Argh!

[ShanaMarie 1]

Ok, I had my first fill this afternoon. I got there and the Dr. was like, "What happened?" because my weight was up 6 lbs. from what my pre-op weight was. That made me feel like shit and want to cry. Well, first off, I swear to everything high and holy that the day of my surgery when they weighed me the weight was 257, and today when they weighed me it was 256. I think what may have happened is that they were looking at what my weight was when I applied for the surgery, which was 250. Plus, I'm on my period, so there's a few extra lbs. right there. I didn't know what to tell him. I've been working out 3x/week and trying to make the right food choices.

But besides all that, I thought it was pretty common to not start losing until you've had a fill and start eating solids. I'm 7 weeks post-op and for the past 3 or 4 weeks I've been able to eat whatever the heck I want and as much of it as I want. Obviously I had no restriction so why would I be losing?

My Dr. made a huge point of saying how "of all the patient's I've had, you're the only one who's gained post-op" Gee, thanks for the insight, doc.

So he put in 1cc. I'm on liquids for the rest of tonight, but tomorrow I'm supposed to go back to eating as normal. I'm supposed to go back in 4 weeks for another fill since he said it's common to lose some of the liquid from your first fill. The only problem is, I have to miss class and drive 2 hours there and 2 hours back to get fills. According the the ABA, I can only miss a certain number of law school classes or else I'm not allowed to take the final exam.

My point is, my spring break is in 2 weeks. If I'm eating solids for the next 2 weeks and I don't have any restriction, I'm thinking of seeing if he will let me come in then so I don't have to miss a class for my 2nd fill. Does 2nd fill after 2 weeks seem unreasonable to anybody out there? I know everybody's different, etc., I just wanted to rant and get some of your opinions.

[GeezerSue 7]

And how many LapBand patients has he had? Certainly, not many! And has he no clue (this may be rhetorical) that his version of support is not likely to help you lose weight?

Sorry about your having this doctor.

Sue

[ShanaMarie 1]

You know, it's wierd, I loved him up until today! He's normally a very nice guy and he and the other surgeon he works with have done aroung 600 lap bands to date...but I don't know what was up with him today. That's exactly what I felt like saying to him - "Do you think that kind of comment is going to motivate me towards my goals?!?!"

Thanks for the support!

[Alexandra 55]

Shana, you have my sympathy. If it makes you feel any better, I'm sure they are looking at your weight from your first visit, the consult, rather than your actual surgery date. My doctor's office does the same thing, even though the consult and surgery date were about 10 months apart. During that time I lost close to 20 lbs on my own. They don't look at the date on the chart so I'm always congratulated heartily on my weight loss when I go in for checkups. I have to point out the difference every freaking time.

Anyway, I think if you really like your doctor that's saying a lot right there. You might tell him that you are his learning experience--not all bandsters have the same results. His challenge is to work with you to find the restriction that will let you work on eating less, not put you down along the way.

I don't know whether he'll think 2 weeks between fills is not long enough. My thinking is that it isn't, but then again it sounds like the first fill was intended to be very small. Maybe he'll do it if you're not having any problems. It can't hurt to ask!

Good luck with this. Let us know how it's going!

[bbrecruiter2000 1]

Hi Shana,

I had my first fill in August. They gave me 1.00 CC. I came home and felt hungrier than when I went there. I called my doc and told him that I wanted another fill immediately. I came back the following week and they took me to 1.75 where I stayed for 3 months. In November I had another fill to 2.00 and a month ago I had another fill to 2.25. I just had one of my highest weight loss months at 10 lbs lost. Before the fill, I was averaging 8 pounds a month. So if your doc is cooperative, try to see if he will bump it up some to give you the restriction you are looking for. You have to be proactive and write down what you are able to eat in a diary. This will give them a better idea what kind of restriction you have.

Babs in TX

334/241/180

-93

6/23/03

[ShanaMarie 1]

Thanks! Keeping a food journal for him is a really good idea =)

[GeezerSue 7]

Originally posted by ShanaMarie

You know, it's wierd, I loved him up until today! He's normally a very nice guy and he and the other surgeon he works with have done aroung 600 lap bands to date...but I don't know what was up with him today. That's exactly what I felt like saying to him - "Do you think that kind of comment is going to motivate me towards my goals?!?!"

Thanks for the support!

Are you sure? I only ask because I've been reading several boards for a couple of years, and I am not familiar with his name. And...that's how many bands some of the Mexican surgeons--who have been doing this for three or four times as long as it's been legal here--have done. I thought I'd heard the name of most of the high-volume surgeons. Oh, well, learn something new every day. (Where is he located?)

