I have been lurking on the site for the last few months as I have been researching the gastric sleeve procedure. Now that I met with my surgeon and have jumped through all the hoops to submit to insurance, I thought I would officially join the forums. I have Wellmark insurance and know of several people in the company that I work for who have been approved so I am hoping that I will too. It has been interesting going through this journey already. I have completed the three month dietary monitoring with the nutritionist and psych eval. I was really fortunate to have a therapist who was a year out from surgery from the same doctor I am going to so he had some great advice and thoughts to share. He has lost over 150 pounds in the last year and was getting ready for skin removal surgery. I am hoping to find out soon if I will get this opportunity.

I am 42 years old and have lost and gained weight several times, the last time last year when I successfully lost 88 pounds. Unfortunately, I tried to jog two half marathons in two days (I-35 Challenge of Des Moines and KC) and really messed up my left Achilles tendon. I had surgery on it to lengthen it in March and am only now recovering from that whole ordeal. In the process of being unable to workout like I typically do, I regained so much of the weight I lost. For some reason, the weight really likes to find me every time I lose it!!!!

And that is my biggest concern for this surgery. I am afraid even if I go through with this, I will eventually just gain the weight back. I know I have to make lifestyle changes. I feel like I have done that numerous times before but I fall off the wagon and go back to my old ways of eating. My surgeon and his assistant say I am an ideal candidate since I love to work out and am willing to put in the effort but I am still nervous. I am not sure why this will be any different than any other diet I have done before other than this is more controlled. My surgical team say that you have a finite timeframe to lose the weight and make the changes needed to make this be successful.

I am hoping for a October surgery date and I just ordered several Protein drink samples to try as well as some cookbooks focused on a bariatric diet.

I really appreciate all the people on here and their willingness to share their stories, concerns and encouragement. I think having the support, whether online or in person, is crucial to being successful and am already grateful to have found this site.

Hi there. I read your post and thought, wow we are similar. I have just started on this journey of the pros and cons, saw one surgeon and have an appointment later this week with another surgeon.

I am 43 years old, I have lost weight in the past and the biggest loss was 80 pounds in about six months, for a friends wedding. That was many years ago and as I've gotten older and kids and life I have not been able to keep my weight priority.

I enjoy working out, but at this size it's bit of a challenge. I'm going to get a second opinion here with this other surgeon just because he's closer and hoping Insurance will go through and will get started on this journey.

I wish you all the best and hope that you are successful and keep us posted on your progress. Best of luck

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@@trimK9gal - curious to know if your name puts you in law enforcement? My brother in law had a K9 who just retired from the force. Emir is a beautiful german shepherd. My hubby's family is all in law enforcement so I have much love and respect for those who where the uniform.

Yep - we have similar stories. Let's stay in touch and good luck researching your surgeon. It is a big step!