Better than dead

Ditto to the other comments about not going crazy and buying a new wardrobe just yet. I thought a 36 was skinny and i would never be smaller than that and now 32 is loose on me (started at a 48).

No telling how much i have spent on clothes over the year...good problem to have, but hold out as long as possible until you stabilize.

You are ok with that amount, but i would suggest not hitting the feeling ill point for numerous reasons; develop good habits, dont stretch your sleeve, etc.... Enjoy being full quickly now and dont push it unnecessarily. Remember you are in a honeymoon phase the first 9 months or so. Loose all you can now while ot is easiest.

I felt I was ready at 2 months. Surgeon gave the green light for everything at 3 months, but all surgeons are different.

At 6 weeks or so your sutures are all healed and you cant really hurt anything. Biggest issue at that point is getting enough nutrition in to sustain the physical activity. Keep hydrated!

Normal and you will have many stalls along the way. Just stay on track and dont get complacent about the "rules" ypur surgeon has provided.

Enjoy the first year, it becomes harder to lose as time goes on; your hunger will increase and you will be able to consume more food.< /p>

I am a master diver, and about 2 1/2 months post op. I would be comfortable diving now, and you will be 4 months post op when you go; shouldn't be a problem. Your hardest thing will be figuring out your new amount lead needed.

Have fun, enjoy.

Congrats!

These all have been GREAT SUGGESTIONS!! I am happy to report that I saw my Dr today for a post op visit and feel so much better. I am one of those statistic patients that had a horrible recovery. I was so scared to eat and I dropped 24lb in 12 days. Ive had exruciating pain since hospital stay...perhaps a nerve or muslcle was snagged when suturing or it's just my body's reaction to the surgery. Nonethless, my Dr made me normal again. Refilled my pain meds, also prescribed muscle relaxer and it's helping!

In regards to the food. I ate a few bites of stuffed spinach and cheese chicken and garlic mashed potatoes and did great! I am only takin 3-4 bites chewing very very thoroughly and so far so good! I'm going to try and egg in the morning. Guacamole sounds amazing but how do you eat that with out tortilla chips??

Can you have a few chips?

My big question is. We are allowed to have coffee, but why can't we have any cream or sugar? I get that we shouldn't have the sugar and added calories. But is it ok just to have a small portion??

Thank you all so much for all the support! This website is GREAT!!

I am wondering about the tortilla chips too. To have some chips and salsa (just 1 or 2) would be worth killing for about now. OK truthfully, that list is very long...

Thanks for the feedback.. I'm curious why you went there instead of the other places Dr. Nick goes to--was it financial.? Someone in hid office told me they charge a fraction of what insurance would pay for if you paid up front. Your thoughts????

Unless you are cash pay, the location is partly (if not totally) determined by your insurance. I was able to get some insurance assistance and that was the location that my insurance and Dr. Nicks office would participate with. I am sure it is much cheaper than some of the other locations...

Don't get me wrong, I would have rather been at one of the other locations only because they appear to be much more spacious and comfortable for my better half. Of course I wasn't there long enough and the room comfort wasn't on my mind, really only the level of care should matter I assume.

Yes, you will get a breakout of costs when you check in; total cost, after insurance cost, and upfront cost. In my opinion, if you can't pay the very small (relative to the other option) upfront cost, then you shouldn't have the procedure done until you save the money. It is that big of a difference! Once you get everything set you can call the hospital and get them to tell you the numbers about a week prior. Also, they called me a few days before and told me what to pay the day of.

I believe most of the hospitals make you pay up front also, this place just gives you a cheaper option too. I assume it keeps their administrative costs lower by not fighting insurance companies as much.

I really think the surgeon and staff are much more important than the actual hospital. Notice how many hospitals just Dr. Nick does surgery; I can name 5 off the top of my head. That being said; a competent hospital is a must, but beyond that its more a question of how much do you want to pay...

Just curious about this, your profile says you are in MS but it seems like you have been to this facility in Dallas more than once? Do you live in Dallas area?

I am currently in Mississippi, but am from the Dallas area and have family there. I chose to have surgery in DFW because I believe that was my best option of surgeon.

I put a lot of miles on I-20 these days; not related to WLS....

I had my EGD there (as I mentioned before), and then my sleeve surgery on February 4. The hospital staff was great and everything went perfectly. I have no complaints and would say you are in good hands!

