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At a group meeting with my surgeon, he told us that some doctors/hospitals won't operate on the higher bmi patients. He was very proud that he had taken on and had successfully sleeved several such patients.

Self pay was about $18,000.

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Good Luck to you! I was asked to lose 50 pounds before surgery and did it with essentially a liquid diet for 4 weeks. You would be amazed at the weight you can lose doing that. Don't be discouraged. Not to get off topic and if this has been covered elsewhere please just post a link, but I notice a lot of people going to Mexico for this surgery is this simply a cost issue? I fought with insurance companies and the Vocational Rehab witht he state of Florida for almost 10 years to get this done. Finally new employment better insurance payed for the procedure, but only at a baratric center of excellence (Shands Hospital at UF). I am interested why people go international for this. Would it be easier to go to europe for this procedure? I understand that VSG is the standard for WLS there.

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Good Luck to you! I was asked to lose 50 pounds before surgery and did it with essentially a liquid diet for 4 weeks. You would be amazed at the weight you can lose doing that. Don't be discouraged. Not to get off topic and if this has been covered elsewhere please just post a link, but I notice a lot of people going to Mexico for this surgery is this simply a cost issue? I fought with insurance companies and the Vocational Rehab witht he state of Florida for almost 10 years to get this done. Finally new employment better insurance payed for the procedure, but only at a baratric center of excellence (Shands Hospital at UF). I am interested why people go international for this. Would it be easier to go to europe for this procedure? I understand that VSG is the standard for WLS there.

My insurance is notorious for denying approval for WLS, and I personally do not have the patience to fight with them. I wish I did, but I don't. It is much cheaper to go to Mexico than to self pay in the US. I've personally known a few people that have done it and were very happy with the whole experience.

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What about Gastric Bypass? From what I read, it seems that sleeving is most appropriate for folks between 35 and 50 BMI. You want surgery, but more than that you want to be safe and LIVE. These protocols are in place for your safety. Check with some other doctors, and see if a different surgery might be more appropriate for you at this time. Just a thought......

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Just read another that said 30-55 BMI. Try the pre-op diet for a month, and you might be able to get to that 55 BMI! Good Luck!!!!!

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If by any chance Mexico does not work out, feel free to contact me. I just got approved financing for my surgery to be done in the US and if you can afford the payments per month then it's perfect. If you don't have good credit they let you put co-signers in so it's not a huge deal as long as you can pay the monthly repayment. I have recently discovered a lot more US surgeons for bariatric are doing this medical financing thing because it's easier for patients without insurance, or insurance that won't cover it.

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I would have to say you really, really want to lose some before this surgery. Whith that said, however a part of the sleeve's history was acting as a 1st wave of surgery, for people who was so large they could not have the bypass - so I am confused for the people who are being told they are too large.

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I agree I initially was looking ot get a RNY but my doctor said at my size my liver may be too big and he suggested the sleeve and I couldn't be happier!

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Thank you, everyone! Right now I'm waiting to hear back about Dr. Garcia. Dr. Alvarez was the one that denied me.

My BMI is 72, and I will do whatever I have to in order to get sleeved.

I started at 473 lbs. and my BMI was 73 and my sleeve is scheduled for June 13th. My doctor put me on a 2 week liquid diet but that's the only restrictions he put on my surgery. I would echo the sentiments above in you may want to look at other surgeon options.

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So many people are afraid of fat, it's a large (cough) part of the reason why everyone is so big. Some people more than others, and especially true the shorter you are.

I had done a ton of research prior to my decision to get the sleeve, and I was already on a low carb diet, but when I heard about the liver shrinking plan, I moved my efforts up a notch.

Try this out sometime, and see how you feel:

Drop carb sources completely. No bread. No starches. No wheat. No Corn, Nothing plant based.

Eat protein/fat sources and measure your weight on a weekly basis.

I dropped 20 pounds pre-op following this plan. I was never hungry either. Protein and fat fill you up better than carbs do, and there's nothing wrong with natural fats (animal based, and things like coconut oil and butter) - there's a reason so many people follow the paleo diet. It works. Atkins was close, but that diet included things like vegetable oils (other than coconut oil, a big no no) and a few other minor points of contention.

The more you do now prior to surgery, the better.

Fat doesn't kill people. Carbohydrates & sugar kills people.

I am definitely going to try this! Thank you. And thank you to everyone else for the ideas and support.

