OK. Im just ranting because I'm pretty pissed today. I am pre-op. I went to the seminar for my surgeon over a month ago. (I figured it would take FOREVER to hear from them) and while waiting for my call back to see what I needed for insurance, my husband and I discussed trying one more time with a Dr. supervised Adipex run. I figured what could it hurt, right? So I knocked my calories down to 900 a day. Low low carbs and high protein. I work out (cardio) at least an hour a day, and I'm taking this Adipex. NOTHING HAS HAPPENED (well I lost 6lbs, but 6lbs in a month on diet pills and cutting my calories so severly, really!?!)!!! Its like my body is fighting against me. And the more I obsess the more depressed I get. I feel like its effecting my relationship with my husband. I never want to leave the house because I feel like a disgusting animal. I just don't understand. Its not like Im not trying. SO then I finally get a call from the surgeons office, and all I need is 3mth supervised weight loss attempts and a psych evaluation. Ok great. BUT half of me is afraid to even do this because what if it doesn't work? What if I go through this serious surgery and Im just still fat and slow and unhealthy forever? What if those 6 damn pounds screw me over and make my BMI below what it needs to be for insurance coverage? What if when the time comes, I cant afford the co pay? Has anyone else had this raging anxiety? I feel shitty all the time and im sorry for the foul language Im just so frustrated I feel like Im going to rip my hair out. I just want to do it. JUst do it and get it overwith and be human again. Ugh!!!!! ok Sorry, like I said just a rant. Its DEFINATELY one of those days. :/

OK. Im just ranting because I'm pretty pissed today. I am pre-op. I went to the seminar for my surgeon over a month ago. (I figured it would take FOREVER to hear from them) and while waiting for my call back to see what I needed for insurance, my husband and I discussed trying one more time with a Dr. supervised Adipex run. I figured what could it hurt, right? So I knocked my calories down to 900 a day. Low low carbs and high Protein. I work out (cardio) at least an hour a day, and I'm taking this Adipex. NOTHING HAS HAPPENED (well I lost 6lbs, but 6lbs in a month on diet pills and cutting my calories so severly, really!?!)!!! Its like my body is fighting against me. And the more I obsess the more depressed I get. I feel like its effecting my relationship with my husband. I never want to leave the house because I feel like a disgusting animal. I just don't understand. Its not like Im not trying. SO then I finally get a call from the surgeons office, and all I need is 3mth supervised weight loss attempts and a psych evaluation. Ok great. BUT half of me is afraid to even do this because what if it doesn't work? What if I go through this serious surgery and Im just still fat and slow and unhealthy forever? What if those 6 damn pounds screw me over and make my BMI below what it needs to be for insurance coverage? What if when the time comes, I cant afford the co pay? Has anyone else had this raging anxiety? I feel shitty all the time and im sorry for the foul language Im just so frustrated I feel like Im going to rip my hair out. I just want to do it. JUst do it and get it overwith and be human again. Ugh!!!!! ok Sorry, like I said just a rant. Its DEFINATELY one of those days. :/

I completely understand your frustration and I feel for you. This forum will help you a lot! I believe

you need to trust and have faith in the process. My story and most of the people on here is the same as yours. If we could have easily lost weight and controlled our food addictions we wouldn't have needed the help. I bet we have all tried more diets than we have fingers to count them on. I was not fortunate enough to have my insurance pay for mine. I was a self pay. I would suggest to you that you stick this out and work with the insurance company. I do believe the sleeve will allow you to lose weight and allow you to be a happier person. Stick it out and see what happens. I don't think your BMI will stop you from having the surgery. Please keep us posted!!

I seriously can't believe there are still drs out there who prescribe diet pills.. WTH?

Where is the data on long term success rate of diet pills... ? There is none because it's a big f'ing FAIL!

