Lap-Band in Upstate NY

[gilta 0]

Hi All,

Had the meeting with the new MD. I like him a lot! I am now scheduled for August 1st. I was hoping earlier, but with the other MD out for surgery now for 6 months, they are a bit behind. I am on their waiting list in case they can fit me in.

I am down 15 lbs so far and I hope to lose a few more before the surgery.

Gilta

[barbie1978 22]

Glita, who are you seeing now??

[gilta 0]

I was with Dr. Boss, but he is the one going out for surgery. I am now having Dr. Johnson perform the surgery. I can hardly wait!

Gilta

[hnladue 7]

Oh Gilta that sucks!! Thad Boss was one dr who was recommended to me, and I know someone who had gastric bypass done by him.

[gilta 0]

I was referred to Dr. Boss as well. The group is not saying very much about what is going on except that he will be out for 6 months.

Dr. Johnson did impress me with his knowledge and capability. I know he is the one that is the "least" experienced in the group, but he has been doing surgery (lap) for quite a while. He reviewed my chart prior to seeing me and saw I had previous abdominal surgery and discussed what would happen because of scar tissue.

When do you go for your information meeting?

[hnladue 7]

Gilta, I was banded Apr 8th by Dr. DiBeneditto at Roch Gen. After a very bad experience at Highland, I will never set foot in there again.

[gilta 0]

I am almost afraid to ask, but what happened? I have had a wonderful experience at Highland. I actually used to work there. I had my abdominal surgery there as well. The staff there was wonderful.

I have also worked at RGH and have had a positive experiecne there as well.

Gilta

[gilta 0]

Hi All,

I just received my approval letter from insurance, yeah!

I was wondering anyone on this thread, when did you have your band placed, how much have you lost so far and how much more did you want to lose.

Hope all is well!

Gilta

[barbie1978 22]

I'm not banded...i'm in the middle of all of my testing now...Psych in 2 weeks, bloodwork as soon as I can get over to the office, and my sleep study just got moved up so by my next appointment with Dr. D I'll have EVERYTHING except the Upper GI done!! :biggrin:

I was also told last night by one of the girls in my Beyond Diets meeting that his office told her that we only had to go to BD 20 times before they could get approval...that would make me able to send my info to Preferred Care at the end of AUGUST!!!!! I'm beyond excited right now!

[gilta 0]

That's great Barbie! I am only about 49 days away from my surgery. It is easier for me to see days instead of weeks!

Gilta

[barbie1978 22]

49 days...that's awesome! Are you checking off each day? I totally would be!

[gilta 0]

You bet! I am now down to 46 days!

[barbie1978 22]

do you have to do the liquid diet for 5 days before surgery?

[gilta 0]

No I don't have to do that. They told me, yes I had to laugh when they said this, that I am not too heavy so I was ok with not doing the liquid! They did recommend I cut my calories 5 days prior and do not eat anything fried or heavy within 3 days of the surgery as they have had patients who comment that the it is more uncomfortable.

Ok - 43 days!

[tjveggie 0]

Hi Barbie, Gilta, HN & all -

Hope everyone is doing well! Sounds like Barbie & Gilta are well on their way to getting the surgery done! That's great! HN- hope you are doing well, we had our surgery like a week apart. I'm getting close to the 3 months post-op mark.

I had my first fill on May 15th, Dr. only put in 1.5 cc's. Was told that was standard practice for their office. I went back to the office one week later b/c I was having a real difficult time keeping food down.

:biggrin: They gave me a choice, they could take out some Fluid, or I could give it another shot. I thought, "Heck, I didnt go through all of this just to have fluid taken out!" So I opted for the latter.

The key thing I have to remind myself of EVERYDAY is that, they didn't perform surgery on my brain, you know, the one that likes to revert to old eating habits.... large bites, eating too fast, not chewing enough. Yep, that crazy monster likes to creep up on you. Well, guess what? I paid for it...... numerous times, until I finally convinced myself that I HAVE to adhere to all the strict eating requirements. Let me tell you, PB'ing is not fun.

I am not saying of any of this to scare you, its more of an informative look and personal experience. Now, I eat SLOW, I CHEW everything to an applesauce consistency and I take tiny bird bites. Its surprising how fast you get filled up! I'm often filled up by 1/2 a veggie burger!

I'm down a total of 33 pounds. Over 20 of them since surgery! The band works, but you have to work with it to make it effective.

That's my unsolicited advice... lol!

Hope everyone is doing great!