New, and in Tucson!

Becky: Thanks! I'll have to see if my new insurance covers him. Did you choose the surgeon, or was he chosen for you? I noticed you had seen someone in Phoenix, and was curious if that was your choice. From what I've heard, I'd really like to see Monte Schwartz here in Tucson. Any insight would be great! -Nicole

Try Monte Schwatrz' wife, Tisha Schwartz, who is a general practitioner. She has an office near River and Campbell. If anyone knows about wls, it should be the spouse of a bariatric surgeron. I have seen her once and she is nice. good luck.

My PCP is Dr. Tisha Schwartz too. I really like her a lot, but I would not want to wait until Jan to get a referral. Since chances are there may be some criteria to be met, and I can understand wanting to get started before that. From what I know, the entire Carondelet Medical Group is pretty good about this. Some more than others, some not at all. TucsonWLS has Dr. Christine Donnelly listed as a WLS friendly PCP. So that may be a good place to start. And I am 23 right now, and have never been I am too young for WLS. So just keep on persevering. Jen

Hi, My name is Lisa and I am new to Tucson as well. I have already been checking out WLS options in this area and attended a seminar at NorthWest Hospital about a week ago with Dr Chiasson. He was very friendly and I found the information easy to understand and he gave out a printed version of the powerpoint presentation which I have alredy gone back to check on several times. I didn't realize you had to have a referral from your PCP to have the surgery, but I did just setup an appointment with a new PCP and my appointment is tomorrow, so I will let you know what I find out. I am also planning to attend the WLS support group meeting next Tuesday 11/7 to meet others who have already gone through this process with the same Dr just to make sure I have double checked everything before making a final decision to proceed. It is hard starting all over again in a new town where you don't know anyone and getting a new doctor wasn't something I thought of when making the decision to move! LOL. At any rate, good luck with your journey. Feel free to contact me by email if you would like to chat further. [email protected] Happy Trails!!

HI Lisa, If you are at all interested in the Lap Band instead of the Rny, then you might be interested in attending a FREE seminar this Saturday in Tucson. Dr. Terry Simpson is a Phoenix Lap Band surgeon who has many many patients in the Tucson area. He goes there quarterly for a big support group at a local resort. He'll also host a seminar before hand. The seminar is at 10:00 a.m. and the support group follows at noon. We'll be at the Omni Resort and the signs will be posted in the lobby. You ....(or anyone) who is interested is welcome to attend. If you want more information then you can contact the office at (602) 234-8995. But, registration is not necessary...... all will be welcome. You can find out more about Dr. Simpson on www.drsimpson.com Good luck with your upcoming journey! Joyce

Hi Nicole, Have you had any luck yet in finding someone? Well just wanted to let you know I am having my surgery with Dr. Schwartz on Tuesday Dec 5th. From point A to point B it took about a little over a month for everything to get finalized from my first appointment to the surgery. I completely have full faith and trust in him and his team. They made me feel like I was number his one patient and they are so caring and informative on any problems or concerns I may have. I have 2 other friends who are his patients and they cruised right through their surgery with no complications and are so happy that they had it done. As far as your age you don't have anything to worry about I had a friend who had open rny 2 yrs ago she was 18 at the time of surgery and since then she has given birth to a healthy baby boy. At this time she has lost 120 lbs and she looks great. If you have any other questions I'd be more than willing to answer them as your start your journey. What insurance do you have?