Can someone tell me my opinion?

All of you have been so helpful. I have 80 pounds to lose, very high blood pressure, very high risk for diabetes (had gestational diabetes and long family history), all my weight is in my belly so I have a fatty liver, ahhh the list can go on and on. I did not think of the melting chocolate thing nor the letting ice cream melt. I think I would do that too. I am not much for sweets, but when I get in the mood for them I will polish off more than my fair share. A large part of my problem with eating is that I will eat until I bust, wait a while, go back for more, then hide "in the closet" and eat it even when I am not hungry. I get specific cravings for food and it is always bad. I am leaning toward RNY. *Disclaimer* I am in no way defending Dr. Barba, I am just going to recount my own dealings to you. Ok, Dr. Barba. That seems to be a sore spot on this site (in more ways than one!!). At first I was very defensive about him but then I lightened up. I honestly did not hear one bad thing about him until I got on this site. As I have mentioned before, I work for a group of MD's who gave him the green light. Dr. Barba worked for the father in law of one of my doc's in St. Francis ER as a trauma surgeon and the FIL said Dr. B was a top notch surgeon. We have also had a handful of patients (plus one staff member) who have had RNY by him and say they would trust no other. On the flip side, I have come on here and seen some scary things about him. My seminar is tonight. Oh yes, I did call every surgeon on the list here at OH and NONE of them (except Dr. B) takes my weird insurance. I even called the insurance to see and no luck. I thank each and every one of you for your wishings of good luck and your sage advice from your own valuable experience. I will keep you all posted. Oh by the way, I am doing so much research on this now I may be able to perform my own RNY!!!! ;)

Ok I have not yet had the surgery and I am still in the pre-meeting the doc phase. (I am going to the seminar on the 6th for Dr. A.) I can tell you that I am leaning toward the RNY since I am have the biggest sweet tooth in the world. I would have eventually thought of drinking Ben and Jerry or sucking on chocolate. Plus, I am lazy and I don't think I would go in for fills. That and I am afraid of needles and having to have fills just doesn't sound like fun. On Dr. Barba, I don't know him but I have a friend that had her surgery by him. She said that he was wonderful and reccomended him to me. I know from my research I felt my best option was going with someone else but then my insurace is pretty good so I don't have the problem you did.

Hi! I am scheduled to go in for surgery on March 21st (unless God answers my prayers and I get an earlier date...like in February) with Dr. Carlos Barba as well. I have researched all of this for a long time, but always felt RNY would be the right path for me. I, too, can't handle the frustration of losing piddly amounts over a very long time. I need to see results. And, as for Dr. B, it does bother me that I haven't met with him personally yet, but...I looked at the other "major" players in the RNY surgeon arena, and Dr. B. had the most gastric surgery experience, by far! He only does bariatric surgery now. He operates out of 2 major hospitals, so you have your pick (My hubby says St. F is superior, but he may be biased since he works there...all I know is if I go to St. F, then I don't have to worry about the copay for hospital stays as it is forgiven for employees & dependents...and its MUCH closer to home!) His credentials and experience are excellent (says my hubby who is an R.N. at St. Francis) and I have heard many great things about him. Now, I have read some stuff on here that makes me wonder, but I just had to decide what and who was best for me. Every time I have called the office so far, they have answered the phone, been pleasant, answered my questions, and returned calls. They handled all the insurance stuff, though I did stay proactive along the way and kept in close touch with the insurance folks to be sure I understood all requirements. Dr. B.'s office faxed my stuff to Connecticare on Thursday afternoon and called me Monday morning to tell me I was approved and set up a date. I will meet Dr. B. next week for an endoscopy (I get the reasoning, but the idea still kinda grosses me) and will hopefully get a chance to chat with him. He comes across GREAT at the seminar. Touch base with me and let me know how it goes. I'd be happy to fill you in on my journey and keep you updated on how things go with him.