Re: my VBG TO DA

[Guest guest]

Dear :

Thank you for your wonderful post. You made me

feel like I have hope. I had a VBG in 86 with much

the same outcome as you did, except that I only lost

50 pounds. I never quite understood how that happened

because I vomited soooo much. I vomited WATER. Even

today, I have problems sometimes and never know what

brings it on. I have a lot of pain in my stomach and

suspect that something has gone terribly wrong.

Anyway, when I heard about the DS it just made perfect

sense to me. And unless I miss my guess you are not a

teeny bopper either. But, probably not an ancient 66.

I was only 65 when I started to try to find a

surgeon!! LOL

Again, thank you for posting.

CAroline

--- sativa7891@... wrote:

> Here is my two cents worth:

>

> I had a failed VBG. The VBG was done in July of

> 1993. Yes, I did

> lose weight, but not in the beginning. I threw up a

> lot, but found

> out that there were so many things I could not eat.

> I lost a

> little. I finally did lose a lot of weight. I

> can't tell anyone how

> much because I never did get on a scales. I'll tell

> you I did get

> down to wearing a size 14 and looked pretty good.

>

> Then the ring on the bottom of the staple line

> pulled away from the

> stomach and I could just eat and eat and eat. I

> re-gained all but 30

> lbs of what I lost (yes, I did finally get on a

> scales). I was

> having very sharp disabilitating pains in the upper

> left quadrant of

> my stomach so started going to see the

> gasteronoligist (spelling

> problem here).

>

> I asked for a referal to Dr. Rabkin. I had Blue

> Cross/Blue Shield

> HMO and the governing body of the HMO wouldn't give

> me that referral.

> I finally did get a referal to UCLA to see Dr.

> Linvingston. He only

> does the RNY, but I figured anything was better than

> getting fat

> again and maybe the pains in my stomach would also

> be corrected.

> However, he denied me as " not medically necessary. "

>

> Changed insurance (I'm lucky being Government

> employee and can change

> insurance every year in November). I did not have

> to have a

> referral, but Dr. Rabkin moved his surgery to San

> Francisco. Too far

> for me!

>

> I got Dr. Anthone's name from Barbara Metcalf and

> got an appointment.

>

> Dr. Anthone was wonderful. I don't know what he

> wrote to my

> insurance, but I was approved within a month. Had a

> surgery date,

> but had to cancel it due to not passing the psych

> eval, and not being

> able to take off from work.

>

> Saw Dr. Bale (he works with Dr. Rabkin's patients in

> Ventura, CA) and

> he passed me on the psych and I got another surgery

> dat.

>

> Had my surgery (BPD-DS) on November 1 of 2000. The

> surgery took 5

> 1/2 hours. Dr. Anthone probably didn't get home

> till 1100 pm that

> night. I know my DH didn't get back to Oxnard from

> USC until after

> midnight on the 2nd of November.

>

> I thought that maybe because I was a VBG revision, I

> would lose

> weight more slowly.

>

> I'm not saying that the surgery or the 6 weeks I

> took off from work

> were a breaze. I did wonder what the H*ll I had

> done to myself in

> the beginning. I was pretty miserable and tired and

> cold.

>

> Well, in 5 1/2 months I have lost 70 lbs. I can

> wear a size 14. I

> could wear a size 12 if my girls (read boobs) were

> not a 38D, but

> 38Ds do not fit into a size 12!

>

> So, if I start at my top weight of 264 that I was

> before the VBG,

> I've lost 98 lbs, but if I go to my weight of 236

> that I was before

> the BPD-DS, I've lost 70lbs.

>

> And I think that's amazing.

>

> I can walk w/o getting out of breath. I can

> actually cut my own toe

> nails again. I can sit crosslegged again. I can do

> a lot more than

> I could at 264 lbs. Maybe some of you think that

> 236 isn't all that

> heavy, but for me it was awful. I'm only 5 foot

> four and one

> quarter. I couldn't do what I wanted to do, and

> knew that If I

> didn't do something, I was gonna be up to 300 soon.

>

> Been heavy all my life. Nice fat chubby baby. Fat

> kid! Fat adult.

> Sure, I lost weight on diets. You name it, I tried

> it. Remember

> Metracal? That's back in the late 60's, early 70's

> maybe. Weight

> Watchers, Craig, The Majic soup diet, the only

> eggs diet, the

> no carb diet. Man, I spent money on those stupid

> diet pills and

> stuff that they advertise in the magazines. I only

> lost my money.

>

> Even did prescription speed and thyroid replacements

> under a Dr.

> Care. I did it all.

>

> Someday I'll send Melinie pics of before and after.

>

> But I'm really happy now. I still am afraid that

> the weight will

> come back. There is this little nagging voice in my

> head telling me

> it may be all a dream, but that's why I go to the

> support groups and

> talk to ppl who are 12 years out from surgery. .

> .they haven't

> regained the weight, so why should I.

>

> Get the DS, don't get the RNY, fight your insurance.

> I personally

> think it's well worth it.

>

> Otineru--Sativa7891

>

> Blessed Be

>

>

>

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