So I had my first appointment with my doctor yesterday. I absolutely love him! He's very blunt and to the point, which I found hilarious. I brought my mom with me because she was not supportive of this surgery at all. She thinks I can just diet and lose it on my own, but I have tried dieting for 3 years now, and I always fall back into gaining weight. I am 24 (25 in a few weeks) and I'm sick of wasting my young life being overweight.

My surgeon got straight to the point and said, "This surgery has a 90% success rate of keeping the weight off for the next 10 years. Without this surgery, you will most likely gain the weight back." My mom asked him questions about my Pseudotumor cerebri and he said, "This surgery will absolutely help." He also said it will probably cure my PCOS. That conversation convinced my mom that this surgery is probably my last hope. I am so pleased because now she is no longer rolling her eyes at me every time I bring it up. She's actually saying that my sister probably needs it, too.

Now about the requirements that BCBS has given me... They are pretty stupid. Even my surgeon agrees. He said that BCBS gives us these requirements because they think we will give up trying to get everything together, because they don't want to pay. That is believable.

1. I have to get records together proving that I have had a BMI over 40 for the last 3 years. (This one isn't so bad. Since I have been overweight for the last 7-8 years, this should be fairly easy to obtain.)

2. I have to be put on a diet by a DOCTOR for 4 months. (That means, the 4 months that I have been put on a diet by a Nutritionist are worthless in this situation.)

3. I have to have a Cardiac Evaluation. (This is understandable. They have to make sure my heart is strong enough to handle the operation.)

4. I have to have a sleep Disorder Test. (Also understandable. I'm having one July 29th. They said there's a possibility that I may have Narcolepsy. Let's hope it's just sleep apnea.)

5. I have to have a clearance letter written by a doctor. (This one is kinda stupid. I'm pretty sure my surgeon is more than able to know I need the surgery. I'm worried my doctor may charge me to write this letter.)

6. Psychological Evaluation (This is bogus, too. But I guess it's also understandable. They must want to make sure I'm not an emotional eater. I can already tell that's not the case. I'm just hungry, dang it! Lol. The oral steroids they put me on years ago started this.)

7. I have to see a Nutritionist. (I hope the one I'm seeing is good enough. They are so against me getting this surgery, though. I know it's because they're worried about losing me as a customer. Those scumbags...)

8. I have to schedule a 4 hour nutrition class. (I guess this won't be so bad.)


I have 7 months to do all of this. I really wanted to have the surgery before next year, but I guess it's worth the wait.

As much as I would have loved to have just made up my mind and then had the surgery the next week, I am grateful for this 6 month period. (No, I'm not crazy, lol!) I've had time to adjust both mentally and physically to what's about to happen to me. I have slowly weaned myself off of caffeine, bread, and am now working on sugar. That way when I start my two week pre-op diet, my body wont go into such a shock. I have a small business decorating wedding cakes etc, so I have to perfect frostings and other recipes now so that I wont have to be taste testing them after surgery. Through all of the tests that I went through I had a cancer scare, and that brought me further in my faith than I ever thought about going. So, actually, I am not complaining about the 6 month wait. I only have one more weigh in appointment with my PCP in 10 days and then see if I am approved. Right now, I can actually say that I am healthier both mentally and physically than I was 6 months ago!

I just got the call today that my insurance approved me! I would like to thank Dr. Les Miles and his patient advocate, Bridgette, for all the hard work they did to make this happen. I am so excited!

Congrats!!! I'm so excited for you. I pray things move fast for you at this point. Start adding as well as subtracting now and you will be thankful. Add exercise subtract bad eating habits, for example. You will do great!

DSLdiversity

As much as I would have loved to have just made up my mind and then had the surgery the next week, I am grateful for this 6 month period. (No, I'm not crazy, lol!) I've had time to adjust both mentally and physically to what's about to happen to me. I have slowly weaned myself off of caffeine, bread, and am now working on sugar. That way when I start my two week pre-op diet, my body wont go into such a shock. I have a small business decorating wedding cakes etc, so I have to perfect frostings and other recipes now so that I wont have to be taste testing them after surgery. Through all of the tests that I went through I had a cancer scare, and that brought me further in my faith than I ever thought about going. So, actually, I am not complaining about the 6 month wait. I only have one more weigh in appointment with my PCP in 10 days and then see if I am approved. Right now, I can actually say that I am healthier both mentally and physically than I was 6 months ago!

