I was just wondering if there was any Nashville sleevers. I live close to Nashville and looking for some close by friends to chat with or email..

Hi, I'm a sister Nashvillian! Dr. Al Spaw is doing my sleeve, probably in April or May. It all depends on how long the insurance takes to approve me.

Have you had your sleeve yet? I have been looking on here for someone from Nashville, but you are the first one I've come across.

I'm so excited to meet you!

Lisa

I'm in Murfreesboro. I had my sleeve last September. Glad to meet you both!

Hi, Branc1! Your statistics are great! How are you feeling? Did you have your sleeve done in M'boro? My daughter goes to MTSU, but we live in Hermitage.

Lisa

[ Hi, I'm Carole, I'm 60 and a Grandma and I feel great. I am trying to get back on course from the holidays. I've lost 3 more pounds since I started paying attention to what I'm putting in my mouth again. It is easy to slip back into old habits even when you can't eat as much. People who say we took the lazy way out are wrong. We still have to make an effort to follow our programs. I had very little pain afterwards and no stomach issues at all. I followed my dr. orders and everything went smoothly. I think a good state of mind helps too. I think if you are positive you will have an easier time. Stay the course on your liquid prop diet. The more you lose the easier time the dr. will have doing your surgery(and the less you have to lose afterwards).

Wow dr spaw is doing my surgery and I have heard by many many people that he is the best. I went to pre admissions and one of the nurses that worked for him was his nurse in surgery for a long time. She told me that if any one was going to work on her it would be Dr. Spaw ..Sorry for rambling on it is wonderful that all of us can meet. Most of these people are from Texas and out west . I just wanted to meet some people close and maybe be friends as well as give support to one another while we are struggling...It is a please to meet both of you two..This site is awesome as far as the support...

Yes, my cousin, who is an RN, told me that Dr. Spaw was the best. I think his personality is so encouraging. He put my whole family at ease.

Will you be going to any of the support group meetings?

Yep..Dr. Spaw is such a good people person that is very true..He actually seems to care about you. He is just awesome I told my wife about him and she seemed to be really impressed by him and the things I told her about him..I went to one of the support groups and if you and me go it seems that we are probably going to be the only two that has had vsg. I might be wrong but most of the people if not all of them has had RNY. But the people are still nice and they are very informative. Oh, by the way I live in Lebanon,Tn so about 20 miles to nashville. I am going in on the 1st for my surgery so I will keep all the forum posted on my progress..

I live in Murfreesboro, too, and hope to have my surgery in mid-Feb.

I'm in Murfreesboro. I had my sleeve last September. Glad to meet you both!

Hey guys!

I'm a Native Texan, but I now live here in Nashville. I had my sleeve September 16,2010 with Dr. Morton. Dr. Morton is Dr. Spaw's right hand man! Let me know if you have any questions!

NOTFAT: I live in Hermitage, so I am just a few exits down from you. I have to attend the support group in February and March to meet my insurance requirements. I knew VSG patients meet with the bypass patients, but I was hoping there would be more VSG attendees. Keep me informed on your surgery! I am very excited for you.

SETTEBE: Oh, I'm sure we will pick your brain clean. Especially since we have the same practice doing our surgery. What about nausea? Did they do a good job keeping it at bay? That's my concern even more than the pain. I HATE throwing up. BTW, my husband and I lived in Carrollton, TX (outside of Dallas) for about 9 months back in 1985, before he got transferred back to Nashville. I liked it out there.

Lisa

Nausea, wasn't really that bad honestly. At the hospital, they give you the patch that goes behind your ear to help with nausea. Some people use them when they go on cruises, but anyway! Everyone was very nice and helpful. I got to go home after 2 days. Ha, I remember Dr. Spaw came in my room at 7AM, hit the lights on (woke me up) and said, "You ready to go home?" Then he wrote me a prescription for pain, and I was on my way. The worst part for me was feeling super weak and sore. You figure you go from 2000 plus calories a day to about 600-800, but after the first few weeks, I was fine. I was born and raised in Arlington. I've been in TN for 3 yrs now, but I still miss home.

Feel free to ask any questions! Who is your insurance specialist? Go to any support groups?

I worked with Amy Simmons at the consultation. I don't know if she will be the same one who submits my packet or not. I have Aetna and I have heard both good and bad about getting approvals from them. Amy didn't seem too worried about it, though. What insurance did you have and how long did it take for approval? My last appointment is April 6 and it would be super if I could have my surgery before the end of April.

I go to my first support group meeting on Feb. 1--the same day NotFatJustExtraFluffy has his surgery!

So glad about the nausea. I've never had trouble with anesthesia, but I just always want to be proactive and ward it off just in case it's going to bother me this time.

Go Rangers! I was cheering them on during playoffs and the World Series. I'm actually a Cincy Reds fan, but they did so badly in the playoffs I had to pick another team after they were eliminated. I was really impressed by the Josh Hamilton story so I decided to go with the Rangers.

Did you have to do a diet for a few months for your insurance? I have to do 3 months with Aetna. I'm right at 40-41 BMI. What happens if I lose during those 3 months and drop below? Do you think they will not approve me? I do have co-morbidities (high blood pressure, GERD, high cholesterol, borderline Diabetes II).

Oh yes, Ms. Amy! I had her as well. She knows me well. I was all over her once I got done with my 3 month pre-work done. Haha! I too have Aetna. Aetna is pretty good about giving you the approval as long as you have all the required documentation. As far as diet, during those three months, you do want to start breaking bad habits and practice good ones. For example, for me, I used to snack/eat late, so I then got in the habit not to eat after 7 o'clock; just little things like that. To be honest, I kind of had the "last super" syndrome. I ate junkie the first month bc I didn't think I would be able to eat those things again, but after that, I got serious about it and made better choices. You will though go on a pre-op diet 2 weeks before surgery, but it wasn't all that bad.

And yes, I was proud of my Rangers! I grew up going to the ballgame!

Feel free to email me at anytime with questions.

Suzette setteb2001@aol.com

just to let you middle tn sleeve know that the rn from Dr. Spaw contacted me by email and said that the 15th of March they will be discussing a vertical sleeve support group . She told me that the sleeve is becoming more popular so they are trying to put together a sleeve support group. I Think that this would be so good for us.. I will be attending the March 15 meeting and hopefully we will have a sleeve support group starting the month of april..