Anyone Banded in Saranac Lake, NY??

[blondie13654 0]

Looking for anyone who's surgeon is at Saranac Lake Hospital (Adirondack Medical Center) New York. I have not started the process yet and am in St. Lawrence County, NY, unfortunetly Saranac Lake is the closest for me. Looking forward to talking to you!! :sad_smile:

[MacMadame 81]

Welcome to LapBandTalk! Unfortunately I'm in CA. But we have both a Doctors & Hospitals and a NY subforum on LBT so I'm sure someone can help you there if no one who knows notices your post here.

[WannaBMe 0]

Blondie,

Last year I went to an information session held at AMC - Drs. Hill and Hixon spoke. It seems like a really good program - since my initial meeting last year I have met a couple of people who have been banded there, and some that had the bypass procedure. Regardless of the surgery, they all seem to be doing well and have nothing but good things to say about the MDs and all staff involved. Actually, I have my first real appointment set up in a couple of weeks ... I'm really excited! :tongue2:

If you think about it realistically - Heuvelton isn't really that far from Saranac Lake, especially if you can feel confident in the MDs and pending results! All involved in the information session were very positive and friendly. There was a woman at the session who had been banded about 4 months earlier and she looked great - she said she feels so much better and hasn't been as happy in years! Hearing those kind of stories is really inspiring. My hubby went with me -- he was really skeptical before the session, but was thoroughly convinced afterward that it is a great option!

Good luck!

[blondie13654 0]

WannaBMe, Thanks for replying!! Its very nice to finally hear from someone in the area! I have been scheduled for the seminar but not until LATE APRIL! I am very upset about that! I really don't want to wait that long, then have to go through 6 months or so with the dietician. UUGGHH! But, they said it was their first available time. I guess I will just keep my head up and keep reading on here! :thumbup: There is So much information here! Good luck to you and keep in touch!! :wink_smile: Kim

[WannaBMe 0]

Blondie,

I too wish there were more people from the area that posted on this site. Like I said, those I have talked to or heard about who have experienced AMC surgeries have been happy. I guess that's what we get for enjoying the country life!

I am really excited about the 26th! It seems like it is taking forever to get here. I'm not really sure what will take place at this appointment -- hopefully they can use the records my PCP has - bloodwork, weight records, etc., and make the process go along a bit quicker.:tongue2:

I was thinking, is there anyone in Watertown that does the surgery???? Perhaps that might be a little closer for you ... ?? I'm only about 45 minutes from Saranac Lake so it's an easy trip for me. I looked into Burlington at one point - I was working over there - but decided SLNY would work out better, and why not keep the money in NY!!!

Hope to talk to you soon!

BTW, the hubby is getting nervous again ... oops!

[blondie13654 0]

Hi there! So you already went to there seminar and you are going to your first appointment the 26th? How long between the two?? No, there is no one in Watertown but since you said that, I am wondering why they did not refer me to Syracuse, I am closer to Syracuse and there HAS to be bariatric surgeons there. So what's up with your Hubby? Does he think you don't need the surgery or just scared for you to go through it? This is such a wonderful thing to get you healthy, he'll come around! Is he overweight? Seems he would be more understanding if he was, hhhhmmmm. With my husband I just explained to him what my Dr. had suggested and that I had researched and that I REALLY wanted to do this-that I wanted to get healthy-get off of my medications-and mostly, did not want to die of a heart attack at 45!! He just said then go for it! And he has not talked about it since. (he is very old fashioned) Has your insurance approved you yet? Do you know what you have to do before having the surgery yet? ie: 6 month diet, 6 month PCP check ups? Insurance companies make things so difficult!!! Hang in there! :tongue2: Kim

[WannaBMe 0]

Blondie,

I went to the seminar in October or November of 2007 - I postponed the next step d/t insurance. I was utilizing a COBRA plan at that time that was due to expire in December 2007 -- I guess I just didn't realize the time line, so I now have great insurance that will cover it and it's time. I believe that some of the people who were at the seminar I attended have already been banded, etc. I guess that's my fault for putting it off - but I really only put it off for 2 months after I first talked to someone who had experienced banding - she was a patient of mine in Burlington who had it done in Massachusetts - she really boosted my confidence in the procedure, so I did some research and then contacted AMC.

I do believe that there are some docs that do it in Syracuse, but I am even more certain there are some in Alburn - a friend of mine had bypass there, so I'm sure they most likely do banding. Perhaps your PCP has heard good things about AMC and/or their MDs????

My hubby is just a worry wart . He is totally supportive, just concerned - which I don't mind, he's a sweetie! He knows the weight is a "big" deal for my health and wants me to get the surgery - so he can keep my longer (what a sap, huh!!!):thumbup: I certainly couldn't do it without him.

