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What a long strange trip it's been!



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So this is it! I have finally finished my 6 month diet/exercise program. Last weigh in this morning, lost another 5 pounds. Of course the doctor said I should just forget the surgery and continue to lose weight. Really! Not going to happen! I have all of my clearances now and I am now waiting for a call from the surgeons office to schedule surgeon appt and surgery date. This has really kinda crept up on me. I was told by the surgeons insurance person that my six month diet/exercise program would be 180 days long. But now I am being told that my insurance will accept 6 consecutive months of doctor visits. That means that I am a month sooner than expected. Part of me is ecstatic and the other part is full of anxiety. Am I ready for this?? I have so much going on in my life right now. I am studying and training for a new position at work. This is the job of my dreams & I don't want to mess it up. My employer is aware of this surgery and he said that we would work it out and not to stress over it. Hard not to stress though. :o

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Congrats! Remember - just because you are done with the 6 months of visits doesn't mean you have to schedule the surgery right away. Talk to the scheduled and see what will work - as long as you won't need to repeat anything. Good luck and Congrats on your new position!!!

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Good luck on your upcoming surgery. Have you gone through your pre-op physicals and your post-op training? These can take a month or two to schedule and undergo.

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Congrats! Don't get caught up in how much time you will miss from work. Most people go back to work within 1-2 weeks of surgery. I went back after 2 weeks and had no issues. Of course it depends on the type of job you have; if you are required to do a lot of heavy lifting or very physical job, then I'd say you will be out longer. If you have an office job, then I'd say 1-2 weeks.

Good Luck!

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Congrats! Remember - just because you are done with the 6 months of visits doesn't mean you have to schedule the surgery right away. Talk to the scheduled and see what will work - as long as you won't need to repeat anything. Good luck and Congrats on your new position!!!

I think the best thing for me will be to get it done the week of June 20th. I hope that is an option. I will be in St Louis June 13-17 and I will be released to start taking on clients after that. I would prefer to have the surgery first and then take on the clients. My manager has agreed with that.

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Good luck on your upcoming surgery. Have you gone through your pre-op physicals and your post-op training? These can take a month or two to schedule and undergo.

I have been in touch with my bariatric nurse who assures me that all is complete. Just waiting on the surgery date, which I hope comes today.

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Congrats! Don't get caught up in how much time you will miss from work. Most people go back to work within 1-2 weeks of surgery. I went back after 2 weeks and had no issues. Of course it depends on the type of job you have; if you are required to do a lot of heavy lifting or very physical job, then I'd say you will be out longer. If you have an office job, then I'd say 1-2 weeks.

Good Luck!

My plan is two weeks. I have a desk job but there is still travelling involved. I believe I will be fine. I have been exercising and increasing my Protein intake. Hopefully that will help with the post op.

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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
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    • 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! 🤣
      · 0 replies
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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 
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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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