Please respond with your feedback!

Hi Everyone! I have been "lurking" on the South of the Border forum for months now. I am going to a bariatric clinic in Minnesota and learning all I can from OH forums and the clinic for the last year or so. I am sure my insurance company will deny me. They now want 12 months doctor supervised diet. You have to prove it is medically necessary. My PCP is behind me in my decision. My company renews their policy in July and I have no doubt that Bariatric Surgery will be eliminated. I have heard that is what BCBS is doing everywhere and my company wants to "save money" on the next renewal. So, I plan on going to Doctor Aguirre in September. As a matter of fact, I am going September 13th and having surgery the 14th. I really want your feedback! Please all you old timers help with this. What I want to know is: What problems have you had after your surgery? Any strictures? Bowl blockage? Blood clots? or whatever.... If you had any problems, how did you find a doctor that would take care of these problems in the states? I know my PCP will do the blood tests and take care of minor issues, but I have no idea how to find a surgeon who will take care of me if necessary. I know the doctors in the clinic I have been going to will not. I am confident in my decision and really looking forward to my surgery date. I am not being negative, I just want to be prepared! I love this site! It was so great to read the apartment VS hotel and the fantastic information on many of your profiles. You guys are GREAT! Thank you! You all deserve a good :clap

Hey Judy: Congrats on your appointment with Dr. "A". HE's AWESOME!!! I think I had the usual little things after surgery. My Dr. had a cow when he found out i went to Mexico, but then he chilled out when he saw how well i was doing. i don't know what to tell you on "what if something happens" as i didn't really have anything happen. I just went into my usual dr. for my regular checkups and he does the blood work and physical check. Best of luck....You'll be in GREAT hands!!! Tami~

Thanks for responding! My doctor will have a "cow" when I finally tell her about Mexico too. She is behind me in the surgery so she will hopefully get over it quick.

Judy, Same with me. I have had absolutely no complications at all. Dr. A is one of the finest Dr's I have ever met. He is the best. I go to my PCP for my bloodwork and such as well. He just has to be reminded every once in awhile about those big pills and write me a script for liquid. (I had bronchitis right after I got home from Mexico. Not surgery related, just sinus drainage settling into my chest! I had no sinus or allergy problems in Mexico! Neither did my husband.) Genie

Thanks for responding! Hopefully I will not need a surgeon for years!

I had lap RNY fobi pouch with Drs Zorrilla and Zapata in Monterrey on 7-4-03. I was happy with my care and my stay. They recommended I have my gallbladder out at home which I did in October 03. I chose Dr. Carroll who also does WLS to remove my gallbladder (lap) so that he could follow me for WLS also. He did some blood work and released me to my PCP. In March of 05 I developed bad abdominal and upper back pain, and went back to Dr Carroll , it turned out to be a blood clot between my liver and intestines. Dr. Carroll says it is due to the WLS, but any abdominal or hip surgery is a risk for a blood clot, so I think it could be either the WLS or gall bladder. I have not felt that Dr Carroll has been very thorough in dealing with this after I got out of the hospital, but he has me on coumadin. I spent 4 nights in the hospital, and then had about eight more times (spaced 2 to 8 days apart) when I was in a lot of pain for about 10-12 hours. Then the pain would just go away. The explanation I got was that when I eat, blood goes to the intestines to digest the food, then can't leave the intestines freely due to the clot. But why would that be intermittant? Anyway, the symptoms have been gone now for 4 1/2 weeks, so I guess the coumadin is working. Overall, even with this complication possibly from WLS, I would do it again in a heartbeat. -- Jody lap fobi RNY 7/4/03 217/ 142

Thanks for responding! I hope I can find a surgeon in the Twin Cities or northern Wisconsin area that will work on me if I have a problem down the road. As we all know, anything can happen!

Congratulations on your surgery date! September will be here before you know it. You will be so pleased you made this decision. I had an RNY with Dr. Aguirre on May 6, 2004. Everything went like a dream. I had very little pain and absolutely no complications what so ever. I was one of the lucky ones that was able to go shopping and walk a mile and a half the week after surgery. I had no problems with foods and can eat just about anything I want unless it has tons of sugar or fat. By eleven months out, I was almost to goal. Early in April I caught a stomach virus that was going around the area where I live. I threw up for the first time since my WLS. After that every few days I would have really bad pain in my abdomen. On 4/12 the pain was extremely bad and I started throwing up over and over. You can read the details by going to my web site at (www.) cherimoran.com and clicking on the 2005 Journal page. The short version of the story is that after testing I had surgery to remove a bowel obstruction on 4/13. Then on 4/19 the pain and throwing up started again and on 4/20 I had to have surgery because my small intestine had wrapped around my bowel and the bowel had a kink in it like a water house. I had to have a section of small intestine removed. My surgeon told us several times that the obstructions were not necessarily a result of my WLS. Any surgery I have ever had or something totally unrelated could have caused them. He and the doctor that did my scope were very complimentary of the surgery that Dr. Aguirre did. They said he did an excellent job and that it had healed beautifully. In October I had started going to a bariatric surgeon that had agreed to do my follow up care. I located him through a WLS support group that I attend in Abilene, Texas. I located the support group by e-mailing people that posted on OH from my area. I would ask if they knew of a support group in our area that I could attend since I had my surgery in Mexico. This doctor's nurse leads our group and she encouraged me to contact him as she felt sure he would take me as a follow up patient. The great news is that by my one year anniversary I had reached my goal and surpassed it by 4.5 pounds. I am extremely excited to have lost 119.5 pounds. Other than these recent problems, I have been extremely healthy. I wish you the very best as you make this exciting journey. If you have any questions, please e-mail me. Cheri

Thank you for responding! Wow, you have done fantastic with your weight loss! Thanks for the tip to email people on OH from my area. I can't wait to be on the losing side! September will be here soon....just not soon enough!

I had my surgery in August of 2004 with Dr. Aguirre. I have so far (knock wood) have had no problems with my surgery. I am able to eat almost anything so far with no problems. I was on diabetes meds and blood pressure meds that are no longer needed now. Just recently I have been having problems with low blood sugars it was 42 the other night and as I am typing this I stopped to take it and it is 76 which is low for me (get very shakie and weak). I guess that means I have to have a protein snack an a little sugar. But other than this recent problem it has been so worth the surgery (down 90 lbs.) Good luck to you.