G8trgrl

I was diagnosed 4 years ago with SOD. I had an ERCP where a sphincterotomy was done. That cleared my pain for 3 years. Then, my pain started up again. But, it came and went. I had actually forgotten I had SOD. I had my gastric sleeve done in June, then had my annual physical in July. My blood work came back with elevated liver enzymes. That’s when I finally realized my SOD had come back. I’m scheduled for another ERCP in about 10 days. It seems that the pain is getting worse as time goes by. It’s definitely worse since my gastric sleeve surgery.

I had to refinance my house in order to pay for it. I am blessed to have a house so that I was able to refinance it.

I live in Florida. I had my surgery done at Blossom because my insurance wouldn’t cover it. Blossom could do the surgery when it was convenient to me. They were awesome! I have no regrets.

My time at Blossom made me feel like a celebrity. Everyone was kind and considerate. The person who did the stress test coached me all the way. She was my own personal cheerleader. The nurses at Warm Spring Surgical Center we’re also fantastic. I have difficult veins, but they only had to poke me once. They also were great with me when I was waking up from surgery. I was extremely groggy. Dr. Sakata was fantastic. She made sure I knew exactly what was going to happen and answered every question. Valerie, the nurse that came to visit the hotel was also terrific! I think I made it through the night because of her. The IV Therapy is probably what got me through flying all the way across the country. They gave me battery compression sleeves to wear on the plane. Make sure to charge them the night before. The only problem I had was the hotel wasn’t close to anything. We walked 2 miles to a grocery store in the desert like heat. Probably wasn’t a smart move. But we took a Lyft back. The hotel itself was great! It just wasn’t near anything. Blossom was very good with Covid precautions. Everyone had masks on. They also made sure you used hand sanitizer before going to the next person. Out of 6 laparoscopic surgeries this is the first one where the gas pain was gone by the next day. I highly recommend Blossom.

I’m doing pretty well considering. The walking is helping to get rid of the gas.

I just arrived in Vegas today. I haven’t been to Blossom yet. That will be tomorrow. As for flying that was a little rough. I had one shake at 4:15 EST. I was hoping to purchase another one at one of those convenience type stores at the airport, but literally nothing was open. I’m glad I packed some granola bars for my daughter because that was her breakfast. I had two 8 oz bottles of water during the flight. One each leg. My daughter got my snacks. When we got to Houston nothing was open that I could have. Our driver from the airport was great. He had cold water waiting for us. So, I had another 12 oz there. We checked in, I ordered uber eats for my daughter. While she ate I looked for delivery options from grocery stores to the hotel without success. There was no literature in the room about what was nearby. Not even about what time breakfast begins tomorrow. I need to take my daughter down before my appt because she can’t go with me. Needless to say we walked almost two miles to the grocery store. I forgot about the desert heat. Ugh! We got a few things and took a Lyft home. I still haven’t eaten. It’s around 3:45 now. My daughter doesn’t want to go out because she’s exhausted. (So am I) So, I order a chopped salad from Subway to be delivered by Uber Eats. I finally get to eat at 4:15 Pacific time. After that I took a much needed shower and am going to bed at 5:00 Pacific time. I’ll update more tomorrow. Good night.

I’m having mine done on June 15 as well. My surgery is being done in Vegas. My daughter can’t be with me during the surgery, but they will pick her up from the hotel when I can leave the surgery center so we can go back to the hotel together. My surgery center wasn’t used for months until about two weeks ago. I have the confidence that everything will go well.

I believe 3 months. But, I wanted surgery in June because of my work schedule. They can get you in faster if you want.

They started doing surgeries again a couple of weeks ago. I’m flying with United. They are not filling the middle seats. Blossom booked me at the hotel. They just called me today with their Covid-screening questions. My daughter is going with me, but she will have to stay at the hotel during my appointments and surgery.

It’s possible that your insurance might cover part of it at Blossom. It certainly can’t hurt to try.

Thanks for following up. How is traveling afterward?

So far, the only protein drink I enjoy is Fairlife. I’m hoping I like a few others after surgery.

I know how you feel. They take Cigna, but my employer does not approve weight loss surgery.

If you have insurance that approves weight loss surgery it’s less.

That’s awesome! I’m looking forward to hearing all about it. I’ll be going to Vegas in a little over three weeks for my sleeve.