I am going for my very first appointment with the LB Dr. I wanted to know what your experience was. I am excited yet nervous as I don't know what to expect. Thanks!

My 1st appt with the surgeon was easy and fast. He reviewed my past weight loss & medical history, went over the procedure with me, answered my questions, briefly went over my insurance requirements and met the PA and the other doctor that would be supervising the "diet" part of the program.

Yep, me too, met the surgeon and the staff that would handle my case...went over history and any questions I had, then on to the staff fo the insurance side of things. All in all fairly painless.

DO BRING a list of questions because I got overwhelmed and couldnt remember my questions.

My consult/first visit was great!! Did the formalities first with the nurse- height/weight/vital signs/current medications, etc...

Then met with my surgeon- he and i looked over my paperwork (that was given to me at the informational meeting) and we talked about past diets, my goals, and he was very supportive- told me that I was making the decision he would between all the available WLS-- that I definitely didn't need to have a bypass or sleeve.... gave me my "to-do list" and then informed me that my specific insurance required a 6 month diet and exercise program that was physican suppervised first-- BUT that my insurance was changing that (no longer requiring it) as of January- so he made some phone calls/sent some emails and get it waived for me....

I was SO nervous- expecting to be judged and all that- but I obviously had no reason for it. It all went great!

Looking back, it was quite quick. Met the doctor, reviewed the available WLS procedures. Discussed my health history/weight history/diet history/exercise regiment etc. And talked about my expectations. She also gave me a bag that included pamphlets, Protein shake samples and a book she created for her program in which her patients were to follow during their 3/6 month process.

really didn't review the book being that it had every doctor/professional listed that i would need to see, so it was simple, just so much info to take in. i have to finish up 3 appts. then we submit everything into the insurance company. has been an interesting journey thus far.

I go for my first appt Wednesday Dec 15th, a little nervous about starting the process and then not getting approved later

I went to one doctor first, and I didn't like the vibe, he was really slow and like read me a text book for 20 minutes explaining things, and I had to fill out a stupid 500 question questionnaire about whether I wanna kill myself and stuff like that, haha it was so weird! . It's hard for me to get around the fact that this like "elective" surgery, it just all feels cheesy, had the same vibe as getting plastic surgery, it doesn't have the same vibe as going to a regular doctor, and that really bothered me! But then I checked out another doctor on a referral from a friend. The vibe was better, he answered my questions, they weren't really pushy. Remember they shouldn't be "selling" you on the surgery.

My first (and only) meeting with my dr was good, it was about 20 minutes and he went over the procedure asked some questions about my health, I asked him about a bening tumor I have in my abdomen, he was concerned for a moment before he realized that my dr had consulted with him about it because he didn't know what to do with it, so he already knew what it was and where so I didn't have to have further testing, thankfully.

My dr also went over the sleeve and the bypass, just to make sure I had all the info on all the options. He answered all my husbands questions and made him much more relaxed about this. I was already good with doing this.

Don't be nervous, it should be painless, if its not, you might want to consider finding a different dr.

I am going for my very first appointment with the LB Dr. I wanted to know what your experience was. I am excited yet nervous as I don't know what to expect. Thanks!

Hi:

I understand excited and nervous. so was I. Here's a link to my blog about that appointment that you might find helpful. Let us know how it goes.meeting my lap band surgeon

even though I didn't ask the question I want to thank the person that did because the info really helped me also,I have my first appt on Janurary 10th 2011 and I am so excited about it,I was so glad that when I called to ask about the insurance the nurse sent me through email the exercise/weight form that my PCP has to fill out,I've gotten those started 2 months ago,so all is well,thank you for this Blog,it has helped me also...camille01

Thank you all so much you guys for all your stories! I really appreciate you all!