Dr. Lirio's patients........

Can anyone tell me how long it took for them to start the medifast once they saw Dr. Lirio for the first appointment? Im freaking out cause I read a profile and it seemed like she waited for a whole year before she got the medifast....

Becca: HI! I didn't have Dr. Lirio, BUT I run a local support group in Saratoga Springs at the Hospital 1st monday of the month 6-8pm in the board room, we have a mix of Dr. Lirio/Clarke (Ellis) patients, Dr. Singh/Rosati patients from AMC and both lap band and RNY pts. So feel free to join us! [email protected] if u need more info. Here are some sites: First OH site for Lirio pts, maybe try emailing some? http://www.obesityhelp.com/morbidobesity/forums/?ID=TR-k127 This is Ellis's bariatric cneters website, may have answers for you! http://www.ellishospital.org/bariatrics.cfm http://www.ellishospital.org/bariatricsstepbystep.cfm this is step/by step looks like uneed pcp clearance then to register for a seminar then go from there! Best to you! Take Care, Jamie Ellis RN MS NPP Lap RNY 10/9/02 Dr. Singh 320/163 5'9'' (lost 45# before surgery) Plastics 6/9/04 & 11/11/2005 Dr. King "Being happy doesn't mean everything's perfect, it just means you've decided to see beyond the imperfections!"

Hi Becca, I had my first appt. with Dr. Lirio on October 18 th 2005 and am now just today starting the medifast. So in a little over three months it took . It is probably different for everyone though. I need to lose 38 lbs. before surgery which is the 10% that Dr. Lirio requires us to lose, so I will be on it for approx. 8 weeks. I just finished all my pre-op appts. and testing except for one which is my sleep study . I am assuming that his patients have to wait until they finish their pre-op testing. Do you have a date yet ? Have they sent you a list of scheduled appts. yet ? When you recieve all that in the mail it will give you an appt. for the Medifast pickup. The nurse justs sit's down with you and runs through the potocol and some things you need to do before surgery and that is it. You pick up your Medifast and check in weekly for weigh in and to pick up more Medifast. I hope this helps ! If I can help you with anything else feel free to email me any time . Oh and Dr. Lirio has a support group at Ellis hospital that meets every 1 st Monday and 3 rd Wednesday of every month. The next one isn't till the 1st Monday of March though. Good Luck !! and Carol

Hi Carol, Thanks for all the info I appreciate it very much. I wonder what would happen if my pcp ordered all the tests i need. Labs, xray, ultra sounds stuff like that. If i already emailed you about this I am sorry just have alot on my plate haha(not food) either. Could ya let me know what you think about what I wrote.. Thanks Carol...

Becca, I would'nt advise you to have your pcp order all your test for you. Dr. Lirio's office handles everything for you with scheduling your required appts. and test's. You have to go to the seminar for Dr. Lirio and Dr. Clarke's patients. You can find out when the next one is and get scheduled for it by calling Dr. Lirio's office @ (518)-243-1313. They will tell you when the next one is and also take your name and weight and you will be on the list of people whom will be attending the seminar/orientation. I believe they will also tell you that you need a Letter of Medical Necessity from your PCP . After the seminar they tell you that you will get a call within 2 weeks to schedule an appt. for a consult with Dr. Lirio or Dr. Clarke ,whatever one you prefer. Then at your first consult with Dr. Lirio or Dr. Clarke they will tell you everything you need to have done before getting the surgery , even how long you will be on the Medifast. When your finished talking with the Dr. the receptionist will tell you they will be in touch . They send a list of appt.'s & tests in the mail that you have to get done and they have them all scheduled for you , the list shows you the times and dates and Dr.'s names that you will be seeing. The list will also give you a surgery date on it . The only appt. that you will have to schedule yourself is the physcologist. They also give you the names and #'s of 2 pshycologist Dr.'s to call for that appt. You chose which one you want. You will get a slip at your consult for a blood draw which you can get the same day right down stairs from Dr. Lirio's office. I got it done the same day as I have such a long drive to get there. They require you to have all your testing done at Ellis hospital . That is about it . If you have any more questions just drop me an email and I will answer them to the best of my knowledge. I am glad to help you in any way. Take Care, and , Carol

Becca, I'm a patient of Dr. Clarke, who works with Dr. Lirio. The first thing you need to do is attend one of the Orientation Seminars that the office has. They are once a month at the hospital, that needs to happen before you are given a date for your consultation with a doctor. As for your PCP handling all the pre-op, I'm not sure about that. The office handles eveything on that end and they are very thorough. It took about 5 months from orientation till starting Medi-Fast. So if you haven't contacted the office, I would definitely start there. Hope this helps, good luck Amy Lap RNY- 2/16/06

Getting on medifast now is going to be a waste of time. I had surgery 16 months ago and its not a fast process. You go to a seminar, then see the doctor for a consult then go through a ton of other testing. It could be 6 months or more from start to finish. Just because you go on medifast does not mean you will have things move faster. Contact his office and speak to Paula and go from there. Rushing to get on medifast really is not going to speed things up. Dr lirio is very particular about how things are done so, take a deep breath and relax

thanks I'll try..... I already did the seminar and i have an appointment on feb 14 for my consult with dr lirrio. so I wonder whats is next...