments and attaboys. Coming up with a cover story of how I was losing 40% of my bodyweight seemed like a sham and a bunch of bs. It's a choice we each have to make....and everyone's circumstances are unique to them. I'm just a straightaway, heart on sleeve sort. Truth is easier than fabrication.

Hormonal bc you might have to stop before surgery because of the small risk of blood clots Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I257 using the BariatricPal App

I was one who chose adversely to the sleeve which my surgeon recommended at our initial consultation. He did so due to my age as well and based off of him not knowing a few details about me. But I did research and also have a mother who had the bypass over 15 years ago and was and has still been successful with it. I chose it bc I love sweets and feel the need to have them often. I also didn't really eat alot before I just ate the wrong things bc that's kinda how I was brought up, eating more of the yummy ribs, baked mac'n'cheese, cubed steak and things rather than healthy. The RNY has one of the best features for that which is the dumping syndrome. So I have not choice now but to ear right or I will get extremely sick. I believe the sleeve can have that effect too but no other like the RNY. I forgot to mention after my surgeon suggested the sleeve, I had blood work done and they determined I was .5 away from being diabetic (my A1C was 6.0) and only the RNY cures diabetes. Sent from my SM-G920V using the BariatricPal App