Hello, I am from Bend and am researching the different doctors in oregon who do the lap band. My biggest struggle is finding a surgeon who will bypass the sleep apnea, pychological testing, The reason being is my work schedule will only allow a certain number of days off and i need these for the surgery itself, and I need the surgery as soon as possible. I will be a self pay full cash. Does anyone have any advice or recommendations for me?:mad2:

You can't arrange for Dr. appointments after work?

l would question the Dr who did this surgery without requiring you to have the pre-op testing..lts for your health and safety.

Hello, I am from Bend and am researching the different doctors in oregon who do the lap band. My biggest struggle is finding a surgeon who will bypass the sleep apnea, pychological testing, The reason being is my work schedule will only allow a certain number of days off and i need these for the surgery itself, and I need the surgery as soon as possible. I will be a self pay full cash. Does anyone have any advice or recommendations for me?:thumbup:

I agree with Lisa Marie; the evaluation takes about an hour. The sleep apnea is a office visit and if a sleep study is required then it would be in the evening after normal business hours. Either way, I wouldn't recommending short stepping the process.

My team did all the pre-op tests in one day. We had a meeting about how the band actually works, I met with the nutritionist, then I saw the surgeon, next the psych, and finally the coordinator again to make sure everything was good. Finally that evening was the support group meeting. It was one day off and I killed all the birds with one stone. I didn't have to do the sleep apnea because I have no history of it and they didn't think it was necessary, but they would have done it that night had I needed it.

That might be beneficial for you. I don't think skipping all of those appointments and just banding is ethical, IMHO. They have a responsibility to ensure that everyone knows what they are getting into. Try to find a surgeon that will work with your limited time off. You don't mention how many days it is, but my surgery was done on a Thurs., I took Fri. off and was back at work on Monday. I am a teacher and did sit down a little more that week than usual but total my days off of work were only 3 for the surgery and 4 the rest of the year (school year) for aftercare and fills.

Good luck

all of my appointments were in the evening also...lt was very easy to do, and almost fun...lts a whole process..For someone to want to skip this process, l would wonder if they think this is a miracle cure....l've been a psych nurse for 25 years and it was reassuring to know my doctor cares about my mental stability...Good luck anyways....

The problem is no, I cannot get any appts in the evenings. I wish that was the case and that is the problem I am running into. Its not that I want to short change the tests or be special and just have it done. Everywhere I have called, the latest appt is 3 o clock here in bend. Even for the consult for the sleep apnea test. I do understand there is insurance requirements, however I am a self pay. I would love to be able to find a surgeon who could do all the tests in one day. That would be exactly what I am looking for. I have considered going to mexico to get it done, but then aftercare is a concern I also have. Only thing that is holding me up is the not being able to schedule an appt in the evening. Im not trying to take it lightly, however, I know the surgery will create an option to save my life and allow me to watch my kids grow up. The thing with work is I have to take pto or missing time I would get fired and I also need the insurance I do have for my other medical conditions. sob story it sounds like right? lol. Anyhoo, I am looking for an alternative other than going to mexico and getting all the tests done the day before the surgery. If someone can point me in the right direction that would be great.

all of my appointments were in the evening also...lt was very easy to do, and almost fun...lts a whole process..For someone to want to skip this process, l would wonder if they think this is a miracle cure....l've been a psych nurse for 25 years and it was reassuring to know my doctor cares about my mental stability...Good luck anyways....

I dont want a miracle cure as I know its a tool to my success and largely depends on my commitment before and after. If i thought i could just get the surgery and not do anything but lose weight, why would i waste that amount of money on it? I have researched this through and through and know its right for me. However in saying that, I know what my mental capacity is, and I know this surgery is right for my situation. What this comes down to however, are my options with keeping my job and my current insurance for my other medical issues, or losing it. I am trying to plan this out the best way I can and with where I am located there is no evening appointments. I wish i could only be that lucky to be where you guys have lived to have that option. Its not a matter of me just wanting to skip every step however, I dont think I need to go through every single requirement that insurance requires either since i am paying cash. Once again, if someone knows of someone who can do the tests in one day that would be wonderful information for me to have and give me the option to have the surgery and keep my job. I am trying to stay in the usa and not go to Mexico to have the procedure done because I want excellent aftercare to be available to me to help me with my success.

with the pto situation, I am looking to plan my surgery to be done on a thursday and then going back to work monday or tuesday.. I have three days to work with. Ive asked for some leeway in this and there is no leeway, its either I work within the three days or I am looking for a new job. Attendance is huge and understandably, and I cant afford to lose this job. I am trying my best to work with the situation I have. I do have calls in to multiple surgeons in oregon to see if they will work with my situation and limited time that I have off. I am not trying to skip around anything. I am merely trying to find out what options i have working within the realm of my situation and having the surgery this year.

I am not looking to bypass all preop testing. I do think its important medically to be healthy for the surgery. Not all places would require a sleep apnea nor pyschological eval. Some do the preop testing a day before however, I am trying to stay in Oregon.

I live in Bend and was able to get later appts. I can't get into see doc or anybody for that matter until after 4:00 and I have not had any problems. I don't know how late you need an appt, but I think they would try to work something out. Or maybe get them on one day, where you could take the day off.

The appts were spread out over a couple of months, but everything worked out great! I too was self-pay, so able to move through the process pretty quickly.

I agree with everybody else, the docs are seeing that you are ready and healthy before they give you the band. It is actually reassuring and I even found out that I had another issue that would have never been discovered had they not done all the pre-testing.

Good luck!

Could you share with me where you had these appts after 4? I would need them at 4:45, to give me time to get there. I would be thrilled to know of these places. I have been calling all around town!

I went to the sleep center and the docs office did the endoscope. I did have an earlier appt for my psych eval. But I am sure they would work with you to have a later appt, or maybe a Sat morning?

Have you been to the seminar and had an appt with the surgeon? All the people that I have worked with have been very accomodating to help me make this work.

Good luck!

yes i have. the sleep center said they wont do an appt but 3:30 or before.

great news. dr tersigni will do an all day appt for me to get all my testing done. this will work beautifully for what I need. Thank you all for your advise