New - Revision to DS - Help?
Well, I had gastric bypass/stomach stapling done in 1980, about 6 months later, the staple line came apart and made a tear in my stomach so that I almost bled to death. I had to have a blood transfusion and got Hep C from it; at the time they didn't even test for it or AIDS so it wasn't any ones fault. I healed up from that and did pretty good, but because the staple line was disrupted, I could eat more and some food would go into what was supposed to be my "blind" stomach. Still I was able to pretty much control my weight through diet and exercise for about 15 years. In 1995-6, I discovered I had Hep C and had to start treatment for it; which was basically chemotherapy. I had to give myself a shot of Interferon every other day for a year. Interferon makes you feel like you're coming down with a real bad flu, it's no fun and during that year of treatment, I lost control of my weight. I gained all the weigh back during the next 5 or 6 years and was just miserable, not knowing what to do.
About a year ago I decided I had to really do something; I had hypertension, sleep apnea, gout and I just felt like crap, I couldn't do the things I loved to do and I was miserable. I hated the thoughts of getting a revision to a modern RNY; I had been there and done that and I didn't like the dumping, or getting food stuck and I was really worried about not being able to take Ibuprofen; since it was the only thing that helped the pain of a gouty attack. It didn't seem like there was any answer to my problem........then Karen invited me to the DS board. The more I read, the more I liked, the more I learned, the more it seemed like the answer to my prayers and all my problems. I started talking to surgeons and discarded those that didn't have the knowledge or experience to do a revision on me or if they tried to talk me into RNY. For me, it came down to either Anthone or Rabkin; either could do it, but I really clicked with Rabkin and we talked for at least an hour the first time we spoke. Besides that, he had an opening in less than two weeks from the time we spoke so I decided to go for it...........Best decision about my health I've ever made.
I had some complications and ended up having a second surgery and staying in the hospital an extra 4 days and I had a difficult recovery; probably due to my age (I was 56) and the complications. But that's all ancient history now; I feel great, I eat like I always wanted to eat and I'm getting to my ideal weight. Life is better than I ever dreamed it could be a year ago.
I paid the bills for everything myself; I had no insurance coverage; the total cost was around $40,000.00 and IMO it's the best $40k I've ever spent.
My advice to you is two fold:
1. Do what ever you have to do to get a revision to DS.
2. Find the surgeon that can do your revision with confidence and that you have confidence in.
Do not settle for a surgeon that says you may have to settle for ERNY. (I had lots of scar tisse and adhesions and my surgery took 7 1/2 hours) This is another reason I chose Dr. Rabkin; his attitude was that he would do what ever it took to get the job done; in my case it took 7 1/2 hours and then another surgery three days later that took 3 1/2 hours. Being a revision, means you don't want to settle for anything less than the best.
Plan on a difficult recovery but get ready to live again because within 6 months of getting revised you're going to feel great and be living like you can only dream about now.
Kerry
About a year ago I decided I had to really do something; I had hypertension, sleep apnea, gout and I just felt like crap, I couldn't do the things I loved to do and I was miserable. I hated the thoughts of getting a revision to a modern RNY; I had been there and done that and I didn't like the dumping, or getting food stuck and I was really worried about not being able to take Ibuprofen; since it was the only thing that helped the pain of a gouty attack. It didn't seem like there was any answer to my problem........then Karen invited me to the DS board. The more I read, the more I liked, the more I learned, the more it seemed like the answer to my prayers and all my problems. I started talking to surgeons and discarded those that didn't have the knowledge or experience to do a revision on me or if they tried to talk me into RNY. For me, it came down to either Anthone or Rabkin; either could do it, but I really clicked with Rabkin and we talked for at least an hour the first time we spoke. Besides that, he had an opening in less than two weeks from the time we spoke so I decided to go for it...........Best decision about my health I've ever made.
I had some complications and ended up having a second surgery and staying in the hospital an extra 4 days and I had a difficult recovery; probably due to my age (I was 56) and the complications. But that's all ancient history now; I feel great, I eat like I always wanted to eat and I'm getting to my ideal weight. Life is better than I ever dreamed it could be a year ago.
I paid the bills for everything myself; I had no insurance coverage; the total cost was around $40,000.00 and IMO it's the best $40k I've ever spent.
My advice to you is two fold:
1. Do what ever you have to do to get a revision to DS.
2. Find the surgeon that can do your revision with confidence and that you have confidence in.
Do not settle for a surgeon that says you may have to settle for ERNY. (I had lots of scar tisse and adhesions and my surgery took 7 1/2 hours) This is another reason I chose Dr. Rabkin; his attitude was that he would do what ever it took to get the job done; in my case it took 7 1/2 hours and then another surgery three days later that took 3 1/2 hours. Being a revision, means you don't want to settle for anything less than the best.
Plan on a difficult recovery but get ready to live again because within 6 months of getting revised you're going to feel great and be living like you can only dream about now.
Kerry
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