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I was actually referring to squeakywheel and wasn't intending to it be snarky, I was genuine in my statement. Sorry if it came across that way. Was not my intention at all. You are right though, it's all in the way the policy is written. For most total exclusions they are inserted at the request of the employer to keep costs down, much in the way several other procedures can be excluded. Have a friend who needed breast reduction, for true medical reasons and it's excluded at the request of the employer, strictly to keep costs down, so it's really not the insurance companies, it's the cheap ass employers (ok, THAT last statement was meant to be snarky!)

@Hathery, most surgeon offices work with some companies that specialize in medical financing. You may want to check that out.

I didn't take your post as snarky either... I just know how lately things on this site seem to get misread and I didn't want anyone to read my post the wrong way or think I took theirs the wrong way, it didnt come off as snarky at all :)

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To OP, good luck with your financing. I work for State Government also, our insurance is "no how, no way" towards bariatric surgery. I secured financing through my credit union for 4 years. Best thing I have ever done for myself. I have read lots of good things about surgeries in Mexico on here, but I could not bring myself to have surgery outside the US despite the cost difference. I paid 14K for my sleeve, and it's the best investment I've ever made.

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There are credit companies that specialize in financing medical procedures. Google it.

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I was actually referring to squeakywheel and wasn't intending to it be snarky, I was genuine in my statement. Sorry if it came across that way. Was not my intention at all. You are right though, it's all in the way the policy is written. For most total exclusions they are inserted at the request of the employer to keep costs down, much in the way several other procedures can be excluded. Have a friend who needed breast reduction, for true medical reasons and it's excluded at the request of the employer, strictly to keep costs down, so it's really not the insurance companies, it's the cheap ass employers (ok, THAT last statement was meant to be snarky!)

@Hathery, most surgeon offices work with some companies that specialize in medical financing. You may want to check that out.

I figured you meant me and never took any of it as snarky. You are my Sleeve-Sister! GIRL POWER!

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I figured you meant me and never took any of it as snarky. You are my Sleeve-Sister! GIRL POWER!

:) :) :)

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I'm the same way - gung ho in the beginning and then I fizzle - and my husband was the same way. He was fine with my weight and I didn't have any serious medical problems so he didn't understand why I wanted to risk life and limb, and money, on surgery. He thought since I had lost the weight before, I could do it again if I "really tried" or "really wanted to"....yeah. I had to sit him down and tell him I was tired and I was tried out. I wasn't going to be fighting this battle for the rest of my days. Then I had to tell him all the things he didn't know, never realized, and never thought about - like the times I couldn't tie my shoes, my fear of falling because at 100 lbs overweight, I could really hurt myself, how my thighs touch from my pelvis to my knees so I don't walk like a normal person, how I couldn't get in the tent at the outdoorsy store because I wouldn't have been able to get back out, how I can't wear a skirt without shorts, how carrying 100 lbs makes me too tired to have sex or go hiking, how I hate people thinking he has a fat fetish, how I know my kids aren't proud of me, how I feel like less of a person around people, and on and on and on. I literally poured my heart out and IT SUCKED! I told him I needed help to have the life I deserved and that he couldn't help me but he could at least support me. If he had put up a fight after that, I would have left him. Seriously. I have never been that open with another human being in all my days and damn it, he was either going to get on board or get ran over. But that's only me and mine. I've just had it with living this way. I'm through. I deserve better and I'm worth more.

Thank God my hubby got on board. He just never knew. I NEVER spoke to him about my struggles. I would mention every new diet I was trying but I never let him in on how my weight affected my life. He was so sorry that he never realized how I was struggling, then I felt bad for putting that guilt on him, but in the end we're all good.

I think your husband's fear of regain is reasonable. My sister had that same fear. A lot of people never address why they eat the way they do and they do re-gain a signficant amount of weight back. I didn't want to research weight re-gain, because that was not going to be me, but I'm glad I did. I eat to feel ok. I eat to bring joy into my life. I eat to be happy. I eat because I deserve it. I eat to zone out. I eat to treat myself. I eat to not feel. If I dont' find acceptable substitutes for all those reasons, I will not be a weight loss success. Thus I'm addressing those issues beforehand. Maybe if you learn more about why you eat the way you do -what purpose food is serving in your life - and come up with acceptable substitutes, your husband will be more agreeable to you having the surgery.

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Cerenatee, I admire your courage. And thank you for sharing this with us.

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The surgery is def the easy part. It's a life style change and I have to make choices everyday.

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Hathery,

My insurance excluded all wls as well. I have previously been diagnosed with a hiatal hernia and it's repair is covered. I called a surgeon here in Dallas TX...Dr. David Kim, and his office verified my benefits and said that since the hernia repair is covered, my portion to pay for ths sleeve will only be $5800. It is very possible that you need hernia repair as well. I have a consult Friday! I know you will find a way to do this for YOU!

Lori

~ L Nor in TX

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@elinor How do you know if you have a hernia?

@Cerenatee THANK YOU for that post! That was tremendously helpful.

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My advice is to get into counseling and work on your food issues and then bring your husband in. Sometimes you have to barter and go slow if you want to keep your realtionship.

Maybe do this for 6 months and in the meantime employ some of the things you will need to do with the sleeve so that you aren't shocked or depressed if you go through with it. No more than 8 oz per meal or 4 oz per snack, 80g Protein per dsy, 64 oz Water, chewing your food to mush, eating over 20-30 min timeframe, etc.

I say this because you seem to want the fix but aren't too sure. Setting patterns ahead of time will help.

Also keep in mind that about 75-80% of relationships fail after WLS, so if you want to stay married your spouse needs to be with you on this

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My advice is to get into counseling and work on your food issues and then bring your husband in. Sometimes you have to barter and go slow if you want to keep your realtionship.

Maybe do this for 6 months and in the meantime employ some of the things you will need to do with the sleeve so that you aren't shocked or depressed if you go through with it. No more than 8 oz per meal or 4 oz per snack, 80g Protein per dsy, 64 oz Water, chewing your food to mush, eating over 20-30 min timeframe, etc.

I say this because you seem to want the fix but aren't too sure. Setting patterns ahead of time will help.

Also keep in mind that about 75-80% of relationships fail after WLS, so if you want to stay married your spouse needs to be with you on this

75-80% of relationships fail? Where did you get this statistic?

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75-80% of relationships fail? Where did you get this statistic?

I was wondering that, too! That is startling!

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Everyones different. You mentioned you wouldnt be able to eat fast or you would get sick. I eat fast and even right after surgery i could still eat fast but you will stop because you will feel full just as fast

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I get very suspicious when I see those kind of stats. They are out there for any kind of life change you look for. I know when our son was very ill at birth and was not expected to survive, (he did but had residual problems for a couple of years) we were told my the NICU social worker that our marriage was 95% doomed because that what statistics showed. Let's see, almost 30 years later we are still waiting....... :rolleyes:

I think that strong relationships will thrive, and weak ones will fail no matter what the life change.

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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

      Hey everyone. I'm new here so I thought I should introduce myself. I am 53y/o and am scheduled for Gastric Bypass on June 25th, 2025. I'm located in San Antonio, Texas. I will be having my surgery in Tiajuana Mexico. I've wanted this for years, but I always had insurance where bariatric procedures were excluded. Finally I am able to afford to pay out of pocket.  I can't wait to get started, and I hope I'm prepared for the initial period of "hell". I know what I have signed up for, but I'm sure the good to come will out way the temporary period of discomfort and feelings of regret. I'd love to find people to talk to who have been through the same procedure or experience before. So I look forward to meeting you all. Hope you have a great week!
      · 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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