Hi,
I just thought I'd introduce myself. I've been lurking for a couple of days and was referred here by Larra. I'm jillc or jillcflanagan on the boards.
At the moment I'm narrowing down which surgeon to get revision surgery with. It was Gagner, Lutrzykowski, and Marchesini in Brazil. Although I'm Canadian and having the procedure in a Canadian hospital would be good (if anything went wrong my provincial insurance would pay for that, but not the surgery itself), I've ruled out Gagner. I just got a bad feeling off my correspondence with his assistant. He wouldn't commit to one surgery, and I hear he has a history of doing the VSG portion and then closing you up.
But the correspondence I had with his assistant is another story and I'm getting side-tracked.
Ok, more about me. I had a VBG in 1988. I was 18 at the time and thought it would be a magic bullet. My mother (a RN) found out about it. She met a VBG success story and the surgeon was local. Within a month I was on the operating table being sliced from my umbillicus to my xiphoid. I was 225 at the time of surgery. After the surgery I lost about 40 lbs.
I developed (what I now know to be) maladaptive eating. There wasn't any aftercare, at all.
I soon saw the 225 again and raised it. Btw, I'm not blaming my mother - we just were so hopeful that critical thought went out the door.
Diet after diet after diet after diet. Followed by the rebound of weight. In August of 2012, I found out an old flame of mine was coming over from the UK for a few weeks training at the local army base. He was/is a hot British soldier with the most piercing blue eyes you've ever seen, and is charming player. Nonetheless, I was excited to see him. I was 336 at the time and desperate to get some weight off so I decided to try hCG.
I dropped 50 lbs in 6 weeks. So at my not-so-fantastic reunion, I was in the 280's, which is only slightly more than the last time he saw me. I did a few more rounds of hCG and got down to 230-something for one or two milliseconds.
I'm now just over or just under 300 lbs. I'm hypothyroid and have been for years. The recent gain of 10 lbs (I was in my 290's 3 weeks ago) is due my thyroid taking a dive. But I work remotely and can't get my blood tested for another couple of weeks when I have some time off. I'll get my Armor dosage adjusted then.
It'll stop the rapid gain, but it won't stop the incessant creep of my weight.
But I digress, once again - sorry! I recently started looking into revision surgery. Since I had a VBG and failed, I sort of treated WLS as a sordid part of my past. I chose not to think about it (unless I get a blockage and am vomiting, then I at least have to acknowledge it exists). And I didn't think about other methods of WLS.
My thought process was - I'd had my chance and I screwed it up. The shame that accompanied the failure is/was major.
I don't know why I started researching WLS again recently. Probably because my weight is not behaving and not wanting to end up at 350 this time.
A little pertinent background about me - I've had many careers in my life. I have a degree in IT. I was an RMT and now a medic in the oilfield. I am also a writer. I research the hell out of every subject and have computer skills, am literate and have medical knowledge. But I'd never researched my WLS. Never.
The amount of shame that I had about the VBG surgery failing is slowly fading. I now know that I am far from alone. And although I did develop maladaptive eating, it's not totally my fault. An echo of shame is still there, but I'll get rid of it.
The surgery I've decided upon is a revision to DS. No other surgery will do. No half surgery (VSG only) will do.
So, that's where I am right now. Marchesini is more skilled and costs less but is so far away from home. Lutrzykowski, is vetted by Ontario's Health Insurance Plan and approved. I'm not from Ontario, but the fact that he's been vetted and used by one of our provincial health care authorities eases mine and my family's minds.
Still haven't decided - if I have it in Detroit, Mom would be with me. In Brazil I would most likely be alone as I don't want my 75 year old mother exhausting herself on that type of journey.
So the surgery is going to happen. Hopefully in Nov, Dec or Jan - depends how quickly I can save up the rest of my money. About $19,500 for Dr. Lutrzykowski - not including hotel and flights. About $20,000 all in for Marchesini (flights, hotel, etc). Cheaper if I go with open.
Open vs. lap is another issue that I'm confused about. Some surgeons say that a VBG to DS should only be open. Others do lap. I can only afford so much time off work, and I had a terrible time last time with the healing process. But to get the best results, my aversion to having open shouldn't be a consideration. I assume techniques have become better for pain management since 1988.
Okay, this has turned into an over-long intro. I should edit it, but you'll all probably get a better impression of my personality if I don't. And it's eleven p.m. and I have to be up in a few hours (lame excuse, but I'll use it!)
Jill
