Deb6173

I had a Vertical Banded Gastric Partitioning (VBGP) in 2002. Weight loss surgery was in its infancy and my insurance declined coverage. I appealed by speaking in front of the board, presenting medical documentation of my comorbidities, and the benefits. I was successful in this endeavor. I weighed 273 on surgery day. I got down to 170, size 14. I felt healthy and sexy. I maintained this weight until about 2015 when I began drinking all my calories due to terrible heartburn and the inability to digest food. Anything solid would inevitably come up. Tests were performed which showed the original staple line to be leaking. At that point I was told I needed to be seen by a bariatric surgeon. My original surgeon is not available. Let's be real and do an age progression. He was about 40 yrs old when he did my surgery, he's retired 21 yrs later. I called Ascension, explained my situation and asked to make an appointment. The person on the phone refused to even schedule an appointment for me saying none of their surgeons would work on a surgery that was originally performed by another surgeon. Seems she didn't hear me when I gave her the facts of my situation. I have now found a program and am working with the PA and nutritionist. This excites me since these teachers weren't available to me at my time of the original surgery. There were no "programs." I found out what could and couldn't be eaten after surgery on a trial and error basis. I have a horrific memory of eating guacamole on a date! Lol! Haven't eaten that since. I have some tests this upcoming week. The results will provide options on fixing the problems and revising my surgery. Is anyone else familiar with the situation I've shared? I'd love to hear experiences, solutions, anything. Thanks!