Constant Plugs For Dr Schlesinger

Your certainly raise valid points I have heard from many others...

 Don't cha love how Joyce is reduced to knocking your surgery choice when she has no rebuttal to the truths you are telling about her and others using the boards to "ambulance chase"  for that doc of theirs?    She should be ashamed of herself!  

Well I've never been known as a schmoozer but I've been called much worse by loved ones at times.    As for anyone dissing my band I let my pic speak for itself.   Oh yeah I took my pic down but lots on the Ontario forum have met me in person at social and support events and I'm pretty skinny and seen to polish down a wicked slice of cheesecake.

Ohhhhh, I am very ashamed!  LOL! ............. I tell my truth as I know it.  I cheer others on to getting their surgery of choice.  I congratulate them for their successes and offer a shoulder & an ear when they have a trouble.  I am totally obnoxious, right? !!!!  Dang it! ............ I just hate all those calories I've been burning doing the ambulance chasing!  LOL!  I can hardly stay at my goal weight that way!

You are so transparent.  I would tell all who you are exactly but that would spoil the fun!  ....Building one's own practice by ruining another?  An old trick for sure!  But, is it legal?

  JRinAZ said"Then you could go back to pushing your own docs and we could talk Schlesinger talk all we want to!!!!"

Like I've said before, I've been reading ObesityHelp for 2 years and have NEVER seen such BLATANT AND OBNOXIOUS PROMOTION of a physician as from you, Joyce, and your "posse".  And it is NOT in response to anyone's asking you for a referral to a doctor in AZ.   It is in response to practically everything.  You and your little group make sure to mention THAT particular doctor's name every chance you get.    A little FREE advertising, don't you think?

That is NOT the spirit of these boards.   They are for mutual support and advise, NOT FOR THE PURPOSES OF PUSHING ONE DOCTOR AND HIS AGENDA.

It wouldn't be so bad, except that your group further confuses the potential revisioner by giving out incorrect information about the surgeries as well.   After being merely a lurker for two years, I had to de-lurk just to say something.

JRinAZ said "You are so transparent.  I would tell all who you are exactly but that would spoil the fun!  ....Building one's own practice by ruining another"

Now YOU think you know me.   You don't know me.   I don't even live in your state.   You are more deluded than I thought.   I have NEVER said anything but the truth, but you seem to "dance" around it because you know it IS the truth.  And, everything I know is just from what I have read on OH (and other sites) - it's called "research" - maybe you and others can try it some time. 

As I have written before, I only came onto ObesityHelp because a friend who doesn't have a computer asked me to - it was about two years ago.   Your promotion of this one doctor (Schlesinger) began in the summer of 2007 - before that you were pushing Dr. Simpson, but not even CLOSE to how you have worked on this new one, with the posse and all.  At first, like others, I was impressed, then I realized what you and your bunch were doing.  THE MAIN REASON I DE-LURKED WAS TO POST ABOUT THIS ISSUE, SO THAT OTHERS AREN'T SIMILARLY TAKEN IN.   

The ONLY issue here is (a) using these boards for BLATANT & OBVIOUS promotion of one particular doctor and (b) disseminating INCORRECT information about the surgeries this doctor performs and surgery in general.  Ohhhh, and your tendency to lie about all sorts of things, depending on who is employing you at the time.

That is all.

Joyce, I'm not really sure you are one to talk.  Yes, you do provide a shoulder to lean on but from personal experience, that shoulder comes with a price.

As for messing with the practices of other doctors you really aren't one to talk there either.  When I was first considering banding I was planning on Simpson, your employer of the year in 2006.  Then I decided on Aceves in Mexicali.  You tried verrrry hard to get me to go to Simpson while telling me the horrors of Mexico.  You were flat out wrong.  Sure, there are bad doctors in Mexico but Aceves isn't one of them.  Just as there are bad doctors in the US.  You PMed me warning me about going to Mexicali and all the evils and horrors of MX.  Turns out, you were flat out wrong, you did not know what you were talking about.  You didn't care about quality patient care, you didn't care about what was right for me, that year you were the head Simpson cheerleader.

I had a LOT of problems with the band and it was later determined that it was band intolerance, something extremely common.  It wasn't the surgeon, it was the band.  Throughout my WLJ I was a pain in the butt patient.  I was determined to lose weight and nothing was going to get in my way including band intolerance.  My point here is that since I was a pain in the butt patient Simpson would  never have spent the time with me that my own surgeon did.  If Simpson would have done the surgery I would have had the same outcome medically, but I wouldn't have had near the support from him that I received from Dr. Aceves.

