Carrie G.

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Ok, here I am, on the other side. I thought I would never get here. Not because of insurance delays but because of my nerves. I am a big worry wort and with previous issues with anesthesia, I have put off this surgery for years. I feel such a huge sense of accomplishment now that I am on this side. 

The surgery went perfectly. My RNY was OPEN not Lap like I had anticipated. This was just ignorance and lack of communiction on my part. My surgeon had always planned to do an open procedure because he had planned to take my gall bladder out at the same time. I did not know he was planning to take my gall bladder until I was being prepped. And even then, I didn't know he was planning for an open procedure until I woke up and saw the 4" incision. To be honest I am glad I didn't know. It would have scared me more.

Dr. Alexander says that rapid weight loss causes the gall bladder to become diseased and most gastric bypass patients have come back to him to have it removed. He would rather take mine now than wait for me to come back and need another surgery. I was totally on board with that idea.

I was very scared sitting in the pre-surgery room. My blood pressure, which is normally low-normal was above normal and the nurses didn't like that. After they let my husband come back with me, I started calming down.

They stuck me twice in the hand looking for a good vein for the IV. Two different people tried and gave up. 

The anesthesiologist was able to get a vein in my wrist on my left hand. He did this in the surgery room and it was the last thing I remember after him saying I was going to get very sleepy. I woke up in my room 4 hours later. I was in prep asleep for 1 hour, procedure took 2 and in recovery for 1. I slept off and on that entire day. I was hooked to a morphine pump but still slept so much that I didn't push it often. I was in a little pain, not much. THe most discomfort I had was being horribly thirsty. I don't think I have ever been that thirsty in my life. They would not let me have one thing to drink. I could however chew on a wet rag but I could not swallow any of the water in the rag. It helped but not much.

The next morning they removed my catheter and I was also able to eat ice chips. Oddly, I had not eaten solid food since Monday night. Tuesday was clear liquids all day. Wednesday was my surgery and I was starving before I went in. Thursday, only ice chips. Then Friday, the day of my release, I was able to start clear liquids. I tolerated it just fine.

The first night home was rough. I couldn't find the right spot to sit in my house to make it easy to get up and down. I spent most of Friday in my bed. I needed help getting in and out but was fine to walk unassisted. Friday night, I just could not get comfortable and I was in a lot of pain. I moved to the couch and that helped tremendously. I still needed help getting up and down but it was a lot easier from the couch. I slept there for the next 2 nights.

Saturday 3 days post op, I needed to get out of the house. I went and got a manicure and we went to the movie store and rented videos.

Sunday 4 days post op, we took a road trip 2 hours one way to our family farm. I walked a little but mainly relaxed in the country on the back porch swing and then drove 2 hours home. I swear the fresh country air helped me so much.

Monday 4 days post op and first day of full liquids (cream soups), I went shopping. I walked all over Hobby Lobby, went to the Vitamin Shoppe, went to get a quote on getting my car windows tinted, went out to lunch with my kids. We were gone all day. This was a little exhausting. I was asleep by 8:30PM and slept until 11:00 am Tuesday.

Tuesday 5 days post op, I took my car to the tint shop and had my windows done, then went to walmart and did my shopping for the week. I was limited on what I could buy based on where it was located on the shelf and how much it weighed. I used my 5 year old twins as much as possible.

Wednesday 6 days post op or 1 week however you want to look at it, I went back to walmart and walked some more with my daughter. This time I finished the heavy shopping and the low lying items.

This brings me to today Thursday. Not sure what I have planned for the day. I have not taken any pain medication today. I am a little stiff and mildly uncomfortable. I can tell I have lost some weight. My scales definitely show that I have lost a significant amount in 1 week. I have a post op appoinment next Tuesday. I don't want to say how much I have lost until I have my doctor's scales to go by.

At this moment in time, I am so happy. I can't wait to see how my body changes. I am ready for anything!

One more item to check off the list. I went to the doctor this morning and had my pre-surgery physical for surgery clearance. They did a chest x-ray, lung capacity test, blood work, ekg and complete physical. Everything was cleared, except the blood work, that will take a few days. So, keeping my fingers crossed there is nothing to keep me from having surgery.

