Okay, so I have two topics here to discuss and they kind of go hand in hand. First a little background on my story. I was banded on 3/12/09. I am 5'2" and started my journey at 233 lbs (BMI 42). This morning my scale (naked and on an empty stomach) said 178.00 so that gives me a weight loss of 55 lbs in a year. I am thrilled with my weight loss because I know that I would have surely gained in that year and I have not consistently lost over a years period like that without losing/gaining/losing/gaining.

I went for a one year visit with my surgeon on Monday 3/15. In preparation of my visit he wanted me to have an upper GI which I did. He wanted to check the placement of my band and the restriction. He was getting a little concerned about how tight my band was (9 cc's) before he would ever consider any more fills. Makes sense to me.

So I go for my appointment and I tell the nurse that basically my band is fickle. Some days I feel like I am exactly where I need to be and other days I feel like I could be just a little tighter as my portions sometimes are a little bigger than I'd like. Not an every day thing but happens on occasion. I was in no way begging for a fill.

So surgeon comes to the door and motions me out of the office (no hello BTW) to follow him. I follow him to a computer screen where he shows me the my upper GI and shows how well my band is doing, says hes happy with the placement, all looks good and that I have some good restriction. I'm still okay with that because I wasn't 100% convinced I needed adjusted. I really just wanted to talk it out and find out where I should be, but I think he automatically was on the defensive that I was going to insist on a fill. As we are walking back to the room he says to me "you smoke?" To which I reply "No." He then says "well, I smell smoke, does someone in your house smoke? So I kind of shrug my shoulders because I'm confused by this and say, "Well, I don't smoke but yes, my husband is a smoker." I'm confused though because I came from work to the appt. He then goes on to say "Well, the one thing I can smell is smoke and you smell like smoke." So I again say, "well, I've never been a smoker, in fact I lost my mother to COPD, and my sister and father to lung cancer. I'm not a smoker." Well the subject finally drops but what gets in my craw is that I can tell he still doesn't believe me. First thing that bothered me about the appt.

Then we move on to talking about my diet, what I've been eating, he tells me my choice for the afternoon lunch was horrible (3 chicken fingers and some mashed potatoes). Which, okay, I can agree with that. But I remind him of the other meals that were good choices. He then proceeds to remind me that "you would have done better with bypass but YOU wanted the band". So I tell him that I'm very happy with the band and I say "You know Dr. X, I've lost over 50 lbs (it was 52 at his office) in the last year, don't you think that's good. So he tells me that it's okay but not exceptional and how only 5% of his patients are bands now the rest bypass. The thing that really got me was that I could tell that I am a disappointment to my surgeon. I think he only views me as bringing his statistics down which makes me really upset because I think I should be applauded for what I have accomplished and not made to feel bad. He ended up giving me a .5 cc fill (which I told him I was surprised he was giving me that much) and he had me drink some Water (first time ever) before I left the office. I think he thinks I'm insistant on fills (only one visit was I ever insistent) because I don't come in and say I'm at my sweet spot. I never throw up, rarely feel stuck and at times still felt my portions were too large. But I guess because I wasn't telling him what he wanted to hear, I'm not successful and he's taking it personally or something. The whole experience was so negative I just don't know what to make of it. If your surgeon acted this way, how would you feel?

Second question, since he told me that he's only doing minimal bands now, and said the stats for the whole state of Michigan for bands were "lousy", are we becoming a dying breed to bypass?

Spartan, are you a physician?

Spartan, are you a physician? are you a lap-band Dr.?

Have you been banded? I'm just curious, nothing more.

Spartan, are you a physician? are you a lap-band® Dr.?

Have you been banded? I'm just curious, nothing more.

I strongly suspect that "Spartan" is just another name created for a certain person who frequents the boards and consistently gets banned for a myriad of reasons. And no, if it is the person I suspect it is, he is not a surgeon. Head Hunter ring a bell?

Headhunter if that is you, the boards have sure been dull without you. (LOL)

I strongly suspect that "Spartan" is just another name created for a certain person who frequents the boards and consistently gets banned for a myriad of reasons. And no, if it is the person I suspect it is, he is not a surgeon. Head Hunter ring a bell?

