Hello All,

This Maine group looks pretty dead, but I thought I'd see if anyone has any thoughts on the staff and doctors of the Bariatric Center of MaineGeneral in Augusta. I'd love to hear them! Thanks!

Hey Kerri-

Hope DH made it home safely last night! What does he ride? My family is a Goldwing family. We go to Glen Ellis Campground in NH Labor day weekend, and take the bikes with a trailer. I am ususally the chase car with the kids.

Wow! that river sounds so nice to be able to kayak or swim in! It is comforting when you can see what's in the water...loved the hand reaching out of the murkiness comment!

Ok, so liquids aren't going to be a full out commitment to me. I am doing just fine on yougurt, and liquified other foods. I think Dr McKee was concerned about my naseaua epesode. I attain that to the non-softened refried beans I had the night before (and, Ok, maybe it was that one Chef Boy R Dee Ravioli of my son's that I had, chewed to beyond a pulp...) I learned my lesson, and think I will be just fine on soft mushies instead of liquids.

I seem to have this fear of eating anything but one thing a a meal, like, only 1/4 cup cottage cheese for b-fast, 1/2c protein drink for lunch, etc... I think once I am able to eat real protein, that will change- I will just have to take smaller portions of each at a time.

The scale hasn't budged in 2 days... still holding, not gaining, but not losing- man, that DOES suck, and really ruins my day.:ohmy: I think I will resort to weighing 1-2 times a week, rather that 2-3 times a day-( I know really OCD habit there).

Hope you have a great week, and we'll chat with ya later!

Sarah

ok just wrote a friggin novel, and it disappeared! Well- long and short of it- hope hubby made it home safely last night!

I cant' do liquids anymore- graduating myself to soft mushies, all is ok for now. scale hasnt budged for 2 days, going to stop weighing myself 2-3x a day, but maybe 1-2 x a week.

Hope you have a great weekend!

Sarah

oh I guess it did post! :eek::ohmy::frown::smile::lol::cool2: later!

Hi Sarah, I was looking into Portland Docs, but have changed and really like the Augusta Docs. I noticed you too used Mckeen. Do you mind if I ask some questions?? I am just taking the first steps now. Thank you Kimberly

Hi Kimberly! Welcome! Yes, I have Dr Mckee, and he and his staff are wonderful! Please feel free to ask any questions you have! :ohmy::smile:

Did you have an extensive wait to get in to see him? From your visit with your PCP to get a referral to actual surgery date what was the actual time you waited? I was approved aprox 5 years ago in Portland but did not want a GB. I am hoping I can still get approval. I see you were recently banded...how are things going? Would you do it again? Do you know when the support group meet...i know i have to attend one and would like to get started. I hope i can be of help one day to someone else as you are being of great help to me. Kimberly

Kimberly,

Let's see, First you need to attend an informational seminar meeting held by Me General. You can find the calendar on their website. My info meeting was on 1/10/08, Thurs. On 1/11/08, Friday I made a same day appt with my pcp for a referral. The referral was rec'd by the bariatric center on Tuesday, 1/15, and they scheduled my first appt with Dr Mckee for that Friday, 1/25. Dr Mckee had just begun to see patients on Fridays that week, so that time may have been shorter that it may be now. After the consult, you will have to schedule 3 nutritionist appts, (mine were 1/29/08,3/10/08, and 4/15) aprox 4 weeks apart, make an appt for a psyc consult,(3/14/08) which was 6 weeks waiting for me, and attend 3 support groups held by the center. These are in addition to the info session meeting you will have already been to. After all that is complete, they will submit to insurance for you, if you have ins. The wait for approval for ins is usually 2-4 weeks. I was approved in 24 hrs- just depends on your insurance. After approval, you have 2 sessions with Nate, the best personal trainer in the world! He's awesome! Then you pay the program fee. SO to sum it all up, my info seminar was on 1/10/08, and I was banded 6/10/08. I am 12 days post op, and am doing fine. The worst part, is the liquid diet. Man oh man- at least Dr Mckee dosnt' require a pre op diet- you only need to be within 5 lbs of your initial consult weight.

Kerri, the other bandster on this thread is a huge support as well- she was banded 2 months before me- nice to see what I can look forward to!

Hope that helps,

Sarah

Yuppers, the dh made it home safely. He rides a Harley.. I was brought up around them, so it's only natural I'd find me a Harley man lol. He didn't get in until 9 last night, aching, soaking wet, and exhausted. But alive:) Which is great lol

As for your scale OCD issue.. I have the same freaking problem. I think most of us do. We want results, and we want them now!

So soft mushies, eh? Interesting concept. Wouldn't that be like thick liquids:lol:? Yah I'm freakin' hilarious..

Tonight I am feeling over worked, under payed, and over tired. Ok, and a little silly too. I haven't been sleeping good for the last 2 weeks, and I can't take it anymore. I tried a couple of the OTC sleep aids.. They sure do work great to put me out, but then I can't wake up in the morning, and I'm in a fog all day. Argg So goes life. I'm off to do a load of laundry, then hopefully to sleep:rolleyes:. Chat soon~

Hey Kerri- Glad DH made it home safely! It looks like we may have a trio on this thread- Kimberly has made an appearance, and seems to be in the same boat both of us were in! Craving info! I think we can both be a source of info for her! She's been looking into Dr McKee, but I think you can give her some info on Dr Trieu as Well! We're all it this together!

