Gastric Sleeve Sandy

I just had the most bizarre appointment with the anesthetist. I received a bill for $1500 and apparently PCI pay around $500 so you're out of pocket $1000. The letter said if you have a post-op appointment it will reduce the bill by 70% (or thereabouts). So, I just had a 30second appointment, paid $401 and they sent the rest of the bill to HCF for the remainder. Not too much effort for a $600 saving. I just think it's totally bizarre and now I'm off to spend my $600!

I just took my surgery receipt for $4500 into Medicare and received a $918.75 refund and $306.20 from HCF...not bad.  It's a shame the Anesthesiologist's gap is $1000 or else I'd be spending! Although I know he's totally worth his fee.... just saying, that's all.

Hi everyone, On the other side!!!!!!!!!! WooooHooooo!!!

I'm better today, a little giddy but 13kg down including pre-op diet...amazing. Okay, I'll write it blow by blow, some isn't pretty but I thought I was prepared and I hate surprises and I was totally overcome by the amount of pain I was in. 

I was the 3rd out of 4 people getting sleeved at Lake Macquarie. Flo (Debbie) was first. Wendy (who's lovely and hope makes it to the forum) was number 2, I was number 3 and last but not least was Eternlslady (Kasey). It was fantastic having a group of girls going through the same thing. We winged, laughed, talked about poo, vomit, farting, how we cried and wondered wtf we had done. I highly recommend asking your surgeon to see if anyone is having surgery on the same day as you and introduce yourself beforehand, it's a great support. 

I had to be there at 8am. Was weighed (9kg down on Opti, Dr was amazed and said we were the best group of Opti-ers that he's ever had with all of us doing between 7-9kg...he probably says that to all the fat chicks, I had a lot of fluid so that was the majority of my weight loss) got jabbed with an anti clotting medication in your leg that stings like buggery (you have one everyday you're in hospital). Then off to a waiting room for 5 minutes then up to my room. They estimated I would go to theatre by late morning but it was 11.50pm by the time they got me. Anesthetist checked my throat and lungs and explains the surgery before they take you to theatre. 

I was then wheeled into this tiny freezing room but they gave me a wheat pack for my hand (makes putting the canula in easier) and heated blankets. The anesthetist put the canula is which wasn't too bad as he gave my hand a local first. He then taped it to a board. He injected some "happy juice" that made me feel really relaxed and then the surgeon came out for a chat, said we can cancel since I lost so much on Optifast...I think not!

They strapped both hands and feet to a board as they do latter part of the surgery standing up...yes, gross, standing up! Glad I was asleep for that. The anesthetic really ached going up my arm but I didn't feel my eyes close or get tired, it was just blank.

Woke up kicking my legs and in heaps of pain. I wasn't expecting that much pain. Had a 'morphine" drip (it was like morphine but it started with F) and you push the button yourself. I made me feel sick. I was in pain for about 2 hours until the meds started working, IV panadol and morphine. I didn't vomit but heard the others did, poor things. 

Tuesday we had to drink little medicine cups of water and try for 30mls an hour. It was hard and it hurt like a stab in my chest. Tuesday night all this water started pouring out of my mouth, no dry retching but it was scary, apparently quite common. I felt better from then on. I got Nexium in my drip for nausea and 6 months supply to take home. This may have happened on Wednesday actually, I'm not sure, Tuesday is foggy.

Wednesday was much better with broth and juice. The gas pain is the worst. They blow your belly up and you end up looking 9 months pregnant, I went home looking bigger than when I went in. The gas was sitting under my diaphragm and really hurts, walking helps. It's hard to get comfortable. We all cried this day and I was wondering if it was all too drastic, funny that we all thought the same thing on day 3, it must be a anesthetic blues response.

There are 5 cuts in my stomach with a plaster over every one, no stitches, they can come off in a couple of days. 

I didn't wear any nighties in hospital, the gowns were comfortable and save on washing. I chose to wear undies in the operation but they get covered in Benedene so I suggest to wear some older ones that sit under the belly. 

Thursday was home day but not before I enjoyed strained pumpkin soup, runny custard..bliss.

