Anyone else have a crap lapband DR!!!

OK so from the begining my surgeon has not been the greatest. He was 4 hours late for my surgery ( which I understand things happen) Ok next after the surgery nothing was going down and I had to stay in the hospital they could not get a hold of my doctor for 2 days. At this point not even my spit would go down. Finally he shows up and I have to get another band put in. ( he never even explain what was wrong with the first one) Then I have my next surgery and he is 5 hours late (mean while I have now been in the hospital for 4 days) So he gets me all fixed up with my second band ( I get phnemonia from having two surgerys in one week but thats a whole other story) After a week I finally leave. Fast forward it will be 2 years with my band in February. Everytime I make an appointment I cant even get one for at least two months which when your trying to find the right spot with your band sucks having to wait months to get an appointment! Ok then at least 5 times I have been and waited at least 3 hours and eventually had to leave because I have other things to do. So after a year of that I just kind of gave up and didnt see him. Now at this point the embbrassement has kicked in and now I dont want to see him because I havent lost any weight well thanks to you guys on here you got me passed that and I made an appointment and seen him back in september and had to beg the receptionist to get me in without waing 2 months. Well I go to the back and am waiting for him to come ( the door is closed) he then proceeds to go off on the receptionist (where i can hear it!!!) about scheduling a 4:30 appointment because thats to late and he wants to go home. So now for the last maybe 2 months I have lost pretty much all restriction and I occasionally feel a little sharp pain in my stomach but im not sure if thats connected with the band. I want to call and make an appointment first of all I just want to make sure everything is ok Second I really want to try and get back on track I start back school on Jan 9th and got a gym membership and I really want to give this another shot Im not ready to give up on the band yet. I need an appoinment before the 9th! after that im at school mon-fri 8am-3pm I really feel like if I had a supportive good surgeon frm the begining this could have went a whole different way for me instead of two years after a weight loss surgery for my new years goal to still be to lose weight.

Amber,
I am so sorry that you doctor is such a jerk.

I love, love, love my surgeon.
I have his home phone number....though I have never had to use it.

Last new years day, I had a bad stuck episode, and had to call his service .. He called me back in 5 minutes and then met me at his office at 6 pm on a Saturday and holiday to take out some fluid, flush my band and then put my fluid back in

He is such a great guy....and I can call and get in almost any time I need to for a quick fill or unfit.

I wish everyone had as great an experience as I do.

Can you post on the 'state boards' here and maybe switch surgeons? My doc takes transfer patients all the time .....and fixes problems caused by others.

I hope you get what you need in the next few weeks and that your new gym membership helps you achieve your goals.

Im really glad that you have such a great surgeon! I really think it may have made a huge difference with my weight loss journey. With the lap band its a tool that has to be tweeked and adjusted but if you cant even get in for an appointment it makes it difficult and when I do finally get to see him he rushs me. The last time I seen him he thought I had only had only had my band for a few months and he was like thats great you have lost 40 pounds! and I was like ummmm I have had this baby for almost 2 years and all he said was oh. Im going to call tomorrow and see what I can do as far as an appointment I really need one before the 9th when im back in school all day. Your Dr. sounds great I think its really important to feel comfortable with your surgeon and mine has never made me feel this way. Im not sure how to go about getting another band Dr.

In terms of finding another surgeon, are there any local Support Groups that you can attend to find out about other people's experiences?

We have a Saturday morning group (once a month) where people from all different surgeons attend -- and we share experiences and talk about our doctors.

Then, the different surgeons in town host monthly support groups and/or informational seminars.

So -- we have had people that attended the support group and heard what great several people have had with my doctor -- and then they attended his support group meeting and met with him privately afterwards -- and he agreed to see them in his office.

Try the GA board here and see if you can get info from local people who are happy with their surgeons.

Good luck.

My thoughts is to find another doctor that would take over your case ASAP.

I had a lapband placed in May 2007.  My doctor moved within 6 months.  In summer of 2008 I had problems keeping any food down, the other doctor in the original office  had me come in and found the band had been too tight and took all the fluid out.  He said there was a slight herniation and it was so small that my stomach would heal itself and with no fluid in the band that it would be just fine. 

However, my surgeon had since moved a couple of times (I now find out that my original surgeon has moved since my surgery to 4 different states).  It is hard to find a surgeon to take over another surgeons patients, however, there are some out there willing to do so.  My advise is to try and find one immediately.  I did not push the issue and ended up with my band slipping and in the ER on the 16th of this month fighting for my life.  The band had slipped and literally killed over half of my stomach.  So, on the 16th of this month, I went from having a lapband with no fluid, to having a sleeve.  I spent a week in the hospital, 3 days in ICU.  I had massive infection and leukocytosis.  The doctors are amazed that I have been healing as fast as I am and that I was able to go home within a week.  I still have a feeding tube in my side and hoping to be able to get that out here soon.  I go back for my first checkup tomorrow and hoping to hear that I am healing enough so they don't have to use the feeding tube and that it can be removed soon.

Don't wait for your surgeon.  Find another one that is willing to take over your case.  It is not worth your life to wait on your surgeon.  And trust me, I know how close I was to losing my life and I can't stress enough how important a good surgeon is....

Good luck with your journey...

CHANGE DRS.!!! If you want to stay local I would suggest Steinburg. All his patients seem to love him. I think he was also voted top bariatric surgeon in GA if I'm not mistaken.