Hey all NYU Bandsters!

July 31, 200818 yr

I can't thank you enough. Your post is not a rant, it is so informative and aboslutly helps. Alot of the fear is not knowing what to expect, you have certainly helped those of us who have not gone thru it yet. I know I will also not regret this choice. I'm trying to prepare as best I can, I already bought chewable Cenrums (CVS), and gas-x, I don't know what pepcid is but I'll pick some up tomorrow. I hope you are now getting a good nights sleep.

Take Care

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July 31, 200818 yr

I am glad to see this board finally in action - hope it keeps going. Anyway I was banded on 7/15 by Dr. Kurian. So far my experience has been pretty good. I love love LOVE Dr. Kurian. She's very easy to talk to and made me feel at ease immediately. I guess I have been very fortunate because everything went smoothly for me. After waiting for what seemed to be forever I finally went in for my consultation with Dr. Kurian and made sure that I would be able to see the nutritionist at the same time. Like I stated in another post I got there for 9 and did not leave until after 12 which was annoying but I dealt with it. The last person I saw was Nilsa - who in my opinion was unorganized and flighty - I learned that she was fairly new there so that explains that. Anyway because my insurance is pretty lenient in comparison to a lot of the other ones I've read about i was able to schedule surgery that same day for two weeks later. I was able to do it on an outpatient basis which allowed me to leave the night of surgery. i did not have to stay overnight - YAY! With the exception of gas the first week it has been a pretty good experience. I have already gone in for my first visit and saw Gaspar as Dr. K is/was on vacation who allowed me to start mushies early. I start solids tomorrow - can't wait. I have one episode of sliming so far. I would do it all over again.

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July 31, 200818 yr

Glad you are doing so well. What exactly is sliming, I seen it before on other posts, not sure what it is. They told me I will also go in as a out patient but will spend the night. that way they don't need pre approval from my insurance. Not sure what the point is as my insurance company would give the approval. I hope it's ok if i ask you a couple of questions. Did you know you were going to leave at night before your surgery? How many hours after surgery did you leave?

Thank You

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July 31, 200818 yr

Glad you are doing so well. What exactly is sliming, I seen it before on other posts, not sure what it is. They told me I will also go in as a out patient but will spend the night. that way they don't need pre approval from my insurance. Not sure what the point is as my insurance company would give the approval. I hope it's ok if i ask you a couple of questions. Did you know you were going to leave at night before your surgery? How many hours after surgery did you leave?
Thank You

Sliming is productive burping. I had eaten too quickly and probably too much. I kept having the feeling of a gas bubble in my throat. Later on that night as I was driving home from the movies with my husband my mouth started to Water a lot. I told him to pull over because I felt like I was going to throw up. Sure enough I started to heave and a good amount of clear slimy Fluid came up. There was no smell or taste to it.

No, I don't mind questions. We're here to help each other. Looking back I guess even before the date of surgery once I heard outpatient I made up in my own mind I would be leaving the same day (like a few hours after surgery). I never even considered that there would be an overnight stay. I guess I just don't get the concept. How would it be considered outpatient if you stay overnight like everyone else? When I got to the hospital preop area I heard different stories. No one seemed to be sure when I would be going home. The nurse said overnight, the doctor said around six. I ended up leaving after nine. The staff on the floor seemed shocked to see me go but to tell you the truth I just wanted to be home in the comfort of my own bed.

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August 1, 200818 yr

Wow, you really did great after sugery. that's wonderful.

I also questioned staying over night if I'm an outpatient. I called my insurance company to verify that, they said it was correct, that if I stay longer I have two days to call them and get an approval number. Since I live alone I think I'm more comfortable staying over just in case. I'm going grocery shopping tomorow after work aside from soup and V8 I don't know what else to get. I guess I can start blending fruit in my protien drinks. If anyone has suggestions for me please let me know. I already have chewable vitamins and gas-x.

