Renee D.
9/18/2002- I have 1 week and a day until my consult with Dr. Darius Ameri of Stoneham, Ma. I am looking to have this surgery for myself and could care less what other people think of me! I am 22 yrs old ( will be 23 the day after my consult ), married for almost 1 year and I have a 18mth old daughter named Brooklyn. I have been researching Gastric surgery for almost a year, I work with a bunch of women who have had this surgery and are very supportive. My family at first was undecided regarding me having this surgery but upon listening to me and taking the time to understand why and how this surgery is done, they now seem to be behind me. My husband is the most supportive of all, he is great, he listens to me and he understands why I want to do this more than anyone! I have also seen my PCP who has given me the full speed ahead and completely backs my discision. She has written a letter already regarding my "medical nessecity" and forwarded this on to the surgeon. I have always been overweight but more so since I had my daughter. I have many co-morbities ( PCOS, Carpel Tunnel, Joint & Back Pain, Asthma, Planter Fasitis(sp), to name a few)and also come from a family of severe morbid obese people. Hopefully given all this wonderful stuff, the Dr. will see me and say sign here and lets go! Atleast thats what im hoping for!
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10/01/2002
Well I went to see the Dr Ameri on Sept 27th and the appt went great. His nurse Louise went over everything. Dr Ameri quizzed me a bit and then decided that I knew my "stuff" and proceeded to tell me exactly how things work with his office. He gave me a list of things that need to be completed before I can get a date: Thyroid Panel, 5 Yr weight history, Pshyc eval, Nutrisioninst eval, and a letter of medical nessecity from my PCP. Well im am glad to say that 4 days later I have completed all of those requirements ( and he says it ususally takes weeks , HA) I will have all the info into his office by the end of the week. Once all of that is in they will send it to my insurance Tufts, who from my understanding approves just about everyone, and then after that the office will call me with a date for surgery and for a 2nd visit! I AM GETTING SO ANXIOUS! On a funny note the Pshyciatrist(sp) said I was the mosty normal person he's seen all day, my family now thinks he's nuts, lol. Oh and I have to lose 10 Lbs prior to surgery, otherwise they wont do it! I guess it proves to them that Im willing to work at it! Hell I'll do anything!
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10/17/2002
To say that this has been the day from hell would be the understatement of the year! It has been 3 weeks since my initial visit, and almost 3 weeks since my Pshyc Eval and Nutrisionist(sp)Eval...which to me is more than enough time for them to type up the letters required and send them to my surgeon. Well would you believe that no letters have gone out! I called the nutrisionist and spoke to the receptionist. She couldnt find my records and she didnt see any letters with my name on it there, so thats not done. I then called the psyhc office and spoke to a lady there who put me on hold to look for my paper work. After 15 mins on hold I hung up and called back..she said I hung up right after she put me on hold ( i was still waiting on the other end, but anyway )She was soo snippy! She said i just called your house and left a message cause you werent there, i said im home but i was waiting for you to pick up so i didnt answer my other line...to which she got defensive " i said you hung up right after i put you on hold". SO then she goes on to explain that the dr has not written the letter yet and she doesnt know when it will be! I asked her if she could possibly find out when it would go out and get back to me...She said "MS DEPAULIS the doctor has not written the letter yet THATS ALL I CAN TELL YOU" So i said to her that I didnt like the way she was speaking to me and that there was no need to snap at me! Then I told her that I do expect that letter to be written by tomorrow other wise I would call the Mass doctors board and/or the attny general and have them expedite it ( at this point i was upset, i did raise my voice, but i did not yell). SHe hung up on me. Five mins later i got a call from the Dr himself...He informed me that his secratery called him and told him that I was screaming at her on the phone and because of that he doesnt think he wants to write this letter now! I was not screaming all I did was stand up for myself! Well then he prceeded to say that "he is going to call my surgeon and let him know what happened...so he can form his own thoughts on this situtation" What situation, your staff was rude to me so i called her on it! Well I hung up with him and broke down crying..I dont need this Bull, I am not this nutty person who calls drs offices and freaks out on them...if i was why did he said I was all set for surgery and that he didnt see any need in having to make any more visits with me. So then in my crying mode my surgeons office called...It was linda his receptionist (who is so sweet) she was calling to let me know that some info from my pcp came in and that the nutrit and pshyc eval were all I was waiting for. Then she told me that Dr winfield the pshyc called her to speak with Dr Ameri ( the surgeon ) regarding my surgery and wouldnt give her any info on why he was calling. Dr AMeris out of the office at a medical conference so she had to take a message, but she wanted to find out what was up so she called me. I explained everything that happened. She said dont worry about it...he will send the letter, and he can tell Dr Ameri anything he wants, but the letter states that you are a sound ( normal, fine etc) person and that one docotrs comments are not going to keep you from being approved. So hopefully it starts looking up from here. Sorry to talk your ears off but i needed to vent and be understood by other folks who are oging through this! Thanks
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November 14, 2002
Its been a few weeks since I got all my requirments completed and sent to the Drs office. The Drs office has a policy that we can only call on Mondays and Thursdays so finding out when they recieved all of this paper work is hard! I couldnt call this Monday due to the holiday but I called today. The receptionist said she recieved all the paper work need, and that she will get to it next week! NEXT WEEK??? that means she has it and its just going to sit there. Makes me wonder why the hell I hurried up to get it done if it was just going to sit on someones desk. I am so aggravated. Hopefully next week is a better week.
