First appointment went well!

Well, I had my first appointment with my internist to get the ball rolling in the surgery process. I had an EKG done, lots of blood drawn, and a chest x-ray. I discussed the surgery in depth with my physician and she gave me her recommendation for the either the by-pass surgery or the sleeve gastrectomy. The sleeve is pretty much not an option for me as my insurance does not cover it as a stand alone procedure.

I have been doing a lot of research on the Roux-n-Y vs. the sleeve and the duodenal switch. I am fairly certain that the roux is the best choice for me. I do have a concern about the potential for weight regain that seems to be an issue for some people over the long term. I plan to discuss this at my surgeon consults next week. I have a surgeon consult appointment next Tuesday at Beaumont Weight Control and another surgeon consult with Henry Ford West Bloomfield next Thursday. I will compare both programs and choose which one I feel is best for me. I have other medical conditions (Rheumatoid Arthritis and G6PD)and I want to find out how the surgery will affect those conditions or if they put me at an increased risk for surgery.

My insurance is going to require a six month failure at a supervised diet, which I think is ridiculous. Obviously I have failed plenty of diets as I wouldn't be where I am right now! This pushes my surgery time frame back and it looks like I won't be having surgery until May or June 2012!! The insurance language regarding what "supervised" means is vague and of course I am getting the run around from them when I call to inquire about it. Henry Ford said that I should join Weight Watchers and keep documentation of my weigh in's but I would hate to do that and then Blue Cross doesn't accept it as a professionally supervised program. Beaumont has physician supervised weight control programs, but from what I understand the program is very expensive. I will just have to wait and see what options I have after I meet with both surgeons.

I have been doing well drinking without a straw and staying away from soda! This week I am going to begin practicing eating slowly and chewing my food completely which are things I will have to do after surgery. I will post next week after my surgeon consults!