I'm going to have Bariatric Surgery :-)

[MannyL]

On Saturday I went to a seminar by Dr. Alexander Onopchenko. He does both the Lap-Band and Roux-en-Y procedures. After weighing all the information over I feel Lap-Band is whats right for me. Until I have the surgery I started a blog where I am going to talk about my thoughts and I will continue it after the surgery until either the internet no loger exisits, the site dies or I lose internet access. The URL is at
http://weight-loss-to-band.blogspot.com/ feel free to read and post there on my blog or ask me questions here about why I'm doing what I believe is the right choice for me.

And while this is neither mundane and pointless I felt this was the best place to post.

[Queen Tonya]

Good luck!

[lavenderviolet]

Congratulations. :) I am glad to see you chose the lap-band. I don't think you'll regret it. I am a big fan of the lap-band, since it has helped me lose 110 pounds in the past year. I feel it's a great balance between safety (it's much safer than the bypass) and effectiveness (no, it may not get 100% of your excess weight off, but it sure has a better track record than diets do!).
If you are in need of support from other bandsters, I would suggest checking out http://www.lapbandtalk.com - lots of friendly folks over there.

[Abbie Carmichael]

Hope it works well for you.

[Doomtrain]

What a perfect name for a doctor. Or mad scientist in a Bond film.

He wasn't petting a white cat, was he?

[MannyL]

What a perfect name for a doctor. Or mad scientist in a Bond film.

He wasn't petting a white cat, was he?

Nope, no cat there but now that you mention it his name is great for an EvIl VilLiAn

[Snooooopy]

James Bond: Do you expect me to talk, Dr. Onopchenko?
Dr. Onopchenko: No, Mr. Bond, I expect you to die ... unless you have this surgery that I just happen to be very good at. What do you say?

[lorene]

Good luck.
I was not able to get your blog link to work, BTW. I was wondering if you were doing any type of support group as an adjunct to the surgery. I have one friend who had the surgery 2 years ago and continues with the group to this day. She has lost 180 lbs and looks phenomenal. I have another friend who did only the surgery and chose not to follow any of the other suggestions (group, meeting with a nutritionist, other supports, etc.) and therefore her behaviors did not change much. Her weight loss has been far less successful, unfortunately.
Again, I wish you lots of luck.

[ShelliBean]

I would like to first tell you good luck. Then I would like to second lorene in hoping that you take advantage of all the counseling they offer.
When you lose that much weight (especially that quickly) it can really change who you are and you may not be ready for all the changes. So please do the counseling. I speak from experience.
And good luck again - I know you are looking forward to this.

[MannyL]

Good luck.
I was not able to get your blog link to work, BTW. I was wondering if you were doing any type of support group as an adjunct to the surgery. I have one friend who had the surgery 2 years ago and continues with the group to this day. She has lost 180 lbs and looks phenomenal. I have another friend who did only the surgery and chose not to follow any of the other suggestions (group, meeting with a nutritionist, other supports, etc.) and therefore her behaviors did not change much. Her weight loss has been far less successful, unfortunately.
Again, I wish you lots of luck.


You raised a good question. Yes prior to having the surgery I will have to attend at least three meetings of a support group. Also my support person has to attend these meetings. I have an idea somewhat of what to expect because my mother had her stomach stapled over 17 yers ago. Making it on your own is tough so no matterwhere I live I will be part of a group. The doctor performing the operation says after it's done we will have a life long relationship. I'm not sure why the blog link doesn't work I just tested it and it's fine.

[MannyL]

I would like to first tell you good luck. Then I would like to second lorene in hoping that you take advantage of all the counseling they offer.
When you lose that much weight (especially that quickly) it can really change who you are and you may not be ready for all the changes. So please do the counseling. I speak from experience.
And good luck again - I know you are looking forward to this.


Thank you for the wishes for good luck. I plan to take advantage of everything I can. I know I need to change my coping methods. Previously I would eat when upset bnut lately I've noticed instead of eating I'm crying when upset. I don't knwo if thatst he healthiest thing to do but it sure is better than eating.

