Has anyone gone through the Barix Clinic in Ypsi??

I had a wonderful experience w/ Dr. Pop and the staff both before and after my RNY.  The only person I didn't really care for was the nutritionalist.  The nurses who took care of me after surgery were amazing, very attentive and caring.  My surgery was routine, I had no complications and so far I've see great success.  I was allowed to skip my 6 month check up (just had to send in the blood work) because I've been doing so well.  I look forward to my 12 month check up this summer :)

I live in Howell and went to St. John's Weight Loss because my surgeon, Kerry Kole came highly recommended for VSG. And boy they were right about him. The surgery was in Madison Hts but all the follow up care and support groups are at Providence Park in Novi.

I also go to the support meetings with the Michigan Bariatric Institute at St. Mary Mercy in Livonia. They have a terrific staff and the support meetings are excellent and open to everyone. The majority of people at the meetings had surgery there and loved the surgeon.

I drove to Madison Hts twice including the day of surgery and it was 58 miles from my house. But to be honest, I would drive 200 miles to have Dr. Kole again. He is absolutely the best in my book. Just look at my results. I couldn't be happier with my sleeve.

Great to hear. I am going to him now, surgery will be within next 2-3 weeks probably. I went thru the entire program at U of M, I even had a surgery date, about to start liquid when I was called by them telling me that my insurance required the hospital to be a center of excellence (Which U of M's program is NOT). So, I wasted all that time at U of M (not really because I got all my tests done, etc).

Needless to say, I looked for a better place. I live 2 minutes away from the Barix Center in Ypsi (I ride my bike by there), but that place was not covered under my insurance. Anyhow, I made my way to Dr. Kole and he explained that he knows the 2 surgeons at U of M personally (actually, now there are 3), but he said he's performed more WLS than both docs at U of M. Got approval from insurance yesterday for St. Johns in Madison Heghts.

One thing I will mention... U of M has the BEST education system and followup. I learned SO much thru them. Possibly, because I was 100% ready to go when I got to Dr. Kole, but for some reason they didn't tell me much at all, I mean they explained the basics, but I felt U of M went WAY more into detail about vitamins, nutrition, possible side effects, etc. The only reason I did not go thru with it at U of M is because my insurance denied them for being a Center of Excellence. Anyone planning on going to U of M please please please save yourself so much time and frustration and find out from your insurance company if they require a COE. If yes, please know that U of M is not one.

Heather, you will go through a class prior to surgery and all the vitamins, nutrition and further information will be shared at that time. Dr. Kole is also a trauma surgeon so if anything (heaven forbid) should go wrong, he's the one you want to be with you. I wish you the best of luck and look forward to hearing your progress.

Thanks Suane! Dr Kole immediately instilled a calm in me when I met him. I am waiting for the surgery date, I was to get a call today or Monday morning to schedule it. At that time, they will also setup my nutrition class, which I'm REALLY anticipating. I am so thirsty for knowledge for what to do, what to eat, etc. I'm excited and nervous at the same time, if that's possible.

I'll be updating my profile soon, we'll be taking pre-op pics tomorrow (oh joy). I hope to have a date on Monday. Suane, may I add you as a 'friend'?

Thank you and best of luck with you also, looks like you are doing GREAT!

Don't judge a place by one bad review.  Barix has a good reputation and the doctors only do WLS and procedures related to the surgery.  Go to their website and check for yourself.  You can also go to a consulation and meet one of the doctors.

Followup care has been good.  When I had a sudden drop in blood sugar, Dr. Schram returned my call in 3 minutes...yes I timed him.  So, go to more than one place and then judge for yourself.  Ask people who have actually been there and not  your cousin's best friend's neighbor.  

I actually attended one of their meetings 2 years ago with my husband since I live nearby and I felt like we were being herded through.  Sorry, I do not remember the doctors name...but I can tell you I knew more information about the procedures prior to the visit than was explained to us.  The girl at the insurance desk gave me the icd9 code and told me to call my insurance company to find out if it was a covered procedure...which I did.  The code my insurance covered was 1 digit off, so for the next 6 months I got the run around of being pre-approved then eventually denied.  It was a very frustrating and heart-breaking experience...and they do make you work for a lot of things to prove you want this surgery.  I would not recommend them at all, but that is my opinion.   Now I am going through another office and it has been a completely different kind of experience.  Go to one of the meetings and see for yourself.  It always best to be your own judge.  Just because it is not a good fit for me does not mean it will not be for you, afterall there are a lot of success stories from Barix.

I just met a friend yesterday who went to Barix.  She's down 175 lbs after just over a year.  she's doing great, said they are amazing.

I went to Dr Hendrick @ Henry Ford in Wyandotte.  He's the one for me.  He is AMAZING, caring, and a HARD ASS when you need a kick to the butt.

I had my surgery at Barix with Dr. Pop. He is an EXCELLENT surgeon. He's done way more VSGs than are mentioned on the statistics on OH. I know his first VSG patient personally. He's an excellent surgeon, formerly doing transplants.

Barix though definitely lacks in aftercare. If you can find a Centre of Excellence I would go for that - a comprehensive program will give you a better chance at making long term changes with their support.

Dawn

I went there for a consultation back in 2003 and it was called something else, the place was filthy.
I had my procedure done at Beaumont.

Best of luck

Robin