I had MGB by Dr Ponce and Almanza but it was done in TJ. Don't know about the facility Vida Hospital. Had excellant care and no complications. Although Dr Rutledge undoubtedly has done the most MGB's in the states, there are alot of surgeons out there that perform MGB's and the RNY. Just keep researching so when you are put under you  are confident  in those who are doing it.

Hello,

Thanks for your response.

I would love to go to Dr. Rutledge but I don't know if i can pay for it.
I have great credit but due to our wonderful economy i am not sure that financing is possible.
If I am able to financed it, I don't know if i can effort the monthly punishments.

Do you know any about the financial part? Do you know someone who can help me in that area?

My situation is that i got the lap band May 2007, the surgeon and the hospital was a wonderful experience. When I got home, i have been living a nightmare ever since. No support group, no one to talk to about my series of events, no eating direction and doctors that was on my referred list that did not want to see me because I got my lap band done in Mexico. 

My lap band has been giving problems and I feel that i have to get it out but my primary dr. feels that i should not just take it out and do nothing because of all the popular obesity curses that i have to medicate.  I agree but I am still paying on my lap band and i am afraid about the NO support system when after the new surgery. 

At the end of it all, i am afraid of dieing  young from my one of my multiple health problem. My father die August 2009 to heart failure, he was 59 weighting near 400lbs.

Sorry for the long story, just want to be real.

Hello

I am interested in going to Hermosillo, MX to get the MGB surgery, the price is lower than Dr Rutledge price.

I have anyone gotten the MGB done in Mexico?
If so, Can you tell me your experiences, both good and bad.
I want to know only about that MGB.

Thank you very much.

Tracy
Arizona

Hi there,
Actually, the VSG is also still currently covered by OHIP.

Hi,

Well, sometimes you need to fight for what you want.  Where are you having the surgery?  Possibly your surgeon can write a letter to your insurance company explaining the need and the health risks if you don't have the surgery.  It is a battle but many folks have won.  It will take a lot of determination to get approved.

Dr. P and Dr. R allow Caffine.  Its not that, its the tantic acid in Coffee and tea that they ask you to avoid.  Green tea is ok.

Hey, I'm in Nashville too!  I found out about the MGB from a co-worker that had it done and she was thrilled.  I have been looking into gastric bypass surgery for a long time, but the RNY just seemed so drastic.  When I heard about the MGB, I knew it was the right surgery for me.  Here's the thing, Dr. Rutledge (see www.clos.net) invented the surgery.  He is in Las Vegas.  That's where my friend went.  There is another surgeon Dr. Rutledge trained located in Orlando and they work together.  My understanding is that these are the ONLY doctors doing the surgery in the USA.  I think its a patient issue.  Anyway, insurance won't cover the procedure because is it relatively new and I didn't have the 17k to get it done.  Well, one day I thought "What about out of country surgery" and looked into it.  It turns out that there are LOTS of surgeons doing the MGB in other countries.  The cost is a lot less (7k to 13k).  So, that's where I'm at with it.  I am in the process of scheduling my surgery now. 

Not recently.  I willhave to wait for insureance...whenever one of us gets full time job.

Hmmmm, I seem to break easily these days.

Good luck in your group!  I wish I was in Florida right now.  It is a whole 3 degrees out there! lol

An early analysis of a study done at the Mayo Clinic was presented by ASMBS president, John Backer, MD at the Endocrine Society in June 2009 which found that those who had bariatric surgery were nearly 4 times as likely to sustain a fracture after surgery than the general population. They were not sure if the fractures were due to vitamin deficiencies prior to surgery, malabsorbtion issues after surgery or possibly because people's bodies shapes and centers of balance had changed substantially. The following excerpt points to the need to get sufficient supplimentation of calicium and vitamin D regardless of your surgery type.

"Before and after gastric bypass, patients are routinely told to take at least 1,200 milligrams of calcium daily, and usually 800 milligrams of D, but that may not be enough," Baker said.

