Any Long Islanders?

[Lcubed 0]

Hi Chris. I did the same exact thing when I left his office after my initial consult. I am really impressed with Dr. Geiss also, as well as his staff. The pulmonologist I used was Dr. Newmark whose office is across the street from the hospital. He is very good. I just finished all of my preop testing and am now waiting for Dr. Geiss to review my clearances and schedule a surgery date. Please keep me posted on your progress and we'll match notes!!!

Lisa

[shrinkinmom 1]

Lisa thanks for answering.

I will call Dr. newmarks office Monday morning. If i can get in there this week I can have all my testing done by Friday. I am trying really hard not to take off from work for these tests. I am a teacher and it is so early in the year to be taking off.

I would love to continue sharing notes. It would be great to have a buddy to go through this with.

[Sooverit! 1]

I have to say I'm more than disappointed with Dr. Powers and Dr. Geiss. I am 15-20 pounds shy of a 40 BMI and they e-mailed me saying that I am not qualified for lap band surgery and what I need is nutritional counseling. Oh really..I could write a few books on nutrition as I eat very healthy almost all the time except I just eat too much. It seem they only take patients that are covered by insurance. Business must be good and that is what business is about I understand.

[susancarole 0]

Hi Chris- and everyone else posting...It is so funny, I used to live in Sayville and had to move to Nassau County....anyway....

The process seems to be going very fast for you! Seeing all those doctors in one week. I am glad you were able to get the appointments right away. I was going to caution you, that most of these doctors give you an initial consultation, and send you for the testing afterward. Depending on what insurance you have, there is a lot of testing! For example, the pulmonologist needs to give you a pulmonary function test, chest x-ray and sleep study for apnea. I used Dr. Fred Glasser, but he is in Mineola- kind of far from you. But, the office was great!

Good luck with your progress. I am going to see Dr. Powers tomorrow for my first post-op appointment. I just started the "mushy" stage of food after all these weeks of liquids. I have to say, that I am having no trouble whatsoever with the foods going down. My question is going to be: Do I already need a fill> I think I do! I think that they will not fill until 6 weeks post-op....but lets see! I am trying to be really optimistic.

I have lost a lot of weight just being on the liquids, but it has slowed way down now. I have a feeling that my body is in starvation mode and holding on to whatever it has.....haha...

I am sure he will give me great advice and I will report back.

See you all soon,

Susan

[shrinkinmom 1]

Sooverit I am so sorry. I understand how fustrated you but be. I have no idea why Giess/Powers would have denied you or if they even had a good reason. Are you going to see other Doctors?

Susancarole

Thanks for the advice about the the multi-visits to each doctor. Uugh...Nothing is ever easy.

I am really trying to get my band before Thanksgiving. My brother is getting married in December and I would like to be fully recoverd by then. I don't care about the special diet I just want to be able to feel well enough to dance and do my wedding duties as his best man. (Yes, I am am his siter but he asked me to be his best man)

If not I may wait until after the Holidays which I really don't want to do.

Have a great day!!

Go JETS!!!

[ajoneen 0]

shrinkinmom

I used Dr Newmark also. He did all the tests at his office the same day. If you need a sleep study he can do it to, but that is another appointment.

[susancarole 0]

Congrats on your brother's wedding. If you have the operation in November, you will absolutely fine by December. I had my operation and played competitive tennis 8 days later....Just keep remembering to move around a lot after- lots of walking.

Susan

[Lcubed 0]

Hi Everyone. Chris, I had the same experience with Dr. Newmark. He did all tests on the first and only visit I had with him. I did have to have a sleep study which I scheduled for 2 days later. After being diagnosed with sleep apnea as a result of the study, I had to have another sleep study called a titration study to determine the correct setting for the cpap machine. So that took another 2 weeks or so. My cardiologist did the ekg during my first visit. I had to go back 2 more times for the echocardiogram and the stress test, but it was all done within a week. So don't be disappointed if you have to go back for tests; you can still get it all done pretty quickly. I had my initial consult on 8/1 and I am now completely finished with all tests. I am expecting to get my surgery date from Dr. Geiss this week. And, it is definitely greyt to have a buddy to go thru all of this.

[Sooverit! 1]

Hey Shrinkingmom thank you for your kind words...I was pretty shocked too ...that Geiss would turn down patients who are can't get insurance coverage. When I first called them they said if I don't have a 40 BMI I won't qualify when I called again the woman said they don't take people who aren't covered by insurance because they end up not being able to pay out of pocket if there are complications. Now Dr. Fielding and Ren ...leaders and pioneers in Lap band surgery practicing out of NYU Med Center in NYC are fine and will band anyone over 35 BMI and some lower in certain cases. I plan to go there after I got that email.

