Tawnda C.
01/27/2008
It has been a long time since I posted. So much has happened. I started having some mild pain, similar to a gall bladder attack, about a year ago. I ignored it and didn't worry to much because the "attacks" were infrequent and lasted a short while. During the time since I last posted I had a steady weight gain, about 10 pounds a year. I still could not eat much at once, but did a lot of snacking and grazing. When I had on of those attacks eating something eased the pain.
My original surgeon is no longer in the area and my insurance now has a WLS exclusion. I finally called another surgeon in my area. Dr. Yasrebi is Jacksonville's expert on WLS. He set me up with several tests and determined that I had a fistula. It was large and was causing me to be hungry. His staff submitted the results to Aetna even though we had little hope that they would cover the revision. Well they responded immediatly that they would due to the medical necessity of the fistula.
I had the surgery on 12/31/07. My weight was up to 204 on my first visit to Dr. Yasrebi. I was 198 the morning of the surgery and this morning it was 182. So far no more "attacks". The discomfort from the surgery was about like from the original. I still have the G-tube, for Ensure, and am eating only soups and very soft foods. The doctor wants to be sure all is well healed before I start a regular diet.