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November 22,2002
Yesterday I heard from my Drs office. They were having problems with my referral for my initial consult. I have 2 insurances one through my husbands work and one through my work. They were processing it under my husband when they actually have to put it under me cause Im the patient so my insurance is the primary. Well after that was all settled ( what a mess ) Linda the receptionist said that my packet was set to be sent to the insurance for approval ( finally ). The only problem was that my last day with my company is Nov 28th, so my insurance will be null and void that day, which is fine cause i still have my hubbys. BUT she isnt going to send in my paper work till next week cause it has to get billed under the right person and if I have 2 insurances ( they are both with tufts) tuft will have to put it under mine, which means it could get approved but next week once that insurance policy is gone they would have to resubmit to try and get approval under my husbands!! AAAARRRRGGGGHHHH can anything go right? Oh well maybe next week will go better!
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12/04/02
Called tufts insurance this morning to see if the Dr.s office sent in the paper work and guess what!!! They did!!! WOOOHOOOO!! The insurance comp has'nt made a determination but they said it will be out of medical review this afternoon/evening so call back then! I am so excited....although I know I should'nt get my hopes up! Well hopefully I'll have a good answer later!!
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12/04/02
Im here again!! This time I have great news! My surgery request was approved! I feel like jumping up and down! I am so excited, cant wait to call my doctors office tommorrow maybe they will be able to give me a surgery date!! yipppeee!!
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01/03/03
Still waiting for a surgery date. I call the office once a week to see if they have decided when I can come in for my second visit and all I get told is "I have to speak with the nurse to see when shes available" I am getting so impaitient! I had my consult on 9/27 and all my papers into them the 1st week of Nov..they put off insurannce approval for a mth and now im waiting for a date. There are people who have been seen after me and approved after me who already have a date, im just aggravted about this! Has this happened to anyone else? What did you do about it?
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1/06/03
Well its about time!! I called again today, and they set me up for my second appt. I get to go in Jan 22....The sucky part is, is that I have to lose 10lbs prior to my second visit. I had already lost 12lbs but they put off my visit so long that with the stress of the holidays and multipul gatherings I put atleast 9lbs back on! So I have to start from scratch! Any idea how to lose 10lbs in 2 weeks, lol?
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2/19/03
My appt with Dr. Ameri went well on Jan 22. I didnt lose the amt needed though, I only lost 4 lbs. They said they'd call with a date for surgery in Feb. So guess what...they called today and gave me a date of May 8th which is in 11 weeks! Im now nervous! Oh well ill get over it!
The sucky thing is I changed PCP's today and went in for my first visit and of course they weight you...well some how since Jan 22 I have put on 10 lbs....10 LBS.........I have been eating right or atleast trying to..I dont know how I could put on 110 lbs in 3 weeks! That means I have to lose 16-17lbs by May 6th, or else they will cancel the surgery. Well I better get working on!
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4/15/03
24 days and counting!!! I've already got my pulmonary and cardiac clearance. I have an appt for my PCP on April 21 or 23 i forget ( probably should figure that out huh. I have been watching what I eat and cutting most carbs out but im still not losing a damn thing! I have to lose 6 lbs prior to may 6th and im starting to think i wont be able to! Oh well....everything happens for a reason!
