Penrose and Dr. B

Hi - I just joined and I am hoping to have surgery in the next month or so. I just wanted to ask everyone/anyone to post information about their experiences. I will be attending the support group as soon as I can (my husband just had knee surgery). I cannot wait to get approved!

Diana, Welcome!  So nice to see a new face around here. What experiences you would like to know about?  A lot of us have had so many experiences, it' difficult to list all of them.  I'll be 10 months out tomorrow, 6/21.  I've lost 130 pounds so far.  It's been a whirlwind of emotions and quite the ride.  Let me know what questions you might have, and I'll do my best to answer them for you. Hope your husband has a speedy recovery. Again, welcome, Crystal

Thanks for the reply. I have been reading so much here on the site that all the info just gets to be overwhelming. I have read good reviews and bad reviews of Penrose. Unfortunately, I know a bit about the hospital because my father-in-law fell and was admitted to the rehab unit for a TBI. They seemed very nice there mostly, but there were problems. There will be problems just about everywhere, but I like to be well informed before I do anything, and if I need a strong patient advocate before I go, it could stop problems before they even begin. I have only met Dr Bordelon once, so it would be nice to talk with anyone who has more experience with him. We picked him because we were told he was big on a support network for the patient. My husband fits that bill and wants to be in on all appointments and decisions. Which is great for me, but some doctors are put off by that. Not Dr. B (from our first visit). I am worry about pain - do your insides hurt? I know the incision sites will, but how about your guts? I am worried about the totally different things all people at told about how much to each, how much water to drink, etc. It seems that this is not a 'standardized' procedure and I will really just have to find what works for me after the surgery. I don't want to upset the staff at the Center, but if I end up like one poster I saw, meat intolerant, and they say I am not working the program cause I wont eat meat, then I will have a problem. I wont do something just because I am told to if my body says no. So it would be nice to know if the people with Dr. B are flexable to issues like this. I guess I will stop here for now. I warn you, it is my nature to question a lot! Thanks!

Hi Diana, I used Dr. Fisher who is in the same practice.  Each practive does seem to have its own protocol.  I like this one, 'cause you can eat/drin****il midnight the night before surgery and they don't believe in bowel prep, nor protein drinks.  LOL!!  You may have a liquid diet if you have an enlarged liver, but it's not a "given". Best to follow your doc's protocol because if you have complications afterwards then they at least know what plan you've been following. I brought my hubby to several appointments, my oldest daughter came once, too.  Family support is important. The bariatric unit at Penrose is excellent.  Everyone will take great care of you and they are very kind.

Diana: Congratulations on having a supportive husband.  I can't think of a good reason any doctor would have a problem with your husband being an informed participant.  He can be a huge help to you and it's best if you both hear the information firsthand.  Then if you forget something you were told, he can help you remember.  That's just one tiny example of course.  You will require a great deal of care immediately after your surgery, but also a lot of understanding as you progress. As for differing protocols, I think whenever they give you directions, you should ask "why?"  Some of the things the doctors, nurses, etc. tell you are critical to a safe surgery.  Other things are just advice that they think is best in their opinion and has not been scientifically tested.  If you ask why, you will get a better idea of the importance of following any given direction.  The further out you are from the actual medical procedure, the fuzzier the programs are.  I'm six years out and I'm not on any program but my own.  You already know the right answer, you stated it.  Figure out what works best for you.  That will take a couple of years.  Some people dump, some people don't.  Some people have really touchy pouches, some people don't.  Some people have addiction problems, some people don't.  I definitely dump.  But it's very complicated.  Sometimes something will make me feel absolutely horrible, other times it seems like I can eat anything.  Sometimes I have no appetite, other times I just can't seem to quit wanting food.  I'm sure my doctor would be unhappy with me because I've put on weight since he last saw me, but it's not a ton of weight, it's ten pounds.  And I am not the type to freak out over ten pounds.  That has been the hardest thing to learn. Good luck and stay true to yourself. Kathryn

Diana, I agree with Kathryn, I am over 5 years out and have lost 155 pounds. I have kept the weight off. I usually follow the South Beach Diet way of eating. It agrees with me. I get in my protien first then the veggies then the fruit.  I to sometimes cant eat certain things, Onetime I can eat it then another time it wint agree with me. It is trial and error.  This far out you are more or less a normal person. So just go with the flow of what your Dr recommends and it will work for you. Carla Klein/ Bradenton Florida/ Centennial Co

Thanks Cara: I have to say that while I may follow many of the principals of the Atkins and South Beach diets, I am quick to point out that I am NOT ON A DIET.  I Don't think of it that way at all.  I personally believe (personal opinion) that "Dieting" or following any rules are a fundamentally flawed approach to food.  What I find is that anybody else's rules are just that, somebody else's rules.  I like my own guidelines a lot better.  They really are personalized to me, by me and if they happen to overlap with somebody's rules, that is just coincidence.  I eat my protien first, then the veggies, a few bites of starch (I don't eliminate it altogether) and often I'll make the fruit my dessert.  However, I do this for space reasons.  I don't have much space and I want to make sure I get as much protien in as possible before I fill up on starch.  Even veggies like brocoli and califlower take up a lot of space so I eat small amounts of them.  I can pass on bread but I never met a potato I didn't like.  That is often my downfall.  And by downfall I don't mean I gain a couple of pounds.  I mean I dump.  I was miserable on Father's day because they had potato pancakes and I just couldn't say "no".  Bad Kathryn.  The worst thing about dumping is once it passes, I'm hungry again and kicking myself for not eating the protien when I had  the chance. Yep, six years out and still working on it.  But it's different for everyone. Kathryn