I was banded with a large (15cc) band on 11/30/09. I have lost 13lbs which 10 of it was all preop. I have had 2 fills and cant seem to get in sooner to my doctor cause he overbooks and INSISTS on doing the fills himself. I have a total of 8.5ccs in and have no restriction, I mean I can eat like I did before the surgery. I went a couple weeks ago for another fill and my doctor and after waiting 2 hours to be seen, I had to go without getting the fill because I had a babysitter waiting. The next time he can get me in is May. BASICALLY - I am lost, I have had no diet instruction, no understanding, no information on my diet plan. I know they say eat right and exercise blah blah, well if it was that easy I would have been skinny ages ago and not needed a surgery to help me do this. I am slipping into this horrible depression thinking I fought for over a year to have this surgery and get no where. He wont give me my medical paperwork to take to another surgeon to do fills either. So I guess I am curious, how do i get educated, how do i know if the next fill is going to work, how do i get motivated?

I am sorry you are having so much trouble. If I were you, I would go to another doctor and explain the situation. That doctor can then request your records. If I am not mistaken, I believe your present doctor is obligated to send him your records. Your present doctor sounds like a quack. Good luck.

Do you have access to a nutritionist as part of your surgical team? He/she would be able to guide you in the right direction as far as nutrition is concerned. Getting fills sometimes are hit or miss. You won't know whether or not the next fill will work until after you get it. You just have to hold on until you can get in to see the doctor. You went through a lot of work not to mention the time spent to get the surgery, now is not the time to throw in the towel. You have to push through. I hope someone else can further assist you. Good luck!

I did meet a nutritionist for about 30 mins whose whole goal was to tell me that yes I am eating incorrectly and just get the band. I was thinking of finding a local nutrionist to help me a bit, just have to pay out of pocket for that

Your doctor cannot refuse to send your medical records to another physician. If he does, I would contact the medical board in your state.

It does sound as if you need a new doctor.

.

Don't give up--you've come too far.

Your aftercare sounds like it's sorely lacking. Were you given no diet guidelines? What a shame!

Is there another doctor in the area whose practice you could use?

Oh--and it's not legal for your doctor to withhold your records from you. The original is legally his to keep. You have a right to a copy. It sounds as though he needs to be reminded of your rights (and remedies).

You have every right to copies of your medical records. Have your PCP request them for you, or you can request them yourself. FIND A NEW DOCTOR, and have them request for you. Your physician cannot hold your records against you. Also if you had your band placed in a hospital or a surgical center get those records as well and take them to your NEW doctor.

You deserve the right to be treated fairly. Your current doc sounds like an a$$. Get a different one.

Betsy - He gave me a piece of paper of post op diet guidelines and thats it. Basically told me to eat right. Im still not sure what that means.

When I asked him or his nurse for the records to send to a local doctor they went on and on about he puts my port in a special way and you dont want a doctor to ruin it etc. I asked them what if i happened to move far away, they said I would have to make the effort to travel to them for fills. Needless to say they offered me a fill now on the 6th of April (my bday) and a different center instead of May. I am just concerned hes going to be mad at me and make it more uncomfortable than it is. I feel like such a wuss about this!!!

Run! Don't walk to your primary care doctor and explain the situation. Often if the request for records comes from a fellow physician the originating doctor feels more compelled to produce. That said, everyone is correct - they are your records and you have a right to have them. I went through something similar in the course of dealing with another health issue. After multiple trips to the facility I was trying to get the records from and excuses ranging from they, "forgot you were coming" to "those records are confidential", my new treating facility went to bat(I signed a release) and got the bulk of what they needed, but a lot was never released and tests had to be re-run. I filed a compliant with the state medical board.

Being told that you'd have to make ever effort to come back to their facility is a RED FLAG!

Though your doc can request you pay for the COPY fee for your records, they have to give them to you.

I would find a new doc. Don't burn any bridges till you find a new doc, but I think the new port thing is BS.

What happens if you have an emergency? Are you going to wait in his office for 2 hours for him to see you? I had a prolapse and my tech lecctured me on why I waited so long to call him. You need to find someone that takes your band seriously so you can feel better!

