Lose for Life Bariatric Center

Dr. Ray is a very nice person. As I have met with him more, I have gained confidence in him as a surgeon. His staff is wonderful. They are accepting and very helpful. Dr. Ray is a good listener and answers all questions to the best of his knowledge. His program is very well put together and covers everything needed for the insurance companies. He was very upfront about the risks and did not hesitate to inform me of any problems he has had patients go through in the past. I have not had the surgery yet, but feel I will be in good hands with Dr. Ray.

Update: I am 3 1/2 months post op and my opinion of Dr. Ray has only gotten better. I ended up having some very serious complications of the surgery. Dr. Ray spent hours working with me in the hospital to save my life. He called the hospital many times over the first few nights to check on me and visited me several times each day. I ended up having to be re-opened to fix a obstructionn due to scar tissue. Dr. Ray explained the procedure to me and my husband completely. I ended up crashing after the surgery and on a resperator for 8 days. Dr. Ray took time to speak with my parents and other family members to explain my condition. He assured me every time he saw me that I would pull through and be fine. He was right. I feel great and can honestly say that I would go through the surgery all over again but only if Dr. Ray performed the surgery.

My first impression , I knew he was a careing person .
My impression has not changed .
Dr.Ray staff all show you they care about you .
I can say the man cares about everyone he see .
The after care is very good .
If you plan on have surgery you need to
come to Support Group meeting , you learn alot.
Dr. Ray well tell you about the risks of surgery.
I like Dr.Ray you know he tells it like
it is . He come in very day , and check
on you . Bedside on one to ten , he is a 10 .
I feel great , I am 54 years old .
I have a bad back , my doctor keeps telling
me I should be in a wheel chair . I just
keep praying . All I can say is do not give up .
thank you for reading this .
M.J. Meadlo

January 21, 2003

Upon first meeting with Dr. Brad Ray in September 2001, I was struck by his level of caring. I had always heard he was a competent surgeon, but this was a fairly new procedure for him. I would be one of his first patients. My family expressed concern about this, but I decided to meet with him and see how I felt about him. As he talked to me about what happens in the procedure, and what I might expect as to weight loss, as well as the risks involved, I realized that I felt absolutely confident about his capability to get me through this and to take good care of me. This feeling pervaded his entire office and bariatric program staff. They were positive, helpful, and caring in everything they did with me. Because this was a new procedure for him (I would be his third patient), I was hesitant. But after meeting him, I knew I wouldn't get better care any where.

Dr. Ray's aftercare program is helpful. He has a registered nutritionist/dietician on staff, and she meets with patients on a regular basis, monitoring their progress through talking and blood testing. Dr. Ray also developed a support group for people at all levels of bariatric surgery--those who have had it, those who are thinking about it, those awaiting their surgery date, spouses and significant others of patients, and anyone from any other bariatric surgical program. Recently, he hired a facilitator for the support group, so it is a valuable tool for people at all levels of experience. The support group meets the first Monday of every month, 7:30-8:30 pm. Call his office to find out the location, as we are still trying out different places to see where we will be. The office number is 812-330-9962. Please think about joining us. It is worthwhile.

The food program developed by his nutritionist is very helpful. It is not only easy to follow, but very gentle on the newly shocked pouch, and also takes into consideration individual differences of patients. And they are always willing and available to help with problems.

Overall, I can't say enough good things about Dr. Ray. I am so greatful that he is willing to take on the risks of this surgery. Let's be realistic. By definition we are "morbidly obese." And right there we are assured of risks. At least there are doctors willing to put their careers on the line, take on the risks with us, and try to bring us through to a new life.

I realize that all of my comments are positive. Everyone is different, but I had such a problem-free experience. I didn't have a lot of pain. I was fine when I got home, and I had no one there. A very good friend did take on the job of fixing my food for the first month of pureed food. That was very helpful. My weight loss went splendidly. My window of opportunity to lose quickly did slam shut at about 9 months. I hit a long plateau of staying the same. But I assure you, being just "fat" again is a whole lot better that being morbidly obese. I'm happy to say that my weight loss has started up again, at a slower rate, but still a loss. I feel healthy, and that's what is important.

The only negative aspect I can think of is that the hospital staff could use some sensitivity training. But Dr. Ray and the nursing staff administration are all working to improve that aspect. I could put up with that. After all, I knew I wouldn't be in the hospital forever, and goodness knows the descrimination against grossly overweight people we all suffer was not going to be anything new. I don't mean to imply that the hospital staff was mean or descriminatory, just insensitive. And is it improving. They just need to see what a life-changing event this is, and to understand that we are not in this position entirely by choice.

My surgery was January 24, 2002. That comes up in a couple of days. I feel like it is my new birthday, and I owe all that to Dr. Brad Ray.

Our first impression of Dr. Ray was that he was very personable. He has since remained the same. His office staff has been wonderful and his OR nurse visited Mike in the hospital several times after his surgery. If we called his service about a problem he always returned our call within five minutes. We are only two weeks into this so aftercare hasn't been fully empahsized.

Dr. Ray let us know all the risks of the surgery, as did the dietician, Alice. Of course, we thought that the bad things wouldn't happen to Mike.

Well-- they did.

Overall- Dr. Ray was wonderful. He and his staff-along with Bloomington Hospital are highly recommended.

Dr. Ray and his entire staff were kind and non-judgmental. He was thorough in his explanation of the surgery, risks and benefits. His insurance person was also very thorough. I have only met with him for the initial consultation, so it is too early to tell how my impression will change over time. I made the appointment for the initial consultation one week and was seen the next. Another surgery center in the area had a 2 month wait for the initial appointment. Aftercare includes a support group, meetings with him and the dietician. I have asked other types of surgery patients about his skills (he is a general surgeon) and all have raved about him. He doesn't specialize in bariatric surgery, in fact he just began doing it about 1 year ago. He says he has done around 30 procedures. His specialty is laparascopic surgery. I believe both surgical competence and bedside manner are important, and from what I can see at this early stage, he appears to have a great deal of both. At this point I would rate him excellent overall.

I had an initial consultation with a Dr. Vafa Shayani in early April 2001, however, I felt that he was not a person with whom I would be comfortable working. I had an appoitnment with Dr. Jeffrey Rosen in July of 2001, and was encouraged by him and his team. I had a long fight with the insurance on my hands, which finally worked out in my favor.
In the meantime, a surgeon in my area began a practice doing bariatric surgery. I have consulted with him and his team and I like him very much. Dr. Brad Ray of Bloomington, IN will be doing my surgery and I am very confident in him and his team.