Dr. Gerald Kirshenbaum - Considering Dr. Kirshenbaum

[lotzasunshine 2]

Woohoo!!! Banding has occurred. I am back in my hotel room. Things went well - a few small problems (hernia, etc) but he got me all fixed up! Not feeling much pain right now, just a little gas. Gonna lounge around and watch the tube. I'll probably not post more tonight, but definitely tomorrow.

YAY!!! I'm so glad things went well!! Get some rest!!!

[munchkin392 1]

BTW Mini, great minds think alike. When you were talking about pics of us on Dr.K's website, I was thinking that we should have a naughty nurses section, then you said it for me! Tee hee!

And Shelbi, I am really sorry we have made you laugh so hard that you have farted and had coffee coming out of your nose. Ok, not really. I will be sorry if we make you laugh so hard that you shart though!!:Banane30:

[deboregon 0]

Mini: glad to hear all went well....take the well-deserved rest.

Had my phone consult with Dr. K, and, of course, just as y'all said he was wonderfully kind and helpful. Since I haven't been on a scale for four years, I just guesstimated my weight, so based on what I told him, he asked me to cut out breads, Pasta, rice, and potatoes for two weeks before my surgery. No prob with that for me as the only thing on that list that I crave is potatoes. I am basically a carnivore, so meat, eggs, veggies, and fruits will be fine with me. he told me the story of the young woman who didn't follow his directions about cutting out complex carbs before the surgery, and when he went in, her liver was so large he couldn't operate. Her mom said she had been eating french fries the whole time. How odd someone would not heed the instructions before a serious surgery!:confused2: So my next step will be a consult with Paula, who I assume will give the big details about food and the stages after surgery.

Nicole: Welcome! I am a newcomer also and am here to tell you that the women on this site are the most positive and supportive individuals one could ever want on a journey such as this one. We have all been in the same place at one time or another, so there is no judgement. I took out my loan from the credit union about two weeks ago and my surgery isn't scheduled until August. I wanted all my ducks in a row.

Good night all.

[adorkbl 156]

Bahot~ Yeah girl! Congrats on the size 10. You are rocking!!! That is my dream size. Seems impossible to achieve... you are an inspiration! =)

FW~ I am so sorry about your friend’s son. Wow, how sad. Teenagers think they are invincible. Sadly that just isn't the case. =(

Nicole~ WELCOME! =)

Mini~ Congrats on your successful banding. Yeah!!! I am so excited for you.

Lap~ 3 more pounds. You go girl! Awesome!!! =)

Well ladies I am finally closer to being back on track with my diet. I had been going hog crazy for the past few weeks. Eating whatever I wanted. I stocked the fridge full of fish, veggies, fruit and yogurt. I am doing better. Unfortunately I think I am up this week again. =(

I still never got a call from my PCP so I am irked. The assistant called back again. She asked the PCP about the cyst causing my pain. She said no... it was NOT causing my pain. If my pain comes back then she will order a HIDA scan to check my gallbladder function. Why does it have to happen again for them to do something??

I am going to talk to Dr Berger on Monday when I go for a fill and see what he thinks. I may insist on the scan now just to rule out my freaking gallbladder all the way. I just want to know WHAT is causing these attacks. Not sit and wait for another to come before doing more testing. :Banane30:

Edited July 3, 2008 by adorKable

[minidriver 0]

Good morning! Drive by post (hubby and I are sharing a computer, and he has to do that "work" stuff).

Doing well, a little annoyed by gas pains in the night and my port incision is sore.

Deb, what time did Dr. K call you? He came in to see me at 4:30 or so . . . I was wondering if I kept you waiting!

[minidriver 0]

Hi Mini

Just wanted to let you know I am pulling for ya today. It sounds like you had a great time at dinner last night. I hope you feel very supported. I will be back in CO tomorrow and I would like to come see you for a short visit. Where are you staying? Room #? I have a fill with Tom at 4pm so it would be right after that.

