Hi there,

I am considering Dr. Kirshenbaum in Aurora, CO (www.lapbandrockies.com) I know that there are a few of you in LBT that went to him. I am interested in knowing your thoughts on him and if you have had any complications. I am just a little leary since the price is so low, there is little on the internet about him, and I will be traveling from WI to have this done. Any information you could provide would be much apppreciated...

Thanks!

Sheila:)

I'm having surgery this Friday (16th) with Dr. K. I can't wait, but I'm super nervous. It has been wonderful reading about all of your successes! Can't wait to join you with successes of my my own.

Dana

I'm having surgery this Friday (16th) with Dr. K. I can't wait, but I'm super nervous. It has been wonderful reading about all of your successes! Can't wait to join you with successes of my my own.

Dana

Congratulations! Dr K is wonderful! You shouldn't be nervous! It will go so smoothly! The surgical team there is great! Good luck!!

hello everyone.....its been forever since i have been here.....hope everyone is doing well. I have pretty much stayed the same on my weight loss....keep gaining and losing the same 5 pounds.....

Thanks for the reassurance Marie. My sister had surgery with Dr. K last year and has only wonderful things to share. Now if I can only lose 100+ like her!

How about Red Robin night on

Tuesday, July 13th at 7?

Deb will be in town from Florida for an unfill and I know she wants to see everybody. Does that date work for everybody?

I'd love to join you guys.

Nora,

Are you guys still going to RR tonight?? Please let me know if you are so I can make it up there

j

Hey everyone! Hope you're having a wonderful summer. Mine ends in about two weeks when school starts.

Not a lot going on for me this summer. I am not losing at all, but am hoping to schedule a fill the first week of august. Still eating lots of protein, and making sure I get enough water. I just need help with the portions I guess. I am getting back to my exercising and am doing pretty good at that. No word from Dr. K's office about whether or not I will get reimbursed for the cost of the port. They did tell me that trying to sue the company is a "pipe dream". Oh well. Hopefully I will get the $600 or so back for my port.

I got a call from the principal of the school I work at and she said that the new principal would be "going in a different direction" for music in the next school year. I was disappointed, but imagine my surprise when I logged on to the district website to find that my position had been posted as a vacancy!!! I was very upset, as I had a very good recommendation letter from my principal and a teacher at that school, and have been there 2 years! I went straight down to the district office and talked with HR. They had no clue what was going on, but I reapplied and applied for another music teacher position in the district. I am still pretty upset about it. My husband has not been able to find a job, and now I am out of one too! At least we have a place to live. We just applied for medicaid which will hopefully help cover any Dr visits that my DH needs for his knees. He did find one Dr that accepts medicaid for knee replacement surgery so we are really hoping that he will be able to get it.

Sorry to vent all my issues today, it all just seemed to come pouring out.

Marie, if you can't vent here, you can't vent anywhere. Sorry about the job situation. I hope things change for the better for both you and the hubby. If you come into town for a fill, let us know so maybe we can get together. I go back to work on Aug. 2, but I work school hours, so I have a lot of time on my hands.

Marie, if you can't vent here, you can't vent anywhere. Sorry about the job situation. I hope things change for the better for both you and the hubby. If you come into town for a fill, let us know so maybe we can get together. I go back to work on Aug. 2, but I work school hours, so I have a lot of time on my hands.

Thanks! Well, it is looking like I will get a fill on the 2nd or 3rd. It kind of depends. It will be a layover thing though, so it will be a short trip. I will be on my way back to Utah after being in Illinois helping my Mom move. Hopefully the heat and humidity will help me lose a few pounds :bolt: I am leaving first thing in the morning so I'd better log off. Goodnight all!

Hi Everyone -

I am going to jump in here and post since I have been reading this for two days straight - talk about a long post!

Anyway, I was all set to go with Dr Johnell in Greeley, but he is $12,700. I have 9K that I took out of my 401k and thought I could get a loan for the rest - but am getting denied. SO, I looked some more at Dr k. Thinking it over, having ANOTHER monthly bill on top of the $200 for a fill is not a pretty thought either.

A few questions -

Does anyone know much about Dr K's complication rates? Dr Jonell has done 1100 Lap Bands with ZERO mortalities, only 3 removed due to complications, and 2 removed at the insistence of the bandee - just couldn't hack the change in eating.

