Dr Paul Macik in Atlanta

Hello! I'm a newbie to the forum. I have my VSG planned for May 2nd, 2015. I'd like to see if anyone out there knows anything about Dr. Paul Macik in Atlanta? I'm halfway through all of the pre-op clearances and super nervous! 

Hello :) Dr. Macik is my surgeon and I'm having VSG on 5/21!!!! 

How did you find Dr Macik? What do you think of him so far? Do you know any others who have had him as a surgeon before? I'm starting to get super nervous! 

He's my surgeon. I switched TO him a month before surgery after firing Dr. Johnson because Johnson's front office was a disaster. Macik's office has been great.

Dr. Macik did my sleeve and corrected a medium-sized hernia. 

You'll read reviews that he's not particularly conversational, and he's not. He's not going to be the type to sit down over a cup of coffee and chat. In all fairness, I haven't ever had a surgeon be the type to sit over coffee and chat.

I spent 2 nights at Northside. I could have gone home after the first night but enjoyed the benefits of the IV so I stayed the extra night. Very little pain, no complications. No second thoughts.

His pre op diet was easy: 20 grams of carbs but all the protein I wanted. His post op diet was tough: liquids for 4 weeks, then 2 weeks of pureed, then 2 weeks of soft. 8 weeks to get back to regular diet, but I understood it was because he wanted me to heal thoroughly.

He got animated when telling me that I should go off of PPI's. He also was pretty excited about my progress. And, he's answered my questions directly when I have had them.

Ping me with more questions if you have them.

Laurie

Thanks for the reply! What is a PPI?? I'm on day one of the pre-op and it's hard. I'm starving. Maybe I'm not eating right? Can you give me an idea of what you ate pre-op? 

Thanks in advance! Kellie 

PPi = proton pump inhibitor, or acid reducer. I rely only on tums now when needed.

Pre-up, I ate a lot of lean meat like chicken and fish, and some beef. I ate cheese, eggs, bacon, basically anything that was part of an Adkins first level diet. I had salads with balsamic dressing. I was able to go out to restaurants, if I avoided the chips for the bread. I drink water, but no coffee, since I cannot drink it without cream. I loved everything in MyFitnessPal. It was at that point, that I started weaning off of coffee entirely. I switched to tea for the immediate preop and postop period.

I go back to that way of eating periodically if I feel I'm getting too heavy on the carbs and I begin to crave them too much. I was easily getting in 1500 to 2000 calories per day and after the first few days, the carb cravings went away and I felt satiated.

you can do this!

Laurie

How long did it take you to reach "Onederland"? And your goal weight? When could you eat normal foods again in moderation? We have a vacation planned 9 weeks post-op and I wonder what stage I'll be at by then. Sorry for all of the questions. It's really helpful to hear your feedback. :-)

So sorry about all the typos in my previous message. I was dictating to Siri and I think I either have a speech problem or she has a hearing problem, or both. 

Anyway, to answer your questions - 

I hit 199.3 on September 8th of last year. Surgery was 6/12. I still officially haven't hit goal, but I'm hovering a couple of pounds away, so functionally I"m there, but I'm not giving up till I see that number on the scale. I just spent 2 weeks in Europe, including Paris, so I'm owning that issue! Doctor Macik said I should have no problem reaching it by my 12 month checkup and I am sure I will.

I was back on normal foods by 8 weeks. Like I said, his diet (last year, at least), was strict, but I would expect you to be on solids/normal diet by 9 weeks out. I just looked at my food log from 8/1 of last year and see I had a scrambled egg and cheese low carb burrito for breakfast, cheese, yogurt, and cottage cheese for snacks, chicken salad for lunch, and a partial serving of O'Charley's bruschetta chicken for dinner for 848 calories for the day. I was still at 217 lbs that day. So, that'll give you an idea.

Feel free to keep the questions coming. I know I had a million of them, too. Still do, some days.

Laurie

Hello KellieCanDo  

Here is a link to Dr. Macik's reviews. Check out what other members are saying

Paul E. Macik, Bariatric Surgeon - ObesityHelp   Dr. Macik told me that in a year or less I would be a skinny man and starting from 313 ... Dr. Macik is a man of few words but is professional, knowledgeable and ... www.obesityhelp.com/profiles/bariatric-surgeon/dr-paul-e-macik/reviews

Let us know if you would like for us to make a call for you to the surgeon's office to assist you.

Regards,

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