mariem

I went to the orientation yesterday at WLIA. I have to say I was impressed with Dr DeBarros and I liked that they made it seem as if it was so much easier to go with them because they will work to make sure my claim will be approved and will go the extra mile. What I didnt like is the fact that the insurance I will be on will most likely cover 100% of the surgery with no co-pays yet I will still have to pay a co-pay and a deductible. This is because one of the doctors (and both will be there during the surgery) is not on the BC/BS plan. This most likely means my totally covered 100% procedure will cost me around $2500 - $3000 when you also take into account the program and other fees. I have a few things that I am a bit worried about. First of all I dont have a primary care physician and my records are very sketchy over the past 5 years. A couple trips to urgent care for strep throat, a visit here and there for other things but nothing with exclusively one doctor. Other than that I'm pretty much a "healthy" person with a BMI of around 42. No, I dont consider having a 42 BMI to be healthy but I dont have any other problems. My weight has fluctuated a lot over the past 5 years but I've always been around the 40 BMI range. I am now really regretting not seeing one doctor and having that person have all of my records. (Does urgent care even keep records easily at hand for the person who came there only once three years ago?) Ok yes, I know this is getting long so I'll cut to the chase. I went to WLIA and they are asking for $2000 in program fees and other incidentals. Is this normal? It's sort of worth it to me if they can get me approved because of my sketchy past where others wont do much to get me approved. Simply put are these programs fees the norm and how much do the other places do to get you approved for surgery?

It's now been 10 months since my RNY gastric bypass surgery. Zero complications, zero struggles and a lot of weight gone! I started out at 306 and as of this morning I am 176! WOW!! I am 5'9 so that puts me just 11 pound short of goal. If anyone has any questions regarding RNY surgery just ask. Its not as scary as you've been led to believe.

It's now been 10 months since my RNY gastric bypass surgery. Zero complications, zero struggles and a lot of weight gone! I started out at 306 and as of this morning I am 176! WOW!! I am 5'9 so that puts me just 11 pound short of goal. If anyone has any questions regarding RNY surgery just ask. Its not as scary as you've been led to believe.

That's what I was told too. My surgeon sat down with me and had a heart to heart talk with me and said that if I were the "average" lap band patient I would lose 50% of my unwanted weight. He showed me a chart and showed me that it would still put in the "obese" catagory and asked me if I was only an average bandster would I be happy with still being obese. That is when I decided that Gastric Bypass was for me. I am 10 months out now, have lost 130 pounds and 10 more to go till goal.

I have had my RNY since 1-8-09 I noticed straight off the dramatic difference in my appetite and just not wanting food at all. The past couple of weeks I have been under a lot of stress. I found myself thinking I was hungry and wanted more food (never sugar though, that part has changed for good) When I really analysed my "hunger" I was able to figure out I really wasnt hungry at all, it was head hunger. Something I probably could've never recognized before surgery. I actually upped my intake of water and the head hunger went away. We have years and years of doing things by habit. At least I am rational enough now when it comes to food to recognize when I truly do need to eat and when it's time for me to figure out there are more contructive ways to deal with things other than eating.

I went to 4 weight loss seminars from 4 different surgeons. 3 of those felt like an infomercial and it made me discredit those surgeons. I felt like they were on a hard sell for patients. The first one would only do band surgery and would not talk about RNY at all. He just discredited it as the evil surgery. The last one was the surgeon I actually choose. He let us ask a lot of the hard questions. He did all of the WLS surgeries and was very knowledgeable. He didn't make us feel as if we were on a hard sale. In fact before I was even scheduled to see him for the first visit I was asked if I attended the WLS seminar. I told them yes. They wanted the date to verify it. They said it was part of the puzzle piece for the surgery that had to be done.

I couldnt agree with you more. If you are going to have ANY surgery go in there knowing your options, and especially choosing a surgeon who is on the top of the curve.

Yes, it was the right choice for you and for others too. But there are other options out there for those who it's not for. That's all I was saying :skep:

The million dollar question however is what did exactly his patients die from? RNY patients on average are much larger than bandsters. Did they die because they were super morbidly obese and would likely die from "any" surgery or did they die because of RNY complications?

