Pittsburgh Banders

[sandi1011 0]

good luck tomorrow...how exciting!!! i also go to dr ramanathan, please let me know how it goes. i am scheduled for end of april!!

good luck again

sandi

Edited February 22, 2009 by sandi1011

[sandi1011 0]

k,

been thinking about all day (your surgery is scheduled today).

please e-mail me and let me know how you made out!

how all is well.

sandi

[Barbie54 0]

Hi! Good luck on the surgery. I know you will do fine. That group of doctors are very good. I had my surgery in Aug. 08 and I am doing fine. I lost 50 lbs so far. My Dr. is Courcoulas. I only saw her once preop and now I see the physician assistant. I have 2.5cc in a 4cc band. Email me with any questions you have. I am bad about not getting on site too much now.

[mareinpa 0]

Hi...I am having the Lap-Band surgery on March 27th at Magee. Dr. Carol McCloskey is the surgeon. On March 10th., I go to Magee for pre-op tests. I don't know what they will consist of since I had so many tests already. When I questioned the need for more testing, I was told that the tests can be no more than 30 days pre-op.

In July of 08, I attended an informational meeting about bariatric surgery at Magee.

On Aug. 4th was the Pre-Operative Lifestyle Classes first meeting. The fee was $395.00 which could be paid in three installments of $145.00 each------the last one at the end of the six month life style classes. Also, I was instructed to keep a food/activity log for one week prior to the initial class.

A nutritionist ran the class which had about thirty people gathered in the waiting room area of Suite 5600. I noticed that most of the people interested in the surgery were accompanied by another person. I went alone. The Nutritionist passed out several informational booklets which were about nutrition, behavioral basics, lifestyle changes and physical activity.

One has the choice of either attending monthly classes at Magee or going to one's Primary Care Physician monthly. I chose to go to my PCP. The monthly PCP visit consisted of me bringing in my food and activity logs for each month. My PCP is closer than Magee and the parking is free, plus there was not the hassle of the drive on the Parkway East. Also, Magee had a list of the dates for the monthly classes. I was unable to attend any of the meetings scheduled in Oct. Thus, I had to schedule with my PCP at my convienience. It is imperative to attend a meeting each and every month. It makes no difference if your PCP meeting is one month and the next time you could meet is the next month only two weeks after the previous meeting. This was important to me and something I did not understand at first. It happened that I did have to schedule an appt. for Jan. 21st and the next one for Feb. 2nd.

I had little to add to the activity log due to the pain in my knees but I did attempt to take more steps each day. Of course, there was the dreaded weigh-in. My PCP filled out the required After Visit Summary and faxed it to Magee after each visit. My weight at Magee was 243. My first weigh-in with my PCP on Sept. 3rd was 237. My last weigh in with my PCP on Feb. 2,09 was 217.

I had a twenty dollar co-pay at each PCP visit.

I am in my 60's so I had a ton of tests.......EGK, stress test, echocardiogram, Chest x-ray, blood work, sleep study(which showed I have sleep apnea so I had to have a second study). I have a minor blood disorder so I was also required to see a hematolgist. He sent me for more tests. It was a lot of testing but I did it all in Feb., and got it done quickly. I see a therapist, so I only had to take in the form for him to fill out and fax to Magee. That was the easy part since he was the one who first suggested that I consider the Lap-Band surgery.

Before I scheduled all my tests, I spent hours on the phone with my insurer making sure that all the tests and the doctors were covered by my insurance. At the first meeting with the surgeon, I got all the scripts for each test to be done. After the six month program ended with the appt. with the nutritionist, all my records were sent to the insurance company. About ten days later, I got a call from Magee that my insurer wanted my PCP to send in a two year record of my weights.

Only a week later........Feb. 27th., I was called by Magee to tell me that my surgery was approved.

I have a confession that after my last PCP visit, I did lose my focus and start to eat badly again. I went on a three week vacation and fell into the same bad habits of overeating. I knew that I was not going to get approved for the surgery if I had any weight gain during the six months. That fear keep my on the straight and narrow.....well, mostly. I also knew that if I really stuck to a 1500 calorie plan that I would lose too much and get denied.

There is a fine line to be walked. I attended one Magee Bariatric support group meeting and the person running the meeting said that someone had just gotten rejected because she lost 50 pounds on her own.

I gained 7 pounds. I feel badly, but if I did not have a history of losing and gaining, I would not be having the surgery in the first place.

I know this is long, but I thought it just may answer some questions for one or two people. I have been in the health field for over 35 years, but I found this process to be a bit confusing and complicated at times.

Wish me luck.......this is my last chance.

[rguay 0]

Good luck to you Marie in PA. I do not have as many health issues, only hypertension, but I am 57. I think it's harder when you are older.

I should have surgery in May at West Penn (Dr urbandt).

I just want to get that part over with.

