Dr. Gerald Kirshenbaum - Considering Dr. Kirshenbaum

[Woofay 0]

Good morning, All!

Lap Dancer~ Wow, what news. I'm with you, I'd be in absolute shock. We did miss you lots last night. What day did you have you fill done there?

JenniferNAz~ Congratulations!!!! Hope you're feeling well. Did you have it made out to be worse in your head than it really was? Welcome to Band Land!

Marcy~So glad we all got to meet. It's pretty special to me to meet everyone. Hope your flight home is smooth with no tummy jiggles!

8675309~Hurray! You have a date! How great! Like I told Jennifer, it's a freaky excited!

Sunnysea~thanks for the well wishes. If I hadn't read your story before, I surely would have panicked. Mostly I just thought, boy, this sucks and I hope I make it to the morning to call the Doc.

Mal~ it was so great to see you again last night. I'm already plowing through the book. I'm surprised it never came to my mind to order some books. I'm like the research dork and I never did think of it. I haven't hit too much I didn't know yet, but I'm sure I will. The development of it is pretty interesting too. You're recount of the night to Lap Dancer was right on! Makes me smile!

Dynamo~Wonderful charming conversation, as always! Thanks for a lovely time!

Drewslou! We missed you! Hope you're okay and nothing bad happened on the way over.

Well, ladies, I made it home just fine. The roads were mostly dry and the construction south of Castle Rock didn't go down to one lane, so I cruised right on home. Can't wait until next month! Well, gotta go down to my puter in the basement and compress the pics and get them posted!

Have a great day, All!

[Woofay 0]

Okay, guys! Let's see if I get these on there correctly!

The first one is Marcy and her Sister

The second one is all of us, Marcy, Maalani, Michelle and Anita (me)

The third one is Maalani and Michelle

The fourth one is Maalani and Anita (me)

[Mal 0]

8675309~YYYIIIPPEEEE!!! Good for you! It is all exciting and scary, but just know that you will be in good hands. Dr. K and his staff are incredible! and we are all here to hold your hand!!!

[marcyinak 0]

It was fun actually SEEING you all last night. It's alost surreal meeting cyber-friends. LOL!

Anita - Mary made a comment about you after we left that I thought you might like...she said "She's stunning!"

Trip went well, today I'm at my parents' house and kinda over did it...I'm a little nauseated now.

Hey, is it normal to feel like you've got a burp bubble stuck in your chest? It feels kind of high, like right where the breast bone is. I have been able to burp a few times, but not much. Any ideas?

[Mal 0]

Marcy~Hi! It was great meeting you and your sister, glasd to hear that you made it home safe...now, take it easy!!! Remember, you have internal stitches that need to heal too and from what I heard they take longer to heal??!!

Have you tried gas-x? The melting strips worked really well for me.

I have to agree with Mary, Woofay IS stunning!!

Happy healing!

[DynamoMini 1]

Yes, we met, gabbed, dined lightly and took pictures. So glad our friend Marcy from Nome could join us. You will always now be with us in spirit, even if not in body.

Of course, Drews where were you - you party pooper!

Thanks Woofay -Anita for putting the pics on the website. We look like a slimming group, if you compare the pics to last month. I appreciate being with wonderful women who "get" me. Malani your son is adorable and so well behaved! So are you! All those years of practice - just kidding. You have a million dollar smile, it is the greatest!

:sick I am burbling - I guess that is the only word for it. I was fine at lunch, even had some sushi. Tonight I had a bite of roasted turkey and chewed lots, but - OMG! Glad I was home. I settled two hours later for some yogurt and a banana. It was too painful to repeat. I have to only sip my Water, so I don't burble it up. I'm kinda like my own seltzer machine, if you get what I mean.:omg:

Best weekend to all of you, I am going to a purse party at a friends (already said I wasn't buying) tomorrow and a play on Sunday. Hugs,

Michelle

[mymacksy 0]

I guess I'm just really jaded from working in the medical profession. I went into nursing with some lofty ideals. After experiencing years of abuse in various jobs (and no, I'm not exaggerating....for example, being humiliated in front of patients and/or coworkers, being yelled at, talked down to, and being sexually harassed are some of the things I've had to deal with) and witnessing unbelievable cases of what I consider neglect or abuse of patients (yes, I advocated and I reported, of course with no result). My 3 yr old son now has a physical deformity caused by the ignorance of a nurse that worked with him as an infant; it will have to be fixed surgically within the next few years and I am heartbroken that I couldn't protect him from the staff's mistake. As a result, I have exceptionally high standards for not only the primary physician or surgeon, but also peripheral office and medical staff.

