Well, I had my band put in and two weeks later had to see the surgeon to be sure the wounds were healing properly. After about a three hour wait, I got to see him for 10 minutes to tell me I was fine. By the way, did I mention there was a 30 minute drive time to his office? This visit with my surgeon to look at my suture sites would be the last time I ever saw him. Every time I went into the office thereafter was for fills and was with his Physicians Assistant.
So I had 1 fill (5cc's), then 2 months later another fill (1cc), then two months later another cc, then two months after that another cc, then a month later another cc. So, if you're following along and doing the math, you now see I had 9CC'S in a 10cc band! I initially lost 10# pre-op and gained that back by my second fill. Hmmm, something isn't right, right? You should be losing right away, especially after a 5cc fill, right? Well, I didn't want to jump the gun and assume they were screwing up- they had more experience with the band than I did and it JUST HAD TO BE MY FAULT- I was sure of it! During this particular appointment, I actually had their 'nurse' (or office assistant, I don't know what her title was) tell me that the 1 piece of See's candy I'd had wasn't something I needed to have, now was it? Don't think for a minute I didn't want to come flying off that table and slap her her upside her silly little head! Never mind that I had been drinking my protein shakes, watching my intake, logging all my exercise and, oh yeah, Miss Priss; that damned piece of See's Candy was allotted into my daily calorie intake, it wasn't a 'binge' thing and besides- it was 1 damned piece! All in all, in a year I'd lost 25#- pathetic!
The last time I went in to see that PA I finally LOOKED at the needle sticking out of my belly. Up to this point I couldn't do it. He pulled on that syringe plunger with all his might trying to pull fluid from the band. By this point I should have had 9cc's in there, but he couldn't even get 7 out! BTW, it should be noted between 5-6 cc's is normal for most females- not 9! When I asked him about this, he said there was a leak in the port and I needed a revision. Ok, first of all, how the hell does he know its the port and not the tubing having become disconnected or broken or the actual band leaking? Does he have x-ray vision and if so, where'd he get it because I need some- I have kids! All joking aside, I asked a few questions that caused the PA to trip over his tongue and reveal he'd known there was a leak for a while but was just now revealing it to me. Don't think I wasn't pissed!
He scheduled me out TWO MONTHS for a revision. At this point, my restriction wasn't lasting even two weeks so how was I supposed to go two months without turning into a cow again???? This was a crock of you-know-what, especially considering I could NEVER get in without an appointment made 1 to 2 months in advance!! I figured I'd just suck it up and deal with it. I was watching my calorie/fat/protein intake daily on fitday.com and was working out 3 days a week between a bike and a treadclimber.
After a month, I was eating like a horse. I increased my workouts to 45 minutes 5 days a week and was still gaining. I called the office and asked for an appointment for a fill because I had another month to go and had no restriction. I was told I would be put on a wait list. BULLSHIT!!!! This past year I'd put up with incompetence from these people, assumed my lack of weight loss was something I was doing wrong, and put up with the office staff making me feel like I was a burden for showing up to my appointments. I was done with this surgeon and this office and began my search for a new doctor. . . . .
So I had 1 fill (5cc's), then 2 months later another fill (1cc), then two months later another cc, then two months after that another cc, then a month later another cc. So, if you're following along and doing the math, you now see I had 9CC'S in a 10cc band! I initially lost 10# pre-op and gained that back by my second fill. Hmmm, something isn't right, right? You should be losing right away, especially after a 5cc fill, right? Well, I didn't want to jump the gun and assume they were screwing up- they had more experience with the band than I did and it JUST HAD TO BE MY FAULT- I was sure of it! During this particular appointment, I actually had their 'nurse' (or office assistant, I don't know what her title was) tell me that the 1 piece of See's candy I'd had wasn't something I needed to have, now was it? Don't think for a minute I didn't want to come flying off that table and slap her her upside her silly little head! Never mind that I had been drinking my protein shakes, watching my intake, logging all my exercise and, oh yeah, Miss Priss; that damned piece of See's Candy was allotted into my daily calorie intake, it wasn't a 'binge' thing and besides- it was 1 damned piece! All in all, in a year I'd lost 25#- pathetic!
The last time I went in to see that PA I finally LOOKED at the needle sticking out of my belly. Up to this point I couldn't do it. He pulled on that syringe plunger with all his might trying to pull fluid from the band. By this point I should have had 9cc's in there, but he couldn't even get 7 out! BTW, it should be noted between 5-6 cc's is normal for most females- not 9! When I asked him about this, he said there was a leak in the port and I needed a revision. Ok, first of all, how the hell does he know its the port and not the tubing having become disconnected or broken or the actual band leaking? Does he have x-ray vision and if so, where'd he get it because I need some- I have kids! All joking aside, I asked a few questions that caused the PA to trip over his tongue and reveal he'd known there was a leak for a while but was just now revealing it to me. Don't think I wasn't pissed!
He scheduled me out TWO MONTHS for a revision. At this point, my restriction wasn't lasting even two weeks so how was I supposed to go two months without turning into a cow again???? This was a crock of you-know-what, especially considering I could NEVER get in without an appointment made 1 to 2 months in advance!! I figured I'd just suck it up and deal with it. I was watching my calorie/fat/protein intake daily on fitday.com and was working out 3 days a week between a bike and a treadclimber.
After a month, I was eating like a horse. I increased my workouts to 45 minutes 5 days a week and was still gaining. I called the office and asked for an appointment for a fill because I had another month to go and had no restriction. I was told I would be put on a wait list. BULLSHIT!!!! This past year I'd put up with incompetence from these people, assumed my lack of weight loss was something I was doing wrong, and put up with the office staff making me feel like I was a burden for showing up to my appointments. I was done with this surgeon and this office and began my search for a new doctor. . . . .
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