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Dr. Robert Wetherille - Great experience?it?s not just Dr Wetherille but also his amazing team!



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I went through Park Nicollet’s Bariatric Surgery division. Everything was amazing beginning to end. The first step was to go to an informational meeting. From there I filled out paperwork and set up my first appointment with the nurse. This nurse oversaw my case beginning to end (I had Dorothy). On a side note I loved that almost everyone working in the Bariatric unit had gone through a weight loss surgery themselves. It made talking about my weight and issues a lot more comfortable. Another plus is that you get firsthand knowledge from each person you interact with.

My insurance company is BCBS of MN. That meant that I had to do 6 months of nutritionist meetings, a sleep test, blood tests, ect. At the end of the 6 months Park Nicollet took all of the information from the previous 6 months and sent it directly to BCBS. Just 3 days later BCBS confirmed that they would fully cover my procedure.

Doctor Wetherille discussed my surgery with me in depth. I chose to do the LAP-BAND® as an outpatient. On the day of surgery again he was very helpful in getting me prepared for everything that was going to happen. The surgery was quick and only a few hours later I was headed home. I actually even went back to work only 6 days later!

Since the surgery I have had monthly follow up appointments. Amy and Stacey are the two women that administer the fills. Both are awesome! They give you great workout tips, are encouraging, and have made this experience just wonderful.

Overall, Dr Wetherille is a great surgeon who has surrounded himself with an amazing team of people!

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Hi there I was just wondering if your doctor that did the surgery did he xray you before the first fill?

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I was x-rayed before I was able to be discharged the day that I had the band put in place. I haven't been x-rayed since then.

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I just had the informational meeting with him last night he seemed really nice and I think I will go with him for my surgery its grate to hear from someone who had him for a sergon. How much have you lost since surgery?

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I went through Park Nicollet’s Bariatric Surgery division. Everything was amazing beginning to end. The first step was to go to an informational meeting. From there I filled out paperwork and set up my first appointment with the nurse. This nurse oversaw my case beginning to end (I had Dorothy). On a side note I loved that almost everyone working in the Bariatric unit had gone through a weight loss surgery themselves. It made talking about my weight and issues a lot more comfortable. Another plus is that you get firsthand knowledge from each person you interact with.

My insurance company is BCBS of MN. That meant that I had to do 6 months of nutritionist meetings, a sleep test, blood tests, ect. At the end of the 6 months Park Nicollet took all of the information from the previous 6 months and sent it directly to BCBS. Just 3 days later BCBS confirmed that they would fully cover my procedure.

Doctor Wetherille discussed my surgery with me in depth. I chose to do the LAP-BAND®® as an outpatient. On the day of surgery again he was very helpful in getting me prepared for everything that was going to happen. The surgery was quick and only a few hours later I was headed home. I actually even went back to work only 6 days later!

Since the surgery I have had monthly follow up appointments. Amy and Stacey are the two women that administer the fills. Both are awesome! They give you great workout tips, are encouraging, and have made this experience just wonderful.

Overall, Dr Wetherille is a great surgeon who has surrounded himself with an amazing team of people!

just had the informational meeting with him last night he seemed really nice and I think I will go with him for my surgery its grate to hear from someone who had him for a sergon. How much have you lost since surgery?

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how did your 10 days of liquids before the sugery go? I am scheduled for Oct 29th at Park Nic and the team does seem wonderful

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I just had my 4 hour long apt at park nicollet on wed. Went well long but good because of my insurance requirments ill have to wait till at least dec for surgery. So next apt at park nicollet is on the 19th.

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I had to wait too but only 10 weeks. I think it its good to have time to prepare and to be ready both mentally and physically. I am scheduled on October 29th with Dr Svendsen. I am excited and nervous. This is going to be a big step and a much needed change for me. Good luck with everything!

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I too have the 10 week thing but going to try and push them to scheduling the calls every 10 days instead of every 14.

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Hi mnguest & amybethy,

It's great to see other Park Nicollet Bariatric users on here! I am scheduled for the outpatient LAP-BAND® with Dr. Wetherille on Monday, October 11. I am finishing day 2 of the 10 day pre-op diet. I must say, it's been harder than I expected. :smile2: I am hungry, but the worse part for me is I am having headaches. Unfortunately, Ibuprofen works best on my headaches, but since we can't have that I am using acetomenophin. It doesn't work nearly as well.

