Have tons of Questions

Hi, I am hoping that some of you can give me some advice as to what to do next and throw out some names as to who to call. I have my consult with Dr Aslam on the 7th of this month..really fast..lol..just happened to call and they had a cancellation. Now I need some names of nutricionist, dieticians, counselors, physct. etc. Whatever and whoever it is I need to see and do next. I am in the Augusta area and any names will greatly help me. I want to get this all done as soon as I can. I attended my 1st group support meeting and got lots of info from there, but am still wanting to absorb more. Just wanting all this journey to go as smoothly and fast as possible.. Am sure for those of you who have been here understand. Thanks in advance Paula

Hello Paula, Congrats on your decision to get this ball rolling........it's not an easy one to make. As far as your question I am in the program at Eastern Maine Med in Bangor w/ Dr. Toder and all your appts. are in their program so my guess is that may be the same situation with you....not sure but that's the way it happened with me. All I had to do is get my Primary Care Physician to refer me to Bangor then once I was in the system they took care of all my appts. and notified me of when they were. I hope everything goes well for you!!! Take Care Charity

Thank you so much for responding..I am very excited to be getting there even though it will be a slow process from what I hear. But hey I did not get all this weight on over night either. I have been kind of limited on which doctor I could use and which surgery since I have medicare, but I am so ready for this to happen. I should get all my paper work from the doctors office monday or tuesday and can't wait to see what all I can do to get the ball rolling. Take care and God Bless! Paula

Hey woman, It is Jenn from the Christian School...how are you doing? And what are you trying to get done? I had a lap band surgery on Sept 23rd this past year and I have lost about 62 pounds..Only about 60 pounds more till I hit my goal. Not as skinny as I was in High School but at least to a size 13/14..Write to me sometime..Jenn

Hey Paula! I know how you feel because I was frantically trying to get in all my appointments quickly also. For dietician and nutrition I went the the Diabetes and Nutrition Center that is listed on Dr. A's sheet. They are part of the KVMC and the wait wasn't long at all. 1-2 weeks. For the MPPI2, I called around and was given about a 4 month wait, until someone at the support group suggested the Seton Unit up in Waterville. I think it was the number on Dr A's sheet under a Dr. Borque. I got an appointment within a week or so. Instead of Dr Borque, I saw a Dr Holbrook and she was really good. She said the report would be sent in about 3 weeks but I have heard it could be normally 1 week. It consisted of answering some questions about yourself and your patterns of eating...diets you'd been on...pretty much like Dr A's questionaire...the I took the MMPI2 (560+ questions) and then about a 45 minute interview to discuss the surgery and what I expected from it. Both Dr A's office and the psych ask you to answer questions about how the surgery works...easy stuff....but they want you to know what it will be like and how your eating will be affected after. For counselors, you could use either the Seton folks or I got into Protea and will be using them to help deal with my eating issues and follow me along my weight loss journey. On the day that you have your appointment with Dr A they will send you over to the KVMC for a blood and urine test. While you are there, you can set up your respiratory appointment. That only takes a couple days. Finally, they schedule a pylori and gallbladder test for you at Dr A's office. It was 1-2 weeks after the appointment. The pylori test was a breeze and all it was is to breathe into a plastic bag, then drink a small cup of a citris drink, and then wait 10-15 min and breathe again into the bag. They have the results right off. The only restrictions is not to eat or drink 1 hour before the test. The gallbladder ultrasound only takes about 15 minutes and it easy...just can't eat or drink before it. The test is in Dr A's office. That's all that I can remember. Feel free to contact me if you have any question. I'm just a few steps ahead of you, so it's still fresh in my mind. Take care! Judy