MCOBandita

My Dr. held an informational seminar which covered the basics. Then if we were still interested we set an appointment to have a one on one consultation. While I waited for my consultation, I arranged for my financing. At the consultation we were given a brief physical exam and given scripts to see a nutritionist, get a psych eval, upper GI, gallbladder ultrasound, and TSH & H. Pylori blood tests. If there were indicators of cardiac issues a cardiac clearance would also have to conducted. The next step is to get the tests done. Upon receiving my results, I will schedule my surgery. Hope that helps!

I believe that he meant a) only 50% of the patients meet his criteria of success. WOW, you have done GREAT! Congrats! :clap2: I will, thanks for the advice!

Thanks everyone for your replies! Everything you said makes sense to me. This particular Doctor is considered the best in my metro area so I am most comfortable going to him for the surgery. After reading LisaH's comment I think I should go ahead and have the surgery with this doctor and then if the nurse practitioner isn't aggressive enough with the fills then maybe I will go to another doctor's office to have fills. Of course, I would speak to my doctor first if these concerns arise.

Today I attended a consultation at my Doctor's office and was told that only 45 to 50% of people who have the Lap-Band done lose any weight. The nurse practioner said that their specific patients have had a 50% success rate. These figures seem very discouraging to me. :phanvan When I questioned him as to why only 50% lose weight he said that people cheat/cannot overcome the emotional or mental obstacles they need to overcome to change their lifestyle. He went on to state that he thinks the figure is 50% because some patients who have BMI's in the 50-60 range have elected to have the Lap-Band and have not been successful, which he feels skews the results. We briefly discussed my health and eating patterns and he feels that since my weight is based more on the quantity of food I eat vs. eating foods which in the future would be cheating foods (ice cream, shakes, etc.) that I would be an "ideal candidate." I find it hard to believe that all of these people cheat after going to the expense/physical demands pre- and post-op to cheat that dramatically. He even stated that they have a patient who has only lost 5 pounds in a year. I asked him specifically what he would do if someone was not losing any weight and was not cheating. He said that he would not tighten the band - that he relies on a more conservative approach and leaves the band more open to "make more of the brunt of it rest on the patient's shoulders." I am feeling very discouraged and misled by the information that I was given previously my the actual Doctor - I was told the success rate was more like 70%, with loss averaging 1 pound a week. However, the nurse practitioner will be in charge of all of the fills and if his approach is overly conservative it will affect my progress. I am self pay and am feeling very hesitant about committing myself to payments of about $350 a month for the next 5 years for something that might not even work for me. I believe that I can commit to eating the right foods, however, the major benefit of the bad to me is the idea that it restricts the amount of food I eat. I worry that if the nurse practioner leaves the band to loose, I believe I will not obtain the benefit I am looking for. Has anyone else been given this type of success rate by their Doctors? Please help, I am feeling confused! Any advice would be appreciated! ~Sara

I was diagnosed with PCOS about 11 years ago. Not having a period for about 6 months was what made my OB/GYN finally give me an ultrasound which revealed my cysts. It is a very frustrating illness and it seems like there hasn't been many developments in discovering the cause as well as the best treatment for the disease. I have tried all the different birth control pills and have been on Glocuphage/Metformin as well as Symlin to try to rectify my glucose intolerance and hopefully lose some weight. Unfortunately, these meds didn't help me. I read that if you were to lose 10-15% of your body fat it has a dramatic effect on PCOS. I ended up losing 37lbs. on the South Beach Diet (over a year and a half) and have experienced less symptoms and have had a regular period ever since. I recommend going to an Endocrinologist to treat your PCOS. Additionally, have them check you for hypothyroidism as that might be a contributing factor. Even though my TSH levels (relates to thyroid) were within "normal range" my PROGRESSIVE endocrinologist decided to try me on Synthroid to see if I would feel better if my TSH level was brought down. It worked! One of the (bizarre!) symptoms of thyroid issues is losing eyebrow hairs from the end of your brows. I used to have 1/2 of a left eyebrow and only 3/4 of a right one - I had to draw them on every day! Once I started on Synthrid the hair started growing back immediately; it was amazing! Fertility is not an issue for everyone with PCOS - so think positively. Best of luck to you! ~Sara