Puget Sound Hoop Jumping

I have read of the many hoops the Doctors and the Insurace companies put us through. It was an easy process with my Sleep apnea, Gerd, and High bood pressure to get on the Madigan Army hospital waiting list for Dr Carter to do the Bypass. But the up to 2 year wait is insane. I pushed for Urgernt consolt to move up my date or even get a surgery date. That appointment will Be Monday 11/24/03. If I can not get a surgery date within 3 mo, I will seek an outside Dr. Now what bothers me is will I end up jumping a bunch of new hoops and new tests I have already had. To satisfy a new DR. I have Tricare Prime Ins. I live in Olympia. Also I need recommendations for good Bypass surgions in Puget sound. Was thinking of DR OH. Thanks to all Im not sleeping well. Payers are appreaciated.

Hi Michael, Dr Srikanth (my Dr) has Dr Oh assistant him. They are at two different offices but I hear Dr Oh is great. I know that the waiting list for my Dr is out till February or so already. You could probably call Dr Oh's and ask how far out they are scheduling. Then have Madigan send your records of all your recent tests to results to him so you won't have to start all over Good luck and I'll keep you in my prayers........Latzy Bliss

Dr Oh is my doctor and he is considered one of the best in his field. His office is in Federal Way and his phone number is 253-946-8093 His staff is very friendly and helpful. I can not answer whether or not they will require you to redo all your tests. But, maybe not if they were done recently. Good luck on your journey! ~~Carla

Dr. Oh is my doctor and I must agree that he is great. I had heard recently that he is not taking any Tricare patients. You might call and ask. I also have a friend who had Dr. Srikanth and is VERY happy with him. Dr. Oh and Dr. Srikanth assist for one another so they are probably very similar in technique.

Michael, I have Tricare Prime, the only Dr.s that I know of that take it is Dr Weber or the 4 Dr.s @ UW Hospital. I'm going through UW, first consult was Sept. and I'm hoping for surgery this month, if not I am scheduled for January 8th. Tricare approved the day after they got the psych evaluation. Hope all goes well for you, Marj

Hi, Marge, I remember you from earlier posts. I believe your surgeon is in the same building as mine. I had my first consult today, the 2nd, with Dr. Dellinger. I went regarding a large umbilical hernia, but then blurted out the wls, which was what I really hoped I would have the courage to do. Dr. Dellinger says the stats on the weight loss percentages are lower, in reality, than generally stated, and he did go over possible risks. I know he was sounding me out to see if I really mean this or I could be scared off. I, being a cat PURRson, do skitter off easily, but it took a lot of something or other to get this far. I was somewhat taken aback that he only does gastric bypass, and says the band isn't effective. He said that even with the bypass, I might lose down to 215 pounds, so I would still be obese. He gave me until next Tuesday, the 9th, to call and give him the yes or no. He will do the hernia repair either way. Without wls, would put in a mesh; with wls, would not put in mesh because I would be losing. If people could let me know real life stats, about complications, and if you know anyone who has died from this, I know that's morbid. I am not ready to die yet, in case that might happen. I certainly meet all the requirements and Dr. seems pretty sure insurance will pay most, though they might not act like it at first. I do have serious comorbidities; knew I did. Whew! Got that first part over with! LM

Lauren, Yes, Dillinger, Flum, Oeschlager & one other are all in the same area @ the hospital & I think they are all at the Eastside clinic too. I have a few friends that have had the surgery. One was 15-20 years ago & she's still doing great. I believe that how much you will loose depends more on how well you stick to the rules & if you exercise 5-6 times a week. I plan to work my a** off because I want to get the most out of this tool as I can. I am also going to be stricter with my eating than they want, they allow pasta, bread etc. right away and I'm gonna stay away from starches for at least 6 months. I know that there is a chance of death during surgery & after if you get complications. But I figure that the comorbidities that I have will kill me sooner rather than later. Dr. Flum did the same to me regarding telling me all the things that could go wrong. And when you see (it's either the social worker or the nutritionist), you'll get the statement that after surgery there are 4 (or 5, I can't remember) outcomes that you will have: 1. You will be fine and go home to recover, 2. You will need help and they will have a nurse drop in daily to help you, 3. You can't take care of yourself and you will go to a nursing home until you can take care of yourself , or 4. You won't be leaving the hospital. I think they just want us to really think about it and I know that Dr Flum was glad that I had been researching and I told him about this site. I hope that you make a decision that you are happy with, that's what is most important. I'm starting to get abit nervous since my date is getting closer. Marj