Funny thing is, I received a few private emails from people on the LapBand board who had similar experiences with Dr. K's office and had similar opinions. I don't know why they didn't post publicly....but that's why I did, so my experience would be out there. I was pretty angry about the wasted time because of the miscommunication re insurance; I mean, that's a pretty easy thing to cover in advance. Now I think it was just not meant to be, and I need to accept that not every medical practitioner is going to be right for every person.

I'm now working with Dr. Johnell's staff in Greeley, and they have met and exceeded every one of my expectations. It is a fantastically professional program, with a ton of support staff, tons of pre-op education, well educated office staff that have guided me inch by inch through the process (and I haven't even had my consultation yet!).

I'm quite aware that the Lap Band is a "tool". I'm not expecting fast weight loss (nor do I desire it, I want a healthy, sustainable, slow loss) and I would be thrilled to be rid of 50% of my extra weight. The fact is, gastric bypass has exactly the same results - an average of 50% extra weight lost. Anyway, I wouldn't touch gastric bypass with a 10 ft pole; it's not even an option for me at this point. Re my question to Dr. K, I guess I was wondering what makes the difference between the patient who loses 50% and the one who loses 80% or more. Is it a physiological difference? If motivation were the only issue, wouldn't most of us already be at our perfect weight? Aren't we all motivated by the desire to look better, feel better, be healthier? I just can't understand why a patient could NOT lose all the extra weight when you have a stoma opening the size of a dime (Lap Band) or if your stomach is the size of a golf ball (gastric bypass). Are people sabotaging their own efforts by eating tons of high calorie liquids, or too many frequent meals, or is the surgery simply ineffective on some folks? Is it simply that the same things that made them fat before surgery are still making them fat after surgery (emotional eating, etc)? Is it that 50% extra weight loss is "good enough" to most patients? Since I haven't had WLS yet, I can't really understand what it's like to use the Lap Band as a tool, and will never understand what eating after gastric bypass feels like. I was disappointed that Dr. K wasn't able to give me any insight - he seemed to know what I was asking but he skirted around the issue a bit.....like I said, maybe the answer isn't that simple, and maybe he really doesn't know. If any of you have any insight, I'd love to hear it.

Again, take my opinions with a grain of salt. Different people have different priorities and everyone comes into the process with their own emotional baggage :-)

[marcyinak 0]

mymacky - I respect ALL opinions (but usually prefer my own :-) I am sorry that you did not have a better experience with Dr. K and his staff. I can't say that I have any complaints. Everyone answered my questions, including him, and Marilyn even tracked down some copies of things for me because I had left them on my email at home and couldn't get them.

The important part of all of this is to choose a doctor with whom you are most comfortable with. Really, regardless of what everyone else says, it's really up to you and your own "gut feeling." I'm glad you've found a different doc that you are, so far, pleased with.

Also, I've worked with docs since I was 12 and with your experience you should know that the surgeons are not the talky-touchy-feely people that we wished they would be (although, I though Dr. K very personable). This "skirting around the issue" could just be that he might have felt that it's the primary care provider's responsibility to talk to you about all that and he's just there to implant the thing. I just like to throw a little perspective in. Also, I was the ONLY patient in his office both times I was there so I wasn't contending for his time, which might have made a difference.

About the weight loss and what to expect. I think that weight is both a psychological and phsiological issue. If I WANT to be fat I WILL be fat...there's ways to get around these weight loss surgeries. Same goes with others...sometimes weight loss can be frieghtening to folks who have never been thin. Now, physically, I like to feel full, I like to feel food in my mouth and going down my throat. THIS could be my downfall, but I'm hoping that with the Band that I will not be able to indulge as much anymore.

FYI: Dr. K informed me that his lease is up soon and he'll be moving into a new office in Parker. Apparently, newer, brighter, better....so maybe it will be a more friendly environment for others. Mind you, I thought his office was fine!

[marcyinak 0]

Today is my worst day...3 days post-op. I was good this morning, but now I'm so bloated that I look pregnant! I'm a little nauseated too, but I've been controlling that. I've taken some walks around the neighborhood and gone driving with my dad (they bought a corvette while I was in Denver so we took it for a spin..it takes some effort to get in and out of it!). I'm trying to stay active, but taking naps when I'm tired...which I am now so I'm off to sleep!

