Welp, the monthly support forum has not been updated for 2016. I know there's a thread somewhere for December & January sleevers, but thought I'd include you January peeps in honor of the upcoming year. Share your dates, doctor/nut/psych visits, tests, hopes, and whatever else you want to share pertaining to your surgery. Feel free to offer encouragement and cheerleading as warranted. Maybe everyone can link up with some sleeve buddies!

I'll start. I have 100 to 130 pounds to lose (no goal set yet). My sleeve was supposed to be in January. Instead, my husband needs to go out of the country on business in the middle of the month and can't guarantee he'll be back, so I'll probably be sleeved in February. It's frustrating to me because my insurance requires 6 months supervised diet. I finished that the week before Thanksgiving (U.S.) I'm scheduled to attend the final "class" they require all patients to take on Dec. 17. My endoscopy is Jan. 13. I could easily have made it in December, but hubby didn't want me restricted over the Holidays. (I had thyroid surgery with complications last year just before Christmas, so I understand how he feels.) Still, you can imagine my frustration now that my surgery needs to be pushed back again!

Who's next?

*Mods please move this to the appropriate forum when you update the support groups.

Happy Holidays! I have completed all my requirements now, even beat the weight loss needed by one pound, so I'm just waiting to get an appointment with the surgeon to set up my date. Since he has so many already booked in January I heard, I'm probably looking at late January or early February. I'm excited, and nervous, but anxious to get it over with and begin my weight loss journey as well as my new life as a bariatric sleever!

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Edited December 13, 201510 yr by beachmom

My surgery is the 12th of jan 2016. my dad had the surgery a year ago and was told he had to lose 5kg before it, i have the same surgeon but was only told to go on optifast for 2 weeks pre op. im nervous but excited at the same time. im curious to see who you guys are telling. ill be living out of home 3-4 weeks post op as thats when i start university so its going to be hard to settle into a share house without them knowing? i also have 2 good friends moving down aswell and i dont know whether to tell them or not. i just think itll be hard to explain why im only eating soft foods you know?

I finished my 6 month of stuff and got approved to finally have a consult with the surgeon... I have my appt on Dec 18th... So hopefully I can get the surgery in January

Yes I will be in one of those months for sure .. Submitting insurance info next week ????

I have only told my better half (of course, since he will be my nurse at home), my 2 adult children, a cousin, and 3 very close friends of mine. Not sure afterward if I will tell or not. I guess it depends on the person and how judgmental I think they will be. Most know I have been dieting and lost 31 lbs already. They just don't know it is for the surgery. I'm sure in social situations I will have to come up with a reason why I am only eating a cup of food. Most of my coworkers and friends know I have a hearty appetite! LOL Best wishes to all of you on your upcoming surgeries!

My surgery is the 12th of jan 2016. my dad had the surgery a year ago and was told he had to lose 5kg before it, i have the same surgeon but was only told to go on Optifast for 2 weeks pre op. im nervous but excited at the same time. im curious to see who you guys are telling. ill be living out of home 3-4 weeks post op as thats when i start university so its going to be hard to settle into a share house without them knowing? i also have 2 good friends moving down aswell and i dont know whether to tell them or not. i just think itll be hard to explain why im only eating soft foods you know?

My insurance didn't require 6 month visits thank god .

I finished my 6 months Nov 23rd. I have lost another 35 pounds during the 6 months supervised diet for a total loss of 180 pounds before surgery. I have everything done but the PCP medical clearance and medically necessary and another blood work up to do. I thought all this was going to be done yesterday but the PCP office messed up by telling me he was going to be in and he wasn't. . My paperwork from the WL surgeon was submitted the Monday before Thanksgiving. It is the PCP that is holding things up as I still do not have a surgery date. I have another 162 pounds to lose with the surgery which hopefully will be in Jan.

I started a blog in 2008 when I was trying to get the lap band but the insurance at that time wouldn't pay for refills so I didn't have the surgery. I continued with the blog again this June. Please read and leave a comment if your interested in following my long journey to walk again. I like the idea of this thread as we can support each other during our surgery and recovery.

Approved for 1/14 ????????

Surgery date is.............JANUARY, 11, 2016!!!

Yayyyy can't wait to get my date

Scheduled for Jan 4!! Waiting on final approval. I start my pre-op liquid diet on Dec 21st after a long 7 months of classes, tests and Drs appointments.

