My road to sleeve surgery...fingers crossed!

[KimB7811 115]

Reading everyone’s story on here is so inspiring and insightful on this journey of weight loss surgery that I figured I would share and track mine as well. It will be nice to hopefully look back and read this a year from now anyway after being successful with my gastric sleeve surgery...fingers crossed! All up to that dang insurance approval!

Backing up a bit... let me explain a little about me and my battle with the “fluff”. I’ve pretty much have always battled weight. I was always chubby as a kid and grew up in a big Italian family where portion sizes weren’t a thing and life revolves around food. For most of high school I was overweight... except junior year when I decided I would go on a major diet and exercise. I lost a lot of weight and looked good but still only got to 175. By senior year I was pretty much fat again. This would continue every 2 years until my first pregnancy. I would drop 40-50lbs and then gain it right back. By my first kid I really gained a lot though and was a little over 300. Only now due to the pregnancy, I got hypertension that never went away. Then I lost 80lbs. but you guessed it! Gained it all back and then some again! This pattern continued more and more. I remarried and got pregnant again and was back up to 275 again. I have always thought about the idea of weight loss surgery in the back of my head but I was going to try 1 more time to lose it myself and try to keep it off. I found a medically supervised weight loss program with “pills” and lost about 90lbs on it. That was almost 2 years ago. But now I have sadly gained at least 40 of it back and It seems to keep pouring back on me. Plus now I am suffering from severe osteoarthritis as well in both knees and I need a total knee replacement in my right. I’m still going to the gym and I’m still on the medicine, but my body isn’t reacting to it really anymore. So enough was enough and on March 1st I went and saw a weight loss surgeon! When he started explaining to me about how my body just starts to resist the weight loss and thinks it’s starving or wants to go back to my reset mode (which is my 300lb weight) it all made sense! I just always called it my inner fat girl wanting to come back out. He explained how cutting out this part of the stomach removed those hormones and will help me fight those genetics. Now I understand I need to keep up my end of the bargain and still exercise and count calories, but it def explained why it’s like all of a sudden my body would just hit a wall and start gaining back the weight even when I was still dieting. So sleeve it is and I couldn’t be more sure of this!

So here goes my journey. They set me up that day with referrals for the psychiatrist, the gastroenterologist and the nutritionist. Luckily, since I’ve been in this medically supervised weight loss program for 2 years, I pretty much already have in my nutritionist meetings but he wanted me to meet with a Bariatric one at least once pre-op. I met with her on March 9th for the first visit already and learned a lot about what to expect the first few weeks out of how to eat and the different phases of food. My next apt with the Bariatric nutritionist is April12th. My endoscopy is scheduled this Friday so hopefully that goes well and my psych is scheduled for the following Friday. I have already filled out the package they sent to me for that which was about 500 questions. I do think it’s a little weird they want me to release all my hospital medical records though.

I just hope and pray I get approved by insurance. Depending on who measures me, I range between 5-5 or 5-6 it seems. I also weighed in at 228 which left me with a BMI of 36. My insurance requires a BMI of 35 with comorbitities which I obviously have of hypertension and osteoarthritis. So the low end of BMI has me concerned with approval.

Now the other thing is this, and please don’t judge,....My daughter was born in Jan of 2016 and in May of 2016. my husband and I decided to have a “date” night home with a few margaritas for cinco de mayo. This was my first time drinking anything since she was born so they hit me pretty hard and he and I got into the biggest fight of our lives where he confessed some stuff that I was not expecting...throw in terrible post partum depression that I was suffering from that I wasn’t really aware of at the time and I ended up taking a handful of Tylenol PM’s that night. Well..of course I came to my senses right away and immediately called for help so this landed me stupidly in the ER that night vomiting up the pills and being monitored. I went home the next day after they made sure I wasn’t “suicidal” and of course followed up for a few months with therapy because I was just suffering from out of whack hormones thanks to post partum. my husband and I also worked things out as well. But long story short is....I’m really afraid that might be a clear strike against me for the psych eval. Especially if I release my medical records......

i guess we’ll wait and see. I’ll keep you guys posted on Friday on my Endoscopy.

