Any pre-op lurkers out there?
Name/Alias: Marcia/MAG1260
City: Battle Creek
WLS type: VSG
Surgery Date 5/4/10
Next Step: Liquid diet starts tomorrow (4/20)
current goal: make it through the liquid diet without maming my husband...lol
Biggest conern: complications from surgery
Biggest Hope: Healthy enough, to travel by air to see my granddaughter.
Nice to meet you all, too!!
Nice to meet you Marcia and Nick. Marcia I think you are the third person I have met that has a surgery scheduled for 5/4. How long are you doing the liquid diet? Two week? My surgeon wants me to lose at least 10 lbs before the surgery so I have been thinking about doing a liquid diet. I've lost about 7lbs (according to my scale) with exercise and dieting but I'm aiming for 20 lbs because I'm paranoid that my surgeon will not be able to do the surgery laparscopically because of my size. So if I stop losing weight I may try a liquid diet for 3-4 days or however long I can last!
Good luck with the insurance approval Nick. That is one of the most nerve racking parts of the WLS process. After I went to a WLS seminar I was dying to know if my insurance company would approve the surgery so I called them (before the WLS clinic officially sent over a pre-authorization request) to find out if they covered the surgery. I had to get the procedure codes but they told me that they covered it and they did officially approve the authorization request from the clinic when it was submitted.
Don't let perfect be the enemy of good
I live about 30 minutes north of downtown Grand Rapids.
Going to a seminar in late April.
I've been doing a lot of reading here and on other sites.
At first I was gung-ho, even gleeful about getting surgery but the more I read the
more I think surgery is just so drastic, body altering and dangerous.
I was considering a band but that is apparently very problematic.
So then I thought maybe the sleeve since at least they don't re-route you but what happens
if you have any complications and they had to remove more of your stomach?
By-pass procedure/malnutrition seems so drastic.
Does anybody know how this would effect the elderly
since they don't absorb the needed nutrients very good even when in a normal state.
I'm 59 years old so these are things I will have to deal with in about 10 years.
Has anybody read what vitamin deficiency can do to you?
All kinds of really stuff, even death.
I know obesity causes early death too but its almost like you are swapping one set
of risks for another.
If feel very conflicted and don't know how I will ever decide what to do.
Does anybody know of any support groups in the Grand Rapids area I could attend?
Some people have described WLS as swapping one set of problems for another. If you have a procedure with malabsorption like RNY and DS you have to be very careful about taking vitamins for the rest of your life and getting tested for vitamin deficency. A lot of people with obesity related health problems are willing to trade their current medications for vitamins. Restriction only procedures like the lapband and the sleeve do not have the malabsorption and the deficency problems but statistically does not produce as much weight loss as the other procedures. You definitely have to do what is best for you.
Don't let perfect be the enemy of good
Therese
I went to the orientation meeting today.
I really liked Dr. Kemmeter!
I too want the sleeve and like you I have BCBS.
Dr. K. recommends calling them and asking them
why they don't cover it when all the other main insurance companies do.
(maybe do an appeal??)
Also Dr. K. said there's a meeting coming up in June with BCBS where they
hope to get this changed so they cover the sleeve.
I do not want to go with any by-pass procedure or band.
PLEASE let me know if you find anything out and I will do likewise
Praying and fingers crossed.
THANKS! 
