WLS,or
weight loss surgery is a very underused treatment for
morbid obesity. There are a lot of stereo types about it
because of the old stomach stapling or radical bypass
procedures. Those procedures are out dated and are for the most part no
longer being performed. The main procedure being
performed today is the Roux-En-Y or RNY, or Gastric
Byapss. There are many variations to this surgery and
each surgeon has his own technique. All are very viable
and are the only means of permanent, steady weight loss
for those who are over 100lbs of their ideal body weight.
There are also other surgeries. Duodenal Switch, or DS is
a similar procedure which does not bypass the duodenum
unlike RNY. This is fairly new, but is having great
success as well. Another is VBG, Vertical Banded
Gastroplasty. In some patients this is a successful
treatment, but many are having this revised to an RNY
because of problems with the band slipping. In other
countries there are other surgeries, such as the LapBand.
This is not currently approved in the U.S. The
National Institute of Health supports WLS as a viable and
required treatment for Morbid Obesity. WLS IS THE ONLY
PERMANENT TREATMENT FOR OBESITY, AND IS A LIFE SAVING
PROCEDURE, IT IS NOT COSMETIC OR ELECTIVE. After WLS
patients see dramatic improvements in their health. Most
see their sleep apnea disappear in only a few weeks. The
same for diabetes, high blood pressure, pain in their
bodies and countless other weight related problems
disappear. Losing weight means less risk of heart attack
or stroke and prolongs life, a healthy and happy life.
THIS SAVES INSURANCE COMPANIES MONEY! THEY WON'T HAVE TO
PAY FOR COSTLY HEART SURGERIES OR PROLONGED TIME IN
INTENSIVE CARE FOR OBESITY RELATED ILLNESS. YET MOST
INSURANCES DO NOT PAY FOR WLS. HOW RIDICULOUS! THIS
ANGERS ME TO NO END. WE HAVE GOT TO FIGHT THE INSURANCE
COMPANIES SO THEY UNDERSTAND THIS IS A LIFE SAVING
OPERATION! OK enough grandstanding. On with the story.....
About two
years ago I saw a story on one of the news magazine type
programs about a surgeon named Mal Fobi. He was touting
his Fobi Pouch surgery for weight loss. His patients were
singing his praises. Right away I knew this was the
answer for my fight with Morbid Obesity.
I went to
his website and ordered the information. I was so excited
to get it and read it from cover to cover, looking at his
successful patients, wishing it were me. I checked into
it and found out about the astronomical cost and I didn't
have any health insurance at the time. Feeling quite
depressed, I decided I had better forget it because I
would never be able to afford such an expense. That was
when my weight was only in the 250 - 275 range.
I thought
about it for a long time but didn't think it was ever
going to happen so I went on with my battle. I was on Fen-Phen,
Nutri-Fast, Opti-Fast, Weight Watchers, the Cabbage Diet,
Protien Power Plan and many more. Over the course of
those two years I was always able to lose weight, about
50-60 lbs each try. Like many others, I only gained it
all back, and then some, ending up fatter than I was
before I started. My weight finally got up to 375 in
October of 1998. I tried one last time with the Protien
Power Plan. I lost 28lbs in one month. I felt pretty good.
The problem was I could not overcome my addiction to
carbohydrates and once again gained back the weight
getting up to 385.
In January
of 1999, I decided I was not going to diet anymore. I had
had enough! I couldn't keep dealing with it. I was sick
all the time, my immune system was a wreck. I have
arthritis, my knees cracked with every step, I ran out of
breath just walking a few feet. I was developing sleep
apnea, never slept more than 30 minutes at a time. My
blood pressure was out of control. I could not stand the
humiliation of being out in public at that weight. I wasn't
attending my college classes because it was so difficult
to walk from the parking lot to the buildings, maneuver
my way to a class and then to find there were no seats to
accomodate me. I was giving up. I couldn't take it
anymore. My husband ended up having affairs. He ended up
leaving for another woman, he couldn't take it anymore
either. I was unbearable to live with. I hated everyone
and everything. Most of all I hated myself. I wanted to
live a normal life, be able to play with my son, go
places and see things. I just couldn't. Being this fat is
like being in solitary confinement for life.
In the
spring of 1999 I started to hear via the internet about
people having WLS and started finding websites all over
the place about it. Then my real struggle began. I found a
site called Association for Morbid Obesity Support. www.obesityhelp.com On this site there are people
who have had the surgery, doctors who perform it, pre ops
waiting, everything I wanted to know about WLS. It was a
God send. I used this as a resource for most of my
research. Everyone there is so wonderful and supportive.
I felt like this could finally become a reality.
I still had
no health insurance so I was trying to get some. I must
have applied to 50 companies. They all either had a
specific exclusion for any type of weight loss treatment
or rejected me for coverage because of my weight. I then
found a program called Hill Burton. This is a program
that pays for poor people to have hospital treatment in
return for the government giving them money for their
hospital. It sounded great. I found a hospital in my
state. Then I had to find a surgeon. I called and called
and finally found one. The nurse said he did gastric
bypass, and I thought great. She then told me she might
be able to put his bill on the Hill Burton too. I was
ecstatic. It was too good to be true. I called the day
before my consultation to confrim my appointmentc as it
was a two hour drive. At the end of the call I thanked
her for being so helpful and said that most people just
don't understand what a hard time people in my situation
have getting help. She seemed confused. I explained to
her why I wanted gastric bypass. She almost sounded like
she was going to burst out laughing. She informed me that
they don't do that and they could not help me. I was
crushed to say the least. So much for that plan.
A couple of
months went by and I kept steaming on. I finally went
into a chat session on www.obesityhelp.com , where I met Dr. Elliot Goodman.
He is the Assistant Professor of Surgery at Montefiore
Medical Center in NY. I liked him right away. He is a
very kind and caring man. He always answers all of your
questions, calls you personally and answers his own email.
He is great. I also felt he was a very skilled surgeon,
but didn't have a God complex so that was a big plus. His
site is www.shedweight.com. Anyway...he has negotiated a
good price for self pay patients with the hospital. In
the mean time I had gotten student health insurance from
my college. Dr G called them up, they wouldn't cover a
dime. Plan B. Beg, borrow and steal the money! I had to
put $10,000 down on the surgery and the other $5,000 the
hospital would finance. I put my car up for sale, I did
everything I could to raise money but I was still short
to say the least. I called upon my family. I was
desperate. They rallied around me and I can't believe we
pulled it off. My family loaned me, and donated to me the
rest of the money I needed to get the money to put down.
My sister paid for my airline ticket to NY and my
apartment I had to rent to stay in after the surgery. Dr
G required me to stay for at least five days after
leaving the hospital in case of any complications. More
about that surgery on the next page. While you
are here, HEY SIGN MY GUEST BOOK!
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