And thanks for reading this whole thing if you made it up to this point! 😄

[GreenTealael 24,847]

💙 Good luck 💙

[KimB7811 115]

21 hours ago, GreenTealael said:

💙 Good luck 💙

Ty!

[KimB7811 115]

Just got back from my apt with my weight loss dr that I have been going to for about 2 years. It was hard stepping on the scale today though and seeing the number. I’m at 224 point something or other. It’s a number I swore I would never have gotten to again so I’m praying I get approved for this. I feel like crap. I am really starting to “feel” the weight again and it sucks. It was encouraging sitting down with her today though and talking. She read me the letter she is faxing over to my surgeons office for insurance and it seems very good. She definitely is pulling for me! Meanwhile...still has me on the phentermine but I’m hoping to stop that as soon as we hear from insurance.

Meanwhile yesterday I got to deal with someone from the Dr’s office for my Endoscopy that obviously doesn’t seem to know her job that well and decided to give me a slight heart attack. She proceeded to tell me on the phone that my out of pocket for the year hasn’t been met yet and that I would be responsible for the entire procedure and facility until out of pocket is met. Well... I knew that didn’t sound right at all considering our only out of pocket expenses are co-pays. Thankfully, after an hour later of verifying what I already knew on the phone with my insurance, I had to call HER back and explain my insurance to her and explain I only will be responsible for a $150 copay on Friday for the Endoscopy... the rest is 100% covered 🤦🏼‍♀️

Let’s hope the endoscopy goes smoother! 😆

[CyndieRI 251]

If it makes you feel any better - my GOAL weight is 225-240! 😜 I had surgery on 10/10/18 - highest weight was 365 - surgery weight 337 and current weight 260 (and I’m jumping up and down happy LOL!). Good luck with your journey! It’s a wonderful tool!! 👍

[KimB7811 115]

Congrats on that success CyndieRI. That is incredible!

[KimB7811 115]

Endoscopy is done! One more thing checked off the list to the road of my surgery. It went really well aside from finding out I have GERD and I had no clue. Apparently I have a small ulcer that’s causing some reflux that I seem to never feel so he prescribed me Omeprozol to take every morning and said he took a biopsy of some bacteria. He said I can still have the surgery though and to just follow up with him in 2 weeks.

They took me in a hospital type waiting room with beds and curtains. Told to just take everything off up top and put on a gown with the back open and go to the bathroom to take a pregnancy test. I assured them my baby days are over but did it anyway. Good news! Test was negative 😂. Then after hooking me up with an IV and taking all the vitals and stuff.. I get wheeled into the surgical room where the doc and anesthesiologist is. They told me to lay on my left side and take 5 deep breaths and I should be asleep shortly... well I think I took 1 and 1/2 breaths before I was out cold. Next thing I know I was being woken up in the waiting area saying it was over. I swear it must’ve been about 10 mins total!

Next week is the psych!

[KimB7811 115]

Got my psych evaluation done on March 27th! It was definitely a very easy appointment that went well. I had to just answer about 3 questionnaires with about 20 questions on each. They pretty much continually ask over and over if you feel unhappy or about the same as you always do or if you binge eat, etc... then I went in and sat and talked to her face to face for about an hour. She even said the reason they do these is just to make sure the patient can follow directions or be responsible enough since this could be potentially dangerous if they didn’t after the surgery. She asked me a few things starting all the way back from my childhood... and my life story in general. Do I have a support system... how I would handle holidays and such... how I feel this would benefit me and what I feel the risks are. Asked if I’ve ever been depressed or have family history of it. I did tell her I had terrible post partum depression with my second daughter and saw a therapist for a few months, which seemed to not be an issue. Then she basically said she’ll have the report written up in about 2 weeks and faxed over to my surgeons office and will send me a copy as well. That’s when I joked and asked “ so I passed?” She said yes but it’s actually not up to her....????🤷‍♀️ I was a bit confused by that because I kind of thought it was but she said she sends the report over with the papers and someone else decides. I guess it’s someone at my surgeons office? 🤔 anyhoo....

