Smiley79

I am having my surgery in OKC at Weightwise and the cost there is $9995.00. Its not in Dallas but not too far away if you can save some $. You can get all the details at www.weightwise.com

Who is your surgeon?

I am having my surgery in OKC at Weightwise and the cost there is $9995.00. Its not in Dallas but not too far away if you can save some $. You can get all the details at www.weightwise.com

Thanks for the information! Do you know if they take Care Credit? Best wishes to you! I am looking forward to watching your journey!

I am having my surgery next Tuesday the 31st also. I am getting kinda nervous. I haven't had to do a long liquid diet or anything like some people talk about. I only have to do clear liquids the day before. I think I am getting worried the most about having complications and the hair loss and loose skin after the weight loss. I hope you have a great surgery and everything goes well!

How much does VSG cost with Dr. Nicholson? I am considering him as a surgeon for my vsg.

Went to my first BEND class last week at Dr. Kim's office. The nutritionist said they will soon be dropping the Optifast brand shakes and only offering BariEssentials.

Just my opinion, but I wasn't too impressed with the first class and the information presented. The NUT handed out photocopies of 3 very different diets and said "choose one you prefer" and basically read from a PowerPoint the rest of the meeting. The handouts for the diet were very confusing as well and she didn't do a very good job of explaining them. In essence one is balanced diet, one is low fat and one is high Protein which I'm trying to follow.

I've started drinking Protein Shakes for Breakfast and hope to replace 2 meals a day with the shakes by the time I "hopefully" get insurance approval. Then switching to 2 week liquid per-op diet should be less of a shock!

Hopefully the next 2 classes will be more productive and interesting! It's all part of the journey to get my sleeve so I'm staying positive!

That being said, everyone at Dr. Kim's office has been very pleasant and the insurance coordinators really know their stuff

Thanks for sharing this information! Is Dr. Kim's cost still $12,500? Price is only one factor for me.

A FB support group that grew out of a group on here has mentioned it. I would love to do that. As I am at the point of almost losing my clothes while walking!

Where in NC are you? I am in Upstate SC.

LOVE your signature!! I am praying for a door to be opened so I can have the VSG.

Im scheduled for my sleeve with Dr Nicholson in Dallas next Tuesday July 31st ..... Anyone else scheduled for the 31st?

Congrats!! I am considering Dr. Nicholson as my surgeon. Good luck and best wishes! I will be following your journey.

Hehe at living in Texas! I'm in Texas and I'm sweating 24/7

Ready for a cool front!!!

My bestie is from Mesquite!

13 a day is his number too. The same two nurses that told me how he is always on time also told me how awesome he is. One even went on to say that, in her opinion, he is the best surgeon that works put of there. Again, I don't know about Dr. Kim, but Dr. Nicholson provides you a hotel room. If you have surgery at Forest Park, you would have surgery with him on Tuesday. A girl I've now become friends with came from out of town. She arrived on Sunday to the hotel. She checked out of the hotel and had surgery Tuesday. She spent Tuesday and Wednesday nights in the hospital Nd checked back on the hotel Thursday. She had a follow up the next day and was cleared to go home. The hotel was part of the cash pay price of $12,000.00. The other thing is if you are paying cash, the cash price includes all follow up visits for life. Most doctors only include up to a year at most in the cash price.

Good luck as you make your decision. If you'd like to talk more about Dr. Nick, send me a pm and I'll give you my cell number. I'd be glad to tell you more.

Thank you!!

Yeah, I am not to sure. Some people said they had it, but not many. I guess they want to see if I am stressed?!? I had never heard of it before.

Stressed? They can tell that from urine? LOL!

I can't say too much about how Dr. Kim is as a doctor as I used Dr. Nicholson. But I did have my surgery on June 5th at Forest Park and I can only say wonderful things about my experience there. Everyone I came in contact with was very caring and on top of things. You will love it there. In answer to questions from others, about Dr. Kim's preop diet, I've heard he requires you to use a specific brand of product regardless of whether or not you like it. Also, someone commented that a nurse said expect to wait on Dr. Kim unless you are the first patient of the day. I was told by two different nurses that Dr. Nicholson is always on time unless there is a patient complication which is very, very rare. Good luck to everyone!

