OHHKAY, Anyone go through Southern Surgical in Greenville?

I was going to them summer of 08 to get gastric bypass and the options for nutritionists SUCKED! The nutritionist while attempting to be nice, could offer me zero meal plans, zero recipes. When I told her I was struggling with the pre-operative trial run diet (only supposed to be a week long to see if I could "stick" to a diet?)  which was completely minimal carbs she would just tell me to eat low carb veggies and meat. WTF. I need alittle guidance. Anywho, I called the office to see if there was another nut i could see, and the only other one that they used at the time didn't take insurance and the estimated cost of each visit was upwards of $150 dollars. After all the frustration and butting heads, and the coordinator leaving I took these as signs that it wasnt time and have been trying unsuccessfully to lose weight on my own.

SO I'm wondering if anyone else is going through them, what nutritionists do you go to, how has your experience been.
Has anyone gone through the ECU physician group either?

I was thinking about Duke but am hearing terrible things about them,...

HELP

I don't know anything about ECU or Southern Surgical....  Regarding Duke... I can only say that yes, there are some complaints regarding communications and administration, there are many of us who have had surgery there with minimal or no complaints at all... don't forget... the front office isn't doing your surgery, and their surgeons are fantastic.

Their nutrtionist, Patrick, is the best of all.... he's concerned, helpful and EXTREMELY knowledgeable and patient.   He always has suggestions, recipes, and ideas on how to make this work best for YOU!    IMHO... a good nutritionist can make all the difference in the world on this long term journey we're on.....

hi, jessie..

i went thru ecu and the nut there was nice and took her time with me and answered all my ?s..i could follow-up with her now if i need to (at my cost); but,  the information that i received from her preop and from my post-op appointments with the pa have been sufficient...overall, i have been very pleasantly surprised with my before and after care with ecu bariatrics...they are completely different than the ecu ob/gyn section (i wont go there)..each time i have called post-op a nurse has called me back within a couple of hours...

also, there is a nut at viquest..would southern surgical or your insurance accept that nut?

I'm having my surgery at ECU... the service and care are top notch!  I had to have an ICV filter placed two weeks ago too (again ECU)... and the experience was a dream!

My NUT was from ViQuest, and she was fine.  The packet of information they give was sufficient for me.  My visit to her was in February, and I would have never remembered what she said that long ago!  My insurance covered the ViQuest visit minus my $25 co-pay.

Peace...

I used Southern surgical Dr. Naziri and they are wonderful at his office. The nut. is in his office. You can get all your vitamins there. They will call you back the same day if not the same hour that you call. The office has a support group that meets the first wednesday of the month at viaquest at 7pm. I would call the office and check the time. I can't remember. I have friends who used ECU and they are great too.
If you have any questions just sent me an email

sarah

I had mine through Souther Surgical and Dr. Mac in August of 2008. I think the nutritionist there now is named Jennifer Elias....don't quote me but I think so....anyway I found that the pre-op papers that they gave me were all Atkins Diet inspired things. Having said that ....the internet is full of Atkins and South Beach menus and meal plans. I'm over 2 hours away from the office so I've relied on the OH forums and those other two plans to try and educate myself as much as possible.

I will say that after about a week or 10 days on the Atkins plan it gets much easier but it's hard to stick out that initial phase.

Good Luck to you.
- Iris

I went through ECU and everyone there including the nutritionist were fabulous. Both Dr. Chapman and Dr. Pender are excellent surgeons and have great experience. THey have an excellent support group that meets monthly. I highly recommend ECU Physicians.

Hi Jessie. I went thru Southern Surgical, with Dr MacDonald. I see the nutritionist in Havelock rather than the 1 in Greenville because Havelock is closer for me. I have to pay my $25 copay, but insurance covers the rest.

I received a big binder full of info from Southern Surgical before my surgery that contained lots of information. I also got a big packet of info from the nut. that explained the different stages of the post op diet and gave examples of meal plans. I did follow an Atkins style diet for 2 weeks pre-op (I had done Atkins diet before so no problem) and was just happy that it wasn't the 2 week liquid diet some docs prefer.

I have been very happy with my choice, and felt and still feel that Dr. MacDonald is one of the most qualified RNY surgeons in the country and I'm grateful I live close enough to have had him as my surgeon.

Whichever practice you choose, I wish you well on your weightloss journey!

Hi Jessie!

I am going to my orientation June 3rd.... How was that?..... Then i will start my journey towards my surgery.....  How long did it take you to finally get your surgery date from start to finish?

I am so sorry for all the questions! ....I am just so excited and am ready for the wild journey!

Thanks so much!
Heidi

Hi Heidi,
I had a notification about a response to my post, but yours is addressed to Jessie, so I'm not sure which of us the quetions were for. I'll answer them just in case!
The orientation was very interesting and informative. I went to the seminar in October and could have had surgery in December but I had to wait until February because of work related concerns. The whole process went by pretty quickly and before I knew it, it was time for surgery. I am now not quite 4 months out and have lost about 57 lbs. I am very happy I had the surgery and happy with Dr. Mac and Southern Surgical. Good luck to you!

Rhonda