New to the process
Hello, I'm from the East Coast of Florida.
Here is my story.....
About 8 months ago, I decided to look into having the lap band surgery. I have always been overweight, all of my life. I was one of those kids that had to clean their plates before getting up from the dinner table. When I was in my teens, when I'd gain some weight, my father would always tell me that I needed to "back off the eating & loose some weight"......this always crushed me. I am a totally yo-yo dieter, there isn't one diet that I haven't tried.....and they all failed for me. On the other hand, I have always been very athletic. I was on the swim team in High School and played every sport that is out there. I still can beat my 15 yr old in a game of one-on-one in basketball.....only thing is, I get so tired and my feet ache for days. I have 2 boys (13 & 15) and they are very active as well. When I divorced their father in 1998, I lost so much weight and told myself that I was going to keep it off and I did for several years.....but I starved myself and abused myself. I used whatever I had to, to keep it off. In 2003, I met my now husband. He is a good cook and loves me for me. Therefore, the weight is back.....and more some now. I'm miserable now and he knows it. He is totally by my side about having the lap band surgery. My husband loves to surf and I'd like to learn myself, but, I won't be seen in a bathing suit....much less on the beach. I haven't been to the beach in 4 yrs, and I live there.
I do have one question. I have been looking for a doctor lately and I think I've found one in Ocala (Dr. Jawad), has anyone else here used him? I will be traveling 2 1/2 hrs to see him in March. I'd like to know more about him from a personal standpoint.
I am also getting a Lap Band and I had my consultation at his office last week. I didn't see Dr. Jawad, but I did see his NP who seemed really cool and very knowlegable. One thing I will recommend for your consultation is to bring a book, you'll be there for a while. They will take your vitals and then send you back out to the waiting area. Once everyone is there and their vitals have been taken, they will start the seminar where they will go over both the Band and the Gastric Bypass. The NP leads the seminar and he makes it very clear that the Band requires a lot of effort on your part and that it's very easy to fail if you don't follow the rules. It almost seems like he' s trying to talk you into Bypass, but he's just being realistic. After the seminar they will take everyone back one by one to go over your insurance requirements and that's when the NP will see you on a one on one basis. That's the time when you really need a book. They take you back in the order that you signed in and since I got lost on the way there (I live in Orlando, never been to Ocala) I was one of the last people to sign in. I got there just after 9:00 and didn't leave until 1:00 or 1:30. I'm not telling you this to discourage you from going there by the way. Everyone in the office was really nice and even though I didn't meet Dr. Jawad, I get the sense that he knows his stuff. I have basically heard the same that MsJazzy said - he's good, but he's no nonsense and that's fine by me.
Oh, and if you're like me and you don't know Ocala at all, none of the streets have names, they're all numbered and there are several streets with the same number, just different directions, or one is a street, another is a court. Use the directions that they put in the packet they mail to you. I thought I could map it myself, but I didn't notice that I had mapped out directions to 3rd st, not 3rd ct. I should have been 30 minutes early but instead I was about 10 minutes late. I know there were a few others there who got lost also.
If you're looking for more Lap Band info, the Lap Band forum on this site is a great resource. I have learned so much about what to expect from everyone there. And they're all very helpful and encouraging.
Good luck! 
Robin
Robin On February 18, 2008 at 7:01 PM Pacific Time, Robina3778 wrote:
I am also getting a Lap Band and I had my consultation at his office last week. I didn't see Dr. Jawad, but I did see his NP who seemed really cool and very knowlegable. One thing I will recommend for your consultation is to bring a book, you'll be there for a while. They will take your vitals and then send you back out to the waiting area. Once everyone is there and their vitals have been taken, they will start the seminar where they will go over both the Band and the Gastric Bypass. The NP leads the seminar and he makes it very clear that the Band requires a lot of effort on your part and that it's very easy to fail if you don't follow the rules. It almost seems like he' s trying to talk you into Bypass, but he's just being realistic. After the seminar they will take everyone back one by one to go over your insurance requirements and that's when the NP will see you on a one on one basis. That's the time when you really need a book. They take you back in the order that you signed in and since I got lost on the way there (I live in Orlando, never been to Ocala) I was one of the last people to sign in. I got there just after 9:00 and didn't leave until 1:00 or 1:30. I'm not telling you this to discourage you from going there by the way. Everyone in the office was really nice and even though I didn't meet Dr. Jawad, I get the sense that he knows his stuff. I have basically heard the same that MsJazzy said - he's good, but he's no nonsense and that's fine by me.
Oh, and if you're like me and you don't know Ocala at all, none of the streets have names, they're all numbered and there are several streets with the same number, just different directions, or one is a street, another is a court. Use the directions that they put in the packet they mail to you. I thought I could map it myself, but I didn't notice that I had mapped out directions to 3rd st, not 3rd ct. I should have been 30 minutes early but instead I was about 10 minutes late. I know there were a few others there who got lost also.
If you're looking for more Lap Band info, the Lap Band forum on this site is a great resource. I have learned so much about what to expect from everyone there. And they're all very helpful and encouraging.
Good luck!
Robin
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