VSG vs. DS (Sydney, Aus.)

[Elizabeth N.]

Thanks hilary!

Just curious - what kind of testing do they usually do before surgeries? I suspect I might have a hernia from a fall I took (missed the last step - doh) a couple of months ago. I realize things may vary from doctor to doctor, but is it typical for them to determine if you might have hernias prior? What about your heart - I had some brief-but-scary episodes when my levothyroxine dose was too high but they mostly stopped once it was brought down (pretty much nonexistent now). Will they do an EKG or something?

I was a high risk patient due to BMI and many health issues, including pulmonary hypertension with right heart failure.

Tests included:
EKG
sleep study (although I'd been on CPAP for 11 years)
echocardiogram
pulmonary perfusion study
chemically induced cardiac stress test
A shitload of blood work
A shitload of endocrinology stuff
Not one, not two, but THREE psych clearances....by my psychologist, my psychiatrist AND a psychiatrist of my surgeon's choosing (because I was having surgery a good ways from home, and in case a local psych doc was needed)
Probably several other tests I'm forgetting at the moment

 

[more2adore]

Holy moly. Good! I feel better knowing how thorough they are. I still have perfect cholesterol, blood pressure and blood sugar, fortunately, but I'd rather they put me through the wringer testing wise to make sure there are no surprises during surgery!

 

[Elizabeth N.]

Holy moly. Good! I feel better knowing how thorough they are. I still have perfect cholesterol, blood pressure and blood sugar, fortunately, but I'd rather they put me through the wringer testing wise to make sure there are no surprises during surgery!

Have you ever had surgery?

 

[more2adore]

I had my wisdom teeth surgically removed when I was about ten years old, before they came in... none since then.

 

[Elizabeth N.]

Read the thread on the main board about "never had surgery, here's what to expect."

 

[JackieOnLine]

hello! just wanted to pop in and say it's nice to see your face. looking forward to hear more from you.

 

[Munchkin]

I am assuming you can enter the US as you please. If I was in your position, my first choice would be to go to Rabkin or Keshishian and get the whole thing done at once. Do you have family you could stay with in the US?

 

[more2adore]

@Elizabeth N. Read it through very carefully and thoughtfully last night. Like Roo, I think I'll take it with me to the hospital. Thank you SO much for writing all that up.

Thanks @JackieOnLine .

@Munchkin Yes, I'm a US citizen, obviously, so I can, but unfortunately my family is not near Rabkin or Dr. K at all. Family are primarily East Coasters. The flight over here was REALLY hard, difficult and painful for me (to the point where it took me months to get over an injury I incurred during flight). I can't imagine how much harder it would be if I'd just had surgery. There are a million little considerations to think about when you're 500+ pounds when it comes to travel, and those are doubled when it's international flights. Lack of bariatric wheelchairs, the gymnastics you have to resort to to clean yourself even in the handicapped lavatory of the plane, etc. International travel is beyond daunting for someone this size, and I can't imagine adding recently post-surgery to the mix as well.

 

[Munchkin]

Keep your options open! I was hoping you had family on the west coast!

 

[DuodenalSwitchaRoo]

I would take what you can given the circumstances. If you can only get a VSG...DO IT...it's better than doing nothing! But do NOT get a DS from a surgeon who has no experience of doing it on the super sized, or says its an "easy op to do" (had a surgeon tell me that and I walked out lol) If you can travel to the surgeon who does the DS, FAB!

However, you are one of a few people who match me in the stubbornness category. If you have the DS in 2 parts you NEED to be more stubborn than you have ever been to make it work and to prove to people it can be done

Good luck Gin! Here to chat if you need me.

 

[Munchkin]

I would take what you can given the circumstances. If you can only get a VSG...DO IT...it's better than doing nothing! But do NOT get a DS from a surgeon who has no experience of doing it on the super sized, or says its an "easy op to do" (had a surgeon tell me that and I walked out lol) If you can travel to the surgeon who does the DS, FAB!

However, you are one of a few people who match me in the stubbornness category. If you have the DS in 2 parts you NEED to be more stubborn than you have ever been to make it work and to prove to people it can be done

Good luck Gin! Here to chat if you need me.

Look at that skinny avie!

 

[Munchkin]

HMMMM... @DianaCox do you remember who did Anne Baker's surgery? I remember she was living in Adelaide and her CC was 40!!!! We had a great time with her in Vegas and I haven't heard from her in ages.

 

[more2adore]

Don't worry, Roo, not giving up, though it's not proving easy. Medicare here pays almost nothing for bariatric surgery, and my private insurance is trying to say I have a 12-month waiting period for pre-existing conditions (even though I had insurance continuously in the US for the last 6 years, as well as insurance from the second I got here to Australia). I'm currently battling them on that. I would just say we'll just suck it up and pay out of pocket, but unfortunately that's not an option right this second. We had to pay thousands and thousands of dollars for Australian immigration, then moving all my stuff here, of course two plane tickets for me to get here, getting the cat over, and then our small wedding (which still wasn't cheap). And I haven't been able to find a job here yet - working on it, and have a good prospect that I'll find out about in the next couple weeks, but still don't have one. Hubby's supporting us both on his salary and we're barely scraping by. We tried to get a loan to consolidate what we have on the cards so we could maybe get a loan for the surgery - denied. So it looks like right now we're just going to have to wait and see what the insurance company comes back with, and keep our fingers crossed that I get a job!

 

[DianaCox]

HMMMM... @DianaCox do you remember who did Anne Baker's surgery? I remember she was living in Adelaide and her CC was 40!!!! We had a great time with her in Vegas and I haven't heard from her in ages.

I do not remember - do you still have her email address?

Nevermind - I found it and sent her an email, and cc'd you.

 

[Munchkin]

I do not remember - do you still have her email address?

Nevermind - I found it and sent her an email, and cc'd you.

Thanks!