Dr Costa Karihaloo - newcastle area!

First topic message reminder :

Just had sleeve surgery with Dr Costa Karihaloo at lake macquarie private hospital and he and his staff have been fantastic!

any questions ask away.......

sandy-lou- I dont have a date as yet. I did ask Dr Costa how long a wait for the surgery once you make a definite decision & he said only a couple of weeks. So when I see him 24th March I'm hoping we'll be looking at mid April. Which for me fits around school holidays & husbands roster & also the fact I live over 300km away, so will probably stick around for an extra couple of days to be on the safe side before I venture back home again.

workdanceplay- great to see all going well for you!

Hi sandy lou,
congrats with referall before you know it you will be at your 1st appointment.

Hi alter ego,
My heaviest weight was 121.3kgs.
Pre Optifast was 119.3kgs.
Post Optifast lost appox 7kg plus
Two weeks tomorrow I will be 2 weeks Post op and I weigh 106.1kgs

So total weight loss since heaviest is 15.2kgs
Total weight loss since Optifast 13.2kgs...............YAY!.......so i am happy!

alter ego wrote:

sandy_lou - sorry to hear that you son has Autism - that is a long road,
If we are able to lose weight and get a healthy BMI, that is another battle won.

He's only mild on the Spectrum but it's been a terrible few years for him at school, he's now in 4th class and doing great! A meet sounds like a great idea. The appointment lady was a little abrupt on the phone...is she thin? I'm expecting all the staff in there to look glamorous for some reason. I'm off to get my Doctors referral today, I only go to Charlestown Medical Centre and see whoever is on, I hope I don't have any problems there.

Edited to ad, The Doctor was smiling and said, "Of course I'll refer for the gastric sleeve, I have a couple of patients that have had the operation with amazing results." He then wished me all the best. Phew, I was worried the Dr might not refer me. Step one down.

Hi workdanceplay,
so great to hear you are losing weight, can I ask what was you starting weight, and how much have you lost since surgery,
Gets to the stage where there is only Dr Costa doing the work in Newcastle, you really don't want to "rock the boat" just getting past the appointment person I think is some clever maneuvering (can sometimes be very abrupt).
I am seeing Nicole @2pm today, maybe able to say Hi, coffee for me and water for you sounded great, unfortunately I have to keep going for work,

I think Nicole is on baby leave sometime in April, Dr Costa is on leave for 2 1/2 weeks up till 10th march also on baby leave,
Melissa the Psychologist also on baby leave - I am seeing one of her colleagues.
Very busy in the baby department in Newcastle.

we will have to organise a Newcastle get together, we are starting to get a couple of Newcastle people on here,
they might be like most of us and lurking in the background waiting till there is some confirmation of appointment etc.

would be great to here everyones storey.


sandy_lou - sorry to hear that you son has Autism - that is a long road,
If we are able to lose weight and get a healthy BMI, that is another battle won.

hi everyone

For those of you that havent seen either Dr Costa or Dr Garni, if you would like the sleeve, you need to see Dr Costa as Dr Garni only does lapband-and a lot of it, and bypass!

Sandy lou i also thought something was going to go wrong, i even thought i might die..Ha Ha. But i am great , I had my surgery 10 days ago, and cant believe that ive had it. I actually woke up and thought id feel different, but i didnt, its kinda weird?
The best part is i just keep losing weight! I cant believe it.

The appointment with the psych was not claimable through medicare or on my healthfund and i have specific Psychiatry cover as i have a mental illness. I see a psychiatrist and psychotheripist fortnightly and still had to see Dr Costa's psych. I was really annoyed to say the least, but didnt want to "rock the boat" too much. At the appointment the surgery and the effect it would have on my life ect.. was discussed and it was all sleeve/ weight loss related, so i kinda saw why i had to see his psych. His dietician and psych discuss with him your suitability for your surgery so thats the main reason why you have to go with them.

On the note of dieticians--- Nicole West is fantastic-But she is having Twins, so im not sure how long she will be around for. So i suggest that you consider this for post surgery care and appointments and the 1st 6weeks you will see her often.

Hi Alter Ego, I am also seeing Nicole tomorrow @ 3pm. Not sure when your appointment is or if you would like to catch up for a coffee/ water..Ha Ha if not tomorrow maybe another time? Let me know.

Thanks
workdanceplay

alter ego wrote:

even have my bag packed. I am ready to rock n roll.
Oh the pain - also remember no pain no gain. :

Bag packed....oh, I'm really excited for you!

alter ego wrote:

It is a Psychologist that he sends you to,:

Excellent. Yes..I'm familar with GP referred Psychs, my son has Autism and before his diagnoses we could access medicare covered psychologist with the GP letter.

alter ego wrote:

Dr Costa does not give you a referral;:

I wonder why? Conflict of interest maybe?

alter ego wrote:

This could be a start of a new me, may even look at Internet dating - what a catch, 54 year old with baggy skin and cranky cat.
may have to work on some of my other attributes. :) hehe

Yes! Internet dating or speed dating, I reckon that looks like a hoot! I'm married and the internet wasn't mainstream when I met my husband but what a very cool way to meet someone. I can't wait to hear about your progress

Hi,
I am excited and also like most others worried, even have my bag packed. I am ready to rock n roll.
Oh the pain - also remember no pain no gain.
It is a Psychologist that he sends you to, I do believe some funds cover it, but unless you get a GP referral you can't claim it on Medicare.
Dr Costa does not give you a referral; you just ring and make an appointment.