Hi Lifesaver! Sorry, I was in such a daze yesterday that I forgot to reply. I am in the Holiday Inn Select by Parker Hospital. Room 327. I would love to meet you if it's not too far out of your way.

[bahotmomma 0]

Lap -- How was your PS appt. I hope you got soem good news to share.

Mini -- Yeah, you did it, glad you are feeling well. Remember walk, walk and walk some more (I know you have heard it from everybody just had to add my 2 cents). Keep us updated.

Nicole -- Welcome, and cngrats on making the big decision to change your life.

Adork -- Glad you are feeling better, I would push the Dr to do that other test now, why wait til you are in pain again.

Mal & Dee -- When you go to get your tat's can I tag along? I want one a tramp stamp, but am too chicken so I will probably start by getting a little one on my foot 2 hearts linked together with my parents intials in each heart.

Munchkin -- Keep up the work girl and you will be back in The Limited before you know it. On a side note, we call my oldest daughter munchkin. she is a mini of my hubby and has been that way since she was born so the name just fit and now that she is 6ft it makes us all laugh.

Hope everyone has a great 4th of July!!!!:thumbup:

[bahotmomma 0]

Nicole -- Sorry I was so rude and forgot to welcome you. I do hope that you will forgive me. Best of luck on your life changing journey.

[bahotmomma 0]

Okay I am officially losing it, I need to go have a drink. I realized I did say hi to Nicole in the post before my last post. So I am off to start drinking since it now looks like already have had a few....

[Mal 0]

Mini~I hope your shoulder pain isin't too bad. How about your throat? Did you get bad throat pain this time? Do you see Dr. K before you leave town?

Bahot~Your idea with the two hearts is so touching, of course you can come with us to get tats. Don't be scared! My first one didn't hurt at all, the second just a little. I hear there is a good tat place in Parker. I can't remember the name of the place but it starts wiht a B and it is close to the surgical center.

Lap~How did the appt go? Did you give em hell?

Life~How's Tom? did you get a fill? I get mine on the 25th and I can't wait. I have needed one for months! How are you doing on your roller blading?

Adork~I can't believe they want to wait! Why in the world with today's technology would the docs want you to go through more pain???

[Lap_dancer 8]

Hey Friends!

I haven't had a chance to read through today's postings so pardon me if I'm not acknowledging a success or other event.

I just got back from the plastic surgeon. What I was anticipating was on the negative end but it turned out to be a positive experience. I'm sooo thrilled. I am impressed with this doctor and the visit was so productive.

Much time was spent on discussing the band, diet, my body, procedures, fat deposits and what happens to the body. I felt like the education element that I see in a doctor was present in this one.

What I learn: Since my last fill I have lost 2 lbs. a week. Spot on for good restriction. Now I know I gained and lost more than that but over all the average of the sum total was 2 lbs. Yay.

The focus for now will be my stomach. I did not realize the various concerns with the type of skin removal that we undergo when we have large stomachs and the pennicula that hangs down. My surgeries will occur in stages. The first stage will be a partial Tummy Tuck, no navel involved. I'm going to lose 50 lbs before I have this done. I will probably time this surgery for Christmas. This will give me time to fly back out to Dr. K for another fill in the fall and perhaps lose more than the set goal of 50. My surgeries to get me back to a normal body will come in phases.

I was STUNNED at what can be done with Lipo suction. WOW.

So that is my plastic surgery update.

...........................................................................

