Newbie from CA...Surgery April 27th 2011

[dsb 0]

I am looking forward to my first fill on Tuesday, June 7th. Nervous, but excited.

My surgery was a very good experience (if surgery can be a good experience). My surgeon, anesthesiologist and nurses were all attentive and professional. I had very little pain and was pleased to have no nausea. In previous experiences in surgery I had weeks of nausea following. The anthesiologist had several recommendations including adding Zofran to the IV during surgery. The Zofran worked. I did not have to take any pain medication (did not even take Tylenol). The day following surgery I watched tv, ate popspicles and drank Clear Liquids.

In the 6 weeks following, I have never had a problem with vomiting, slippage or any of the other issues people have had.

The ONLY problem I have had is hunger following any amount of physical exertion. Extreme hunger. Starving hunger. Eat a wild beast kind of hunger. I am assuming that once I have my band filled (the surgeon did not add any saline in the lap band during surgery), I will have the hunger part go away.

My surgeon is very conservative and follows very strict pre and post op protocol. Which I like. Not everyone likes the system that he has set up. I did pay an $800 admin fee that was not covered by insurance. In doing my investigation on surgeons in the LA area, all of the reputable ones run a program. His one on one visit with me pre-op was lengthy and very detailed. He took the time to spend with me and answered all of my questions (I am a research scientist -- thus the detail importance).

I have heard horror stories of Mexican Chop Shop Lap Band surgeries, Downtown LA surgeries where the surgery is performed in the office (WHAT????) and even Dr.'s who have techs fill and never see their patients again. Not Judging,,. Just saying, this whole procedure and lifestyle change is a very big deal ...

Looking forward to hearing from some new people and making connections and friends with other lapbanders.

D

[AppleBand 1]

I am looking forward to my first fill on Tuesday, June 7th. Nervous, but excited.

My surgery was a very good experience (if surgery can be a good experience). My surgeon, anesthesiologist and nurses were all attentive and professional. I had very little pain and was pleased to have no nausea. In previous experiences in surgery I had weeks of nausea following. The anthesiologist had several recommendations including adding Zofran to the IV during surgery. The Zofran worked. I did not have to take any pain medication (did not even take Tylenol). The day following surgery I watched tv, ate popspicles and drank clear liquids.

In the 6 weeks following, I have never had a problem with vomiting, slippage or any of the other issues people have had.

The ONLY problem I have had is hunger following any amount of physical exertion. Extreme hunger. Starving hunger. Eat a wild beast kind of hunger. I am assuming that once I have my band filled (the surgeon did not add any saline in the lap band during surgery), I will have the hunger part go away.

My surgeon is very conservative and follows very strict pre and post op protocol. Which I like. Not everyone likes the system that he has set up. I did pay an $800 admin fee that was not covered by insurance. In doing my investigation on surgeons in the LA area, all of the reputable ones run a program. His one on one visit with me pre-op was lengthy and very detailed. He took the time to spend with me and answered all of my questions (I am a research scientist -- thus the detail importance).

I have heard horror stories of Mexican Chop Shop Lap Band surgeries, Downtown LA surgeries where the surgery is performed in the office (WHAT????) and even Dr.'s who have techs fill and never see their patients again. Not Judging,,. Just saying, this whole procedure and lifestyle change is a very big deal ...

Looking forward to hearing from some new people and making connections and friends with other lapbanders.

D

Yes, I agree with you! I met my doctor today for the first time and was so impressed and comfortable! My only real concern that I shared with him is the "erosion" of the band into the stomach wall. He told me he has not seen that happen yet with the FDA approved bands. He has taken out 4 on people who had bands placed in Mexico. He said he couldn't even recognize the devices that were being used down there. Scary!! "I have never seen anything like them", he said. Anyway, good luck with your first fill!!! I am sure it will take away that hunger ).

[njm 0]

Who is your sugeon? Sounds alot like mine. Mine is Dr. Lamar at California Bariatric I Duarte. I love the conservative approach. I've lost 82 lbs since preop started August 11, 2010. At 56, I am thrilled with how fast I'm losing.

[AppleBand 1]

Who is your sugeon? Sounds alot like mine. Mine is Dr. Lamar at California Bariatric I Duarte. I love the conservative approach. I've lost 82 lbs since preop started August 11, 2010. At 56, I am thrilled with how fast I'm losing.

Mine is Dr. Doriaswamy!!!!!!!!!!!!! He is Dr. Lamar's partner

[njm 0]

Mine is Dr. Doriaswamy!!!!!!!!!!!!! He is Dr. Lamar's partner

Very cool. Hope you will come to the support group meeting on June 27. If you haven't been yet, they are really great.

[dsb 0]

Mine is Dr. Doriaswamy!!!!!!!!!!!!! He is Dr. Lamar's partner

Very cool. Hope you will come to the support group meeting on June 27. If you haven't been yet, they are really great.

My Dr. is David Martin out of Huntington Memorial.

Had my fill today. I was nervous for nothing. The fill went fine and I am sipping a Protein Drink right now. I was a little dissapointed to have realized that my home scale is 5 lbs heavier than the office's. Yikes. I will ask my husband to figure out how to adjust the scale. Well at least that is the only bad news I had.