New and Dr. Moazzez

Hello all I am 34years old, wife of 14 years and mother of three girls, two biological ages 14 and 8...and an adopted girl 15 months. I have not been overweight all my life. I had the wayyyy up and lose alot constantly since I began to have children. But, it has been really difficult the past two years. I was 135 at that time...then we started fertility treatments (that didn't work) and almost immediately I gained up to 90 pounds and I cannot lose it and I have not beenm very motivated either!! I am quite depressed over it all, but I have decided to have WLS...Lap RNY with Dr. M. Well, I hope to anyways. I am attending a seminar this weekend, and my first appointment with him will be Feb. 6th. I am super excited but so nervous that I may be denied...whats even more sad is that I am "trying" to gain a little bit more before I see doc to be sure I will qualify. AND, I pray that my insurance Tri-care Prime will approve it all. The secretary said that from the first appointment til surgery is normally about 6 weeks...WHAT??? I could be starting to lose weight within 2 months? I will take it I am very scaird about the death rates that I have been reading about, but I know God will help me get through this al so well...I want to be able to keep up with my children and have fun playing with them without being out of breath or getting dizzy. I do not know if I have any comorbilities (sp?) but depression and joint pains, back, knees, feet, etc Who has experience with Dr. Moazzez in Fair Fax? How did it go? Were there any problems? How was your hospital stay? I keep reading about horrible nursing staff? Do you know visiting hours, and can children be there? I wonder if I have a private room if they wilol allow my girls to visit me all day/evening without trouble? How long is the Lap RNY stay? Then how often do you go back to see the doc? Are there mandatory support grouops...how often? I am so sorry this is getting so long...I have so many more questions but IO am typing with one hand and baby in the other...so...I will hope to get to know you all soon Amy

I didn't have Dr. Moazzez. I went through Dr. James Weber in April of 2005. Tri care paid for everything and the only thing I had was my BMI was 41. No co morbitities. I have already lost 120lbs!!!! I feel great. I had my first appt with Dr. Weber in March and was approved for surgery on April 1st (no foolin') I had surgery on the 12th!!!!!! Let me tell you Dr. Weber is wonderful and his stats are great!!!!! only 7 deaths in 30+ years of doing the surgery. And most were because pt's didn't do what they were supposed to. Good luck with your journey. Have your doctors document every ache or pain for authorization. Everything helps. Get other docs that you may have seen write letters stating that they recommend the surgery...you wouldn't believe how easy it was for me to be approved! feel free to email if you have any questions [email protected]

Amy, Looks like you posted on the Washington state board rather than Washington DC board. You might want to post your message on the Virginia state board. There are several patients of Dr. Moazzez' there. Dr. M did not do my weight loss surgery but he is my doctor for all my follow-up care. He operated on my gallbladder last October and will be doing an additional surgery on me to remove a parathyroid gland (not weight loss surgery related). He is a fine surgeon. Fair Oaks is a fine hospital. I've had two surgeries there and the care is great. I did not have any problems with the nursing staff either time though my gallbladder surgery was outpatient so I didn't stay overnight. I believe the hospital stay for lap RNY is usually about 2 nights or so. The support groups are not mandatory but definitely recommended. Kathy