[slim2be 0]

Hi Chris,

I wish I could help you with a pulmonologist but I wasn't really happy with who I went to. I wasn't too concerned about it because she did do all the necessary things needed to give me clearance for that dr. I can say that you should call around and ask when you can get the soonest appointment....I'm sure you can probably get in sooner with another dr. Oh, and I too used Dr. Geiss and he and his staff are all wonderful....they really care about their patients and make you feel comfortable. I highly recommend them! Good luck to you!

Lisa

[shrinkinmom 1]

Thanks everyone for your responses. I found a pulmonary Dr. today who was able to give me an appointment on Thursday. I have all my initial appointments this week. 7 appointments in 4 days. I don't think I have been to seven Dr. apointments in the last 30 years besides my OB. I will have to see how the follow ups go. At least it is a good start.

LCubed --Did you get your date? I am so excited for you. I can't wait to hear about your experience so I know what to expect. Is your dog an Italian Greyhound?

Sooverit--Good for you!! I am glad you did not give up. There is a whole NYU thread here some where. Have you found it? I am sure they will make you feel that you are in good hands.

Slimtobe--I was really happy with Dr. Geiss's staff. I made him crack up when I called the lapband "Jewerly for the stomach". I love how he truly believes that obesity is a disease and that the lapband is not a cure but a type of treatment.

[shrinkinmom 1]

Hi Susan

I didn't think anyone actually left Sayville. LOL

How are you feeling? So my question for you is how hard is the liquid diet and how long were you on it before surgery? This part really worries me.

What has been the hardest adjustment for you so far? And did you really play competitve tennis 8 days later? That is the kind of recovery I hope for.

[Lcubed 0]

Hi everyone!

Chris: I'm so happy you were able to schedule all of your appts so quickly. If you need follow-up appts, don't worry...they still can schedule them quickly. I did and I told each doc's secretary that I was trying to schedule surgery quickly (the secretaries don't usually know why that you are seeing the doc for surgery clearance) and they were very cooperative in scheduling appts fast. I got a call yesterday from Dr. Geiss's office and they said my file is complete. The PA will now review it and I should get a call in a few days to schedule surgery! YAY!!! I can't wait! Oh, and my sweet dog is a retired racing greyhound. I adopted her from Long Island Greyhound Transfer. She is my 3rd greyhound so far. I'm thinking about adopting a friend for her sometime after my surgery.

Good luck to you Sooverit! Let me know how your appt goes with the NYU doc.

How are you feeling Susan? Where in Nassau County do you live? I live in Oceanside.

How is everyone else doing? I'll let you know as soon as I get my surgery date...I'm so excited!!!

[susancarole 0]

Hi Everyone:

I had my post-op appointment yesterday with Dr. Powers. My appointment was for 1:00 pm, I checked in and they told me to have a seat in the waiting room. After 40 minutes, I went up to one of the receptionists- (the english sounding woman) and I asked how much longer......She told me that Dr. Powers was in the OR- performing some other kind of bariatric surgery, not lap band......I was really miffed that they did not tell me that when I checked-in- and that they should have called me at home before I even went all the way to Syosset. I had to see their "fellow". He took out the sutures (which I did not even know I had in me.) The next appointment is for 6 weeks post-op, when they can decide if you need a "fill" of saline. They wanted to give me an appointment with one of the physician assistants, but I insisted on seeing Dr. Powers (since I had not seen him yet.) Apparently, once you have the surgery, all other follow-up appointments are with the PAs.

Shrinkinmom- Believe me, I did not want to leave Sayville- I loved it there! I get to go back all the time as I still have friends there, and my parents live there as well.

L-cubed- I am in Garden City....but I play tennis in Oceanside once in a while!

I hope all goes well with your surgery dates! Let me know what happens.

Even though I was so angry at the office staff yesterday- I still think they are the best to use for this surgery. I came through mine GREAT and I was back to playing competitive tennis 8 days after surgery. I am having absolutely NO PROBLEMS with my Lap Band.

Good luck all and keep in touch.

[susancarole 0]

Hi Again Shrinkin-

I am sorry, I forgot to answer your question in my ranting...haha....

The liquid diet was not that easy to do...but I did it. For the first 3 days of the 7 you can have a few crackers if you need to. I also had chicken noodle Soup so it had some substance. The last days I strictly had what they said to have. I was paranoid about the fatty liver thing. I stuck to the Medifast (yuk), low fat Soups and no sugar-no fat pudding. PS...I lost a lot of weight during that period. STICK to it- because it really is important. During your meeting with June W (mandatory education meeting) she mentioned that some have had to be turned away from surgery if the liver does not rid the fat- and liquids are the way to do it. (These are people who did not follow the liquid phase correctly.)

By the way, I bought way too much Medifast. It is expensive and not very tasty. I have sooooo much left over. I know they like you to use it because of the Vitamin and Protein content. I personally could only hack having one of those per day, instead of the 3 they suggest.

The hardest thing for me is not eating what I prepare for my family. I am on the soft foods now, and it is much better.

Again, I am soooo happy I did this and I really do feel GREAT!

Susan