Things that I think are essential. 
Nexium - anti reflux medication from Dr. He said one per day which I took at night, it's a small tablet and didn't hurt at all. I thought better to be anti nauseas at night and get a good sleep then through the day. He said I could take another in the day if I had to.

Liquid Panadol - tastes like utter shit but I've been having it night and morning before any pain happens. I might buy those little caplets though as the liquid really is nasty and I tolerated the nexium tablet fine.

Maternity tracksuit pants. I bought a regular pair from Target, Moda brand with a big belly in them but a maternity cheapy from Big W would do. My belly has gone down a bit but is still bigger than normal so baggy pants that go up to your boobs or below the cuts are the best.

A wireless sports bra, Best and Less have cheap bigger sizes.

I didn't use my DVD player or read books, it was hard to concentrate so only flicked through magazines.

When I got home yesterday I put some washing away and cooked the kids hamburgers then I got really giddy and tired and had to go to bed. I think you would be fine on your own if you didn't have to do anything for anyone. I had to get kids up and dressed for school and make lunches this morning and I'm stuffed. I've had a coffee Opti and poured it from the shaker into my medicine cup and drank 30mls at a time. I got to 150mls and got pain so I should have stopped at 120mls. I've drank half a bottle of water, I think it's a 500ml bottle but the label has come off. I haven't had any gas pain at all today. Dr said you can use Buscapan but I haven't had to get any.

I think that's it. It's exciting to be full, I haven't been full for years. 

I think I've gotten things out of order but wanted to write it down before I forgot.

I got my letter from Dr Costa, completed the APRA form and emailed it.  I hope I get approval so I can return the money to our savings, I hate spending such a huge amount of money on myself.  I'll let you know if I get approval! (Edited to add, I was knocked back as we earn too much money...poo)

Well, that was gross. I was 25min early because I'm ridiculously early to everything. Dr was a pain, asking me what, when, who, why, why should he have to know everything? My surgeon requested the test not a Spanish inquisition. He asked me a number of times about work, I said I'm a Mum. He seemed confused. So you don't have a job? No. Have you ever had a job? yes. What job? Supervisor at a Bank. Ahh...then he did the "which bank joke"..haha, haven't heard that before. So I suppose I got lifted from pathetic status to acceptable because I had a job once.

Kinda pissed me off. Anyway, that's that done. Taste's gross but not as bad as I thought, the gassy concoction was worse. I was out by 1pm which was my appointment time, see, it pays to be early.


Cost $175 got about $90 back from Medicare

I had the bone density scan today and had to fill out a questionnaire. One of the questions asked, "have you had any broken bones in the last 5 years." I fell down my sister's stairs (old house, skinny steep stairs and too much wine) and broke my little toe. Low and behold...Medicare Rebate! So out of $145 I got around $90...praise that little broken pinky toe.

I scored a 0 (normal is between 3 and -1) so I'm one point into "normal". There's a graph that shows the "red danger section" I should reach by 55. I don't know whether that's a given or not the Radiographer didn't say anything. Why do they seal your scans/xrays up? I feel like a 2 year old breaking the seal ever so carefully so I won't get caught peaking. I'm not sure whether 0 is good/bad or normal for a 37 year old...does anyone know?

Next appointment is Tuesday to book in my surgery date...yay!

I saw my GP about the Superannuation letter today. He seemed very confused but read the APRA application (all 15 pages of it) before writing the letter (thankyou to the person who PM'd me a copy, it was such a help). I painstakingly watched him type one finger and the punctuation and spelling is still wrong but fingers crossed they will accept it. I have the cash but would rather use my super so I don't feel so guilty spending all our money on myself.

My dietitian also wanted a bone scan so I got a referral. That's at 11.40am today $145 (no Medicare because I don't have an existing aliment, broke a bone etc). Gee I wish I didn't say I take calcium because my Mother/Grandmother/Aunty have Osteoporoses. It would be nice to know if I have the beginning stages but it's just not the right time at the moment. Anyway, I better get it done before my appointment with the Surgeon on Tuesday just in case they are waiting around for the results.

