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Thinking About Getting The Sleeve Done. Help!



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I am a 21yrs old and I have been struggling with my weight since I was in elementary. Since I was young enough to take medication for adhd I have. And in the 5th grade my mom took me off the medication. I was very skinny up until then. That summer I gained at least 50lbs. About 4 years ago I lost 90 lbs, but I did it in the worst way possible. I was 220lbs. I gained most of that back, of coarse. I am now 211 and I am thinking about getting the surgery done. I am not sure if my age has an effect on this or not. I really wish it didn't but I'm not sure. I have a bmi of 37.2 but no blood pressure or diabetes that I know of. I'm not sure when the last time I got checked was. I am under a health insurance called Unitedhealth care. Does anyone know if they cover this surgery, and if they do what the exceptions have to be in order for them to cover it? Please help me! LADWANA

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I hope you are able to make the best decision for you. You are in the right place to get information about the sleeve! As for me, I had no current health reasons for the sleeve, but knew there would be problems in the future.

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im young but i feel like i could have problems in the future as well if not already. High blood pressure runs in the family. :/

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This is, in fact, the best place to do some research. There are a lot of people here to help you decide. Ultimately this decision is yours. No one can make it for you. If you choose the sleeve, please remember it is a lifetime decision!

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United HealthCare does cover the vertical sleeve but it has it where you have to have two comorbidities if your bmi is under 40 but if above 40 you do not. And my moms job has an age limitation of 21 but that just them. I'm 20 right now so they are playing hold out lol but the coordinator did say I could start my 6 months of supervised diet. I have a PDF about UHC/Bariatric Surgery policy if you want to read it.

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Please! i want this so bad that if i have to gain weight i will! thank you!

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LaDwana, you're case has me quite torn, firstly the most common regret you'll see on this forum is " I wish I would have done it sooner". But on the other hand I've really got to say most 21 year olds just aren't ready for this yet. This is a decision that is going to change the rest of your life.

IMO, this surgery works best when you you've tried everything else and know that this is something you need.

This is going to affect your social life. You are going to be uncomfortable in some situations because of it. Chances are, at 21 this will probably be the hardest thing you've ever done.

I'm not saying that it is a bad idea, I'm overjoyed that I did it. What I am saying is WLS is a last resort. If you can do it another way please do. If all else has already failed, welcome aboard.

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Please! i want this so bad that if i have to gain weight i will! thank you!

Please check your own policy, providers have different policies, and ome employers will make WLS a specific exemption to reduce the price of their insurance.

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so the pdf said i am in the zone but i need at least 1 problem.

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mksy. thank yall so much! I have gone to great lengths to loose weight. and i may be young but i knew i was truly hayy when i lost a lot of weight. but i didnt do it the right way. i have always been active and worked out for at least 3 times a week but it never helped me loose weight. it would just keep my weight the same. and when i would stop is when i would gain tons of weight. and i still am gaining lots of weight. it has been worse and more rappid weight gain than i have ever had. i know i will be truly happy when i get this done. and trust me, im scared s***less. but from alk the research i have been dong i know its the right path for me!

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I really hope you make the right choice for you :) and when you call your health insurance just say your bmi is 40 for now.. It sucks that you might have to gain 20lbs :(

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I know we are young but I've done many diets and I know I need this tool. Plus I'm not living life. This is a serious decision that I'm not making lightly. I understand how drastic my life will be changed, I understand complications and I understand there is still so much I'm not going to be ready for but is anyone really ever ready?

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im def getting this done if im approved! already spent a lot of time thinking about it.

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when i lost weight i was small. i was 135 so going from skinny back to fat and finding out im concidered obese was def an eye opener and the fact the i have been obese before my weight loss. being that small changed me. and i have changed so drastically sense i gained it all back.

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    • LeighaTR

      I am new here today... and only two weeks out from my sleeve surgery on the 23rd. I am amazed I have kept my calories down to 467 today so far... that leaves me almost 750 left for dinner and maybe a snack. This is going to be tough for two weeks... but I have to believe I can do it!
      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.
    • Doughgurl

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      · 2 replies
      1. Selina333

        I'm so happy for you! You are about to change your life. I was so glad to get the sleeve done in Dec. I didn't have feelings of regret overall. And I'm down almost 60 lbs. I do feel a little sad at restaurants. I can barely eat half a kid's meal. I get adults meals often because kid ones don't have the same offerings at times. Then I feel obligated to eat on that until it's gone and that can be days. So the restaurant thing isn't great for me. All the rest is fine by me! I love feeling full with very little. I do wish I could drink when eating. And will sip at the end. Just a strong habit to stop. But I'm working on it! You will do fine! Just keep focused on your desire to be different. Not better or worse. But different. I am happy both ways but my low back doesn't like me that heavy. So I listened (also my feet!). LOL! Update us on your journey! I'm not far from you. I'm in Houston. Good luck and I hope it all goes smoothly! Would love to see pics of the town you go to for this. I've never been there. Neat you will be traveling for this! Enjoy the journey. Take it one day at a time. Sometimes a few hours at a time. Follow all recommendations as best you can. 💗

      2. Doughgurl

        Thank you so much for your well wishes. I am hoping that everything goes easy for me as well. We don't eat out much as it is, so it wont be too bad in that department. Thankfully. Also, I hear you regarding your back and feet!! I'd like to add knees to the list. Killing me as we speak! I'm only 5' so the weight has to go. Too short to carry all this weight. Menopause really did a doosey on me. (😶lol) My daughter also lives in Houston. with her Husband and my 5 grand-littles. I grew up in Beaumont, so I know Houston well, I will be sure to keep in touch and update you on my journey. I may need some advice in the future, or just motivation. Thank You so much for reaching out, I was hoping to connect with someone in the community. I really appreciate it. 💜

    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. LeighaTR

        I hope your surgery on Wednesday goes well. You will be able to do all sorts of new things as you find your new normal after surgery. I don't know this from experience yet, but I am seeing a lot of positive things from people who have had it done. Best of luck!

    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. summerseeker

        Life as a big person had limited my life to what I knew I could manage to do each day. That was eat. I hadn't anything else to look forward to. So my eating choices were the best I could dream up. I planned the cooking in managable lots in my head and filled my day with and around it.

        Now I have a whole new big, bigger, biggest, best days ever. I am out there with those skinny people doing stuff i could never have dreamt of. Food is now an after thought. It doesn't consume my day. I still enjoy the good home cooked food but I eat smaller portions. I leave food on my plate when I am full. I can no longer hear my mother's voice saying eat it all up, ther are starving children in Africa who would want that!

        I still cook for family feasts, I love cooking. I still do holidays but I have changed from the All inclusive drinking and eating everything everyday kind to Self catering accommodation. This gives me the choice of cooking or eating out as I choose. I rarely drink anymore as I usually travel alone now and I feel I need to keep aware of my surroundings.

        I don't know at what point my life expanded, was it when I lost 100 pounds? Was it when I left my walking stick at home ? Was it when I said yes to an outing instead of finding an excuse to stay home ? i look back at my last five years and wonder how loosing weight has made such a difference. Be ready to amaze yourself.

        BTW, the liquid diet sucks, one more day and you are over the worst. You can do it.

    • CaseyP1011

      Officially here for a long time, not just a good time💪
      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.
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