OilSooner

Thanks! Does anyone know how much the surgery costs?

Thanks so much for all of the great advice! I'm now really thikning I should be okay, and am going to proceed with getting the surgery set up for the 12th. I am certainly going to call the hotel to get a fridge set up, and will also be bringing a tiny food processor (in factm talking to my wife about this last night, she said she already has one!). Thanks again!

Save others from making the same mistake! I am about 3 months away from surgery, and am trying to make sure I have all of my ducks in a row.....but there is no substitute for experience! You that have completed the process, is there anything that you wish you had known, or that you wish you had done (maybe advice you wish you had followed), but didn't? Maybe your advice will reach someone else and keep them from making the same mistake! Thanks in advance for all replys.

How much therapy did you get, if any, before and after surgery? Have you found that you still struggle with feeding your emotions even after surgery? Those that got little or no therapy, do you feel that the surgery may have been wasted, or that you wish you would have gotten more therapy than you did? Or did many of the cravings disappear after surgery, purely as a result of the surgery? I have been diagnosed with BED (prob not that uncommon among users of this forum), and am working to address it with counseling/therapy at a high quality clinic not related to the bariatric surgery program. I am wondering how long I should attend counseling before surgery. I am in process to get the surgery (no known date yet), but don't know if I should put things on hold until I know I have the condition under control. The main "con" for waiting is that I have Diabetes, and really struggle to keep my carbs in check...essentially I binge on them, and it destroys my glucose levels, making me sick. I was just diagnosed with Diabetes type II about one and a half months ago so I am still relatively new to it, but do get pretty sick after daily binges. I know I will have to get BG under control before surgery, but I don't know if I can do it long term without the surgery. Thanks in advance for all advice.

So, I'm all amped up to get the process started again to get the sleeve (process stopped earlier in the year when I was laid off). In the time that I was laid off and since back to work, I was diagnosed with diabetes (REALLY need some WLS now!). Well, now my bariatric Dr. says that RNY (Gastric Bypass) is the gold standard for diabetes patients, and its gives a significantly better chance of getting off meds than the sleeve. I only take pills now, but I still want to stop taking them. Can those with, or who had diabetes give me some insight on this one? Maybe some studies or some such? Or, was the doctor right, and I should start thinking about RNY? Thanks in advance

So, I was going through the process for getting the sleeve when I was laid off at my previous employer. I was sad that I had to postpone my surgery, but as soon as my benefits kicked in at my new employer (last week) I called the doc and got the process going again. It will probably be a 3-4 months before I am ready for surgery. My problem is that I dont want to let my new supervsor or co-workers know what I am having surgery for. I dont want my manager to think that I am having an "elective" surgery that will require time off just as I am starting at a new job, and I also learned from telling my previous co-workers that I really would rather them not know for several reasons. So, what should I do? I know some will respond that this is not an elective surgery, and should be treated like any other surgery, and I agree with that. But, I am also a realist and know that not everyone (esp those who dont have a weight problem) sees it the same way. I have considered faking a benign mass in my stomach that has to be removed. But, I hate to lie. Yet, its the best I have come up with so far. Finally, I would also like to just stick with "personal reasons" for the surgery, but the reality is that if you're not completely open, people catch on to the fact that you're hiding something. Thanks for your advice.

So I get a call yesterday that my surgeon wants me to have an endoscopy in the next few days in prep for surgery. Is this normal? If so, what is required as far as a time committment off work? I guess I could get one late in the day, then be back to work the next day. But, it would be a bummer not to be able to eat anything all day.

^^^ haha, not thanks. I'd rather get sedated than have that thing in my throat with me knowing about it.

how much do one of the mexico surgery's cost?

Saturday would be awesome! Thanks for the reply. Also: did it hurt?

It went really well, and he said I am a good candidate for the sleeve. He also said it was great that I was so well informed (thanks to this site!). Now, I have to get the psych, nut, and exercise eval (which should all be scheduled on the same day), then insurance pre approval, then preop diet. The surgeon said I should be able to get a surgery date within two months. Yay for me!

I def agree that its the smoking (former smoker here). Also, getting into a support group is a great idea. It will fill some of that free time and provide you with positive ways to deal with the problems you are experiencing now. Best of luck!

Well, I'm not real sure. I mean, I know there is the two week pre op diet, and then insurance approval, which could take a month. So, theres 6 weeks tops, and I think the meetings with the psych and what not as well as paperwork would comprise the last two weeks. So, thats 8 weeks. If the insurance should give a pre approval in 1 week or less, I would guess that the surgery date would be two weeks after that (preop diet) which would put total time at 5-6 weeks. I think its all an estimate really.

Thanks for the encouragement, and best of luck to you guys too!

There are two facilites that offer Bariatric Surgery in my town (Tulsa, OK), and only one of them offers the sleeve. I went to the info session for that one last night, and came away with questions. This was at one of the three major hospitals here (St. Johns), and they have just started a Bariatric Services and Weight Loss Center there. The program (staff, doctors, facilities, etc) are all brand new. In fact, this appeared to be the first info session they had put on (they were asking things that seemed to point to that, i.e. things that could better the session in the future). Also, the surgeon (they only have one at this time) is just out of residency, and appears to have specialized in RNY surgery (he said this is what he had done the most of). I really want to get the sleeve, and this is the only place that has it. The other place is not even officially affilliated with a hospital (though they use one of the other major hospitals in town). Do you think its safe to go with a new program and a young surgeon? It has me a little nervous, but I want the sleeve so I cant decide whether to stick with it. PS, the other place offers the band and RNY, but no sleeve. Thanks in advance!