That's great! I sent my weight history, and honestly, I don't think I'll get approved. I haven't had a BMI of 40 for the past 3 years.

So now I'm just waiting on my patient advocate to email me back.

Sent from my XT1080 using the BariatricPal App

As much as I would have loved to have just made up my mind and then had the surgery the next week, I am grateful for this 6 month period. (No, I'm not crazy, lol!) I've had time to adjust both mentally and physically to what's about to happen to me. I have slowly weaned myself off of caffeine, bread, and am now working on sugar. That way when I start my two week pre-op diet, my body wont go into such a shock. I have a small business decorating wedding cakes etc, so I have to perfect frostings and other recipes now so that I wont have to be taste testing them after surgery. Through all of the tests that I went through I had a cancer scare, and that brought me further in my faith than I ever thought about going. So, actually, I am not complaining about the 6 month wait. I only have one more weigh in appointment with my PCP in 10 days and then see if I am approved. Right now, I can actually say that I am healthier both mentally and physically than I was 6 months ago!

You are right about that! That 6 month period was a good thing; and a good thing for others. It would probably help me as well, but considering my condition and having a high risk of losing my vision, they felt that it was necessary to go ahead and approve my surgery. When they looked at my optic nerves in the ultrasound, they were shocked to find out that I have 20/15 vision. They said, according to the images, that it looked as if I should be legally blind. I was told that I have the most interesting eyes that clinic has ever seen in a pseudotumor case. With me, even though my vision is so good, I still have temporary blindness at times. Sometimes when I stand up or bend over, I go blind for about 10-20 seconds. Sometimes I go blind for a bit longer than that, and I wonder, "Is this it? Is this the moment where I lose my vision for good?" And thankfully, the blackness fades away.

I think I have had enough time to decide that this is what I truly want. If someone told me I would have to give up my favorite food (Mexican cheese dip) for the rest of my life in order to be thin and healthy, I would still give it up without hesitation. Because to me, a lifetime of good health is worth more than a few minutes of pleasurable taste. I have wanted to be thin the moment I reached 150 pounds. I am now 250 pounds and I can honestly say that I have prepared myself for this day out of hopes that one day I would be thin again. I even told my surgeon that if someone told me I would have to lose an arm in order to be thin and healthy, I would accept it. He looked at me and giggled, but for a moment he gave me this look of understanding and compassion. It's like he knew how badly I want this.

I am a bit worried about the shock my body will experience on the pre-op diet. I am mostly worried about the migraines and the fact that only Excedrin helps them. Since Excedrin has aspirin in it, I will not be able to take it. Lets all hope that Tylenol works this time, since the migraine won't be pseudotumor triggered.

On another note... OMG! Cancer?! Can you tell me more about that? Are you ok? o_o

As much as I would have loved to have just made up my mind and then had the surgery the next week, I am grateful for this 6 month period. (No, I'm not crazy, lol!) I've had time to adjust both mentally and physically to what's about to happen to me. I have slowly weaned myself off of caffeine, bread, and am now working on sugar. That way when I start my two week pre-op diet, my body wont go into such a shock. I have a small business decorating wedding cakes etc, so I have to perfect frostings and other recipes now so that I wont have to be taste testing them after surgery. Through all of the tests that I went through I had a cancer scare, and that brought me further in my faith than I ever thought about going. So, actually, I am not complaining about the 6 month wait. I only have one more weigh in appointment with my PCP in 10 days and then see if I am approved. Right now, I can actually say that I am healthier both mentally and physically than I was 6 months ago!

That's great! I sent my weight history, and honestly, I don't think I'll get approved. I haven't had a BMI of 40 for the past 3 years.

So now I'm just waiting on my patient advocate to email me back.

