SMMC LB support group chicas

[Wheetsin 714]

RObyn - :grouphug:. Have you been checked for ulcers? Do you have any indication whether the bleeding is a result of the wretching? (Many many years ago when I had the stomach flu, my vomiting was so intense it actually tore blood vessels.) Please keep up updated on what you find out!

Cynthia - you are way too hard on yourself. Steak, corn, garlic toast aren't bad, and certainly not deserving of anyone yelling at you. You said, "I am having a lot of trouble being good now that I know my band isn't where it should be. Any suggestions?" I would ask you - what difference does it make, to you, whether the band is where it should be or not? What difference has that knowledge made in your life? What does that knowledge mean to you? Answer, and you have somewhere to start from.

[ofps 1]

Hello all,

I was banded in Ks, June 15, just found this group. Didn't know there were that many in KS. What part of Ks did you get banded? The doctor's name you are using doesn't sound familiar to me. Does my doctor have to be Hoehn to participate in this forum? Can't get to Topeka to the support groups very often, so look forward to being in an online group.

ofps

[Wheetsin 714]

Hi ofps, this particular thread is for patients of Dr. Hoehn, it's sort of our support group outside of the once monthly meetings... but the Kansas forum is open to anyone in the area. If you're looking for an online group of locals, I would suggest starting a new thread with your area, and just ask if anyone is around. I believe that's how many of the hot & heavy area groups on this board got started. :grouphug:

[Rockin' Robyn 15]

RObyn - . Have you been checked for ulcers? Do you have any indication whether the bleeding is a result of the wretching? (Many many years ago when I had the stomach flu, my vomiting was so intense it actually tore blood vessels.) Please keep up updated on what you find out!

Yes...I definitely believe it is a result of the wretching/vomiting related to the gallbladder issue...but my concern is what damage am I doing to my band as a secondary problem by my nausea/vomiting not being addressed. I had called the on-call dr last night...Never once did she ever suggest anti-nausea meds to stop the wretching....she suggested I either wait until 0900 when the office opened and talk to Dr Hoehn (which he wasn't back today anyway), or just go to the ER. Well from my previous experiences with ER's post op...they are completely incompetent and ridiculous when it comes to bands...they say "You had a lap-what?", then proceed to give you all these 'possible' scenarios of what could be wrong....could be a bowel obstruction...could be a 'mass'....could be...could be. I just can't take hearing any of that at this stage of the game with all that has been going on. SO...I decided to wait and call the office this morning.............and so the saga begins:cry

First time I called I was given to Billie's voice mail....Second time I called and someone besides Becky answered....I told her it was mandatory that I talked to whoever was covering for Billie/Hoehn, and she told me "No one is covering, but I can give you to Billie's voice mail." The third time I called, I said to Becky very sternly..."I need to talk to someone because I need someone to hear that I have been vomiting blood and cannot keep anything down." She said "I'll transfer you to Linda's voicemail"...which to me still is not an acceptable thing to do when you have someone on the other line firmly saying they want to speak to someone now.

Long story short....when the office returned my call, they were ridiculing me for NOT going to the ER. I kept trying to explain to Linda that the N/V was related to my gallbladder and NOT my band...but that the band was being affected by all the wretching....she just kept saying, "Why didn't you go to the ER?" Finally I was the one that stopped the back and forth ridiculing of my choice not to go to the ER...and I said to her could you at least ask the doc on call or whoever to prescribe me some anti-nausea medication, which they finally did on my request...Thank GOD!

I ended up calling Holli after that to vent because I was almost hysterical I was so upset. Holli asked me if I had asked to talk to Jessica. I had never thought of that option because they told me no one was covering for Billie/Hoehn. At that point I didnt feel comfortable calling the office for a 4th time....Holli graciously asked my permission to call the office and see if Jessica was there. Holli called me back and said she was there and that Jessica was going to try to get a hold of someone to let them know what was going on.

Well evidently in the meantime...The office manager somehow found out that Jessica was trying to get a hold of Billie and started asking questions and basically wouldn't let Jessica talk to me or Holli about the situation (a little bit of a control freak maybe??) She evidently told Jessica that it was a "privacy issue" and she wasn't allowed to call Holli or me back.

(NOW I DONT GET THAT...EITHER JESSICA IS ALLOWED TO ACT AS "PATIENT ADVOCATE" OR SHE IS NOT) Sounds like a lot of confusion and mismanagement going on there if you ask me...but no one did:guess

So....back to topic...without the office manager even ever having talked to me before, she phones me back, NEVER apologizing for the way things have been handled....She called me and handled the situation with a total lack of class. The first thing she says to me is "so what is the problem that you are having with us?" :grouphug: First of all, when you are doing customer service recovery, you never start out the conversation with those words....it came off as being extremely accusatory and judgemental. It would have went a lot better had she actually had the skills and a little common sense when it comes to dealing with recovery of bad service situations. The more she prodded, the more upset I became, and could no longer articulate my concerns. It was clear that she wasn't getting it anyway.....The rest of the conversation just ended up being more of the same crap some of us have been going through for the past couple months.....The office staff making their patients feel stupid for having concerns/questions.