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August 1, 200818 yr

Hi! I'm really glad to find this forum! I was banded by Dr Fielding on 7/7/08 and he is great! Very busy, but great! I went for my first fill today, which is a journey for me since I live in uper Westchester but it was a good experience because these are very knowledgeable Drs. and I knew I was in good hands after hearing so many horror stories about fills. This is important- after your post op appointment , you can go to a number of satilite offices for fills done by the Drs. Fielding is even in New City on one SUNDAY a month. That is convenience and you do not have to deal with crowds or the office staff(or for me, the city and $4o parking) Fielding actually is no longer going to accept my insurance and after researching a bunch of other places to go and speaking to different people, I will pay the $100 when I need a fill after my 3 months of covered post-op. The Dr is who counts. I had to deal with Asia and it sucked but that is only initially and the band is long term so lets stay with the best!

NYU is the best:thumbup:

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August 1, 200818 yr

Originally I wanted to go home the day of surgery, but my insurance company had me as an inpatient surgery and there was some concern that if I did not stay the night they would not pay. I think I wanted to go home because I was concerned about staying the night, but it worked out really well. Looking back right now, only a few days later, I am glad I stayed.

I could not think of anything from the super market either, but when I got there and walked around for a while I found some stuff. Near the cambell's Soups in my super market I found some soups in boxes that so far have been really good. I found that if it comes in a box it is usually the sort of liquid stuff that is good post op.

I acknowledge that the nutritionist still recommends low sodium etc etc. Yet to be honest I have to eat so slowly, and so little that I got the regular soups rather than the herb ox broth and stuff. Last night I could only drink half a glass of liquid and half a dozen spoonfuls of soup before I felt full. This little bit of food took me a good 45 minutes to eat.

While you are at the super market I would recommend thinking about texture and consistency more than anything. Thick stuff you might have to dilute with something. People probably differ in how much swelling they have but for example the slim fast shakes are too thick for me. They cause this weird sensation like my lower throat has a bubble in it.

It is cool that this forum is becoming more active. I know that a ton of people have gone through the NYU office so I was surprised at first that the NYU forum does not have a lot of people.

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August 1, 200818 yr

Wow, you really did great after sugery. that's wonderful.
I also questioned staying over night if I'm an outpatient. I called my insurance company to verify that, they said it was correct, that if I stay longer I have two days to call them and get an approval number. Since I live alone I think I'm more comfortable staying over just in case. I'm going grocery shopping tomorow after work aside from soup and V8 I don't know what else to get. I guess I can start blending fruit in my protien drinks. If anyone has suggestions for me please let me know. I already have chewable Vitamins and gas-x.

As far as eating all I really had in the beginning was Water, propel, broth and diluted slimfast - capuccino is the only one i like - which i diluted by letting a couple of cubes of ice melt in the glass with it. I really wasn't hungy and the 1 or 2 times i felt hunger later on during the first phase i had to force myself to have something because i just had no desire to eat. That has since past and now I am finding myself fighting to control portion and taking my time. Gas x has been a freind of mine but i absolutely hate taking the vitamins. if anyone has suggestions for a good liquid vit please share.

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August 1, 200818 yr

I'm glad your doing so well, not bad considering your surgery was this Monday. Even though you can't eat too much it's supposed to be very important to get protein in, maybe if you add unflavored protein powder into the soup.

I bought an assortment of broths and soups today. If some are too thick I'll water down.

I bought a case of slimfast and found I couldn't stand it. I've been using the Carnation Instant Breakfast powder add 8 oz. skim milk (13 grams protein, add a scoop of Unjury Protein Powder(20 grams protein) I put it all in a blender with four ice cubes. After surgery on Monday I'll cancel the ice cubes as it may be too thick.

For vitamins I bought Centrum chewables, I haven't tried them yet but if they don't work Centrum also has a liquid vitamin.

