DS or sleev, Mex or US- overwhelmed-GUIDANCE PLEASE

[jennymac 1]

This is my first post, however I have been following this forum for years. I was banded by betancourt ( h/s is 20/20:sad0:) a few years back. After 2 surgeries, slippage and then erosion ( i lost 100lb) the band was removed. Guess what, I gained it all back. If I had known then what I know now, I would have never had the band. My ins has a WLS exclusion policy, so I am most likely going to be self payfor future- which i will do the sleeve. I will find out in 4 weeks if I qualify for medicaid. Ironically, they cover this surgery and DS. I would prefer to have DS = I think, due to long term WL sustainability. however I am a little sure of the malabsorbtion issues and "odors" if you know what I mean. If I don't get approved for medicaid I will be self pay. I am so scik of this weight and now it is Summer, I am thinking of just self paying and biting the bullet. However I only have about 10K to spend and all of the Dr i have contacted want more because it is a revision, US side about 13.5K. Including Aceves_12.5K Is it safe going to mex with the revision issue?So I am thinking about Jose Rodriguez or Ungson. I need some help here. Guidance please!

[Tiffykins 673]

DS for me was not an option. I know it gives the best weight loss, but it can be cheated just as easy as the other surgeons.

I would definitely go with an experienced revision surgeon either way. I'm not sure of your age, but future health issues with a malabsorptive procedure just scared me. Not to mention the Vitamin and supplement regimen that I've read that DS patients have to maintain to prevent deficiencies.

The sleeve has been a wonderful tool for me. I have changed my relationship with food. Mentally, I've traded in all the bad habits for good ones. The sleeve doesn't fix all of it, but it definitely helps.

Best wishes on your research for a surgeon.

[Swiftflow 6]

My opinion only--but since you had so much success with the band before the problems I think you will be great with the sleeve. You can always go to a DS later if needed, but the restriction and much of hunger being removed may be all you need.

[lmmore 0]

I agree with Swiftflow......go with the sleeve, and if you need to upgrade to DS. If you have been monitoring this site, you have noted the success with the sleeve. Since you were banded before you still had to deal with Ghrelin right? with the sleeve your hunger (at least for the majority) is minimal if at all. That helps with your choices a great deal. But do your research to where you feel comfortable, and we will be here to support you.

[happyslvr 2]

My story sounds just like yours.

Band in, band issues, 70 lb weight loss, band slip, band removed, weight all came back -- plus some more, for good measure I guess?

I was sleeved on 1-28 of this year and I have already lost approx 40 lbs. without even trying I might add. I love my sleeve!

You have been really good advice by the posters above so I cant really add anything that hasnt been said so I will just say.........

Good Luck and I look forward in getting to know you on the boards!

:wink1:

[jennymac 1]

Thanks to the recent posters for the advice. I will definitely just go with the sleeve, and worst case scenario- later I could always have a revised DS. Right now I am not working, but most likely will get a job offer next week ( i have had two interviews) so I would like to get the ssurgery done beforehand or at least be able to give them a set date in which this is scheduled. I don't want to have a work reputation right off the bat for being a flake. Sooooo, right now I have sent sent the op report for the removal of the lap band to dr stewart ( leah in the office) and am awaitng to hear back.. My fears are - a higher price due to the fact that it is a revision surgery or a surgery date way far out. The other pricing I am waiting on is Dr. Williams in Atlanta--where I live. He did the first surgery when it slipped. I am waiting on a self pay price for the sleeve. His ass't said that it was 13K for a band in the out patient surgery center, so I cant imagine the sleeve being less. Pros are that he is here in town for aftercare, etc. I spoke with his billing coordinator and told her since the last surgery I had was for a stomach perforation (oh yeah, sepsis, icu for 4 days, lucky to live) technically we could bill the surgery with CPU codes for a partial stomach removal, repair etc. to the portion that was damaged with the tear. This way my primary insurance might pay for it. I don't have the time to wait on mediciad. If for some reason I did get approved, and I had already done the surgery self pay- they might retro go back and pick up the bill. Any ideas with the CPT coding issue? Or what should I tell this employer if I am offered the job and don't have anything concrete as far as surgery date? How many days should I figure on being out? I will have over an hour commute each way and be sitting at a desk during the day. Thanks!!

[educationrulz 18]

Hey Jenny,

It sounds like you've got alot going on. It's stressful enough thinking about starting a new job without trying to plan a surgery at the same time. You probably don't have any choice but to tell the new job about your upcoming surgery but I wouldn't say anything until you have worked out a plan with a surgeon and get a date. Based on the issues you've had with the band, there's no reason you couldn't present it as an urgent procedure that has to be done ASAP. From what others here have said, the initial recovery time seems to be about a week just to get back to basic activities.

It's great that the surgeon's office is willing to work out some creative billing. That's what insurance is all about anyway - how they bill for a service. Good luck with everything and I hope you're able to get your revision soon.

[Oregondaisy 2,021]

I had a desk job and I was out of work less than a week. Dr. Aceves is very skilled at doing revision surgery. He did many of the revisions of people on this board!

[KabinKitty 11]

I would stay FAT before I would get the DS surgery! Why? Cause I work with three people who have had it done!

When any of them go to the bathroom people quickly abandon the breakroom, gagging. My boss has come flying out of her office down the hall to throw open doors and windows and spray deoderizer.

The smell is SO offensive! Even their breath smells weird, it's been described by some as "creamed corn". They can eat ALOT of food and they get rid of it as fast as they eat it.

Basically they get sleeved, but the stomach is left larger, which explains the large volume of food consumed. The way they keep the weight off is that so much of the instestines are bypassed that they don't absorb the fat, calories and the NUTRIENTS from their food.

All of them go for Iron infusions. Two of them could have died due to their low iron count. My surgeon will only do this surgery in VERY extreme cases. His first choice is the sleeve, due to patients losing the weight and having few problems. He really talks down the lapband also, but will do it if you insist.

Hope all goes well for you! :redface1:

[jennymac 1]

Kitty,

I had to laugh when I read the post. I am going with the sleeve. It is interesting though how on the DS boards, the smell issue is downplayed somewhat.

[mp8btpc 33]

I had to look up what DS was (duh) .....so while I was at it I added DS weight loss smell to the search engine and google pulled up 150,000 hits about the smell in about half a second lol. Yikes.

[Oregondaisy 2,021]

Nasty!

There is no reason to get DS anyway

unless you plan to just keep up your

old eating habits. Most of us knew how to diet. We could lose weight.

We just couldn't keep it off.

The sleeve is a miracle without any

of the horrible effects of DS or gastric bypass. My daughter had

gastric bypass and I worry about her

all the time.

[Jalapeño 13]

I have the mini gastric bypass and the smell after using the toilet literally strips the paint off the walls. The stench is out of the world nauseating and lingers. I truly feel sorry for people who are experiencing similar issues with the smell, because no amount of air freshener or pills make a blind bit of difference. It's a very depressing existence. The weight loss is to be celebrated, but the smell issue is something that really affects your confidence, relationships and quality of life in general.