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5/12/03
Ok so I made it! My surgery was May 8th @7am. I got there and they immediatly put me in the day surgery area and I wasnt able to spend that time with my husband...which kinda bothered me. The folks down in the DS area were great though...oddly enough I wasnt even nervous. Well after being brought to anesethesia(sp) I dont remember anything till I woke up in the recovery area. I was brought up to my room and all was well...i was even walking an hr later. Dr ameri came to my room and let me know that things went ok but there was some tests that they would have to run on me, and that due to a small problem he had that he had to put a drain in me. I also had to go for xrays ( maybe this is the leak test ) I had to drink this god aweful stuff that made me wanna yack!! He found a small tear in my pouch so i ended up staying at the hospital a day longer. But today I was finally able to go home. I still have that damn drain!!! Its a pain in the butt!!! So now im home and I ate some jello and took a shower ( i couldnt do that at the hospital ). I feel like Junk though...i can barely walk due to pain, rolling over switching positions is almost impossible, I keep getting very very dizzy and im nasueas and I have a headache with blurred vision. Im going to give it another hr and if it doesnt go away im going back to the hospital.
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5/14/03
So I decided not to go to the hospital, I didnt want to seem like a big baby. I was still in pain and not feel well when I ate but figured id say something to him at my post op visit. Well last night at 3am I woke up to a bad pain in my left side...well come to find out that damn drain somehow pulled....it was out of my stomache by a lot ( sorry to be gross )but i didnt want to call him cause it was 3 am so i pushed it back in and laid back down. Well when i woke up at 8 it was the same way so I called his office, and go tthe answering service. Well they took my message and with in 5 mins Dr A called me back. I explianed all that had happened and he said I was to come to his office at 2:30 today. Well i drove myself there ( louise wasnt too happy ) I was all dizzy and shaky not feeling well at all. Louise took the drain out and half my pains went away!!! The pain when I eat i due to the stoma ( where your stomache empties ) being swollen. So i have to take some meds for that and Im on a clear liquid only diet till next week. And the dizziness and all was cause I wasnt getting my protein in ( couldnt drink it cause the stoma . So all should be fine now, Ive been home since 5ish and I have been pain free.THANK GOD!! I really thought I was going to go nuts!! Oh good news by the way Im already down 8lbs in 6 days!!! My scale says 10 though...oh well either way a loss is a loss!
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5/30/2003
Well im now 3 weeks out. First and for most I miss big bowls of spaghetti! I tried a bit of pasta today that was very cooked but it came back up as does everything else I eat! Im still taking the prevacid for the stenosis of the stoma. I really dont think its working, but what do i know. Ive lost 25lbs since surgery and 10 before so a total lose of 35lbs, which is great but expected when nothing stays in your stomach! I got my staples out a few weeks ago which i was very scared about but didnt feel a thing!And while there got "yelled" at by louise (again) I wasnt taking it slow, how can I? I have a 2 yrs old and my husband is always working. Oh well thats life though! So ive been trying to get my walking in and drinking ( again that doesnt really stay down )protein shakes are outta the question some days, I usually know whether to chance it or not. Aside from the stomach issues im feeling great. I felt even better the other day when i put on capris that were too small for me last summer. I'm in a wedding in June and I bought the dress a few mths ago, thankfully i bought it smaller than needed cause its just right on me now! That makes me feel good! Well must go drink more water! Till next time!
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6/10/03
Another day, another pain in the butt!! lol
I got to go for an endoscopy today. I still am not able to keep a whole lot down..maybe a sip....So because of the throwing up and what not Dr A's office called me this morning and said "the dr is waiting for you at winchester, can you get there now"? I was surprised at how quick it was! I got there and was put in a holding room, they asked a billion and 1 questions. They tried to start an IV but i was so dehydrated that it took them about 3 nurses and 6 tried...finally they got it!! OUCH! Well they gave me fluids and some meds to knock me out. And they made me swich and swallow this god aweful liquid that tasted like a combo on nail polish remover and dirt.I almost had that come back up!! Thankfully it numbed my mouth! The next thing I knew I was being woken up in a "recovery room". It didnt hurt! All went well, but they did say that my stoma is smaller than most but it will dialate on its on eventually, and that I have to eat 1-2oz at a time, otherwise it will come back! This bites!! So basically when I eat I get 2 medicine cups full and im done! wwwwooohooo! Im dying for something that tastes normal and has substance to it! Oh a better note im down 45lbs but I havent lost in about a week. Oh well there are worst things in life! Till next time!