Everything is going so smoothly.

Yippee, I am so excited. My UHC authorization was approved on Jan 29th. We have scheduled surgery for 2/20/08. I have to go on soft foods two days before and liquid 24 hours before. Not too bad. I am very anxious and nervous too.

I am so excited that my aunt is also looking into RNY. She will be using Dr. Wade Barker instead of Dr. Alexander. I wish we could use the same doctor but her insurance requires she go to an in-network provider. Mine is open choice. Dr. Barker was at the top of my list and I was torn between he and Dr. Alexander. My choice for Dr. A was based on the patient reviews indicating he had a wonderful bedside manner and was a great physician too. Dr. B's patient reviews said there was a terribly long wait in his office and he had a not-so-good bedside manner, however they felt he was an excellent surgeon.

So, having a choice, I went with Dr. A and he was everything the reviews said. You can read my surgeon feedback on my profile to see what I thought about him. For my Aunt and the appt with Dr. B... well her appointment was at 10:45am. My Aunt lives in Waco so it was a 2 hour drive into town. I live on the other side of town and it was an hour for me. We met there at 10am and checked in. There was a lobby full of patients and patients waiting in the hallways!~ Not a good sign! However, we both took off of work and we were going to give Dr. B the benefit of the doubt.

An insane 5 hours later, we were called back. An assistant of the doctor's came in first and spent 10 minutes answering questions and covering the procedure at a high level. When my aunt asked a question, though, his response was ask Dr. B or ask the insurance coordinator. So, we were not too sure what the purpose of his visit was.  Next the doctor came in. Dr. B spent 10 minutes with my aunt. He told her she was a good candidate and asked if she had any questions. My aunt was a little gun shy about asking questions so she said "why don't you tell me what I need to know". So he told her she was a good fit, she would lose 70% of her weight in the first year and that most all of her co-morbidities would go away. 

Then he told her she had to get a sleep study, nutrion consult, cardio stress test, egd, and psych eval. He said her insurance required 6 months of physician monitored diet and that she could do that there. He left us with the insurance coordinator, Steve and said he would see us again in 6 months.

Steve was fantastic. He answered all of my aunts questions. He had a great approach and really made her feel at ease. He is assured her he would help her every step of the way through the entire approval process. He also reassured her that he WOULD get her approved and she could count on the surgery in 6 months. He told her he was very familiar with her insurance plan and all she had to do was follow his advice for 6 months. My Aunt really needed that. 

So, all in all.. it was disappointing to wait so long to see the doctor when we would have been better off bypassing him and starting with Steve. I cannot stand doctor's that think their time is more valuable than mine. I know that is a pompous thing to say, but he puts his pants on the same way I do. I don't mind waiting, even and hour....but 5?? And then to spend such a small amount of time with us..

I am confident he is an excellently skilled physician. So I feel good that my Aunt is in the right hands. And, I am glad I have Dr. Alexander as a source of information for the both of us. And, I am also happy to have Steve, get us through the process and tell my Aunt what she needs to do every step of the way.

Well, I couldn't resist. I called UHC yesterday to see if they had a letter from my doctor and where it was in the process. The girl told me it could take up to 30 days to get a response. What a bummer! I told her that I had been told only advance notification was required not prior authorization. She told me I had been misinformed and that prior auth was required. She did look it up in the system and found that it was going to Medical Review on 1/31/07. She thought it was moving through the system rather quickly. Hopefully, it won't take the full 30 days! UGH!

Wow, it sure feels good to have one more test out of the way. I went to Dr. Alexander's office today to have the test performed. They had me breathe into a machine a few times and recorded something or another about it. Then after hooking me up to a dozen or so leads, they put me on a bicycle. They told me tor ride at 60 RPMs. I got on up to 60 RPMs very easily. In fact, it was so easy, I thought to myself  "does anyone really have an issue with this". I asked how long I needed to ride and they said 5 minutes. 2 minutes in they asked how I feeling. I told them I was doing very well and not winded.

