Hello KS Bandsters

[KCbigguy 0]

I was disappointed to see no posts here, so I decided to make one.

My name is John - I am not banded yet but am in the process of getting insurance approval. I have selected Dr. Hitchcock at the Bariatric Center of Kansas City (Shawnee Mission hospital.)

Any other KS area Bandsetrs posting?

John

[MEW 0]

Its been awhile since I have been on the board, and lots of things have changed!! Where did all the other posts go? Where did all the other people go? LOL

Welcome John!! There are quite a few people that has had surgery at SMMC with Dr. Hitchcock and Dr. Hoehn lurking around here somewhere. Congratulations on your weight loss surgery decision and good luck in your insurance approval...let us know how its going!!

Be sure to come to the support group meetings at SMMC!!

When: Thursday, January 24, 2008 6:00 to 7:30 p.m.

Location: Shawnee Mission Conference Room

Inside Human Resources Entrance

8901 West 74th Street

Shawnee Mission Medical Center, Shawnee Mission

Guest Speaker : Ms. Anna Fraley, Personal Trainer Ms. Fraley has her

own business and her Bachelor's Degree in Sports Medicine and Exercise Science with a Minor in Athletic Training from

the University of Evansville. Anna also has her American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) - Exercise Specialist and American Red Cross - CPR and First Aid Instructor Certifications.

Topic: Exercise - Let's Get Motivated After the Holidays!

[KCbigguy 0]

Mary,

Thanks for the heads up The website went through some changes less than a week ago, and I think some of the old posts may have been archived?

In any case, I figured there must be some SMMC folks here, the information session I went to had close to 50 people! :ohmy:

Who was your Dr.? Any tips for working with the folks at SM? Right now I am waiting and waiting But I am also working on losing weight prior to approval. I am down about 15 so far. I need to lose 60 or so prior to surgery.

I do plan on attending a support group meeting prior to surgery, so perhaps I will see you there

John

[Wheetsin 714]

I was banded by Dr. Hoehn at SMMC a few years ago. If you don't want honest opinions, don't read on. I know nothing about Hitchcock so I can't give opinions of him, but if they share the same office staff, some of this might be applicable.

I think Dr. Hoehn is fantastic. I have referred at least 15 people to him, and at least 6 of those 15 have had surgery with him or are working on the paperwork/insurance process. Including my own parents, so that should say something for how highly I think of his ability. I would have equally high/glowing feedback for Dr. Sabapathy, and for - can't remember her name, but the lady who does the information session with you where she details the surgery, shows you a band, etc. (at least that used to be a part of it). She has been an absolute jewel and is definitely one of the high points.

I think some of his office staff are fantastic. But I think the rest are miserable. At least 3 of the people I've referred almost went with other surgeons because of the "attitude and hatefulness" (their words) they experienced with some of the staff during the information seminar.

Perhaps the support groups have changed - I would hope this is the case since I last went, but the only thing I found them good for was the handful of people I met and could get to know outside of the formalized support group setting. Billie was excellent, but I've been told she's no longer there even though she is still listed as part of their staff on their website, so I don't know. There was another lady who ran one of them that I attended and she answered questions with inaccurate/wrong information (not what you'd expect from someone there representing a lap-band group), and several people found her treatment (considering "support group" environment) to be condescending and downright inappropriate. When I attended, parts of the support group had grown "cliquey" and the ladies I normally went with started to be singled out by the office staff and even regular support group participants - literally pointed at, whispered about, etc. in the middle of "support group" meetings. This continued into the office, unfortunately, where people would be called back thinking it was their turn, only to be taken aside and chastized for things they had said at support group, posted online (at the time they were monitoring posts), etc. This was kind of the breaking point for me. I would have expected a support group to be a sort of safe house, but I know at least 3 people (not sure how many of them still post here, but maybe they'll show up) who received inappropriate treatment in the medical office as a result of something they said in support group or online. That line, IMO, should never be crossed.

So overall I'd have to say it's a love/hate type thing.

I've met/worked with two of the surgeons there, and thought they were fantastic. I love how comprehensive the program is. I love Dr. Sabapathy's approach to the evals. The meeting with the nutritionist was...OK. Nice enough lady, but (at the time at least) not informed/aware of the difference between RNY and band -- e.g. she told me "your stomach will be reduced to the size of an egg" and "at least 6 months before you can eat red meat, your new smaller stomach has to adjust and build up to a lot of foods." When I started Dr. Hoehn did the fills, and then that transitioned to a PA. The PA did not do well with mine, but to be fair he may have come without experience, and I did catch him when he was new. If that's the case, one would expect it to be a much easier (and less painful!) experience by now. Some of the nurses were great to work with, and some are barely tolerable to the point that they make finding another facility to do your care a reasonable idea.

My surgery was at SMMC and I thought it was fantastic. Lots of little details that other hospitals I've been to overlook.

[KCbigguy 0]

Hi - Thanks for the feedback. it is disappointing to hear the support groups sound more like High School hopefully they have changed since you last went, but if not, there seems to be more than enough support tools and people to learn form here :wink2:

Like everyone, I went to several places before picking this one. My main reasons were the comprehensive nature of the program and the quality of the Dr.s It sound like you had good luck with both of those aspects in any case.

Thanks for the detail :wink2:

John

[MEW 0]

Hi John....I had Dr. Hoehn as my surgeon and he was wonderful, love the man for giving me my life back!!

