I just began my journey in August of this year and I have a six moth waiting period. I am driving my family crazy from talking about this surgery so much. I think it would be a good idea to have a buddy who is going through the same thing to support one another. My family is supportive but there's nothing like having someone who can relate by your side too.

Hey Jashantee. Dr. Morales is doing my surgery at DePaul next Wednesday, Sept. 25th. I had my first consult on July 5th but actually went to the orientation in April and had my regular doctor start the paperwork (he was great). I was on vacation the end of May, beginning of June so the first appointment I could have was the July date but by then I had already seen my doctor twice or the three consults my insurance company requires. The third was the end of July and my insurance approved it the same day it was requested.

Dr. Morales's staff has been fantastic with getting everything done as soon as it was needed. I was also lucky that I had just had a stress test in late March so I was within the six months they require. Hopefully I'll be able to post soon after it's done.

I'm on my third day of liquids and Protein and fortunately have not been hungry. Not as bad as I thought it would be. I just keep thinking each day is the first day of the liquid diet and start new. I know how important it is to read these posts, hope we can keep up with each other.

Hey RickMG, I'm so excited for you, four more days until the big day!! Dr. Morales is dong my sleeve too. I haven't personally met him yet, he seemed very nice and down to earth at the seminar. I have with met the nurse, psych, and NUT so far, they were really nice. Everything is running pretty smoothly so far, now only if I can control my patience. It's nice to see that everything is going smoothly for you too, and please update once you get your sleeve done, I would like to know how it went. Have you been to any of the meetings yet?

Hey RickMG, I'm so excited for you, four more days until the big day!! Dr. Morales is dong my sleeve too. I haven't personally met him yet, he seemed very nice and down to earth at the seminar. I have with met the nurse, psych, and NUT so far, they were really nice. Everything is running pretty smoothly so far, now only if I can control my patience. It's nice to see that everything is going smoothly for you too, and please update once you get your sleeve done, I would like to know how it went. Have you been to any of the meetings yet?

I had Dr. Morales and he is great. Easy to talk too. I had my surgery on Aug. 21 and down 25 lbs. The stay at the hospital was great. Everyone was nice and caring. If I had to do it over again I still would go to Dr. Morales. Good luck with your sleeve.

Hey RickMG, I'm so excited for you, four more days until the big day!! Dr. Morales is dong my sleeve too. I haven't personally met him yet, he seemed very nice and down to earth at the seminar. I have with met the nurse, psych, and NUT so far, they were really nice. Everything is running pretty smoothly so far, now only if I can control my patience. It's nice to see that everything is going smoothly for you too, and please update once you get your sleeve done, I would like to know how it went. Have you been to any of the meetings yet?

Thank you and I will update as soon as possible. I only met Dr. Morales once a few weeks ago for about 15 minutes and I assume he'll come in and visit before the operation. He seemed like a great guy then and like you said everyone else has been terrific too. No, hadn't attended any meetings. I'll see how I feel afterwards but don't know if I will plan on any. I like this way.

I had Dr. Morales and he is great. Easy to talk too. I had my surgery on Aug. 21 and down 25 lbs. The stay at the hospital was great. Everyone was nice and caring. If I had to do it over again I still would go to Dr. Morales. Good luck with your sleeve.

25 lbs in less than a month, that's fantastic. I hope my results are as good. Thank you for the good words about Dr. Morales and the best wishes.

I'm in St. Louis. I am just over 4 months post op. I work for Mercy and had mine done thru there as well. If you have any questions, let me know! And stay positive, it'll go by fast! Mine was also 6 months and it flew by

Congrats on the 25lbs Irs!! Jessica I hope it does fly by, but right now I'm counting every second, and being on this site doesn't help because every time I read someone saying how much weight they lost I get amped up all over again, so I try to take long breaks from being on here and that's hard.

I totally understand. Mine was supposed to be 90 days, but my surgeon was pregnant at the time and decided to take off 12 weeks, which put a monkey wrench in it. I promise you, it'll be here before you know it! Take this time to do your research, get your meal plans together, get a good protein shake (I can recommend a couple) and just mentally get yourself ready. I spent a lot of time looking at pictures and dreaming about this day. Now I'm almost 5 mos out and I'm LIVING that dream! Stay positive and focused. Also, start using MyFitnessPal. It is my BIBLE. I record everything I eat to stay on track. You'll get there girl!

^{Thanks Jessica these are some great ideas and congrats on your success!}

Hi Jashantee,

There are a few more St. Louis area folks on the forum. I am having my surgery at Des Peres Hospital by Dr. J. Stephen Scott. I just received verbal approval from the ins. co. today. I think the earliest I can get away from work for surgery is October 25th, which isn't that far away. Only tests I still need are chest x-ray and lab work.

My ins. had a six month med sup. diet also, but I got approved early due to lap band complications.

I need to attend pre and post-op diet class.

As Jessica said use the time to learn about the surgery, food choices. It does go by fast. I already completed 3 of the 6 required classes before receiving ins. co. approval.

Welcome to the forum. You can learn a lot and meet some good friends through this site.

It won't be long before you are posting your approval and surgery date. Good luck.

Jessica H, who was your surgeon through Mercy? I'm going with Dr Hawver in Washington

Zoumommy Dr Hawver did my surgery Monday 12/2 and I'm happy with how it went. I'm a little ticked that she required a cpap machine that I didn't need and am having problems returning but the surgery and recovery has been great.

She has a hang up about Capp machines bc one of her patients was suppose to have one but didn't tell her and he wound up in ICU

Did she make you have a sleep study prior to surgery? Did you like her otherwise?

Did you go to her Washington or O'Fallon location?

Yes I had to do a sleep study which was "unremarkable". No apneas but still had to get a cpap that I never used. I've been to both of her offices because of schedule constraints but go to O'Fallon if I can. Other than the cpap fixation she really is great. I had a very good experience.

Jessica H, who was your surgeon through Mercy? I'm going with Dr Hawver in Washington

Dr. Hawver, she's currently the only Mercy bariatric surgeon.