So this morning I had an appointment with my pulmonary doctor to get the clearance I need before insurance approval and it was a very special experience for me. I've been wrestling with whether or not I wanted the sleeve but recently went full steam ahead after a lot of realizations and support from my family. When I saw the nurse in the beginning I told her what I was there for and when I told her who my surgeon was she had great things to say about him. Then, when the doctor came in and I said what I was there for he said "Congratulations!" And I was so happy and thankful for his reaction because no one had "congratulated" me about it before. It made me think about how it really is a celebratory time of making a decision and commitment to putting myself first. Not only did I start my road to pulmonary clearance but I also got some great validation and inspiration as well. This journey gets more exciting every day!

"Congratulations" and look forward to your new birthday when you get it!

Congratulations!!! You've made a very wise decision that I don't think you'll ever regret. So many posts I've read by folks here have said they wish they'd done it sooner....I'm with them.

Enjoy your journey and remember to Celebrate all victories - scale and non-scale!!

@thickandtired. What did you have to do at your pulmonary visit? I'm due for mine beginning of August. Just wanted to know what to expect. Thanks!

@@mommyfrog3 The first was the initial visit, where they asked me a bunch of questions about my sleep habits, if I smoked, listened to my lungs and had me take deep breaths. Because of my BMI and family history they scheduled me for a sleep study, pulmonary function test and asked me to get a chest x-ray. The pulmonary function test is next week and i've had them before. They test the strength of your lungs by having you take a deep breath into a machine and blow it out as strongly as you can. A lot of people only need the pulmonary function test, but others like me need the sleep study to check for sleep apnea. I think they only need the chest X-ray because I had a pulmonary embolism a few years ago.

Ok. Thanks for the info!