Meet Lauren: Signature Skinny Shot Weight Loss Program Patient Coordinator

Monique Ramsey (00:03):
Welcome everyone to The La Jolla Cosmetic Podcast. I'm your hostess, Monique Ramsey. My guest today is Lauren, she's a patient coordinator for our Signature Skinny Shot, and welcome, Lauren.

Lauren (00:15):
Hi. Thank you.

Monique Ramsey (00:16):
So tell us a little bit about how you help patients within the practice.

Lauren (00:23):
So my role within the Skinny Shot program is to get everyone started and make sure that to facilitate things along the way. So in terms of when people call in and they want to hear about the program, I can answer a lot of those questions, give them the rundown of what to expect, and then if they decide that this is something they want to pursue, I can go ahead and get them set up with all the necessary appointments. First they have to do their blood work, and then they have to have that virtual consultation with Dr. Haas. And so all those things to get them to their first appointment where they're actually receiving the medication. And then from then on out, I'm just in charge of making sure that everything stays in order for them and on track, and that I make sure they get their medication when they need it and schedule all those things and the back end of things.

Monique Ramsey (01:10):
Yeah, I feel like you're really a partner in their care and really sets us apart, I think from some online service where you might get a skinny shot. And so it really, it's like you are there and it's kind of a buddy system relationship with them to help them through the whole process. And I think that's really, really a nice thing. And we have an episode where we did a meet Dr. Haas, we did a Skinny Shot episode and we did meet Jason, he's an RN and is on the medical side. And then you're really that best friend throughout the process to help them navigate for however long that they're doing their Skinny Shot. But really you're probably their first point of contact, right?

Lauren (01:59):
Yes, probably. Definitely their first point of contact, and then Jason and Dr. Haas are so busy, and so if I can help answer any of those easier questions, maybe not the medical questions, but just billing or scheduling or all those things, then I can take on that and then make their journey as smooth as possible. That's kind of my goal.

Monique Ramsey (02:20):
And I feel like it's a really kind of a concierge experience in terms of that handholding and because, not everybody's done this before or comfortable with it, or you might've done it somewhere else, but you really wanted that more one-on-one connection with the team. And we've gotten such amazing feedback from our patients who've gone through the Skinny Shot coming up on, I think we've been doing it since February, so we're coming up on a year. And so you're talking to patients all day long, right?

Lauren (02:52):
All day long, all day, every day. Yeah. It's pretty fun actually. It's fun to see the little victories. I get to get a lot of, I'm texting with them all the time through the software and just kind of checking in with them. And then I get a lot of people going, Hey, Lauren, I've lost 20 pounds today. And kind of getting to see those little victories is really, really fun.

Monique Ramsey (03:12):
Oh, how fun. I would love that. It's like all the happy people. And I think in terms of patients who might, let's say they hit a plateau, do they talk to you or do they talk to Jason or Dr. Haas?

Lauren (03:26):
Usually they'll talk to me first and just say, Hey, this is kind of what I've noticed and I think this is what's happening. I can kind of talk through that with them a little bit. And then usually if I agree, I think, okay, yes, I think this is a plateau. I think you've been on this dose for so long, however many months that your body is starting to adjust. Then usually then I go, okay, next step is Jason. We're going to talk to Jason. He's going to then want to have a conversation with them over the phone and decide do we need to go up? So just if I can take that middleman position, it helps field some of those calls because sometimes people are, they get a little worried and they just want to have someone reassure them that I'm doing the right thing. And so I can kind of talk to them and just hear, how are you doing? What are your habits like? And they just want someone to talk to them like that.

Monique Ramsey (04:14):
Yeah, and I think everybody's so different. Everybody's body is different. Some people start losing weight right away. Other people, it takes a little while to kick in. So it's having that partner and Jason and Dr. Haas have the benefit of working with so many hundreds of patients that we can see what are the norms, what are the outliers, it's okay. And then know when we might need to intervene with a different solution or transfer to maintenance. We've had a lot of people hit their goal and we have maintenance plans now, which I think is awesome, especially right now where maybe you've made your goal and now the holidays are coming and you're like, I want that food noise to go away a little bit. So could we have a low dose or something where you can get yourself through the holidays without backsliding?

Lauren (05:06):
Yeah, for sure.

Monique Ramsey (05:07):
Yeah. So tell us about your background and what led you into aesthetics or specifically to us at La Jolla Cosmetic Surgery Center.

