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One of the contributing factors, that applies the bypass folks as well as sleeve guys, is overeating on meal size - that can stress the lower esophageal sphincter (that's supposed to keep things down in the stomach and not back up into the esophagus,) and in extreme cases, the esophagus winds up becoming an overflow stomach. I have seen this sited in the odd cases of esophageal cancer in bypass patients. It's real tempting as we move on in years to eat more just because we can.
1st support group/seminar - 8/03 (has it been that long?)
Wife's DS - 5/05 w Dr. Robert Rabkin VSG on 5/9/11 by Dr. John Rabkin
I worked with my insurance company and my surgeon's staff to be sure all insurance requirements were met.
Real life begins where your comfort zone ends
I had to jump thru the ins hoops requirements, plus there were the tests the surgeon wanted to make sure I was healthy enough for surgery. So overall about 4- 6 months.
Even though you've been on a medically supervised eating plan for 2 years, you'll have to check with your ins on whether or not they'll accept the results. Plus if you're on the edge of bmi requirements, some go with your ending weight rather than your starting weight. If either one fell below the threshold they might turn you down, or start over.
Other ins policies might have it if you gained weight while on the plan, they'll turn you down. I don't want to dissuade you from the surgery, it's just some ins games they play sometimes to get out of paying for it.
No one surgery is better than the other, what works for one may not work for another.
T-Rebel
First time i wanted to look into having surgery done was about 6 years ago when i had medicaid. The hoops they wanted me to jump thru the qualify were pretty lengthy. I think i had to 12 months monitoring prior plus 4-6 visits with state appointed psych and some other stuff. This time my current insurance had way less requirements. Witch could have been a combination of my current condition. my last job i ended up gaining 110lbs in 2 years and was pushing a pretty hefty number. Along with back in June going in with Chest pain. My BMI was around 61-67 and i was approved for it fairly quick this time around. i was supposed to do 8 weeks of their planned out diet. and 2 weeks in i got a call saying everything was approved i was cleared to go as long as i made the required weight loss of 30 lbs before the finally class my surgery was moved up 3.5 weeks from originally planed.
TLDR I think the biggest determining factor on the length of time required will bee your insurance and what hoops they want you to jump thru along with your current health/body situation.
Sorry for the rambling i get that way when im tired.
Good luck with your adventure!
Komatos
Hello I just had my surgery done on Monday 10/28/19 and I think I have been doing alright sticking to my diet. Mainly the clears. I might be shorting my self a little on water intake but im try to work that up as much as i can. My meals have mostly consisted of about 2-3 TBS of Beef Bone broth and today i added a small dash of garlic powder. My faience brought me home some Propel drink mix witch has helped me get more liquids down.
I actually found my self here doing a google search on if i was crazy for having a massive craving for pickles and pickle juice. Mind you pickles with homemade sour cream based ranch dip was one of my favorite snacks pre op. And i also had 1-3 drinks of pickle juice with 3-5 slices of pickles for my snacks up till 4 days before my surgery i know i was cutting it close >
It's very well done, plus it's interesting to get an insight into other cultures. One of the people in the first season was a young Samoan/Maori woman with very strong ties to her extended family. Some of the people are on low incomes, and we see first hand how much it costs them to buy ingredients to cook a healthy meal, as opposed to the large meal they can get from a fast food outlet.
Unfortunately, the series is no longer on Netflix here in Ireland. (I'm not sure if Netflix has the same shows in the U.S. that it does in Ireland.) However, a second series has been made, so perhaps it will come to Netflix. And there's always the chance you'll find it on YouTube.
If you're in NZ (I suppose you could use a VPN to make it appear that you are), you can watch the show here: https://www.tvnz.co.nz/shows/the-big-ward
The entire Fat Doctor series is on YouTube. It's an older series, and might be a bit dated, but it is good.
Both shows treat the people with sensitivity, while showing the emotional struggles that are common to people after surgery. I really felt for one woman who had been following her diet so diligently, but hadn't lost weight, so her surgery was postponed. Turns out she had been drinking a lot of cranberry juice assuming that it was low-calorie because it doesn't taste sweet. She dropped the cranberry juice, lost the weight, and had her surgery.
I hadn't heard of "The Big Ward." I'm excited to discover something where I have not ye****ched all the episodes! Thanks!
I had my first appointment in May and surgery in October, but my insurance required a six-month preparation period. People whose insurance covered them right away sometimes had to only wait two weeks. It depends on your insurance and on your surgeon's schedule and the hospital schedule.
Real life begins where your comfort zone ends
Go ahead and get the sleeve if you want to sleep sitting straight up, wake up from a dead sleep vomiting reflux, develop damage to your teeth because of acid reflux, regurgitate everything you eat and drink, have chest pain so severe you think you're having a heart attack. Do I need to go on?
At the very least you need to have your reflux tested with bravo testing or a ph impedance study. However, I wouldn't even do this, I would go straight to bypass. I agree the doctor is being negligent if he does a sleeve on you knowing you already have reflux.
I'm curious how long it took any of you from the time you had your first consult with the surgeon to your surgery date. I have been following a medically supervised eating plan for 2 years and it is documented, but I'm not sure what all else other than the mental evaluation and pre-op things need done. I know every surgeon is different so there is no "one size fits all" plan, but any information would be greatly appreciated! =)
Blessings!
