???? gratiot comm hosp mi for banding

knotsunuf · January 26, 2007

has anyone had a lap banding done at gratiot community hosp. in alma mi ? Dr. Cudjoi ( might have spelled his name wrong) Would like some input. Thanks

hotpink_bubbles · January 26, 2007

Hey hows it going. I havent had lap banding done by them yet, But I am going through the process right now. Infact, My first consult with Dr.Cudjoe is tomorrow. Very nervous. I already had my psych eval, and i must warn you if you havent done it yet. You have to answer about 549 questions i believe, true and false. It takes about 2 hours to do so, and they ask you some WEIRD stuff. Also i had to pay 61 dollars that day, and I have insurance that covers the Lap-Band so just to warn you. However, My dad's boss has been banded by Dr.Cudjoe, and ive asked her quite a lot of stuff. From what she's told me so far, he is an awesome doctor. Not to mention extremely extremely nice incase you hadnt met him yet. He is a little hard to understand since he isnt from the US, but he is over all very very nice and friendly. Straight forward, and completely honest, no matter if its something you dont want to hear. I recommend that you choose Dr.Cudjoe. Let me know how things go, and I will be sure to let you know how my first consult goes tomorrow. Good Luck.

~Hotpink~

knotsunuf · January 27, 2007

thanks for info. please keep me posted on your progress. I so badly want to do this but have so many fears about being put under. I am not afraid of the surgery or the pain only going to sleep. Crazy huh. I have just started this process actually in the informational phase. I am attending an informational meeting soon. I would really like to know about your experiences as you go on this journey. Keep in touch

hotpink_bubbles · January 27, 2007

Hey, no problem, I will keep you posted as much as I can. First of alli should tell you i have Blue Cross Blue Shield PPO of Michigan, and thats how im paying for my Lap-Band. I had my consult today with Dr. Cudjoe. It went extremely well. He is very very veeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrry Nice, and i HIGHLY recommend him. I have a tenative surgery date, which means that it is subject to change, but if all my tests come back ok, then that is my date. It is March 13th, 2007. I started this process in December, that is when i went to my seminar. Of course it took me from december until about 2 weeks ago, to finish the packet you get, which includes a letter of reference from my family doctor. Other then that, everything has went very very quickly. I have all my appointments scheduled so i am well on my way. Hopefully everything goes as planned. Also dont be afraid of going to sleep, everything will be fine. Im afraid of that as also, but once i talked to Dr.Cudjoe i feel much more comfortable that he wouldnt let anything happen to me. Anyways, next step is cardiac appointment on the 30th, then endoscopy on the 5th of Feb. Excited yet scared at the same time. Just keep doing your research (I researched weight loss surgery for over a year before deciding, this is what i gotta do) and keep reading and reading and reading here on LBT, and also head over to www.obesityhelp.com, the forum section for lap bands. That is also a very very good forum. Good luck to you and I will be sure to keep you posted!!!!

~Hotpink~

knotsunuf · January 27, 2007

Why the endoscopy ??? does everyone have to do this ? I have good inurance that won't be a concern. Cardiac wise that might be a problem as I do have history. Take cardiac meds. How much documentation did you have to show previous wt loss attempts? Did you ever check the Port Huron program. The endo should be a breeze. My daughter had one and didn't even remember the procedure. Have you been overweight a long time ? most of your life ? what other methods have you used to loose wt ? If I am being too nosey just let me know. I have done several diets and methods to lose wt. Twice in my life I lost great amts. Once after taking diet pills (amphteamines) which are not used anymore, lost lot wt never wanted to eat,but gained back after stopping the meds. Tried accupuncture and again lost lot of weight, due to life changes etc. weight back on and plus. tried Fastin, weight watchers, and now here I am looking for something else. I am going to give the scared heart diet a try to hopefully jump start me. At least take off the 12 # I have gained over last few months. Funny what we think, I was dx with non-hodgkins lymphoma over a year ago. Currently in remission no cancer. But I had to do chemo and thought the postive side would be yeah I wll be sick from chemo and not eat and lose wt. Pretty sick huh. I did well with the chemo did not get sick and am grateful. I have also found out I have fatty liver and this makes it difficult to lose wt. also hope this won't interfere with surgery if I get nerve up to follow through. Long post will shut-up. Good luck with your endo.

hotpink_bubbles · January 28, 2007

Hey, the endo is just so they can check and make sure you have no tumors or ulcers in your stomach or in your esophagus or anything like that. Yeah everyone has to do it. I had to show 12 months of continous doctor supervised diets which i had, that was required by my insurance, so yours might be different depending on your insurance. I didnt check any other program besides Dr.Cudjoe cause he came highly recommended by some of his patients. I have been overweight all of my life except when i was born i weight 5 pound 2 ounces, wouldnt believe it now by the way i look lol. And no, your deff not being too nosey. It is great to get all the information you can get, and i am extremely happy to help you in any way that i can. Anything else you want to know just ask and i will be happy to share what i can. I gots to go eat dinner now, but i will for sure keep you posted on how things are going. Nervous and extremely excited on my end lol. Well have a good night and good luck to ya!!!!

~Hotpink~

knotsunuf · January 29, 2007

Thanks. keep in touch

marshallmg · February 10, 2007

I had lapband surgery with Dr. Cudjoe on Feb. 7 and it went well. All of the staff at the hospital and at his office are very friendly. I have a follow-up with him next week. I had to have 6 months documentation from my family doctor about weight loss and also had to have the endo and psyc exam. I had a stress test too. The worst part of the endoscope was the gross stuff they spray in your throat to numb it.

I think a lot of the pre-testing has to do with your insurance company.

Good luck!

Mary

knotsunuf · February 15, 2007

how long did your surgery take ? did you spend the noc ? what did you eat/drink after surgery ? did you meet with anesthesia prior to surgery ? what about the pain ? did you have stress test due to history of heart problems ? I know it is a lot of questions. sorry. Good luck to you on your future weight loss. one more question - the documentation excately what to they need as I haven't doctored in a long while for wt loss. mostly tried dieting on my own. thanks in advance for any info.

marshallmg · February 15, 2007

I don't think my surgery took much longer than an hour. It took a little longer than normal because they discovered I had a hianal hernia and had to fix that too. I did spend the night at the hospital, I think they require it. All I had in the hospital was ice chips, then in the morning before I went home they brought in some Jello and apple juice. The pain wasn't too bad, just where my incision was from the hernia.

I had a stress test, but didn't have any history of heart problems. I think they just require it for the surgery. I had to have 6 months of documentation from my family doctor showing I've tried weight loss. This was a requirement my insurance company said I needed, not necessarily the doctor's office.

I'm now one week post-op and have lost 20 pounds with the pre and post op diets. I'm really glad I made the decision to have the surgery.

Good luck!

demmemoon · February 16, 2007

I don't think my surgery took much longer than an hour. It took a little longer than normal because they discovered I had a hianal hernia and had to fix that too. I did spend the night at the hospital, I think they require it. All I had in the hospital was ice chips, then in the morning before I went home they brought in some Jello and apple juice. The pain wasn't too bad, just where my incision was from the hernia.
I had a stress test, but didn't have any history of heart problems. I think they just require it for the surgery. I had to have 6 months of documentation from my family doctor showing I've tried weight loss. This was a requirement my insurance company said I needed, not necessarily the doctor's office.

I'm now one week post-op and have lost 20 pounds with the pre and post op diets. I'm really glad I made the decision to have the surgery.

Good luck!

Who is your insurance carrier? I'm hoping to skip the 6 mos diet clause.

Thanks!

deb