Hello All.

Im a newbie here but I have been reading you all's post for about 3 weeks. Basically, each of you have inspired me to have the sleeve.

TO tell you a little about me--im 26 year old female in the houston area

and a full time nurse. I have battled with my weight ALL of my life.

I remember being in the 5th grade being weighed in front of my classmates

feeling soo embarrassed when the scaled tipped at 150 lbs. My highest weight was 320 lbs, in which I then became fed up and decided to "do" something about it. A friend of mine asked me to be in her wedding and I thought, there is NO way im walking down this aisle like this. Well a year and half later I became under 200 lbs. :001_tt2: I felt great and for once my confidence returned. I have maintained "fairly" but have gained 15-18 lbs back and I am just absolutely CRUSHED. I am over 200 lbs again and I just cannot believe it. Ive had a personal trainer and for the most part, I follow a relatively "fair" diet. But with working as a full time nurse, im currently in graduate school and I am planning a wedding. I think things have just caught up with me once again.

However, I REFUSE to continue this vicious cycle. I have the healthy eating pattern down but my body doesnt want to loose anymore. My lab work is okay, no thyroid problems but I have a VERY obese family--(most women in my family are greater than 300lbs). When I spoke with the psychologist for insurance purposes (when I was considering the band) she told me that genetics play a MAJOR factor with weight.

SO I met this very skilled physician in Houston that was very patient and has good stats and reviews. He told me all about the sleeve and I became curious. I begin reading on this site and I knew this is what I need to do.

To make a LONG story short, I set my sleeve date for Sept. 15, 2009.

Its so far away because....I am a nurse with a very, erradic work schedule so I had to wait until I could take 2 weeks off.

Thanks for reading my story, you all have been so encouraging.

Any advice I am interested in finding out.

Do you know how many nights in the hospital? How many (and which) leak tests? What his stats are? Do these prices include complications? I'm trying to gather more TX info. ;o)

For Alanis:

Bariatric Surgeon Profile - Audencio Alanis, M.D.

I see that he's done a lot of bands and bypass but how many sleeves?

Dr. Davis (Garth?)

Bariatric Surgeon Profile - Garth Davis M.D.

Lots of bypass experience, >150 bands and 5 sleeves.

Do you have more details on these doctors?

As far as the information above. The price for Dr Alanis includes (im memorizing what is on my paperwork, dont have it in front of me)--

1. surgeons fee

2. anesthesiology

3. preop lab work

4. possible hernia repair (if neccessary)

5. possible liver biopsy (if needed)

6. possible cholecystectomy (if neccessary)

7. overnight hospital stay @ a bariatric center of excellence

8. surgery consult

I will get back with you regarding if this covers the cost of complications--my guess is probably no. I guess ive just always figured if you are paying cash you are on your own. I was told which leak tests that he performs & they are written in my notes when I met with him (dont recall the exact ones, since at the time I had no idea what all that was). But I will get back with you.====I felt really comfortable when I went to visit with Dr. Alanis as several of his (sleeve) patients were in there for follow up appts and I was able to speak with them about their experience, weight loss, etc. One lady had her sleeve one year exactly on the day of my appointment and she had lost 120 lbs! WOW, she looked great and she was in her 60's!!!! :thumbup:

As far as Dr. Garth Davis, MD----All I know about him is that his price includes an overnight stay at a bariatric center of excellence, surgeons fee, anesthesiology, preop labs, etc. I was intially meeting with him for the lap band and I was briefly told about the sleeve with him.

However, I can and will find out more information regarding the specifics for the both of them. I love to help out fellow potential :001_smile:sleevers.

Give me a few days to give you the exact stats for the both of them.

Complications are interesting. Because the US surgeons don't own their own hospitals (though some are partners in their hospitals, but that's rare), they don't have as much control as MX docs when it comes to this IMO.

My surgeon told me that if I had complications, he wouldn't be charging me anything extra. However, the hospital would. He also told me that many times, for an operation like the sleeve, my insurance would pay for the complications even though they wouldn't pay for my surgery. (My insurance company said something similar though of course I couldn't get it in writing so who knows what would have actually happened.)

I looked at what other people had spent on their complications and I figured that I wouldn't be bankrupted by it. I also went with a surgeon with incredibly good stats in that area. I would rather not have one and avoid the whole thing. However, we applied for a home equity loan prior to surgery "just in case". Unfortunately, there was a paperwork snafu and I went into the hospital with the loan in limbo. Then, the morning of my surgery, my bank failed and was bought out by Chase and the entire loan just disappeared.

But I didn't have complications so it all worked out.