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August 4, 200818 yr

Hi all! I am excited to see this NYU thread. I live in Queens and could have chosen a surgeon closer to me, there are quite a few with a pretty good reputation, but as soon as Dr Kurien's name came up on obesity help.com, I said to myself, she did Al Roker, I saw her on the today show, she is the best of the best, so I called NYU and went to her seminar. There was no doubt in my mind, going with Dr Kurien was woth the schlep into the city from Queens, she is great. Reading other posters experiences, I had to laugh out loud. I did find the nutrionist to be a bit cold, would it kill her to smile? And the office should be a bit bigger. Dr Kurien, I found out, worked at Lennox Hill Hospital prior to NYU and supposedly it was very lavish. Nilsa was nice when she scheduled my surgery, but a few days before my surgery she was short with me on the phone and I kinda lost my temper at her out of frustration because I had a letter of clearance from a cardiologist but she said it wasnt formatted correctly or something to that effect. Anyway, I was banded without a hitch on June 19th, recovered quickly, was happy with my care and all. The only real major issue was the waiting on the surgery day. I was told to be in at 11:30 to register and do all the paperwork and stuff, well my surgery wasnt done until about 5:30 p.m. When Dr Kurien said she had 3 patients ahead of me, I was like "say what"? Very inconsiderate, although I dont blame her, the hospital could have let me come in later or her staff messed up and overbooked? People get your acts together, people have not eaten or had any water since midnight the night before! I developed a major migraine at some point in the afternoon, and felt sorry for my mom who had to cancel a 7:30 appointment on Long Island that evening, she would not leave me, poor dear. She and my daughter left me in recovery at around 8:00 ish. I had my first fill on July 16. The front desk staff are o.k. not the best not the worst. They kind of leave you standing there like a jerk until they are good and ready. Luckily, didnt have anymore dealings with Tammi, I saw her at the seminar back in January, but I didnt care for her tone on the phone, she is the one coordinating the cruise, so I have no interest in it. Oh, and I had a crazy room mate that night. She actually went down to smoke a cigarette and the nurse yelled at her when she came back, so later that night she lit up in the room! I was on oxygen and could have been blown up! She was a patient of Dr Fielding who had complications from gastric bypass 2 years ago or something, didnt ask why she was there again, but they moved me to another room at 3 a.m. The hospital staff is the best. Good luck to all of you.:thumbup:

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August 5, 200818 yr

hi everyone! I am also glad to see this forum here. I am also going to be having my surgery at NYU. I have allready went to the seminar,had my psych eval, and blood work. My next appt. is with the nutritionist and nurse. I have one big dilemma. I don't know what surgeon to choose. All 3 of them have a great reputation. I live in South Jersey,and i originally decided to go to NYU because i had chosen Dr.Feilding,then i changed my mind to Dr.Ren. I keep going back and forth. I wish i could meet all 3 of them before making a decision.I only had an opportunity to meet Dr.Feilding and that was at the seminar. I have read that some people choose who ever is first available for surgery. If anyone could please share how they decided,and give info about their experience with the surgeon they chose. Thanks a lot!

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August 5, 200818 yr

Hi!

Glad to meet you!

I was banded by Dr Fielding on 7/7/08 and my experiences have only been great. I hear good things about the other Drs at NYU, too. I know that Fielding is very well regarded and he has done ALOT of bands. He is very busy but very good. I think he did something like 18 bands on the day he did mine. I had a pretty easy time. I know many people that went to him for help after another Dr made a mistake or their band slipped and they needed help. I can't tell you enough good things about him. I have more and more to say!

He did his all the people who needed it in his hometown

in Australia. Fielding developed the technique that is presently used worldwide to implant the band. Check out his Videos on the NYU website. They are very informative. Not alot of people know this, but Dr Fielding is married to Dr Ren. He is no longer accepting my insurance but he is such a nice person that he is going to work with me so that I can continue with him. I live in Westchester and there are several satilite offices if you don't want to go to the city. He is even available on Sun in one of them. Sometimes his office in the city is packed and the office staff do try their best. The surgical coordinator left much to be desired and I had to push her. The nutritionalist didn't really do anything but give me paperwork guidelines to follow. It is all worth it to have Fielding.

