I am VERY overwhelmed

MystrysA · June 1, 2011

Greetings All~

I am turning 42 this year and have decided I want to have a VS done. I have made a ton of amazing changes in the last 3 years of my life. I was medically dependent for 4 1/2 years on Fentanyl Patches for pain and spent a relatively short period of time coming off this highly addictive medication. All in all, from the last day of my last patch to the last day of my last Suboxone pill(medication used to detox from opiates), it only took me an amazing 106 days!!! This is after cancer, living with the pain of severe fibromyalgia, a leaking valve in my heart and OA in my feet, ankles, knees back and shoulders. If you also factor in 4 herniated discs in my spine and and constant injections in my knees, I would have to give myself a HUGE pat on the back for my intestinal fortitude and perseverance. So...given the fact i can and have been strong enough to battle something like this,you can imagine my frustration at still being 5'7" and 309 pounds!!!! I have been overweight my whole life. I just cannot understand the inability to beat this weight problem. I cannot move as much as I'd like to due to the pain but I do bellydance 2-3 x a week. I park so I have to walk, I take the stairs, etc. I do not eat ANY fast food, junk food or a lot of sweets. We do not eat many packaged or highly processed foods either. I eat a balanced, organic diet...just too much of it!! My problem is I LOVE TO COOK...and therefore i love to eat. I will overeat when it comes to savory meals. I'm all about it.

I've spent the 6 months with my PCP documenting weight loss attempts, attended the bariatric surgery seminar, gotten the PCP letter, my Psych eval, and am ready to schedule with the surgeon. Here is my biggest question/concern:

Through all my research in the last year, I have come across info that states that people who undergo any bariatric surgery will have a significant reduction in the co-morbidities that I have( hypertension, insulin dependent Type 2 Diabetes, high triglycerides, and Obstructive sleep apnea, GERD, and OA) BUT...these studies state that even IF an equal amount of weight is lost by someone on their own and NOT with a bariatric surgery, the results are not as significant in these issues. Can anyone here tell me why that is? I get the common sense issues like losing weight, PERIOD, can help reduce blood pressure, pressure on joints and even lower your glucose levels, but these studies seem to indicate something quite different happens when you have a bariatric surgery. I am curious if anyone here knows the mechanism or even has an idea why it works this way? Why is it more effective in getting rid of these things than anything else?

I have tried so many diets and plans I have lost count. I cannot stand this constant stress about what will go wrong next with my aging and obviously rebelling body. I need to get this weight off and I'm torn because I have Medicare/Medicaid as my only insurance and we all know what that means. At this point, NO VS FOR ME!! ( unless I can come up with the $ on my own...won't happen) This all came as a lovely surprise while reading this forum but also was solidified by the surgeon at the bariatric seminar I attended. I am terrified to have the ReY or the DS. I can't imagine never being able to eat a balanced diet again. The minuscule amounts of veggies and greens people can eat does not seem healthy. Not to mention the inability to eat them as they are meant to be...RAW! I am SOOOOOO scared of this. It just seems so out of balance with nature yet I am desperate because I, myself, have not been able to eat these things in the moderation that is necessary.....leaving me to find moire extreme measures to deal with my addiction to food. If I could just eat less and move more....but I can't at this point. I need help. To make the matter worse, I already have severe B12 and Vitamin D deficiencies that require constant monitoring and meds. The idea of having to worry even more because of malabsorption issues..... I am at a loss. I have no idea what to do. I feel completely overwhelmed.

Thanks for listening,

~K~

KellyL · June 1, 2011

I can totally relate and understand your dilemma. It is very overwhelming!! All of it! I have medical problems as well, deformities in my lower lunbar vertebrae, and a tilted hip due to it. Scoliosis. Fibromyalgia, Type 2 diabetes. I had struggled for a while to lose weight on my own to only get 35 lbs off. I had almost a 6 month stall, then I finally was able to have the sleeve. My glucose had improved some from my diet and small weight loss, but I now have normal glucose reading, and this was in the hospital! In all my 7 yrs of research, everything said I would need one of the intestinal rerouting procedures like RNY or DS to get rid of the diabetes, but I read on these boards and noticed a lot of VSG folks diabetes being cured, or "going into remission". I did NOT want to have any other procedure. I cannot explain HOW this happens and haven't found anything online to explain it, but I am happy I did this and thrilled my diabetes may be gone.