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6/18/03
UGH!! Thats all I can say about this past week! FIrst I had to have the endoscopy done! Then on Wednesday I was having some horrible stomach pains that were so bad that I ended up going to the Emergency Room. They decided I had Biliary Colic ( gallbladder issue ) and Low Potassium. They didnt keep me, give me iv potassium, or do an ekg and my level was 2.5 which is really low. My friend whos a nurse in that er says that they should have done all three, i dont know why they didnt though. They gave my this potassium liquid to mix with my drinks, I couldnt take it though cause it made me sick. I called my Dr. office friday morning and explained that to them and they said they would call in the powder perscription by the end of the day friday but they didnt. So I went all weekend with out it! Then Saturday I was so dizzy that if i stood up i'd wobble and a few times I ended up on my butt!! It wasnt the best week! I guess it could be worse though!
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7/10/03
The past few weeks have been pretty uneventful! It seems as though my body is getting back to normal. I still have the days where I keep nothing down and when I feel like hell but they are becoming less and less. Thankfully I havent had to get my gallbladder out, then again I havent seen my PCP, but no major problems with it! Im now down to 222 which is a loss of 66lbs in 8 weeks. Im wearing size 16/18 and some 20s, but im happy about it! Although I cant wait till I hit the under 200 mark! Im 80lbs from my personal goal and Im thinking i can definatly do it by my 9mths mark! I just have to up my protein, I hardly get any in! All in due time i'm sure!
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7/17/03
I spoke to soon!!! I had a gallbladder ultrasound today and I definatly had stones. It looked like 1/4 of my gallbladder was filled with them. That was this morning so Im assuming my doctor will receive the report in the morning and call me. Im guessing this means another surgery. Just my luck!
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7/22/03
My gallbladders coming out! I had an appt today with Dr. Ameri, he said I was doing really well with my weight loss but the gallbladders needed to be removed! Linda his receptionist will be calling with in the next day or so to let me know when. The Dr says most likely within 2 weeks. On a good note I hear having the gallbladder out makes you lose more weight!
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7/24/03
Aug 4@ 10am my gallbladder is coming out!
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Aug 7, 2003
If it were'nt for bad luck I'd have no luck at all!! Had my gallbladder out on Monday, I was supposed to come home on tuesday. Tuesday afternoon I was getting ready to go home and I started feeling nasueas (sp) well they gave me some meds to make me my stomach calm down but it didnt work, I ended up throwing that up SO Dr A decided that I was to stay tuesday night and if all was well I'd go home Wednesday. Well wednesday morning dr ameri comes in and informes me that the blood work they have drawn ( they do it every morning at 6am ) came back low and I need to have a blood transfusion! Im thinking jesus christ what else is going to happen!! LOL SO they got me all set up with the transfusion, which is kinda scarey! . Thankfully all went well and my levels although still below normal were ok enough to go home! WWOOOOHHOOO! So im home drugged up pretty well! The bad part of all this is because of the fluids they have been pumping me with I gained 10lbs! I guess it will come off eventually!
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8/11/03
Well I got readmitted thursday night for an infection. So I had 10 hours of freedom, lol! I stayed there till yesterday and was rereleased. UGH!! I still have alot of pain but its not from the gallbladder surgery Dr ameri thinks it may be my appendix........which of course will need to come out. Some one has it out for me upstairs! Im just thankful to be alive, cause honestly I question wether im going to wake up one of these days.
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8/18/03
Last week wasnt the best week! I got released from the hospital on sunday and I was still having pain in my adominal area. So tuesday I had to go for a Ct Scan, and they made me drink that god aweful barium stuff! Which may I add didnt stay down all that much. Well I had the ct scan tuesday and Dr Ameris office called Wednesday morning to see if i could come in. Thankfully it wasnt an appendix problem, but instead it was an abcess of sorts. When I went for my gallbladder surgery dr ameri used one of the same incisions he used for the gastric bypass and unfortunatly I now have a golf ball size chunk of scar tissue. Inside that scar tissue was fluid all blood and some other gunk. This was what was causing my pain. He ended up having to go into the scar with a needle to drain it. It didnt hurt as bad as it sounds. As of this morning I am still having some pain in that area almost like I pulled a muscle but I guess thats to be expected. Hopefully things will start going better!
11/07/03
Wow, im a horrible person!! I havent updated here since August! My computer broke and then I moved so its been a crazy time!! The good news is though that I havent had any more problems! Everything seems to be going well, THANKFULLY! My weight loss is slow going but it still comes off. Im down to 186 now which is 105lbs from my highest weight. I wear a size 12/14 depending on the brand. If i stopped losing tomorrow i'd be fine, im thrilled with the results. Its funny though, people I havent seen in a while hardly recognize me, thats always a ego booster! Well thats it for now, I hope everyone is doing well!
