NewJEM

Has anyone had any experience with Dr. David Oliak in Orange, CA? He's the surgeon my PCP medical group contracts with. Love all the wonderful posts - thank you for all the support and information and first-hand experiences!!

I had my second appointment with my surgeon last week and got my surgery date - July 25!!!! I'm so excited and READY! On my way into the surgeon's office I saw a license plate holder on a car in the parking lot that was exactly what I needed to see - "Failure is Not an Option". Talk about being in the right place at the right time! I decided right then and there that is my new motto. I have to lose 10 lbs. before my next appointment in a month so I'm workin' it. I've already lost 10 lbs in the last month so I'm keeping on doing what I'm doing. It's not a picnic but I'm recording my food and trying to eat like I'm going to have to do after surgery anyway - pay close attention to my fullness while eating, Protein first, veggies next. Have already pretty much given up grains/starch anyway. I've weighed my protein for a couple of years as a Weight Watchers thing (off and on before then too). Quantities have been pretty reasonable by listening to my stomach but I'm still feeling too full. When I look at my food I try and picture a cup and it really does put portion size in perspective. Just trying to take it a day at a time. The doctor suggested I start doing 2 shakes a day to get used to the feeling, but I'm not quite that brave yet. I'm planning on transitioning to that a couple of weeks pre-op. I like our July Butterflies name! My thanks to everyone for being here and sharing their experiences - triumphs, setbacks and everything in between.

I'm so excited for you - you'll do great! This is a good thing you're doing for yourself and the people who love you.

Wow - a month sooner! Best of luck!

-tillydog, wsw27?, florida girl 2-trudeip, mackie, BethO,guitar247 3 4 5 6 7 8-Zeama, Tamspri, knd, JaJeanne, 9-Missrach, st4r69 10 11 12 13 14 15 16-lotzasunshine 17 18-CapitolChick 19 20 21-pennylane 22 23 24-daniml, nyllrap 25 -NewJEM 26 27 28 29-Chellets 30

Congratulations!! It's great to hear about your success - thanks for sharing it with us! :wink_smile:

Hi everyone, I'm just starting some posts to the site although I've been reading and exploring forums for the past few weeks. I live in south Orange County, CA and I decided for sure to have the surgery yesterday after attending the surgeon's (Dr. Oliak, Orange) seminar. Plus reading all the wonderful posts here about how it's changed so many lives for the better. All my medical stuff is done except the psych eval scheduled for May 14, then they submit for insurance approval. Not sure how long that takes but I'll find out at my surgeon's appointment May 15. I'm hoping for a mid-July surgery date. I haven't told anyone except my family and a close friend, but they all are incredibly supportive. I didn't realize how concerned they were about my weight, we rarely talked about it. Not that you can miss it, it's kind of hard to hide an extra 110 lbs! :thumbup: I love reading everyone's stories, anecdotes and questions, especially all those nitty-gritty ones only other bandster's would know the answer to. There are no silly questions here! It's truly inspiring to hear from so many people who made their OWN decision to change their lives for the better by having this surgery. My very best wishes to all my fellow travelers on this road to wellness.:biggrin:

AMEN to that!! And I like the suggestion about the "sensitive stomach" re: change in eating habits. That should buy some time, and is actually true. Yes, I've already started my list of all the new things I'll have time for when I don't have to spend as much time/effort/money on food related stuff. I have several friends that enjoy hiking so I'm looking forward to joining them without having to stop every 100 yds and pretend I'm looking at the view when I'm really catching my breath! lol Yipeeee!!!

Bummer Calif Princess, but hang in there!!

Wow, these psych evals seem to run the gamut! I have mine May 14, still not totally sure what to expect but I'll post afterward.......

Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone on this thread! You have expressed so many of the concerns I have and I'm so happy to see you acknowledging them and working through them. I've yet to be banded and am so looking forward to it. I know there will be some tough days ahead as I struggle with the same head hunger I've had for many, many years but I also am confident the band will be the tool that allows me to stop long enough to look at the food and say "wait, NOT eating this will make me feel better (emotionally) than eating it." I don't really think I'll mourn the loss of the food as much as the comfort it promises (falsely of course). That's the head hunger part for me. I have already started looking at portion sizes differently and trying to visualize how much I realistically will be able to eat. I think I'm beginning to understand when someone says a "normal" portion will look gigantic post-banding. I threw away half a sandwich this weekend because it made me physically uncomfortable to think of eating it. Now that's never happened before! :wink2: But I do wonder how it will impact some of my relationships and social interactions. I'm single so eating out and having drinks with friends is a big part of my social life. Obviously there are many other social activities and I'm looking forward to more of those as well. But here's a question for you - does it make your companions uncomfortable when they are eating a regular meal and you are eating so little? I don't hang out with compulsive overeaters like myself so that's not the issue. And I know I'll have to eat very slowly so I can pace myself. But I don't want to tell every dining companion (particularly casual aquaintances) I've had surgery either. Nor do I want to sit at a table for 2 hrs while everyone else lingers over dessert/coffee/conversation. How do you handle that? :confused2:

Hi tmfritts - new here myself and trying to get the lay of the land. From browsing around on this site it looks like there are forums for each month for people getting banded that month. They may have some great info there if the other forums are any indication. Best of luck to you! I'm hoping to have the surgery in July.

Hi Calif Princess - I just met Dr. Oliak at his seminar this week. He seems personable, very factual, no bs, doesn't try to "sell" the surgery. He does lap band and gastric bypass. I haven't had much contact with his office staff yet, so no comments there. I posted on the Doctor forum page asking about him and there is a reply posted from angelface, he did her surgery. I don't know how to show that post here, but try to find it. She liked him. I'll fill you in after I have my consult May 15 and go to a support group meeting. Check out his website too. Good luck - let me know what you decide.

Thanks Angelface, how are you doing? Only 2 days post surgery - wow - congratulations!! Are you feeling good? That's good news about Dr. Oliak, thanks for posting. I haven't been able to find out too much about him, but he's the surgeon my PCP group contracts with so that's reassuring to know someone who has used him. I went to his seminar yesterday and have decided to have the surgery. I also saw a couple of other posts about him on the CA sub-forum. Hope to hear more from you as you progress. Take care of yourself!