Greetings from another lurker (long)

Hi kids! I'm getting set to make the WLS plunge. I'm 51 years old - been large all my life except for those few years during college when I starved myself to get a date. The date became my wife and we're joined by one son (with his own weight problem - you think there's something to this genetics thing?) and 2 cats. The cats are thin as is the wife. Soon I'd like to join them. I am a Fed with a plethora of insurance choices and will be switching to Humana PPO from Unicare HMO. At this point, I think the best surgeon for me would be Dr. Frantzides. This is based on your comments as well as his profile on this board. It's also based on the comments of a friend who is the dean of a medical school who advised me to find someone who mainly does lap, who has performed thousands of procedures and is recognized as a teacher in the field. I live in Brookfield (the Zoo is literally in my backyard) so Dr. F is not the most geographically desirable choice, but geography isn't everything - certainly not when you are considering a redesign of your insides. Being early in the process, I am open to all suggestions. By the way, my BMI is 51, with co-morbids of diabetes and high blood pressure - both fairly well controlled with oral meds. Back pain is a more pressing problem and I'm hoping the surgery will help alleviate that. On behalf of lurkers everwhere, I want to thank you for sharing your experiences. This is serious stuff. Your comments inform and inspire. The problems some of you have experienced are sobering. Clearly, this is no panacea. I'll try to lurk a bit less and share a bit more as I gain some experience. See ya'll later!

Hi there and thanks for 'coming out of your zoo closet'!!!!! We're glad to have you here! Katie

Hey!! Dr. F is not geographically close to ANYONE, I think But he IS worth the travel time. Get ready to kiss your meds goodbye..lol....Please always feel free to email me with any questions you might have Kathy aka Dixie

Hi! Welcome! I hope you'll feel more comfortable sharing more in the future. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to post them ... more often than not, they'll get great answers! Best of luck to you! Cathy

Hi there and welcome to the group! As you already seem to know, you are making a life-changing choice, one that I am thankful every day that I made. You are on a great path. Dr. Frantzides is a great choice, and your friend the med school dean gave you great advice. I firmly believe that lap is the way to go, and Dr. F. is one of the best around for that procedure. I'm also in the western 'burbs, not too far from you, and the trip to Evanston is not my idea of fun. But the staff is great, Dr. F. is tops in his field, and Karen Thomas, his Bariatric Coordinator, would be worth the trip at twice the distance. Enjoy the journey and keep us posted as you progress.