Yesterday I saw Dr Shane Pascoe at Novacastrian Psychology. He was lovely. How nice is it to have someone look you directly in the eyes and ask you all about yourself. I wonder how they appear so interested? My mind would wander hearing about people's crap day in and day out...I'm not a good listener at all.

My appointment took about 1hr 30min and he'd like to see me again. I found it almost fun. It's not often that someone is interested in hearing what you have to say even if you are paying them $200. He asked lots of questions about family, body image, relationships. I was quite frank and found the whole experience a little confronting but he's had me thinking all afternoon. He kept asking over and over "what do you like about your body" and I kept saying, "nothing from the the neck down". I don't know what he was getting at, I said I like my face as it's my face and familiar, I said I like my hair...it's thick but I would like it to grow slower and be less thick but I was clutching at straws.

He kept wanting to pursue my poor body image but then I don't know whether his issue is that I had poor body image or that I thought my husband was part of a major deception calling me beautiful when he MUST see the obviously fat cow that I am and is lying through his teeth. That was weird. He said, "so you think that noone over a BMI of 40 can feel beautiful." I didn't say that at all, I said that I don't feel beautiful at a BMI of 41.7. I still think I'm thin sometimes and get a shock when I see a photo and realise I'm not. I told him that I like that I'm intelligent, I like that I can sing but he kept getting back the body. Why would anyone consider weight loss surgery if they liked their body? Seems kind of silly, doesn't it?

He see's a lot of anorexics/bulimics and was interested in my past laxative abuse, not to mention other less than desirable weight control methods, but I didn't want to get too far into everything in case he committed me. He said I was a good candidate for the surgery and would like to continue seeing me after the operation to work on my body image.

Anyway, that's out of the way. Next appointment back with the surgeon on the 27th April to make a surgery date.

I also went to HCF to claim and they will not pay unless you are referred my your GP and exhaust medicare rebates first. Damn.

I have too many things on, I never have things on. Having things on stresses me. As I'm at my ultimate fatness I have nothing to wear. I don't want to buy new fat clothes, I want to buy new thin clothes! 5 more weeks till I emerge out the other side. I found this great shop though, http://www.curvaceous.com.au it has some lovely plus size clothes.

I bought this to wear with jeans and brown boots, nice isn't it? (that's not me in the photo, I stole it off the website)

I love Diesel and had free tickets to see him at Lizottes Newcastle last night. I could only just squeeze my arse in the seats, they are soooo tiny. I suppose the theatre was built in the early 1900's so people were less 'ample'.  I had to go in on an angle and then all the fat spilt out under the arm rests.  The poor guy next to me got up and sat on the stairs. Diesel was fantastic but all I could think of was hurry up surgery! I never want to experience that again.  Anyway, onwards and upwards. Here's some photos and a video for you to join me in drooling over. Oh, I should add, it's only the first two rows of the dress circle that has these tiny seats, the rest are tables with normal chairs. I highly recommend Lizottes, the food is outstanding and the talent is amazing!

My referring GP is Dr Ademola Ishola who practices at Charlestown Medical Centre. I was very nervous asking for a referral to Dr Costa but he said he has a couple of patients who have had success with the sleeve and looked generally excited for me! I totally recommend him if your Dr hasn't heard of the sleeve or doesn't support weight loss surgery as a tool for controlling weight gain.

I was lucky enough that there was a cancellation the day after I went to see Dr Costa for my initial appointment. At 10am the next morning I had some blood drawn for the Dr as he likes to test your cholesterol etc and then made my 10.30am appointment with Cathy Harbury.  She asked everything I ate, exercise and weighed and measured me again. 115kg on the nose.  Ghastly!

She asked me to get a bone scan before the surgery because of my family history of osteoporosis. I'll visit the GP next week but I hope this doesn't put a spanner in the works.

My appointment was at 2pm with Dr Costa. At 2.20pm the nurse called my name. She asked me about my dieting history, measured my height and weighed me. She was lovely. I typed out a history to take with me to the appointment so I wouldn't forget anything and handed it to her. Here's what it said.