This could be a start of a new me, may even look at Internet dating - what a catch, 54 year old with baggy skin and cranky cat.
may have to work on some of my other attributes. :) hehe

That's a great help, thanks Alter Ego. You must be so excited! I'm a little worried if something goes wrong, my kids are still pretty young but there's the pessimist in me coming out.

Edited to add, is the Psyc guy a Psychologist or a Psychiatrist? I recently stepped down my Private Help Cover to get rid of Obstectricts and it was coupled with Psychiatry (which I think is very ironic, lol) but it saved $50 per month on a family policy. I'm covered for Psychologist and all things hospital and extra's just not babies and shrinks.

Hi sandy_lou,
I am also from Newcastle, had my appointment with Dr Costa on 16th Feb pencilled in op for the 17th March, see Nicole dietician tomorrow, see psych guy on the 1st March $200, need to do Barium Swallow (think that’s because I am older) booked for the 22nd Feb. $200, then bring cheque with me on the follow up visit with Dr costa for $4,300.

Think my BMI Is 40, started out at 39, but I regained so much weight after the Jenny Craig re-run.
hope this bit help also
all information is good information

Thankyou Cos I'm Worth It, that's comforting to know. I hope you don't mind if I pick your brain. How exciting to be booking in your surgery! Would you be able to reply back with how far ahead your date is? I'm curious how long the wait is between the initial appointment and the surgery date. You must be so excited. I'm 37 and hope that I'm off the yo-yo and looking fab at 40..that's the plan anyway,lol

Hi sandy-lou,
Back in December I saw Dr K to enquire about lap-band surgery. He suggested the sleeve as a better alternative . So after much consideration & many hours reading through this fabulous forum
I will be booking a date for the surgery at my next appointment on 24th March. I am 52 & have a BMI of 33. He did say I will be the lightest (ha ha) he has performed the surgery on but recognizes that I need help in maintaining a healthy weight. I have a woeful history of yo-yo dieting, but am also in the high risk category of developing diabetes.
Hope this helps & good luck!
ciwi

xlnt - great to hear there's someone in that area doing the sleeve now.

I have an appointment with Dr Karihaloo (well, I think, she said she'll book me in with who can see me first out of this Dr or Dr Gani) My appointment is on the 30th March and I'm going to the 4th March seminar. I'm so nervous. My BMI is 39 and the website says you have to have a BMI of 40+. Do you think 1 point will matter?

Thanks very much workdanceplay, now all I have to do is wait for that appointment date to hurry up & get here......

ciwi

Hi cos im worth it

~I never had to have a endoscopy thingo.

~I did have to see a psychiatrist, and it was one of his. expensive though $200 and you cant claim at medicare but can through private health insurance.

~You spend a lot of time with his dietician- I had Nicole West, i doubt you will cause she is pregnant with twins.....! The dieticians know so much about the surgery, they work specifically with him and cover all aspects of sleeve surgery, so they understand the process, you dont have to explain it to them!

~Between when I first saw him and my next appointment was only a matter of about 3 weeks-I think?. and at that appointment we set a date and it was as soon as he could do it. About a month, for me. After surgery he wants to see you 2 weeks then 4weeks then 3 months..ect...

~Yes you wear those stockings the hospital does all that, dont buy any of that stuff.

~yes they work out your BMI- you probably already know it anyway.

~They didnt tell me what weight they wanted me to get to. I think it was just a matter of getting it down and close to your healthy weight range.

~They do tell you how much they predict you will lose- but they talk about the excess weight you are carrying and its in % form??does that make any sense????????????? and yes it is taken of your BMI.
(I think i have confused you more?)

~He did not put a drain in me, thank god! it sounds kinda creepy. But their was some else who had a sleeve at same time and they had one, but there was a specific reason for that, not sure why though?

Hope these answers help.

Workdanceplay

Hi workdanceplay- hope your doing ok?

Just a couple of questions regarding Dr K (I dont see him till 24th March so thought I'd get some 1st hand info from you)
At any stage does he require you to have a gastroscopy/endoscopy?
Does he insert drains?
When does want to see you again?
Does he require you to see a psychologist?
How does he you determine your goal weight? Is it based soley on BMI? I'm really interested to know why you can expect to lose 60% only of the weight you need to lose (what he told me at my last visit) Maybe it is dependant on what end of the BMI range you aim for ?
(Sorry if that does'nt seem to make sense but hope you get the gist of what I mean!)

Do you have to wear the glamorous ted stockings? If yes, for how long? Phew! Thats all! (For now anyways!) THANKS!!

Just had sleeve surgery with Dr Costa Karihaloo at lake macquarie private hospital and he and his staff have been fantastic!

any questions ask away.......