I haven’t posted for a while but just wanted to stop in and say how thankful I continue to be for this board. I’ve been mostly in lurk mode… killing myself with double classes to finish grad school by June and working 50+ hours/wk....so I usually pop on, read a few posts, and pop off. But my thoughts, congrats and hopes continue to follow you all through your sleeve stories!

I continue to be an Aetna sheep. First let me say that I’m thankful to have insurance that will cover the sleeve because it would be difficult for me to self-pay. Next I just have to vent....the 6-month pre-op classes are pretty ridiculous. I understand their intention and agree that people should be educated before making a decision regarding WLS, but these classes do not provide any viable information. I get so much more out of this board.

My classes have consisted of:

December: One-on-one counseling with nutritionist and nurse coordinator. This was the only visit I found worthwhile. At this point I wasn’t sure between sleeve and band. I watched a video about the surgeries and learned about the long-term diet modifications. Was sad to learn I would have to give up diet coke, but very happy to learn that it was essentially a low-carb lifestyle which has been relatively not-too-difficult for me to follow in the past.

January: Post-op RNY patient sharing his experience. Definitely geared toward the RNY patient.

February: Diabetic education nurse from the hospital who talked for an hour about hypoglycemia and how to treat it in emergent situations. She took a hand count and only 3 people out of 20 in the room were diabetic or had experience with hypoglycemia.

March: An HMR (non-surgical weight loss program) success story, who proceeded to tell the group of morbidly obese that weight loss is a simple matter of calories in, calories out….really? He said more than once during the hour that he was glad he had the perseverance to make the right choices and avoid surgery. Jerk wipe.

April: And finally a 110-lb perkier-than-hell personal trainer who talked at super speed for an hour about the value of movement and how to work it into your day. She actually said ‘if anyone takes the elevator down when they leave here I will kick their ass!’

One more pre-op class May 9…hopefully surgery in June

Keep Strong!!! You will be fine. I love this site too and it has helped me tremendously so far.

I haven’t posted for a while but just wanted to stop in and say how thankful I continue to be for this board. I’ve been mostly in lurk mode… killing myself with double classes to finish grad school by June and working 50+ hours/wk....so I usually pop on, read a few posts, and pop off. But my thoughts, congrats and hopes continue to follow you all through your sleeve stories!

I continue to be an Aetna sheep. First let me say that I’m thankful to have insurance that will cover the sleeve because it would be difficult for me to self-pay. Next I just have to vent....the 6-month pre-op classes are pretty ridiculous. I understand their intention and agree that people should be educated before making a decision regarding WLS, but these classes do not provide any viable information. I get so much more out of this board.

My classes have consisted of:

December: One-on-one counseling with nutritionist and nurse coordinator. This was the only visit I found worthwhile. At this point I wasn’t sure between sleeve and band. I watched a video about the surgeries and learned about the long-term diet modifications. Was sad to learn I would have to give up diet coke, but very happy to learn that it was essentially a low-carb lifestyle which has been relatively not-too-difficult for me to follow in the past.

January: Post-op RNY patient sharing his experience. Definitely geared toward the RNY patient.

February: Diabetic education nurse from the hospital who talked for an hour about hypoglycemia and how to treat it in emergent situations. She took a hand count and only 3 people out of 20 in the room were diabetic or had experience with hypoglycemia.

March: An HMR (non-surgical weight loss program) success story, who proceeded to tell the group of morbidly obese that weight loss is a simple matter of calories in, calories out….really? He said more than once during the hour that he was glad he had the perseverance to make the right choices and avoid surgery. Jerk wipe.

April: And finally a 110-lb perkier-than-hell personal trainer who talked at super speed for an hour about the value of movement and how to work it into your day. She actually said ‘if anyone takes the elevator down when they leave here I will kick their ass!’

One more pre-op class May 9…hopefully surgery in June

Congratulations! I've followed the same pattern as you have and expect surgery in June, too. Good luck!

I haven’t posted for a while but just wanted to stop in and say how thankful I continue to be for this board. I’ve been mostly in lurk mode… killing myself with double classes to finish grad school by June and working 50+ hours/wk....so I usually pop on, read a few posts, and pop off. But my thoughts, congrats and hopes continue to follow you all through your sleeve stories!

I continue to be an Aetna sheep. First let me say that I’m thankful to have insurance that will cover the sleeve because it would be difficult for me to self-pay. Next I just have to vent....the 6-month pre-op classes are pretty ridiculous. I understand their intention and agree that people should be educated before making a decision regarding WLS, but these classes do not provide any viable information. I get so much more out of this board.

My classes have consisted of:

December: One-on-one counseling with nutritionist and nurse coordinator. This was the only visit I found worthwhile. At this point I wasn’t sure between sleeve and band. I watched a video about the surgeries and learned about the long-term diet modifications. Was sad to learn I would have to give up diet coke, but very happy to learn that it was essentially a low-carb lifestyle which has been relatively not-too-difficult for me to follow in the past.

January: Post-op RNY patient sharing his experience. Definitely geared toward the RNY patient.

February: Diabetic education nurse from the hospital who talked for an hour about hypoglycemia and how to treat it in emergent situations. She took a hand count and only 3 people out of 20 in the room were diabetic or had experience with hypoglycemia.

March: An HMR (non-surgical weight loss program) success story, who proceeded to tell the group of morbidly obese that weight loss is a simple matter of calories in, calories out….really? He said more than once during the hour that he was glad he had the perseverance to make the right choices and avoid surgery. Jerk wipe.