Soft mushies, to me are watered down mushies. Ok, I have a way of sugarcoating things,( ummmm, sugar:rolleyes:) but I can say that everything I have eaten,I could have sucked through a straw (if they were allowed!). I go back to work tomorrow, so I won't be home all day staring at food! I think that will make a huge difference! I work 12 hr shifts, so I will have Breakfast before I leave, lunch at lunchtime, and dinner when I get home! Plus sip on H2O and protien Water all day. Maybe that is my problem! Being stuck not working has made me resort to beign boored, resulting in eating because I am boored! I have worked 40-60 hrs a week since I was 16-18 yrs old, so I have never had the time to think about it! Man, I've never been so happy to return to work in my life! Plus, so everyone can see that my scrubs which fit snugly when I left, now fit me like a Tent! :crying: I might have trouble explaining that one! Only 3 people at work that I trust know what I did... :cool:Humm, lets see... They removed my stomach instead of fixing that hernia???:sad: um, I'm going to have to get good at making up excuses!!:ohmy:.

Anyway, I'll chat with ya later--- going to call DBF, then going to sleep, prob. whyle on the phone w/ him!

have been sleeping in for the past 2 weeks, it's going to suck to get out of bed in the morning.

~ sarah

Not sure if you can have it or not, but Melatonin has worked wonders for alot of people! It's natural too! DBF is yawning and practically sleeping 10 minutes after he takes it, and wakes up very refreshed! :sad:(or maybe he's refreshed because we "talk" all night.. tmi, lol.:ohmy::thumbup::thumbup::crying:)

I was soooo going to write back last night, but the dh was hanging over my shoulder, telling me to let him use the comp for once:) I went to use my laptop and the stupid thing wont connect to the internet through my wireless.. Again?! Ugh.

I'm sure it's the wireless box itself, as it's happened like 4 times prior. I have to call an 800- number, talk to someone who doesn't understand English, and try to explain the issue. Usually they say "ok, me understand. Your laptop have problem, you need contact laptop maker" I'm like.. er, no! You fixed this problem last time, you're going to fix it again. It's like a 15 minute process of typing in numbers, letters, and dashes on my desktop, and *wa-lah*! Internet. I get sooooo frustrated with this junk! lol

Holy guacamole... Complain, complain, complain lol sorry..

So back to work today?! I hope everything goes well for you, I know you're more than ready! How awesome that your scrubs are loose on you:) The one thing I always hated about them, is that they have NO stretch!

Do you think any coworkers are going to notice your strange eating habits for the next few weeks?? It must be hard to explain lol.. I was at home for all of mushies and liquids, which was great. I was so afraid someone would notice me eating bizarre stuff lol. When people notice that I've lost weight, they're like, "wow, how are doing it?" I always brace myself for that question.. I always say that I'm watching my portions, eating high protein, lower carb, and exercising.. I guess it's the truth, right? lol

Well I hope you had a lovely time chatting with DBF last night, and aren't too sleepy today:).. You rebel! lol

Oh yah... I'm going to pick up some Melatonin today. You're like the 4th person who suggested the stuff to me:) It must work!

Hope you have a great day back at work!

P.S. The scale moved this a.m.?! I have finally lost 1lb in five weeks of waiting?! lol. I am 203:) 3 flippin' lbs to go, I am so close I can taste it. Maybe I'll just drink water all day, and wake up in the morning and be in ONEDERLAND:) Ok, just kidding, I would never have the will power to drink just water all day, but it sounds good. I am going to do a little extra drinking, walking, and less eating though.. I can do this!

Happy Monday!

:)Kerri

wow, that's a longgggggg post. My bad. I guess I had a lot to say about nothing? lol

:grouphug:

I do have insurance...Cigna. I have BMI of 36 with other issues, so my approval may take a little longer. I keep reading about "Jury" and "Sliming", what are these? What are you using for your liquid diet? 6 months seems to be the average time. I don't think that is unreasonable. My PCP appt is this afternoon and I will know more later. I am surprised they do not submit to Insurance BEFORE you go thru all the appts to make sure you will be accepted. Once again thank you for taking the time to answer my questions. Kimberly

Sarah, What is the program fee? I assumed I would have to pay a co-pay, but is the program fee additional? Kimberly

Kimberly, the program fee at the Bariatric center for lap band is $500.00. You pay it after insurance approval.

How did your appt go?? I hope you have a Dr who in encouraging for you. Mine certainly wasn't- I had to go to his PA-C to get the referral.

Jury- havn't see that one- Unjury is a brand of protein drink mix- maybe that's what you've seen.

Sliming is, well, what happens in your mouth when something gets stuck in the stoma. Your body natrually increases the amount of saliva in your mouth as a way to try to "wash it down." It's kind of like - sorry to be gross here, but you asked- when you are naseaus, and feel like you are going to vomit, and you keep on getting tons of siliva in your mouth from the sides on your mouth.

Another phrase seen here alot is "pb ing" or productive burp. also the result of eating somethign you shouldnt have!

For my liquid diet, for the 1-2 weeks post op, I have been drinking water, Isopure from GNC- protein drink w/ 40g of protein per serving, chicken broth, sf/ff popsicles, anythign liquid that has no sugar. Absolutely no carbonated drinks are allowed with the band. The carbonation will build up in the pouch and dialate your esophogus-!

I hope I answered some of your questions! Good luck! Talk later-

Sarah