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New to The Gastric Sleeve, looking for support.



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Just a little about myself. In 2007 I decided to change my life. At age 34 I found myself weighing 300 pounds. I got a lap band in November, and by July of 2008 I was at a healthy weight losing over 140 pounds. I felt and looked great. Then my band decided to slip and it just went downhill from there. I ended up having to have it completely removed by 2010. I kept the weight off for a while, but eventually it just creeped back up on me. Here I am 43 and 280 pounds. I have recently been diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes and it has scared the crap out of me. I made the decision to have the gastric sleeve, my insurance is paying most, and I am approved by care credit for the rest. My EGD is next Friday and they are scheduling me for surgery on the 25th.. it's moving so fast, and I am having terrible anxiety. Has anyone used Dr. McCarty in Dallas? I know this is the best thing I can do for my health, why am I so scared? It's like a scared to have it, scared not to have it type thing. Any advice or success stories would be greatly appreciated!

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Well, you came to the right place. This forum is a wealth of knowledge. You are further along than me (I have completed all pre-op consults, but have my last of 6 weigh ins in 16 days). I will probably be freaking out as I get to your point.

Basically, all I can say is, this surgery has minimal adverse outcomes, it is very routine. You have been through the surgery of a lapband, so you know what you are in for, and the fact that you will recover over time, and be able to live a health lifestyle.

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    • KeeWee

      It's been 10 long years! Here is my VSG weight loss surgiversary update..
      https://www.ae1bmerchme.com/post/10-year-surgiversary-update-for-2024 
      · 0 replies
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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. 
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      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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      1. This update has no replies.
    • 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.
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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! 🤣
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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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