The advise I would like to give you, is do NOT give up. I had 3 insurance companies deny me for surgery due to exclusions to any weight loss. I do not work, and have bad credit and could not finance. Once it looked like the funds came through for me, but something else of course came up. And I had even scheduled a date. Oh, and another time I was told by my father he would help me with the $ but then changed his mind(out of fear that something would go wrong while I was having it done). I had disappointment after disappointment trying to have this life changing life saving surgery. I went through depression due to this and out of fear of not being able to get it and leaving this world way too soon and leaving my kids without a mother. My health was getting worse, I didn't have diabetes at all when I very first started researching in 04. My mobility was severely affected by my back/hip/weight problem. I spent a LOT of time just locked up in my bedroom cause I couldn't get around without a lot of pain. I was not living. I was holding my family back from living. Well funds just suddenly kinda magically appeared out of nowhere, and was almost exactly what I needed to cover the surgery, flight, and a little extra. I feel like I have another chance at life now. I am so happy I am giddy right now from getting to be sleeved finally and already seeing major changes like my blood glucose and how I feel, and I've already lost 25 lbs just in 2wks+2days. I am so blessed and so amazed! Just keep reading, researching and never give up. If it's meant to be, it will happen!!! I am proof of that. Some state medicaid programs are beginning to cover the VSG, so start now with the dr supervised diet and making them weigh and NOTE it in your files and watch and make sure they do it. Those 6 months go a lot faster than you think. Your state may start covering it or keep a check on which states cover it. And in the meantime, watch for other ways people get to have this done. I have seen loans, inheritances, 401k's, church donations, fund raisers, there is even one Mexico dr that does some inhouse financing but usually requires a chunk of down payment.. I urge you just don't give up!! Oh and start making the changes in eating and cutting portions now, or try, so you won't be so shocked if/when you are able to do it. The worse thing that will happen is you will lose weight, even if its just a little it will help you with both the surgery and your overall goal. I hope you don't mind the advise, and good luck!!!

MystrysA · June 1, 2011

Thank you Kelly I DO appreciate your advice and your story is helpful. I have felt from the beginning of this process VS is the right choice considering my current health issues. It just feels hopeless at this point knowing I cannot afford to self pay and that my insurance will most assuredly deny this particular procedure. I cannot understand why these providers would willingly add risk to patients by forcing unnecessary and additional surgery. The VS is essentially the first of a 2 part DS..so...I don't get why they won't cover it. It's already an extreme choice for people like us and for them to make it even riskier is downright criminal.

I am not ready to give up and yes, I have already begun the changes in my eating/drinking to prepare myself because honestly....my thoughts were yours exactly! What's the worst that can happen? LOL. I have already completed the 6 months required for Medicare and they have the paperwork. I have everything in order now but I have not attended a support group meeting yet. Next Wednesday will be the next one and I will be there. I just DO NOT want to cave in and agree to something I don't feel right about out of desperation. Everything in me SCREAMS ... DO NOT have a RNY or DS!! Considering I moved to one of the "Fatest" states in the country ,Tennessee, one would think the folks in this area might understand how imperative it is we have safe choices available to us. I will not give up...just feeling a bit disheartened by it all. Thank you again for your kind words and inspirational motivation. Who knows...tomorrow is another day and the $$ could come out of nowhere ...a girl can dream

~K~

ahoy · June 3, 2011

MystrysA, I think I'm a younger you. I have fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue (developed after a virus in July 2009 that wouldn't go away), in lots of pain, weird Vitamin deficiencies, unable to move move, not really having any kind of eating disorder or being a junk food junkie, just ate... too much. Too much GOOD food, but still too much. As part of (either cause or symptom) my chronic fatigue, I have very very bad chronic sinusitis... the swelling in my sinuses is almost completely solid (flesh, ew), and my immune system is constantly activated due to it, chronic inflammation too, but the same immune system wouldn't respond to minor things and I have caught EVERYTHING, had seriously crazy immune system overreactions to new/minor allergens, ended up in the ER after having a brand new food allergy, etc. I weighed about 308lbs (sans Water weight) and 312 with, just before surgery.

In short: I'm a freakin mess. BUT there's an upside!

I just had my sleeve on May 25 and I am already so glad I did. It caused a minor fibro flare but that's already died down. You know what's freaky? My sinuses are less clogged. They used to lock up like cement at night, or any other time I laid down, no matter where. That has improved immensely, just over a week later. The puffy black swelling around my eyes is almost gone too.

For whatever reason, this surgery really works.

And I feel "free" of food. My surgeon lets me have mushy foods this early out (9 days) and honestly? It's great. I don't want to eat everything. I love it. I already feel much better physically AND I feel more free.

So, I'm obviously no doctor, but based on my experience, it sounds like you're making the right decision.

The one other thing that's helped me is a book which you should absolutely buy, called From Fatigued to Fantastic. It's by a doctor who specializes in cfs/fms, and I've started some of his suggestions (Desyrel to improve my sleep, Diflucan to work against yeast in the sinuses/gut, D-Ribose and Magnesium for the muscles, Rhodiola Rosea for energy... had to stop that for a few weeks before/after surgery cuz it's a blood thinner tho!) and they have helped immensely as well. It's been a real life saver for me. It helped me feel human again before surgery.

Please send me a private message if I can help you with anything fibro-and-sleeve related!!