I have to walk that line too. My BMI is 40.1. 40 is required for Highmark BC/BS or 35 with a co-condition. I hope the controlled (with meds) hypertension is enough. I lost one lb then gained it back.

Hope I get approved after all the days off work. I could have gone on vacation. ha ha

[DocQuinn 0]

Hello Everyone, I am 59, I am getting banded by Dr. Mcklosky in the near future, not sure when, trying to loose wieght now before the surgery. But, I have fears

that I will be hungry, and have a life of that. How long does it take to loose and feel healthy again? Help me with all the questions of the after band life.

Love S.

[young at heart 0]

Hi DocQuinn, I am 67 and having my Lap Band surgery this coming Thursday. I can't answer a lot of your questions but have been following a group on here "I'm here to help" and they can answer about anything you want to know and are so helpful and supportive. I have been reading their posts for almost a year now. I have diabetes, heart disease and arthritis and I just want to lose weight and feel better. Really starting to get nervous now and just anxious to get it over with. Being really active is hard for me with my arthritis and I haven't lost before surgery but stayed the same. Dr Courcoulas is my surgeon and in the same group as Dr McCloskey who I met at the first meeting when we got all of the information about the Lap Band. I am from Altoona but have to go to Magees because I needed a Center Of Excellence. I have a friend that had the band 2 yrs ago and she lost 75 lbs in a year and told me as soon as she had 10 lbs off she started to feel better so it does make a difference if one follows doctors orders. We can keep in touch through this forum and I wish you good luck. Prayers....Young At Heart

[DocQuinn 0]

Thank you so Much "young at heart". I will pray for you now, for a successful healthy surg. Let's keep in touch, I will be having mine around late Nov. Dec. I have so many questions on how I willl feel. I will be here for you as well. God Bless You...DocQuinn

[Band_Groupie 3]

Hey gals! I'm in the Burbs, just north of Pittsburgh. I started this 'journey' last summer and got banded the end of April (I chose AGH). I'm down 33 pounds since surgery and over 50 total. The time I spent researching things here was invaluable to me.

Each doc seems to have a different pre and immediately post op diet, but the lifetime diet is generally similar (Protein first about 3 oz. then veggies/fruit, about 1- 1 1/2C TTl). You'll find a whole range of diets Banders are on here by choice; some are on WW or Atkins and others chose to continue liquid Protein. I had no pre-op diet and a strict 3 week post-op diet of Clear liquids and skim milk. I've kept to my goal of making the lifetime diet not a 'diet' (I'm a past yo-yoer and have done well dieting, until they end LOL), meaning I almost always eat exactly what my family is having, just a lot less of it. It generally takes a few fills before the band starts doing anything for you, so hang in there.

Good luck to you and send me a PM if you need any help! -BG

[young at heart 0]

Hi Band-Groupie, Congrats on your weight loss, you are doing great. Since my surgery is coming up on Thursday I am really interested to know what MGW Hospital is like and what kind of care you got there. How did you feel that day of and the day after surgery. I am from Altoona and will have a 2 hr ride home the day after. I have trouble with nausea after surgeries and I know they don't like you to be vomiting afterwards. Did you have any nausea. I thank you in advance for any infformation you can give me.....Young At Heart

[DocQuinn 0]

Hello young at heart, I haven't had my band done yet it will be in Dec, Nov, so lets keep in touch, so you can tell me how everything went. It will be the best thing for our health and welfair. I will keep you in my prayers.

On my profile it says something about 1969 I DON"T KNOW where that came from, lol.

DocQuinn

[Band_Groupie 3]

Hi Band-Groupie, Congrats on your weight loss, you are doing great. Since my surgery is coming up on Thursday I am really interested to know what MGW Hospital is like and what kind of care you got there. How did you feel that day of and the day after surgery. I am from Altoona and will have a 2 hr ride home the day after. I have trouble with nausea after surgeries and I know they don't like you to be vomiting afterwards. Did you have any nausea. I thank you in advance for any infformation you can give me.....Young At Heart

Hey Young- I didn't end up selecting Magee, I only went to their initial seminar (I selected AGH; I went to 3 Centers of Excellent hospitals in Pgh before selecting). There are others here who went to Magee...just do a search; you can even do a search for your doc's name. Magee has a good reputation and a huge bariatric center so you're in good hands.

Nausea was my biggest fear. I talked to everyone I could get my hands on the day of the surgery about my extreme nausea (I can't watch 3-D movies or watch my kids playing video games without feeling sick LOL). The most important person to talk with is the anesthesiologist (I talked to his resident first, and then him right before surgery...just scare him to death with stories of how easily you get sick and they'll give you something...it also helps if you have blood-relatives who get sick with anesthesia, which I did). He gave me several preventatives during surgery and I did fine. I was the first surgery of the day and later in the day they did give me a shot for nausea as I had a bad episode when she asked me to get up to pee for the first time (they actually ended up having to cath me...NO big deal at all). I also stayed overnight and asked them for an anti-nausea medicine to take home...ASK FOR ONE!!! Even though I didn't need it the first week post-op I was so glad I had one on hand. It takes a minimum of 6 weeks for all the internal stuff to heal and you don't want to be vomiting during that time. I get Migraines and even though I had them under control with a preventative med, I did get one a few weeks post op and was so glad I had the anti-nausea meds as I was heaving (it's not something you want to have to put a call in for and then go to the store, or worse yet, have it be the weekend...when you need it, you need it NOW!).

