I just got my approval from insurance and the first available date was May 6th. Was really hoping for April! Seems like I've been waiting forever!!

I am May 6th (tentatively) as well.

I was May 8th last year. May sleevers are the BEST sleevers. Good luck to you all!! I'm always here if you have questions, or want advice. According to my doc, I ROCKED my sleeve. The time will fly by, and before you know it, you will be rocking skinny jeans, and posting NSV's.

Can I ask how much you've lost in a year?

I have my pre-op "team meeting" on April 17. Not sure when my pre-op diet will start. Does it depend in how much you've lost already? I've lost 13 so far. They said I had to lose 11.

Your surgeon decides how long you will be on the pre-op diet based on the size of your liver when you had pre-op tests. My surgeon's standard is 2 weeks, 1 week of that is liquid. But he says he may have 4 weeks of diet but I only have to do 2 weeks. But I have a coworker that lost alot of weight before surgery and had to only do liquid diet the day before surgery. Good luck. See you on the losers bench!! I can't wait!

I was May 8th last year. May sleevers are the BEST sleevers. Good luck to you all!! I'm always here if you have questions, or want advice. According to my doc, I ROCKED my sleeve. The time will fly by, and before you know it, you will be rocking skinny jeans, and posting NSV's.

What was the hardest part of your journey? I'm worried about head hunger hunger and not being able to keep the weight off.

May 5th here.

I initially was denied. My denial was returned in 72 hours. I wrote an appeal letter and got an approval in 42 hours. Would have had my surgery this month but I was still on my estrogen patch. So I have to wait 30 days. I sure wish someone had told me to get off the hormones sooner. My preoperative is April 21st and I have to take a preoperative nutrition and diet class the same day. I am doing a lap band conversion to gastric sleeve. The lap band has ruined my quality of life. May 5th will come soon.

May 20th is my date!! Excited and nervous!! lol I go April 15th for my pre op tests.

I got my date today.... May 23rd!! I asked to have it around Memorial Day weekend since I don't have much time off available so having one extra day when the company is closed will help. I start my 2-week pre-op diet May 15th. Super excited (and a little nervous as well). So looking forward to being on the losers bench with y'all!!

What was the hardest part of your journey? I'm worried about head hunger hunger and not being able to keep the weight off.

the hardest part is getting my Water in each day, and also trying to keep my Vitamins in check. I seem to have something different low each visit. For example my Iron was low in my first set of labs, then without adding iron to my supplements it was fine the next time. But my b1/thiamin was low, and even with taking 2 super b tablets a day, it was still low. I am now taking 2 super b tablets and 2 b1/thiamin tablets a day and I just had labs drawn this week, and will have results next week. I am almost never hungry, and I can't stand sweets anymore. When they remove the bulk of your stomach they also remove the area that produces the hunger hormone, and the part that makes you crave sweets. I can't even do the kids chewable vitamins, they are too sweet and make me gag. So I take regular tablets, and they go down just fine. I take a handful of vitamins a day, and I'm healthy, happy and have more energy than I have ever had. I just posted a huge thread about my very emotional NSV tonight. My surgeon that is normally very composed, and not very friendly just very to the point, told me how proud he was of me, and corrected my mom when she said I had lost too much, and called me perfect and compared me to a Barbie. I joked that I gained 20 pounds just from my head swelling.

Can I ask how much you've lost in a year?

I was banded in 2005 and started at 244 I lost a grand total of 40 pounds with my band. Then when I had my revision I was 206 the morning of surgery last May. So I have lost a total of 129 pounds total, but 91 of those were with my sleeve. I actually lost the 91 pounds in 7 months. I have been at goal since before Christmas.

Edited April 5, 201412 yr by piercedqt78

So can I be the official May cheerleader for you guys? I'm willing to help if I can. You can message me here, or post in this thread if you have questions, or want encouragement or support. I'm here to help if I can.

May 8th. Any other May "guys"?

So can I be the official May cheerleader for you guys? I'm willing to help if I can. You can message me here, or post in this thread if you have questions, or want encouragement or support. I'm here to help if I can.

Yes, please!

I'm afraid that I won't be able to get all my Water in either. I'm just not a big drinker now; can't imagine when my stomach is smaller.

So can I be the official May cheerleader for you guys? I'm willing to help if I can. You can message me here, or post in this thread if you have questions, or want encouragement or support. I'm here to help if I can.

Yes, please!

I'm afraid that I won't be able to get all my Water in either. I'm just not a big drinker now; can't imagine when my stomach is smaller.

I get the closest to getting my water in each day when I have a water bottle in hand constantly. I have a brita water bottle that filters the water as you drink it, and I have an odd quirk. I love the ice from Sonic. Once a week I treat myself to a rt 64 unsweet tea with the splenda sweetened blackberry flavoring added to it, but when I'm there I pick up 2 bags of their crushed ice. I love the way it crunches, and it seems to keep my water cold longer than regular ice. I did a side by side test, with regular ice cubes, and and sonic ice in identical glasses and tap water, the sonic ice was still visible over an hour after the normal ice cubes were gone. And the water with the sonic ice was colder. My daughter did her science fair project on this topic, and it turns out that because the ice is in such small pieces there is more exposed surface area, so the water actually DOES get colder. So that's one way I trick myself into getting in more water. I use ice that I like. It's something that I do just for me. I know it sounds crazy, but it makes me want to drink more water. I also use a product called true lemon, it's dehydrated lemon juice, in a crystal powder. It comes in small pouches like crystal light, and I add that to my water when I get tired of just plain water, it's calorie and caffine free. I will put a pack of nectrese and a true lemon in my bottle, to make 10 calorie lemonade. They also make lime, rasberry-lemon, and orange. They are a good source of Vitamin C, so I keep a few in the side pocket of my purse. And since I love coffee, and hot tea, I bought myself a keurig, and keep a good supply of decaf coffee, and herbal teas, they are a great way to get water in too. As long as it's caffine and calorie free it counts as water.

May 19th here in Upstate New York ...

First I have to have my nasty Lap-Band out on April 14th, then after a 5 week healing period I get my sleeve.

Just starting to make my post-op shopping list ...I plan to do my prep shopping after the band removal in an attempt to make the 5 week break between procedures go faster..

Best wishes to all !!!!!