Sent from my XT1080 using the BariatricPal App

How long has your BMI been over 40? Do you have other health issues relating to your weight? And if I may ask, what caused you to gain the weight? A few years ago, I got put on oral steroids for sinus issues. I gained 50 pounds in 3 months. I kept gaining weight from that point.

As much as I would have loved to have just made up my mind and then had the surgery the next week, I am grateful for this 6 month period. (No, I'm not crazy, lol!) I've had time to adjust both mentally and physically to what's about to happen to me. I have slowly weaned myself off of caffeine, bread, and am now working on sugar. That way when I start my two week pre-op diet, my body wont go into such a shock. I have a small business decorating wedding cakes etc, so I have to perfect frostings and other recipes now so that I wont have to be taste testing them after surgery. Through all of the tests that I went through I had a cancer scare, and that brought me further in my faith than I ever thought about going. So, actually, I am not complaining about the 6 month wait. I only have one more weigh in appointment with my PCP in 10 days and then see if I am approved. Right now, I can actually say that I am healthier both mentally and physically than I was 6 months ago!

That's great! I sent my weight history, and honestly, I don't think I'll get approved. I haven't had a BMI of 40 for the past 3 years.

So now I'm just waiting on my patient advocate to email me back.

Sent from my XT1080 using the BariatricPal App

How long has your BMI been over 40? Do you have other health issues relating to your weight? And if I may ask, what caused you to gain the weight? A few years ago, I got put on oral steroids for sinus issues. I gained 50 pounds in 3 months. I kept gaining weight from that point.

I have been overweight since puberty. I think it has a lot to do with my hormones, and my PCOS. When I first got pregnant, the summer of 2013, I weighed 218, BMI of 37.4. Now I weigh 243, BMI 41.7. So being pregnant was what pushed me over the 40 BMI mark. I was 243 the day I went into labor, and I have yo-yo'd back and forth, but have not gotten under 220 since my pregnancy.

I don't want to use PCOS as my excuse because I know that I need to get better and exercise more, but it's so difficult to lose weight.

Sent from my XT1080 using the BariatricPal App

As much as I would have loved to have just made up my mind and then had the surgery the next week, I am grateful for this 6 month period. (No, I'm not crazy, lol!) I've had time to adjust both mentally and physically to what's about to happen to me. I have slowly weaned myself off of caffeine, bread, and am now working on sugar. That way when I start my two week pre-op diet, my body wont go into such a shock. I have a small business decorating wedding cakes etc, so I have to perfect frostings and other recipes now so that I wont have to be taste testing them after surgery. Through all of the tests that I went through I had a cancer scare, and that brought me further in my faith than I ever thought about going. So, actually, I am not complaining about the 6 month wait. I only have one more weigh in appointment with my PCP in 10 days and then see if I am approved. Right now, I can actually say that I am healthier both mentally and physically than I was 6 months ago!

You are right about that! That 6 month period was a good thing; and a good thing for others. It would probably help me as well, but considering my condition and having a high risk of losing my vision, they felt that it was necessary to go ahead and approve my surgery. When they looked at my optic nerves in the ultrasound, they were shocked to find out that I have 20/15 vision. They said, according to the images, that it looked as if I should be legally blind. I was told that I have the most interesting eyes that clinic has ever seen in a pseudotumor case. With me, even though my vision is so good, I still have temporary blindness at times. Sometimes when I stand up or bend over, I go blind for about 10-20 seconds. Sometimes I go blind for a bit longer than that, and I wonder, "Is this it? Is this the moment where I lose my vision for good?" And thankfully, the blackness fades away.

I think I have had enough time to decide that this is what I truly want. If someone told me I would have to give up my favorite food (Mexican cheese dip) for the rest of my life in order to be thin and healthy, I would still give it up without hesitation. Because to me, a lifetime of good health is worth more than a few minutes of pleasurable taste. I have wanted to be thin the moment I reached 150 pounds. I am now 250 pounds and I can honestly say that I have prepared myself for this day out of hopes that one day I would be thin again. I even told my surgeon that if someone told me I would have to lose an arm in order to be thin and healthy, I would accept it. He looked at me and giggled, but for a moment he gave me this look of understanding and compassion. It's like he knew how badly I want this.