It is not a "fancy" VIP hospital (like Forest Park or Victory), but they get the job done. Overall it is small, but the nurse to patient ratio seemed good because of that. The rooms are small, but it is an outpatient facility so that makes sense. A couple of people stayed the night for whatever reason, but the vast majority went home same day as planned.

Sandy is the NP that was in charge while I was there. She has 20 years of bariatric surgery experience and was great to have around. She even called me 2 days after surgery to check on me and see how I was doing, she also gives everyone her cell phone number to call for any reason once discharged. Keep in mind, not the surgeons office but a nurse at the hospital. Also, Jim (one of the RN's) was great, he spent the most time caring for me post op.

I saw Dr. Nick for a split second before surgery and never saw him again. Not a problem for me, he obviously did a great job since I am feeling so good. I think that is fairly common with the big surgeons.

I was an outpatient, leaving the same evening as my surgery. I had no pain and no complications. I was a little nauseated the first day post op, but no biggie. Drinking that same day wasn't fun, but I expected that. Also, I didn't have any pain meds, just didn't feel like I needed them.

I was back at work in 6 days (desk job) with no issues. Good luck and let me know if you have any more questions.

I had never heard of it either until recently. They also go by Northstar Healthcare Surgical.

hey take up the top floor of a medical building in Dallas near Love field.

I had my EGD scope done there last week. Everyone was nice, and it went well. It is an outpatient surgical center; so it doesn't have a "hospital" feel, more like a doctors office. I have my surgery there next week.

Who is your surgeon?

If you have any specific question don't hesitate to ask or PM me.

A tremendous thank you to everyone that contributed your opinions, and experiences. I got a call yesterday confirming a date I wanted with the surgeon I wanted; game on.

I decided on Dr. Nick Nicholson. Lots of great choices, but he was my decision.

I go in for my EGD in a few days; January 21, and am scheduled for surgery February 4. Kinda cool that day is my birth date, so a re-birth on my birthday. At least I will never forget the date I got sleeved.

One thing is that is bothering me is that he is doing my EGB and surgery at Microsurgery Institute of Dallas. I have never heard anything about that place. Anyone have any input? Looking it up online looks like it is also called Northstar, but the doctors office refers to it as Microsurgery Institute. I may start a new thread asking the same questions...

I was wondering the same thing. I have the "option" of Victory Medical or Texas General. I do not hear much talk about Texas General, but have heard Victory is really nice.

I think Forrest Park is the other nice one I hear about...

Don't hear much about Texas General

I was wondering the same thing. I have the "option" of Victory Medical or Texas General. I do not hear much talk about Texas General, but have heard Victory is really nice.

A little update.

As a reminder; I am cash pay and out of state.

I was able to meet with 3 of my top 4 surgeon choices two weeks ago. I was very MUCH relieved to talk with the surgeons as the “salespeople” answering the phone were not real helpful when I was asking anything but general questions.

I met with Dr. Nick, Dr. Davidson, and Dr. Stowers. I was unable to meet Dr. Kim as he was completely booked out.

I will say that I feel all 3 of the Dr.’s I was able to talk to answered all of my questions I was very impressed with each of them.

Dr. Nick Nicholson – great guy, did not meet anyone in his office

Dr. Davidson – great guy, talked at length with Sherry and he is wonderful

Dr. Stowers – great guy, met with his entire team individually. Financial/insurance, dietician (NUT), physc, etc…

I have made my decision out of this group (all are very capable and I would be happy with any of them), BUT I am still wanting to speak/speak with Dr. Kim because of some of the financial offers he has going.

I plan on having the plan laid out and having surgery in the next 30 days or so.

If anyone has any experience with Dr. David Kim and Dr. Nick Nicholson specifically I would like to hear it.

Thanks for everyone’s input thus far. I look forward to the next update with my final selection and date!!!

I've been looking to get a FitBit before my surgery (late Dec/early Jan - undecided yet). Any one have experience with this gadget? I love metrics and data, so keeping track with something like this pre/post surgery (maybe 1 or 2 weeks pre) would be interesting.

http://gizmodo.com/the-fitbit-force-hands-on-ahh-this-is-more-like-it-1443256632

There is a scale that goes with it, but not sure if that's overkill or not. My wife might not go for it, but I could ask Santa ...

