Hello

[AngelaJ]

Hello. I'm Angela Johnson from Tennessee. Nice to meet you and glad I found this site!! I'm 45 yrs. old. I've wanted to do WLS for a few years now, but something always kept me from it or I always put it on the back-burner. I started up again in October and have completed all of the visits, except for seeing the actual surgeon to set a date. Insurance has approved and all, but my surgeon will not even see me until I've lost 64lbs., which is terribly discouraging! My heaviest weight was 344 and cw is 318 and lost this since October. I've had many health issues as several of you have. Some including diabetes, asthma, sleep apnea, limited mobility due to deg. disc., spinal stenosis, peripheral neurapathy, arthritis as well as cancer twice. Still unsure as whether to do rny or the sleeve. Thinking rny would benefit me most, but I just don't know. Fell off the wagon a little over Christmas and ate more than I should have from the diet I"m on and working to get back on track. How much did any of you have to lose before surgery??? Most say like 25-30 lbs., but 64 is just extreme to me and I don't know how I will ever get there. Ideas?

 

[brooklyngirl]

Welcome Angela, and wow, I agree that 64 pounds before even meeting you sounds absurd. I'm sorry you're going through that. Is there a possibility of you switching to a different surgeon who's less of a jackass?

 

[Elizabeth N.]

What jerk of a surgeon is this and how can we help you find one who isn't a jerk?

 

[more2adore]

Oh FFS, that's ridiculous. Seriously - find a different surgeon. You're not too heavy for WLS. I can't imagine what your surgeon would say to someone MY size (510ish pounds). Ugh.

 

[duh_Mom]

Hi and welcome! Glad you found the site - lots of good info and feedback here. I agree with the others - find a new surgeon. Good Lord, your insurance has approved, I'm in TN too and there are a couple good surgeons in Knoxville that do the DS. I am pre-op so pay more attention to the vets here on surgeons and their experiences. Welcome!

 

[southernlady]

Welcome, @AngelaJ

I was a Boyce DSer (he's in Knoxville).

 

[aaa]

Welcome.

 

[Larra]

Welcome!

If your starting weight was 344 lb, 64 lbs equals almost 20% of your TOTAL weight and probably at least 40% of the weight you need to lose. good grief! This surgeon must not have much confidence in his abilities. There are many, many people at your weight and higher having bariatric surgery of all types. Some surgeons require, for example, a 2 week pre-op diet to shrink the liver, but this is ridiculous. Time to vote with your feet, as they say, and find yourself a more reasonable and dare I say better surgeon.

Also, given your comorbidities and esp the diabetes and already with peripheral neuropathy, I hope you will research and consider the DS. The DS has by far the best statistics of any bariatric surgery for lots of things, and that includes permanent resolution of type 2 diabetes. If you are already having complications secondary to your diabetes, this is of greater importance than the number of pounds you lose. The DS also has the best rates of resolution for sleep apnea and the highest percentage of excess weight loss, and the pounds do matter for getting pressure off your damaged joints.

And if this idiot surgeon doesn't do the DS - so much the better! Get yourself to one who does and get the operation most likely to give you the most benefits and a surgeon with reasonable pre-op requirements. Sheesh!

 

[star0210]

Hello. I'm Angela Johnson from Tennessee. Nice to meet you and glad I found this site!! I'm 45 yrs. old. I've wanted to do WLS for a few years now, but something always kept me from it or I always put it on the back-burner. I started up again in October and have completed all of the visits, except for seeing the actual surgeon to set a date. Insurance has approved and all, but my surgeon will not even see me until I've lost 64lbs., which is terribly discouraging! My heaviest weight was 344 and cw is 318 and lost this since October. I've had many health issues as several of you have. Some including diabetes, asthma, sleep apnea, limited mobility due to deg. disc., spinal stenosis, peripheral neurapathy, arthritis as well as cancer twice. Still unsure as whether to do rny or the sleeve. Thinking rny would benefit me most, but I just don't know. Fell off the wagon a little over Christmas and ate more than I should have from the diet I"m on and working to get back on track. How much did any of you have to lose before surgery??? Most say like 25-30 lbs., but 64 is just extreme to me and I don't know how I will ever get there. Ideas?

Can I ask you why you think the RNY would benefit you most??

 

[hilary1617]

Welcome Angela. We share a high weight! I'd recommend looking for a new, vetted surgeon who won't force you to lose 64 pounds for no reason at all. Like the others, I'd recommend you find a vetted surgeon who performs DS so you can see if it is an option for you, since it has the best long term weight loss results. Wishing you all the best!

 

[revisionDS]

Hi Angela, happy new year and welcome.

 

[JackieOnLine]

hello & welcome! I think it's stupid for a surgeon to ask you to lose that much weight, that is what the surgeon is for.

get someone else!

meanwhile, glad to see you here