Not sure how I feel

Well, I have had my consultation with Dr. Edward Lin at Crawford Long/Emory Hospital and I really like him and his office. My husband was very impressed with him even though my appointment was for 9:30 but we were not seen until 1:30. Dr. Lin had emergency surgery that morning and then we found out that Gastric By-Pass is not the only surgery that he does. He also does surgery for cancer of the colon, stomach, and other areas. Now that really impressed my husband because it showed that Dr. Lin was not in just GBPS for the money. Dr. Lin was very gentle as he looked at my stomach and then was honest when he told me that with as much fat that I had on me tummy, it could cause problems being able to perform lap. He said that I needed to loose at least a minimum of 10 #s but if I could loose more then that would even be better. I kind of went on the defensive and told him if I could loose 10 or more pounds then I sure would not be in there subjecting myself to such a risky surgery and how in the heck does he expect me to loose weight when I could not do it in the past. My husband kept patting me on the back and telling me to calm down that he was just trying to get me to loose on a temporary basis, not forever. Even Dr. Lin said he understood my frustration and that it was so he would not have to cut me open if the lap equipment could not go through all the way due to the fat. I was a little embarressed but I told him that I have been overweight all my life and I remember being on Black Beauties when I was only 10 years old. Now there is something to be said when you are sitting at the dinner table trying to eat and your plate is flying all over the room (You want to hide it is so bad ) while the room is spinning . LOL I guess that was how you felt when you were high but I did not like that feeling . Now, to why I said Not sure how I feel: They said it will take 4 weeks for the insurance (BCBS POS) to change from Dr. Robinson to Dr. Lin and to change the code and the BCBS person said it would only take a few days. I told Juanita that I have spoken so much with BCBS that I know them by name and I could get them to change it in days which she said that was great. But when I told Dr. Lin, he just reminded me that he did have other surgeries and it may still be june before I can get my surgery. I feel that he may be putting me off until I do loose this weight, I am not sure. He did say once insurance approved him, I would come back and he would schedule my surgery so I am very confused. This crazy adventure started out over a year ago and I love adventures , but this one is growing very tiresome . All I know is that if I have to wait much longer I am going to loose it and how I do not know, but I will loose it. (Probally cry , sleep for days and try to talk myself out of giving up because that is how I will feel if I have to wait 3 or more months for surgery.) Please pray for me that surgery will come soon and that my spirit will calm down. I am doing Slim Fast so I hope the 10 pounds will come off fast and my PCP has even approved me doing it even though I am a diabetic. God Bless You All and I will be praying for those who are going into surgery soon. Hugs, Becky Stanford

Becky, Most surgeons now are requiring some type of weight loss before surgery just as a help to the patient. As your surgeon stated if you have fat, which usually it's the fat on the liver, it can cause the surgeon while in the middle of doing LAP to have to switch to open. Then you not only have the LAP scars, but the OPEN one too. I would highly recommend doing the Atkins induction before surgery. It can be hard to follow, but it really makes you lose weight pretty fast. That's what I recently started to be prepared for surgery. Basically how it works is you cut out all carbs except 20 per day, follow this about 2 weeks prior to surgery most people will see a 5-20 pound loss. Most of that being fluid, but it will help. Don't be discouraged. I know all to well what you are going thru. It sounds like this is a great surgeon. It's really nice to have one that knows not only about RNY but also about other areas pretaining to that area incase something goes wrong he will know what to do. My surgeon is the same way he doesn't just do the WLS all the time. So that is a plus. I know that June seems far away, but if you show that you are willing to work his program and lose a little bit of weight that might give you a better chance in his eyes and he will see that you are really earnest about wanting to make surgery sucessful. Good luck! I waited over 2 years for my approval so you are not alone in this. Amy

Becky, I know it can get really nerve wrenching so just hang in there. It will get better. First, it is normal for surgeons to ask that you lose weight before surgery. Some will even CANCEL surgery if you gain. This is for several reasons. First, it is to see if you will be able to stick to the program after surgery. WLS does not mean you will NEVER gain weight again, if you dont eat right and take care of yourself you can out eat your tool and gain. I have a friend who is almost 9 years out and is almost as big as she was when she had surgery. Nothing is forever unless you work the program for life. Second, if you have a fatty liver (most MO people do) you run the risk of the surgeon nicking it durning surgery. He will have limited vision in there due to the livers size. DO you really want to run the risk of complications if it is cut? Dropping just a few pounds makes it easier for him and in the end, you. It does not take the insurance co's long to change from one doc to another, I had it changed the same day, but it will take time for you to get all your pre-op testing done. June may seem like forever away but that sounds about right amount of time to me. It took that long to get the results back from my pre-ops so you should be right on schedule. Hang in there, your time will be here before you know it. E-mail me if you need to chat. Sidney

I was 300# and 5-3. Dr Champion never indicated any type of problem doing the lap on me. There were much larger people in his office who were scheduled for lap. I know you are probably frustrated and confused but please make sure you are 100% happy with your Dr. before you proceed. Dr. Champion did ask me to try to lose weight before the surgery so it would be easier to manipulate the liver. He said that he has cancelled surgeries when the patient had "gained" a substantial amount of weight before the surgery. I was 300 on the paperwork I sent in and 297 the day before surgery. He didn't say a word about it. I was never made to feel embarrassed or ashamed. Good luck with everything!!!

Hi Sunny, I did not mean to sound like I did not like my new surgeon. I really like Dr. Lin, especially after talking with him and the way he answered our questions at the consultation. As my husband said"He answered a heck of a lot more questions and offered alot more education background then Dr. Robinson ever offered us." He went all the way back to first years of college, where he went and then proceeded from there through Medical School, his residency and up to where he is now at Emory. He also answered our question requarding how many WLS's he has done (250) as of that day(April 22), and that he has not had any deaths yet but he knows that it could happen anytime. One thing that he went over with us that the other doctor did not, was how the surgery would affect the family. He stated that if something happened to me, say a complication, then I would be in ICU oblivious to what is going on, but my family would be in the waiting room worrying and having to travel back and forth from Jackson GA to Atlanta. This would put a strain on my husband financially since he would take off of work to be there and put a strain on my other family members who would want to be there with him like our daughter who lives in Kentucky and has 2 children and works. So he really pointed out how serious this operation is and how much it would help if I could loose some weight before the surgery. I guess I thought I would go in, see him, schedule the surgery the next week and then I would be loosing my weight. But, it was not to be and that is why I went throught so many emotions. I read about those who had their surgeries in March and how much they are loosing and I think that would have been me if Dr. Robinson had gone through with his surgeries and not been so careless. I was so hoping to beat this neuropathy from getting into my legs and keeping from getting paralyzed, but my right leg is already showing signs and I am scared. Sorry that I talked to much and I hope that you have a good week. God Bless You. Hugs, Becky Stanford

Good-- It seems like he covered everything for you. You have to feel comfortable with the surgeon because it is a very serious surgery. I'm glad you have all your questions answered. I wish you all the best with your surgery!!!

GOOD LUCK WITH DR. LIN I WENT WITH DR.RAAMASHAW HE IS VERY GOOD AT EMORY HE IS DR. SMITHS ASST.THE DOCTORS SEEM REALLY GOOD BUT THE OFFICE STAFF CAN REALLY MESS YOU UP JUST READ MY POST ABOVE YOURS A TRUE HEADACHE...DO NOT EVER TAKE THEIR WORD THAT THEEY HAVE DONE ALL THE STEPS..YOU WILL END UP DOING THEM YOURSELF/ EXTREME STRESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11111