Questions for those who have had the sleeve

Hello, all! I am considering having wls, preferably the sleeve, and was wondering about the pain that is associated with having the surgery.  On a scale from 1 to 10, with a 10 being the worst, how painful was your experience (I have a low tolerance for pain)?  Also, I have been on a weight loss journey since January 2012, and managed to go from 312 pounds to 237 (5'4.5).  However, I have been unable to lose anymore and am far from my goal of 160.  Do you think that I would still qualify for surgery since my BMI is borderline for insurance purposes.  I know it is 40 without co-morbidities, and 35 with, but I don't have any health-related complications...

Thanks!

I was in pain the day I was in the hospital, and I was discharged the day following my surgery. I was pretty sore, but it wasn't excruciating. They sent me home with liquid vicodin (which felt like fire going down, so I took it once and then never again) for the pain, but I didn't need it really.

First I want to say congrats on your weight loss, losing & keeping it off is a battle for all of us. Since you're borderline you should check with your insurance if they go with your starting weight or your end weight. Most insurance companies want you to be on a dr supervised diet that could run 4-6 months & you might lose more weight. If you want the surgery it might be best to stay at your current weight, but don't gain some insurance companies frown on that.

As far as the pain, I'll rate it a 6, without pain meds, a 3-4 with meds. I stayed out of work for a week, I really didn't have any complications other than the nausea when I first got out of surgery, also handled with meds. Most of the pain was mostly when I got out of bed & I kinda held my stomach till I was used to walking around, but it really wasn't that bad. 

Well is your choice to get the sleeve is a good thing.  I would score it a one. The day I got out of hospital which was day after surgery I walk Vegas strp. I only used pain medication for 4 days. I'm 3 mos out started at 233 and now 195 so it's working for me

Thanks everyone for your replies.  I hope I can still qualify for the surgery. I have bcbsnc, and they excluded the 6 month supervised diet, and would like to have the surgery while on my 2 week Xmas break. 

Hey Welcome to OH! Great to see someone else from ENC on here. I am going to have the sleeve in November. If you need any help or any questions just drop me a line.

Thanks for the welcome! Just wanted to know how your experience has been so far with the surgeon's office that you have chosen. I think I might look them up for myself.

Dr. Heider is awesome thus far. I had my consult with him this past Monday. I'm self pay due to exclusion from my insurance, and he has the best and cost effective self pay package in the state. He is is Mooresville, so it's about 4-5 hour drive for us. So far I am impressed, he goes the extra mile to ensure staple line is secure.

If I were to go local I would have chosen ECU (not Southern Surgical you see on TV). The doc at ECU has done a friend of mine and ECU Football Head Coach Ruffin Mcneil. But self pay anywhere is 40-45k and it is a whole lot less in Mooresville

I had a super easy recovery. Pain level maybe a 3. I used the narcotics (Loritab) just 2 or 3 times at home. In the hospital I stopped the morphine as soon as I was with it enough to ask. I found the gas pain to be much worse than the incision pain from the procedure, and that was just really uncomfortable and not terrible. But I also have a fairly good tolerance to pain. 

Hi there,

I am four days post op and my pain is at the same level as having a little gas! I have to be honest that I am a high pain tolerance kinda person so that may be a factor too. My surgery was Tues and the last pain meds I had were early awed morning. I think walking a lot has been helpful.

So far, I'm terribly pleased with my choice. I feel great, am losing, but most importantly, my blood sugar readings are normal without medication!

My weight at surgery was 234, 250 at highest. My insurance approved me pretty quickly, but I have sleep apnea, high cholesterol and diabetes which I'm sure was in my favor for approval. Read your insurance coverage closely, and follow your physician's guidance as they generally know how to work with every type of insurance!

Keep up your awesome job!