i think i want this surgery and need advice or help

Hi Everyone,

I hope you can help me.  I am 38 years old, 5'4 and 260.  I hate myself every minute of every day because of being so overweight.  I never want to go anywhere and can't visit family or friends because of it.  I don't work anymore either - I WAS a musical theatre actress on her way to a great career.

I am on Medicare, haven't applied for OHP yet - and in Southern Oregon.  PLEASE HELP if you can. 

I'm terrified of the surgery - I hear that people die from it... but I don't want to live like this either.  What's best the total Gastric Bypass or the Lapband?  I want to get it done immediately.

Thank you for listening. 

 Hi Rose - I know where you're coming from.  Most of us had lots of issues with ourselves and our body image before surgery.  Some of us still do afterwards.  I'd check out the library and read all you can about weight loss surgery.  Yes, people do die from it.  People die from having their tonsils out, or in childbirth, or during all sorts of surgeries -- the anesthesia is a big risk for any type of surgery.  Then of course, there is always a risk for complications.  BUT, the majority of people who have the surgery come through without many problems and go on to do really well with weight loss.  Read about the lap band, gastric bypass, vertical sleeve gastrectomy, duodenal switch, etc., and then make the decision about which would be the best for you.  I chose the gastric bypass because I preferred the re-routing of my digestive tract to force my body to not absorb everything I eat.  I'm sure I would have worked my way around the band and gained my weight back.  Some say the duodenal switch will allow you to eat all the foods you still love and still lose weight.  Check the facts, see what suits you best, then go for it.

Linda

Thank you so much!  I am so glad to have found some support here.  I have a lot of research to do, but  I think I've made up my mind to do it... I don't think I can do it on my own. 

Suzanne

 Good luck.  This site has a lot of information and the message boards are full of good folks acting as
a support system for each other.

I just had the gastric bypass surgery 3 weeks ago and I'm ready to go back to work tomorrow.  

It's a huge leap to take and I was scared to do it too.  It felt like jumping off a cliff----but apparently 

I can fly!  Who knew?

Do your research, make a considered decision and hang out here for support.  

You deserve to feel better.

There is another surgical option, the DS. Visit the surgery boards and read about all the different surgeries, and what they are like to live with. (If you want, you can read my profile, you can get there by clicking on my picture at the left). This is a big decision, and I know how you can want to do it immediately, but take some time to be sure before you jump into anything, unless it's medically urgent for you to do ASAP.  Each surgery has it's pluses and minuses, and you will have to live with them for the rest of your life. Congrats on being ready to change your life!

I just had the Vertical Sleeve Surgery. I was back at work in a little over a week. I'm almost a month out now, and you can hardly see where the incisions were. I've lost 20 lbs and the real miracle is that I'm not hungry anymore. Let me know if you have any questions.
cathy

Congrats!  Do you know if medicare will pay for the sleeve?

 

Medicare does not cover the sleeve as a stand-alone operation at all.  If you want the sleeve, then you will have to go for the Duodenal Switch (DS).  I know this because I had the DS at OHSU last year, and Medicare and my secondary insurer paid for it.

I understand that OHSU has stopped offering the lap-band procedures.

Hmmm.. i don't know - a few days ago they told me that medicare would cover only the gastric bypass surgery or the lapband, and that at the seminar they would tell me more so I could decide....

I'm not sure what the situation is, but they did say that they don't  recommend the DS at all...and that it is only in very few situations that they will do it for you.  I don't know much about them tho.

Are they nice and did you feel supported by OHSU?

May I ask who was against the DS? If you went to the session at Legacy, they do not preform it there. just an FYI.