I definitely have to try either way to do whatever i can for the insurnace to cover because i cant afford self pay and yea, a lot of drs these days are prescribing adipex. I looked it up and a lot of people had great results but i think because meds go through my system so fast it just isnt working. and i told myself if i didnt see decent results in a month i was coming off it. either way, its just ridiculous, the whole thing. The hoops they make us jump through probably got put into effect just so only a small percentage of people actually get the surgery. Even my dr said its all just a game. Im sticking with it though. I have no other options left. Ive tried everything.

I seriously can't believe there are still drs out there who prescribe diet pills.. WTH?

Where is the data on long term success rate of diet pills... ? There is none because it's a big f'ing FAIL!

I agrew here as well. Like i said i did this as a last ditch effort. Even the dr said surgery is a better option for me becuase the pills (even if they do work) do nothing to maintain he loss after you stop taking them

It's fine to rant, especially if it makes you feel better.

Okay, so I'll be realistic here.

With the sleeve the long term success rates are roughly 60% of excess weight lost, right? The only long study I've read showed between 50-60% EWL at six years post op.

Long term success rates with traditional dieting (say, Weight Watchers) is that you'll be 5% lighter five years later.

So even if you were the average sleeve patient (and I still dispute the 60% EWL stat; I think it's higher) you'd reasonably expect to keep off 50 pounds for every 100 pounds of excess weight you carry right now.

You should be aware that even with the sleeve you can lose slowly and see minimal returns despite adhering to a strict regimen. If you need instant gratification, you're only likely to see it with the sleeve for a month or two post op.

I lost 60 pounds in the first five months (avg. 12 lbs/mo.)

I lost 23 pounds over the next seven months (avg. 3.2 lbs/mo.)

I lost the last 15 pounds over the next five months (avg. 3 lbs/mo.)

There were not just weeks but entire months where my scale did not move. There were months where I logged a loss of one pound or less. If you average out my entire loss period, I lost about six pounds a month.

While eating almost nothing for more than six of those months.

So - this isn't me ranting at you. This is me saying that the sleeve is AWESOME. It's been the single best thing I've ever done, short of marrying my husband and making a family with him.

But even the sleeve doesn't guarantee fast results or predictable results or hell, results at all if you do the wrong things.

So know that going in, okay? Because I was really disheartened and disappointed until I came to terms with my inability to control the rate of my weight loss.

Good luck - and I stress again that I'm not trying to come down on you. I'm just telling you the other side of the surgery, the one that nobody wants to hear about when you're pre-op!

~Cheri

And those insurance hoops are a PITA. Seriously, I was disappointed my insurance doesn't cover until I realized it would push my date back by several months just jumping around to check all the little boxes. I was lucky enough to be able to self pay and for real, that experience makes me wish I could just self pay for everything I need and be reimbursed by insurance later. Dealing with them is a nightmare.

~Cheri

Listen to clk. I'm finding out (even with 150+ lbs to lose) I'm a slow loser. 11 in 6 weeks. That sucks but the more I read about people's journeys on this site, the more I realize it is not that rare to be a slow loser.

The only thing I would add is get off the pills. The last thing you'd want is to be ready to be cleared and then because of some toxin in your system they push your approval back until it's out of you.

My surgeon made it clear that she (part of the group practice) would not operate on anyone with any diet drugs in their system for at least 6 months. This was to ensure there were no lingering side effects or other adverse problems prior to going into surgery. She may be extreme but she is from the better safe than sorry camp.

thank you guys. I do know that theres a very good chance I'll be a slow loser even with the sleeve. Realisitically I cant say I wont ever get disappointed at a stall, but Ill know that Im on the right track so itll be a bit easier (I think) to stay positive. Im ok with working out and eating well. As long as its actually doing something. Because right now it isn't. And I am coming off the adipex. I see my DR next month so I will be discussing with him whether I wean or I can just come right off. I have a few months of this process left so I should be ok to have them out of my system by the time I see a surgeon. Right now Im still jumping through insurance hoops so itll be a while before I get the sleeve done., I guess I just got sick of waiting. I feel like im in a fatty limbo. I know Im going to do something about it, but I have to wait. So I guess I thought I could drop some decent weight while I was waiting. Oh well. Anyway thanks for all the input guys I appreciate it!!