Good Morning Michigan

Hi To All,

Thanks for all of your posts and willingness to share. I am a newbie, and today is the day I get to meet with Dr. Zeni in Livonia. I am a high BMI (over 50) patient who has Crohn's Colitis...so I think this means that the sleeve will be my option...I am hoping that BCBS will cover this...I was hoping for a band, but I have been told that this is probably not a good option for me....does anyone know why?  Alos...I really am scared...this all sounds so very challenging....I am hoping that I can be up to all of the things I will need to do...Has anyone on the forum worked with Dr. Zeni? And...what type of pre-op tests will I have?

Thanks so very much for all of your help!

I was also over 50 bmi when I opted to look into surgery.My surgeon told me due to my weight I was not a canidate for the lap band.I am not sure if it is a surgeon decision or not but I believe it might be.As with all new things its normal to have some fears but I am sure everything will work out and you will be very happy in the end.Your physician will also decide what pre op tests you may need.Good luck and be happy!

Speaking for someone how has the Lapband... If you do not have extra control of what you eat you DO NOT NEED THE LAPBAND.....It's real easy to cheat and a lot of people do just that. IT'S GIVING THE LAPBAND A BAD NAME...Hope you have a good surgery and make the right choose

Good morning and welcome to the board. 

I had a bmi of 57.2 when I started.  My surgeon also told me that lap band was not a good option for me.  It is exactly as Randy has stated.  If I could control my eating, I would not have a BMI of 57.   I knew I needed both the restriction of the size of the pouch along with the restriction of the sugar intake (I am a chocoholic).   I never was a large volume eater.  I was content with a slice of pizza.  Give me a bag of chocolate, and it was gone in no time.   The surgery doesn't fix everything, you will always have these demonds. 

Best of luck in your endeavor.  If your looking at the sleeve, visit those boards here on OH too.  You might have better answers to your questions too.

Pam

I had VSG with Dr. Zeni on 12/29.  I, too, was scared.  Not just of the surgery, but of the fact that I have not been able to control my eating, how was I going to be able to do it after the surgery?  It has been going well so far.  The small stomach doesn't really let you eat too much or you will feel it. 

Pre-op testing:  I went for my psych eval and had an stomach scope.  My pcp had to complete my okay for surgery two weeks before, at that visit I had blood work and chest xray. 

Everything went very well at the hospital.  I just took everyone's advise and walked, sipped, and walked again.  My issue at the hospital was that on my second night I didn't get a shot for nausea with the pain meds which caused me to have the dry heaves...not fun. 
Oh the first night, and until after the swallow test, you will have a foley cath.  It wasn't much fun either....trying to walk with the IV and the foley was a challenge. 

P.S.  I loved dr. zeni and the staff.  Very warm and welcoming.

Good luck with your visit.  Hope you get all the answers to all your questions.

Hopefully your visit went well.

I dont know a lot about the band. I have heard similar things as you have. My doctor also suggests not having the Band or RnY if you have Crohn's and he prefers the Sleeve for Crohn's patients.

check out the VSG forum as well. You will find a lot of great information there. There are actually quite a few VSG'rs from Michigan because BCBSM is one of the first insurance companies to cover the VSG as a stand alone procedure.

My doctor would not let me do the lap band either. I spent a few months coming to the decision that teh sleeve was for me.   I was told that the weight loss with the sleeve would be too slow and I would probably fall back into my old habits becuase I was not seeing the results fast enough.  

I had my sleeve on wednesday and BCBS is covering it.

Thanks so much for your post!!

I am still waiting to hear the final decision from my surgeon....when I met with him and his staff last Tuesday everything seemed like it would be happening...then my Dr. decided that he wanted some information about my initial Crohn's Dx from 10 years ago...his office staff is planning to get back to me sometime soon...I believe that my surgeon is still looking at otions for me....sigh....I actually am a bit more concerned about the pre-op tests (which aren't scheduled yet)...as some of them sound a bit scary...  I haven't had a single Crohn's symptom since my initial Dx 10 years ago...as I have listened and read information from other sleeve patients, the surgery is sounding better and better to me...how are you doing post-op?  I will be praying for you to have a speedy and uneventful recovery from your surgery!

Lee