Not sure what you decided, but I got the FitBit Force for Christmas and am enjoying it so far. I decided on the Flex because I liked the smaller size (less noticeable), BUT was given the Force and couldn't be happier.

I assume you have your reasons for not posting the Doctors name in this post, but if this is all factual (and I believe it is) then there is no legal reason not to name him. It wold be great for others on the site to use this information to help them choose their Dr.

I did look at your profile and see it listed there, but in the post would help others.

My 2 cents

Good luck, I hope you are able to get past this quickly.

I got all my questions answered from Dr. Nicholson He answered every question at his seminar that was asked. There were probably 40 people there. He conducts them himself. I recall in his seminar, those questions did come up. He was straight forward in his answers. He said all surgeries have a risk of complication. That is true. He also gave the complication rate associated with this surgery. He also gave HIS complication stats.

I haven't had the procedure yet, but he is one of the ones I am looking at. I am self pay also.

They sound like they really take care of their traveling patients and that everything is included in the cost, no surprises. He is a top rated Dr, and I am sure does a top notch job.

However, I just got off the phone asking them some questions and the positive sale pitch and not really answering questions is getting annoying.

One question was; does the surgeon cover complications from surgery? I was told they don't happen so no need to worry. I mention that they can happen, how will that be handled and was told the Dr would probably take care it but since it never happens she doesn't know. I end up in the ICU for a week who covers that bill, leaving a 6 figure invoice up in the air doesnt give me the warm and fuzzies???

Since a complication (for a self pay, whose insurance excludes WLS) could potentially bankrupt me, its important to know. A yes its covered providing this that, etc.......or a no sorry, would at least be an answer.

He is not the only office to not really answer tough questions, just the most recent. Seems like when you call they are helpful and nice, but they are just salespeople (or at least act like it). I don't need that; I want to buy, I just want to know the details first.

Ok, I am done venting.

I will say that I never hear anything negative about Dr. Nick, that is reassuring. Good luck! Let us know how it turns out.

I also re- asked some of the same questions in my one on one consultation and he was very straight forward there too. Even gave me a couple of examples. When I had my surgery in March, the self pay price included everything and up to two nights in the hospital. I would seriously doubt that whatever surgeon would cover complications if it were not caused by the surgeon. Too much can happen that is not in the surgeon or medical staff's control especially on an obese person.

I would recommend you ask those questions to whichever surgeon(s) you decide to have one on one consultation with directly. I want to have confidence in who was cutting out my perfectly functioning stomach, not nearly as concerned with who was talking to me on the phone.

I thought I read somewhere that the insurance for covering complications is quite pricy for the surgeons and that they would be required to have it for all their patients therefore, raising the price of surgery a great deal. That is the reason that most surgeons do not offer it. I can't exactly recall where I saw that so it may be something to look into to see if that is fact or not.

I know some people don't like the fact that Dr. Nicholson can do a lot of surgeries in one day. I believe the reason is that he operates one day a week at a certain hospital. I had my choice of hospitals to have the surgery done because I was self pay. Lots of his patients that are insurance pay are told where they had to have it by their insurance companies. The hospital I chose I was the only one that day. The nurse told that.

I love that fact that he has thousands of surgeries under his belt and his complication rate is as minuscule as it is. Funny how one person's comfort is another person's fear.

This is a very serious surgery and I took it very seriously as most people do. Researched it to death. It also weighed on me that my insurance company would not cover any complication as a result of this surgery. In the end, with my husband's support, I did it anyway. The risk was so low and the payoff was and is so great! Sometimes, we can over think and worry too much about what happens if…..I was guilty of it with the surgery (and other things in life).

In the end, I did what was right for me. I knew that I was taking a much, much larger risk to not have this surgery than I was having it.

Best of luck to you in your decision making. Whichever or whoever you use, it will be right for you.

Great post, I am sure the OP got some good information out of it.

I am glad to hear that Dr. Nick does discuss complications honestly. I was really disappointed and surprised in how the office handles the question. Like I mention, they seem to me more of sales pitch than helpful. They seemed to be trying to get you to do a consult mainly; being out of state, getting information to narrow down the choices is important. I have to mention again, this is not isolated to Dr. Nick, Dr. Kim's office was the same way.

I live in Dallas but I did Self-Pay Surgery in Tijuana, MX. $4700 for the surgery, how much is Dr. Nick self pay?

I have no regrets, everything is going great.

