Weight Loss Surgery If you've had it, or are considering it, share your discussions here

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Old 05-16-2010, 06:10 PM   #1  
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Unhappy Considering WLS, but don't know where to start

I've been considering WLS for awhile, but I'm afraid to talk to my family about it. My fiance (whom I live with) supports me though. I've been through so many diets. Calorie Counting worked for awhile, but then I gained the weight back. I was vegetarian for a year and a half, and I lost like 40 lbs in the beginning, but again - I gained it back. I stopped being vegetarian a few months ago, and now I gained even more weight. At about 275 I'm the biggest I've ever been.

I know I want this surgery, but I don't know if I qualify for it. I am 275 lbs and 5'0". I wear a 22/24...

What is the process people went through to get the surgery? I'm looking at more traditional methods of gastric bypass (e.g. not something like a lapband). About how long did it take to go from talking to your regular doctor to getting the surgery?

I'm nervous about talking to my doctor about this because I'm afraid he won't take me very seriously. I talked to him about getting a breast reduction (size H lol) at the beginning of the year. I got a referral, but didn't go through with it because the place would never return my calls for an appointment. I haven't really gotten the courage to talk to him about my weight at all either. I've only been with this doctor about 6 months also.

Any advice for someone utterly lost? I've done a lot of research, but nothing compares to those who have gone through the same thing.
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Old 05-16-2010, 07:48 PM   #2  
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Ok, first thing is....how you're going to pay for it. Do you have the money? Do you have insurance? Will your insurance cover GBP? I would start there.

Some insurance companies require you to work with your dr for 6 months to prove that you're serious, can follow direction of a dr., and really can't lose the weight on your own. Some insurance only covers the labband....others only the GBP...don't be a slave to only having GBP either, there is some fabulous research out there on Vertical sleeve and Modified DS which is showing great progress in safety and success rates. READ, READ, READ!! So start doing your research!

It took me 3 years....fighting to have GBP covered, finding a dr that took my insurance, doing the 6 months Dr. supervised diet, etc. I had to be persistant! I had to know this was my only chance...to get a real, workable tool to lose weight, to get my life back, to live to see my grandchildren!

You know the old saying, "No one can love you, if you don't love yourself"? Be persistant, be dogged, be there for yourself, no one else really can!

Good luck, honey!

Angela
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Old 05-16-2010, 08:12 PM   #3  
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I have medicaid.
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Old 05-17-2010, 01:11 AM   #4  
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There is quite a pre-approval process with medicaid but you can do it. I know they cover several of the surgeries because they consider it Preventive Health. I had Medicare/Medicaid and my surgery was paid for except for $1,000 which the surgeon wrote off for me. Call your worker and ask him/her where to start.

♫♪ ♫♪ ♫♪ It's just one foot in front of the other... ♫♪ ♫♪ ♫♪
♫♪ ♫♪ ♫♪and soon you'll be walkin' out the door! ♫♪ ♫♪ ♫♪
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Old 05-17-2010, 10:00 AM   #5  
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Medicaid policies vary by state. MediCARE covers RNY, band, and DS, but you need to check your specific MedicAID policy.
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Old 05-17-2010, 12:13 PM   #6  
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This is a HUGE decision. How to pay for it is a big question. That will also help you narrow down your options.

Most importantly, though, you have to decide what you want. I have been seeing a therapist for about 8 years. When I decided I wanted to seriously pursue weight loss surgery, my therapist started meeting weekly. Even with that and a very supportive bariatric surgery program, it took me five months to truly decide that I wanted to go through this surgery.

I am now 6 weeks past surgery. Do not regret it at all. I've lost more than 50 pounds since I decided to be serious. But it is an ongoing struggle. It is a life-changing and lifelong decision. Your primary supporter HAS to be yourself.

Good luck!! This board is great for asking questions and learning.
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Old 05-17-2010, 02:17 PM   #7  
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Wow Amber - was it just a few months ago that you were asking about whether surgery was the easy way out? seems like you've been through your struggles with making this decision.

and you don't have to tell your family.

you're in NYC? the programs at Lenox Hill and at NYU are among the best in the country, and the Staten Island program is no slouch either. Neither is the St-Luke's Roosevelt program. you'll need to pick a surgeon whom you LIKE and can talk with.

and trust. take your time. this is a major life changing decision, and you need to be extremely comfortable with it.
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Old 05-17-2010, 04:01 PM   #8  
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jiffypop- you're completely right. I was that person who looked at people who got any type of WLS to be people who give up; and looked to it as the easy way out.
I have come very far since then.

I am almost to the point where I think I might bring it up to my mother in law to see what process she had to go through. Now if any of you remember she had RNY and her entire family (including my fiance and myself) extremely frowned on it and did not support her at all. And I feel pretty bad about it now. I may not agree with the things she did AFTER the surgery that were simply bad eating habits when she was supposed to be on a strict diet (i.e. trying to eat pepperoni pizza a few days after she switched to solid foods), but the surgery itself isn't inherently bad. and I've come to realize that although you WILL lose weight (so the weight loss portion is pretty much forced and therefore "easier"), but the entire routine and everything one must do to change their life after surgery is not in any way easy.

I have struggled with weight my entire life (and everyone in my immediate and most extended family is also obese). I'm getting to the point where I want to have kids in a few years, and I can't even imagine what the extra weight of carrying a child will do to my body. I have come to believe that this surgery really is the best option.

I made a Dr. appointment today (unfortunately the soonest they can get me in is July 2nd!) to talk to my doctor about my weight loss options. Between now and then I am planning on keeping a daily food journal so I can show him. I'm hoping since my BMI is around 53 and I have high (Bad) cholesterol and high blood pressure that it won't be too difficult a process.
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