Rny Revision with Dr Rabkin

[sunflowerloaf]

Hi everyone I'm 32 years old and had RNY in 2006 since than I've had two hernia repairs, I get iron infusions and now have severe late dumping with reactive hypo. I live on lean meat and greens but still sick a lot. I eat every 2 hours and I'm on a medical leave of absence from work. We are a Military family and the base here cant help me so I finally got a referral to see Dr Rabkin. So I was wanting to ask others that have had him how it was and how their revision surgery went. I'm still in a healthy weight of 140 but hoping he can help me some how. I surely don't want to live like this the rest of my life.

[Deleted]

Hi,
I had revision surgery with Dr. Keshishian. However I live in the Bay Area and go to Dr. Rabkin's support groups. He is awesome and has a great reputation. He did not take my insurance. I have Anthem BCBS and TriCare as my secondary (husband is a former Marine). You will be in very good hands.
Best,
Whitney

[sunflowerloaf]

Thanks I've been reading a lot on here its a little over whelming and diffidently scary. Also been reading a lot about Dr. Rabkin. Thanks for the Reply.

[PrettyGirlBounce]

Hi there - Like Whitney above, I am also a RNY to DS revision (well, technically I am a band-over-bypass to DS revision) and had my procedure done with Dr. K in California.

However, I have heard nothing but rave reviews about Dr. Rabkin and his skill & professionalism. Diana Cox is a major contributor to this forum and has tons of information about this particular surgeon. Hopefully she can chime in here.

Welcome to the site! I completely understand what you are going through, trust me, but there is hope. There is no reason why you should suffer with your RNY for any length of time. Like you, lack of weight loss was not the reason I needed a revision. I was already under goal. It was due to major complications caused by my original RNY and subsequent band-over-bypass.

Good luck and please keep us posted. This is a GREAT place for support, information & working knowledge from long term patients. Good luck to you!

*Edited for spelling

[kennyk]

Revisions, way out of my league but the whole WLS thing is a bit scary even if it saved a lot of our lives! Great support here you will get the answers you need.
Even though I had nothing to really contribute I just had to chime in, say welcome, good luck, and remind Whit that there are no FORMER Marines!
Huzza

[sunflowerloaf]

Well I got that referral to Dr Rabkin and his insurance guy told me that if the insurance does not agree too pay everything in full its a no go. So I've been fighting so hard to get some help and the base here just want to give me meds that don't help. I'm feeling very discouraged there is no way I can come up with the money for him and Im just very stressed right now.

[Deleted]

kenny
There are no EX Marines there are FORMER Marines. I know of which I speak- Marine wife for 17 years. Husband Retired Viet Nam Era Vet- 25 years of unflinching, unquestioning loyal service.

HOOO RAHHHH.

[Deleted]

Sun,
Insurance is what got me to Keshishian in the first place. He does take Tri-Care. I did have a co-pay and he has a program fee. Where are you located? Can you call Dr. K's office to see if he is an option for you? You should continue to fight you are worth it.

I had to take a loan against my 401K but I would do it again in a heart beat. Don't give up.

Best,
Whitney

[larra]

Just wanted to say welcome and how glad I am that you found your way here. Already some great responses. If Dr. Rabkin doesn't work out, maybe Dr. Keshishian will.

Larra

[Girlrocker]

Hi there, and welcome, you're in the best place possible for support and information. I am a RNY to DS revision, my surgeon was Dr. Keshishian. I'm very fortunate my insurance covered it, was completely shocked, actually. My heart goes out to you for feeling both so poorly and so stressed. Don't give up! Rabkin, Keshishian are excellent surgeons, we have really savvy people here about insurance. Keep us posted, don't be shy about talking about whatever you need to see you through this.

[sunflowerloaf]

Yes that is about what he said. Hopefully they can work something out with my insurance. There is no way I have student loans to pay back and still working at my degree. I'm not working right now because of being sick all the time and my job is flex so we don't get benefits like that. Put it this way military don't pay that great and my husband has the burden of covering everything right now plus 2 teenagers. So Ill just keep praying I can find someone to take our insurance or that it works out with Dr Rabkin. Thanks again everyone for your encouraging words..

[Girlrocker]

Hi, wanted to check in and see what if any progress you've made, how you're feeling. The other thing I think I mus thave missed somehow when I read your post, is that you are presently 140lbs. I'm not sure that what ever surgery you have is a revision per se, so much as a fix/repair to help the problem. I have NO idea if that means either surgeon would fully revise your RNY to another procedure, or what it entails to fix your issues. I can say that Rabkin or Keshishian would be excellent surgeons who are skilled in dealing with problems, and sorting out what your best course of action is. Let us know how you're doing when you can.

[sunflowerloaf]

Hi thanks for cking on me I've talked to both Dr Rabkin office and Dr k . My insurance does not cover the DS and I cant pay out of pocket they to said there was a concern with my weight. I'm at 135 now and last week we drove to southern CA to see my original Gastric Dr he suggested band over bypass which I'm not reading good things about. He also said we could try a feeding tube for 2 weeks if symptoms go away than I know for sure its the pouch and I could look at a revision to a sleeve or reversal. I have Dr milton owens which is one of the best in CA but not sure how many reversals he has done. For me I would like to skip the band and try the tube first if I get better than I know for sure without going through more surgery's that probably wont help. So I do some more test this week for him and should have a plan soon. Going to make the drive back down in 2 weeks to see what is next.

[Deleted]

Oh crumb, I just now saw that you're military. Yup, DS is out on Tricare.....UNLESS you can get referred to a MTF. HOWEVER, there are only a couple of known DS surgeons in the military system, and they are not known for RNY to DS revision. The usual battles and tricks of the trade when it comes to insurance are meaningless with Tricare. Bummer. (I have Tricare and self paid for my DS.)

It sounds like your best option is to move toward a reversal with (hopefully) VSG. Please do lots of research on surgeon options. I know it can be tough to find docs that take Tricare.