Is Dr K's clinic a Bariatric Center of Excellence?

I really can't find much about him as far as his track record, number of Lap Bands placed, etc.

Dr Johnell has an 80% success rate (meaning 80% of people have lost 50-75% of access weight and kept it off for 8 years). 15% of his patients have not been successful and 40% have reached goal. These numbers are all part of the reason I really wanted to go with him, but I just can't come up with the extra dough :w00t:

I guess I am looking for some assurance that Dr K's patience are just as likely to be successful - and as unlikely to have complications.

Also, I live in Loveland, so driving to the Denver area for fills will be an issue with work - does he have late in the day appointments, Sat appointments or appointments in other locations?

I know I can call his office and find all this out, but I have been stressing all weekend and am looking for some peace of mind :rolleyes2:

Thanks in advance for any answers!

Amy

Hi Everyone -

I am going to jump in here and post since I have been reading this for two days straight - talk about a long post!

Anyway, I was all set to go with Dr Johnell in Greeley, but he is $12,700. I have 9K that I took out of my 401k and thought I could get a loan for the rest - but am getting denied. SO, I looked some more at Dr k. Thinking it over, having ANOTHER monthly bill on top of the $200 for a fill is not a pretty thought either.

A few questions -

Does anyone know much about Dr K's complication rates? Dr Jonell has done 1100 Lap Bands with ZERO mortalities, only 3 removed due to complications, and 2 removed at the insistence of the bandee - just couldn't hack the change in eating.

Is Dr K's clinic a Bariatric Center of Excellence?

I really can't find much about him as far as his track record, number of Lap Bands placed, etc.

Dr Johnell has an 80% success rate (meaning 80% of people have lost 50-75% of access weight and kept it off for 8 years). 15% of his patients have not been successful and 40% have reached goal. These numbers are all part of the reason I really wanted to go with him, but I just can't come up with the extra dough

I guess I am looking for some assurance that Dr K's patience are just as likely to be successful - and as unlikely to have complications.

Also, I live in Loveland, so driving to the Denver area for fills will be an issue with work - does he have late in the day appointments, Sat appointments or appointments in other locations?

I know I can call his office and find all this out, but I have been stressing all weekend and am looking for some peace of mind :wub:

Thanks in advance for any answers!

Amy

I know Dr. K's website could use some updating with all the stats. But I took a picture on my phone of the stats on the wall in his office. Hopefully this helps!

As of June he had done 720 Lapbands. The sign also says that there are 62 patients that have lost over 100 lbs. As of the 10th of June Dr. K's patients have lost over 62, 789lbs.

That comes out to be an average of abt 87 lbs per patient!

Those are the only stats I have. I do know that complications with him are rare, as he spends extra time and effort making sure that he prevents everything he can. I know it has been a blessing for me. It may be a wise thing to make an appointment with his office so you can look into his stats if you are worried about it. Also there is a financing place that works with his office, and since you have so much ready to go it might be a good idea to use that to help get a small loan. Idk how that would work but it is worth a try. He is pretty flexible with appointments during the day but idk about nights or weekends. Another thing to discuss with his office.I fly in from Salt Lake City to get my fills as the price for a plane ticket to Denver and a fill in SL is about the same. Good luck in your decision!!! Let us know if you have any more questions!

You are in good hands with Dr. K!! He almost sounds too good to be true, but he's not. I was banded 6/28 and no problems at all. He's done 720 bands, but he's done thousands of other procedures. I encourage you to meet with him - you will feel very comfortable.

Thanks! Well, it is looking like I will get a fill on the 2nd or 3rd. It kind of depends. It will be a layover thing though, so it will be a short trip. I will be on my way back to Utah after being in Illinois helping my Mom move. Hopefully the heat and humidity will help me lose a few pounds :wub: I am leaving first thing in the morning so I'd better log off. Goodnight all!

are you still going to be getting a fill on the 2nd or 3rd?

are you still going to be getting a fill on the 2nd or 3rd?

I am coming in on the 3rd. Going to be a quick stop though. I will be on my way back from Illinois. I have been helping my Mom move. So on the way back we will stop for my fill and then keep driving to SL.