Great Room! Curious about your thought process?
Questions:
- what was your thought process when you choose your type of surgery?
- was it cost, coverage by insurance, loss ability, ability to keep it off?
It is hard to talk to the women on this, as they seem to be almost zealots in support of their type of surgery...i really have never seen a phenom like this. I did post before, and challenged them, but just got tired of the exchange.
I have to do something, i am hitting rock bottom......BMI is 50+....have new twins, and alot to be here for, if you know what i mean, and i feel as if i am in fat quicksand......and it is ******g me off.
thanks
Think you are referring to Scott. He and Batwingsman are our most frequent posting DS males. Both have done incredibly well with their DS's. Both have lost over 200 lbs and I think Scott is over 300 lbs gone.
Only advice I can suggest is do your homework on all the WLS out there and decide what is best for you based on what you learn, your weight loss goals, your insurance coverage etc. It can be confusing as all get out!
I went with my particular surgeon based on a recommendation I got from my cardiologist. Wish I had used my ex-wife's surgeon since he was cheaper and from where I was living at the time Tyler was closer to me than going to Dallas.
FYI: Tomball is my old stomping grounds. To date myself I was living there when it was only a 3A school and 290 only went to the first light past 610! Can recall too well pulling concrete down there in the summer of 1980!!
Never, and I mean NEVER, trust a fart!! 
Hi there, my name is Brian. This may take awhile but I want to share my reasons why I chose the RNY. I do not want to put down other surgeries. I would just like to explain why I chose the RNY. I was self pay. I could have gone with any surgery available...done anywhere in the world. About 6 months before my surgery my cardiologist came to me during my appointment and stated to me I "had" congestive heart failure. It seemed he was announcing to me a death sentence. My heart had a ejection rate of 35% (meaning the heart was pumping out the blood in my heart at that percent). Normal is about 50%. I asked if there was anything that could be done. He said weight loss may help, but once you have it, you have it for life. After much research and prayer, I decided to have the RNY. I wanted to have my surgery at a local hospital. I felt I needed to have it at a hospital that had a good cardiology department. I had a heart attack and a double heart bypass 6 years prior.
Looking at the LapBand, I felt it was too much work. Also the weight regain was a concern. I looked into the DS, also. The thought of having much of my stomach removed scared me. DS had been proven effective at the time, yet to get my surgery locally was important to me. I felt most doctors know the RNY and the complications associated with it. If I ended up in an emergency room, they would understand my situation better than trying to explain the DS. (By the way, many doctors are clueless about both.) I had to get a staph infection cleared up prior to surgery. The DS is really 2 surgeries at the same time. Right or wrong, that scared me. I also “had" Irritable Bowel Syndrome. The RNY surgery originally was designed to help IBS...They later found out it was effective in weight loss, too. With RNY they have found the sweet spot. They now know how much small intestine to remove to be effective…yet still allowing for enough absorption. I had to get cleared for my surgery by my surgeon, PCP, and cardiologist. I hurried through my psych evaluation and pre-op classes. I then scheduled my surgery. It all got done within 3-4 months (again, I was racing the clock concerning my heart). I had the surgery and have not looked back I got to my and my doctor’s goal in 6 months and 10 days (190#). My ejection rate rose to 45-50 percent (normal). The IBS is totally gone!! I regained about 25 pounds (by eating carbs and sugar). I then had a second heart attack. It was a wake up call. I worked and dropped 20 pounds using my tool (yes it is hard work…but well worth it). Every day from here to my death is gravy (well, maybe gravy is a bad analogy…more like bonus). No major complications and I am enjoying life. I can eat anything and not get sick. Yet, some things I must only eat in moderation. WLS is a tool…it is work. But I myself would do it again in a heartbeat. Just me.
Find out all you can about WLS before you plunge in. Contrary to what you may see some of the women post, and in what they cam be very emotionally impassioned about, there is no perfect WLS that will fix everything. You have to do your part both physically and mentally. All weight loss surgeries come with risks, some they share and some risks unique to each surgery type. Also no WLS is failure proof, you can fail in many was, so foll lowing the basic rules of successful WLS is essential.
Find out all you can, the good and the bad, then decide what is best for you with your doctors. Include your primary physician in that process, after all he will be the one who will ultimately be there keeping an eye on your medical status. Also, while we usually hate to talk about it, know that not losing enough weight or gaining weight back are not the only failures possible through WLS. The purpose of doing this should be your health and failures to heed to the risks of an individual type of WLS can be detrimental to that goal.
Best wishes, and good luck
Nick
Nick
1) I chose RNY because my concerns were beyond weight loss. I am pre-diabetic, but damn close to full blown and I am 33. My entire family is diabetic and in terrible shape medically. The RNY bypasses the duodenum where (according to my doctor) most of the sugar (excess sugar) is absorbed into the bloodstream. RNY surgery seems to do the "best" job at knocking out Type II diabetes in the short and long term comparatively; which is why it is an approved type II diabetes treatment in other countries. On the other side of the coin, that same area of the small intestine is where most of your vitamins and minerals are absorbed. My advice is to consult your doctor and together make the best decision for your health.
2) If insurance is going to cover one type of WLS, it generally covers most types. In my case with Aetna Insurance, they cover by definition 50% of WLS... but because my "in network" maximum out of pocket would be reached for myself, I am only responsible for about ~15% of the cost. It saved my thousands of dollars out of my pocket. I can't be for sure, but I think I overheard from the Aetna representative I talked to that RNY surgery is around $15-25K depending on the surgeon and where you leave.
Take Care & Good Luck,
Jason
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SW: 375 / HW: 375 I'm down 173 lbs!
CW: 202 / GW: 200 I'm at my goal... I'm good!!!!!!
You asked a lot of questions here, and we are so glad you did. Do all the research you can before your surgery. The more you research the better your chances of success. My older sister had surgery six months after I did. I fear she did not do the research I did and it shows in her progress. She seems oblivious to my comments when I ask her about her unchanged eating habits. I fear she will be a failure as a result. Attitude and dedication is so important after WLS.
Nick
