Hi from sunny South Africa

 For the last few weeks I have been "lurking" around on this site and am so happy to finally get to meet all you wonderful folks.  You are a great inspiration to me.

After 26 years, my husband finally sat me down and had a heart-to-heart about my weight (145kg). Although I'm forever trying to diet, it was one of those taboo subjects. We spoke about my total inablility to lose, and how much it is affecting our lives. For the first time I verbalised the idea of surgery.  I started Googling and quickly discovered that DS seems just right for me. There is actually a Bariatric Centre not too far from us, and if we upgrade our Medical insurance it just might be possible. I can only see the Physician in six months, but have been to the dietician. (She put me on a low cal "balanced" diet and after one week of no sugar, butter, treats or cheats I have lost NOTHING)

But hey! Soon I may also be 'on the losers bench'. So let me rather tell a bit about myself. Alfred and I have been happily married for 26 years. Our three daughters have flown the nest. Desiree is in her last weeks of studying Occupational Therapy, Jessica is studying Computers, maths and music, and Joy (a music teacher and happily married) is preparing for the birth of our first grandbaby in 7 weeks. I studied teaching, homeschooled the girls, am part of a house-church and am busy realizing my dream of building a natural house of mud and straw.

Now its time to look after myself, and THIS is a big step in the right direction.

Leonie

Hi and welcome :-).

Be aware that the DS might not be performed at your area bariatric center. You might have to travel. Also, be very careful that said center does not try to sell you a Scopinaro procedure, which is called BPD. It is NOT the DS. That's a super important differentiation.

 That got me quite in a tizz! I called the surgeons office. As usual the receptionist was pretty knowledgable. She says the Dr does both, but Mainly BPD DS. Has done more than 600, of which most are RnY. She even explained the difference between the surgeries.  Are there any of Dr Fetter's patients on the forum?

Do I understand it right? : The BPD Scopinaro cuts the stomach horizontally - rather like a very large RnY pouch? The DS leaves the valves intact like a Gastric sleeve? The dietitians diagrams were more like the sleeve.

It seems that choosing the right surgeon is VITAL.  

Yes, that's the major difference between the two procedures. Whatever you do, DO NOT GET A SCOPINARO. Clarify this very, very, VERY solidly with the folks. You want a subtotal VERTICAL gastrectomy that leaves the pylorus intact and functioning in a normal way. No stoma, no pouch arrangement of any kind.

Don't trust the dietician. S/he is not doing the procedure.

Absolutely, the right surgeon is worth his or her weight in gold. Would your insurance fund an off-continent procedure? You have a few good options in Europe. Don't waste any time looking at NZ or Australia. There's a reliable surgeon in Kuwait as well.

I need no convincing that DS is the only way to go. Thank you for all the nomenclature. I will be emailing the Endocrinologist (prof Tess van der Merwe) and the surgeon. I wont be able to wait until my eventual appointment to get clartiy on this. At least this site says that Dr Fetter does DS. I will also definitely explore off-continent options with the Medical insurance. How well would I cope with 12+ hour flights soon after surgery? 

You would want to wait a bit after surgery to travel that far, but it generally doesn't take too terribly long to be stable enough for even such a long trip. Try looking up people from the USA who used Dr. Marchesini in Brazil or Dr. Baltasar in Spain. They would have had long flights as recent postops.

Perhaps some folks will chime in here with their flying experiences. I was within driving distance of my surgeon so cannot speak to that.

I'll chime in!
I live in central Ohio, (USA) and flew to Hermosillo, Mexico for my DS
I flew back 9 days after my surgery.  Left Hermosillo around 11 am, flew to Tuscon, Arizona (about an hour flight), not much of a layover there, flew on to Atlanta, Georgia (three hours, maybe?), had to hang around for about 8 hours for a much-delayed flight, then flew another hour, to get to Columbus, Ohio, then had an hour drive to get home.  (I did the driving)  My incision was horizontal, and I did experience just a bit of seepage in one place on my incision, but, except for getting from an international gate at Tuscon to that connecting flight, I walked to everything else.  In fact, I did quite a bit of extra walking at Atlanta, just to pass the time.

I was very tired from all that, but survived okay, and by 10 the next morning, was showered and driving to go visit my dad (so he could see that I hadn't died by going to  "some butcher in Mexico for surgery". His words, of course, not mine.   Ah, yes.... good times.)

I have not regretted my decision, even once, to go to Mexico, for my DS with Dr. Ungson.  He's a skilled, experienced surgeon, who surrounds himself with professionals, and I thought the hospital facilities were really nice too.

Anyway, the travel was a drag, but I got through it, with no pain meds, either.  Actually, I was tired and sore, but didn't consider it to be worth taking pain medication.

So, that's my experience.

I wish you all the best in pursuing your DS.

HI,

I flew from Oregon to Brazil.  I returned home on day 12 post-op.  My flight, including layovers was 19+ hours.  I was tired when I retuned home but did very well.  Ask for wheelchair service!

Also, how's your typing? Maybe you could type up term papers, meeting minutes, things of that nature for extra money.  Would your church, family, friends, be interested in a few fund raisers?

Good luck!
Michele

I was at the dietician yesterday and she is so happy with my effort that she has offered to get my date moved up. (I have lost 6 pounds in the last 4 weeks).

The big problem is that we see no way of raising the $8000 co-payment we need to make. It feels so unfair to be looking to my hubby for this what with our resources way over-stretched as it is. He says that he can trust God for my healing, but not for the money for an operation that will reconfigure the way I was created. With great frugality it will take us a year to save for it.

We need to make the decision in the next week because we will need to seriously upgrade our medical insurance if we are going for it.

I need to find some way of making money!