Ok, it's been ages since I posted on here for good reason. I just got a reply from something I posted nearly a year ago so I felt the need to update my blog. I was going to have the lap band but after the urging of my surgeon I fully looked into Gastric Bypass (RNY) surgery. It was something I never even considered. Why would I want my guts rearranged and have a surgery that wasnt reverseable? Why would I want a surgery which had a high death rate? Why would I want to even consider something substandard as compared to the lap band? Well it's because after I finally looked into all of those reason, I found out I was way too harsh on this surgery. I did deserve something that gave me greater control of my life with less stuggles. I found out that most ALL the reasons this surgery is deemed "scary" by most bandsters is totally unfounded. I had RNY January 8, 2009. That was the start of my new life. I am now down 99 pounds. Where as before I was a size 26/24 I am now a size L tops and 14 bottoms. I have had ZERO complications and a fast easy recovery. If anyone would like to message me with any questions on RNY please feel free to do so. I am soooooo dang happy I had this surgery. It was the best chocie for me. Please, if you are looking at being banded look at ALL options before making that huge desicion. Im not saying RNY is for everyone but I thank God everyday I made the decision I did.

I had heard the same. As someone who has RNY I have to admit before surgery I was scared so bad. I had even left a note for my family in case I died on the table or shortly after surgery. I had a BMI of 46 so it's not like I was super morbidly obese or anything :tongue2: Anyway, I was going to to the lap band but did a switcharoo 2 weeks prior to my surgery at my surgeon's request. He told me about these complications of Lap Band and that he didn't think I'd lose all the weight I wanted to and last but not least he said to me, "2 years down the road the last thing I want is for you to tell me you want a revision to RNY when we could just do it now" He told me that was starting to happen a lot. Long story short, I had lap RNY, I made a mountain out of a molehill. I was up and walking 2 hours after surgery and the pain was very manageable. I felt so silly afterwards with all the worrying I was doing because it really wasn't a big deal at all! Leaks and stuff you are right is a possibility but my surgeon has over 500 surgeries and no leaks. You do the math lol

Ok, it's been ages since I posted on here for good reason. I just got a reply from something I posted nearly a year ago so I felt the need to update my blog. I was going to have the lap band but after the urging of my surgeon I fully looked into Gastric Bypass (RNY) surgery. It was something I never even considered. Why would I want my guts rearranged and have a surgery that wasnt reverseable? Why would I want a surgery which had a high death rate? Why would I want to even consider something substandard as compared to the lap band? Well it's because after I finally looked into all of those reason, I found out I was way too harsh on this surgery. I did deserve something that gave me greater control of my life with less stuggles. I found out that most ALL the reasons this surgery is deemed "scary" by most bandsters is totally unfounded. I had RNY January 8, 2009. That was the start of my new life. I am now down 99 pounds. Where as before I was a size 26/24 I am now a size L tops and 14 bottoms. I have had ZERO complications and a fast easy recovery. If anyone would like to message me with any questions on RNY please feel free to do so. I am soooooo dang happy I had this surgery. It was the best chocie for me. Please, if you are looking at being banded look at ALL options before making that huge desicion. Im not saying RNY is for everyone but I thank God everyday I made the decision I did.

Number one is absolutely correct. My "guts" are totally rearranged but then again that's the beauty of the surgery and why I am a "big loser" I used to see that as a bad thing. Now I just see it as no big deal. 2 and 3 are a bit questionable. I know people do die from GBP surgery however I've yet to find anyone who has. My surgeon has done over 500 of these surgeries and his stats are one death. That was due to pulmonary embolism. Something that couldve happened with Lap Band or any other surgery. The larger you are the riskier this surgery is. That is true with ANY surgery. Just being on a table under general anethesia puts you at risk if you are obese, and the larger you are the riskier it is. (I had mine done lap) Personally if I found a surgeon with the death rate of the national average I'd run the other way! The issue of complications is debatable. I look at both boards and it seems there are a heck of a lot of comlications with lap band. So that's sort of a wash.

Zero complications for me. My labs have all been completely perfect. Doesn't mean nobody has complications, I just havent experienced any at all. However most are like me. I also like the fact that there is dumping syndrome with RNY. It keeps me straight. If I didnt have that I'd probably be drinking Wendy's frosties and Starbucks drinks. The fear of dumping keeps me right.