EXCUSE me?

would you care to explain that?

I'd be very interested in knowing how you arrived at that.

I suspect you are correct.

Spartan, did you have lapband?

Lapbands are certainly not dying out at the center where I was banded because the Dr's have expanded to two more locations and keep growing. We are encouraged to do our best to lose well the first year as it is the easiest time to drop the weight and after the second year it becomes more difficult to lose weight. 50+ pounds is not a bad loss and I would certainly be upset to be treated that way. Sounds like he does favor bypass so perhaps he should just stop doing the banding!!

I agree with the person who said he's a horses ass. My surgeon told me he would not perform a bypass on me. Why should we go for such drastic surgery just so that they can get their stats up? I'm surprised you didn't crack it at him, I would have gotten quite defensive about it if I were you. PIG. Your weight loss is great, it's what you think and how you feel that counts but we are all behind you. Well done.

**UPDATE** I had to go back to the surgeon today to get a slight unfill because of reflux I've been having since last week. I told my doctor that I thought we had to have a discussion because I thought we didn't understand each other. I told him exactly how I felt about him not thinking I was successful, about not believing me about being a non-smoker, etc. It ended up that we had a very nice chat and he admitted that he is not all that gung-ho about the band as he was when he initially started to do them because since people can cheat and eat around the band they are not as successful. He apologized about the smoking thing and also said that he does not consider me not-successful and if I'm happy with my results he's happy. So although I'm not happy to have experienced the reflux, I am very glad we had the discussion. I feel much better.

Hey, all, again can we be a little kinder with each other? This is reminding me of the school yard, and myself often being at the receiving end, I would request that we not indulge in name calling and scapegoating for whatever reason. Spartan, it might help if you were a bit less abrasive- your often excellent points get lost in people's reactions.

The OP (quoted above) has worked it out with her doctor- can we with each other?

One last point- I think successful weight loss means growing ourselves up on the inside as well as getting thin on the outside; otherwise it will be back to the same old tricks...

First of all, everyone on here has had one intention and one intention only -- to support me. For that I say THANK YOU SO MUCH! Your posts did help encourage me to resolve this with my surgeon. I do not personally think he is an ass or any of the other words he's been called because I think that we mis-understood each other. Even so, I have not taken any offense to any of the things that have been said about my surgeon by posters because they were said out of anger and support for me. Sometimes people just need to vent and if it helped support what I was going through I'm okay with that. And you guys all validated me so much! Again, thank you. I also appreciate Spartan's feedback because she did have some good points. So if it is my surgeon and I am the original poster, and I'm okay with everyone on here, let's let this drop. I can't thank you all enough for your support. I really needed it and you came through big time.

You're welcome, Lisa- and thanks for starting a great thread!

I agree with the person who said he's a horses ass. My surgeon told me he would not perform a bypass on me. Why should we go for such drastic surgery just so that they can get their stats up? I'm surprised you didn't crack it at him, I would have gotten quite defensive about it if I were you. PIG. Your weight loss is great, it's what you think and how you feel that counts but we are all behind you. Well done.

Just needed to point out that I was talking about the surgeon, not anyone on here:smile2:

i don't like your dr, he seems to not believe in you, and I think he prefers to deal with bypass patients,from what you said here ,ive been banded 7 mos.ago and havent lost barely 32 lbs,but al least its something,yeah i could be doing better, my doc stresses the excercise, i toldhim about my back leg hip, and slipped disc issues, he keeps saying oh excercise,excercise, how unrealistic he is even walking causes me severe pain after about 10 or 15 minutes, and the office hours are terrible, i missed my last app't due to their error,now i cant see him til april 30, and havent lost much more weight since the last time in january, i like having the band,but it is not a miracle cure at all, I am trying to do better though i am a littel dissapointed in myself,i want to reach my personal goal of 40 lbs,but havent yet,well good luck to you,

EXCUSE me?

would you care to explain that?

I'd be very interested in knowing how you arrived at that.

You've now confirmed my suspicion, I will not give you the courtesy of a reply.

You've now confirmed my suspicion, I will not give you the courtesy of a reply.

Which means, of course, that you don't have an answer.

Thanks so much for sharing that thought.

S.