Anybody in ND a DSer or planning on it?

I'm feeling a little alone up here in ND.  Outside of the MeritCare bariatric surgeon, I haven't run into ANYBODY who has even heard of it.  Not MeritCare's bariatric coordinator, my own PCP, my boss who is a RN, and two physician assistants that I work with.

Am I the only one here?

Not many post on this link. I am hoping it picks up more over time.
Have you tried the DS posting page?
You might get more answers there LOL
I heard a lot of insurances don't pay for DS vs RNY, maybe that's why it just seems no one is around that has had it?
Kelly/tink

Yes, there's still a fair # of insurers who won't pay for it, including mine, BCBSND.  They would cover me for the RNY & everybody in my family things I'm positively nuts to pass up that opportunity in favor for paying for the DS myself, but that's what I'm going to do.  You know the really sucky part is that BCBS of MN pays for the DS & I work in Karlstad & Thief River Falls - it's just that my company's headquarters is in Fargo, hence the ND insurance. 


I'm probably going to get surgery in the middle of March, I'm really looking forward to it.

I have heard of it, but when I was going through the process it was not one of the options at Meritcare.  I am not sure who in ND even does it.

MeritCare's new surgeon, Dr. Fabian, was trained on it on his internship.  He agreed to do it, but my ins wouldn't pay for it, so I'm going to Mexico as a self pay.  It's been a big decision!

 Lisey--have you looked into getting just the sleeve part of the DS?  Not that I'm trying to push you towards one surgery vs. another, it's just that the sleeve is relatively new up here, and thought maybe you don't know that that's another option.  Forgive me if I'm overstepping any boundaries here, but for what it's worth....

I had my sleeve done in July, in Bismarck.  Holy crap has it been awesome.  In 7 short months, I'm only 8 pounds from my goal, and I will definitely surpass that.  My original goal was to lose 100 lbs.  I'm going to shoot for an additional 30 now that I'm almost there.... I couldn't be happier with the weight loss, and the fact that there are no side effects at all.  No dumping, nothing gets "stuck", no struggles whatsoever.  And am I hungry?  Almost NEVER!  It's incredible.  Cripes, my acid reflux has actually been cured since my sleeve.

 I was a self pay, because I'm uninsured, and went with the sleeve because 1, I couldn't afford an RNY and 2, it wasn't much more than a lapband and requires zero maintenance--No Fills! There were a lot of other factors in my choice of the sleeve, too, but that's beside the point.   I too looked into going to Mexico for my procedure, but in the end I would have saved maybe $2K but would have had to been away from home for 9 days and would have had no follow up care if I'd needed it.  And no support from a nutritionist, either.   I found out that I definitely needed that the first few months out.

I don't know how much $ a DS is in MX, I'm sure it's substantially more than a sleeve though, because it's a much more complicated procedure.  The thing is, the sleeve still isn't covered by most insurances, but paying $14K for mine, in Bismarck, was well worth it.  If you have to self pay regardless, it might be something to think about.

I don't know anything about your needs as far as how much you need to lose, if you need the malabsorbtive factor of the full on DS or what not... all I can tell you is that the sleeve is the first part of the DS procedure, but without the second stage where they re-arrange your innards, so there's no dumping and no need for huge amounts of supplements. 

Feel free to PM me or read my blog if you're curious about this particular surgery; I'm just finding that not many people know about this one and I can't help but crow a little bit about how good it's been!

Best regards,
Gretchen