Newbie Introduction: Also, what are your thoughts?
Hey Everyone!
I just wanted to take a moment and introduce myself.
My name is Angus, I'm from Ottawa Canada and have just began my WLS journey! I'm getting a DS, and have a date set of August 14th. I'm very excited about it.
I was looking for a GLBT community forum here and didn't see it listed on the main page. I emailed the webmaster and asked to have one added, and they directed me to this place.
While I'm thankful for that, I also think it should be easier to get to. Do you guys have any thoughts on the matter?
Hope all is well with everyone, and I'm super excited to start reading about your journeys.
Hugs,
Angus
Hi Angus,
Welcome!
I too had a hell-of-a-time finding this place. Someone had to send me the direct web address to find it. I put it in my "bookmarks" so I'd be able to get here again.
I did hear that OH is making some changes to the forums, this one included. But, damn, since we are 10%, I'm sure that's more than some of the forums (which already have easy access).
Congrat's on the DS. I'm not so sure I wouldn't have made the same choice (had that been an option to me 4 1/2 years ago). Don't get me wrong, I do love my Lap Band, but it seems the DS allows one to have a more "normal" life with food after WLS.
-julie
Why the new login name? I thought that "gadzukes" was kinda cute! (But anyone named "Angus" is already ahead in the name-game! 
)
The only reason I *didn't* choose the DS is that no surgeon in New England performs the DS, and none of the well-known New-England-based not-for-profit HMO/PPOs will cover the DS (e.g., Harvard/Pilgrim, Tufts, Mass BC/BS). In fact, VSG is just now being performed by New England WLSurgeons, and they're still fighting to get insurance reimbursement.
If I had to choose 7 months ago, I still might have been spooked by what I imagined they did to your guts with the DS, but now that I've already gone through the whole mental process in deciding a surgery, I wouldn't hesitate to choose the DS if it were offered close by.
Which is not to say that I'm disappointed with my RNY, but the "no NSAIDs" rule given to most post-op RNYers has turned out not to be a mere theoretical issue, but one which has had a large impact on my post-RNY life. Basically, I'd been on NSAIDs for 6 months before my RNY because of hip pain. The NSAIDs worked so well that I kinda "forgot" that I needed them to walk comfortably. You might wonder: how dumb can you be if you didn't take this into account? Well, sufficiently dumb that I didn't realize quite how effective they were--I honestly imagined that my hip pain had gone into remission due to the physical therapy I had. Nope, it was ALL due to the NSAIDs! Without any pain meds, walking is like a 7 or 8 on a scale of 1-10 (10 worst). Tylenol moves it between 6 and 7.5, depending on how much I've been using it. Percocet just shaves off a point or so (5 to 6.5). After 2 days on any NSAID, I am almost completely pain-free. I'm fairly knowledgeable on matters pharmacological, but I would never ever had predicted this.
It is claimed that LapBand, VSG and DSers can all take NSAIDs after their WLS, at least after their innards heal.
/Steve
)
The only reason I *didn't* choose the DS is that no surgeon in New England performs the DS, and none of the well-known New-England-based not-for-profit HMO/PPOs will cover the DS (e.g., Harvard/Pilgrim, Tufts, Mass BC/BS). In fact, VSG is just now being performed by New England WLSurgeons, and they're still fighting to get insurance reimbursement.
If I had to choose 7 months ago, I still might have been spooked by what I imagined they did to your guts with the DS, but now that I've already gone through the whole mental process in deciding a surgery, I wouldn't hesitate to choose the DS if it were offered close by.
Which is not to say that I'm disappointed with my RNY, but the "no NSAIDs" rule given to most post-op RNYers has turned out not to be a mere theoretical issue, but one which has had a large impact on my post-RNY life. Basically, I'd been on NSAIDs for 6 months before my RNY because of hip pain. The NSAIDs worked so well that I kinda "forgot" that I needed them to walk comfortably. You might wonder: how dumb can you be if you didn't take this into account? Well, sufficiently dumb that I didn't realize quite how effective they were--I honestly imagined that my hip pain had gone into remission due to the physical therapy I had. Nope, it was ALL due to the NSAIDs! Without any pain meds, walking is like a 7 or 8 on a scale of 1-10 (10 worst). Tylenol moves it between 6 and 7.5, depending on how much I've been using it. Percocet just shaves off a point or so (5 to 6.5). After 2 days on any NSAID, I am almost completely pain-free. I'm fairly knowledgeable on matters pharmacological, but I would never ever had predicted this.
It is claimed that LapBand, VSG and DSers can all take NSAIDs after their WLS, at least after their innards heal.
/Steve Most Active
Recent Topics