Thanks Amy! Dr. Nicholson is another surgeon I am considering. Would you happen to know how many patients he performs surgery on per day? 13 patients seems excessive to me.

Would u happen to know where he offers his seminars?

In one of the threads I read, someone said he had a seminar in Houston in May. Susan is very friendly and will answer all of your questions. Endobariatric.com" rel="">susan@endobariatric.com

My surgeon requested a 24 hour urine collection test to test for my cortisol levels. I can get needles, sonograms, and x-rays.....but collecting urine for 24 hours is a pain in my butt. I have to pee in a big plastic jug and store it in our frig, GROSS......anyway, I will be finished first pee tomorrow and it cannot be a pee too soon.

Just a little vent....Not a big deal, just irritating. I have been home bound all day. A slave to the jug

WOW! Is that a common requirement through the pre-op process? I guess it does vary from surgeon to surgeon?

I can't help with the hotel portion but I am currently on day seven of his preop diet. I purchased Protein shakes from his office. Two week supply was $180. I chose the BariEssentials. vanilla and chocolate. I am to have 4-5 shakes per day (4 if I use milk, 5 if water). I am also able to have sugar free Jello or sugar free Popsicles as well as 8 ounces of chicken broth daily I was instructed to do 2 weeks of this and after 7 days I have lost 14 pounds so far with the shakes. Hasn't been as bad as I thought it would be.

Is the required length of his (Dr. David Kim's) pre-op diet based on each patient's BMI? Like lower BMI's = shorter pre-op diets and higher BMI's = longer pre-op diet days?

I was at Forest Park with Dr. Kim in January. I think you will be pleased.

How was the facility? Nurses? The facility is top notch. I was told that 85% of their total "business" is bariatric surgery so the staff and nurses were very informed on what I needed. I did have a nurse for one shift that wasn't too helpful and seemed like I was a bother, but you could have that anywhere.

How long were you there? I was there two nights but only because I couldn't even hold Water down the first day and was running a slight fever.

What type of pain control was used? I had the IV pump the first night for pain medicine. The next day they took it out but gave me liquid pain meds every 4-6 hours as I needed it.

Was Dr Kim good at getting the gas out? I don't really have anything to compare this to, but I think all was fine. I did alot of walking like they said and it seemed to help.

Was a family member able to stay at all times with you? Their rooms are really nice! They do have some rooms that literally have a seperate area cornered off for your family inside your room. But even the regular patient rooms are big enough for someone to stay with you.

Any tips on things to bring with me? I used my robe and house slippers the most since I got up so much to walk and go to the bathroom. I stayed in the hospital gowns so as not get my gowns dirty. If you do a search of previous posts on this forum, Lil Diva has posted a list of what to bring. It was very helpful!

I saw Dr. Kim at my consultation and then the day of surgery but other than that, I haven't seen him since. The hospital doctors saw me while I was in the hospital. I have seen David the PA at all my follow up appointments. Some people have been bothered by that but I am fine with. If you prefer to see Dr. Kim for the follow-up, you can specifically ask and they will schedule you with him. It just takes longer to get an appointment that way.

One thing I will mention is that they told me to be at the hospital at 8 a.m. They called me back to get started on the pre-op procedures at 9:30 a.m. and had me hooked up to the saline IV by 10 a.m. I did not go back to surgery until 4:30 p.m.!! Yep, I was his 13th surgery that day. The nurse in pre-op told me that unless you are Dr. Kim's first patient at 5 a.m. then be prepared to wait. Its not like I was going anywhere anyhow, but by the time I got to surgery, the anticipation of the day had my nerves all kinds of frazzled!

Let me know if you have any more questions. I know your minds are on overload right now with all the questions, excitement, reservations, etc. It's ALL worth it over here on the loser's bench!!

You were the 13th patient? WOW. That seems like too many patients!