12/19/03
Last week I had my 6/7 Mth check up with Dr. A. He says my weight loss is great, however wasnt too excited that I've become lazy with my vitamins. He sent me for some blood work because I havent been taking them for a while. 8 vials of blood later....I finally know why Im so tired and lacking energy. He called Tuesday to tell me that im Anemic and that my calcium levels were low. So I have to remember to take my vitamin and Iron everyday. I thought I was juts being lazy cause I was always soo tired but atleast now I know what it is and can fix it. Well thats all for now, hope everyone is doing well.
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01/13/04
I swear I am gods ginuea pig!! I've been having pain in my stomach for over a month now and I finally went to see my doctor. She says it sounds like an ulcer to her. Im back on the prevacid and she wanted me to have an upper gi. I spoke to linda at Dr A's office to make sure that was ok, but it isnt!! We cant have those because they make you drink barium and you could get an obstruction from it. So now I have to go see Dr A next week and see what he wants me to do. Honestly this is becoming a pain in the rear!!!
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05/14/04
For the longest time I thought Dr ameri and his office were very knowledgeable about every aspect of this surgery and that they were caring and helpful. However over the past few weeks my thoughts of them have changed dracstically and I will not be returning to his office!!! On April 26th I found out that I was pregnant, shocking news but extremly exciting news. I called the office the very next day and spoke to Louise whom told me because they request you wait 18 mths ( most Drs only request 1 yr ) and I wasnt 18 mths out yet ( I was just shy of 1 yr when I found out I was expecting so I was 11 mths post op when I got pregnant ) it wasnt the best thing for me but my weight has been stable for 5 mths now and as long as I take my vitamin and see a nutristionist and my obgyn knows, all should be ok. So I was on cloud nine I was going to have the baby that my husband and I really wanted ( although not planned ) and I was going to be healthly this time around! Well all that happiness shattered on the following Monday...I received a call from Dr Ameris Office...It wasnt even him calling it was linda the receptionist....She was calling to let me know that louise told Dr Ameri that I was pregnant and he has asked her ( no professional medical training what so ever ) to call me and tell me that THERE IS NO WAY i SHOULD HAVE THIS BABY THAT I SHOULD CONSIDER NOT HAVING THIS BABY ( basically telling me to have an abortion ) and that if I do continue being with this pregnancy my baby WILL be born with severe deformities and disabilities. I am appauled at the lack of tact and compassion used on that call. Who does linda think she is to call me and say such a thing....why would she even consider telling me " not to have this baby"? Since this happened I have posted both on the OSSG pregnant message board and here on the Q&A list ( on 5/3/04 ) all have responded positivily saying that there will be nothing wrong providing that I follow all my instructions given to me and that people get pregnant weeks out of surgery and have perfect babies. I am 1 yr post op this is actually a perfect time for this to happen according to my OBGYN and a High Risk OBGYN from boston. I havent a clue why some one would call me and say such hurtful untrue things. When this was posted to the Q&A board the moderator Bob Haller called his office to alert him to my question and he was told it was a miscommunication they were sorry and I would be called ( that afternoon ) to have this cleared up...well its been 2 weeks now and still no call, not from the doctor, the nurse, or even an apology from linda the receptionist. I dont know if it was an linda thinking she would play goad or dr ameris inexperience that caused this fiasco however I will tell you that if this happens to you please speak to a OBGYN before taking your surgeons word for gold because as proved it isnt always that truth.
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04/9/2005
Since I have'nt updated in a very long time I guess I should now!!
I am almost 2 years post op and I feel good! I have had some obstacles with this surgery but I am healthier that I was before. I am also pregnant again! I posted last in May 04 and was pregnant at the time however due to problems THAT WERE NOT AT ALL SURGERY RELATED, I had a miscarriage. I waited the amount of time my OB/GYN requested and got pregnant again. I am currently 34 wks pregnant with another girl! We plan on naming her Ainslee Denae. The doctors are expecting me to have this little Miss any day due to pre term labor ( maybe surgery related may not be ). I have been experiencing this since 18 wks however they had me on meds that were controlling the contractions. My doctor has recently taken me off because of the side effects and said that I could have her anytime! I have only gained 11 lbs with this pregnancy which is awesome compaired to what I gained with my daughter ( 50+lbs ). My dr says this is all baby and fluid weight and I should actually lose more than that when I deliver! That is just fine by me!! Aside from my pregnancy there is nothing else going on in my life, actually life is pretty good! I hope evryone is doing well! Good Luck to all those who are going to have this surgery! Its a life saver! : )