- Username: Brandeebams
- Location: Washington, UT, USA
- Member Since: 1/23/2007
- BMI: 44.2
- Post Op
- Surgery Type: Lap Band (03/05/07)
- Surgeon: Robert McKeen
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Surgeon TestimonialRobert McKeenMy first impression of Dr. McKeen was a good one. He was very patient, nice and answered all of my questions. I didn't meet him in person until I was about to go into surgery. We did an over the phone consultation, but never an actual person to person visit due to me being 4 hours away from his practice. I thought the day of surgery he would spend a little more time with me than he did. He came into my little cubical where I was waiting at the surgical center, and showed me an actual band and then how you fill it up. I asked him a couple questions and that was it. He talked to me for like 3 minutes. It was very rushed, and I couldn't help but feel like a cow being herded. (no pun intended....lol) It was kind of weird. It was the same way with his assistant, a very rushed feeling everytime I talk to her. They were both very nice, just rushed feeling. After that, I didn't see either of them, not even after surgery. I don't know if they were even there for surgery! LOL I thought maybe a phone call that night or the next day to check on me.....but nothing. Hell, my dentist calls and checks on me after a rough treatment. Now, I know I am not the only patient so I understand how very busy they must be. Overall, I did like Dr. McKeen and Chris, his assistant. I mainly chose them because they were cheaper than other surgeons. I would recommend him to another person for surgery, unless they were expecting more attention and/or better bedside manner. All that being said, I do have 24 access (if emergency) to both Dr. McKeen and Chris via phone calls. Chris has returned all of my phone calls post op, about 3 in 1 weeks time. They even give out their home #'s. I feel too guilty calling them at home, I hope I never need anything that emergent to need to call them at home!! Good review, just a few minor gripes. ADD ON SIDE NOTE 3/24: I was a bit pre-menstural when I wrote this review, and hungry!!! LOL I just wanted to add that I really do think that Chris and Dr. McKeen are awesome! Chris has called to check on me several times since surgery. I was very surprised and appreciated it very much. She is the bomb!! Member Interests
- Family & Friends - Family is #1 in my life. Nothing is more important to me than my family!
- Travel - I love to travel and hope to do it more comfortabley soon!
- Pets - We have 2 cats Jack and Goldie, they are our outdoor 'kids'
- Adoption - We are in the process of trying to adopt our 16 month old foster son.
- Parenting - I am a stay at home parent, so that seems to be the topic of most conversations
- Religion & Spirituality - I am religious and try my hardest everday to be a better person
- 4-Wheelers - Long 4 wheeler rides up the canyon are my favorite rides
- Married - Happily married for almost 10 years
- Shopping - Shop till you drop is a motto I live by.
- WLS in your 30's - I spent my 20's fat and want to spend the rest of my life not fat! :-)
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Hello, and welcome! My name is Brandee. I live in Southern Utah. I am married, almost 10 years now, to my best friend Matt. We have 4 children (one is our foster son whom we would like to adopt some day). I decided to have WLS because my kids deserve a happier, healthier, engergized mother. Dh has always been a great support to me, no matter how much I weigh, but I know he would love the old, skinny person he married to come back.
Highest:286-Current:266-Goal:180-Pounds Lost:20
Third time's a charm?? on May 28, 2007 4:46 pm
I had my 3rd fill on May 24. I flew up and back the same day. I hope this one is the kicker. In between fills I've lost fluid each time. Kinda buggin' that the fluid won't stay put!! She bumped me up to 2.2 cc's in my 4cc band. I don't think I've reached my sweet spot yet. It's making a little bit of a difference, but not much. I need restriction people!!! I am so not being patient anymore. Curse you Band Gods.......restrict me already! ;-p Patience has never been a virtue of mine. I need to make another appointment, but I have things coming out my ears to get done. I finally dug thru the 3 foot tall, 4 foot wide pile of laundry that's been piling up since the passing of my dad. Just couldn't find time for laundry thru all of that. That took 2 solid days.....it's nice to need a clean shirt and VIOLA....have a clean shirt hanging in the closet. What a concept eh!?
Update on my crazy life on May 10, 2007 8:46 pm
I've been MIA for a few weeks now. I had a bad spell of PMS there for a few weeks and just wasn't feeling good at all. Then the next week (last week) my father passed away. So I've been on one big roller coaster ride for the last few weeks. Everything has calmed down now and I am hoping to get my life back to normal. Unfortunately, all of the stress from the last few weeks I have turned to sugar for comfort. I had lost another few pounds since my last update, but I've gained them all back. I am about 267-8 now. Bummer!! I am back to drinking my water (instead of a 44 oz. Pepsi) everyday. I am going to remove all of the sugar from my house and get back to protein, protein, protein. I had to cancel my fill that I had scheduled for this week. I really need it too. I will have another one on May 24th. Well, I am off to write thank you cards to everyone who supported me during this crazy, sad time.