Lauren (05:15):
Yeah, so I am originally from Washington. I'm from a really small town in Washington called Leavenworth. It's kind of in the smack dab middle of the state, kind of in, it's a super tiny town, not a lot of people. And so I ended up going to Washington State University, which is in Pullman, Washington for college. And originally I was going to do nursing, that was kind of my plan. My whole life was to do nursing. And then somewhere along the way I kind of decided actually, I don't know if this is what I want to be doing. I really liked it. I liked the helping people part of things, but it was also just kind of hard. You see people kind of on their worst day a lot of the time, and it's just a little bit sad at times. And so I did my CNA, which is a certified nursing assistant training, and I just decided, you know what?

(06:07):
I don't think this is for me. And so I decided to switch my major, and I did psychology. I've always loved working with people, and I figured that would be a good degree in terms of just working with people and learning about how people work and their thought processes. And that kind of was just an impulse decision really. And then I ended up moving to California kind of out of nowhere, my best friend a job here. And so then me and our other friend said, we're in, let's go. We're coming with you. And we all just kind of moved down here. And then I graduated shortly after, and I just kind of got to thinking about what do I want to do and what should I be applying for? And then along the looking of for jobs, I saw this one and I was like, oh my gosh, that would just be perfect working with people. And it's in the healthcare field, but not the sad parts. Obviously when you're here, everyone is just thrilled and everyone is so happy to be doing what they're doing, whether that's weight loss, whether that's surgery, people are excited to be here, they're happy with their results, and you're really just giving people confidence and just life-changing things are happening here. So it was kind of the perfect combination of those two things. And so I really am happy that it worked out so well, and I think it was kind of the perfect job for me.

Monique Ramsey (07:30):
That's awesome. I love it. Now tell me the name of the town again.

Lauren (07:35):
It's called Leavenworth, Washington.

Monique Ramsey (07:37):
Leavenworth, Okay.

Lauren (07:38):
It's about three hours from Seattle. It's very well known by the people there, but when I talk about it in California, no one knows what I'm talking about. And it sounds a little quirky because it's a German themed town.

Monique Ramsey (07:50):
Oh, really?

Lauren (07:51):
So it's themed to be like Bavaria, like you're in Germany, but it's just a little tourist destination and it's pretty cute. Yeah.

Monique Ramsey (07:59):
Oh, I'm going to have to go check it out. I think that sounds adorable.

Lauren (08:03):
It's pretty adorable.

Monique Ramsey (08:05):
So tell me about the differences growing up in Washington and what have you and your friends now that you've been in San Diego for a little while. What do you guys think?

Lauren (08:13):
I love it. I think I moved here with two of my best friends, and I think out of the three of us, I like it the most, which was kind of surprising. They were really, really gunning to come here. And I mean, you can't beat San Diego weather, obviously. We were all just home for the holidays for Thanksgiving, and it's fun to go visit the snow, but I certainly do not miss it.

Monique Ramsey (08:35):
So it was snowy where you were?

Lauren (08:37):
Oh, yeah, it was snowy. My hometown is referred to often as Christmas Town USA.

Monique Ramsey (08:42):
You're kidding.

Lauren (08:43):
It's very wintery wonderland. There's lights on every building, so when you go there, it's very Christmasy and holiday.

Monique Ramsey (08:53):
I want to go.

Lauren (08:53):
Yeah, it's really cute. Yeah.

Monique Ramsey (08:56):
How neat. That's so cool. I love it when you feel like, especially, I mean, I'm a San Diego native, so I've barely seen snow five times in my lifetime. So we are used to kind of that California Christmas. But I think to be able to go somewhere on a plane for not have to fly that far to get that same feeling, that's really cool.

Lauren (09:21):
It's perfect because I mean, the part of winter that you want to experience is the fun and the pretty snow falling and having the fire and sitting inside and watching the fire while the snow falls. But the part you don't want to deal with is scraping your car windows every single day and shoveling the driveway and all those things that I certainly do not miss. So I get to have the fun little bits and pieces when I go home now.

Monique Ramsey (09:46):
That's so nice. So are you going to go home at Christmas too?

Lauren (09:49):
Yes.

Monique Ramsey (09:49):
Oh, good.

Lauren (09:50):
Very excited.

Monique Ramsey (09:50):
Yeah. So tell me a little bit about, now that you've been around San Diego, what have been some of your favorite places to go, whether it be food related, whether it be activity related, what do you like to do?