Monitoring patients closely is crucial, he said. "No matter which surgery [of several bariatric surgery options] they have had done, they need to be monitored for calcium, vitamin D levels and parathyroid hormones long term," he said. Parathyroid hormones help increase calcium levels in the blood.

To see the article, please click here.

Tiffany, the scars are almost unnoticeable - not that I'll ever be in a bikini; too much loose skin and not enough $$ for plastic surgery! (I wear spandex garments from Lipo in a Box and, with my clothes on, I look like I've had plastics; I highly recommend them!!)

My nails were in pretty good shape (I attribute that to all the vitamins), but now I get them "done"; it's one of my perks! My hair stayed in good shape, although like most, I did have some hair loss. i have pretty thick hair, so it really wasn't noticeable - except on the shower floor!

Good luck with everything! To post a private message, just click on "contact" at the bottom of the message!

Yours,
Nancy

Hi, Rocky!

Hmmm, it's been a few years, and I can't quite remember how much we actually wound up paying; seems like it was right around 16K for everything. Dr. Brown uses St. Thomas Moore Hospital in Canon City, where I stayed two nights and had the most excellent nursing care I have ever received!

Dr. Brown is a stellar surgeon and his office staff is wonderful. The only thing I found lacking was his follow-up care (at the time, his office did not have a nutritionist; I understand they do now). I use a lot of the advice on supplements and after-care from the clos.net website. I have my primary care doc look after my blood-work (which has been excellent, by the way!)

I lost weight pretty steadily and without too much effort the first few months til I got to my goal, then maintained. I do "dump" like many RNY patients, but I can avoid that by staying away from sugar - still hard for me! Too many white/refined carbs= wicked, room-clearing gas (hey, you asked for the gritty details!) My weight has now bounced back up by about 10 lbs, and I do have to really pay attention to what I eat to keep it from going up any higher. (I'm okay with the 10 lbs, BTW, as I think my face looked older at my lowest weight....)

You can find Dr. Brown's website at http://www.coloradochoicebariatrics.com/

Hope this helps! Give me a holler if you are ever down in the Colo. Springs area; maybe we can meet up!

Yours,
Nancy

Howdy!
I notice you're in CO. My surgeon (down in Canon City, south of Colorado Springs) does what he calls a Simplified Gastric Bypass; it is the same same surgery that Dr. Rutledge performs, but he has a patent on the name and no other doc can call his surgery by that name. He revised me from a band 3 years ago and I couldn't be happier with the results. Not quite as many hoops to jump through as on clos.net (although they are an excellent surgical group, from what I can gather)!

Let me know if you'd like more info, and good luck woth your journey!

Hi, i myself would have liked to have this option but as far as I know you can only have it done in the States.  My friend had it done in the fall of 2007 (she is from the niagara peninsula) and had to go to Michigan and stay at a motel after wards for a week before she could come back home.  I belive she told me that they don't perform them in Michigan anymore.  She was actually covered by ohip but they stopped doing it as of the fall of 2008 wich is when I started to become interested in the procedure.  Right now the only procedure covered here in Canada is the ryn bypass.  I wish that ohip covered more options than they do.  Atleast with the mgb it can be reversed if it needed to be.  However I am waiting to have the ryn.  Hope this helps, Tammy

Hi,

I may be a bad influence, but I drink coffee.  I don't drink alot of it, one or two cups a day.  Over time, I have developed some bad habits which I am hoping to break.

I would actually like to know the same thing.  What is the deal with this MGB?  I have seen tons of people on YouTube that have had that.  I am having my surgery (RNY) on 2/11.  We are very close in our date.  I am actually already on partial liquids trying to lose 20 lbs. before my surgery.

How are you doing?  Are you getting excited.  I am very much.  So much so that I can't sleep very well.  I am too busy researching and finding new ideas on how to be successful.  I am anxious about it all.  

I hope we can be of help to each other and stay in touch.

 

I'm in Oklahoma City, honestly i dont know a thing about the Mini, but I was wondering why you wouldnt want the full shebang?

