I had my first consultation with Dr. Speigel yesturday and liked him. I was just wondering if anyone else has used him and how they feel about him.

Thank you for you input

Hey Candace, I am using Dr. Spiegel. I am to be banded on Sept.3. I like him just fine. When I went for my consultation, the nurses were real nice, and three have been banded by him. When I talked with him, I wish I would have asked more questions, he was ready to answer anything. I just couldn't think of many, plus I already had learned alot from these boards. The problems I have encountered is getting them to return phone calls and they don't seem very organized yet. It is like they don't give enough information prior to surgery. I went to the hospital on my own to find out how much money I would have to pay prior to surgery. They were not going to send me until the day before surgery(everyone is not rich!).I am very thankful to the boards (mostly this one). I have learned alot more from being here than from the dr's office. I am still having the surgery, and I do like the doc, I just wish they were more informative and organized.

Ya, I could maybe see that with the office staff. I really liked him and when I went I had a list of questions and he answered everyone and more. When I went there happened to be a girl that had just had the surgery, so we talked a little before. She was very informative and it was nice to talk to someone face to face that had just gone through it. Do you know if they offer a support group?

Thanks for your help.

Candace

Hey both of ya'll!!! I was banded by Dr. Speigel! Kind of weird that I know both of ya'll!! Desiree, call me and let me know what the hospital said. Candace, you keep me posted!! By the way it has been a week and 1 day and I feel really good; the port site is still a little sore; but ALOT better. He told me I could start having the mushy food; so I had 2 scrambled eggs and could not have taken another bite. I guess the "full" feeling is in the chest instead of the way it used to feel. I decided to go back to the liquid stage for one more week; just to make sure that everything heals fine. Kinda made me nervous after reading about the healing and possible slippage. I am gonna postpone my fill due to our vacation; so I will not be getting in the normal 4 weeks after surgery. I am gonna wait 2 more weeks. Any way I guess so far so good! Talk to ya'll later!

Hey Kelly!! Glad to hear you are feeling good. I will let you know what my insurance company says. It is going to drive me crazy waiting. Does Dr. Spiegel have a support group? Did you have to have a pchological evaluation? My Stepmom's niece was banded in April by a doctor in Baton Rouge and they have a support group. She is doing so great has lost 54lbs as of last night. I did not know she had the surgery until I talked to my dad yesturday and told him that I was thinking about doing this. She paid $25,000 out of pocket because her insurance would not cover it. She said it was totally worth it. She answered alot of my questions and put me a little more at ease with my decision.

I just hope my insurance will cover it!!! Good luck with everything and I will keep you posted.

Candace

There was a flyer in the examination room that talked about a support group that cost $25.00 a session. On another board I read that there use to be one in Orange (free). The lady is going to let me know if they still have it and where it is. When I find out I will let you know.

Thanks Desirree!!! I think it would be helpful to journey with people that are going through the same things. My Stepmom's niece is in Baton Rouge and she loves her support group and they really rally for one another. If someone is feeling discouraged they pick them up and keep them positive. She told me that it has really made a difference for her. When she first had the surgery it was in April and her best friend was getting married in Georgia, and she went and spent the summer helping her prepare. For two months she had no one really to talk to about her exprience and how she was feeling(kind of hard to share this with a girl who has never struggled with weight). She said when she got back home and started going to the meetings, it made a hugh difference.

If they don't have one in our area, I think we should start one. I personally met Kelly in the office on my first visit and she was great. I know the two of you know one another aswell and I also know of two girls here in Lake Charles that have had the surgery. I am sure they would love to be a part of a support group. Let me know what you think. Thanks for being here. I am really glad Kelly told me about this forum. It is making this a little easier for me. Have a great weekend.

Thanks again,

Candace

That sounds wonderful! There is also a girl that works with me that had it done the day after I did. And one of the guys up here is having it done; not sure of the surgery date! I am sure that there is gonna be more people at work getting it done. Me and the other girl are the guinea pigs! Take care and will talk soon:-)

Hey Kelly, how are you feeling? I hope all is well. I definitely think we need to start a support group. Did you have to have a stress test? Pych. evaluation? I have been hearing alot about that but don't recall Dr. Spiegel saying anything about it. Just courious. Talk to you later.

Candace

Hey! I am feeling wonderful! No, I did not have to do anything other than blood work, chest X-ray and and EKG! I think that either depends on your insurance or your Doctor! ? Not real sure why they have to do that!

I think a support group would be great, I would definately join yall'. The only problem I have is I work nights Mon.-Thurs. Let me know what gets decided. I start the clear liquid pre-op diet tomorrow..YUK!

Hello ladies, I am writing from Dr Spiegel's office. A patient from NYC was refering a friend to us and stumbled onto this site and your comments. Yes we even have people fly in from NY in order to have Dr. Spiegel perform this procedure. I was concered to read that you didn't find the whole process before the surgery to be smooth. I am the office manager and am very interested in hearing your comments. Our office staff is usually very helpful and efficient (especially since 3 of them have had the surgery and know how anxious one is to get things rolling).

In terms of the support group, Dr. Spiegel has over 100 lapband patients just from the southeast Texas area and they do speak to each other as well as other lapband patients on the following sites: www.groupyahoo.com/group/setexbandsters and Houstonareabandsters@yahoo.... Dr. Spiegel's web site www.felixspiegelmd.com also has a question answer where the nurses answer all questions once or twice a week.

I even thought about offering our office once a month for support group meetings but was worried that it is too small for all the patients. I do think it is a great idea to have a support group in this area, let me know if there is anything i can do to help you.

By the way, the cash price for Lapband is much better here in southeast Texas, 17600 as opposed to the $25000 your friend paid.

Just wondering if anyone else out there that was banded by Dr Spiegel was called to do the commercial for him tomorrow?

I HAVE BEEN INVESTIGATING THE LAP BAND SURGERY AND DOCTORS FOR OVER A YEAR. WHILE DOING MY RESEARCH, I HAD A QUESTION THAT I JUST COULD NOT FIND THE ANSWER TO. SO I DECIDED TO CALL OUR LOCAL LAP BAND SURGEONS OFFICE. THE OFFICE OF DR. FELIX SPEIGEL. THE ONE THAT ADVERTISES ALL OVER THE RADIO AND TELEVISION! THE YOUNG LADY THAT ANSWERED THE TELEPHONE, STUMBLED OVER HER WORDS WHILE LAUGHING, AS IF SHE DIDN'T KNOW WHERE SHE WAS. SO I ASKED HER IS THIS DR. SPEIGEL'S OFFICE. SHE SAID, YES. SO I TOLD HER THAT I HAD A FEW QUESTIONS FOR HER IF SHE DIDN'T MIND. SHE SAID,"UM OKAY." SO THEN I SAID, "ARE YOU BUSY?" THE YOUNG LADY SAID,"YEAH, KINDA."

NEED LESS TO SAY, I HUNG UP THE PHONE IN TOTAL DISBELIEF! I SURE HOPE THAT DR. SPEIGEL DOES NOT ALLOW THIS SORT OF BEHAVIOR TO CONTINUE IN HIS OFFICE.

I UNDERSTAND THAT THESE GIRLS ANSWER A MILLION PHONE CALLS A DAY, BUT THAT IS WHAT THEY ARE THERE FOR.

Hello! I was banded by Dr Spiegel. If I were you; I would contact the office manager and let her know what happened. She will take care of things. If they don't know they can't fix it. But, whatever you do, don't give up. Call back and get the questions answered that you have. Don't let that stop you. Hope all goes well for you and if you have questions, ask.