A couple of folks questioned my determination to get my next fill done under fluoro. Let me provide you with a couple of reasons of why I think this is a good idea at this time for me and a friend's horror story.
I am 6 months out in about a week and 1/2. I've lost 45lbs (with the majority of that happening within 1 month of surgery) but literally not a single pound in over a month.
My hunger level is pretty high. And I do a pretty good job of differentiating between head hunger and actual hunger. I usually don't eat until I can actually hear my stomach growling. I can eat 2 eggs and a piece of sausage at 8 am and be growling by 10.
My restriction level is not where I would like it to be. I can literally eat a full sized chewy bagel no problem and probably could go for a second if I didn't stop myself. I can eat 2 slices of pizza and not even worry about getting stuck.
And WHY NOT? It's covered by my insurance and offered right there at my doctor's office. I'm not afraid of a little barium swallow and some x-rays :)
Now onto my friend who attends the same clinic as I do. She had her surgery about a month before mine I believe which would put her around the 6 month mark when her fluoro took place. She had been having the same types of issues that I have with hunger and restriction. Yes, she had lost weight but not as much as doctor (or she) had expected.
When they did the fluoroscopy they found out that her band was so loose that she didn't have any restriction at all! AND to make matters worse, her port was flipped. They weren't sure they had ever given her a fill into the actual port - which means she had been paying for saline injections into her belly for 6 months! I can't imagine the emotion she was feeling when they told her that. She has since had her port repositioned and his hopefully on her way to actual weightloss.
All of that combined helped me decide that my next fill would definitely be a fluoro fill. No reason to put it off. Let's take a look in there and see what is actually happening.
And about talking to the doctor regarding the incompetent people at his practice - been there, done that. I don't think he really cares. I think I'll call a couple other offices today to see what it would cost me to switch.
Friday, March 19, 2010
Thursday, March 18, 2010
but they were so nice in the infomercial ...
Well, I finally had one of those appointments that makes me wonder WHY THE HELL DID I CHOOSE THIS OFFICE!!!!
I originally had an appointment scheduled for Feb 26th but I needed to reschedule due to a last minute conference I needed to attend. I called to reschedule and told them that I wanted to go as soon as possible and since Lisa (the FNP that I usually see) only works on Thurs/Fri please schedule me with Brett if he was available sooner.
Got the appointment set for 3/8 and was ready to go. I showed up on time for my appointment and the lobby was semi-busy. After about 30 mins of waiting (and listening to some other woman bitch that people were being called before her even though she had been there longer) I was taken straight to an exam room. Usually they weigh me first, but I figured perhaps someone else was using the scale.
I sat there for about 30 minutes waiting. In comes a nurse who I had never seen before. She asked me if I usually saw Lisa. I told her I did but that I had to reschedule and so they put me with Brett for an adjustment. We talked about my issues and how I thought perhaps I should do the fill under fluro. I talked for awhile about my lack of restriction and my hunger level. It was weird that she didn't recognize some of the terminology that I was using. I let her know that I wanted to do fluro to make sure everything was in place and working as it should be.
She finally decided to weigh me AND WTF I was up 1.5lbs from my last visit. I told them I was f-ing hungry and not restricted! Look what happens!
So we go back into the exam room and she says she is going to get everything ready for the doctor. That it might be a good idea to schedule a fluro appointment with Lisa and the x-ray tech are both there (neither were there that day of course). She was going to assume that the doctor would give me .5ccs just to tide me over until I could have the fluro appointment. She didn't know where all the fill supplies were and had to kind of fumble through the cabinet to find everything.
She said the doctor would be right in and went into the hallway. A few minutes later I could hear her in the hallway talking to another nurse. She was saying that I had been scheduled for the wrong doctor and that what I really needed to do was reschedule but that if Dr. X wanted to fill me he could. They talked for a few minutes about how I need to go under fluro because of my hunger, weight gain, etc.
I sat there listening and I couldn't believe they were talking about me right outside the door (pretty loudly I might add) like I couldn't even hear them!
I decided to interrupt their conversation and let them know that if what I needed to do was reschedule then that is what would be happening. I told her that I was supposed to be scheduled with Brett and if that wasn't the case then I didn't want some other person who doesn't normally do this to be sticking me with needles. She said that Dr. X was qualified to give me a fill he just usually doesn't do it because he isn't a weighloss surgery doctor! I told her that instead of waiting another 30 minutes (I had now been there almost 2 hours) and being stuck by some random doc, I would rather reschedule for the correct person and get it all done at once. She told me that would be fine.