I am a bit worried about the shock my body will experience on the pre-op diet. I am mostly worried about the migraines and the fact that only Excedrin helps them. Since Excedrin has aspirin in it, I will not be able to take it. Lets all hope that Tylenol works this time, since the migraine won't be pseudotumor triggered.

On another note... OMG! Cancer?! Can you tell me more about that? Are you ok? o_o

Wow that is so scary!! I hope and pray that you can find some relief for your migraines using Tylenol. I know how painful and debilitating they can be.

Sent from my XT1080 using the BariatricPal App

As much as I would have loved to have just made up my mind and then had the surgery the next week, I am grateful for this 6 month period. (No, I'm not crazy, lol!) I've had time to adjust both mentally and physically to what's about to happen to me. I have slowly weaned myself off of caffeine, bread, and am now working on sugar. That way when I start my two week pre-op diet, my body wont go into such a shock. I have a small business decorating wedding cakes etc, so I have to perfect frostings and other recipes now so that I wont have to be taste testing them after surgery. Through all of the tests that I went through I had a cancer scare, and that brought me further in my faith than I ever thought about going. So, actually, I am not complaining about the 6 month wait. I only have one more weigh in appointment with my PCP in 10 days and then see if I am approved. Right now, I can actually say that I am healthier both mentally and physically than I was 6 months ago!

You are right about that! That 6 month period was a good thing; and a good thing for others. It would probably help me as well, but considering my condition and having a high risk of losing my vision, they felt that it was necessary to go ahead and approve my surgery. When they looked at my optic nerves in the ultrasound, they were shocked to find out that I have 20/15 vision. They said, according to the images, that it looked as if I should be legally blind. I was told that I have the most interesting eyes that clinic has ever seen in a pseudotumor case. With me, even though my vision is so good, I still have temporary blindness at times. Sometimes when I stand up or bend over, I go blind for about 10-20 seconds. Sometimes I go blind for a bit longer than that, and I wonder, "Is this it? Is this the moment where I lose my vision for good?" And thankfully, the blackness fades away.

I think I have had enough time to decide that this is what I truly want. If someone told me I would have to give up my favorite food (Mexican cheese dip) for the rest of my life in order to be thin and healthy, I would still give it up without hesitation. Because to me, a lifetime of good health is worth more than a few minutes of pleasurable taste. I have wanted to be thin the moment I reached 150 pounds. I am now 250 pounds and I can honestly say that I have prepared myself for this day out of hopes that one day I would be thin again. I even told my surgeon that if someone told me I would have to lose an arm in order to be thin and healthy, I would accept it. He looked at me and giggled, but for a moment he gave me this look of understanding and compassion. It's like he knew how badly I want this.

I am a bit worried about the shock my body will experience on the pre-op diet. I am mostly worried about the migraines and the fact that only Excedrin helps them. Since Excedrin has aspirin in it, I will not be able to take it. Lets all hope that Tylenol works this time, since the migraine won't be pseudotumor triggered.

On another note... OMG! Cancer?! Can you tell me more about that? Are you ok? o_o

I am so sorry to hear about your vision issues. And I completely understand the urgency in you getting your surgery. And I can also relate on the migraines. I take Topramax for mine and it really helps. The cancer scare turned out to be just that, a scare. I had an abnormal pap smear that ended up requiring a biopsy. My dr said that she had to take 3 biopsies (sp?) because of everything that she saw. And that on a scale of 1-3 I was a very high 2 to test positive for cervical cancer. When I came back for my results, she told me that her first impression upon 'seeing' what she biopsied was to schedule me for surgery the next week, but the lab results showed NOTHING to be concerned about! I was doing some shouting and praising God, let me tell ya! I believe I had nothing less than a miracle!

I'm having my surgery in Birmingham too! Dr Pennington at Grandview Medical Center. Sorry, I haven't seen anyone else on here near me.....I got excited !

