Anxious to begin

Hi All! I've been lurking on these boards off and on since 2011, and I've finally got insurance that covers Bariatric Surgery (Anthem CA - anyone else have them? I'm trying to figure out if I'll have to do a physician-supervised diet before approval), and have a consultation with Dr. Prachand on January 19. It feels really soon and also SO far away. The more I read here, the more eager I am for this surgery (even though I know as a 40.1 BMI, I'll probably have to argue my way into it as opposed to VSG) and all of the reliefs that will come with losing my excess weight - Breathe while sleeping! Run without joint pain! Walk up a flight of stairs without huffing! Yes please! 

Thank you for being here, sharing your stories, and generally being an inspiration and motivation. Even people you don't know are watching are having their lives changed by your presence. 

Welcome!  

The journey in front of you will not be quick. It will take about 4 to 6 months to get past the various medical and insurance hurdles before you are ready for surgery. The insurance company will likely deny a DS procedure initially due to your BMI around 40, but if you and your doctor challenge them, they will eventually give in.

Surgery is somewhat traumatic but you will start to see results quickly. The weight loss process will be 6 to 18 months depending on how your body responds and the effort you put in.

Good luck!

Had part 1 of my surgical consult yesterday - have to see the psychiatrists separately because they were off for the holiday and I couldn't reschedule with the surgeon soon enough. After a lot of talking and back and forth, he is insistent that I should go with the VSG rather than the DS. I'm "only" a BMI of 41 right now according to my official weigh-in, I'm young and fairly otherwise healthy (even though I have lots of precursors to a variety of comorbids) and he thinks I should be able to lose "enough" with the VSG. 

On one hand I'm ok with this idea because if I *can* do well with the VSG, it will be great not to have to have such a heavy vitamin regimen and risk of deficiencies. Also nice to have another option if I am facing regain in 10-20 years. However. 

On the other hand, I'm really worried I won't lose as much weight as I feel is necessary. Average EWL for VSG is only 65% as opposed to the DS's 85% and at that point, I'm still over 200 lbs and not at a weight any lower than I've gotten to in the past with plain ol' diet. Sure, this will be more sustainable, but I didn't *feel* that much better at that weight, you know? Also I'd really rather not have to do another surgery to be successful. 

So that's where I'm at right now. I guess I'll scoot over to the VSG boards from now on! Thanks for all your inspiration here, folks.