You pay when you walk in the door at this office so I had already shelled out my $60 specialist copay. Of course, I then told her that I would be expecting a refund from that appointment because nothing had happened. She told me that wouldn't be a problem either and sent me up to check out.
The lady at check out (while very nice about it) basically told me that they wouldn't refund the $60 that I had paid since I had been seen by the nurse. I told her the gist of the story and that I wasn't leaving until it was settled - either give me back my $60 or apply it to my new appointment. She went to ask the office manager who thankfully told her to apply it to my next appointment. I got her name, the office manager's name, the nurse's name, etc. No way I was walking out and not having it in the bag.
So after 2 hours, no fill, and $60 later - they rescheduled my appointment for the next opening when Lisa and the x-ray tech would be there. MARCH 26th!!! That was two and 1/2 weeks away from that day.
I would honestly think about changing doctors but I don't want to have to pay another office a membership fee or go through unnecessary tests.
UGH! I hope things go better next week and that all is well under fluro.
I originally had an appointment scheduled for Feb 26th but I needed to reschedule due to a last minute conference I needed to attend. I called to reschedule and told them that I wanted to go as soon as possible and since Lisa (the FNP that I usually see) only works on Thurs/Fri please schedule me with Brett if he was available sooner.
Got the appointment set for 3/8 and was ready to go. I showed up on time for my appointment and the lobby was semi-busy. After about 30 mins of waiting (and listening to some other woman bitch that people were being called before her even though she had been there longer) I was taken straight to an exam room. Usually they weigh me first, but I figured perhaps someone else was using the scale.
I sat there for about 30 minutes waiting. In comes a nurse who I had never seen before. She asked me if I usually saw Lisa. I told her I did but that I had to reschedule and so they put me with Brett for an adjustment. We talked about my issues and how I thought perhaps I should do the fill under fluro. I talked for awhile about my lack of restriction and my hunger level. It was weird that she didn't recognize some of the terminology that I was using. I let her know that I wanted to do fluro to make sure everything was in place and working as it should be.
She finally decided to weigh me AND WTF I was up 1.5lbs from my last visit. I told them I was f-ing hungry and not restricted! Look what happens!
So we go back into the exam room and she says she is going to get everything ready for the doctor. That it might be a good idea to schedule a fluro appointment with Lisa and the x-ray tech are both there (neither were there that day of course). She was going to assume that the doctor would give me .5ccs just to tide me over until I could have the fluro appointment. She didn't know where all the fill supplies were and had to kind of fumble through the cabinet to find everything.
She said the doctor would be right in and went into the hallway. A few minutes later I could hear her in the hallway talking to another nurse. She was saying that I had been scheduled for the wrong doctor and that what I really needed to do was reschedule but that if Dr. X wanted to fill me he could. They talked for a few minutes about how I need to go under fluro because of my hunger, weight gain, etc.
I sat there listening and I couldn't believe they were talking about me right outside the door (pretty loudly I might add) like I couldn't even hear them!
I decided to interrupt their conversation and let them know that if what I needed to do was reschedule then that is what would be happening. I told her that I was supposed to be scheduled with Brett and if that wasn't the case then I didn't want some other person who doesn't normally do this to be sticking me with needles. She said that Dr. X was qualified to give me a fill he just usually doesn't do it because he isn't a weighloss surgery doctor! I told her that instead of waiting another 30 minutes (I had now been there almost 2 hours) and being stuck by some random doc, I would rather reschedule for the correct person and get it all done at once. She told me that would be fine.
You pay when you walk in the door at this office so I had already shelled out my $60 specialist copay. Of course, I then told her that I would be expecting a refund from that appointment because nothing had happened. She told me that wouldn't be a problem either and sent me up to check out.
The lady at check out (while very nice about it) basically told me that they wouldn't refund the $60 that I had paid since I had been seen by the nurse. I told her the gist of the story and that I wasn't leaving until it was settled - either give me back my $60 or apply it to my new appointment. She went to ask the office manager who thankfully told her to apply it to my next appointment. I got her name, the office manager's name, the nurse's name, etc. No way I was walking out and not having it in the bag.
So after 2 hours, no fill, and $60 later - they rescheduled my appointment for the next opening when Lisa and the x-ray tech would be there. MARCH 26th!!! That was two and 1/2 weeks away from that day.
I would honestly think about changing doctors but I don't want to have to pay another office a membership fee or go through unnecessary tests.
UGH! I hope things go better next week and that all is well under fluro.
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