I am new as well

Hey to all of the Okies out there! I am also new to this site and I was wondering how many people on this site have Dr. Gornichec as their surgeon? I really like him, very concerned he is. And also, are there any Okies that are five or more years post op? I would like to talk to people who are this far post op. I am hoping to have the surgery done, almost done with pre-testing, so I am trying to get as much information as I can about everything.

Hello hello! Welcome to the Oklahoma board. I used Dr. G and I absolutely love him! I'm only 10 months post op.  Did we meet at the support group on Saturday? Let us know if you have any questions! Tonja

Hey Tonja. I haven't been to a support group meeting as of yet. I plan on attending the meeting on the 21st of this month. I hope to see you there. I was wondering how has it been in your ten months post op? Are you having any problems with anemia, b-12 defeciency, or hernias  at all?

How long has the process been for you so far?  Just trying to get a handle on how long from start to finish the whole thing takes, my dh says I should just by pass the insurance and self pay but he doesn't like to see me unhappy, God love him  I have no idea how much it will cost, I recently received medicare (disability) as primary and BC/BS of Texas as secondary, I've been told medicare has some pretty stiff guild lines for the surgery.

My process started on 7/10/07. This was the seminar that he requires you to attend. I have appointments at least one per wee****il the end of this month. I don't think they will submit my claim to my insurance company until I finish all of the appointments. I have to do an EGD and a sleep study . I also have to attend a support group meeting on the 21st of this month. This is also a requirement before and after surgery. I'm thinking that my insurance company will not get my info until the beginning of September, so I am hoping for an early date in October. It takes a couple of months to do all the testing and getting all of the info submitted and getting an approval. If you self pay, I'm sure it will not take as long. Dr. Gorichec did tell me that he likes for the process to take a while so you will have more time to really think about the surgery. If I am not mistaken, he said that his surgery center does not approve medicare as of yet, but I think they are working on this. And I also think medicare has strict rules. As far as the cost, if you have the band done, I think it is around $11,000 and if you have the RNY, it costs about $25,000. I hope I have provided a little bit of help.

wow!!   I thought it all took so much longer, I've been talking to my dh for a year now about wanting to have the surgery, I've only gotten really serious about it the past 6 mnths, getting out of breath with short walks, not being able to stand for any length of time........was always very active but i've gained so much wieght that I can no longer keep up.........you've been very helpful.  Thanks

I know I haven't had my surgery yet, but if I can help you with anything else just let me know.

I was scanning the threads and I saw where you have Medicare. Did you know that you will have to go to a Doctor that has been certified as a Center of Excellance? If you need to know the guidlines for medicare just pm and I can tell you I got them memorized or is that memorised awh gee memory is getting zapped

HI and welcome to OH! Sounds like you are well under the way to the losers bench. I personally think that support groups rock.

Being 10 months out is awesome.  There has been fast weight loss and slow weight loss - a few plateaus - but so extremely worth it.  I've lost 76 pounds so far.  My energy level is so much better and I feel like a whole new person.  I feel like I've missed out on living because of being over weight and I don't ever want to go back to that. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask specific ones - i'll answer to the best of my ability. Tonja