[Woofay 0]

Marcy! Hi, glad your home safe. That swelling will go on for a few weeks. When you wake up in the morning, it will be just fine. By the end of the day, "poof!" Big "4 month" belly! Mine quit doing that after about a month. Looser clothes in the evening really help with that. If I left on clothes that don't give as well (jeans), it was almost painful. Plus, I had times that I hadn't used my pain meds for almost 5 days, then out of no where, I had a very painful day and had to use the meds. It was strange, but I think most of us had that. So don't get discouraged by that. I would sit there and think, "crap, I've been fine for a week, why do I hurt like this?" I'd just suck it up and take a dose of the meds. (I hate pain meds) Maybe as we feel better (women seem to always have so much to do...with the house, kids, work, etc) we do more than we should because the work piles up for us, and the next day we pay for it.

You know what else, Marcy? Sometimes when I get a fill, my belly does the poofy thing for a few days. I think some of us are more sensative than others.

Thank you for the "Stunning" compliment. You all are too kind! {warm fuzzy feeling inside!}

Have a great day! Marcy~don't over-do it! (easier said than done, huh!)

[DynamoMini 1]

Marcy - I think, Anita - Woofay, gave great advice. Don't overdo it. Yes, I had swelling for a month and a half. I used ice a lot. although some people said a heating pad or other warm sources worked for them. GAS X is a friend you might want to acquaint yourself with. I can't imagine surgery and immediately flying for so many hours afterward. I feel honored to have met you and wish you a speedy recovery. You are so on top of the physical vs psychological head work. It is a journey. People that speed there are blessed. I seem to bumble around, altho' with the band, my bumbling isnt as self-destructive. Enjoy the midnight sun. Someday I want to travel to Nome for the festival, perhaps we'll meet again.

Mal - you are the bestus, cheeriest person! The skate park is just North and next to the Greenwood Village City Hall and police station (nice and safe for your son) on Quebec Street between Arapahoe Road and Orchard.

Woofay - you give the best advice! Hugs to you. Don't let those kids get you on the ground again, unless you have an air mattress!

Lap Dancer - Damn those kids! Young adults are invincible and sexy crazy. I'm sorry you missed out giving your daughter a wedding. She won't figure out about how substantial that loss was for you until she is a lot older. Strange thing about that. Maybe you could have a reception for her and her new husband? Relationships are really hard to mend if words are said. She made her choice and now she's a married woman. Shucks! My vote is to hug her and wish her well. Family ties are essential in this crazy world. You are a wonderful, loving mom, I'm sure you will make the right choices and don't eat over it. It's a done deal.

Hugs! Well wishes! and I hope you can make the next meeting of the LP Ladies.

Everyone - You know, there is something special about all of us. We all have an untapped beauty within.

Hugs and happy weekends,

Michelle

[Mal 0]

Hi gals,

I am soooo depressed, I had to put my dog to sleep this morning. He was the love of my life! He had a huge tumor in his stomach. I miss him soooooo

[Woofay 0]

Oh, Mal! I'm so sorry. Is that the bassett hound you showed pictures of the other night? How very sad. Had he been sick before or was this out of the blue? I really feel for your loss~ pets are truly part of the family. Let me know if you need anything. Are the kids taking it okay? I would say go get a big bowl of ice cream and suck it down to feel better (my personal first choice to feel better) but I guess we aren't supposed to do that any more. Hang in there, okay? We're thinking of you.

[Mal 0]

Thanks Woofay,

Yes, my bassett baby, he is the love of my life. I used to tell people that he has super healing powers becuse he would always make me feel better if I was sick or sad.

No it was out of the blue...his stomach was swollen for a couple days, after talking with a friend he said it could be an emergency, so I called my vet first thing this morning and they said to take him to the ER. They took xrays and he had a huge tumor that could burst at any time and that would put him in terrible pain until he would expire shortly after. We had to make a decision today. Chris seems okay, my older son is taking it very hard.

I am sooooo depressed but very grateful for being able to catch it before he was in terrible pain. He gave me 8 years of wonderful times and with that I feel he was truly a gift and I can't be greedy, it was his time. I have a huge hole in my heart.

I never was a stress eater, when I am stressed I CAN'T eat...I haven't eaten all day, I feel sick to my stomach.

Thanks again

[Woofay 0]

My heart is just breaking for you guys. Pets really are gifts. I still have a hole in my heart from putting down my yellow lab, and that was a little over two years ago. She was 12. They are so happy just to be with you. Again, I'm so sorry, Mal. (at least you aren't a stress eater!)