I'm not sure what to expect -- especially since it has been so long since the information session I attended! My insurance requirements don't seem to be too awful stringent - from what I can make of the insurance jargon!! I have not gotten approval yet - I think they need bloodwork and dates with weights before they even consider approval. I don't think I'll have trouble tho -- I had open-heart surgery in 1992, so hopefully that'll give me shoe in!!

I had originally wanted the whole bypass, but we've heard too many horror stories -- seems as tho that's one that is black or white, no gray areas for good vs. bad recovery experience -- my hubby was really "scared" about that prospect :thumbup:

Oh, well, I guess I've talked your ear off enough!! Til later!!

[Neenco 0]

Hi there, I'm in Schenectady, NY and I went to AMC and had Dr. Singh and Dr. Dunnican. They are awesome surgeons and I would do it again. I was banded on 2/4/08 and my total pre-op and post-op is 75 pounds. I know a few people from the Lake George Region that have come down to Albany for their surgeries and still attend the weekly support groups. They have an awesome program at Albany Medical Center! Good luck.

[WannaBMe 0]

Hi Neenco,

Welcome to our little thread!! Blondie and I have been referring to Adirondack Medical Center in Saranac Lake, NY, when we speak of AMC -- I guess that's the trouble with acronyms! Any how, it sounds like you are doing great - congrats! Soooo, now that we have an already banded person amongst us, can you give us some insight???

Just curious what diet your MD had you do???? I've pretty much heard of the liquid pre-diets, but now I am reading more and more about South Beach?? I've also read a lot of options for the diet which follows directly after surgery -- some of the drinks are highly recommende, others sound disgusting!! What is your recommendation??? Are you still pleased with your decision???? I'm sorry, I won't drive you crazy with all my questions at one time!!:thumbup:

It'll be nice to talk to someone with experience -- I just signed up a couple of nights ago! When I'm at work I can hardly wait to get home to read more -- I'm real psyched! My goal is to get on my horse this summer - without help! I hope things go quickly enough so that can become a reality - (fingers crossed!).

Well, for now - welcome!

[Neenco 0]

Yes, Albany Medical Center and as I got reading through the thread, I began to wonder what AMC meant for you. At Albany Medical Center we were given the Mediterrenean Diet. They teach us to each normal foods pre-op so we know how to each post op, after initial post-op diet. Post op was 1 week of Clear Liquids, 1 week of full liquids like Tomato Soup, then 2 weeks of mushies, like yogurt and cottage cheese and probably something else.....but I'm too tired to remember right now. If you provide me with an email address, I'll be glad to email you the pre-op diet we were given and any info I can find on the post-op diet. The biggest thing I still struggle with after 11 months is to remember to eat slowly and chew my food. I still have to make choices that are good for myself, so I don't eat junk food. For dinner, I had 1/2 ham sandwich, 1/2 c low fat yogurt and 1/2 c low fat cottage cheese & 1/2 c grapes. It's really a lot food and a nice variety. Hopefully you have support groups up north.....we have them weekly for general weight lose surgery, so it includes bandsters and bypassers and monthly we have a lapband group. I do as many of them as my schedule allows, because the support post-op is very important. Get me an email address and I'll be glad to email whatever I can get my hands on. Thanks for writing! Stay in touch. -Dineen :thumbup:

[WannaBMe 0]

Neenco,

Thanks for the reply. I'd love to have the diet so I can prepare myself -- or course there is no guarantee that the surgeon up here will have the same protocol. I'm just not sure how to get my e-mail address to you -- not that it's a big deal to post it here, I get tons of spam!! Sounds like a good plan they have - prep'ing for post-op during pre-op. It sounds like your dinner was an adequate amount of food -- I know I can do it, I just hope I can do it well! :grouphug: I'm really excited -- I look at my calendar a lot during the day, just wishing time away!

I don't believe there are any support groups -- if there are I'm sure they are small- if you aren't familiar with this area, it is a whole different culture up here. I work at a different hospital and we sponsor about 6 different support groups and the attendance is generally pretty poor. I guess the distance/drive thing is a big factor as we are very rural. The other issue is being the Saranac Lake is the only place to be banded north of Albany/Syracuse, etc., without going to Vermont, people travel quite a distance for service there. So, support groups would have to be on weekends - or, overnighters!!! The hospital at which I work might be willing to start a group for peole in our area -- who knows!

Well, I'd better get going - if you can let me know how to get my e-mail to you I'd appreciate it!

Thanks, and I'm so happy you've had such great success!