That's the best way to do it. If you have any questions on RNY please feel free to ask. Here's a before and now if you want to see. I dont think I like "sickly" at all like some people think of RNY'ers post op :biggrin: Before 6 months later

Port flips, your body's rejection to a foreign object, errosion of the band, band slippage just to name a few. Im not saying mine is better than yours. Im just saying that as a person who was so dead set on the band, I wasn't looking at RNY as a possible solution in fact it scared the hell out of me. When I actually looked at the average person who had RNY there were very, very few with complications. The other factor is that I was approved through BC/BS of Mass. That insurance goes away next month and I am back on the same crappy insurance I had before I started this process (husband went back to his old company) If I had the Lap Band I would be scared right now because there is a WLS exclusion on this policy. I dont know what wouldve happened if I had the Lap Band and these complications cropped up. They definitely wouldn't have paid for my fills that's for sure. Other than my yearly labs I am done. No fills, nothing in my body to go haywire etc. I support everyone in their weight loss journey, I just wanted you to know there are many, many people like me who have done a lot of research and came to RNY as the best solution for our situation. We are all in this together :biggrin:

I was so dead set on the lap band, researched the heck out of it in fact. It wasnt till my surgeon told me, "Mariem, you do realize if you are my average patient you will only lose 50% of your unwanted weight and that will still put you in the obese catagory" He said it was up to me which surgery I wanted but asked me to do research on gastric bypass and that he felt it was best for me. He explained that with gastric bypass the complications are generally within the first couple of months then the complications go way down. With the band it's the oposite, very few in the beginning and then from one year and beyond there are many. Also, 100 pounds in 3 months is too much unless the person is super morbidly obese (like over 400 or 500 pounds) for us average RNYers I am about average losing 99 pounds at the 6 1/2 months I have had it. No, Im not saying mine is better than yours. I just wanted to give you a viewpoint from someone who used to be so dead set on the band that I wouldnt even look at RNY as a possible solution. In fact all the reasons for not having it were all listed on this thread :biggrin: Good luck to all of us wherever our journey takes us Long story short, 2 weeks before surgery I told him I wanted RNY gastric bypass and that was on 1-8-09 I am now down 99 pounds and feel great.

Wow that was an old post of mine!! So much has happened since then. I ended up getting Gastric Bypass from Dr Berger in Flagstaff on January 8 of this year and couldnt be happier. I am now down 87 pounds as of this morning! BC/BS of Mass ended up being a breeze. Most importantly I picked the right surgery for me. Good luck to everyone here!

It's been awhile since I have blogged my thoughts and feelings on what is going on. This LBT is great because I have met a couple of really great people so far and I enjoy talking with them. One actually went to a information meeting in Flagstaff with me. I am really only torn over one thing. I really want to get the sleeve rather than the lap band but I know for a fact that my insurance wont cover the sleeve and I am so not wanting to wait for a year or two for them to come around and finally add it to their list of surgeries accepted for WLS. I want this done now and not one or two years from me. I'm 45 and want to start living life better than I currently am. I am in some sort of waiting game right now. I need to wait to find out exactly how to proceed with this. The surgeon's office is calling BCBS of Mass to find out exactly what is required but the initial call looked very promising. I am keeping my fingers crossed and hoping for a call back any time now. I leave for Ireland two weeks from this Friday. I wish this could've been postponed for just a little bit until I lost a tiny bit of weight. I have no problems walking around etc but I just flew not long ago and dang those seats do not have much room! I had the seat belt out as far as I could and I was so embarrassed that I couldnt put the tray table down. I just pretended that I didn't want anything to drink but I was just too embarrassed too admit, "Yes I'm too fat so I can't put the tray table down" ' I'm flying with my Mom and Sister but that isnt much consulation, they are of normal size and don't fully understand. When I was in Washington visiting my parents in July I brought up the idea of LB surgery to my Mom. I had pretty much made up my mind at that point I was doing it but just wanted to let her know because as my mother I just feel she has a right to know. I knew she wouldn't be supportive and I was right. She told me with my strong will and stubborness I have always had and my desire to always be competitive and win at all costs she finds it hard to believe I can not win the battle over my weight the "right way" I suppose I was wrong to think my mom might have a inkling of any idea of what it was like to have struggled with this my whole adult life. At any rate, I now have the full support of my husband and mother in law. Maybe this trip to Ireland with my mom and sister I can talk about it a bit more. Or maybe I just want a good vaction and I'll give my mom a call the night before surgery lol NEWS WHICH HAPPENED IMMEDIATELY AFTER THIS POST: I received a call from the surgeon's office to inform me that my insurance looks good and they want me to meet with the surgeon on September 9th to start the process! YEAHHHHHH

