Start here
Where are you in your journey?
Choose the path that fits today. We’ll take you to the most useful discussions.
- GLP-1 medication Zepbound, Wegovy, access, side effects, progress, and support.
- Before surgery Compare procedures, plan ahead, and get honest pre-op answers.
- Post-op Recovery, food stages, symptoms, and support.
- Long-term Regain, labs, habits, and life after the honeymoon.
- Revision Explore revision options, complications, and next steps.
3x in operating room in 2004 and rejected again in 2010, NOW SLEEVED IN 2013!
- Replies 38
- Views 2.8k
- Created
- Last Reply
Featured Replies
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.
Posted June 16, 2010 - 6:48 PM
hi everyone! i have read so much in this forum and want to say thankyou to every single poster! ive learned so much and sincerely appreciate verticalsleevetalk.com. im a 47 year old male living in brooklyn, new york. i currently weigh 305 lbs and have been overweight all my life. ive been hovering around the 300-315 mark for about 10 years. before that i hoovered around 280-300 for the prior 10 years. my high weight was 323, which was in 2004. the most ive lost dieting and exercising was about 40lbs on a few occasions, but i always put it back on.
in 2004 i decided to have wls and was going to have gastric bypass done. after being approved by my insurance, i went to the hospital and was put in scrubs for the operation. then i was told by the nurse that the doctor had a family emergency and had to leave the hospital immediately. so my surgery was rescheduled for 4 weeks later. during these 4 weeks i ate plenty and went on a "goodbye to food" tour! this tour took me to all my favorite buffets and i ate like it was my last meal, even though i knew i shouldnt be doing that. then i again went to the hosptial and was put in scrubs and before my surgery the doctor said he couldnt operate because my sugar level was unexpectedly through the roof. i begged him to go through with it, but he said he couldnt and i needed to lose some weight and not do what i did by gaining weight and eating everything before surgery. so it was again cancelled. now i was determined to lose weight before i went back in 6 weeks for the eventual operation. in those 6 weeks i ate perfectly and lost 30 lbs. the day came and i went in a 3rd time to the hospital. again i was put in scrubs and this time all the tests, including my sugar were normal. but the doctor was surprised that i was able to lose 30lbs in 6 weeks. he sat me down and said the operation was a serious one and if i was able to lose 30lbs in 6 weeks, maybe i should give losing weight on my own another try. he convinced me to not have the operation. so i actually went on to lose a total of 89lbs in 7 months and got my weight down to 234 and felt great. i was actually running on a treadmill for a few miles non-stop and was in the best shape of my life. a year later i was again at 310lbs.
i never considered wls surgery again because i honestly in my heart didnt want the bypass portion done. and im thankful that even though i was in the operating room 3 different times, i never had the bypass done. later in life i researched the lapband as it became popular, but again i didnt want the band either due to all the complications of it. only a few months ago i discovered the option of the sleeve, and it seemed like exactly what ive been waiting for. a tool to limit my intake, with no bypass and nothing permanently inside of me that needed followup adjustments.
so im now in the process of going through everything i need to do before my dr. submits for approval to my insurance. the only thing left is the psych evaluation, which im in the process of completing and ill have it done shortly. then i meet with my dr. again on june 30th for the final time and he will submit everything to hopefully get approved.
so thats my story. its seems that bypass just wasnt for me. and ironically back in 2004 i was all for it. now today, i wouldnt do a bypass ever. im thankful it never got done and i believe it wasnt meant to be. especially being in the operatiing room in scrubs 3x!
i do have one fear/question that ill post in a separate thread in the post op forum as i believe that is where it should go. again, thank you to everyone who has ever posted in this forum. you do not know how much it helps, even the people like me who only read and never posted before. best of luck to everyone on their journey. UPDATE AUGUST 6 2013: back in 2010 after completing all the steps and requirements with dr. mcginty, I was denied by my insurance as the sleeve was considered experimental by them. they did offer me the gastric bypass or the lap band, but I refused both as I was only willing to have the sleeve done. so dr. mcginty said he believed that in a few years all insurance companies would be approving the sleeve as readily as they were approving the gastric bypass and lap band. and he was right! in jan 2013 I found out that my insurance now did cover the sleeve and I went back to dr. mcginty. I went through all the steps again and in march 2013 I finally got sleeved! today, august 5, 2013 I have been sleeved 4.5 months. in jan I weighed 291.5 lbs. today I weight 210 lbs. I lost 18 lbs before surgery and 63.5 lbs since surgery. this is the lightest ive been in 25 years and my goal is to reach 180. im finally on my way after waiting 9 years! so don't ever give up! the sleeve was meant to be for me...it just took me 9 years to get it done!