This whole situation just sucks because it's not like I/we can just sever all ties because we are dissatisfied with the way the office is being managed/ran. Too bad Hoehn/Billie can't transplant themselves to a more ideal situation (maybe an all bariatric office). As soon as our bands are put in, we are stuck there for the rest of our lives. I just have to focus on the fact that I love Dr Hoehn and Billie:biggrin1: (Becky is nice too depending on how stressed she is), and those two are the only reasons I continue to go there. The rest of the office staff is incompetent and at times even rude in my book. I can't get hung up on the other's ignorant behavior and let that sway my opinion of Dr Hoehn. But unfortunately, they do in a round about way represent him. Unfortunately, half of them don't even understand what is going on around them including the other general (non-bariatric) surgeons who work there (Hello...there is this thing called Lap-Band patients!) EDUCATE EDUCATE EDUCATE!!

I'm not going to mention any of this tomorrow before my surgery...just because if Dr H does ever want to discuss it, I want to be able to communicate the concerns with him in a dignified manner, not an emotional one.:phanvan

However, a little birdie told me that Dr Hoehn is extremely aware of the problems with the staff and that I am NOT the first one to have complaints. That made me feel a smidgen better:angry The same little birdie told me that they hired someone that was "non-medically" qualified, but had been a bariatric patient about 15 months ago to do a job similiar to what J is doing now. Evidently, that it was a nightmare, they ended up getting rid of the person, and they swore they would never do it again....But they did....interesting (Heavy sigh).....

Okay...thanks once again for allowing me to vomit all over you all...I feel somewhat better now.

[nolagirl2 0]

Oh Robyn Robyn Robyn I am soooooooo sorry. I honestly don't even know what else to say. I'm sorry. Good luck.

[nolagirl2 0]

BTW... Anyone else considering hitting up the LB sale this weekend? It's like Forever-21 prices. I'm not in 20s yet, but my 22s are getting a little bit looser, so I might go see what they have. I'm clothesless wonder nowadays, so I will need some necessities.

[Wheetsin 714]

Ooh, what sale? I haven't heard of it. I'll have to check mail one of these days!

The vast majoritu of my smaller clothes are fall/winter. I have very few cute summer pieces. This could be the perfect excuse...

*sigh* I miss sz 20. That's my initial goal size b/c it's the last size I felt "normal" at. Ok - bad outfit 'cause I was boarding a plane for a 10 hour flight and comfort was my main goal, but here's me at size 20:

[Wheetsin 714]

Here's another, size 20. *sigh* I felt normal, but had still gained weight at this point. I can remember thinking I was too fat back then.

[Banded in KS 0]

You were a hottie Angela! ...and I love your hair!

Btw, Cate and Angela...do you want to go through my old clothes? Robyn and my mom have already taken a lot but I still have more. I will be laying around all weekend doing pretty much NOTHING, so let me know.

[Wheetsin 714]

Robyn - I'm speechless. Not so much b/c I have no words, but because they're not fit for public viewing. :speechles That is absurd. Voicemail does not equal adequate care. If there is that much incompetence and ignorance around lapband in the office, then the office needs educating. No excuses, no delays. None.

Bariatrics has to be a significant part of their business - I'd think anyway. Am I being naive? Having somthing be a significant component, and having 0 skilled staff in the office able to help is not acceptable - I don't care how creative you are, or how sharpened your spinning skills are, you cannot make it an OK situation.

Nor is it for the office manager to have treated you the way she did. Hello -- what village just lost their idiot??? "What is the problem you are having with us?" WTF is that? OMG you are waaaay nicer than I am - that never would have flown with me... and if I'd known that's what you were going through, I would have made sure it wasn't flying with you either.

Since our discussions tend to make it into the office -- maybe our reactions to the idiocy, incompotence, and inappropriateness of response to its patients' concerns will make their way too.

[Wheetsin 714]

Holli - absolutely! One thing I learned quickly was never turn down clothes. A few weeks after surgery I spent over $1000 on new things (damn LB and their "Real Women Dollars" sales), b/c I had dropped a size and was thrilled, and now every single one of them is too big.

[Rockin' Robyn 15]

Hey Girls-

Starting to feel pretty tired and weak tonight from the clears, which is probably good so I can sleep. Thanks for the calls and words of encouragement. This will hopefully all be only a bad memory by this time tomorrow:tired

Angela-You are beautiful!! Seriously, the face of model:kiss2: I just woke up and got your message...but I'm pretty wiped out tonight. I'll try to call you sometime this weekend.

Holli-Good Luck tomorrow too. Love ya and thinking of ya!:girl_hug:

Cate-Do some shopping for me:) I'm bummed that I can't take advantage of the sales....does that mean things are on sale for $21 (or what does the 21 sale mean)?? It would have been fun to go shopping together..I can honestly say I have never done that (gone shopping for clothes with other girlfriends:confused: ) Crazy huh? The things I have to look forward to;)

I'll post again as soon as I feel up to it after surgery. Thanks guys!:grouphug:

[Cynthia J. 0]

Hey guys! I didn't get a chance to really look on the site today and OMG. Robyn I feel so bad for all you have been through in the last 24 hours. This needs to be addressed. It is not right. I am livid for you. Good luck tomorrow and I will keep you in my thoughts. I'm so blown away right now I don't know what to say about anything. But again grateful you all are out there. Holli good luck to you tomorrow too. What is this sale on clothes you guys are talking about? Cate I may have to do the ticker tape thing you guys have suggested and I'll look for some pictures. Let me know if anyone needs anything this weekend. Robyn I'll check in with you this weekend.

[Wheetsin 714]

Robyn & Holli - best of luck today!!!

[Cynthia J. 0]

Hi Guys! Just wanted to check in. I hope you are doing ok Robyn and Holli. I have been thinking of both of you all day. I talked to Bille today and nothing has come back from my insurance company yet. But I'll keep hanging in there. I'll check in with you guys later.