First appointment

Went to Saad Specialist Hospital in Al-Khobar and consulted with Dr Essam Helal who is one of the bariatric specialists.

Dr went through my history asking untold questions and then discussed available options. Recommended the Roux en Y (which is the one I was considering anyway) and discussed and explained how the procedure is done and what to expect after.

Chief consultant for the department joined the consultation and went through some of the steps for the procedure and confirmed recommendation for the Roux en Y.

Have been asked to go for some blood tests, urine and stool tests, chest x-ray and see a pulmonologist (I smoke loads), abdominal scan and to come and see him again once all tests are done.

Costs for the procedure are normally (Saudi Riyals) SR40,000 but there is currently a special going for Ramadan where there will be a 20% discount. Costs do not include specialist consultations and other tests for the specialists but hopefully those will not be too high. I will try and update the blog as I go with the costs incurred and give some exchange prices.

Before leaving went and did the blood tests so those are out of the way. Will phone tomorrow to arrange appointments for the scan and x-ray and the pulmonologist.




COSTS TODAY
Bariatric Specialist - SR125 (Australian $38, American $34, South African R243)
Various Blood tests - SR995 (Australian $297, American $266, South African R1,935)

The adventure begins

Have spent the last couple of months thinking and mulling about the idea of having bariatric surgery to help me with weight loss.

I am a 42 year old female who has battled with her weight since she was a child. I am currently at my biggest ever weighing in at just over 119 kg at a height of only 1.58m. This puts my BMI at somewhere like 48. I need to loose about 1/2 of my body weight so this will not be an easy or quick journey but will hopefully be worthwhile.

Over the years I have struggled constantly with my weight. My last big loss was 20kg about 3 years ago and then a gain of around 25kg. I have been large as far back as I can remember and I need to get my weight under control before my health totally and completely spirals out of control........

I suffer with high blood pressure and high cholestrol levels and am going through the menopause. I think I also suffer from mild depression and hardly ever leave home. None of these things should be an issue in my life at this age but they are and I need to reverse those that can be reversed.

I have done loads of reading on the Roux en Y gastric bypass and have a friend that went through the procedure late last year so have had lots of info off her to help me make the decision to go ahead with the procedure.

I am hoping to document my journey / adventure from start to finish and will add photos of me now before the op and then update these at least once a month.

I hope this blog will help others that are thinking of going through the procedure in Saudi Arabia or elsewhere in the world and that it will entice others that have already gone through this to share their experiences with me and the people that ultimately read these pages.

I have my first appointment with the specialist tomorrow so will post after with info.