Dito

As someone who's been a therapy patient for... jeeze, that many years? - here's my take. A good, professional therapist has to manage "clinical detachment" and not get overly involved in their patient's emotions. I think the inverse is true for patients as well. I'm fully aware that therapists are people with feelings, but from my side of the couch, it's still a professional "I'm paying you" relationship. Penny, I too, admire your compassion. But remember: your therapist isn't really your best friend - she just plays the role once or twice a week. It sounds like the two of you have an excellent doctor-patient bond, and that's only going to help in the long run. Trust your therapist to be a professional. Whatever feelings she has, she should known enough to keep them to herself. She's there to help you with a difficult issue, not burden you with her own. I love the guy I see. But I can't recommend him to everyone, because as I affectionately put it, he's as nuts as the rest of us. Hang in there - it'll be fine.

That's odd. My wife and I are self-funding, and Dr. Chae still had us attend Kelly's seminar. The only thing we were exempted from was the psych eval. Kelly's seminar did provide some good and necessary information, but at 5 hours (with no breaks), it's at least 3 hours too long. Plus, it's disorganized. She attempts to "teach" both Lap-Band and Bypass patients at the same time, with the same materials. I know there are a lot of similarities, but enough differences as well. Her teaching materials also covered sleeve gastrectomy, which I'd never even heard of. No one in the room was having this procedure (it's not even FDA approved?). But she still spent equal time describing the surgery. And that's kind of the heart of the problem: it wouldn't be 5 hours if she wasn't so chatty! She's a kind, knowledgeable, and experienced professional, but not a good speaker or presenter. For example: her booklet is protected under copyright, so do not distribute it. Okay. Simple. That doesn't take 15 minutes to discuss. We didn't get to the post-op eating plan and Vitamin supplements until four hours had already passed. At this point, arguably the most important part of the whole afternoon, everyone in the room was glassy-eyed and barely awake. In short, we could have covered the same material, more clearly and in far less time. 2 hours and some better, more concise, hand-outs would have done the job perfectly. Don't get me wrong: I'm not questioning or demeaning her work as a nutritionist. I'm convinced she's excellent. But as a public speaker and writer... :huh2: -Dito

Heh. Not mine. I think the phrase was "not covered under any circumstances." Even though it's going to save your insurance company big bucks down the road, they only look at RIGHT NOW. I'm cynical enough to think that they believe "Sure, you'll be healthier and need fewer expenses 5 years from now, but someone else might be collecting your premiums 5 years from now." This is why my IRA is $15K lighter than it used to be. -D

Hi all. I just found this board and signed right up. I'm getting "banded", which appears to be the term of choice here, next Monday, April 14. My wife is also being banded on the same day. She has a host of problems; blood sugar, thyroid, etc. I've just always been a fat guy and am ready to change. We're happy to be doing it together for moral and actual support. My mother-in-law will be "babysitting" us for the first week after surgery. Our surgeon is Dr. Frank Chae just outside Denver. We're paying out-of-pocket thanks to the (deleted) insurance companies. I'm a little nervous, but not about the procedure. My bad eating habits are life-long and this is the only thing that will help me break them. In my entire adult life, I've thrown up less than 5 times - and two of them were the flu (the others were, um, booze-related :frown:). We did not get any pre-op diet instructions, which I'm sorta grateful for. This whole thing is stressful enough; I'm glad I don't have to torment myself with a weird diet BEFORE someone inserts a foreign object into my belly. I don't really know why I'm posting this, but it feels good to have found a community to share experiences with. Wish us luck! -Dito

Hey fellow Coloradans... My wife and I are getting banded by Dr. Chae on Monday (4/14) at SkyRidge. We live in Parker, so it's only a 10-minute drive. With the great weather we (usually) have here, I'm looking forward to getting outside and walking. Did anyone else here have to attend the 5-hour nutrition seminar with Kelly? If you did, I'd like to hear your thoughts. -Dito

The fancy title I put on my resume: Industrial Piping Designer. The truth: I'm a CAD drafter. I just finished my first college degree - an Associates in Engineering Technology - at age 38. Before that, I was a self-taught geek and internet developer. I'm still a geek and live in a fully wired home (ethernet in the garage!) with a half-dozen computers, numerous game consoles, and so on. After my procedure, I'll probably need to get outside more... not a bad thing. -Dito

Looking forward to the positive change is what's keeping me from being a nervous freaking wreck. My surgery is Monday (April 14). I weighed in at 335 - first time I've been on a scale (or in a doctor's office) in about three years. I've carried this weight all my life and spent a damn long time pretending it wasn't a problem and that it didn't bother me. So, yeah, I'm nervous too. I don't like doctors, don't like being cut open (although I've had two back surgeries), etc. I like Doritos and pizza. I will miss them, but I'm thinking of friends who have moved overseas and will only visit once a year at most. It's not like they're dead. Hang in there. I think nervous is normal. -D

I've only had one "mixed" reaction, and that was from a former boss who's still a friend. He's one of those revolting always-been-fit, never-needed-glasses guys. I think he just didn't understand - no frame of reference for him. Once I explained, he picked up on how enthusiastic I was about doing this and returned to his normal, supportive self. -D

Wow... y'all are so much nicer than me. I've envisioned the following conversation: Them: "Hey, you look great - are you losing weight?" Me (in a down-trodden tone): "Yeah, about 20 pounds so far." Them: "That's great! How are you doing it?" Me: "I have an incurable condition, called a brain cloud. I'd rather not talk about it." Then after collecting a few fawning apologies - the kind you never get when you tell people that fat jokes and nicknames like "big guy" aren't appreciated - you can let them off the hook. Or not. Please keep in mind that I'd never actually do this. Probably. But wouldn't it be fun? Especially to someone who treated you poorly in the past? (For the record, since I'm new here - this was intended as humor. My sense of humor can charitably be called "dark". I don't think that's going to change as the weight comes off.) -Dito

I'm not sure if Mrs. Dito will be joining or not. I'm much more of the internet type than she is. Thanks, everyone, for the good wishes and support. Monday is coming awfully fast... :thumbup: