Arlene G

Best of luck on your surgery and a speedy recovery.

HI am assuming as the previous poster stated, that you have performed plenty of research on your WLS. We are, after all, putting our lives in their hands. If he has excellent ratings, I would still be furious at his office staff and file a complaint, but would pursue the surgery. The office staff (THANKFULLY) is not performing the surgery, the surgeon is. My PCPs office staff took over a week, with repeated calls by me..at least once a day...do fax a letter of necessity for the gastric sleeve to my surgeon. Please, as others have stated, complain about the office staff. Sorry this has happened so close to your surgery date.

Congratulations. You do look great. Happy to hear you love exercising and running, and are doing marathons. The sleeve is a tool we are given; the rest we must do with our mind, our lifestyle choices. I am a later in life gainer; in my early sixties. After taking Lexapro for many years I have put on one hundred plus pounds. The thing with this drug is that it helps with the anxiety I have suffered with since I was in my teens, but for some, it makes them ravenous and never full. I was one of these people. I will get sleeved next month. You have an excellent outlook; you know what it takes to stay healthy. Keep up the good work.

Congrats on maintaining, eating right and exercising. I have read many of the blogs here and elsewhere and become so sad when people go back to old eating habits after a while. Surgery is a tool we use to become healthier. So many of us take our health for granted. You have made a conscious choice to stay healthy. Very proud of you.

Will do. Seems like the days keep flying by and before I know it the day will be here. Have to do a pre surgery diet with the Protein shakes and one meal with four ounces of chicken or turkey, four ounces of green vegetables, and a list of liquids i can drink. No sugar is allowed in drinks. Everyone needs to lose a certain amount of weight before the surgery, usually about five pounds because of what is called fatty liver.

I am sixty five and decided to have the gastric sleeve after much thought, this past spring. After thoroughly researching gastric bypass surgeons in my area, I attended one of their seminars in July. I did not have a weight problem till I started taking Lexapro about fifteen years ago. The first thing the office did after that seminar was check to see if insurance covered the procedure of all those who attended the seminar. Then I was told that I might be required to be on a 3 month medically supervised diet. I had my medical records for the past 3 years faxed over to the surgeon's office. What Medicare was interested in was how much I weighed for the past 3 years and what other health problems I had due to obesity. I spent a few days getting this paperwork in, went to my PCP for a letter of medical necessity to Medicare. I was then told that I did not need to be on the 3 month medically supervised diet. This surgeon's office requires a complete blood panel, chest x-rays, EKG, and upper GI tests. My surgery is scheduled for Sept. 9th. I was told it would be way more difficult than this.

You are welcome. Best of luck.

Medicare has changed a LOT in the past couple of years. A person I know had the Lap Band in 2008 and had to jump through a lot of hoops. A documented 3 month pre-op diet, a lot of trying to get the surgery approved. So, with that mindset, I stated that this might happen before the end of the year. However, Medicare has changed a lot. I did not need a supervised 3 month diet. I had records of my weight for the past 3 years and, I have no idea why, but the bariatric surgeon's office stated this information they received precluded me from having to go on the 3 month supervised diet. I thought getting the surgery approved through Medicare would be a nightmare, but it wasn't. It seems, as I stated before, Medicare deems it more beneficial to pay for weight loss surgery than the complications from obesity. Like quadruple heart bypass surgery, or in nursing home stroke care. I am 66, went to the orientation for the surgeon I chose in July. I did, myself jump through hoops getting all the needed paperwork to the surgeon's office. One has to do a lot of this pre-op paperwork on their own. So for 2 weeks I sat on the phone asking that my medical records be faxed to the bariatric surgeon's office, I did go to my doctor to get a letter of medical necessity. I did have a psych eval done which lasted all of ten minutes, and this coming week I need to get an upper endoscopy done. Actually, the one hospital in my area..the Clearwater/St. Pete area has one hospital that has is a Center of Excellence. And they are booked by so many bariatric surgeons because of this reason. Medicare also doesn't require this either. Therefore I am going to another hospital closer by. The pre surgery diet starts around August 26th, and the surgery is scheduled for Sept. 9.

I am 66, was approved by Medicare for Gastric Sleeve. Yes, Medicare does pay for the sleeve. The only co-pay you may have is a small hospital co-pay, which your other insurance may cover. I am 5'3 and weigh 255. Wasn't overweight till Lexapro. But that is a story for another day. At this point in our lives, I guess Medicare figures it is less expensive for WLS than a quadruple bypass. My prior MD was small minded too. Told me I had to lose weight on my own. I am very hypothyroid and have tried. I also have BP problems. Couldn't leave this doctor's practice fast enough. Have an excellent primary care MD who has OKd the sleeve. At this point in our lives, are they really going to say no? When you mention gastric bypass, there is a more invasive procedure called the Roux-en-Y, the sleeve is less invasive. Best of luck in finding the best bariatric surgeon in your area. Again, as long as you are using Medicaire and not Humana or any type of H.M.O, you should be fine.

Have you discussed this with your WLS? I take antidepressants and Klonopin for an anxiety disorder. I doubt you will have to stop your meds, but don't think you can take them the morning of the surgery. This does need to be discussed with the surgeon. Good luck.

Has weight been an issue all your life? It is difficult to break old habits. But you have worked so hard to A. Get the surgery B. Lose the weight. I don't know how often your doctor tells you to weigh yourself, but the scale can be a person's worst enemy. Your clothing size is what matters. Don't give up. We are all going to stray once in a while, but that is what it should be. Once in a wile. Best of luck. Myself, I am older...in my sixties. Never had a significant weight problem till I started with antidepressants. This medicine, in my case, causes me to crave simple carbs. Sugars. The last sixteen years I have been morbidly obese and my surgery date is Sept. 9th. Please, remember why you got the surgery in the first place. Healthy eating is a new way of thinking, a new way of life.

New person here. This doctor CANNOT be the only choice you have. How could he be the only surgeon your insurance will cover with so many negative reviews. And a lawsuit for malpractice. There HAVE to be other options. Bring up his ratings with the insurance company. I know when I had a problem with a doctor I would call my insurance company and they would listen and at least research. There have got to be more options than this jerk.