So, now all my appointments from what I understand for insurance submission are done. I called my doctors office to touch base to let them know and find out what the next step is. She scheduled me for an appointment with my surgeon on April 12th so I guess he’ll go over the next step with me. Meanwhile, I’m going to really try to be good until then and make sure I weigh in around the same if not a pound or two under then the first time I saw him because he did tell me not to gain weight in the meantime. My insurance doesn’t state anything about gaining during pre-op but I’m sure it can hurt submission. I’m really hoping he gives me some good news next week like maybe a tentative surgery date or tells me they are submitting everything to insurance.

Tomorrow I have a Bariatric support group meeting that is held at the hospital once a month. My nutritionist told me she likes to see her patients at at least one before surgery and I figured it would be really good to hear from others that have had it as well just like this site. 😀

[KimB7811 115]

Ok, not going to lie but the past couple of days have been terrible for me! This is completely consuming my every thought and the fact that all I can do is just wait and wait....is pure agony. The not knowing if this is or isn’t going to happen is a head trip. I want to get so excited and really prepare but then tell myself to not get that far ahead of myself until I know for sure. But I am in limbo as well with my weight.... I can’t lose any because I can’t fall below 35 BMI right now but can’t gain anything either and I feel like crap. I refuse to buy new clothes to fit me better because I want to fit into my old clothes.. will I end up fitting back into my summer clothes with the help from surgery or is it back to the good ol’ fashioned way for the billionth time. I have gone over my insurance requirements with a fine tooth comb 100 times. I even ran to the weight loss dr I’ve been seeing for the past 2 years just to squeeze in a last weigh in/visit for April so it would show a “recent” 3 month consecutive visit for insurance even though my drs office told me anything consecutive for 2018 would do. I called Tuesday to speak with the insurance coordinator at my surgeons office, who by the way is the nicest person and is so extremely understanding. She had the sleeve done 2 years ago so it was good to know she understood first hand the nerves I was feeling. She told me to just breath and that she has barely seen denials come through. They work really hard on making sure they submit what’s needed and that Dr. Padnani writes his letter well. But the wait for next Friday....the 12th is agony! Just knowing that’s the day I meet with him again to go over the surgery again and I guess the next step and I get my “tentative” surgery date. And I meet with Kathy, the insurance coordinator to sign all the consent papers so she can send it over for pre authorization. Ughhhhh. Please tell me I’m not the only one who has felt this way?

Meanwhile... I went to the Bariatric support group meeting on Tuesday my nutritionist suggested. It was about a group of 12. Most had already had it done except for myself and 2 others who were pre-surgery. The only thing I keep thinking about is the one young girl that had it done because her whole family had it done....and kept saying she didn’t even really want it done at the time....?????? All I could do was shake my head. I swear if I don’t get approved...lol

[KimB7811 115]

Ok... haven’t kept up with this thread for a bit but I will catch you up to where I am at on this journey. Had my last surgeon visit last Friday and they set my surgery date for April 25th! I couldn’t believe it would be this soon but I took that date and ran!

So off I went with my pre op lab slips and EKG that I needed to get done on a rush. That’s all done and everything came back great! Also got my surgery clearance from me primary Dr today. Everything is alllll set and I’m slowly stocking up on the stuff for pre/post op liquid diet. I have to do 5 days pre-op so I will start Saturday. chicken broth and Protein Drinks for Easter!!

However..... one small issue still. STILL waiting on insurance approval! This is insane! I’m so nervous it won’t be approved or approved in time for next Thursday! My surgeons office seem so confident it will be... even the surgeon himself checked in with my insurance on the status (fed BCBS) I called today and it’s still in review with the nurses they said. I just refuse to get really excited until I hear APPROVED!!! Say some prayers for me!!!