Tim (the PA) has been doing my fills, and honestly, I have been very impressed with the miniml amount of pain and how quick he is during the fills. I'd recommend him to anyone!!

Becky, the receptionist is a wonderful person and always so cheerful and ready to help out anyway she can.

I'm not going to say that I havent had problems with others in the office, but the one I had the most problems with is no longer working there (NO!! It's wasnt Billie!!).

I think with the waiting and getting frustrated by the "I want it now" mentality that I had waiting for insurance/surgery approval is why I had issues with another staff member....but I'm finding that I was wrong about her and just like the rest of us, we all have some bad times in our lives and we tend to convey that to others we are dealing with...make sense?

Give the office staff a chance, then form your own opinions!

[KCbigguy 0]

I could not agree more. I look forward to going through the process and meeting new friends and supporters as I go

John

[SteveInKansas 0]

Hey KCbigguy,

I believe we spoke over in the "Men's Room" before. I live south of KC, I'm still scheduled for Feb. 5th so should be starting my diet tomorrow (Tue) but I started a week ago to see how I would cope. Trust me, it was hard for me! Sunday football without snacks! Caught myself going to the icebox EVERY commercial, just to stand there and stare. I swear I didnt cheat!

I'm a leader but this time I need to be a follower. Not sure of what to eat or when. I've got a book that shows EVERYTHING in it and how many carbs, fat etc. I write everything down that I eat. Been averaging 450 - 550 calories a day, like I said it's been hard for me.

Good luck on your Quest, Steve

[Lauren87 7]

Hi John!

I too am going through SMMC to get the lap-band! I too am waiting...but for a 6 month supervised diet and exercise program...go Coventry. I don't have the knowledge of the others who have posted but I'll share with you what I know. I was very apprehensive about Dr. Sabapathy to being with...I mostly took issue with him questioning my decision based on my age. However, after my third appointment that was resolved and now I couldn't be happier with him. Once we were on the same level, things went very smoothly.

I will agree with the others that I have been less than happy with some of the office staff. Records is one office that I avoid unless I must go through them...grrrr.

Congrats on the weight loss so far! 15 pounds is a giant step forward! Keep us posted!

Lauren

[KCbigguy 0]

Hey Lauren - How long did it take from when you recieved your "blue card" until you did your next step at SMMC? It's going on two weeks for me and I ma getting antsy Did you meet with Dr. Sabapathy before getting insurance approval? I am just wondering what to expect next?

Steve - 450- 500 cal a day? Wow, that sounds carry low, like it might be too low. Is this what your Dr. said to do? I can see how that would be a major pain. Ikes!

John

[Lauren87 7]

Hey Steve

Well, if you mean approval from my insurance when you say "blue card," I can't answer that question. I've not been approved yet...originally, Coventry just wanted to see a 3 month failed diet plan. However, they've made several ammendments, thus, I'm still waiting. I am on month 2/6 for my physician supervised diet. SMMC went ahead and gave me the green light to start my other testing, that's why I've already seen Dr. Sabapathy. Basically, after they had received all of my records (5+ years!) they let me make an appointment with Dr. S.

Yes, I did/have met with Dr. Sabapathy before insurance apporval--as you've already read. :wink2:

I don't know if that was much help, but hopefully you've gained something from this post! haha

If you're in doubt go ahead and call Shelly at the records office and "check the status of your file." Pay no attention to her message about getting back to you within 48 hrs...sometimes it takes 2 weeks...but, hey, it's worth a try!

Keep us posted! Let me know if you have any more questions!

[sstaab 0]

Good luck to you all. I was banded back in November at the surgical weight loss center and Dr. Nigro. I remember being where you all are now with the diets and such and just looking in the freezer LOL. I wll say this I am almost 50 pounds down and feel great. Best decision I could have made. Stick with the process and see it through if it is really what you want.

[TheGh0st 9]

Hey John. Wheetsin is spot on with her post unfortunately. I too would trust Hoehn with my life (and did) but I no longer go to them for my after care do to the same issues she was discussing.

I also agree whole heartedly with MEW. You need to form your own opinions. Just because there are those of us that had issues it doesn't mean you will. But its always good to go in with your eyes wide open.

[TheGh0st 9]

OK I apologize for this in advance but couldn't resist putting in a plug for a local KC area support group.

There is a Yahoo Group called KCBandsters that has members all across the area banded by a wide range of different doctors. We use to meet each month but stopped nearly a year ago as we thought the doctors offices had all started to have adequate support groups of their own. Just this month it was decided that there was still a desire for us all to meet wether in addition to our local docs groups or in lieu of as the case may be.

This is very short notice but the first new meeting will be tonight at 6:30pm at the Antioch Library on the North West Corner of Shawnee Mission Parkway and Antioch (Just East of I-35).

[2bthinagn 3]

Hi, I agree with most of what Wheetsin and Ghost say. I havent been to Hoehn ofc for a fill in quite awhile. I have off and on restriction. So not sure that I need a fill right now. I really liked Dr Hoehn the 3 times I think it was that I saw him. The surgery consult, surgery day and 1 fill. All the rest of the time I have seen Tim. I have had no problem with Tim. You need to trust the Dr, some of the other people you will probably have no contact with after surgery. I was singled out and very embarrassed at a support meeting. Never went back to one. The person that lead them at that time was very condescending. I should check out possibly going to a KC Bandsters meeting. I wish there was a support meeting in Western KCK or the Leavenworth area. Goodluck