[OpalCat]

I hope it works out for you! Have you looked into some of the other surgeries out there? Particularly the DS: http://www.duodenalswitch.com which is what I had. I'm not trying to push it, I just want to make sure you've looked at alllll the options before making such a life-changing decision.

Have you gotten insurance approval yet? That can be the hardest part...

[MannyL]

I hope it works out for you! Have you looked into some of the other surgeries out there? Particularly the DS: http://www.duodenalswitch.com which is what I had. I'm not trying to push it, I just want to make sure you've looked at alllll the options before making such a life-changing decision.

Have you gotten insurance approval yet? That can be the hardest part...

I've read a littlle on the duodenalswitch and while it is somewhat appealing it is more intensive than the lap-band. If the lap-band fails to help me and I doubt it will fail I will keep that as an option.

On the subject of insurance. I do not have approval yet. The insurance rep at the Dr's will take care of that after the first meeting. Thankfully I have a great heath care plan that is covering this now. I just hope my referral comes in time. I need it for Monday and when I called the office today I was told the person who processes them won't be in until tomorrow and it takes 5 days. Thats going to be cutting it close so I may have to reschedule with Dr. O

[OpalCat]

Ok cool, then you've looked at all the various options. It is really sad to see how many people just go in and get whatever their doctor does, and don't even know there *are* options. I have met people who have had bariatric surgery who don't even know what procedure they had--neither by name nor by describing what was done!

You are lucky that your insurance coverage is good. Mine was, too. They approved me right off the bat. In my support group there is a woman named Melanie who fought with her insurance company for 18 months before finally getting approval!

[MannyL]

Ok cool, then you've looked at all the various options. It is really sad to see how many people just go in and get whatever their doctor does, and don't even know there *are* options. I have met people who have had bariatric surgery who don't even know what procedure they had--neither by name nor by describing what was done!

You are lucky that your insurance coverage is good. Mine was, too. They approved me right off the bat. In my support group there is a woman named Melanie who fought with her insurance company for 18 months before finally getting approval!

Yep I work for the state so I have good insurance. I still have to document all the attempts I made on diets etc etc. My primary care doctor referred me to one surgeon who doesn't do the lap-band procedure. He only does the Roux-en-Y procedure and I told him from the start I was not not intrested in that.

[kittenblue]

I just got back from getting the results of my psychological evaluation for bariatric surgery, and I am pleased and proud to report that despite rumors to the contrary, I am absolutely sane and certifiably normal. Hopefully all the other insurance pieces will fall into place, and I will be having the Roux-en-Y procedure done laproscopically in a few months. Good luck with your surgery!

[OpalCat]

kitten: I assume you have researched all of the other surgeries, too, right? DS, VG, VBG, etc? (I always worry when I see people getting RnY)

[Kilvert's Pagan]

I work in the health insurance industry and can tell you that the single best indicator of a successful outcome in bariatric surgery (in terms of medical complications) is the experience of the people performing the procedures. Here in my state we have seen some facilities jump into the bariatric surgery game and have horrendous complication problems - including fatalities. So please PLEASE research who is doing it, how many they've done, and what their complication rates have been.

I apologize for scaring you, but it's critical that you are as fully informed as possible about this. It's a life-changing surgery, and for many people it works out great. Please be careful, and good luck.

[MannyL]

I work in the health insurance industry and can tell you that the single best indicator of a successful outcome in bariatric surgery (in terms of medical complications) is the experience of the people performing the procedures. Here in my state we have seen some facilities jump into the bariatric surgery game and have horrendous complication problems - including fatalities. So please PLEASE research who is doing it, how many they've done, and what their complication rates have been.

I apologize for scaring you, but it's critical that you are as fully informed as possible about this. It's a life-changing surgery, and for many people it works out great. Please be careful, and good luck.