I can't help with the hotel portion but I am currently on day seven of his preop diet. I purchased Protein shakes from his office. Two week supply was $180. I chose the BariEssentials. Vanilla and chocolate. I am to have 4-5 shakes per day (4 if I use milk, 5 if water). I am also able to have sugar free Jello or sugar free Popsicles as well as 8 ounces of chicken broth daily I was instructed to do 2 weeks of this and after 7 days I have lost 14 pounds so far with the shakes. Hasn't been as bad as I thought it would be.

Thanks!

I was just there and sleeved by Dr Kim last week. I had to check in for surgery at 4:30 AM - yes, I said AM. I was in surgery by 6 am.

My husband had a problem with the receptionists in the waiting area finding out information after the surgery. His pager went off and when he went to the desk he was told to have a seat and wait. He went back up there several times and they told him each time to just sit and wait. He had never met Dr Kim so when he saw him walking around the waiting room he wasn't sure it was him. He went to the desk and asked if Dr Kim was looking for him and was told once again to sit and wait. Then he eventually got a page to go wait in my room. He was very frustrated to say the least. At this time he had no idea what condition I was in or if the surgery had went well. He expressed his problems to the nurses and they sent a patient advocate up to speak to him. Dr Kim made a personal visit to the room later that afternoon to discuss everything. Yesterday I received a certified letter in the mail from Forest Park addressing the issues and what they have done to rectify them. Although we had a problem, it was handled in a professional manner by the facility and Dr Kim.

I stayed one night and went home the next afternoon. I overpacked. The only things I used were lotion, toothbrush, toothpaste and hairbrush. I wore my hospital gown and hospital socks the whole time. I wasnt able to change into the PJs I brought because of the IV. Had to have IV demoral till I had a swallow test, then was givin liquid vicodin. My husband stayed with me overnight on a pull out chair. One of the nurses brought all the bedding and made it for him. They offered him sandwhich and chips snack packs they had pre-made. Nurses were great. Very helpful and experienced.

Did you have a catheter?

I am wondering about Dr. Kim's pre-op diet & post-op diet as well. Thanks!

Got the wonderful news I've been waiting to hear for a long time! I'M APPROVED! Hip hip hooray!

Cigna has been awesome- I'm a happy girl today!

Congratulations!!!!!!

Do you live in Texas?!

Arm shaper?

Thanks for sharing this. I am considering Dr. Kim and this was helpful!

Awesome! Congrats!

The pre-op depends on your weight, and your bmi. My bmi said i needed a one week liquid diet, but I am over 300lbs which would require a 3 week diet, but i'm guessing since my bmi was lower than expected I only having to do a two week diet. Again all up to the doctor.

Here is the description from his book:

The length of the diet is determined by the surgeon and may differ from one patient to another. In our practice, we determine the length of the diet by the patients body mass index (BMI) or weight.

Patients who have a bmi lower than 37 are not required to do a liquid diet prior to surgery because they are less likely to have an enlarged fatty liver.

Patients who have a bmi from 37-42 are required to do a preoperative diet for 1 week prior to surgery.

Patients with a bmi between 42-47 do a 10 day liquid diet and patients who have a bmi higher than 47 are required to diet for 14 days prior to surgery.

Patients who are over 300 lbs are required to diet for 3 weeks and more than 400 lbs for 4 weeks etc.

These are only some guidelines we use in our practice, but the recommendation from surgeon to surgeon and case to case do vary,

Page 23-24 in Dr. Alvarez book.

Thanks you StormWarning!

Pre op diet is full liquids such as broths, cream Soups with no chunks, popsicles, Jello, etc. Post op first week is clear liquids such as broths, Water, popsicles, juices, etc. Dr. Alvarez says you should have some sugary drinks like juice that first week because your body needs it. There is a list his office will send you for both pre op and post op. His web site might contain these things if you go to Endobariatric.com Hope this helps! Good luck!

Is the pre-op 10 days?

Thanks for all of the great information and for sharing your stories!! I LOVE reading all the updates!!