[KimB7811 115]

So I get a phone call this morning from my Surgeon himself asking a question on my history. Apparently my insurance company contacted them today asking for more information on a subject. I never smoked a cigarette in my life, but occasionally in the summer will smoke a cigar here and there with my husband. Somehow it got put in my medical history that I’m a smoker!? So he asked about this again because my insurance specifically says patient can not smoke in the past 6 months or it’s an automatic denial. Well I said the last time I had a cigar was last July and I never had a cigarette in my life. He said he will adend that in my history and submit it so that problem was cleared. Then he said the second thing they are requesting is all of my weights from the weight loss program I did for the last 2 years to see my BMI’s. I started in 2016 with a BMI of 42 but then dropped to a BMI of 34 briefly up until November of 2018 before I have steadily gained back up to BMI of 37 now. Only thing is insurance might likely deny me because I haven’t been over BMI of 35 for the recent “full” year. Which is a requirement for Fed BCBS. Praying they take into consideration my overall weight loss attempt the past 2 years. My surgery is scheduled for next Thursday and I’m freaking out! I just don’t have a good feeling now at all about getting approved.

soooo...

It’s Easter today and I’m on my second day of my pre-op liquid diet. It’s not AS hard as I thought it would be. Thank GOD for those non starchy vegetables I get to have though. Makes a big difference being able to “chew” some foods. Plus, they have def filled me up and taken the edge off. I actually went to bed last night feeling stuffed and couldn’t even get my last Protein Drink in. I’m allowed 1-2 cups of steamed or raw veggies a day but I think I definitely exceeded that yesterday. I have my sugar free Jello which helps and I’m drinking a ton of caffeine free tea and crystal light in my Water. The chicken Bone Broth is very filling as well so that’s a bonus too! Plus the Protein Shake3 times a day. I just wish I knew if I was definitely going to have the surgery on Thursday before the weekend came. It’s going to stink if I did this and I find our insurance denied me. I think If I knew the surgery was definite on the 25th, mentally I would be better with the liquid diet. Hoping I hear something either way tomorrow! Oh..and if anyone has any recommendations on veggies and what/how they cooked them during this, that would be great!

[Frustr8 7,886]

Steam broccoli, I confess I used to put a slice of cheese over it and let it melt in , but it's good with a teeny bit butter. Just cook it until your fork goes through and it's still bright green. Don't do l8ke my late Mama-in- law, this she cooked until it was a disgusting yellow pulp and threw baking soda in most everything else vegetable- wise, no wonder she ended up with high blood pressure. I think most every veggie is good steamed. One of my othe4 fave, brocolli, cauliflower and baby pearl onions.
Also equally good if you substitue thin sliced carrots. for the cauliflower. Makes my mouth Water thonl8ng of ut!

[KimB7811 115]

2 hours ago, Frustr8 said:

Steam broccoli, I confess I used to put a slice of cheese over it and let it melt in , but it's good with a teeny bit butter. Just cook it until your fork goes through and it's still bright green. Don't do l8ke my late Mama-in- law, this she cooked until it was a disgusting yellow pulp and threw baking soda in most everything else vegetable- wise, no wonder she ended up with high blood pressure. I think most every veggie is good steamed. One of my othe4 fave, brocolli, cauliflower and baby pearl onions.
Also equally good if you substitue thin sliced carrots. for the cauliflower. Makes my mouth Water thonl8ng of ut!

Those sound delicious. Especially adding the pearl onions! I do love brocolli and cauliflower! Hope you’re doing well!

[KimB7811 115]

I got the word today!!! That little word that I have been praying to hear... APPROVED!!! It came just in time too because surgery is on Thursday, the 25th! I plan on running out tomorrow to grab more “liquid diet” stuff so it’s ready for when I get home. I’m hoping I can beg my Dr to let me go home that day (assuming there are no complications) but I’m going to assume I’ll be there until Friday. I know I am not going to get much sleep tonight and especially tomorrow night. I’m so excited!

[Frustr8 7,886]

Well I had heard of Hurry Up and Wait, but you are the 1st example of Wait and Hurry Up I have personally known. Well the dreading is over, the fear you wouldn't be approved has finished, now forward , hup 2 -3-4. it's Pedal to the Metal Time for Y O U !