I had the band put in 3/24/11. I've had two fills since. I've been successful in my weightloss. I moved to a new town after I got my band, and for the two fills drove 4 hours one way and dealt with serious traffic which was very uncomfortable driving my manual shift car in. For some reason I feel a lot of pain in my port area. The 2nd fill, the DR was an hour late, and rushed through the fill so quickly he didn't get that I was really in pain when I told him, and well there is more and I'm just not cool about driving 4 hours to this guy again.

I called my insurance. I can self refer to another clinic. I called the clinic and will have to pay a consultation fee out of pocket. My insurance will cover the adjustments after I pay the consultation fee. This office is less than an hour away.

Anyone switch docs/clinics after having the band in, and a couple fills? It's not just the insane drive in southern california traffic, I just no longer "feel" this clinic.

For those of you who made the switch, regardless of you're reasons, how did it go?

Out of curiosity, who is your doctor?

I switched doctors! For very different reasons, but it was the best thing I ever did! I originally had two doctors that I was debating between pre surgery and though I liked one better went with the other one out of convenience. It was closer, (by more than 2 hrs) and my cousin was a nurse in the surgical recovery there and had high praise for them. My mother and grandmother were also considering surgery at the same hospital so it seemed to make sense.

I completely regret that decision. The surgeon was nice. He did a great job with the surgery as far as I can tell. It was the staff/facility that I had a problem with. The aftercare was horrendous. I had little support, it was a pain in the butt getting appointments and then when I would show up they would be significantly late. They would blow off any questions or concerns I had. I would request for a flouroscopy or to see the surgeon and then when I showed up they would not know anything about it and I would have made a wasted trip. I was a slow loser and quickly plateaud and they blamed me, saying I wasn't following rules and just kept giving me fills. Finally they told me the band wasn't for me and that I should get it removed and try gastric bypass.

I woke up and realized the problem wasn't with me it was with them. I went back to my other choice who had since opened up a satellite office in my city (given so many patients were traveling the long distance to be treated by him) and have seen significant changes. He did not believe I was a failure or the band wouldn't work for me. He actually thought I might have an overfill and recommended removing some Fluid. He and his staff have had the surgery and been successful and the rules and guidance they provided has helped me be successful. I did have to pay about $600 for a consult, which the insurance did not cover but in my opinion it was well worth it! I wish I hadn't wasted my time ( more than 2 years!) fooling around with the other doctor and beating myself up for things that weren't in my control.

I know your situation is different but I say trust your gut. You do not need to be chained down to a doctor, but good ones can be hard to find. Get recommendations, meet with the new doc and make sure you know what you're getting into. Sometimes even the good doctors run late! Probably because we all want to see them! Good luck!

I moved, and made a switch, but it wasn't easy. Nobody wants to touch someone else's work... That's what they told me.

By surprise the new Dr. that I have was a student of my old surgeon..... That alone was a trip.

We talked about my surgeon for a while, and what a pain in the *ss he is with his attitude.

So he said were not like that,, and there not.

So my surgery was Great, and my follow up care is now Great too.

I am Glad he took me on as a patient.