It's been awhile since I have blogged my thoughts and feelings on what is going on. This LBT is great because I have met a couple of really great people so far and I enjoy talking with them. One actually went to a information meeting in Flagstaff with me. I am really only torn over one thing. I really want to get the sleeve rather than the lap band but I know for a fact that my insurance wont cover the sleeve and I am so not wanting to wait for a year or two for them to come around and finally add it to their list of surgeries accepted for WLS. I want this done now and not one or two years from me. I'm 45 and want to start living life better than I currently am. I am in some sort of waiting game right now. I need to wait to find out exactly how to proceed with this. The surgeon's office is calling BCBS of Mass to find out exactly what is required but the initial call looked very promising. I am keeping my fingers crossed and hoping for a call back any time now. I leave for Ireland two weeks from this Friday. I wish this could've been postponed for just a little bit until I lost a tiny bit of weight. I have no problems walking around etc but I just flew not long ago and dang those seats do not have much room! I had the seat belt out as far as I could and I was so embarrassed that I couldnt put the tray table down. I just pretended that I didn't want anything to drink but I was just too embarrassed too admit, "Yes I'm too fat so I can't put the tray table down" ' I'm flying with my Mom and Sister but that isnt much consulation, they are of normal size and don't fully understand. When I was in Washington visiting my parents in July I brought up the idea of LB surgery to my Mom. I had pretty much made up my mind at that point I was doing it but just wanted to let her know because as my mother I just feel she has a right to know. I knew she wouldn't be supportive and I was right. She told me with my strong will and stubborness I have always had and my desire to always be competitive and win at all costs she finds it hard to believe I can not win the battle over my weight the "right way" I suppose I was wrong to think my mom might have a inkling of any idea of what it was like to have struggled with this my whole adult life. At any rate, I now have the full support of my husband and mother in law. Maybe this trip to Ireland with my mom and sister I can talk about it a bit more. Or maybe I just want a good vaction and I'll give my mom a call the night before surgery lol NEWS WHICH HAPPENED IMMEDIATELY AFTER THIS POST: I received a call from the surgeon's office to inform me that my insurance looks good and they want me to meet with the surgeon on September 9th to start the process! YEAHHHHHH

I am confused about the process I am in right now. Here is what's going on maybe someone can tell me what to expect. I went to the information meeting in June. I was waiting for my BC/BS of Mass (Blue Care Select PPO) to take affect. It finally did August 1 so I called the office and gave them all the card details for my plan. The surgeon's office manager called back to tell me that I did not have a bariatric exlusion and that all my details were already on file with them. They said if my BMI was over 40 (which it is) then I am a candidate for this surgery. There were other things mentioned too such as failed attempts at weight loss and a willingness to lose a lot of weight. She said the failed attempts could be something as simple as writing down all my attempts over the years. She then said she would send this on to their insurance specialist to get 100% information on what is required since I am 100% sure I want to do this. She said based on this call I will get an appointment set up with the surgeon. Is the call they are making "the" call if they get the right answers? When the woman called me back after initially calling she said "Your insurance seems very easy compared to most" Though I am afraid to let me guard down and get too excited.

I did write my diet history already. It's harder than it appears at first. Define attempts? Oh I have about 330 of those in any given year. It starts in the morning and ends at about 5pm feeling totally defeated. On the other side I do have serious attempts like when I lost around 55 pounds on weight watchers. It just never works for me long term. I honestly don't know anyone who is overweight who hasn't tried to lose weight at some point. The reason I was worried about the diet plan and also the previous 5 years of spotty medical care where I wasn't weighed every year for the past 5 years without a 12 month gap is because that's what the doctor's office told me about some plans. They said a lot of insurances make it nearly impossible to qualify and if you do they dont make it a fast process. She said a lot of insurances will ask for the person to follow a 6 month medically supervised diet. (as if we have never tried to diet before grrrrr) When I read BC/BS MA policy on getting the lap band it seemed quite easy. Just qualify with the BMI and be willing to be enrolled in a program for after care and that's about it. Even the doctor's office when she saw that told me it looked easy but she had never worked with that insurance company before. She said, hopefully it's as easy as it appears.

Liquidbluegal, I have BC/BS MA too. I have done the first step of attending the seminar. I talked to the gals in the office and gave them my insurance info. They said they wanted to verify the insurance and get back with me with all that is required for surgery. Did you need proof of 5 years of obesity? What about a 6 month diet? I did see on the insurance info that they want a record of failed attempts of dieting. Did they just take your word for it or did you have to prove it? I don't have that at all. What I do have is a BMI of about 43 with no co-morbidities. Of course I did try to lose weight in the past 5 years, I just don't have proof of it. I also have lapses of time of having my weight recorded. I dont have 5 years of proof of my weight by being weighed every year at a doctor's office. I am just going off what they said some insurances are like. Thanks!