Memories from my seminar and consult with Dr Shina.

A lady PM'ed me on here and said that she is going to meet Dr Shina for the first tiem this Tuesday for her seminar. She's not the first to ask me about it and as I replied to her I just got to smiling and remembering that first day and how happy I was to have this chance, to get this tool that has helped me lose weight. When u have been fat all your life and nothing has helped, u can't lose weight no matter what u try, u can't even imagine what life would be like, this surgery isn't just a last resort, its a miracle. Dr Shina, Holly, Glenna, Sandy, Anna and all the wonderful people there will always have a special place in my heart. Glenna, bless her heart jumped thru the insurance co's hoops and helped me get approved. Dr Shina gave me this tool and the knowledge about how to make it work. Thanks to them that day, the seminar wasn't just another day to me, it was the answer to many years worth of prayers. Ok now that I'm sitting here bawling like a baby I'll hush up. Here is a copy of my reply to this sweet lady that asked me about my seminar and consult with, in my opinion, one of the greatest gastric bypass surgeons there is and will ever be. He has changed my life and I thank God for him and his staff daily. My reply to her about my seminar was this "Hi Missy, its nice to meet u. I do love Dr Shina and all his staff. His wife Holly is his nurse and she is a sweetheart as well. If u have picked him then u have picked one of the best there is. He is a very nice personable man but he is also very serious about the surgery's, the risk, the aftercare. My seminar was Sept 4, 2004. I'm not sure if they still do it the same way as they did then but I'd love to tell u about my experience. That morning I think we got up there around 8am-9am, can't remember which. There were several people there for the seminar. They let us in the office, my husband Adam went with me and after a bit he came in and sat down. He sat there for 2-3 hours or more, my memory isn't the best, but it was a long time. He explained the surgerys he does, how this should be used as a last resort and how its a life time commitment. He explained the risk and what he expects of us as patients after surgery. There is a thing called a vena cava filter. It is a small filter that is inserted into a person before their wls if they choose to get one. Dr Shina has 3 filter categories he places his patients in. These filters are to protect us against blood clots if we get one and breaking off and going to the heart, brain, or lungs. If a patient has ever had a clot they automatically have to get a filter, they're in filter category A. If a person's weight is above a certain amount and he feels that u would be safer with it, u r in category B. If your a lightweight and never had a clot then u in A. My weight that morning was 324 and I was in category B. Up until that time I'd never had a clot and I haven't had one yet. I hope never to have one. But he gave me the choose to have it or not and I chose too. It made me feel safe because getting a clot is of course a risk. My insurance paid for the filter and to have it put in because they approved me. If u choose to have the filter & get approved it will be paid for by your insurance also. Alot of people I know that have had Dr Shina or Dr Geller have chosen to have the filter just to be on the safe side. Putting it in is no big deal at all. Its outpatient with a vascular Dr u r sent to by Dr Shina pre op. Dr Salem George Jr, he's a sweetie too. They numb u, give u happy medicine so u r awake but out of it and its done in less than 15 mins, u lay down for a hour or 2 and go home. They did mine 1 wk before my open rny gastric bypass. Dr Shina gave me the option of having Open or Laproscopically. He said that alot of surgeons will do the lap surgery on anyone, but he feels if your BMI is over 48 then open is safer. My BMI was 55 or 56 and he asked me how badly I wanted it Lap and I just I don't, I feel safer with the open. So I had open, my scar is huge but I love it. Its my battle scar from my fight with obesity and I'm dang proud of it lol. After he answers questions at the seminar u r taken back one at a time to be evaluated by him. He doesn't spend much time with u back there because they are so many he has to see, but after surgery at each visit he sits down and talks to me for as long as I need him too. He is always so nice, funny, and just wonderful. I have had to call him a few times since surgery after hours and he always calls right back, no matter how silly whatever I had to ask him was, he was and is always polite and caring. I've heard the nurses at Suburban aren't fond of him. I know why that is. He has the ability to be a royal pain if his patients are not taken care of in the best possible way by those nurses, they know it and if they don't do like they should he lets them know about it in a big way. For the most part durning my 5 days up there they were nice to me. I had a huge private room on the 7th floor and all of them but one night nurse were great. She made me feel like I was bothering her but it wasn't a big deal. U asked what to expect from the seminar and I've rambled on and on. That day I met with the nutritionist and paid her the first $75. Before surgery I had to pay the nutritionist a final $75. For what I have no idea cause she's never done anything for me. I think they have a different one now. I met with Glenna one of the ladies who deal with trying to get everyone approved with their insurance co's. Some people say she is short and rude with u. But Glenna has to deal with EVERYONE'S insurance co's and the crap that they put us all thru. My best advice and what got me approved was me personally getting my medical records from my pcp and having been put on a diet in april before my seminar I got those records that show where I discussed gastric bypass surgery with my pcp and the diet. I recommend any documentation u might have from a pcp or nutritionist about dieting, or discussing the surgery with them. It helps. If I can help u at all or if u just want to chat heres my email and messenger. My email is [email protected] and my messenger is [email protected] I hope u love Dr Shina just as much as I do. I felt that I could trust this man with my life and that is what u have to go with. Meet him, see if u trust him. U know what my most memorable memory of the morning of my surgery is? I was so nervous, a little scared cause I'd never had a open surgery like that, but mainly so excited to finally be able to lose weight. My surgery was March 24, 2005 after my seminar Oct 4, 2004 I hadn't seen Dr Shina since the morning of the seminar. I was nervous and excited but the thing that stuck with me that morning and he'd probably laugh if he knew, I'll have to tell him someday, is when he walked in my little cubby hole before surgery to talk to me and Adam, his hair was sticking up in the back. He looked like he had just rolled out of bed. I thought it was hilarious. Not sure why. I guess I was scared and nervous and he walked in and I don't know, its silly but it put me at ease. Crazy, huh? U take care and tell Dr Shina & Holly their number 1 fan says hello for me! Hugs Angela" Good night ya'll.

01/22 08:31 AM Angela Russell I was rereading this post from last night and I have decided that I must truly be a blonde rather than a unnatural one because there are so many typos in this and my seminar was 10-5-2004 not Sept. I even got my months mixed up. Sometimes my brain thinks faster than my fingers type. Hugs, Angela. Plus I wrote if u r liteweight and never had a clot u'd be in filter category A when its C. My brain was really moving and my fingers must not have been up to my usual 50 wpm. Oh well, we all have off days I guess. Take care everyone!