sherryinwa

Could I ask for more info - how did it go accessing the port? Did she have to poke around with the needle? Did you feel the fill was just right? - not too tight or not tight enough?? Thank you!

I am looking for a fill center closer to home. I had my surgery in Denver and have had several fills there. I feel they don't maximize my fill due to concerns with getting overfilled and being a long distance patient. Tell me about your experiences with Fill Management Northwest? Do they use ultrasound? Do they have you sip water to get the correct amount of saline? I would like to hear the good and/or bad about them so I can feel comfortable going there. Thanks!

I have had two fills in my 14 cm band. First one at 5 weeks post op was 5.9cc and I felt pretty good. No hunger for about 4 hrs. Just got another small one (another 5 weeks later) for a total of 6.2cc. Feels a little tighter. I just make sure to stop eating at the 1st sign of fullness and then no hunger for 4-5 hrs. I know I could eat more but I don't. I don't have problems with any food except for soft bread.

Sara, I live in Ferndale and did lots of research on banding with Seattle area doctors. I decided on Dr. Kirshenbaum of Denver, CO for a few reasons. I found a topic on this forum about him and the patients were raving about him. I did some research and talked to his office and band coordinator and was impressed by his record. He has been doing laproscopic surgeries for decades and has been doing lap bands for a couple of years now. He is a very gentle, kind, patient and caring doctor. Another huge issue for me was his fee - I was self pay and he beat the doctors up here by far. He charges $9950 for everything and that includes 3 months of follow up and fills. He then charges $15 per fill for his patients. Yes it means traveling to Denver. I had my surgery on 12/5/07 and have been back for 1 fill. I am going again in 10 days for another fill but don't really need it terribly. Just a little tweaking. My experience with him and his staff has been awesome.

Hi everyone, I will be banded on Dec 5 by Dr K and am getting through this pre op diet. Love veggies and meat but am getting really sick of them at this point. I get hungry pretty easy and crave lots of thing...figure it's mostly in my head but still want something to feel satisfied. I've been wondering about low low carb dips for my veggies??? Also, do you think sugar free jello or pudding is OK? And for that matter, my local store carries sugar free chocolates - couldn't find a nutrition label to see if there are any sugar alcohols instead of sugar and am not sure about the net effect of sugar alcohol and carbs... I guess I'm looking for some reassurance that these things might be OK...did anybody eat anything besides meat & veggies and find it didn't effect the liver shrinking process? Paula reassured me that eggs are fine...even said 1 or 2 pieces of fruit during my 10 day pre op would be OK. I haven't gone there but it sure sounds good... Thanks for your help.

Hello everyone. I have been reading as many pages as I can of this huge thread. You're experiences with Dr. Kirshenbaum have convinced me to proceed with him for my surgery. I'm just getting the ball rolling but am excited to begin my journey. I am so grateful to have found this forum...I was proceeding with a local Dr. who was wonderful but so much more expensive. Yes, I will be traveling from WA but I've always enjoyed travel and my one trip to Denver was wonderful. Looking forward to all your advice and encouragement. Sherry in Ferndale, WA