There is a new section to our website here called Lapband Talk Magazine. You all know me enough to read this an recognize the who of it but I submitted it confidentially for the broader audience of this website fearing my family might jump online here and snoop and recognize it as me. Frankly I don't care now. (flying the big digit flag)

Here it is along with the link:

http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f201/if-you-had-no-limitations-your-life-59269/

If you had no limitations in your life

If you had no limitations in your life, what would you do differently? Let me qualify that. Suppose you suddenly dropped any extra weight that prohibited you from pursuing a fuller life and you had no physical limitations, what would you do differently? Would you travel more? Explore hobbies or venture off on a new career? For years, I knew my answers; they played out in a series of vignettes in my mind. I would leave the balmy breezes of my home in Florida for the snow-dusted cityscape of the north. I would take my daughter Christmas shopping in New York City and afterwards for a Handsome Cab Ride (horse and buggy) to see the holiday lights throughout the city. That was my dream for her 16th birthday she is now 24. I would fly to Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia with my son and walk the rolling hills that overlook the ocean. That was something we planned the summer after his 4th grade year he is in college now. I would join my husband on his annual winter adventure of snow skiing. We have been married 25 years. He still skis but I have never gone with him. All of these activities require strength in my legs and back, endurance to remain mobile and there would be no guarantee of a place to sit my 389-pound frame.

Being severely morbidly obese, I knew the reality of feeling breathless by simply walking from my car to the aisles just inside the grocery store. I would soon be leaning on the cart handle to alleviate the strain on my limbs. Once, I tested my limits and pushed further along the concourse of our local mall until I was half clutching myself back to the parking lot and collapsing into the driver's seat. With the majority of my weight over my abdomen, years of accumulated fat forced the abundant mass downward, hanging from my body so that when I walked, it swung like a pendulum. To sustain myself on my own feet for any length of time under such physical stress was painful and short term. Travel? I did not feel it was possible. I knew my dreams remained just that. Dreams. So how did I get this fat?

“You’re SO fat you brought a spoon to the Super Bowl”

In high school, I was a trim 130 and a size nine. I was one of those persons who made fun of fat people. I judged them as weak with no self-control (those feelings would change). Eating disorders were a part of the fabric of my family. My grandmother would binge and purge and I recognized the foul odor in the bathroom at home after my mother came out as being the same thing. The excuse passed on to the next generation, “I’m feeling a little sick.” after a large meal. My older sister would be next only she was supplementing her diet with alcohol and cigarettes. The exposure to seeing wet debris left on too many toilet seats made me unable to get to that point when the weight started creeping up on me.

“Girl, you sure ain’t missed a meal!”

After the birth of my daughter, I had gained an additional 40 pounds and by the time my son was born, it was 80 pounds. My appearance was less of a concern as I busied myself with two little ones and began college. By the time I was working full-time, I found myself avoiding people from my past feeling too ashamed of my appearance and what others would think of me. I found that out at one of the few family gatherings I managed to attend when someone associated with my southern family shouted from across the yard, “Girl, you sure ain’t missed a meal!”. On April 17, 1990 my father died. After the death of my Dad, there was so much anguish in me emotionally that it only fueled the self-depreciation I felt for myself. I had little pride no matter how esteemed my accomplishments and these thoughts were only reinforced by events that surrounded me. I deserved this and other ridicule because my family would have otherwise defended me. Right?

There is fat, there is obese, there is morbidly obese, there is severely morbidly obese then there is cutting the doorway to get you out of the building. Let me tell you the difference, nothing. Any amount of weight that impedes your life function is physically impairing and those labels mean nothing when there is physical impairment. I developed rashes in the folds of my skin and only the real high-end soaps prevented an outbreak. Where I use to get catcalls of appreciation for my appearance I was only hearing ‘you have such a pretty face’ followed by silence and a glance downward at my frame. If this was supposed to make me feel better, it did not. I once got a note in my mailbox at work with an ad for a diet supplement and a coupon. I received a phone call from someone I knew years before who I passed in glancing at the store a few weeks earlier. They were now in a multi-level marketing business and gushed endlessly about how, like a pilgrimage to Lourdes, one of their products could cure me of my obesity. I tried things on my own, I joined weight loss clubs, bought pills, liquids, and books, started walking, joined a gym, quit the gym, joined again, and started every Monday with the words, “I start my diet today”.

Pennicula like peninsula only human.

