theboogansgirl

I'm having to reschedule as well ladies so..Welcome Aboard! lol! I as well am hating the wait but I'm sure it will be here soon. For sure I'm not questioning doing this so that's a good thing. My sister-in-law says I'm crazy that I'm looking forward to a surgery but I am looking at it as a new beginning! I as well have hopes and goals to lose at least 100lbs. I know "if it is to be it is up to me" which means that to reach that goal in a timely fashion I'm going to have to work at it which means getting my butt busy! lol! Take care everyone and happy 2006!

Oh My Goodness!! I have to join the 'shocked and amazed' crowd here!!!! One of the reasons I was approved for band surgery is due to DEPRESSION! Depression causes me to eat, eating causes me to gain, gaining causes all kinds of health issues which cause depression which causes me to eat.....Vicious Circle!!! PLEASE go for another opinion! And never ever give up! Even after all the emotional drama I've been through on this journey, I won't give up! There is strength in numbers! You have lots of buddies in band land! Hugs! And a very Merry Christmas!

Just wanted you all to know and to say thanks for all your continued support!

Hi Ladies. As you may see, I'm rather new but am very frustrated and need to hear that I'm not all alone out here! Okay here goes....... My husband and I started researching the lap-band last Spring and over the summer decided that it was going to be a good thing for me. I had my first appointment w/ the doctors office in late August/early September and they filed w/ my insurance company. I got a letter sometime in October requesting a psyc and nutritional evaluation for the insurance company. I made the found the right people, made the appointments, got the evaluations and faxed them to the dr.'s office. They sent them into insurance. On November 15th I received my approval letter from my insurance company!!!!! YEAH!!!! Now for the issues......... Since November 15th, I have not been able to get an appointment to see the surgeon or set anything up for a date for surgery. I figured okay, it was due to the Thanksgiving holiday or something. I called the office three times and was told "the person who schedules will call you.....". No calls for three weeks. I call again and am still being given the 'run around' by the office staff saying that the person that I need to talk to is 'busy/not at his desk/not in yet/gone for the day/not making appointments till Thursday' and all the 'excuses' I could ever imagine. My ????????? Is this a 'normal' thing to have happen or should I be concerned about this doctors office???? Naturally I researched them and think they are excellent, but so far their 'bedside manner' leaves a lot to be desired! Again, I'm new so be gentle! lol! This could just be the anticipation and the waiting making me seem a tad unreasonable! Thanks in advance for your advice! Hugs, Sherry

As you may have read in another thread, my surgery for TODAY has been postponed. DH and I made the decision to do so because of the clinic that's given me all this drama. I just couldn't go through w/ them having anything to do w/ it. I have reason to believe they've falsified some documents w/ my insurance company among other things. We're going to re-submit my approval and go through the entire process again. But the peace of mind will be worth it! Hopefully surgery in February/March! Hugs to you all!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you for your well wishes. My surgery has been postponed! So, it'll be awhile but worth the wait! Thank you for your support and stay in touch!

Actually, I postponed it. There has been so much drama involving the Midwest Institute of Bariatric Surgery that I have been going through that I have chosen to seek my surgery elsewhere. Nothing like waiting till the 11th hour huh? lol! I have reasons to believe that they falsified some documentation that they submitted to my insurance company for the approval and don't want to take my chances of it not getting paid for post surgery! So we're looking at the entire approval process again. Hope to have surgery by February/March. Thanks again to everyone for your support!

Ladies, I'm so glad you've decided to stay w/ Dr. Lopez! My surgery for tomorrow has been postponed (I'll go into reasons w/ you later when I feel it's more appropriate) but let me assure you that the postponement is NOT due to Dr. Lopez or my lack of faith in him! Wish I'd have known you were there, I was also and would have loved to say hello! I'll be talking w/ you guys soon! Merry Christmas!

Having my surgery w/ Dr. Lopez tomorrow! I have not been impressed w/ Midwest Institute of Bariatric Surgery and am very glad Dr. Lopez has went out on his own! His nurse has been so helpful and he was really awesome. DH and I spent about an hour w/ him last week and I'm totally comfortable going into this! I'm having mine at Minora Medical Center. Don't want to spend the night but if that's the biggest concern I have I'd say it's all a go! lol! Would enjoy chatting w/ all of you or meeting something in the city to say hello! A support system is so important!

Congratulations!! DH & I were married in May ourselves! We wanted to go to Vegas but our three children vetoed that idea! lol! Looks like you had a wonderful time! And a huge congrats on your victory as well!

