Kind of long...Looking for Information/Feedback re: MGB

October 28, 2000

Hello Everyone,

My name is Debra (Deb is fine). A friend of mine had the Roux-en-Y surgery

last Valentine's Day and what a change - both physically & mentally. She

told me (afterward) all about the procedure, the pros, risks, recovery, etc.

I have been considering the surgery since June 2000 and decided to sit in on

a support group my friend belongs to of Roux-en-Y post & pre-ops (in early

October). They were all successful at losing weight and couldn't say enough

about how they felt now (they did all say that they threw up a lot for the

first few months - yuck...). My friend (her name is Debbie) has lost 127 lbs

(with 40 to go) since February 14, 2000 and looks, acts and feels like a

totally different person. I want to feel that way too, not to mention the

fact that I have chronic back problems, my maternal grandparents both

developed adult onset diabetes, I'm borderline high cholesterol (runs in the

family) as does high blood pressure. I need to do something soon and am

trying to make an educated decision on which procedure to go with. I have

read and printed a good portion of Dr. R's website and have discussed the

procedure with my doctor (who has never heard of MGB, but she is familiar

with REY). I gave her a copy of the website information that I had printed

and she said it " sounds great " , but she recommends I keep my appointment with

the surgeon and get his views - which I planned on doing anyway. I am

scheduled to go meet the surgeon (in New York) on Halloween and have lots of

questions for him - which I will also pose to Dr. R.

I now have feedback on the REY procedure and would love to hear from anyone

willing to discuss the MGB procedure and their experiences with Dr. R. /

Staff. The group I will be visiting on the 31st comes with high praise from

a couple of people at the support group meeting.

I feel that I need to lose ~125 lbs to get to a normal range (where I have

never been in my life). My BMI is 43 and my age is reversed ... 34 ;-)

Now that I have made my decision to have " a procedure " done, I am very

anxious to chose one and get the ball rolling. For convenience sake, I had

been hoping to have the procedure done in January, although I doubt that will

happen at this point.

All feedback is appreciated. If I do opt for the MGB, I will need to speak

to 10 of Dr. R's patients (as you're all well aware).

Don't think I mentioned it, but I live in CT and would have to fly to NC to

have this done. My doctor is very supportive and told me that she'll do

whatever she has to in order to help me (which is very comforting).

Thanks in advance for your time.

Deb

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