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How did your doctors feel about you getting a Gastric Band?



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Manda,

Can you tell me about your experiance with Dr Ortiz...I have planned to have him band me.

Thanks

Heather

They are starting to pop up all over the US. Their web page is FillCentersUSA.com . I believe the first visit is $365.00, $165.00 after that. You can do a search to see if there is one near you. The nearest one to me is a hour away, but it is better than going back to Mexico:teeth_smile:

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While my doctor was neutral on the lapband, he did recognize my need to lose weight and supported me if that was my decision. I like my PCP and can not imagine finding another one if the only problem was that he was against the surgery.

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If your doctor gives you negative reaction to WLS, you should ask him/her why she feels that way. Simply casting your feelings aside as "it's a cop out" is unprofessional in my opinion.

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I approached my doctor a couple years ago with wanting to get a wls, she was against it and convinced me to not do it. At the time it turned out to be a good thing because the place I wanted to go to shortly after went out of business.

But now I am going to do it somewhere else and wasn't going to let her opinion change my mind. I really like my doctor and was happy that she said she would support my decision no matter what and would help me with my 6 month physician supervised diet. If I didn't like her as much as I do I would have immediately gotten a different doctor.

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My doctor (in her 60's) told me that I needed to "Try Harder", despite the fact that I have been on Weight Watchers 4 times, plus Lite and Easy, Jenny Craig, all of the above. My OB/GYN told me that it was essential for me to lose weight due to my severe Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome.

So what did I do? I went to a new doctor. My new doctor (in her 30's) was incredibly supportive, and told me to go out, do my own research then if I thought it was the right decision for me, she would write the letter.

I'm now 5 days post-op, and already feeling like this is the best decision I've made for myself in a long time.

Bottom line - the choice is yours. You know what's right for you.

Annie xox

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Anniedub, Congratulations to you! I am two days ahead of you (March 4). I am doing well, but am starting to get hungry. I really enjoyed not being hungry at all for the first four to five days! How are you doing? Good luck. SS

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I went in to see my PCP about another matter. I decided to broach (sp) the subject with him, nervously. After barely having the words "lapband surgery" out of my mouth, he said he thought it would be a great idea. I go to Park Nicollet Clinic in my hometown and it turned out PNC has 3 bariatric surgeon teams. All they do is bariatric surgery. All of their nurses, and most of their assisting staff, have had bariatric surgery (either RnY or lb). So, they know EXACTLY what their patients are going through at each stage of the process. It was the best decision I've made concerning my health talking to him. He was very supportive and still is.

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I talked to my PCP about it very briefly last year and she said it's a very good option to explore (this was before I had decided for sure about it, I was just pondering the band). My OBGYN also agreed when I talked to her in January and I was more certain about going for it.

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I have a few doctors and they were all really supportive when they heard about my surgery. My surgeon (not the one who did the lap band) told me that I was already a foxy chick and that I would be even more so when I had lost some more weight!

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    • Doughgurl

      Hey everyone. I'm new here so I thought I should introduce myself. I am 53y/o and am scheduled for Gastric Bypass on June 25th, 2025. I'm located in San Antonio, Texas. I will be having my surgery in Tiajuana Mexico. I've wanted this for years, but I always had insurance where bariatric procedures were excluded. Finally I am able to afford to pay out of pocket.  I can't wait to get started, and I hope I'm prepared for the initial period of "hell". I know what I have signed up for, but I'm sure the good to come will out way the temporary period of discomfort and feelings of regret. I'd love to find people to talk to who have been through the same procedure or experience before. So I look forward to meeting you all. Hope you have a great week!
      · 2 replies
      1. Selina333

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    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. LeighaTR

        I hope your surgery on Wednesday goes well. You will be able to do all sorts of new things as you find your new normal after surgery. I don't know this from experience yet, but I am seeing a lot of positive things from people who have had it done. Best of luck!

    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. summerseeker

        Life as a big person had limited my life to what I knew I could manage to do each day. That was eat. I hadn't anything else to look forward to. So my eating choices were the best I could dream up. I planned the cooking in managable lots in my head and filled my day with and around it.

        Now I have a whole new big, bigger, biggest, best days ever. I am out there with those skinny people doing stuff i could never have dreamt of. Food is now an after thought. It doesn't consume my day. I still enjoy the good home cooked food but I eat smaller portions. I leave food on my plate when I am full. I can no longer hear my mother's voice saying eat it all up, ther are starving children in Africa who would want that!

        I still cook for family feasts, I love cooking. I still do holidays but I have changed from the All inclusive drinking and eating everything everyday kind to Self catering accommodation. This gives me the choice of cooking or eating out as I choose. I rarely drink anymore as I usually travel alone now and I feel I need to keep aware of my surroundings.

        I don't know at what point my life expanded, was it when I lost 100 pounds? Was it when I left my walking stick at home ? Was it when I said yes to an outing instead of finding an excuse to stay home ? i look back at my last five years and wonder how loosing weight has made such a difference. Be ready to amaze yourself.

        BTW, the liquid diet sucks, one more day and you are over the worst. You can do it.

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