Dr. Nicholson is $12,200. Or that's how much it was in March.

newat52 is correct, that is still the going rate.

My surgeon was Dr. Kuhn, who came highly recommended from a few doctors and friends. I wanted someone who would answer all my questions and not have billboards and ads all over town. He fit both of them and every time is met with him he was extremely patient. He also had done over 4500 of them. Also had to wait 6 weeks to meet him which made me think he wasn't running a slice and dice factory. I'm six weeks post op, have seen him 4 times now since February and couldn't be happier with my decision.

Of course, I'm sure there are plenty of folks who don't like him. No one bats 1.000. Go with someone you like and feel comfortable with. DFW area has what seems like 1,000 bariatric surgeons.

That makes a lot of sense.

I believe that a surgeon who does lots of surgeries makes them proficient. But there needs to be a balance.

And yes DFW has tons of surgeons and I believe some of the best are there. Makes for a tough decision with so many options.

Dr Nick is like the McDonalds of Texas because yes he's done that many..

He has almost a cult like following...

But...

If any doctors office told me not to worry about complications because they don't happen?

I would run, and run as quickly as my big butt world take me to a place that answered my questions instead of patronizing, placating

niceties..

That is what Dr. Nicks office staff said.

I agree no one is prefect, but thats not what they think. In fact, Dr. David Kims office told me the same thing. No complications, and no need for complication based insurance because it doesnt happen. In fact Dr. Nicks office laughed and asked why I would go to a surgeon who offered Blis coverage since that must mean they have lots of issues. (I asked if they offered Blis).

So frustrating finding the right surgeon!

Like I said I think they are just more sales oriented than fact based when answering questions. I haven't talked to either surgeon, but that is what the office help said.

The two I mention are the probably do the most in the DFW area like Laura mentioned.

I haven't had the procedure yet, but he is one of the ones I am looking at. I am self pay also.

They sound like they really take care of their traveling patients and that everything is included in the cost, no surprises. He is a top rated Dr, and I am sure does a top notch job.

However, I just got off the phone asking them some questions and the positive sale pitch and not really answering questions is getting annoying.

One question was; does the surgeon cover complications from surgery? I was told they don't happen so no need to worry. I mention that they can happen, how will that be handled and was told the Dr would probably take care it but since it never happens she doesn't know. I end up in the ICU for a week who covers that bill, leaving a 6 figure invoice up in the air doesnt give me the warm and fuzzies???

Since a complication (for a self pay, whose insurance excludes WLS) could potentially bankrupt me, its important to know. A yes its covered providing this that, etc.......or a no sorry, would at least be an answer.

He is not the only office to not really answer tough questions, just the most recent. Seems like when you call they are helpful and nice, but they are just salespeople (or at least act like it). I don't need that; I want to buy, I just want to know the details first.

Ok, I am done venting.

I will say that I never hear anything negative about Dr. Nick, that is reassuring. Good luck! Let us know how it turns out.

Jawbone, Polar, and Nike also make popular fitness tracker bands. I looked at them all, and decided on the FitBit as the best option for me. I also like that it measures sleep movement...

I have not purchased it yet, but I think that is your best choice.

My point is, there comes a point where a base-level competence is covered. After that, the smaller things start to matter. Make a list of the big or small things, and then maybe check them off?

And yes, after a while, let go of the logic and let your gut guide you.

I agree, still hope to find more solid information but it seems to be mostly gut feelings.

Money isn't a factor for my decision, or at least I am trying to not make it one. Not that I have it to burn, but I want to pick the best person for the job and saving $2,000 isn't worth a complication.

Thanks for your comments.

My update - still have not found any real data on surgeons.

I called a few of my top choices and don't feel any better yet. All 3 offices were more sales oriented than helpful. They were friendly, but I wasn't impressed and they didn't have answers to some of my questions. They all want me to come in for a consultation to get the questions answered, including things like number of surgeries, complications and such. Since I am out of town, that isn't easy. I will of course have a consult with my Dr of choice or even my "finalist", it’s obviously important to have a face to face.

I am beginning to think the decision of selecting a surgeon is more a gut feeling and not based on facts. It is easy to qualify a surgeon as capable and even get some idea of how many procedures they have done, but beyond that I am not so sure. I think any of the surgeons on my list are capable, but how to choose from there is beyond me.

It’s such an important choice, I wish there was a better way.

Thanks again for input on your choice of surgeons.