Tpayne, thanks for the warnings. I have not verified the information given to me by the doctor who will be doing the surgery but based on the information he provided i feel confident with him. He has had 0 fatalities so far and out of 250 patients 6 had complications but all 6 are fine. Those 6 were when he first started out. According to the information at obesity help (http://www.obesityhelp.com/morbidobesity/mdcomments.php?N=1029275734) he has 14 years of Laparoscopic Surgery and two years of Bariatric Surgery. He was trained by Dr. Alan Wittgrove, M.D, Dr. Gerald Clark, M.D., and Philip Scherer. Dr. Alan Whitgrove & Gerald Clark are the doctors who did the surgery on Carrie Wilson. From what I have read they are experts in the field but if you can provide any additional information I'd appreciate it

[MannyL]

Not a bump really but I weighed myself today on the same scale I used on Wed. Since I want to make Tuesdays my weight day and I lost 5.2 pounds,

Go me!

[OpalCat]

Congratulations! The coolest thing about this is that (assuming you get the surgery as scheduled) that is 5.2lbs you will never see again!

[Broomstick]

I realize that many insurance companies come off looking like complete and utter jerks by denying coverage for bariatric surgery, but there are reasons why some people get the run around. That doesn't always mean they're good reasons, but it's not capricious.

You've got two sorts of people interested in bariatric surgery: 1) those whose obesity will like kill them in a short time frame, and 2) those who think they need the surgery, but really do need to try something less extreme, or who perhaps have psychological issues that the surgery won't cure. I mean, anorexics think they're obese, but can we all agree that in their case the problem isn't the fat around their waist, it's a dysfunction between the ears?

Insurance companies are worried about this turning into another fen-phen debacle. Fen-phen was intended for the morbidly obese - people for whom the weight was causing problems serious enough that assuming the risk of the drug combination was justifiable. It wound up being used by a lot of people who just needed to lose 20 or 30 pounds, and who were putting themselves at greater risk by taking the drugs than by simply remaining a little heavy. As a result, some people became seriously ill and some died who otherwise would have lived a long time.

The family of insurance companies I work for have tended to cover bariatric surgery when justified for a long, long time. As a prior poster mentioned, in many instances you have to document that you have, in fact, tried other methods of weight loss to no effect. If you are considering this sort of surgery you would do well to ask your insurance company what their policy is and what criteria you have to meet to be eligible. If you don't meet the criteria, consider that perhaps in your case the potential benefits do not justify the risks.

Someone like Carnie Wilson is a shoo-in for the surgery -- she really did need it. And clearly she went about it in a good way, she's taken the weight off and kept it off for the most part. She also repeats ad nauseum the requirement to change eating habits, excercise, and basically completely remake herself. Someone like her is exactly why this surgery was developed in the first place.

On the other hand, you have people going to docs who don't really have the necessary expertise. You have programs that do JUST the surgery and do not provide the necessary counseling and nutritional support - with sometimes disasterous results. This recent story in the New York Times (http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F40B17F638590C778CDDAC0894DC404482) illustrates bariatric surgery gone bad. And who pays for the aftermath? The insurance company. Whether they approve your initial surgery or not, they WILL wind up paying to treat this sort of bad outcome. Is it purely a financial concern? Well... no, most folks working for insurance companies are decent sorts who want people to get better and not have bad outcomes. But yes, finances do play a part. How many million-dollar bad outcomes can a company afford before it goes belly-up? Is it unreasonable to ask someone to justify their need for an expensive procedure before asking someone else to pay for it?

In our society, people do not like to be told "no". Sometimes they need to hear it, though. Absolutely, for some people bariatric surgery is a godsend. But I cringe when I overhear someone on the commuter train who is carrying a little extra weight go on and on about how they're going to have this done with clearly no notion of the fact that it permanently alters your relationship with food, your body, and it has real risks. Worse yet are instances where an unscrupulous doctor tells a patient to gain weight in order to qualify for this surgery, or otherwise play the system.

In conclusion (yes, you were wondering when the rambling would stop?) bariatric surgery can be a wonderful thing... but no one should enter into it lightly.

So, if you are getting bariatric surgery after carefully considering the options and risks vs. benefits... I wish you the best of luck. I hope you have a speedy and uneventful recovery, lose that weight, keep it off, and have a long and healthy life ahead of you.