Other than that, I am very excited to be so close to my surgery date. I have had a mostly positive experience with Park Nicollet Bariatrics. I am going through the program as a "self pay" since my insurance (my husband's employer exludes coverage for it) does not cover bariatric sugery. I think that's what I worry about the most-the financial aspect of this journey.

I wish you both good luck with your journeys-if you have any questions for me about the PN process, I'd be happy to try to answer your questions.

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its great to know there are others on here going with the same dr as i am. i cant wait till i can have my surgery. you will have to keep me informed about how you are doing after. surgery.

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I went through Park Nicollet's Bariatric Surgery division. Everything was amazing beginning to end. The first step was to go to an informational meeting. From there I filled out paperwork and set up my first appointment with the nurse. This nurse oversaw my case beginning to end (I had Dorothy). On a side note I loved that almost everyone working in the Bariatric unit had gone through a weight loss surgery themselves. It made talking about my weight and issues a lot more comfortable. Another plus is that you get firsthand knowledge from each person you interact with.

My insurance company is BCBS of MN. That meant that I had to do 6 months of nutritionist meetings, a sleep test, blood tests, ect. At the end of the 6 months Park Nicollet took all of the information from the previous 6 months and sent it directly to BCBS. Just 3 days later BCBS confirmed that they would fully cover my procedure.

Doctor Wetherille discussed my surgery with me in depth. I chose to do the LAP-BAND® as an outpatient. On the day of surgery again he was very helpful in getting me prepared for everything that was going to happen. The surgery was quick and only a few hours later I was headed home. I actually even went back to work only 6 days later!

Since the surgery I have had monthly follow up appointments. Amy and Stacey are the two women that administer the fills. Both are awesome! They give you great workout tips, are encouraging, and have made this experience just wonderful.

Overall, Dr Wetherille is a great surgeon who has surrounded himself with an amazing team of people!

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this is my first post on the site. I went to the informational meeting at PN last Thursday. I am just getting to all the paper work now d/t the Holidays. I am hoping to go with Dr Wetherille for my surgery. I will be grateful for any help that is out there I guess I know I need this but kinda scared also. Please keep in touch if you have gone or are going to PN. I have BCBS ins. so I will have the 6 mo. wait. Good luck to all in the new year and your new life.

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Today I received an email notifying me that someone posted on here. I'm sorry I haven’t been keeping track of this or checking in!

Someone asked how much weight I've lost. Since surgery I have lost 118 pounds. Of course I'm still not at my goal weight, but it's in my sight! My goal is to be at my end weight by April of this year. It's been an amazing journey for me. I'll never forget what it felt like to run my first mile, to sit on an airplane comfortably, to put on a swimsuit and not be ashamed.

I wish everyone the best of luck! I truly had a wonderful experience at Park Nicollet. I would recommend seeing Amy for your fills.

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    • LeighaTR

      I am new here today... and only two weeks out from my sleeve surgery on the 23rd. I am amazed I have kept my calories down to 467 today so far... that leaves me almost 750 left for dinner and maybe a snack. This is going to be tough for two weeks... but I have to believe I can do it!
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    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. LeighaTR

        I hope your surgery on Wednesday goes well. You will be able to do all sorts of new things as you find your new normal after surgery. I don't know this from experience yet, but I am seeing a lot of positive things from people who have had it done. Best of luck!

    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. summerseeker

        Life as a big person had limited my life to what I knew I could manage to do each day. That was eat. I hadn't anything else to look forward to. So my eating choices were the best I could dream up. I planned the cooking in managable lots in my head and filled my day with and around it.

        Now I have a whole new big, bigger, biggest, best days ever. I am out there with those skinny people doing stuff i could never have dreamt of. Food is now an after thought. It doesn't consume my day. I still enjoy the good home cooked food but I eat smaller portions. I leave food on my plate when I am full. I can no longer hear my mother's voice saying eat it all up, ther are starving children in Africa who would want that!

        I still cook for family feasts, I love cooking. I still do holidays but I have changed from the All inclusive drinking and eating everything everyday kind to Self catering accommodation. This gives me the choice of cooking or eating out as I choose. I rarely drink anymore as I usually travel alone now and I feel I need to keep aware of my surroundings.

        I don't know at what point my life expanded, was it when I lost 100 pounds? Was it when I left my walking stick at home ? Was it when I said yes to an outing instead of finding an excuse to stay home ? i look back at my last five years and wonder how loosing weight has made such a difference. Be ready to amaze yourself.

        BTW, the liquid diet sucks, one more day and you are over the worst. You can do it.

    • CaseyP1011

      Officially here for a long time, not just a good time💪
      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.
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