Question regarding fills...

Hi all, I am hoping to get some insight from some of you. I selected Dr. Jawad in Ocala because I knew he was the best in the area. After doing much research, I was so confident and I was totally right. He has been phenomenal. The problem I'm having is this. I live in Jacksonville and the drive to Ocala is long. Secondly, everytime I try to get an appt, its 6+ weeks before I can be seen. I normally have to wait for long periods once I get there because there are so many people in there. They seem to have a hard time seeing all of the band patients. If I have to cancel my appt for any reason, I can be assured that it will literally be a month or more before I can get another. This is so frustrating. Its no one's fault, so by no means am I placing blame, since my schedule isn't super flexible. I work at night during the week and I can't go on Fri which is when the most appts are available. It would be easier if I didn't have to factor in the 4 hrs of drive time. My question is: Has anyone ever gone to a different doctor for fills? I haven't looked into this at all and I have no idea if another doc would even accept me as a patient. I'm really hesitant to do this as I really trust Dr. J and Kevin to do the fills and to go to another doc would totally be stepping out of my comfort zone but I have started gaining and I'm trying to stay properly filled which is something that I haven't been yet. So, give me your best advice. Thanks

I don't use Dr. Jawad, but I did notice a surgeon in Jacksonville is listed on this site - search the bariatric surgeons for Florida. It says he does rny and lapband, so check to see if he does fills. Good luck!

Your best source for finding surgeons is the American Society of Bariatric Surgery (ASBS) site. Just because a surgeon is listed on this site does not necessarily say anything about his credentials. A doctor's office that schedules appointments should be able to see you pretty close to your appointment time. Certainly occasionally there are emergencies that effect the schedule -- but that is what the telephone is for. And if there are frequent emergencies then that is red flag too. A doctor's office that repeatly keeps you waiting is disorganized and shows a lack of respect for your time. Red