I have a blog here on LBT where I try to be informative as I'm a detail person (link below in my sig). Each blog is dated so it would be easy for you to read about my surgery experiences or anything else you want (just know some entries are just about daily shenanigans in my life). Just go to the blogs and click on the calendar; April 22 was my surgery date, then look for my name or the blog name "The Sweet Spot" Band_Groupie.

Let me know if you have any more questions. You'll do great! Good luck and keep me posted on your progress! -BG

[Liftingchic 0]

Hiya Fellow Pittsburghers :huh2: I am from Pittsburgh too! Just starting the process to get my band.. Hoping to lose about 25 lbs before the surgery.. Which they said will probably be mid Feb

[young at heart 0]

Hey Young- I didn't end up selecting Magee, I only went to their initial seminar (I selected AGH; I went to 3 Centers of Excellent hospitals in Pgh before selecting). There are others here who went to Magee...just do a search; you can even do a search for your doc's name. Magee has a good reputation and a huge bariatric center so you're in good hands.

Nausea was my biggest fear. I talked to everyone I could get my hands on the day of the surgery about my extreme nausea (I can't watch 3-D movies or watch my kids playing video games without feeling sick LOL). The most important person to talk with is the anesthesiologist (I talked to his resident first, and then him right before surgery...just scare him to death with stories of how easily you get sick and they'll give you something...it also helps if you have blood-relatives who get sick with anesthesia, which I did). He gave me several preventatives during surgery and I did fine. I was the first surgery of the day and later in the day they did give me a shot for nausea as I had a bad episode when she asked me to get up to pee for the first time (they actually ended up having to cath me...NO big deal at all). I also stayed overnight and asked them for an anti-nausea medicine to take home...ASK FOR ONE!!! Even though I didn't need it the first week post-op I was so glad I had one on hand. It takes a minimum of 6 weeks for all the internal stuff to heal and you don't want to be vomiting during that time. I get Migraines and even though I had them under control with a preventative med, I did get one a few weeks post op and was so glad I had the anti-nausea meds as I was heaving (it's not something you want to have to put a call in for and then go to the store, or worse yet, have it be the weekend...when you need it, you need it NOW!).

I have a blog here on LBT where I try to be informative as I'm a detail person (link below in my sig). Each blog is dated so it would be easy for you to read about my surgery experiences or anything else you want (just know some entries are just about daily shenanigans in my life). Just go to the blogs and click on the calendar; April 22 was my surgery date, then look for my name or the blog name "The Sweet Spot" Band_Groupie.

Let me know if you have any more questions. You'll do great! Good luck and keep me posted on your progress! -BG

Hi Band_Groupie.....I hope I am doing this right. Thank you for all the information. I had to watch a program on the internet from Magee's Callled "Watch your Emmi Program" and it was on anesthesia. At anytime during the program I had any questions or concerns I could write them a note and it went email into the anesthesia dept. A Nurse Practitioner from the anesthesia dept emailed me with a phone number I could call and talk with her about my anesthesia. She said they would do all they could to try to keep me from being so sick. One thing I think is good is the Upper GI they give you before you go home to see how everything is. I have got to tell you that reading your blog has made these past couple of days very entertaining for me and kept my mind off of me. Your are way too funny and should have been a writer. I have a 43 yr old daughter who lives in Florida and the two of you would make a great team. She does some stand up comedy just for fun and she is also great with music. She sings and plays many musical instruments. I am looking forward to reading more on your blog after I come home but better have a pillow handy to hug for when I laugh. I will keep in touch and thanks again......Young AT Heart

[young at heart 0]

Hello young at heart, I haven't had my band done yet it will be in Dec, Nov, so lets keep in touch, so you can tell me how everything went. It will be the best thing for our health and welfair. I will keep you in my prayers.

On my profile it says something about 1969 I DON"T KNOW where that came from, lol.

DocQuinn

Doc Quinn, thank you for keeping me in prayer and I will let you know how I did as soon as I feel up to it. I won't know until tomorrow afternoon what time I will need to be there. I was wishing it would be early but we have a 2 hr drive from here to the Burg so maybe real early wouldn't be too good either. All I know is the I just want to get it over with. I have been working on this since August 4, 2008. Your time will fly by Nov or Dec is not to far away....God Bless. Young At Heart.