Well, I go in for my band on the 21st!!! Tonight was my 'last supper' so to speak! lol! My kids have had a blast this weekend eating with me all the things I know it will be awhile before I can eat again..and then never totally pig out again! It was a fun way to say good-bye to the old habit! Going to meet w/ the anistesiologist (excuse the spelling!) in the morning. Tomorrow starts the clear liquids for me which will be a challenge but I know I can do it. The hard part will be Wednesday w/ nothing to eat or drink after midnight and surgery isn't until 2pm! YUCK! lol! I'm hanging in there better than I expected through the pre-days, had a little crying jag this morning because there are so many lose ends right now. (The surgery date kinda fell into my lap so don't want to postpone it anymore!) We are moving and then Christmas is this week! Just a busy time. One concern! (Don't anyone laugh here! LOL!) We have 50 yard line tickets for the KC Chief's game on Saturday the 24th. What are the changes I'm going to want to go??? It's the year that the kids aren't w/ us for Christmas so my DH and I have been looking forward to going to the game. I REALLY want to go...but am I being unrealistic 3 days post op??? Advice everyone! And will I feel like going into the office for a few hours on Friday?????

I feel your pain! I had one heck of a saga w/ the cinic I was going to. They too have lied to me and mis-led me in more than one direction. The good news is that I'm having my surgery in two days! As well as I should be, I am counting my blessings. I admire your strength and courage and agree that putting it in God's hands is the only thing you can do for the time being! Keep your chin up and keep posting/reading here! Everyone here has been such a support system for me through my entire ordeal! Hugs! and a very Merry Christmas!

Debra, Going in to meet w/ the anastesiologist in the morning and get my blood work done! Not too nervous at this point, more excited! I wanted to take a minute before it gets spastic to tell you how much I appreciate your support through this whole ordeal and let you know that it means a lot to me!! I'm very confident in our decisions to stay w/ Dr. Lopez and it's awesome to have a lap-band buddy! As soon as I can eat again we'll have to meet for lunch when you get up to KC for a check up! I'll talk to you after surgery! Hugs, Sherry

LOL! Funny you mentioned that. No, they won't give out his number, in fact they are telling patients that he's 'disappeared'. Quite the opposite in fact. I called this morning and had an appointment this afternoon. And guess what........ I'M GETTING MY BAND ON WEDNESDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! To everyone, while I can not and will not recomend Mid-West Institure of Bariatric Surgery, I CAN and WILL recomend Dr.Jesse Lopez and his new staff!!!!!!!!!!!! His attitude and patient care is incredible, he is a warm and wonderful individual. Good luck to all! Not Frustrated Anymore....LOL!

Just got home from an appointment to see Dr. Lopez. I am thrilled to have met him and have my surgery scheduled for Wednesday. He didn't disappear or skip the country, I saw him in the flesh! He and his nurse were totally awesome and their new office great! Talk to you soon! Sherry

I am so thankful for this site. A very sweet lady contacted me that has went through this same clinic and I've found out 'the rest of the story'. The Doctor left the practice because of patient care reasons and things he thought weren't in the patients best interest. I have called and made an appointment in his new office and they are going to work very hard to get my surgery scheduled before the first of the year. If it hadn't been for this site and all the input by the people here I know this wouldn't be happening! So thank you once again!!!!!!! And look for a little less of me in '06! Hugs, Sherry

I will call this morning! I meant to call this weekend but we got so busy w/ the house that I got distracted. Thank YOU for being so nice to me!