I am so glad that I recognized way back when about your cheer leading and such otherwise I might have fallen for your "stuff" like others had.  Instead I followed my gut instinct, my extensive research, and my personal preference and I went to a better surgeon.  I went back to the same surgeon for my revision.  My insurance would have covered it with Schlesinger, by that time you were the head cheerleader for him but considering I've been a nurse in Phoenix for over 20 years, I already knew his rep.

I can't help but to think where I would be today had I listened to you.  The band wouldn't have worked for me if Simpson did the surgery and I might have revised to some malabsorptive procedure as that is likely the direction you would have pushed.  I'd probably have odor issues and multiple lab problems as you do.  Instead I am a 20BMI, no malabsorption, I am very healthy and most of all, I am quite happy.  I don't have to take a fist full of vitamins throughout the day, I don't have to have labs done every three weeks, I don't have to adjust my work environment due to odor issues as a shower heads that off for the whole day!  Had I opted for a different revision I might have been in the same boat as you.

I really don't think it is right to use a support board to recruit newbies.  Provide facts and balanced information and that is the best way for newbies do start their own research.  Let Schlesinger pay for advertising like other doctors.

O.H. is founded on the principals of free information and support.  I have been an active participant of O.H. for over 6 years and have seen countless people sharing info regarding surgeons.  If you wanted information on a dentist then you wouldn't come inquiring on a "REVISION" forum, right?  So, it makes sense that people *****main AFTER their Revision would mention their surgeon's name.  I've seen all types of names; even many outside of the country.  Like one poster mentioned, .....the Erny post-ops call this forum their home since they don't have their own hangout like the DSer's.  If it really bothers others that much then perhaps you could petition O.H. to create a forum for us.  We have asked for one......Then you could go back to pushing your own docs and we could talk Schlesinger talk all we want to!!!!  ......Kudos to O.H. for allowing a bit of everything; including banter such as this.  I would think that any surgeon trying to find out *****ally likes him would plant a poster such as yourself to pull his supporters out of the woodwork!  Weigh 2 go! 

Friends of Diana Cox's have said that she stirs the pot on many forums and on many levels just so the flaming gives her opportunity to push her DS information.  Very creative, don't you think?  Way to rock the world Ms Cox!!!

Anyone want to know anything about my experience as an Erny post-op?  Just shoot me a private p.m. and I'll answer what I can   I remain at a healthy 110 lbs....5'4" tall and very active.....  I focus on seafood, chicken and low glycemic fruits and veggies.  I stay away from all processed crap and anything white...i.e. rice, pasta, breads, potato....  My labs have improved and vitalady is on stand by ready to help me tweak things with my next set of labs.  Dr. Schlesinger stays in touch to make sure I come in for regular labs and to see how I'm doing......the personal touch he gives to ALL his patient's is what motivates them to get on chat sites and share their satisfaction with their surgeon!  ....  So, that catches y'all up with me....in case you're wondering what options are available for your REVISION.

 JRinAz said "Dr. Schlesinger stays in touch to make sure I come in for regular labs and to see how I'm doing......the personal touch he gives to ALL his patient's is what motivates them to get on chat sites and share their satisfaction with their surgeon"

Oh yeah!  He stays in touch SO well, that, when he disappeared from where he worked on February 6th, without  notifying any patients, one of you had to get in her car and track him down!

Do I need to post the link here, where she talks about it?  

Your great doctor didn't tell even his staunchest supporters where he was going, or maybe GinaU was lying about having to find him?  Perhaps she concocted her story merely to generate more buzz?

Furthermore, he left it up to his patients to find HIM.   His assistant didn't even come onto the boards to explain until your posse started some kind of "dust up" with the doctor who owned the company where Schlesinger worked.   I'm sure you were watching, as Dr. Gitt, who employed Schlesinger ALSO employed YOU - although you like to deny it AGAIN & AGAIN.    Do I need to post the links to your denials??   I didn't think so.

Now, I don't know what happened between Schlesinger and Gitt, but the transition was handled VERY badly.   From what I read, there are those who felt that Gitt should have  notified the patients and there are those who felt it was Schlesinger's responsibility.    And,  someone wrote that Schlesinger was under legal obligation not to say anything until after he left.   