I am approved to have surgery with Dr. Garcia, but there will be extra fees because there will be extra proceedures, which I completely understand. It also made me feel better that he is taking extra precautions for my safety and well-being. I am going to work to lose as much weight as I can before my surgery date. Weee! Now I'm getting excited!

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What about Gastric Bypass? From what I read, it seems that sleeving is most appropriate for folks between 35 and 50 BMI. You want surgery, but more than that you want to be safe and LIVE. These protocols are in place for your safety. Check with some other doctors, and see if a different surgery might be more appropriate for you at this time. Just a thought......

Actually VSG was originally designed for patients with a higher BMI. It was designed as a 'pre surgery' for high risk patients before having the RNY procedure so they could come down in weight first. From what I've heard from several surgeons RNY is actually tougher to perform on patients with a high BMI then VSG. VSG was designed as a way to effectivly get the patient to a 'safe weight' so they could have RNY. Doctors then began to see that VSG patients were loosing a lot of weight on their own and didn't even need the second surgery so they began introducing it as a stand along surgery. Just a little info :)

Anyway, to the OP, I really hope you are able to get approved! I'm surprised that at a weight of 420 you would be told you're too big when there have been patients over 500+ who have had VSG with sucess. I think it probably does have more to do with the facility as mentioned. Fingers crossed for you!

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I would think that with your bmi that even if you insurance co. is picky they probably would approve you. Some folks with a bmi over 50 dont have to wait long at all. Just a thought. My out of pocket was just over $1000.00. It took me 7 months to get approved but I didnt have any of the co-morbidities. Once I dig my heels in though it finally came through. I am persistant! Good luck to you :)

Lori

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My BMI is 69. My surgeon has always been positive. He does insist on a liquid diet (liver shrinking diet his office calls it) before surgery, but he requires that of everyone who has a stable blood sugar. I think it may be that the surgeon you talked to hasn't had the experience or for some other reason isn't competent (confident) doing the surgery for you. Good luck and don't give up.

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I was at the upper edge of what anesthesia feels comfortable With for sedation. I lost weight before surgery and have done well post op. I think the limit was a bmi somewhere between 55-60.

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        I can relate to the parent's situation. I am 42 and still struggle with pleasing them. Yet they do whatever they want with no concern for how it affects anyone else, so why do I feel so obligated to them? I wish I had some advice that could help. One thing I have tried to do is stop sharing things with them that I really don't want to hear their opinion on. (like the business I am starting)

        Like with this surgery, I knew I was going to need their help getting to the appointments and back from the surgery, so I knew I had to tell them. But I did not tell them until I was almost at the point of getting surgery that I was doing this.

        I got hard judgment from my father, which I expected, I made him promise not to share this with his brothers (who are assholes) I told him whether he likes it or not I am an adult and I deserve respect and privacy especially when it concerns my health. (he begrudgingly agreed)

        My mom on the other hand was supportive, but she has the tendency to add some dramatic flair about everything. her typical M.O. is to pop onto social media and rattle on about how something that is not happening directly to her, is affecting her ( I get it there no talking to the man she married about this stuff, so it's nice to have someone to listen).

        I know they both struggled with trying to respect my wishes, they looked shocked when I told them that if I lived somewhere else, I would not have even told them I was having this surgery.

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        I'm glad your father did agree to respect your privacy by not sharing with your family. And I guess I should be glad my mom keeps the dramatic flair off of the socials!

        I'm both lucky and unlucky that my brother had VGS 15 years ago. On the one hand, my mom understands the concept and has seen my brother's good results from it, (we inherited the obesity from my father's side, and Mom has never dealt with more than those pesky 10 lbs average weight people always want to lose). On the other hand, my brother took exactly the opposite approach from me. He didn't live near family and told no one, had no support. He went to Mexico as self-pay and didn't say a word until about 4 weeks after when he was having some serious emotional struggles, living alone, and compounded by the fear of realizing that to get family support, he had to "confess." So his recovery was very different than what I anticipate for me. But because of all that, my mom definitely sees this as a "REALLY BIG DEAL." Which it is, but not the level she's at with it. Like, it's not an open heart surgery being performed in 1982, or experimental cancer treatment. I've also noticed that as my mom ages, she takes change a lot harder. She doesn't have the mental flexibility anymore to make an instant change of plans and roll with it, whereas I do that probably a dozen times a day.

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