Sue

[GeezerSue 7]

Oops, just went to their web site, and that IS what is says. Amazing. I'd have believed "over 600 lap bariatric surgeries." But the two of them, in 16 months, have done over 600 LapBands? Amazing. (Oh, I already said that, huh?) But I know that just a few months ago, one of the Mexican surgeons told me that he and another surgeon together had done close to 900 bands, over a period of about five years.

[ShanaMarie 1]

You know what really gets me? Assuming Boutt and Behsania really have done 600+ lapbands, that means each of them have a pretty high number of patients. Yet Boutt's only office hours for fills are from 1pm to 3pm on Tuesdays. How the f&$% does he think that's convenient for anybody, let alone enough time to see everybody who needs to be seen?! Personally I know I have to jump through hoops to make it during that time period, and that's just with school. I shudder to think what happens to people with actual jobs where they can't just up and take a 1/2 day off to drive over to Port Huron. Ridiculous....

[GeezerSue 7]

Well, and to me--a terminal skeptic and former neighbor of a couple of M.D.'s who were morons--it makes me wonder a little about how much time they have for post-op support (which doesn't pay as well as the surgery.)

And, while I'm picking on doctors, I might mention the concept of the "Psychological Fill," as promoted by one LapBand doctor. (His colleagues ratted him out to me.)

I'll start a new thread.

Sue

[quakergirl 2]

I agree that Dr. Boutt's comment was surprisingly insensitive.

Your weight loss pre-fill shouldn't be an issue. I'm *very* surprised he hasn't seen a patient before who didn't lose pre-fill, because it doesn't seem unusual going by these websites. Then there are people like me: I did lose weight during the first two weeks post-op, but was rapidly regaining it by the time I got my first fill!

I'm a Bhesania patient and he didn't give me any trouble about the regain at my first fill appt. Perhaps Dr. Bhesania has learned not to do that kind of thing because he has seen more patients than Boutt. When I started this process a year ago, Bhesania had done 300+ bands and Boutt had done less than 100 if I recall correctly. Maybe you can help Boutt see that his attitude isn't helping things.

They definitely do have a busy practice. It's not unusual for the waiting room to overflow into the hall because so many people are waiting to see the docs. However, I have never felt like Dr. Bhesania didn't have enough time for me when it was needed. I think they're good surgeons overall. Hopefully from now on things will go more smoothly for you.

[ShanaMarie 1]

You know, the more I think about what happend at that appointment on Tuesday, the more upset I get. It's not that I felt Boutt rushed through my appointment or anything, that's not it at all. It was the attitude he gave me that reallly bothered me. The "you'd better work something out, you need to be available in case we need to unfill you, blah blah blah." Ok, know what? YOU need to be available more than 2 hours per week. I can only work around so much, man. And after reading Sue's post on the psychological fill, I'm starting to really doubt that I'm the only one who didn't lose before their first fill. And if I am, then wow. Boutt's been really lucky with his patients. Actually, while I was in the waiting room on Tuesday all the people I talked to had lost weight before their first fill, but there's an important difference - their starting weight was much higher than mine. I think it's pretty common that the more weight you have to lose, the faster it comes off initially.

I realized something last night: I'm PAYING him for his services. It's 2 days after the fill and I feel NO restriction. So unless a miracle happens and I suddenly get tighter in the next week, I'm giving Michelle a call and requesting that she give me that appointment over my spring break. I pay them to help me make the band work, not to screw me around and make me feel like shit. Obviously I don't want to get sick, but I want some kind of restriction, otherwise the band is useless. I don't think I should have to feel guilty about wanting that. I don't think I should have to feel out of line for asking for another fill so soon. If he wants to see me lose some weight then he has to work with me to get to someplace where I can't eat as much as I can right now.

I love this board, I don't know what I'd do without having this forum to vent my frustrations!!

And p.s., Quakergirl: Congratulations on your awesome weight loss!

[Alexandra 55]

Good for you, Shana! It's very important to remember that our doctors should be working WITH us and not against us. Being direct without being confrontational is the best approach. Be honest and remember that YOU are the boss of your treatment.

Go for it!

[ShanaMarie 1]

I just had to share this, it's my boyfriend's take on the situation after I told him I just ate a whole veggie wrap and don't feel full yet: "i'm really pissed at your doctor, i'm tempted to find him over spring break and kick him in the balls and ask him if he feels full cause his balls are in his stomach"

[~c~ 1]

:knockedou

eepp!