Question:
3 major questions
1. What do you do if you hate your surgeon. 2. I am 4 months out and have not only stopped losing, but am having trouble maintaining. 3. What if you wanted a different procedure? Like I think that the DS would have been better for me. — bjkgriffith (posted on August 22, 2007)
August 22, 2007
1. Was there a specific reason you went w/ this surgeon to begin with? I
know from experience that some medical groups only have 1 doctor/ surgeon
in there network that provides the Gastric bypass or lapband surgery. If
this is the case for you, you will just need to stick with your office. If
you had a choice originally i would question why you chose him to begin
with; surely in this case there was something you liked about him when
attending his seminar or in an office visit. If there are other doctors in
your area and ins. network you may be able to change your office. Do you
"hate" him simply because you feel as though you are not
achieving your weightloss as fast as you would like or is it something
specific about him that he is doing with your care that there is a problem
with. If that is the case, there are avenues that you can take to file
complaints against him through your ins. company. 2. Everyone loses @ a
different pace; no two people are alike when it comes to how your body will
respond to the surgery. Some people just lose slower than others and hit
plateaus earlier...Are you doing everything that the surgeon and his office
has advised water,protein,exercise,vits,etc...all these factors play a role
in the success of your surgery, the surgery is not ment to be a magic cure
all...you need to work to make it "work" for you. you could be
eating completely to docs orders, but not exercising will slow your
weightloss...you could be eating too much or believe it or not (not enough)
Sometimes if you are not getting enough nutrient and protein into your body
this can cause you to stop losing as well...also water is key and not
getting enough in can cause a slower weightloss~I think what you might need
to do is find a healthy balance, I mean you are only 4 mos post and sound a
little too discouraged. These are issues people usually start to deal with
@ 12 mos post and on, try to stay focussed and positive and if your having
a problem maybe a support group in your area may give you some benefit.3.I
am not sure of what you mean here, were you denied the procedure you
wanted? or did you change your mind post-op? i'm slightly confused by this
part of your question...other than to say, well whatever surgery you have
is what you have now, there is no way to have another procedure done @ 4
mos post....that is an issue people usually have 3+ years post..maybe you
could provide a little more information as to the situation, what surgery
you had and details on why you hate the surgeon. we may understand a bit
more
— tiffany E.
August 22, 2007
I wish I had my old profile but there were times when I stopped losing. I
never really gained but I definately plateaued for several weeks. Trying
drinking more protein and eating less carbs. That worked/works for me.
If you really hate your surgeon then fire him. This is a free country you
can see any surgeon (or just go to a family doctor snce your surgery is
over).
It's a little late on questioning whether or not you had the right surgery.
Some do have revisions from RNY to DS but you're a little early in the
game to consider that. Try working with what you have. I think you'll be
surprised once you up your protein. Good Luck!
— wls_srf
August 22, 2007
I was forced to go witn this surgeon at the time because he was the only
one I could find that would remove the lap band and then do the RNY. He is
a condescending, pompous ass. I don't know what the problem is - how about
the cottage cheese test? I've heard about that - but how much cottage
cheese and how do you know how much is too much? Maybe I stretched my
pouch already? Is that possible? I don't know what to do.
— bjkgriffith
August 22, 2007
What's the "cottage cheese test?"
— cherub13
August 22, 2007
o.k. , so a little more information gives a clearer picture here. So i see
you originally had lapband & am assuming the weightloss was not working
for you w/ this method so you had the RNY performed. Now with the lapband;
this procedure is reversible...so it would be easier to reverse the effects
of this surgery. but the RNY is a permanent surgical procedure; so for now
you are stuck with this surgery & using this tool to lose weight. You
will definetly not find a doctor who will perform a revision on a gastric
bypass patient that is only 4 mos post-op; and the only other procedure i
have heard of further down the road if weight gain is an issue is to have
the pouch itself banded; there may be other procedures that may be options
but they won't even be considered i am sure until much later. You may just
be having a problem adjusting your food intake. A patient w/ the lapband
has the ability "especially" if there fills are not correct to
eat significantly more than a RNY patient. I am not sure what the cottage
cheese test is (but i will assume it has something to do with measuring
your food intake in some way) @ 4 mos post you should be consuming approx.
2-3 ounces of food 3 times a day; which is about 1/2 cup of food or
so...good food choices would be chicken,seafoods,eggs,cottage cheese,cheese
and lunch meat,etc..(foods that are rich in protein) you should'nt be
eating carbs, snacking, or eating sugary foods at all. If you are hungry in
between meals you can drink protein shake mixes, or break a protein bar
into a couple of pieces and nibble a little on that in between meals. You
should'nt confuse "head hunger w/ actual hunger...in other words, if
you just ate and the meal you consumed was high in protein you should not
feel hunger pains.it may be that you are just bored or are exibiting old
eating patterns.try to keep yourself busy. If you are eating carbs you are
going to continue to stay hungry physically~carbs are easily digested by
the body and will absorb faster, making you hungry quicker. If you do
protein shakes remember these count in ounces as protein as well as your
liquid water intake. Another thing to keep from being hungry is to always
keep a bottle of water handy with you if you feel hungry...sip...sip...sip.