Well, 2 more minutes in, I was pretty winded and my heart was beating out of my chest. I asked them how much longer and they said i had been on for 4 minutes and needed to go another 2 or 3 minutes. I said that is more than 5 minutes LOL. I don't need any special treatment LOL. They said they hadnt seen certain markers yet that they needed to record.

So I continued another 3 minutes and they got all they needed. I hope that everything looks normal. My blood pressure seemed within normal limits all the way up and then rapidly came back down 2 minutes later.

They send the reports to the cardiologist and get the results in a few days.

I also learned today that Ann has already sent a report to United Healthcare for approval. I was so happy! I thought all of the testing had to be completed before they would request authorization. It was a really neat surprise to find out that a request had already been made. I don't know how long this part takes but my co-workers that have had this procedure said it was a matter of 3-4 days. I am soooo anxious!

I forgot to ask if there is a pre-surgery diet. I am very curious about what that might be.

Well, here it is, my first post! How exciting this week has been! Everything is happening so fast and I hope things continue to move this quickly.

I made the decision this year to go forward with WLS. A good friend recommended OH to help me locate a physician in my area. I searched and searched and read lots of reviews and notes and stats and finally made a decision. I scheduled my appointment and to my surprise I was able to be seen within 7 days of calling. 

My first consult with Dr. Alexander was on Tuesday. We had a long talk about all of the options, benefits and risks. It was a lot of information to process but also very exciting. He told me that I was a perfect candidate for RNY. My husband and I both felt really good about the consult. You can see more info in my Surgeon Testimonial.

He told me the next step was to have the endoscopy study. I met with one of the staff members and was able to get on the schedule for the endoscopy the very next day! I was a little nervous, I have to say, because i have had a problem with anesthesia in the past. I had been put under conscious sedation when I had egg retrieval during the IVF procedure I under went 5 years ago. During this process, I stopped breathing and my heart stopped. I had to be put on a breathing machine and after my respirations were re-established, my heart started beating again. However, I was in a coma for 14 hours. The doctor's weren't sure what caused it and suggested I might be allergic to the sedation drug. This sedation drug happens to be the same one used for a test such as the EGD. 

After a long discussion with Dr. Alexander and the anesthesiologist and we decided to use a different sedation drug. The EGD test went perfectly. We learned that the opening through my diaphram is a little larger than it should be, which causes my stomach to creep up a bit and causes GERD. Whew! An answer to why I am keeping the folks that make Zantac in business! Dr. Alexander told my husband he plans to fix this issue when he goes in to do the RNY.

I feel like I accomplished so much more than just the EGD. I overcame my fear of anesthesia as well! This fear has held me back for the last 3 years from having WLS! I am so anxious now that I had sedation and survived! I know it seems so funny to hear me say that, but I guess you have to be as close to death as I was to really understand the fear.

Immediately following my release from the hospital, I went back to the doctor's office and met with the Psychologist and had my psych evaluation. Goodness!, we started at age 12 and worked forward to age 39! It took about an hour of talking and answering questions and 30 minutes of questionaires.

It will take a week or so for the psychologist to pull a report together and make her recommendation to the doctor. I hope she doesnt think I am too crazy to have the surgery!

The last thing I have to do in the way of tests is the stress test. I have to breathe in a mask while I ride a bicycle. I have this scheduled for next Tuesday the 22nd in his office too. That is just so convenient!

After that, it is just a waiting game. I will have completed all of the required testing in a matter of 7 days from my first consult. How is that for speedy?? Then I just have to wait for all of the paperwork to come together and the insurance approval.

I don't think insurance is going to be a problem. I have United Healthcare through GE (General Electric) and several co-worker/friends of mine have gotten approved without a problem. I called for my benefits and was told the surgery is covered at 80% and per-authorization requirements are just that the doctor must call in advance of the surgery date or else benefits are reduced to 50%!

Lastly, I have talked my Auntie into researching her options for WLS. She is a little shy and nervous when it comes to meeting new doctors. She and I searched OH member comments and found a doctor in her plan. She will be seeing Dr. Wade Barker on the 23rd. I am so happy for her!

So... until... my stress test comes......I will be trying to remain patient...