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Fill #2.......DONE! on April 17, 2007 9:58 pm
Me and my sister took another road trip to SLC. 4 hours in a car with 2 toddlers....can you say AAAHHHHHH! I won't be doing that again anytime soon. My fill went fine. For some reason, Chris (the nurse, assistant lady.....who is wonderful) could not find my chart, so I am not sure if I lost or gained from last time. I cannot remember what I weighed 2 weeks ago. I am pretty sure I gained a pound or two, I ate way too much chocolate at Easter. She put me up to 2 cc's, so I am happy about that. I started with 1 cc. I have not had very much restriction at all, so she boosted me right up. Hopefully we will see some results in the next few weeks. Keeping fingers crossed. I have another appointment on the 10th of May, hopefully I won't need it yet!! We did some shopping at Lane Bryant, and boy did I have some fun in that store!!! Got me a great new bra and the sista's are looking perky LOL. I even had some guys checking me out on the way home tonight.......LOL.....it's been a few years since that's happened to me. All in all it was a great trip.
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2nd fill; Eating with friends and News on foster baby on April 9, 2007 9:24 pm
After my first fill, I had a tad bit more restriction. It is already gone. That's okay, I have another fill planned for next week. Me and my sister are going on a road trip again. More shopping :-) tee hee
I had lunch with some girlfriends today. I am still a little uncomfortable eating around them, I'm not sure if I am making up the ~vibes~ that I feel around one of my friends or if she really just hates me. One of the girls was all excited and announced loudly how much weight I had lost and was very happy for me. 2 of the other girls acted excited also, and the other one didn't say a word and quickly changed the subject. It's not that I want to sit around and talk about it all day, but sheesh. We get together to talk about our lives, problems, etc. and I feel like my WLS is a sore subject to her. This is the same 'friend' that has made several not so nice comments along the way. I don't know what her problem is.....I wish she'd just be normal about it all. I guess I need to not let it bother me either. What to do......what to do. It's a good thing I have a sister who delights in my sucess and loves me no matter what I do or do not do. She is my best friend, I am so lucky to have her!!!!!!
I talked with our case worker today and she is fairly confident that we have a very good chance at adopting our foster son. He is 18 months old and we love him so very much. The trial is next month and I hope and pray that the judge doesn't pull a fast one on us, it could happen so we are trying to keep an open mind. Cool though, that she is confident. We love him so much and he fits like a glove into our family. Pray for us!!
Anywho.....that's all from this neck of the woods. | Leave a comment.
First Fill........DONE on April 4, 2007 8:01 pm
I got my first fill on Tuesday. I have a tiny bit more restriction than I did before. Doctor told me that it probably won't last very long, so I can come back in 2 weeks. For those who don't know how the band works, you have to build up to good restriction. It can take up to 3-5 fills to find your "sweet spot." Like a dummy, I forgot to ask how much saline they put in, I will ask next visit. According to their scale, I have lost 15 lbs. I bought a new scale, so I wasn't sure what I had really lost, so that was VERY good to hear that I had lost 5 more lbs. than I thought. I was worried that I had gained because I had been eating full size portions of food for about a week. I hope it doesn't catch up to me in a week or two. I am still eating TONS less than I used to, so that's sumthin'. Matt commented on how good I was looking today, so that is sumthin' too. He doesn't say stuff like that unless he means it, so that was a very nice thing to hear. I hope to hear more of the same for the next year or so!!
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My Story
I am a 30 year old stay at home mother with 4 children. 3 of them are my biological children and 1 is my foster son. We hope to be able to adopt him, but only God knows if that will happen. I am married to my sweetheart, Matt, for nearly 10 years now. I have struggled with my weight my entire life. I was "blessed" with a mother and a sister who have wonderful metabolisms and, of course, I had the curse. So, my entire life I ate the same as they did, but I just got fat!! Genetics, ya gotta love 'em. I was never obese until after I started having children and taking anti-depressants for PPD. I gained 40 lbs. with my first child, 20 more with the second and 20 more with the third. That was all in a 3 year year time frame. I've gained another 40 lbs. since I had my last child 5 years ago. That's a whopping 100lbs.+/- a few, of weight gain in 8 years. I keep hitting the insulin resistance wall that is so very hard to cross. I want to be a better wife, mother, daughter, sister and friend. This is the first step, of many in the right direction to a "smaller" better me.
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