Remember to wait @ least 1/2 hour after your meal to drink we are not
supposed to drink after we consume food because if we flush out the food in
our pouches we are robbing our bodies of the protein & nutrients that
are contained in the food we just ate. I do not know what your current BMI
or weight is, so as for exercise it is essential but you need to go @ your
own pace. At 4 mos post i was probably roughly 260 lbs and was walking 1
mile 3-5 times per week. That may be too much for you personally but do
exercise at your rate / start slow and work your way up. walking is the
easiest exercise you can do, you don't have to hit the gym @ this point
unless that's your cup of tea. and always remember to take your vitamins
you don't need any added deficiencies at this point after surgery.*** One
other note about not getting enough protein in your diet** you should be
getting about 60 gr of protein per day, this will reduce your hairloss as
well;if that has'nt started yet it soon will. There was one thing i
personally disagreed with that a replier said and that was that you should
fire your current surgeon...if you don't have another gastric bypass
surgeon in mind that will take your case on i would not do that @ this
point regardless if your feeling is that he is a pompous ass ; ) you would
be surprised @ how many regular PCP doctors are clueless as to how to treat
bypass patients. There are 6 mos post-op and yearly post-op apts where you
will have full blood screenings done and if you are not 100% confident w/ a
regular doctor doing these i would'nt chance it (they may not know what the
heck they are looking for) usually you will see your surgeon @ 6 mos post,
1 year post...then only once a year (so if you can stomach seeing him 1x
per year) I would just stick to that. One last thing, I know that alot of
surgeons have PA's (physicians assistants) that work with them...If this is
the case w/ your surgeon, maybe you can request to see the PA instead
— tiffany E.
August 23, 2007
In response to question #1: Unfortunately, surgeons are also HUMAN, not
gods. Some surgeons who are terrific in the O.R. are lousy physicians in
the patient examination room or even bedside after surgery. I would suggest
you inquire with your medical group for physicians (not necessarily
surgeons) who specialize in "bariatrics". With luck you'll find
someone who is knowledgeable of post surgical care for bariatric surgery
patients and who also has great "bedside manner".
— [Deactivated Member]
August 23, 2007
In regards to your choice of doctors, I agree that you need to cut him
loose. Doctors provide a service that YOU pay for, you're the boss
bottomline. I have been in healthcare for several years and have learned a
few things 1. People that hate their doctor don't go in for followups or
when something is wrong. 2. Since you are the "employer" conduct
interviews. An out of pocket office visit may be charged, but is often
waived if you sign on as a patient. Just call the office and ask for the
office manager and tell her you want to meet with the doctor as a
prospective patient. I have done this myself for my PCP and GYN. 3. Find a
support group ASAP. Trust me when I say that at one time or another we have
felt like the only WLS failures. 4. BE PATIENT I know it's hard, been there
and done that!lol Best wishes and good luck.-Heather
— tazthewiz23
August 23, 2007
1. put up with them, after all they did do the surgery, it may not have
been DS but it was surgery... they could have turned you down. 2 go back to
him. and ask him whats wrong.. 3 save money and get ap band if your that
unhappy
— Kimberly F.
August 26, 2007
Barbara, I always try to be positive in my responses but I am worried about
your questions and your later addendum to your questions. You have had a
lapband and apparently did not like the results. You know have had a
bypass and you are unhappy with the results so far and you are looking to
having another surgery. Please be careful! Your body can only take so
much before you do damage. Also, NO SURGERY will work for you if you do no
work with the surgery! Are you attending a support group? Have you met
with a nutritionist? Are you exercising? Are you making good food
choices? All of these are necessary for a successful weight loss surgery.
Please take care of yourself.
— VickiStevens
August 26, 2007
One needs to use care posting negative info on surgeons anywhere on the
web, In the past its gotten back to the surgeons and caused grief. Many
great surgeons are lousy people persons. Some great surgeons are excellent
people persons too but lack the skills to run a busy bariatric group. Few
people are great at everything. I second the see the nutronist, keep a food
diary of EVERYTHING you put in your mouth for at least 2 weeks before
seeing that nutronist. Have you been back to the surgeon? Been checked for
mechanical failure like SLD, were you transected? Scoped? Before doing
anything else its time to get a full workup of where you are today.
— bob-haller
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