I am new to this site as well as new to the verticle sleeve world. I am Linda Edmundson, 46 years old and I live near Pittsburgh, Pa. I have been overweight my entire life. I know that as medical professional that I need to be healthier than I am, but I am not. I currently weigh 288 and at my heavist I was 301. I am not proud to say these numbers. I feel that I need help and the VSG is my tool to get healthy. I am married to a great guy and he is thin, so maybe he does not understand how difficult it is for me to loose the weight without the surgery. But he is in favor of me having the surgery. I have already had my psych eval and all other tests that need to be done. I am 4 months into my diet and exercise part. I am excited but scared at the same time. Please if anyone can calm me down or give suggestions on how to keep calm before the surgery I would appreciate it.

Just take it one day at a time Think to the future, and how beneficial this surgery will be for you, your husband, and most importantly, your HEALTH! THink of all the new clothes you'll get to buy! It can be very overwhelming, the hardest part for me was the pre-op diet, once I had the surgery, it was all aces. Feel free to PM me if you have questions, or if I can provide any insight. I'm almost 8 months out and LOVING the sleeve Best of luck to you!

Like Amy said keep calm and take it a day at a time.. This process is long and has more than its fair share of ups and downs. Just surround yourself with people that support you and you will be ok. I haven't had the surgery yet.. I am waiting in insurance approval.. Which makes me a bucket full of nerves.. But I know that no matter what the outcome is.. From the moment I decided to start this journey I am going to come out on top with a brand new me. Best of luck to you!

My best advice is to get busy reading throughout this site - you'll find TONS of helpful information, stories & opinions that will (most likely) answer many of your questions - even the ones you didn't know you had!

I have a question for any one out there. I am reading all these posts and hardly anyone is mentioning the fact that they had to diet and exercise for a certain amount of time before they could even schedule their surgery. Am I the only one who had to do this because of my insurance. Please respond. Thanks.

Like many on this site my 6 months is finally over. My surgery is scheduled for July 8th. I was expected to exercise, count calories and drop some weight during my 6 months but sadly I actually ended up gaining. I had convinced myself that the insurance would deny me for that. They did not. In fact I had approval in roughly one day. So hang in there. You will get through this. There are some fabulous support people right here when you need it!!

I have a question for any one out there. I am reading all these posts and hardly anyone is mentioning the fact that they had to diet and exercise for a certain amount of time before they could even schedule their surgery. Am I the only one who had to do this because of my insurance. Please respond. Thanks.

I didn't have to do this for any insurance requirement, but I did have a 10 day pre-op diet to shrink my liver (allows easier access to the stomach). Luckily, my insurance authorization didn't require any "6 month program" or anything like others have to.

I have a question for any one out there. I am reading all these posts and hardly anyone is mentioning the fact that they had to diet and exercise for a certain amount of time before they could even schedule their surgery. Am I the only one who had to do this because of my insurance. Please respond. Thanks.

There are actually tons of posts that mention being required to do a 6 month medically supervised diet for insurance. It's often the main reason for the long gap from starting the process to having the surgery. You'll see discussion of needing to have 6 or 7 appointments with their NUT or dietician, for example. It's true that it isn't the main subject of discussion in a lot of cases, though.

Did you have specific questions, or were you just curious?

I'm one of those who also had to do that, by the way.

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I'm suppose to be on the liver reduction diet for the 6 months of supervised weight loss. I was able to maintain my original weight until my 6th class where I gained 8 lbs. Honey, my surgeon isn't playing that gain weight game. Glad he went ahead and scheduled me to start my labs but the 8 lbs better be down my the end of July. So, I guess I better get on board.

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No I don't have any specific questions, just wondering if there were other people who had to go through the six months medically supervised diet. Thanks for the information.

That's so exciting! It's just around the corner! I know what you mean I have a supportive partner I do too, it's a huge help. Our "private" life was good before but now it's even better! Lol! Hope all the best for you on your journey! Good luck!

No I don't have any specific questions, just wondering if there were other people who had to go through the six months medically supervised diet. Thanks for the information.

My insurance required 3 months medically supervised diet. It was okay if I didn't lose weight, it was okay if I lost weight, but under no circumstances could I gain weight or i put my coverage at risk. I'm glad they made me do it, I learned so much at those sessions.