April: And finally a 110-lb perkier-than-hell personal trainer who talked at super speed for an hour about the value of movement and how to work it into your day. She actually said ‘if anyone takes the elevator down when they leave here I will kick their ass!’

One more pre-op class May 9…hopefully surgery in June

I totally hear you- I swear I knew more about this surgery than anyone I met with other than my surgeon. And much of it is due to VST. I have a last group nutrition class before my surgery on 5/9 and I expect it to be a yawnfest. Thank heaven they have wi fi and I can get VST on my iPad!

That is too funny. I only had to have the nutrition class but I have to go to the doctor every month for six months where we talk as much about his diet as mine. Lol. I must say I'm glad to be seeing some June sleevers on here besides myself. It makes me feel like it's finally almost here! I do think the wait was good for me but I would've been happier with 3 months. I think that was enough to mentally prepare.

The time will fly by. I was a 3 month-er and am finally having surgey next monday!! Its all so surreal. Good luck to you June sleevers!!

Hi there! I' new but noticed your post yesterday before I joined. I am also taking classes but I'm doing mine on-line to finish up my bachelor's degree. It has been a long 2 1/2 years but I'm almost done. I have 2 more weeks left of this class and then 2 more (5-week) classes remaining. My completion or grad date is July 11, 2011. I'm planning on becoming a teacher; therefore I have to enroll in a certification program. Here in the Louisiana there are special guidelines to get certified and it cannot be done at any institution, therefore I will be enrolling in grad school for the fall semester. Its only one more semester between getting certified and getting certified with a master's degree so I'm going for it!!! Most of my weight gain has occurred in the past 2 1/2 years. Dealing with school while working full-time and raising a family has been hard, but also I lost my mother 2 months after I began school. That was the hardest and most difficult time of my life. She died of lung cancer and I took a hiatus from life and 18 months. I just didn't care which put me up 75 lbs and I was already very heavy. Now I'm severly morbidly obese and not just obese. I feel guilty now for letting myself go and not caring, but that is life right? So I'm a cash patient because insurance doesn't cover weight loss surgery right now. I don't have the time to wait. If I wait any longer my 6 year old and almost 20 year old daughter may be motherless and I cannot let that happen to her. She is too precious to me! My paternal grandmother died at the age of 48 from having 2 major strokes within days of each other. She was not overweight like I am nor did she live the lifestyle that I have. So, I'm a ticking time bomb waiting to go off! I'm not scared to die, but I'm worried what will happen to my 2 daughters. They don't deserve this and they are my reasons for doing this! They are the reason I wake up in the morning and go to a job that I don't like. My surgery is a working progress but should be around mid-May. I have a blood work tomorrow morning and then its seeing the doctor and scheduling surgery. I also have to take some classes on-line. That's about it in a nutshell...

That is too funny. I only had to have the nutrition class but I have to go to the doctor every month for six months where we talk as much about his diet as mine. Lol. I must say I'm glad to be seeing some June sleevers on here besides myself. It makes me feel like it's finally almost here! I do think the wait was good for me but I would've been happier with 3 months. I think that was enough to mentally prepare.

I'm happy to see some June sleevers too! Can't wait to see everyone on the losers bench

I totally hear you- I swear I knew more about this surgery than anyone I met with other than my surgeon. And much of it is due to VST. I have a last group nutrition class before my surgery on 5/9 and I expect it to be a yawnfest. Thank heaven they have wi fi and I can get VST on my iPad!

My last class is June 9 also. I think it's great that you get on VST during class...haha....I don't have an iPad but I do have Angry Birds on my phone

Hi there! I' new but noticed your post yesterday before I joined. I am also taking classes but I'm doing mine on-line to finish up my bachelor's degree. It has been a long 2 1/2 years but I'm almost done. I have 2 more weeks left of this class and then 2 more (5-week) classes remaining. My completion or grad date is July 11, 2011. I'm planning on becoming a teacher; therefore I have to enroll in a certification program. Here in the Louisiana there are special guidelines to get certified and it cannot be done at any institution, therefore I will be enrolling in grad school for the fall semester. Its only one more semester between getting certified and getting certified with a master's degree so I'm going for it!!! Most of my weight gain has occurred in the past 2 1/2 years. Dealing with school while working full-time and raising a family has been hard, but also I lost my mother 2 months after I began school. That was the hardest and most difficult time of my life. She died of lung cancer and I took a hiatus from life and 18 months. I just didn't care which put me up 75 lbs and I was already very heavy. Now I'm severly morbidly obese and not just obese. I feel guilty now for letting myself go and not caring, but that is life right? So I'm a cash patient because insurance doesn't cover weight loss surgery right now. I don't have the time to wait. If I wait any longer my 6 year old and almost 20 year old daughter may be motherless and I cannot let that happen to her. She is too precious to me! My paternal grandmother died at the age of 48 from having 2 major strokes within days of each other. She was not overweight like I am nor did she live the lifestyle that I have. So, I'm a ticking time bomb waiting to go off! I'm not scared to die, but I'm worried what will happen to my 2 daughters. They don't deserve this and they are my reasons for doing this! They are the reason I wake up in the morning and go to a job that I don't like. My surgery is a working progress but should be around mid-May. I have a blood work tomorrow morning and then its seeing the doctor and scheduling surgery. I also have to take some classes on-line. That's about it in a nutshell...

Welcome to the boards, the info you get here is invaluable. So sorry about your mom...I can relate as I lost my dad and my mom has been battling cancer for 3 years....i had to take some time off of school too to get her through treatment.

You're doing a great thing for your daughters by taking charge of your health. Best of luck with your surgery and school and everything!