Mellie May

What a great Valentine's Day gift! Congrats. You'll be a super model before you ever even hit your goal weight, and I look forward to hearing more about your progress. Mellie

I live in Charleston as well, and am having my surgery with Roper on August 19th. I'm not sure how MUSC structures your WLS journey, but at Roper they require you to attend a 1hour information session that Dr. Mitchell holds once a month, before Dr. Mitchell will see you for your first one on one consultation. During this information session, Roper collected our insurance information, and then they called me back two days later to let me know my insurance company's requirements. Before I could be approved I have to meet with my PCP every 30 days for 6 months to discuss my weight loss progress...hence the surgery date of August 19th. Also, I totally relate to the apprehension behind side effects and long term consequences. I wasn't even considering gastric bypass when I first met my surgeon. The malabsorptive component freaked me out, so I wanted banded or the sleeve. Through a lot of education, I've found learned that I will have the best chances of long term success with the bypass because sleeve patients and band patients don't experience dumping syndrome as a side effect from poor choices. I think this side effect is going to help me be more accountable in the long run, and the negative reinforcement will help me to not fall into bad habits. I started a YouTube channel to document what I experience pre and post op. Feel free to watch, and good luck to you! http://www.youtube.com/user/MellieMay80 Mellie May