What doctor did you go to or will be going to?
Hi Becca,
Welcome to the forum! I look forward to getting to know you as your make your way on one of the most life changing journeys you may ever encounter.
It would probably help to know what geographical area you live in as we give you recommendations.
That said, I had my surgery done at Duke in Durham NC. They have one of a handful of ASMBS designated Centers of Excellence which my insurance required, so that had something to do with why I selected them. Of course, I could have selected another COE, but have been generally happy with them. There site in Durham is one of the larger sites in the area and with that comes some good and bad. They have an excellent state of the art facility that is specifically geared to and for the bariatric community. All of their Dr's are beyond competent int he field and generally have many, many years of bariatric surgery behind them, so that means that all of their Dr's are not only good at managing the run of the mill cases, but can also handle difficult or unusual cases. They offer just about all of the currently available surgeries, including Roux-en-Y, DS, LabBand and Sleeve. They have on staff dieticians and psychologists and you are 'required' to participate' in their pre and post op programs. They also offer once a month support groups. I have found the staff to generally be personable and to try to work with me. That said, my husband had an incredibly difficult time with the office staff when he was trying to process his paperwork. Our answer to that was to keep copies of everything submitted and to work with them and to be honest the patient assistance office. All of that said, my surgery was nearly 4 years ago and my husbands was more than 2 years ago, but I understand that office issues still remain. If you would like to consider the program at Duke, but want a more personalized experience, I strongly suggest that you look at the new program that they have launched at Duke Raleigh. It's a much smaller, more intimate office and I really like them. I have been to their facility a number of times and have opted to have the surgeon that is the director for that program take over my care because my surgeon is no longer affiliated with Duke.
I hope that information helps.
Wishing you all the best,
Barbara
ObesityHelp Coach and Support Group Leader
http://www.obesityhelp.com/group/bcumbo_group/
High-264, Current-148, Goal-145
I will put it this way, I would let him do this procedure EACH YEAR, if necessary, to stay this healthy, this mentally fit and to keep the weight off.
Highest/Surgery/Current/Goal
250/241/139.5/125
I have a new philosophy, I'm only going to dread one day at a time. Charlie Brown