Have you talked to any of the area doctors?
I actually am going tomorrow to see Dr. Keith in Norman for my labs/ekg and such because i am sceduled for Feb 22nd for Gastric bypass.

Good luck to you either way :)

Hi,

I have attached a link for you.  These are the folks you need to contact about the MGB.

http://clos.net/contact.htm

 Hi Everybody!
Does anyone here know anything about the Hospital Vida or Dr. Ponce in TJ?
I wanted to schedule surgery for the 29th with Dr. Almanza @ the Jerusalem Clinic/Emanuel Ctr and I am being told that there are not any available appts. but that I can have Dr. Ponce do the surgery (also that he has more experience with MGB) at the "Vida Hospital".
I was just curious if anyone here had any input?
Just a bit nervous but I really am anxious to get the surgery too....

Just curious, have you researched the duodenal switch?  It cures Type 2 Diabetes and insulin resistance immediately after having the procedure (that is, it is cured through the mechanism of action in surgery, not by the weight loss itself.)  So, you'd go under anesthesia with insulin resistance and wake up cured.  Pretty amazing.  And the cure rate remains about 98%.  Not bad odds.
 
I was insulin resistant pre-op.  Not anymore.  Love my DS!

Hi,

No.  These are two different surgeries.  To be approved for the mini gastric bypass, you must complete twelve steps.  See http:clos.net and click on the tab on the left side called, "start here" in yellow highlighter.  It will explain what these twelve steps are.  Congrats on your approval!

Hello everyone!

I'm new to this board.  I'm seriously considering MGB, and was hoping that some of you could help me.  I'm pretty sure my insurance won't cover any bariatric surgeries.  If that is the case, could I still pay myself to have it done?  Also, what are the qualifications?  I'm slightly confused.  It sounds like you have to be under age 30 and less than 250lbs.  Can anyone confirm this?

Thank you SO much!  I hope I get to share my experience in the near future.

If you have been approved for the RNY gastric bypass, does that mean you are also approved for the mini bypass?

Story
When seeing my Endo 1.5 years ago, I had wicked high insulin levels 93 (non-diabtic was 0-9 and diabetic was 9-27). A1C 6.0.  I had gained about 140 pounds in 14 years... and of that I gained 100 pounds in 4 years.  College scholarship athlete use to be very active.

Through the 1.5 years I have worked with her I have managed to get it down to a 27.3 and a a1c of 6.1

I have been on Byetta and Metformin watching carbs.  I managed to loose 25 pounds and keep it off during that time.  I was 350 now 325 and am 5'7 tall.  Unfortunately, I am starting to have adverse reactions to the byetta and my doctor has now taken me off that med.

Which concerns me as this is the first time *ever* I was able to loose any weight and keep it off.

It is also the first time ever I have realized that 70% of my cravings for certian types of food and being hungry did *not* stem from emotional eating.

As I went off the meds and as I write this even though I had breakfast an hour ago I am feeling freakin hungry, shelly and jittery....  The struggle to no eat is back...

And I am worried I am going to gain my weight back not from eating but because of the excess insulin in my body and how that promotes weight gain.

I have blamed myself my entire life.  I realized I was only really 1/3 of the problem.

Questions
With that said, I have read some about the ROUx-en-y procedure and the mini gastric procedure.  The major difference I see is that one does a pouch and the other does a tube as the stomach.

the one thing I am trying to find out is if the Mini procedure still by-passes the upper small institine.

for people with type 2 diabetes or insulin resistance they are realizing through the by passing of the upper institent that it reverses the issue of insulin insentivity.

Does the mini to by pass that area?  I went to a site clos.net they had a video for comparison but it said I was not allowed to watch it because I was not a friend of someone's on Youtube.

I watched the video about the Mini but they aren't labeling portions of the stomach/instinal areas...

Anyone with Type 2 or insulin resistance care to comment as well?  Did you do full remission with this type of surgery?

Many Blessings,

Angela Law