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Hi!!! I'm also having mine at Grandview with Dr. Pennington! ???? I will be finished with my insurance stuff (BCBSAL) in August and will, hopefully, be approved shortly after then grab my date! When are you having yours?? Us Birmingham folks should keep in touch!

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We should all be each other's support! It's awesome to find people that are local.

@@MNovalis when did you start your journey?

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I first saw Dr. P back in December and my insurance requires 6 months of doctor supervised diet. So July 18th will be my last of those. Hopefully I am looking at an early August surgery........ I've been for my cardiac tests, my EGD, nutrition and physical therapy meetings. Got all of that behind me. Feel like I'm turning the corner now!

I guess I should read everything before replying! LOL!! How was the EGD? Mine's in August and I'm nervous!

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I'm having my surgery in Birmingham too! Dr Pennington at Grandview Medical Center. Sorry, I haven't seen anyone else on here near me.....I got excited !

Sent from my LG-V410 using the BariatricPal App

Hi!!! I'm also having mine at Grandview with Dr. Pennington! I will be finished with my insurance stuff (BCBSAL) in August and will, hopefully, be approved shortly after then grab my date! When are you having yours?? Us Birmingham folks should keep in touch!

Sent from my HTC331ZLVWPP using the BariatricPal App

We really should keep in touch! Where are you from vsg4kristin? How do you like your doctor?

I'm having my surgery in Birmingham too! Dr Pennington at Grandview Medical Center. Sorry, I haven't seen anyone else on here near me.....I got excited !

Sent from my LG-V410 using the BariatricPal App

Hi!!! I'm also having mine at Grandview with Dr. Pennington! I will be finished with my insurance stuff (BCBSAL) in August and will, hopefully, be approved shortly after then grab my date! When are you having yours?? Us Birmingham folks should keep in touch!

Sent from my HTC331ZLVWPP using the BariatricPal App

We really should keep in touch! Where are you from vsg4kristin? How do you like your doctor?

I live in Birmingham and my doctor is great! He was highly recommended by some coworkers. Also, I had an initial meeting with Dr. Schmitt before choosing my MD. I just felt rushed with him. Dr. Pennington took his time, answered all of my questions, told me what to expect, and I really liked that. ????

I'm having my surgery in Birmingham too! Dr Pennington at Grandview Medical Center. Sorry, I haven't seen anyone else on here near me.....I got excited !

Sent from my LG-V410 using the BariatricPal App

Hi!!! I'm also having mine at Grandview with Dr. Pennington! ???? I will be finished with my insurance stuff (BCBSAL) in August and will, hopefully, be approved shortly after then grab my date! When are you having yours?? Us Birmingham folks should keep in touch!

Sent from my HTC331ZLVWPP using the BariatricPal App

We should all be each other's support! It's awesome to find people that are local.

@@MNovalis when did you start your journey?

Sent from my XT1080 using the BariatricPal App

I first saw Dr. P back in December and my insurance requires 6 months of doctor supervised diet. So July 18th will be my last of those. Hopefully I am looking at an early August surgery........ I've been for my cardiac tests, my EGD, nutrition and physical therapy meetings. Got all of that behind me. Feel like I'm turning the corner now!

I guess I should read everything before replying! LOL!! How was the EGD? Mine's in August and I'm nervous!

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The EGD was no fun, I'll be honest. But I'd do it again if I had to. Dr. P's nurse was an ANGEL helping by talking me through it. And it only lasted about 10 minutes. It showed a couple of polyps so I had to go back and have a 2nd one. All was good and now I have one last visit with my PCP and then send everything in to my insurance company for approval. My co-worker got her approval back in 15 minutes, so I'm hoping for fast results as well. I've got all my ducks in a row so I'm really hoping to have my surgery in early August.

Wow! Look at all these Birmingham peeps! Nice to meet you all. It would be cool if we all kept in touch and were each others' support system.

I had my Cardiac Evaluation today. It went very well! I was surprised that the bike test wasn't as hard as I expected. The hardest part is the last 2 minutes. How is everyone in B'ham doing so far?