As far as the information above. The price for Dr Alanis includes (im memorizing what is on my paperwork, dont have it in front of me)--

1. surgeons fee

2. anesthesiology

3. preop lab work

4. possible hernia repair (if neccessary)

5. possible liver biopsy (if needed)

6. possible cholecystectomy (if neccessary)

7. overnight hospital stay @ a bariatric center of excellence

8. surgery consult

I will get back with you regarding if this covers the cost of complications--my guess is probably no. I guess ive just always figured if you are paying cash you are on your own. I was told which leak tests that he performs & they are written in my notes when I met with him (dont recall the exact ones, since at the time I had no idea what all that was). But I will get back with you.====I felt really comfortable when I went to visit with Dr. Alanis as several of his (sleeve) patients were in there for follow up appts and I was able to speak with them about their experience, weight loss, etc. One lady had her sleeve one year exactly on the day of my appointment and she had lost 120 lbs! WOW, she looked great and she was in her 60's!!!! :thumbup:

As far as Dr. Garth Davis, MD----All I know about him is that his price includes an overnight stay at a bariatric center of excellence, surgeons fee, anesthesiology, preop labs, etc. I was intially meeting with him for the lap band and I was briefly told about the sleeve with him.

However, I can and will find out more information regarding the specifics for the both of them. I love to help out fellow potential :001_smile:sleevers.

Give me a few days to give you the exact stats for the both of them.

Thank you so much! I sincerely appreciate your time. I have wanted to get sleeve info on TX docs for a long time and this is a huge help. TX seems to be a challenged state. I don't mean that they do not have sleeve surgeons, they do. We just do not know who they are. New Mexico is another big mega challenge.

I would eventually like to have a section of the forum about doctors. Not what we have now, something different. Something for self pay folks. Dr. Smith charges "X" dollars and this is what it covers. That kind of section. Most people are self pay, the minority have it covered by insurance. I want details so people can cross the expensive, out of range docs off their list if they have limited dollars and move on to someone they can afford. Those that can afford anything are free to go to who they wish. Those that can't afford anything and everything can save time. Clear as mud? ;o)

I would eventually like to have a section of the forum about doctors. Not what we have now, something different. Something for self pay folks. Dr. Smith charges "X" dollars and this is what it covers. That kind of section. Most people are self pay, the minority have it covered by insurance. I want details so people can cross the expensive, out of range docs off their list if they have limited dollars and move on to someone they can afford. Those that can afford anything are free to go to who they wish. Those that can't afford anything and everything can save time. Clear as mud? ;o)

I wish we had that now!! GREAT IDEA!

I asked Dr. Alanis yesterday about complications and he's like it's something to think about, we've been extremely lucky and have not had that situation but it's something you need to possibly prepare for. Ugh. I'm paranoid about leaks so bad I think it is the only thing keeping from going any further!

WASa: He's done 850 Sleeves.

I wish we had that now!! GREAT IDEA!

I asked Dr. Alanis yesterday about complications and he's like it's something to think about, we've been extremely lucky and have not had that situation but it's something you need to possibly prepare for. Ugh. I'm paranoid about leaks so bad I think it is the only thing keeping from going any further!

WASa: He's done 850 Sleeves.

How does he cover complication costs? Does he cover it or do you? Leaks happen but they are rare. I think this is a big reason I am such a huge advocate of keeping people in the hospital at least 48 hours, that's when leaks are likely to show up and hopefully, they can fix it right then and there. You just do not want to be at home when you have a leak, you need to be in a hospital setting.

I wouldn't let a potential leak stop you from getting your life back. Your risk from being obese is much worse than a less than 1% chance of a leak.

I wish we had that now!! GREAT IDEA!

I asked Dr. Alanis yesterday about complications and he's like it's something to think about, we've been extremely lucky and have not had that situation but it's something you need to possibly prepare for. Ugh. I'm paranoid about leaks so bad I think it is the only thing keeping from going any further!

WASa: He's done 850 Sleeves.

Well, im glad that you enjoyed his seminar and got a chance to talk to him one on one! He was very patient (he even drew diagrams on my note pad) that I'd taken with me. He did not seem to be your typical money hungry doctor. To make a long story short he "kept it real" while we were talking.

In reference to complications, since I am an RN. I believe that sometimes a person can "know too much". LOL I've thought about, what if I "have a pulmonary embolus, or what if I develop a stricture or what if my wounds dont heal correctly and I get an infection", etc, etc. At the same time, my chances of having a heart attack, stroke or becoming a diabetic are much greater if I stay this way. The reason that I say this is because I come from a family of large people that are "heart attack, heart disease and diabetic prone". If I dont do something im headed down that same road.:sad0: In the case of a complication (GOD forbid) Im thankful that I have a great protection with my job--- that will kick if if I am gone from work for 14 days and I will get paid for one full year (if needed) 90% of my salary. So with that, at least I will still get paid and wont be homeless!:thumbup1:

Keep in touch, maybe you can schedule to be sleeved around the same time as me. We can be sleeve buddies.