VSG vs. DS (Sydney, Aus.)

[more2adore]

@DianaCox - Doctor's choice. He won't do a DS one-stage at a BMI of 94. He wants me to lose weight with the VSG and then he'll do the DS when I'm smaller.

 

[DuodenalSwitchaRoo]

Mike thought I would do great with the VSG alone as well...and I DID do great....50%+ ewl....but starting SMO meant I was still SMO....it took a lot of ummming and awwwwing about the DS as it scared me....so much to think about! But, I finally made a decision when my letter came, and I don't regret it and even better, I have my head completely around it! <3

 

[more2adore]

Yeah, I've told hubby he might be able to expect me to make it down to somewhere between 425 and 375 with the VSG if I work my butt off (375 would be 50% EWL, if you're counting excess weight as from goal to current. If you're counting from "normal weight" to current 50% EWL would be more)... he's convinced that 375 will be enough to change my life, and while it WILL change my life, it wouldn't be ENOUGH. I don't want to be skinny, but I want ALL of my life back, not just parts of it.

 

[Elizabeth N.]

Well, yes, getting to 375 would be lovely. But it's not NEARLY enough to give you a shot at a full lifespan or that great a quality of life. If, for some reason, that's as far as you get, great. But settling for that when you could get more out of WLS would, IMHO, be just a tiny bit silly.

 

[more2adore]

One step closer today - remember how I mentioned getting credit here in Aus was substantially harder than in the US? I had to file for Bankruptcy in the US back in 2008 (medical bills), and I still had a much easier time getting large lines of credit than my hubby has getting lines of credit here, and he makes FOUR TIMES the income here that I made in the US. We needed a loan for about $10k for my surgery - $5k for the surgery itself, and $5k for flights/accommodation/etc. for both trips we still have to make down to Melbourne and back. Back in the US, at his income level (even accounting for cost of living/currency discrepancies) he would have had a REALLY easy time getting this. As it was, out of three potential medical loan companies we found, one wouldn't help us because I'm not a permanent resident yet (and they require you to apply jointly... even though he's the only one with the income); one got back to us and said they would only give us the full amount if hubby put up his car as collateral (car is worth $15k easily), and they'd charge us 25% interest OR we could NOT use the car as collateral, get only $5k from them and pay 29% interest (are they NUTS?!?!); and the third (finally) offered us something reasonable - the full amount we asked for at 14% interest, payments about $200/month. So, not perfect, but so much better than the other two.

So, we've got finance sorted, at least. Now I have to figure out where in the hell I can find a CT scanner that can accommodate my weight so I can get my GP to refer me there and figure out what this abdominal pain is before we go any further. I'm 525 pounds, and so far all the CT machines I've heard about here locally only go up to about 485 pounds, and those are the specifically bariatric ones.

 

[more2adore]

...and that turned out to be easier than I thought. I started calling the places with the biggest amount of types of tests handled, and literally the second place I called can accommodate my weight. Their CT scanner actually goes up to about 640 pounds! Yay! I go to the pathology lab Tuesday morning to get the blood tests/urine test done for my surgeon, go to my GP for my referral to the CT, then go to the CT scanner place. I'll knock it all out in one go.

 

[JackieOnLine]

good deal! you certainly are organized!

 

[robs477]

M2A...I really like your attitude and spirit! I replied to one of your posts also before on OH a few weeks back. With the attitude you have, you will be just fine, in the long term as well. This will take a few yrs, VSG first, then DS, BUT, you know what young lady...You have TWO very important factors in your corner...Your attitude, and your YOUTH!!!!! At 35, you can be right where you want to be by 38-40. Those years will go by quicker than you think. I am 56 and pre-op, so.....just keep looking at the advantages you have, AS YOU ALREADY DO, and don't focus on the dis-advantage's,....and keep moving forward....and with your spirit, you will do just fine .

 

[hilary1617]

@more2adore , Well done in researching, making a decision and a plan, then taking steps to realize it! I am excited to hear of your progress and share in your journey. Please do keep us posted!!!!

 

[more2adore]

Thank you so much, you three! Jackie, I'm only organized when it comes to major things in my life where I have to be organized or they won't happen. 1) College applications, 2) immigration application, 3) wedding planning, and now 4) WLS. Heh.

 

[more2adore]

Derp - it didn't occur to me that with a CT scanner that is rated up to 640 founds that it still might not FIT me. I mean, duh. Why didn't I think of that? NOTHING fits me. Sigh. I fasted for four hours, spent 2 hours getting to the place (and walked like a mile in 90-degree weather to get there as there were no convenient bus stops...that's a BIG FUCKING DEAL for someone my size), waited an hour for them to finally take me back, wait another 25 minutes STANDING because the room they showed me into to change out of my bra, etc. only had a chair I couldn't sit in in it, and then they get me on the table, get my back properly pillowed, start sliding me in, and...nope. No-go. It got as far as my upper thighs, and that was it. It started hurting because it was squeezing so tight, so they pulled me out.

I asked them very nicely if they could PLEASE help me find somewhere that could help me before I left... the kind nurse made some calls for me and said there were three hospitals who had CT scanners rated up to 660 pounds, and they said I would "definitely" fit. Yeah. We'll see. I'll believe it when I see it.

Not sure what to do if this next one doesn't work. Are they going to send me to like a ZOO or something to get a CT scanner that will fit me? You probably think I'm nuts, but I read an Aussie news article about that happening for people who were too large in Melbourne to fit the "human-sized" CTs. I tell ya - nothing is more dehumanizing than being SSMO. Don't get me wrong - it pisses me off more than anything. I have no idea what our next step will be if this next place doesn't work.

 

[more2adore]

Oh, and... I'm rolling around in my brain the possibility of starting (with our next grocery run) to try out eating kind of similarly to how I will have to eat post-VSG -- low on the carbs, low on the sugar, high on the protein to help me wrap my mind around it pre-surgery.

 

[DianaCox]

Was it an "open" MRI? I don't know what those look like, but that's what the SMOs here are sent to.
E.g.: http://www.radarmedicalimaging.com.au/mri.aspx

 

[more2adore]

There are Open MRIs here in Sydney, I believe (a quick Google turned up an "open bore" MRI locally, though it says it has a 27" wide opening?). However, the surgeon wanted a CT, not an MRI. So a different scanning technology. I guess my next step will be asking if an MRI would work, if this doesn't.

 

[more2adore]

...and from some more quick research I did, looks like CT scanners are generally wider, anyway, and instead of being fully encapsulated in a tube like the MRI the scanner is only about two feet long. So... it should be easier to fit into, overall, than an MRI. You'd think. lol.