I am a self-pay gastric sleeve patient. I had my surgery on June 17, 2009. This is the beginning of my new life. I am sure I still have a long hard road ahead of me but with the help of this great new tool I am sure that I can succeed! I can not figure out how to update my sugeon info but my doctor was Dr. Edgar Leino of the Dominican Republic. He is the greatest I would recommend him 100 fold. Being a self pay patient I began to search for options that were in my price range. I found a company called Global Medical Services which I mainly read about cosmetic surgery. Then I found a few testimonials on gastric bypass etc. and began researching them as much as possible as I was planning to have my surgery when my kiddos got outta school for the summer so I kinda had to get a move on. =) My original plan was to have the RNY bypass. So all set my visit to the Dominican Republic was all set and I would be leaving on June the 16th. I was a bit scared knowing not much about the DR. I arrived after a very eventful day lol and was met at the airport by my driver Wilson. He was very nice the people drive like crazy mad idiots here thank goodness Wilson knew what he was doing!!! He took me straight to the hospital where I was to begin pre-op tests, labs, ekg, etc. When I met with Dr. Leino later that evening he was awesome. He sat in my room with me for I know at least an hour talking about options and telling my my labs were all great and I appeared ready for the surgery. For those of you who do not personally know me, well lets just say I'm a bit of a crybaby LOL. I began to cry talking about everything and he asked why I was crying I told him that I had been waiting for years for this and it just seemed like it wasnt really happening. I never dreamed we would have the kinda cash it takes to pay for this type of operation. He smiled and reassured me that this WAS my time and it was time for my new life. Remember I was planning the RNY bypass? well after discussing how much weight I wanted to lose and my health risks, the sleeve sounded better fitting for me. I have high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, and I am almost certain I have sleep apnea I just have never been tested. I also have two hernias one in my lower abdomen area and one behind my belly button. Dr Leino was worried that the part of intestines that needed to be rerouted for the rny may be the part that was my hernia. So, after being told about the advantages of the gastric sleeve vs the bypass.... I decided on the bypass. For those that may not know the difference I'll explain in my words =) The sleeve requires no re-routing of the intestines, not long term vitamin and iron usage, it is more natural, you can have GI scopes, and the unused portion of the stomach is actually removed and "tossed out" LOL. It also is done laprascopically and has a better recovery time so I was told. I sit here 4 days post-op feeling pretty damn good to be honest. My trip was err is an all inclusive package. Two nights at the hopital, then 5 nights in a very nice hotel The Dominican Fiesta. The only thing we had to purchase seperatly was our air fare. The hotel includes 3 meal daily for myself and my husband not that I am eating!! The cost of my packae thru GMS was $10,495.00 keep in mind that that was for the RNY the sleeve is cheaper however I do not know how much yet lol that will be a nice thing to find out when I get home. I am starting to babble now, so I'll take a break but if anyone has any questions please feel free to ask. TTFN