Great news, Paul! I guess ones main colaroic intake would have to revolve around protien, but fortunately, I love protien shakes and bars (not sure why so many dont like them here, but I really like them). Also, if one could maintain most of what is under the flab, I am sure it wouuld provide a great base to work off of. Surely it takes more muscle to tote this body around than is required to tote a smaller one. There should be some decent sized muscles under there already, once the fat around them is chipped away.

I'm also BMI of 40, and people dont think I am big enough to have the surgery. Even my parents who, while they wont say so, dont respond if I say something about it, so I know they dont think I am big enough. Oh well, like we say, we are doing it for our own health. And, at least my wife is supportive. And, I know my daughter will be glad I did when she gets old enough to understand what happened and why it happened. Also, I know I will really start to get scared once I get a surgery date, and def the day of. I've already told my wife that its her job to remind me why I am doing this and to gently coax me into the car the day of the surgery!

I know it will vary a bit from person to person, but for those that have a desk job, how fast were you able to go back to work? If you get the surgery on Friday, is going back to work Monday out of the question?

Yeah, I plan to work the Sunday before, then take off Friday for surgery. I will be in the hospital overnight Friday night, then drive home Saturday (15 minute drive). I hope to be able to go back to work on Monday, but if that doesnt happen then it doesnt. The problem is that all the snow we got really ate into my PTO time, and I only have two weeks for the entire year left. If I take a whole week, I'll only have one week left for the year. That would be a total bummer, but I will do it if I have to. We'll just see how I feel and how it goes I guess....but I'm gonna get up and go to work if I feel it is at all possible. All I do is sit at a computer anyway, so I think it could be done if I am only in moderate pain.

Thanks for the insight, Doc. The less experienced Dr is board certified in surgery, but I didnt see a certification in bariatrics in my online search. I plan to ask him about that in my one-on-one with him Thursday. I want to find a way to be tactful about inquiring into his experience level. As far as my insurance, its BCBS (Empire Blue) that I have through my employer (a major contractor for the gov't). My insurance does require psych eval, nutritionist eval, physical eval, doc approval etc., but changed their policy to exlude a required 6 month Dr supervised diet as of this year (EDIT: Here is the exact language in the policy, and notice they removed the length of non surgical attempts, as well as PCP documentation: The individual must have actively participated in non-surgical methods of weight reduction; these efforts must be fully appraised by the physician requesting authorization for surgery ). I was really happy about that. Oh, and my work also offers Aetna, which is MUCH cheaper, but their coverage and "bucket" scheme was not attractive to me. Of course, management was trying to get everyone on Aetna (cheaper for employer) and they brought in the guy that was working the hard sell from Aetna to get people to switch (Glen Garry anyone?), but myself and many others stayed with BCBS which we've had for years. Yes, the premiums are high, but the insurance is top notch when it comes to work needing to be performed at the hospital level. EDIT: Added verbatim language. Also, the policy requires a BMI of 40 or a BMI of 35 with ONE co-morbidity. I feel thats pretty lenient as well.

Thanks for all the great responses. The nurse for the inexperienced Dr called yesterday to go over some information with me prior to my consult on Thurs, and I spoke to her about the concerns I had. She said that the Dr. had gone through a surgical residency, as well as a bariatric residency, and was well qualified. She was very nice about it. She also said that since my insurance doesnt require a 6 month dr supervised diet that I should be able to get surgery within 6 weeks. I really like that. I still plan to go to the information session for the more experienced place on Monday evening. The one thing I seem to have against this place is that they are strict about the 6 month doc supervised diet, and I dont have this. I have dieted on my own forever, but it was never dr supervised. Also, my insurance doesnt require the dr supervised diet, so I dont think it should be in the way of me getting surgery. I really dont want to wait 6 months, as that will give me more time to change my mind. Finally, on the Mexico option, thats just not for me personally. I really want to get someone that is close to where I live, but thats just a personal decision.

Good call. I am going to call the original place and talk to them about the experience of the surgeon there. The good thing about the original place is that they are located at a hospital, thus they have a psychologist, nutritionist, exercise person, sleep study center, etc all on staff/in the same place. And, they said you could get the psych eval, nutritionist, EKG, and lab work all in the same day to be more convienent. So, that is a plus. Another downside of this facility is that they charge a $695 fee to get you into the program which insurance would most likely not cover. The second (better?) place only charges $25, which they call a paper processing fee.

Well, I just made a phone call, and apparently, while the other much more well known place doesnt have it listed on thier website, they do the sleeve as well. I told the lady that answered the phone and told me they did the sleeve that they should put that on the website, as not telling you that could drive business elsewhere. So, I paid my $25 registration fee and will be attending an informational meeting at the better place Monday night. Pretty satisfied with that! :thumbsup:

I feel so much better after your post, feedyoureye. If the sleeve is much easier to perform than RNY, then thats a HUGE plus!

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