Looking into gastric bypass, lap band...what to expect

I figured this was the best place for such information.  I want to know what to expect from the different surgeries such as bypass, lap-band and this new sleeve thing, how should I approach my Dr., about how long does it take for BCBSNC to approve, what do you eat, drink etc. before and after surgery.  I have heard that the liquid nutritional suppliment is not very good, are there ones that are better than others.  and finally who are the Dr's. in the Raleigh area that   perform this surgery,  the only one I am aware of is Dr. Enochs.  I am seriously considering talking ot my Dr. about this, and just want to know what I am in for. Thank you so much for your time in reading ans answering my questions Phyllis

You might want to check into the free seminar at Nash General Hospital Weight Loss Center in Rocky Mount.  I had my surgery there and everything went well.  I was one of the first patient's through the center so it was kind of like feeling your way along.  It has been a year now and they have really developed a center of excellence.   I had NCBCBS through State Employees Health and they approved my surgery within 2 days of receiving the paperwork from my surgeon.  If you have  a BMI over 40 or over 35 with comorbidities its very easy to get approved.  The decision whether to have lapband, RNY or Fobi is best left to discuss with your doctor about your particular health reasons for doing this surgery.  The lapband is slower weight loss.  I had RNY after discussing my diabetes with the surgeon.  Since I had Type II Diabetes for over 10 years they felt that I would do better with the RNY than the lapband and that I would have a better outcome for my diabetes.  In a year I have lost 110 pounds, cured my diabetes, hypertension and depression.  I no longer take the 12 medications that I was on before surgery.  I am 60 and have energy to spare.  It was the best decision that I have ever made.  I highly recommend Dr. Naziri or Dr. McDonald.  They have a wonderful PA that is in charge of the program by the name of Shannon HInkle.  She was just super in supervising my care and getting me through the first weeks.  She was also the person who did my closing during surgery and I have to really hunt to find my scars.  Check out the Nash General Web site.   Good luck.  We will look forward to welcoming you to the NC Loser's Bench. 

Hi Phyllis, Welcome to the NC forum. As far as which surgery you should have is a choice you need to make with your doctor and yourself. I had RNY and I thank God everyday I had it done. I had to first relize that my eatting lifestyle would never be the same after surgery. I would urge you into reading the information that Obesityhelp provides on this site. Each person if different so I cant give you a time on how long it would take before you get a surgery date. I know with me once I decided Ok I am going to do this I think I was ready that minute but you have to have many test done before getting a date. Personally the waiting part was the worst.                                             Anniep59

UMMMM, what is a comorobitities

Unfortunately, I had to delete this post due to privacy concerns.

Comorbidities are things such as diabetes, high blood pressure, etc.  In other words, medical problems caused or aggravated by obesity.   To determine your BMI, you can google BMI calculator and then just enter your height and wt and it will give you your current BMI.  I had my bypass surgery (RNY) on 2/19.  I made my choice after speaking to my doctor and with his recommendations.  I have not regretted it for a minute.   As others have said, you may want to start at an info meeting to learn the differences.   Different docs also require diff pre-op testing.  My doc had me drink Carnation Instant Breakfast 6 times a day for 2 weeks prior to surgery and it taste just like chocolate milk and i lost 14 lbs in those 14 days.  I also made sure to space every 2 1/2 hours so i never got really starving.   Again, all docs are diff and don't all require a liquid pre-op diet.   Some just require liquids for a few weeks after the surgery before you graduate to soft food.  Since i didn't have the lapband or other methods, i don't have the info on them. Good luck on your journey, Pam 

Phyllis,

Welcome to the forum. Paula's response was really on the the money, as were the comments by Pam and Annie. Each procedure has it's pros and cons. It's great to go into this with asking as many questions as possible, so what you are doing is great. You will find that which surgery is best for you will depend on a number of factors. I chose RNY because of it's high diabetes remission rate, the fact that I had more than 100 lbs to lose and I actually 'benefited' from the iron malabsorption because I have hemochromatosis which causes your body to store iron. That's not a problem for me anymore, so I don't have to get regular phlebotomies ... YEAH.

Re: Drs, in the area. You can do a search on OH and it will give you very comprehensive list of Dr's who are in NC. It first lists Dr's who have decided to be 'affiliated' with OH and then those who have not. In addition to Dr. Enoch, there is also a Dr. Moran, the Dr's associated with Duke (Dr's DeMaria, Pryor, Portenier and Torquati ... a new one will be joining them soon). There is also Dr. Timothy Farrell with UNC Chapel Hill. Those are the ones that are in the greater RTP area. As Paula said, there others within an hour's drive in Greenville, Fayetteville, Pinehurst, etc...

I approached my Dr directly. I made my list of reasons I wanted to persue WLS and was pleased at the supportive response I received.

I wish you every success in your journey and again, welcome to the group!

Barb

The new sleeve thing is actually not all that new.  It's called the VSG, or vertical sleeve gastronomy (sp). You should also research the DS (duodenal switch).. it's similar to the RNY in that it's a restrictive and malabsorptive procedure, but it allows a larger variety of foods to be considered "healthy" (mostly higher fat items). I don't advocate any one surgery.. but just feel as someone doing research, you should look at all the options.