almost 700 lbs

I had rny surgery about 12 weeks ago now and I am doing okay.  I had to complete a 6 month supervised diet and education class through so cal kaiser before surgery.  I learned a lot.  I was 477 when I started the six month program but my highest weight was about 510 in 2004.  I lost 85 lbs pre-op, with diet and going to water aerobics, and am now down a total of 143 lbs to 334 as of last Wednesday.  This surgery is going to be life changing for you.  Depending on your health and ability to heal, rny will not be the cure all end all for your problems.  I just posted a few days ago on the rny board that I do not dump and can eat whatever I want at that point, only 11 weeks out.  It is taking a lot more self control than I originally thought it would to not eat those bad foods and control my portions.  I liked rny for the idea of natural consequences and now that I don't have them I have to exercise more self control.  I am happy I had the surgery and am losing a good amount of weight, I feel.  But, like another has said, you may want to look into duodenal switch.  A lot of insurance does not cover ds but I have heard good things about it.  Good luck on your journey. 

You live in California.  You could have had any surgery you wanted.  The external review board in Californa allows you the option to have any procedure you want if you are willing to fight for it.

If your insurence doesn`t cover the DS, you can almost always force them to pay for it it you have the time to wait for surgery. I understand that this may not be an option if your health is very bad.. but a lot of insurence companies now pay for the DS without fights. Medicare pays for it too.

"If your insurence doesn`t cover the DS, you can almost always force them to pay for it it "

Maybe you can do that in Germany, but here in the US one cannot force an insurance company to do anything. You can appeal, but often they just say NO anyway.

There are very very awesome vets at the DS board that can help you accomplish just about "forcing" your insurance company to pay. They are rife with information, sample appeal letters, and links to pertinent medical articles and have succeeded in helping many people overturn their insurance decisions.

HIJACK    Donna,  It took me over 2 years, and a TON of paperwork, and a few hearings....  BUT i got NJ BC/BS to change their policy.     Maybe there were others fighting them as well, I'm not sure,  but right up until the final hearing they were saying NO, and then I got a letter about them now including my surgery.  (All done without a lawyer!  (Insert long story of a broke woman here)  LOL    I  hated the wait (and the weight)  but it was soooo worth it!    Weight loss surgery was the only answer for me, and once I picked a type, and then a surgeon,  I refused to let their silly games keep me back!    You can win against some insurance companies!  It's always worth fighting for!  Mary C

Mary that is encouraging to hear.  Because I am getting a VSG and my doc is talking about converting to a RNY in a year and a half when I am under 300 and can get my hernia fixed.  So when the time comes, if I have not lost what I want to lose with just the VSG I will definitely try for the DS conversion.  But, from what I researched so far, I think I might be fine with just the VSG.  I have seen many people who have lost 150 to 200 range with the VSG alone.  Thanks for the info. 

Converting a perfectly good Sleeve into a pouch is one of the dumber things I've heard of surgeons doing. If you do find that you do need malabsorption---and I'm betting you will---the thing to do is to add the Switch part to the Sleeve you already have. But you do need to do this as soon as possible, because there seems to be some evidence that the sudden restriction in calories combined with the way the Switch affects metabolism just plain works better if done close to the same time.

As for whether you'll 'be fine' with just the Sleeve---it's not so much about losing the weight, but about keeping it off long-term. That's where malabsorption really comes into play.

Not true, I appealed & my insurance denied. I appealed higher & they are now being "forced" to pay for a DS. I'm also in the US.

Most people who fight for their right to have the surgery they need for them to be healthy win.  It is a matter of getting the right studies together and appealing, and yes you can force them to pay for your DS with a fight.