New to this site and the information

Hello everyone. I am currently thinking about having a weight loss surgery. I live in Tallahassee, FL and will be talking to my primary care on Friday. I just wanted to know if anyone would mind giving me their opinion on gastric bypass vs. the banding etc. Any other information that anyone can provide would be helpful. What questions should I ask my primary care? Does anyone in Tallahassee have a suggestion for a doctor? Like, what to expect for the first few weeks after surgery.. for some reason that is a big concern of mine. Thank you!

Hello Kimberly, I just starting out as well. I've have finally gotten fed up with being fat. After all the yo- yo diets. I have found a doctor to given me an approval for the surgery. I am going to my first seminar today to meet a surgeon I found online. I would like to have the banding, because I've heard the recover is better, quicker and safe. I want to lose weight, but not too much. I'm afraid of losing the weight to quickly. I dont want to look saggy and old. I look at it like this what ever the doctor says which is best for me. I weigh 323 pouds. I want my life back. I want to weigh at least 200- 180 pounds. I've never been skinner than that ,so I wouldn't know what to expect. Good luck finding a surgeon

I said the same thing when I was trying to get surgery, I wanted banding so I wouldn't lose too much weight...I was happy around 215-220 pounds, I am 5'9. But I made the choice not to get banding because of my habits and I knew I personally would cheat and eat around the band. I am NOT saying others do...I am saying I knew I would. So I made the choice to have RNY, with my doctor saying 177 would be my goal weight, I laughed at that, I was that size in middle school! I was 327 day of surgery. I made that goal in 10 months and I wanted it to stop then, didn't want to lose anymore, but I did lose 31 pounds more. I was scared of how I would feel at a weight that was below of what I felt was comfortable to me, I was afraid of the unknown. My husband met me when I was 220, loved me but what if he didn't love me when I was skinny.... Well he loves me at 146 too I still have some curves, but I have no butt and my chest isn't the same anymore but I am not alone in those problems. Good luck with your journey...remember we are always here for you. Hope to see you at the conference. Tracey

I personally already had met my surgeon by the time I talked to my PCP, I didn't need a referal. I did need a letter from my PCP for surgery and that is when I talked to him about it. I was very scared to bring it up since even amoung people in the health professions opinions are wide and varied. My PCP was all for it and stood by me in my decision. When I first went to meet with my surgeon I wanted banding, because I didn't want to lose too much weight, I am 5'9 and was always curvey and liked that. My surgeon who does do lap band also, suggested the RNY because of my habits. The type that you pick depends on what you need...restrictive only, restrictive with malabsorbtion. I was an overeater but I loved sweets too, so RNY was the better choice for ME. I lost 150 pounds in 10 months, which was my doctors goal for me and then continued to lose 31 pounds afterward. First few weeks were bad for me, I had my surgery before Charlie, we had no power for 6 days while I was on liquids, thank god we found a generator. We were a family of 7 at the time so they were eating fast food and I was jealous and irritated at them. To say the least I took all my pain pills and slept a lot during that time to cope. Don't get me wrong, I would do it all again in a heartbeat! It took me 8 weeks to feel like I was myself again, but with less weight and less pain. Tracey

I am from Tallahassee, Dr Sieloff was my surgeon. He is the best. His office offers a once a month meeting in the evenings on Gastric Bypass. His number is 877-6212, call and see when the next appointment is. He will answer a lot of your questions. Feel free to email me anytime with any questions. I am always happy to talk about my surgery.

I have decided to have the duodenal switch surgery it is very different from the gastric bypass or the band. But I feel it is a better surgery for me. If you would like more information about the duodenal switch you can go to duodenalswitch.com, the DS forum here at OH or send me an email and I will be very happy to answer any questions you have. Red

Kimberly, I applaud you & your decision to take contol of your health, regardless of which surgery you decide to pursue. I'm in Tallahasse and had a RNY gastric bypass Jan. 2005 witih Dr. Sieloff. He is wonderful, very understanding and low-key, no pressure. If you have not attended one of his informational seminars please do so ASAP. He talks about the surgery & recovery and what to expect immediately post-op and for the rest of your life. Also, Dr. Croombs in the same practice does lapband surgery and also has a monthly informational seminar. For myself, I chose the RNY gastric bypass over lapband or DS for many reasons. A major reason was that my insurance only covered the RNY but that wasn not my only consideration. I was concerned that I would be able to cheat too easily with the lap band (you can cheat w/ the RNY too, but not as easily). I wanted the malabsorbtion that the RNY provides but was concerned that the DS was too malabsorbtive. I've lost 141 lbs and made MY goal weight on my 1 year anniversay (below Dr. Sieloff's goal). Since that day (1/25/06) I've lost 2 more lbs but I consider myself to be at a stable weight & "maintaining" that weight. Don't worry about losing too much weight, it is NOT a common problem. In fact, we can gain weight back, just like everyone else, if we don't continue to follow the pouch rules. I still carefully monitor my portion sizes. Although I've gotten much better at "guess-timating" my portions, I still weigh most foods when at home, just to reinforce my "eye". I can eat just about anything that I ate before my wls but I choose not to eat or to eat very little of some things. But if I'm craving chocolate, I allow myself to eat a little bit. I don't deprive myself b/c I know that isn't something I handle well - it makes me want to pig-out on the forbidden food, so I've learned I'm better off to eat a little that to try to totally eilminate some things. AS for how things were the first few weeks post-op I can tell you that your fears are probably worse than the real thing! The night of my surgery I had pain in my shoulder & chest from the gas, but not much anywhere else. It was uncomfortable, but not unbearable. When I came home from the hospital I took 1 spoonful of liquid Tylenol and it tasted so yucky that I decided that I was not hurting badly enough that I wanted or needed to take anything. I didn't take the prescription or any over the counter pain meds after that and I was fine. It takes several weeks to get your energy back but that was the worst of it for me. I walked as much as I possibly could considering my overall pre-surgery health and post-op recovery. That seemed to help which is what everyone told me before hand. Good luck as you begin your journey! Feel free to e-mail me if you want more info, I'll be glad to talk to you. Vickie