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Surgeon Testimonial John D. Husted, M.D. I absolutely love this man. He has such a calming way about him and almost seems a little shy, but really knows the DS and revision surgery. I was so fortunate that I picked him and talk about having the whole enchalada, Dr. R. Rabkins assisted him with my revision from RNY to DS. They were both super and I'd trust my newborn with them! (if I had one, of course! haha) Not enough words to describe how wonderful it is to know you've got the very best team possible. The entire staff has been incredible, up to and including their receptionist, Ernie! Thank you DR. Husted! Latest Surgery Support Comments
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starry1st's Blog
March 6, 2006
3/6/2006 Well after reading about a gazillion and more profiles, I am starting mine.It's my turn to "pay it forward". I will try to get a picture of me posted this weekend when my husband is home to take one of me. I am not new to WLS, as I had an RNY in May of 94. I was 248 and lost 131 lbs, down to 117. I felt great, even if people did think I was too thin, it was just temporary due to stress and the amount of walking I had to do at my job. When the temporary job was finished, I gained about 10-15 lbs and looked and felt great. It was in March of 96 that that I felt my staples come loose. It was severe pain radiating out in circles and lasted about 45 minutes. I managed to keep my weight down (somewhat) by constant dieting (oh yeah, I thought those days were behind me) but gradually had to accept a new larger size every 6 months or so. Then I broke my ankle and moved out of state the next day! The movers did all the work, my husband had to come back east to drive me, I put off surgery until we got to the "new" state and then I had 6 weeks of sitting in a motel room with a broken ankle and donuts for breakfast. I gained weight. And kept on gaining weight. Then my back started hurting me every time I stood up. I gained weight. I got depressed. I gained weight. I've now surpassed my previous high weight and am 255. I started looking into a revision last summer but put things off so I could have my grandkids with me for the summer and while my husband was home to help me take care of them. (he works out of state during the spring and fall season, so is home summer and winter). I didn't want to mess with it when I could have my grandkids here and couldn't do anything when my husband is out of town for months at a time. I needed to make myself a priority and I did. With the New Year, I had made a resolution of resolving this weight/back problem. Since the Dr.(s) didn't know what was wrong with my back and have had no success in fixing whatever is wrong with it, I decided that the extra 135 lbs I'm carrying around wasn't helping it any and to lose that weight would probably solve my pain problem. In January DH and I went to a WL seminar in Jefferson City, Mo. My husband wasn't totally on board with another surgery and I found myself defending my weight gain and lack of success at dieting and crying the whole trip back home. It was terrible and I felt awful and unloved. We both said things we wished we hadn't said. He just didn't understand. As I said earlier, I had made the resolution to regain my life in whatever capacity I could. It was my back pain. It was my weight gain. I was the one who was willing to undergo a second surgery so that I could lose and sustain a weight loss, so I called my PCP for a referral to a gastrointerologist for an Upper Endoscopy and an Upper GI. I knew I would need these tests done and by gosh, by golly, guess what the gastrointerologist found? Leakage into my "stomach" (not my little pouch ) but the part of my stomach that was off limits. Plus my stoma was stretched out. No wonder I'm hungry 2 hours after eating! My stomach empties out quickly. Eureaka!! and I felt validated! Presented with this information, my DH had a complete change of heart and is now 100% behind me and wants me to do whatever I think is right for me. Good thing for him, because I wasn't about to give up. It's all good now. :) All this time I'm reading everything I can read about WLS; the DS vs the RNY. I'm more convinced daily that the DS surgery is what I both need and want. I'm already got scar tissue from my open RNY and gall bladder removal and I don't want to chance another RNY failing and then what choice will I have for further surgery? Would I even be able to find a surgeon willing to touch me? How unsettling would it be to feel that staple line "popping" again? These were things I didn't want to have to face ever again, so I'm more sure than ever that DS is the correct surgery for me. I just needed to find the best surgeon I could because a revision is much more difficult with greater possibilities for complications. Thank God for the Internet and this website and the Duodenal Switch website. If I had this information available to me in 94, you wouldn't be reading this profile. So, we went to Nashville(4 1/2 hr drive) for a seminar and consult with Dr. Husted. on Feb. 13. We had a difficult time finding the right building, but finally found it and walked into the seminar a few minutes late. We hadn't missed much of the lecture and what part we did miss was on the RNY so it didn't really apply to me, anyhow. Afterwards, we went to lunch, then back to Dr. Husted's office to wait for my consult. The waiting room was full of people exactly like me, wanting a new chance at a better life. I filled out a bunch of papers, turned them back in and waited for about 2 hours for my turn to talk to the Dr. They finally called my name and DH and I went into the back, I was weighed and my waist measurement taken. Dr. Husted came in, and right away made us comfortable with some small talk and then answering our questions. At that point, I still had some reservations and was open to his advice and suggestions concerning which type of surgery I should have and he told me that not only did he suggest the DS for me but he actually preferred doing a revision to a DS. He was very confident and relaxed. So, it's a forgone conclusion that I will have DS surgery and Dr. Husted will be my surgeon. I'm at peace with that and so is my DH. I had the operative report from my RNY and a copy of the letter from my PCP. Dr. Husted wanted me to get a sleep study done and asked for the films and reports of the Upper GI and the endoscopy, which I mailed to him right away once we were back home. I live in a little town and the sleep study was booked for a few weeks, but got my appointment for March 9. My guess is that they only are here in my town once a week. Anyhow, March 9 is almost here and once Ellen, Dr. Husted's insurance guru, gets the results of the sleep study, she will have everything she needs at this point to submit to my insurance. Getting the insurance approval is our next hurdle. Crossing my fingers here. Since Medicare has approved the DS as a viable surgery for WL, I'm hoping my company will follow suit and approve right away. I 'd already checked with the benefits dept. and they told me the RNY was approved for revision but the DS was still "investigational"... 1 Comment(s)
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