I started the journey in August, and only had to have nutritional class, psych eval, pap, endoscopy and esophageal motility. I had all appointments taken care of in Sept then had to wait for Nov 25 for the gastrologist appts. So finally I had the esophageal mobility 2 weeks ago and that was horrible..lol and after calling every day to find out if there was any cancelations I got an appt for 12/22 for the endoscopy! After that it's just the insurance and surgery!! I just hope that since it took me 2 months to get an apt with the sleeve Dr it won't take that long for the surgery date...

Well mine is on Dec 28 so that's close enough I go Thursday to get my optifast

@@katladee, Happy Holidays to you, too! Sounds like we're in the same boat. I wish I hadn't let hubby sway me not to be on the pre-op diet over the Holidays. I'd be able to have the surgery and have two or three weeks post-op before he left the country. Oh, well! Maybe we'll be sleeve buddies! Dates sound about right.

@@Ali_, your surgery is the day before my endoscopy. So jealous! I think you need to decide who you think will be supportive. Later on, it might not seem so important to keep your surgery quiet. My husband and grown-up daughter know and, hmmm, I let it slip to my hairdresser. I told my older sister this weekend. I toyed with the idea of waiting until we see each other just to hear her say, "OMG! You've lost an entire you!" Then I decided she'd probably be afraid I was sick since I had a cancer scare last year. Now, if my mom was still alive, I would not have told her. She had a history of sabotaging me my entire life. She used to buy me 3X clothes when I was in high school and a size 12/14. I'm toying with starting a weight-loss blog, so clearly I'll be blabbing it to the world!

@@rgallardo, it's interesting to see how other doctors and insurance companies require. I have that last required class before mine will submit. Here's hoping your insurance company is on the ball and approves you right away. I'm actually excited about the timing of my surgery. I told a friend, this is the first time I will actually keep that New Year's resolution!

Hey, @@MRSJONES305! You're on the home stretch. Has your doctor given you a tentative schedule or do they wait until they hear back from your insurance?

@@katladee, I've talked about my upcoming surgery on Facebook and have told my immediate family (and my hairdresser!). I'm a very private person, but my husband wanted me to meet a co-worker (via Facebook) who had the surgery done just before I saw the doctor for the first time. I haven't bandied the fact around, but haven't gone out of my way to keep it quiet. I'm what they call a "displaced worker" (means I was laid off and have been off for more than a year). I'd feel differently about telling co-workers.

@@ssflbelle, sounds like we're on a similar schedule. You've come a huge way already! Would you mind sharing how you did it? I'll definitely check out your blog. My therapist (recommended by the Bariatric shrink) and I discussed my fears of regain and lack of follow-through and just a ton of stuff. Anyway, I told her I've always enjoyed writing (and still do). I want to start a blog about my journey partially to share and inform but also to keep me "honest" as time passes.

@@jenniferANTM, you lucky dog! Your surgery is the day after my endoscopy. I'll definitely be thinking about you!

@@Kathy Krebs Robertson, Hooray! I'm a little envious of you early to mid-January sleevers! Nah. Not really. (well maybe a little). I love living vicariously through everyone here who will be getting sleeved around the same time I am. Has your insurance approved you? Any final hoops your doctor wants you to leap before the 11th?

@@cindyw41, way to start the New Year off right! What did you discuss in your classes? Were they with other people? I had to visit the dietitian each month. Honestly, she didn't teach me much of anything (Protein first, Water sips, etc.). She was no help when I wanted her advice on how I should be eating during the 6 month monitored diet. "Oh, by now you've dieted enough times you know what to do!" Argh. I wanted her to advise me so I could eat close to the way I'll be eating after my sleeve. This forum was a great help. I looked at my doctor's post-op nutritional guidelines and read a lot here and am happy with what I've done. I would have loved a more informative dietitian, though!

@@mistycal, wow! You're moving right along! I'm a little afraid of my endoscopy. I had my thyroid removed last year and had complications (I couldn't swallow for a week and had to remain in the hospital). Mind you, the ENT says it was probably because he couldn't avoid bruising my larynx a bit because of the size of the thyroid. But the whole experience makes me nervous about anything being stuck down my throat! It's a completely different procedure, but try telling my nerves that. I'm just glad I'll be out when they do it!

@@mya.mys, Dec. 28 definitely means you can hang out here. There is a December/January sleevers thread somewhere if you haven't found it. Tell me if you want me to hunt it down so you can maybe find some sleeve buddies there.