Hi! Wanted to see what you ladies have been being told about Dr.Lopez and his 'disappearance' from the scene at Mid-West Institute of Bariatric Surgery. I started a thread in the support forum about being frustrated w/ having to wait so long to get a call from this clinic. I just wanted to check w/ you all that are using the facility and see how your after-care is going, how you like the facility, the PA's, the office staff. I have to make my decision to stay or find a new clinic and after all this I have concerns and wanted to ask. Thanks, Sherry

~~~~~~~~UPDATE~~~~~~~~~~ Well, today was the last day I was going to attempt to call to schedule my surgery. I called another clinic to schedule a new patient appointment, destined to go through the entire approval process again. I gave my dr. office till noon to return my call. At 11:30 I called them again to see if they were going to talk to me and low and behold I got to speak to the man himself who handles the scheduling. I FINALLY got some answers to this entire saga...... Seems that Dr. Jesse Lopez has 'left'. They have no idea where he's gone or what happened to him. One day he was there, the next he was not and was not answering his phone or pager nor seeing his patients or keeping appointments. They didn't take our calls because they didn't know what to tell us. Apparently they have been working w/ their lawyers and have found another Bariatric Surgeon who is going to take the position for their clinic. I cried horribly and explained to this person that a phone call several weeks ago would have greatly improved my disposition and that I felt I had a right to be kept up to date on MY care! I even let my DH have a turn to listen to all his explainations. It being 'not his fault' (which I guess it isn't) he is trying to encourage me to stick it out w/ the clinic and is going to try to get me a date w/ the new surgeon before the end of the year. I DID ask and check out about their after-care. It seems their staff and PA's have been taking care of all post-op patients for appointments and fills, it was just us who are in 'limbo' that have fell through the cracks. Weighing my options still! The only other doc that I have found in the KC area that is willing to try to transfer my insurance approval w/out making me wait for the entire process to exhaust itself, I'm not sure is the best choice in a doctor. I've not heard the best of compliments about them and really don't want to go through all this drama again. Just wanted to let you all know that I did get an answer even if it wasn't the one I wanted. After a good long cry I feel a little better and realize that it wasn't personal and they weren't just trying to avoid me, they didn't know what they were supposed to say. While still not what I would have done, I have to try to understand. I also wanted to thank everyone who has added to this thread or left me pm's with advise and encouragement. I'm going to step back and see what happens between now and the first of the year before I start the entire process over again. I KNOW this lap-band is for me and I know I'll get there. Patience has never been my strong suit! Hugs to all! And a very Merry Christmas!

I called twice more this afternoon before office hours ended. I asked to speak to the man who does the scheduling and, again, was told that it is their policy to take a message and have him call me back rather than to call him to the phone. I then asked to speak to the office manager. The policy is the same. I left messages, again, for both to return my call urgently. I then asked if the scheduling person had voice mail. I was sent to his voice mail which told me that he could not retrieve voicemail from that mailbox as there was some 'internal problem' w/ the phones. It gave another number to call to leave a message. I did this. In the second voicemailbox, he stated his name and said he was a Director of Nursing, and did NOT use the clinic name. I left a voicemail stressing the importance of speaking to him. I would love to speak to the doctor since I have never had the privelage as to date. However, I'm guessing if it's their policy to not even let you speak to office staff unless they answer the phone.....they're not going to let me talk to the head man. Rest assured, I'm going to keep trying until I get to complain to my satisfaction. And I'm not going to give up on my lap-band surgery. I'm going to call my insurance company in the morning and ask if I can switch doctors or if I have to go through the entire approval process again. From the way my approval letter sounds I can switch as long as it's a provider that they accept. Shouldn't be any harder than getting a phone call back. I've kept track of when I've called. My approval letter was granted November 15th. I called them w/ the letter in my hands on November 21st. And have called several times a day/week since then. Not a good track record on their part. All the person on the phone can tell me is that they can't discuss the reason for the delay. There is a reason, but they aren't at liberty to discuss it, the scheduling personel will tell me when they call me. ARGH!!!!! hahaha! Thanks everyone for your input and support!! Hugs!

And the saga continues.....It's Monday now, the day I was supposed to get scheduled. For the third of fourth time. I have called the office twice and no one can return my call, they will as soon as possible. DH says I need to call every five minutes until I get to talk to talk to someone who can schedule me. I think I just need to move forward...... CALLING ALL THE KANSAS CITY AREA BANDSTERS!!!!!!!!!!!! Please pm or email me with the name and number for your band doctors I'm going to find a new one tomorrow that likes to schedule patients. Thanks to all!!

I'm supposed to schedule surgery 'any day now' and have been having the same thoughts...'is this going to work' and 'if it doesn't, what am I going to do?' It's very stressful I'll agree. But then my other side of my brain says 'yes, you CAN do it'. I also eat more from boredom than anything I think. I don't even realize how much I eat because I tend to 'graze' all day long, even while at the office. Someone once told me that to successfully break a habit cycle you have to "change your playgrounds and your playmates". Think about it, it's true. An alcholoic wouldn't hang out w/ his drinking buddies in the bar. I have to get away from the 'playgrounds' that I love to visit such as McDonalds, Sonic, the ice cream place. I have to surround myself w/ the 'playmates' (friends/family) who will encourage me instead of the ones who are waiting for me to fail. I've successfully lost as much as 62lbs on my own with posititve attitude. Then I get sucked back into my old eating habits or stressful things and food is always there to comfort me. Then I gain it all back plus some in half the time it took to lose it. I think in this reguard, the band will be a great tool, a source of 'checks and balances' and a constant reminder that I can't resort back to food for comfort. I am right there with you my friend. And I KNOW we can ALL do it!!!!!!!!!!! There is strength in numbers!!!!!!!!!!

Penni, I'm new here and we haven't met but I've been reading about your progress for the past several days. I want to tell you that I am very in awe of your courage and attitude! I haven't gotten my band yet, and I have to ask....what exactally does 'erosion' mean??? I haven't grasped some of the terms yet so want to be clear that I fully understand what we're talking about. (The only dumb question is the one you don't ask I'm hoping! lol!) I was told in the seminars that the 'dangers or complications' are erosion or slippage' but didn't think to ask them to clarify. Thank you for your insite and know you'll continue to be in my thoughts and prayers. Sherry

Thanks all for your input and support! Next ??? Can someone refer me to an awesome facility/surgeon in the Kansas City area??? I'm about an hour from the city (two from the Kansas side) but more than willing to make the drive as well as the effort, just ready to get on with it! lol! Thanks again!

Shawn, I whole heartedly agree with you. I didn't pay them the $750, that is what they say they will charge to me if I change doctors once being approved. I'm checking into things w/ my insurance company to see what the approval process is and get names and numbers for other centers in my area. Thank you for your post! (I forgot your username! to the post before! lol! sorry!) I'm so glad you're having such a wonderful relationship w/ your doctor and his staff. I know there are wonderful ones out there that go that extra mile. Please know that my reason for this thread was NOT to put any doctor down in any way, I was searching for others to let me know if this was common and I was having unrealistic expectations or if I should be concerned. I wish you all the best in your upcoming surgery and look forward to losing weight w/ you!! Hugs, Sherry