Guest guest Posted November 19, 2001 Report Share Posted November 19, 2001 Hi , and welcome! > > > 1. I live on the SF peninsula and have to get a new PCP since my old > one is no longer in an affiliated medical group. I have Blue Shield > POS (Point of Service). Can anyone recommend a " DS friendly " > physician in the Brown and Toland Medical Group? I'd prefer a female > doc, but will consider anyone at this point. I don't have B & T, but I've heard some use Dr. Elkin as their PCP - he also works with Dr. Rabkin providing physical clearance (he's a pulmonologist I believe) for surgery. Others with B & T can pipe in with suggestions for PCPs. > > 2. I'm thinking of contacting Dr. Rabkin, as I have read a lot of > good things about him here. If anyone else with BS POS and Dr. Rabkin > has been " switched " , can you give me an estimated out-of-wallet cost > for the procedure, surgeon's fees, program fee, hospital stay, > consults, tests, you name it. I'm also worried about how much work I > may miss. Is 4 weeks reasonable? Longer? Has anyone gone on > disability while they've recuperated? I originally started with Rabkin, but have since switched to Dr. Jossart (who recently left Rabkin's practice to go out on his own). Dr. Jossart is a laproscopic specialist and has been doing DS for a few years. If you're seeking surgery within the next few months, you may want to consider a consult with Dr. Jossart. Dr. Rabkin requires up front payment of $12K for non-B & T patients, Dr. Jossart requires $7500 up front for non-B & T patients. Both have a $3000 program fee. That would be out of pocket for sure. > > 3. Since I'm only 24 and want to have kids someday (NOT SOON, but > someday), I'm worried about the malabsorption part of the procedure > and its effect on a pregnancy. Has anyone here had kids after their > DS op? Did you have to do anything differently? Is there a difference > in a pregnancy with a 100cm common channel vs a 50 cm? This was one of my questions as well, even though I'm not as young as you! (grin) Safe pregnancy and healthy babies are a perfectly reasonable expectation post op - however, most surgeons require/request that you wait 18 months post surgery so your body capitalizes on the weight loss, and you're not in losing mode during pregnancy. I believe both Dr. J and Dr. R do a common channel of 100cm. Good luck ! Amy S. Dr. J. 12/5/01 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 20, 2001 Report Share Posted November 20, 2001 My doctor is in Brown & Toland, and while I won't say that he's across-the-board WLS-friendly, he wrote an AWESOME letter of support for me. Feel free to email me personally, and I'll give you his name and number. He's in Daly City. (Where are you on the Peninsula?) You might also want to think about the other California surgeons -- Dr. Jossart in SF, Dr. Keshishian in Delano (near Bakersfield), and Dr. Anthone in LA. Dr. R has quite a patient backlog right now and a $12,000 upfront fee, more than anyone else in CA. All of the CA doctors have good reputations. I have seen several studies on children after DS -- there doesn't seem to be a problem as long as you're outside the 12-18 month window. I would imagine that a 100cm common channel would be safer for baby-making, though. Good luck in your journey. ~alyssa, pre-op and mother of two surgery date: 12/20/01 surgeon: dr. keshishian Newbie with questions > Hi All: > > Been lurking around this group for awhile, just started to seriously > consider DS as an option for me. A lot of my questions have been > answered just by hanging out and reading your posts and replys. > Thanks! > > 1. I live on the SF peninsula and have to get a new PCP since my old > one is no longer in an affiliated medical group. I have Blue Shield > POS (Point of Service). Can anyone recommend a " DS friendly " > physician in the Brown and Toland Medical Group? I'd prefer a female > doc, but will consider anyone at this point. > > 2. I'm thinking of contacting Dr. Rabkin, as I have read a lot of > good things about him here. If anyone else with BS POS and Dr. Rabkin > has been " switched " , can you give me an estimated out-of-wallet cost > for the procedure, surgeon's fees, program fee, hospital stay, > consults, tests, you name it. I'm also worried about how much work I > may miss. Is 4 weeks reasonable? Longer? Has anyone gone on > disability while they've recuperated? > > 3. Since I'm only 24 and want to have kids someday (NOT SOON, but > someday), I'm worried about the malabsorption part of the procedure > and its effect on a pregnancy. Has anyone here had kids after their > DS op? Did you have to do anything differently? Is there a difference > in a pregnancy with a 100cm common channel vs a 50 cm? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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