There came a point in my life where shame lost its voice and ‘Big Mama Bravado’ came forward. It was just me and the scale, me tending to the blisters under my pennicula, the access skin that hangs down from your stomach, where I had gotten a toilet seat chemical burn from sitting on the toilet with my stomach hanging over the rim. It was me clutching the walls first thing in the morning until I got my footing, me walking on the sides of my feet because my arches were cracking and ME looking at ME in the mirror before and after I showered. I had long since had a rule with my husband of ‘no nudity with the lights on’ but there I would stand, unclothed, with the only person I could truly be open with - myself. I started therapy for compulsive overeating and was encouraged to journal my feelings. The more I wrote, the more I felt. The more I felt, the deeper the pain, the deeper the pain I allowed myself to feel the stronger I got. It was in the middle of a one-year post follow-up for Type II Diabetes when my physician leveled with me. My weight was impacting my health and it was only a matter of time before a stroke or heart attack. He was being honest with me and I could not argue with him, I needed help or the conclusion was apparent. It was during that visit he told me about a new gastric procedure and encouraged me to explore it. I left his office, went directly across the street to the hospital to the bariatric department, and met the nurse overseeing the program for gastric surgery.

I believe that all things happen for a reason. There are no such things as mistakes and that, like Edith Wharton said, “In spite of illness, in spite even of the archenemy sorrow, on can remain alive long past the usual date of disintegration if one is unafraid of change, insatiable in intellectual curiosity, interested in big things, and happy in small ways.” Despite all of the debilitating consequences of my obesity, I remained determined. I would find a way out. After months of pre-surgical testing (sleep apnea-positive, chemically induced heart stress test, psychological evaluation) my health insurance denied my request. There was an exclusion in my insurance plan that would not cover bariatric surgery:

“Weight Control Services including any service to lose, gain or maintain weight regardless of the reason for the service or whether the service is part of a treatment plan for a Condition. This exclusion includes, but is not limited to weight control/loss programs; appetite suppressants and other medications; dietary regimens; food or food supplements; exercise programs; exercise or other equipment; gastric or stomach bypass or stapling, intestinal bypass, gastric balloons, jaw wiring, jejunal bypass, gastric shunts, and procedures designed to restrict the Covered Person's ability to assimilate food.”

This exclusion did not simply apply to me but also to persons who are anorexic, the opposite of my problem. The Big Mama Bravado in me drafted a letter of appeals for my denial, DENIED, a second letter, nude photos included, still denied, and an appeal to the State Office of Insurance Regulation. I could not reason in my mind how an insurance company could direct the coverage over the recommendation of several physicians and their patient but it was, in fact, true. They could and did.

Big Mama was undaunted and I went shopping for my surgery. Let me tell you how empowering this is. You call the shots. You have the cash, you can go wherever you can afford. I had never experienced that but it was truly a powerful feeling of knowing I finally had a voice in WHO and WHAT and WHERE. I was looking for price and quality and I found it in Aurora, Colorado. Another part of my thinking was the question of; where would I like to go for frequent vacations? Going from Florida to the beautiful Rocky Mountains was a no-brainer. The Lap Band Rockies and Dr. Kirshenbaum was an affordable cost saver intended to keep U.S. patients stateside where medical care is under stricter guidelines. I researched my doctor and discovered he had performed thousands of laparoscopic surgeries. This quelled any fears I had about complications, as I knew I would be flying back to Florida post my surgery. The procedure is done on an outpatient basis. Paying for the surgery myself, (why not? We make car payments without even flinching) I had my surgery date, April 17, 2007; the anniversary of my father’s passing. I knew it was a sign.

