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Shout out to all those from Iowa! Let's chat! Who's your surgeon? Where are you at in your journey VSG?

This month will be my last of six doctor supervised appointments. My medical team will review my case and decide whether or not I'm a good candidate for surgery, and then they will submit it to my insurance for approval! I've been on this journey since I've seen my primary care doctor in December, who recommended this surgery for me. It doesn't seem long to me at all! I've been visiting this board and doing my research on VSG, and I'm ready to go!

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Hi,

I am almost 10 weeks out. I am doing well. Our surgical team is the greatest!

Maybe we will see each other at a monthly group meeting!

Good luck to you!

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I'm from Cedar Rapids and was sleeved on 3/26/15. Dr Glascock at Sartori in Cedar a Falls was my surgeon. Best wishes to you!!!

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Hi! Sorry! Haven't checked in a while! I'm glad to meet you!!

@ - since you have the same surgeon - how long did it take for them to review your case and submit it to insurance? I'm getting so antsy!

Congrats to both of you for your weight loss! Wow!! :-)

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I started the process with the surgeons office in June of 2014 and had my surgery in February 2015. I did have to do the 6 month doctor supervised diet, which my family doctor go me started on in April 2014. After the psych appointments and stress test, my packet was submitted to insurance and I was approved in less than 2 weeks. That was all right before Christmas.

I had to wait to have my surgery due to sinus infection and upper respiratory ailment.

I am very pleased with how Dr. Lamaster's office handles everything. They are very on point and very professional. You are in good hands! :)

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Less than two weeks! Good to know. I've been with them since January, and I agree! I feel like I'm in really good hands!

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Thanks! Good luck to you too!!! Go Huskers!! :)

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@@TammyDTM - now my case is in the hands of Dr. LaMasters and her medical team to approve, and then it gets submitted to insurance. Do you remember how long it took to approve your case? Was it a couple of weeks or less? Thanks!!

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@@mclorrie - I remember the surgical office taking about 2 weeks and the insurance company sent my approval letter to me in less than 2 weeks. So it shouldn't be too long for you now. After the approvals were all finished I went in to the office again for another weigh-in, and pre-op class and chose a surgery date. I can't really give you a "perfect" timeframe for all of that because I had some other medical issues that slowed me down a little during the later process. But, once you get going it goes really fast!

Good luck to you! If you have any more questions for me, I'm here! You can private message me if you like.

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@@imjenn - Congrats! Hope you're doing well!

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Thanks @@TammyDTM! That's awesome @imjenn!! I can't wait till I'm in your shoes!

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    • Aunty Mamo

      Iʻm roughly 6 weeks post-op this morning and have begun to feel like a normal human, with a normal human body again. I started introducing solid foods and pill forms of medications/supplements a couple of weeks ago and it's really amazing to eat meals with my family again, despite the fact that my portions are so much smaller than theirs. 
      I live on the island of Oʻahu and spend a lot of time in the water- for exercise, for play,  and for spiritual & mental health. The day I had my month out appointment with my surgeon, I packed all my gear in my truck, anticipating his permission to get back in the ocean. The minute I walked out of that hospital I drove straight to the shore and got in that water. Hallelujah! My appointment was at 10 am. I didn't get home until after 5 pm. 
      I'm down 31 pounds since the day of surgery and 47 since my pre-op diet began, with that typical week long stall occurring at three weeks. I'm really starting to see some changes lately- some of my clothing is too big, some fits again. The most drastic changes I notice however are in my face. I've also noticed my endurance and flexibility increasing. I was really starting to be held up physically, and I'm so grateful that I'm seeing that turn around in such short order. 
      My general disposition lately is hopeful and motivated. The only thing that bugs me on a daily basis still is the way those supplements make my house smell. So stink! But I just bought a smell proof bag online that other people use to put their pot in. My house doesn't stink anymore. 
       
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    • BeanitoDiego

      Oh yeah, something I wanted to rant about, a billing dispute that cropped up 3 months ago.
      Surgery was in August of 2023. A bill shows up for over $7,000 in January. WTF? I asks myself. I know that I jumped through all of the insurance hoops and verified this and triple checked that, as did the surgeon's office. All was set, and I paid all of the known costs before surgery.
      A looong story short, is that an assistant surgeon that was in the process of accepting money from my insurance company touched me while I was under anesthesia. That is what the bill was for. But hey, guess what? Some federal legislation was enacted last year to help patients out when they cannot consent to being touched by someone out of their insurance network. These types of bills fall under something called, "surprise billing," and you don't have to put up with it.
      https://www.cms.gov/nosurprises
      I had to make a lot of phone calls to both the surgeon's office and the insurance company and explain my rights and what the maximum out of pocket costs were that I could be liable for. Also had to remind them that it isn't my place to be taking care of all of this and that I was going to escalate things if they could not play nice with one another.
      Quick ending is that I don't have to pay that $7,000+. Advocate, advocate, advocate for yourself no matter how long it takes and learn more about this law if you are ever hit with a surprise bill.
      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.
    • BeanitoDiego

      Some days I feel like an infiltrator... I'm participating in society as a "thin" person. They have no idea that I haven't always been one of them! 🤣
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    • ChunkCat

      Thank you everyone for your well wishes! I totally forgot I wrote an update here... I'm one week post op today. I gained 15 lbs in water weight overnight because they had to give me tons of fluids to bring my BP up after surgery! I stayed one night in the hospital. Everything has been fine except I seem to have picked up a bug while I was there and I've been running a low grade fever, coughing, and a sore throat. So I've been hydrating well and sleeping a ton. So far the Covid tests are negative.
      I haven't been able to advance my diet past purees. Everything I eat other than tofu makes me choke and feels like trying to swallow rocks. They warned me it would get worse before it gets better, so lets hope this is all normal. I have my follow up on Monday so we'll see. Living on shakes and soup again is not fun. I had enough of them the first time!! LOL 
      · 0 replies
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    • BeanitoDiego

      Still purging all of the larger clothing. This morning, a shirt that I ADORED wearing ended up on top. Hard to let it go, but it was also hard to let go of those habits that also no longer serve my highest good. Onward and upward!
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