Building a house without a hammer

[Humming Bird 275]

I too have read many threads/posts from banders that have their tool locked away as you discribe. I know there must be a fine line between being too agressive with fills and not agressive enough. I agree that the banster who lives in banster hell too long needs to comunicate with the doc and if things are not going well, find a new doc.

My doc was fairly agressive with the fills and I am happy about that because I spent a very short time in banster hell. It also saved me time and money because I do not live in the same town as my Doc's office.

As I've read these posts from bansters who get 6, 7 , 8 or more tiny fills to feel restriction, I wonder if there is a much larger risk of getting leaks. I have read posts where ports have been missed and fills have been complicated and painful.

Elfie, your example of a Dr. not listening to a cancer patient was a great example. My mother died because of one of those types of Dr.s. Over the years I have changed Dr.s for the same reasons. I think as patients we all need to be aware that if we know something is wrong and the doc continues not to listen, we need to find one who will.

Edited December 7, 2009 by Humming Bird
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[A New Woman 1]

I think you are both right on certain points. I totally agree with Effiepoo that the patient knows their body best. I went in last week for an adjustment as I was frustrated to have only lost 2 lbs in a month. My doctor and nurse were both reluctant to tighten me since they said I was still losing, albeit slowly. I, however, knew that my restriction had lessened and made my case to be tightened. My doc gave me a 1/2 cc. and it's done the trick very well. I think he was convinced that I was going to need to come in for an unfill but so far so good. I personally like to be tighter because the tool helps me so much more. However, I also agree with SooCal that when the fills start out a little slow it teaches you some very important behavior modifications. This whole band thing is a learning experience. If I had gotten to the restriction I'm at right now very early on, in other words gone from zero to sixty, it would have mentally not been a good thing for me. I would have probably been very confused and concerned by the signals and would have PB'd more. This has taught me to eat slowly, chew, chew, chew, and I've learned more when to stop eating before things get too uncomfortable. This way I've learned to slowly detach from my relationship with food. This is just my opinion, and not necessarily the same as others. In any event, I think we put our trust in our surgeons to have the surgery that we have to put a certain amount of trust in them with our after care. However, if at any time we are not satisified or don't feel like our surgeon is open to what we are telling them, then we need to look elsewhere. I'm lucky that although my surgeon was reluctant last week, he listened to me. There may be times when I go in and I have to listen to him even if I don't agree. Being openminded on both ends is truly the key to having a good patient/doctor experience.

[ElfiePoo 109]

There may be times when I go in and I have to listen to him even if I don't agree. Being openminded on both ends is truly the key to having a good patient/doctor experience.

Agreed. Obviously we need to take in what our doctors are telling us but we need to combine this with what our body is telling us and with all the other information we've sponged up.

My doctors know I see them as a valuable source of information, but that I won't always agree on what my care should be and if they want to convince me that their way is the best way, then they need to address the concerns I have.

One of the concerns I had with the fills was that so many people's fills are on an arbitrary schedule with no rhyme or reason as to why one person can get a fill at 2 weeks and another has to wait 3 months. In the seminar, my surgeon said our first fill would most likely be at 6-8 weeks. I asked if this was set in stone and his response was "no, it really depends on the individual". That's good enough for me. It means I'm not just a gingerbread cookie.

I did say I agreed with you, didn't I? :thumbup:

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[lisa6 0]

Right on!!!!!