Has anyone on here had their lap band done thru Journey Lite? Did they like them? Opinions, good or bad? I'm trying to decide who to go thru for the surgery. I'm cash pay and they are the most expensive, but they seem to have much more aftercare and support.

I know a lot of people on this board used Dr. St. Laurent and loved him and his staff. He is listed as one of the docs for Journey Lite and I wasn't sure if anyone who used him went thru Journey Lite.

Thanks for all your help!

Rachel

I'm using Dr. Collier in Houston in May. I've had at least 3 friends go through him all extremely successful. He is w/ Journey Lite. I am self pay also. I think the great part about them is right now they are doing lifetime free fills. I think alot of people don't follow through with all the fills they need b/c of financial reasons and therefore are not as successful. Hope this helps.

I had my surgery with Dr. Collier thru Journery lite on March 13, 2008. I have been very pleased with the aftercare. I have only had one fill at journeylite and She was very good at it. I believe they have the best aftercare plus free fills for life. No one else offers that and from what I've heard the fills can add up quickly.

Dr. Collier is my surgeon as well, he's wonderful! I used Journey Lite as well as I was self-pay and they are very professional and yet very friendly and always make you comfortable. I've had one fill and it was painless, took moments and she's obviously very good. The aftercare is the reason I chose Dr. Collier and JourneyLite, it's the best around and I think we all know aftercare is probably one of the most important aspects of this type of surgery...we need support after the surgery to be successful, at least most of us do! Good luck and feel free to ask any questions.

I am also going to use Dr. Collier with Journey Lite. My pre-op appt is set for Wednesday.

I'm going to join the "band" wagon. LOL! I used Dr. Collier as well. I did not use his Journeylite location, but instead his office in Conroe. He is phenominal. I was banded 04.20.07 and lost 91lbs in the first 8months. I am currently 7mths pregnant thanks to the joys of weight loss and increased fertility. However, Dr. Collier is a phenominal surgeon with amazing bedside mannor. I can only assume that his peers are as amazing!

Spogdon, it must have been you that he mentioned to me at my pre-op....he said one lady lost so much weight and was preggers before her 1 yr anniversary! Congratulations!

That is a riot. I lost 20lbs pre op and then another 71lbs post up before my 6mth mark when we found out we were pg. I have for the most part maintained that loss within the restrictions of a healthy pregnancy. You bet i'll be back on the Band wagon as soon as this baby arrives and i get the medical ok. :smile2:

Dr. Collier did my band as well. ( banded April 3rd) I am very pleased with him and the nutrionist that he works with. The free fills for life is super cool too! I highly recommend him.

I also was banded by Dr. Collier and am self pay. I went through Journey Lite ans have only good things to say about them. They are all wonderful and friendly. Jenny, the RN at JL is super cool. I was banded May 1st and will say that Dr. C went above and beyond in my surgery, fixing a hernia that was evidently pretty bad and is just a very personable, outgoing doc with great bedside manner. They broke the mold on this one. The only thing that sticks so far is that I'm still having a good amount of pain from the port site, but I"m going to call about that today. Oh, and I have never wanted a Diet Coke so bad in my whole friggin life!! Other than that, I'm good.

How close is the port site to where the hernia repair was done? And when does the port hurt the most?

Also, i was told by DrC if i HAD to have a DrPepper, to let it go flat for a couple hours, then drink it. However, I refuse to drink the empty calories. And i'm afraid if I drink it, i'll want to continue. So no DP for me in over a year!

The port site, in my opinion, is pretty far from the hernia. And it hurts constantly. It's like a burning sensation if I bend over at all, or try to use those stomach muscles. I'm still taking the Lortab and liquid Tylenol. I just wasn't exoecting it to hurt so much or so long after surgery, yes I do realize it's only been 6 days....

I think it sounds normal. Does the incision look ok?

remember to limit the bending and pulling. Your muscles were cut to allow for the band and instruments to pass. So even though you have an new item sewn to your muscles in 4 places, you also have that cut to heal as well. That hurts.

But i promise, it does get better and quickly. Incisions never hurt, just the port site which will remain tender for a week or so.

Thanks everyone! I decided to go with Dr St Laurent and my date is June 10th!

Congrats on your surgery date!

I'm also a Dr. Collier patient and can't say enough good things about him. His "NUT", Karen is very good also, she answers all my questions time and time again. I'm having my 2nd visit with Dr. Collier on Friday, my 2nd fill on Friday and my 2nd visit with Karen on Friday....I'm very anxious to see how I'm doing. After the 1st fill things really improved with the hunger so I'm hoping the 2nd fill will be even better, we shall see.

I'll post my update on Friday!

SPOGDEN~

Well, today the port site is better. It seems to be better everyday, but when you hurt so bad, the days can't be over fast enough. However, today is totally tolerable. The incision looks fine so far as I can see (still have the gauze and tape over it) but no red ring or anything. Thanks for caring.

Also, anyone have any thoughts on gas? I am so gassy!? It's embarassing! I've been taking the Gas X regularly..... hmmm.