April 17, 2008

It is one year since my surgery. I am off my Diabetes medication and my numbers remain good. I can walk from my car to the store and shop, checkout and drive home without getting winded. I still have a long journey ahead but I am so many (painless steps) closer to seeing my goals. There have been four amazing trips to Denver and friendships of other ‘banditos’. I am two sizes smaller and one shoe size smaller and more than anything I have hope. Hope for journeys to faraway shores, to carriage rides and city lights and the feel of snow blowing like sand across the crest of a mountain. I dream of possibilities and for the first time in too long, I believe they will become a reality.

__________________

[minidriver 0]

Hello! up and about once again. I"ve been taking walks up and down the hallway of the hotel but still have wicked gas pains. Did anyone else have gas under their ribs? Mine hurt! And my upper abdomen is really swollen. BUT, my throat doesn't hurt at all. So that was good. Did anyone else have a hernia repair during their surgery?

Patty, that was lovely. Thanks for sharing.

Munchkin, good to hear from you again! You naughty nurse.

Anita - did you get your drink? Have one for me while you're at it.

Tatoos - I have one. In my grad program it was a tradition to get one after your defense to remind yourself to be a real person, not a Dr. snob. I have a green vine that starts sort of to the side of one of the girls then down along my side. I can see it in the mirror, but no one else can see it unless I show it to them. I love it. It's my goofy little secret. Granny with a tatoo! Whoo hoo!!

[Bratty_Nicole 0]

Okay I am officially losing it, I need to go have a drink. I realized I did say hi to Nicole in the post before my last post. So I am off to start drinking since it now looks like already have had a few....

Thanks for the welcomes Anita, you can't get much better than TWO welcome messages! I feel loved!

Thank you everyone else for the warm welcome, it definitely feels like this is a very supportive place and I have nothing but love for you caring ladies!!

deboregon~ I applied for my loan last night thru surgeryloans.com and got approved last night. They gave me a pretty good interest rate, so I was happy about that too. I am trying to get my ducks in a row as well so everything can run as smoothly and quickly as possible! When did you have your consultation with Dr. K? What tests if any did you get done?

I’ll talk more later, hope everyone had a good day! :thumbup:

~Nicole

[Lap_dancer 8]

HELLO BRATTY NICOLE!!! LOVE LOVE LOVE your Jack and Sally avatar! (big smiles and thumbs up) ...this is Halloween..

Originally Posted by minidriver

Woohoo!!! Banding has occurred. I am back in my hotel room. Things went well - a few small problems (hernia, etc) but he got me all fixed up! Not feeling much pain right now, just a little gas. Gonna lounge around and watch the tube. I'll probably not post more tonight, but definitely tomorrow.

MINI BABY..GASX chicka GASX. Send someone to Walgreens to pick some up. Weak tea, broth and liquid Tylenol Extra Strength. That was my cocktail for a week or so. Congrats friend. Welcome to the band.

*we need "I'm with the band" t-shirts. There was Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show how about "Dr. K and the Medicine Show". Think I will change my signature to that. Tee hee.

[Lap_dancer 8]

Mini~I hope your shoulder pain isin't too bad. How about your throat? Did you get bad throat pain this time? Do you see Dr. K before you leave town?

Bahot~Your idea with the two hearts is so touching, of course you can come with us to get tats. Don't be scared! My first one didn't hurt at all, the second just a little. I hear there is a good tat place in Parker. I can't remember the name of the place but it starts wiht a B and it is close to the surgical center.

Lap~How did the appt go? Did you give em hell?

Life~How's Tom? did you get a fill? I get mine on the 25th and I can't wait. I have needed one for months! How are you doing on your roller blading?

Adork~I can't believe they want to wait! Why in the world with today's technology would the docs want you to go through more pain???

Hey Mal: I did NOT have to give him hell! Can you believe it? Dang, and I was all amped up for it. Sheeez. Will it be that when I finally get thin there will be no more war in my world? I cannot imagine and then I'll end up all mellow. ACK:whatchutalkingabout Whatever will I do???? B-O-R-I-N-G :thumbup: (grins) and get this...the girls in the office were ready to call for approval!!!! I'm like no-no we're waiting til I lose 50 more.