With the hospital and doctors where I work, if you want copies of your records, yes you are charged. However, if you go to another physician who requests them for continued care, there is NO charge (even a "competitive" practice, i.e. another hospital or physician's group). I don't know if that's policy everywhere, but it's worth a try.

Okay so if you move away, you have to make an effort to come back to see him. And if he gets hit by a bus, who will know his "special port procedures" to keep caring for you? That's BS in my opinion. If you have a great rapport with this doctor otherwise, you might want to do whatever you can to stay with him; doesn't sound like you do, though, so do whatever is best for YOU. I can't imagine they don't have room for followup patients, unreal. Best of luck to you!

Everyone has given you great advice on your doctor, I am going to try and help you on your eating. Here is what I do.

BTW, what about those fill centers? Since you live in a big town maybe you could use one? (I don't know about them but there is a thread, I just haven't read it. )

1) I eat only 1 measuring cup of food at a time. (Sorry but this is going to be graphic) That means if I chewed up everything on my plate and spit in in a 1 cup measuring cup that cup would be full. No more than that at one time. (This is where the will power until you have restriction comes into play.)

2) I journal everything I eat, I use lose it on iphone but a lot of people use daily plate on the Internet. This helps you realize how many calories you are getting. When I was hard dieting I tried to stay around 1000 net. So calories ate - exercise = net.

3) I eat Breakfast 250 cal, snack 100 cal, lunch 250 cal, snack 100 cal, dinner 250cal.

so for example:

Coffee--7am

Breakfast--9:00 1 egg, 1 bacon, 1 cheese stick

Snack--10:30 EAS carbAdvantage Protein shake (if needed)

Lunch--12:30 4 oz flounder (weight) and veggie (1/2 cup)

snack --3:30 Greek yogurt (always needed!)

Dinner-- 6:00 4 oz catfish, veggie (1/2 cup), mashed potato (1/4 cup).

If I am measuring meat I use the scales (4 oz max), for carbs I use the measuring cup and for veggies I determine how much room I have left to reach the 1 cup maximum.

I try and get at least 60 g of protein, 1000 cal or under, and the rest works itself out.

I hope this helps, feel free to PM me if you have questions.

I had to change surgeons because I have a 14cc band and my surgeon wanted to only put in 1 cc at a time EVERY MONTH!!! I changed surgeons to one that got me up to 8.5 cc's on the second fill!!! I would have NEVER lost weight had I not changed! Think about it and do what you have to do!

Good Luck!

My eating plan is similar to Leigha's, but simpler: 3-4 ounce lean Protein (chicken, fish, beef, pork, Beans, whatever), weighed. And 1/2 cup nonstarchy veggies. Once a day, a serving of fruit.

That's it.

I add 1-2 Protein shakes a day, too (sorry, Dr. Lahmann :frown:)

So a typical day looks like this:

5:30-ish: warm Protein shake, Vitamins & meds

between 5:30-9:00: liter of Fluid

9:00-10:00: exercise

10:00: 4-6 ounces black bean chili made with ground chicken breast (this is protein + veggie)

11:30-1:00: 500 cc fluid

1:00: 3-4 ounces fish or chicken, 1/2 cup veggies or 1/2 cup fruit with fat-free cottage cheese and a T ground flax seed

2:30-6:00-ish: liter of fluid

6:00 3-4 ounces fish, chicken, beef, or pork (if I'm lucky--I've been tight at night lately)

6:30-7:30: exercise

7:30-9:00-ish: sips of fluid (winding down for the night)

9:00-ish: protein shake

Wow you guys are so strict on your eating. If I had that kind of will power I would never have gotten the band. I basically eat what the family eats only way less. Last night my DH made Bisquits and Gravy (the kids love this). Instead of having 2 whole bisquits with gravy I only had 1. Before the surgery I always finished my plate and sometimes had seconds. Now I take a lot less (probably a cup worth) and sometimes don't finish that. If we eat out I get a doggy bag or try to split a meal with someone.

My whole goal with the band was to control my portions. I'm not a snacker nor do I have a sweet tooth. So my problem really was just the portions.