Hope this helped you a bit. Feel free to PM me or post any questions you may have. GOOD LUCK!! Keep me updated!:cool2:

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August 5, 200818 yr

hi everyone! I am also glad to see this forum here. I am also going to be having my surgery at NYU. I have allready went to the seminar,had my psych eval, and blood work. My next appt. is with the nutritionist and nurse. I have one big dilemma. I don't know what surgeon to choose. All 3 of them have a great reputation. I live in South Jersey,and i originally decided to go to NYU because i had chosen Dr.Feilding,then i changed my mind to Dr.Ren. I keep going back and forth. I wish i could meet all 3 of them before making a decision.I only had an opportunity to meet Dr.Feilding and that was at the seminar. I have read that some people choose who ever is first available for surgery. If anyone could please share how they decided,and give info about their experience with the surgeon they chose. Thanks a lot!

I think you have to choose a surgeon based on how good they are and then on compatibility. Thank goodness, those three are top class surgeons. Dr. Fielding cares, he truly cares and also he is banded so he comes at the procedure from a very personal perspective. I never met Dr. Ren-Fielding but one of the women at the seminar who had been banded by her was totally thrilled with her work and talked at length about how great she was.

That being said, I went with Dr. Kurian. The first seminar I attended was with Dr. Fielding and I was convinced I would go with him but then I attended a second seminar as moral for support for another friend who was considering lap band and there was no going back. I just clicked with how Dr. Kurian dealt with everyone and how she answered questions. I have not regretted it because she has been so patient with answering all my questions and my two consults with her. I will be banded on August 28th and I feel confident I made the right decision.

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August 6, 200818 yr

Nope they strip you to all your glory except the oh so attractive hospital gowns. It wasn't so bad except there was this cute surgery assistant (I think that's what he did) there trying to put the blood circulator things on my legs and I was locked at the knees! LOL After surgery I was holding out until security brought my clothes bag to me before I would go walk but just as I was giving in and the fabulous nurse on my floor taped up my gown so my rear was covered up, my bag showed up. Ahhhhh that felt nice to have those and my bra back on again. Two notes if anyone is interested... if you have larger chest as I do they tape the girls up and out of the way while you're out. Imagine my surprise to find tape goo under my breasts when I got home, it took me a little bit but when I realized what they did I was embarassed but at the time I was out so what did I care. Also I was afraid they were going to put me on the table and rip my gown off before I was out, they didn't. I went to sleep fully covered and awakened the same way- sans undies and bra of course. [/color]

- Did you share a room? Yes and my roomie was.... interesting - not scary just interesting. She too had the lap band so you may meet a fellow bandster you can buddy up with for support later.

- Did they offer you anything to help you sleep? (i.e. Ambien, etc) I didn't get anything to make me sleep but they sure loaded up my roomie. They are great about pain meds and making sure you're comfortable. I'm sure if I had asked for it they would have given me something but I just took 1 pain pill (mushed up in a cup with water- TOTALLY NASTY) and then later I took advil type stuff.

- What time were you discharged on Tuesday? Dr. Kurian came in around 8:30 I think to release me and I bolted out the door as fast as I could- to get away from my odd roomie. The nursing staff was fantastic though. I kept doing my laps and we were all laughing as I was gaining speed with every turn (ok not so much really but it felt great).

Surgery was easy even for being there alone. I was nervous yes and I even scared the anast. people because I started crying when they were talking to me. I wasn't scared of the surgery part, just the going under part. I think his name was Dr. Jan and his assistant was a girl I think her name was Jennifer - she's from Ireland. They were so fantastic - gentle as could be, walking me through every single step so I wouldn't be surprised and flip out. Dr. Kurian held my hand as I started to cry while they were prepping me, and she did that until I was out. I remember a panic feeling for a little bit when I first woke up. I heard them say later that when they took my tube out my heart beat became very rapid - I assume that's the panic feeling I had, but I sat in recovery a little bit longer than others but it was fine.

I hope this is helpful. Good Luck!!!!

Edited August 6, 200818 yr by Eeyore

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August 6, 200818 yr

see, now i want all of the odd roomie story!!

part of me is tempted to request a private room. they said its $350/night. hmm.

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