The surgery costs are listed on the Doctors website.  The surgeons gap price is $4500.  I have the cash available to redraw out of my Home Loan but I'm trying to access the money from my superannuation. You read more about the early release of super at this link.

My private health insurance excess is $250 and they will cover all other hospital costs.  They say that Medicare will cover 75% of the 'schedule fee'. I search Medicare's site using the item number for gastric sleeve 30518 and got this information. 

Fee: $933.30 Benefit: 75% = $700.00 so would that mean a $700 refund from the $4500? (out of pocket $3800, excess $250)
My initial appointment with Dr Costa was $150, I received $68.75 back (out of pocket $81.25)

I'm not sure how much subsequent appointments are with Dr Costa but I'll edit this when I find out.

My appointment with Cathy Harbury, Dietitian was $85.00 and I received $45 back from HCF (out of pocket $40)

I have an appointment with psychologist Dr Shane Pascoe, he charges $200 and according to the HCF website I should receive $75 back (out of pocket $125) (edited to add, HCF paid nothing back from this because I wasn't referred by a GP)

At tax time, they let you claim 20% of any out of pocket medical expenses over $1500.

So, out of pocket expenses total $4296.25.  20% of $4296.25-$1500=$559.25

Total Cost $3737  A bargain really if you add up the amount I spend of clothes because of chaffed thighs, new diet fads and food.  I'm sure the surgery will pay for itself in no time.

I'm fat.  I haven't always been fat but I've had to watch my weight since I was 17.  I'm now 37 and my weight on Dr Costa's scales read 115kg @ 166cm. My scales said 112kg and when I initally made the appointment 6 weeks ago, my scales said 107kg.  Yes, I've been on a 'food funeral'. Binging on gross food, beer and wine.  My back hurts and my feet are swollen, I look like shit.

My first serious diet was Gloria Marshall when I was 17..  I was only about 70kg, perfectly acceptable but I was used to being 55-60kg.  I lost the weight in 2 months and that was the beginning of the end of being a normal eating person.  I have always exercised.  I go to Curves nearly everyday, I have an elliptical trainer that I use a couple of times per week and I walk my kids to school which is a 1km round trip.  Still, I am 115kg.

I eat good food, I lost 30kg at Weight Watchers a couple of years ago. I still eat the same food but I think I would eat a whole portion or two just in tasting the food cooking. You know it doesn't count if it isn't on a plate. ;)

I've done Atikins, SureSlim, Tony Ferguson, Celebrity Slim, Slimfast, Light and Easy, The Zone, CSRIO, The Biggest Loser Diet (I actually got through the first round of interviews a couple of years ago), Face Shape diet, Diet for you blood group, Cabbage Soup Diet, Duromine, Reductil, 6 week Body Makeover and many more.....phew, I've spent thousands on losing weight, only for it to find me again and again along with some of it's friends.

I think like most gastric sleeve patients, I starting researching the lap band and didn't like what I read. Food getting 'stuck'...seriously, stuck? eww, eroding into the inside of your stomach, only 30% of 'excess' weight can be lost (on average). Doesn't sound very appealing to me.  I happened to stumble across a video on You Tube discussing her and her brothers amazing success with the gastric sleeve, check them out here Gastric Sleeve Reviews  Wow, I hear you say...yep, me too, wow.

Where can I get this surgery in Newcastle? And where I can I read more about it? I found  Dr Costa Karihaloo after a google search and his website has lots of information.  I quickly made an appointment and went off to the seminar, which is a requirement, to hear more about it.  I actually went to a seminar with Dr Gani, who performs only lapbands and the gastric bypass and it just reiterated my desire for the gastric sleeve. Dr Costa's seminar was a week later and it was exciting and informative. These seminars are held at Lake Macquarie Private hospital, ring and book in if you're interested in attending one on 0249 433122

Googling anything and everything regarding the Gastric Sleeve I found this forum, Gastric Sleeve Support and what a wealth of information there is!  Dr Costa even has his own thread with posts from many Novacastricans who have had the surgery or are pre-op (like me).