Wish me luck

I have resurched wls for 5 years now while on every diet you can think of with no success. Made my mind up that this is the right thing for me to better my life. Finnally i have been refered to Dr Shina and had all my clearences waiting on Letter from my regular doc so all can be submitted to my insurance for approval or denial. Please all pray for me that i get the approval from my insurance. Any tips anyone. Anything anyone can tell me about the Vena Cava Filter . Smoking and how to quit after 32 years.

Well I wish u the best of luck. U have certainly picked one of the BEST surgeons out there. Dr Shina, Holly, all their staff will always have a piece of my heart. I don't know about the smoking thing but Dr Shina gave me the option of getting a vena cava filter also. I got it. I can tell ya about my experience with the filter, getting it, etc. I went in one week before my open rny gastric bypass (I chose open, he would have done it laprscopically but open was my choice). Dr Salem George Jr did my filter. I met him and then a week before my rny, I had the filter placed. It was a outpatient procedure. They didn't put me to sleep. They numbed me, shaved me, well in one small area, they go in on the side of your "u who" and leg area. I didn't feel a thing when he was putting it in. I actually asked him if he had started yet and he said, honey I'm almost done. I had to stay laying down for a hour or so then I got to go home. No big deal at all. I laid around that afternoon but the next day was back to normal. The filter I got is permanant. Which doesn't bother me at all. Makes me feel safer knowing its in there in case I ever do get a blood clot. I hope this helps and if I can answer or try to answer any other questions for ya just let me know. Hugs Angela email [email protected] messenger [email protected]

First you have choosen an awesome surgeon. I went to my seminar/consult and met Dr. Shina. I was so impressed with him. My Mom went with me for support and she thought he was wonderful too. I have already had my psych and nut consults and am just waiting for my pcp to finish with the letter. I will be having the filter put in also but I havent yet. I've seen many times where people say it is really no big deal and not painful so I think we will be fine. As for the smoking thing... I have been smoking for 23 years. Tried quiting MANY times and the last time wasnt that long ago I tried cold turkey again. I failed! I had seen many people bragging on that new stop smoking medicine called Chantix. I will be starting mine Monday. I do know many people have been successful using it though so try asking your doctor about it. Whitedoe that is on this board quit smoking with Chantix so hopefully she will see this post and be able to tell you more about the Chantix since I havent started mine yet. I wish you the best of luck with getting your approval. Contact me anytime you wanna talk or anything. Hugs Joy

I cannot tell you anything about Dr. Shina or the filter, (didn't have either). But I can share with you how I quit smoking. In August 2006 I started Chantix, took it until the end of September. It is a wonderful smoking cessation drug. It takes away all physical cravings for nicotine, with little side-effect. Most common side-effect, (which means this occured in more than 1 in 10 people) are *NAUSEA (which I always got about 20 minutes after taking, then it went away, but wasn't quite so bad if I ate before taking the pill), *HEADACHE (I experienced this as well, but it may have been because I was also PMSing) *VERY VIVID,SURREAL DREAMS (This I experienced also, but it was almost a pleasure...lol..some of my dreams would crack you up, thankfully none were nightmares, however, I must warn you, a few wer SO real, and seemed more like a memory than a dream, which this is what you are warned of from the drug insert). *CONSTIPATION,DIARRHEA(nothing out of the ordinary here...something I experienced anyway depending on the day of the month). There really was no physical craving for a cigarette, and my husband smokes like a train and didn't bother to refrain in front of me. My hardest thing was the mental craving...I liked to smoke, did not want to quit, found it to be the bomb (cancer bomb, yeah I know)...so I had to find something else to occupy my hands, especially when driving, on the phone, or computer...I quit taking breaks at work, which I miss, but it seems only smokers take breaks and I didn't want to be that anymore. My sense of smell improved and so did my sense of taste. I gained about 20lbs after I quit, which was a pre-curser to deciding to have WLS. All in all, I have to say, Chantix worked for me, I could not have done it without it. After a week on the drug, if you skoke, you get nothing from it, you might as well be smoking a plastic straw...that was my experience. Like I said previously, I quit taking it the end of Sept.06, and stayed smoke free until Dec. 06, when in a moment of weakness and stress I smoked and it was like the first cigarett I ever had...I smoked thru Christmas and started the Chantix again, and have been smoke - free ever since. I do not plan on smoking again, as I know my body will not heal as well and WLS and smoking causes grave stomach problems...I don't need that. Hoped this has helped you and good luck with quitting and WLS.

Hi Karen, I had to get an filter before surgery as well. It was done as an outpatient procedure at the hospital. I was given twilight sedation and they inserted the filter through the jugular vein in my neck. I know sometimes it may also be inserted through the vein in the groin. I guess it depends on your body and your doctor as to how they go in. Really, it wasn't painful at all. It took them a little under an hour to complete the procedure and I had to wait around another hour just to make sure everything was okay. I didn't have any pain from it at all afterward. The incision was so tiny they didn't need to put in any stitches. Today I went back to the group of doctors that put the filter in to see about having it removed. I'm supposed to have that done sometime next week or the week after and the procedure will be much the same as having it put in. Twilight sedation and they'll go in through my neck to retrieve it. Good luck to you! Chris