Seems to me that a doctor who takes such a "personal touch" interest in his patients would have done SOMETHING to assist them in finding him after the transition.   He could have had phone lists to call and letters ready to send the day AFTER he left.  From what I read, letters didn't go out until 2 weeks later.    Tsk, tsk - not the way a business should be run.   But, of course, I wouldn't know as much as YOU, since you worked for them.

We all have your number - even as far away as Canada!   Your group's use of the ObesityHelp forums for BLATANT promotion of this doctor goes way beyond mere "sharing of information".  It crosses the line and has for about a year and a half now.   I say "enough".

Ok I have read all the banter going back and fourth about Schlisenger and / or his group of staunch followers.  Now I admit I don't know the particulars of his move or the reasons that instigated it.  I can truly only speak of my experience with my revision and the personal choice I made to have him as my surgeon.  Yes, I did my research for many months prior to my revision and my choice of a surgeon.  So with that said....

Let it be known that I am not part of what some here are calling his staunch supporters and out there drumming up business for him.  Nor am I out to belittle others for their belief in their surgeons.  And  on the same note I am not out to defame a surgeon simply because I may not like the posts from his patients singing his praises. 

My experience has been favorable with Dr. S.  He has repaired quiet a few medical issues I had and had been dealing with for years.  I am now only 10 lbs from my goal and I haven't felt this good both physically and mentally since long before my revision.  I don't know about other patients medical problems they have experienced at the hands of Dr. S and even if I did it is none of my business nor is it my place to air them on any forum.   I can only tell you that for me, he was very compasionate, professional and knowledgable about what was available to me.  I live across county from AZ so I have no ties with his practice or his group of supporters in AZ.  However, I do share some of their feelings of gratitude towards this very competant doctor.  He has given me better health and did not turn me away like some of the other doctors I researched and contacted prior to my revision.

Oh and by the way...yes I did get notification in the mail that he had moved locations and I was provided with his new address and phone number.   I live in MI and was notified so I can only guess that I was not the only one informed.  All this information that I wrote is the truth, it is not hearsay or conjecture, it is the simple facts that I had experienced and I have no vested interest in either building Dr. S's practice or demeaning him. 

Sometimes the negativity on this subject amazes me.  I apologize to you "LuvMyBand" if you take my post as a response only to you.  I just wanted to make a general statment to noone in particular but to the whole string in general.     I just happen to believe that no one wls or revision is absolutly perfect for everyone.  If you find the one that works for you I think that is awesome wether it be a band, an ERNY or a DS.  We are all after the same bottom line...to become healthy, loose some weight and live longer happier lives.  How we get there is a personal choice and should be respected as such.

I wish good luck to all for whatever choice they make and for whatever reasons and this incluldes the surgeon you pick as this is an intrical part to any success.

 All I have to say is that THE ONLY REASON YOU KNOW WHO THIS DOCTOR WAS was because of the BLATANT and OBVIOUS and INAPPROPRIATE promotion of him on this board not only by his cheerleaders, but the "AMBULANCE CHASING" by HIM, hijacking this peer-to-peer board for his own SELF-PROMOTION and PROCUREMENT OF POTENTIAL PATIENTS  - all under the guise of "helping" people.    

THE FACT THAT YOU ARE ON HERE STATING YOUR CASE, PROVES MY POINT!!!

It worked!   

Other doctors have tried, but none have been so successful at using the boards for their own promotion as he was.   I watched and read as this particular MD managed to manipulate at least 10 people to travel across the country for a surgery they could have gotten from a surgeon who is just as competent, much closer to home.  YOU ARE ONE OF THEM!!   

 A little personal attention from an MD on the phone certainly went a long way!   Got you to get on a plane!   Maybe the other doctors you contacted were so busy actually practicing medicine that did not have time for "hand-holding", and this doctor had the time to give you the emotional support you needed.  Bravo!  I would have been VERY wary of any doctor who has both the TIME and the INCLINATION to USE A PUBLIC MESSAGE BOARD for private PROMOTION and PATIENT PROCUREMENT.   

It sounds like he is a "nice guy"  and a terrific surgeon, but he should take out paid advertising like every other doctor does.   That would be how a PROFESSIONAL would handle things.

 While it is wonderful that you are so happy with your surgery, this post is NOT about YOU or YOUR surgical choices, it is about A DOCTOR AND HIS PATIENTS HIJACKING CERTAIN OH FORUMS TO ADVERTISE AND PROCURE POTENTIAL PATIENTS.   I thought I was the only one who was sick of it, but then this woman from Canada posted, so I realized there are others who would also like to see it stop.   That is all.