Hi All,

I am in the information gathering stages of WLS.  I've basically decided that I am going to do it, and it looks as if my insurance does cover it, so that is good.  So far, I'm leaning toward Dr. Marc Zare or Dr. Paul Cirangle.  I'd love to hear experiences with either of them.

I'd also love to visit the SJ support group the next time it meets.  I know November isn't happening, and who knows--maybe by Dec. I'll have a surgery date. :)

Thanks,

Sarah

For bigjoey1 and anyone else reading this: the November San Jose meeting of our DS support group has been cancelled due to schedule conflicts. However, the big group that meets in San Francisco on the second Wednesday of each month is still on, as far as I know. If anyone wants any info, send me a pm.

Larra

Thank you! I will be attending your support group i just need to know when the next one is.

Hi Lara

how do i go about filing an appeal? i've trying since 2007 to get to the goal weight but its hard. all info would be appreciated. thank you.

There are a couple questions in your post. I'll try to address both.

First, if your only choices were really just RNY or sleeve (this is NOT the case!) and you have severe heartburn, RNY probably is your best choice. I say this because RNY has excellent results for treating heartburn. This is the one and only comorbidity where RNY does better than the DS (more on that later). The sleeve, esp if it is made very narrow, which is what some surgeons are doing these days, could make your heartburn worse. 
    When surgeons started doing the sleeve as a stand alone, they made the sleeves bigger - as is done with the DS. However, due to problems with weight regain and/or inadequate weight loss, they now often make the stand alone sleeve very narrow. Whether or not this will fix the weight regain problems longterm remains to be seen, but it can definitely make GERD worse.

Now, about the DS. The surgeon named in your post isn't going to offer you the DS because he doesn't do it. That group doesn't offer the DS. But if you are willing to look elsewhere, your choices needn't be limited to what this one surgeon and his group offers. The DS is a standard of care bariatric surgery for anyone who qualifies for wls, and is clearly recognized as the superior choice for people with a higher bmi, such as yourself. It has the highest percentage excess weight loss and best maintainence of that weight loss of any wls presently available. It also has the highest rates of resolution for all comorbidities except GERD or any wls presently available. It includes the sleeve, but since it also includes significant malabsorption and metabolic changes, the sleeve doesn't have to be made super-narrow as it would be with a stand alone sleeve, so it shouldn't be such a major problem with your GERD.

I'm guessing that you are somewhere here in the Bay Area, so I'm going to send you info about  our support group in a pm. I hope you can come and learn more about the DS from people who live with it, and who will openly and honestly share their experiences with you. Also, there is a lot of great info about the DS at dsfacts.com.

Larra