Lauren (10:04):
I am a very, very picky eater, very, very picky eater. And so I'm trying slowly but surely to expand that. And so part of what's been awesome about living in San Diego is I think I could live here my entire life and not see a portion of the restaurants that there are here. There's just so many, but I really enjoy trying new ones and where I'm from, it's the same thing over and over again because a town of 2000 people. And so it's teeny tiny. And so having something like this where I'm in a city and I can go around and try all these different variations of food from different cultures while not even leaving the city has been really fun. I think it's hard to really say what my favorite is. Ironically, what comes to mind first is just the little things. My hometown had one McDonald's and that was it. And so the fact that I can go and just easily access a Chick-fil-A is lovely. It used to be a three hour drive to get to a Chick-fil-A, and now I can go to one so easily.

Monique Ramsey (11:06):
I know there's that one in La Jolla now too, so it's like, Ooh, I don't have to go the way to Mira Mesa. I can go to the one by UTC. Yeah. Now tell me, because it's all about the tacos, so have you found any taco places and what do you like?

Lauren (11:21):
I don't think I, I haven't found anything that really sticks out, but I mean, I have had many a great taco here, but nothing in this particular I can think of. That's my go-to place. I'll have to keep looking.

Monique Ramsey (11:34):
You have to keep looking.

Lauren (11:35):
Exactly.

Monique Ramsey (11:36):
So what advice would you give to somebody if they're thinking about maybe changing their life with their weight? What kind of advice would you give them about getting started? And I ask you, because you've talked to so many patients on that first phone call. And so are people nervous when they call or are they ready to go? And what advice would you give?

Lauren (12:05):
I would say most people are nervous. It's been really interesting to talk to so many people about it and kind of hear not only the reservations they have coming in, but then how happy they are. They did this at the end. And so I can use those conversations when I'm talking to new patients and they're saying things like, oh, I'm just so nervous. I've never done these kind of things. I've never done injections. And you hear all these scary things in the media about celebrities doing these things and it has this certain stigma, but to kind of get to tell them, it's likely going to be one of the best things you can do for yourself because you're just going to gain all this self-confidence back. And people also, I think are worried that this has to be something they have to do for the rest of their life, or this is something that's only going to work for a short time, and then they're just going to gain all the way back.

(12:55):
And so to kind of reassure them with all these other people's experiences I can talk to them about and just let them know that you're not alone in how you're feeling. Everyone feels nervous to start something like this, and everyone's worried about, oh, are people going to think differently of me? But really you're giving yourself the greatest gift, which is confidence. And if you can do that, if you can do it this way and get yourself to where you want to be, and then do, because you still have to do a lot of work. It's not like it's an magic drug. It's not like you just inject yourself and boop, you lost 10 pounds. You still have to really put the work in and be dedicated to the program. So it's not like an easy out, you still have to really try pretty hard. So I think just reassuring them that, no, this is not a shortcut. This is just how you're going to do it and it's how it's going to be best for your lifestyle and you're going to feel amazing at the end. And then they always are so happy that they did this.

Monique Ramsey (13:51):
You're saying that reminds me of one of our patients. We'll put it in the show notes, we'll put links to some podcasts we had with real patients who've gone through the program. And one of them, she said she doesn't understand the stigma because she said if it was some treatment or drug to help stop alcoholism, you would never think twice about,

Lauren (14:17):
You wouldn't think twice.

Monique Ramsey (14:18):
Everybody would be like, yeah, of course. Rather than, okay, weight loss and a better, healthier you, is no different. And they are, every day I'm on Medscape and I always see these articles, they're finding it helps with cardiovascular risk and it helps with the semaglutide and the tirzepatide. They really are helping people in a lot more than just weight loss and kind of think about the after effects. If you're too heavy, the diabetes risk and all the different factors that go way up with a higher weight. And these are very safe medications. And so I think it's interesting to be able to sort of, like you say, reassure them that these are safe and it's physician supervised. So Dr. Haas, we're doing lab work or we have, Dr. Haas go over your medical history, we work on your dosing. And there is that supervision factor, which I think is the reassuring part as a patient to go, I don't know anything about these drugs. I'm assuming you do, and that you guys are the ones on the side to help keep it safe, keep it, making sure that you're doing the weight loss in the right way, drinking enough water and having enough protein and all those things. But it is a game-changing drug, I will say, for somebody.

Lauren (15:43):
Life-changing. So life-changing for so many people. And it's so fun to see. I see them usually once a month when they come in to pick up, I'll see them in person and I see them just slowly getting back down to that goal weight. And I also see them just looking happier. And I can't tell you how many people will send me messages saying, I've never felt this confident. I've never felt this happy. And it's just because like you said, obviously having a lot of extra weight can have effects on your physical health, like your cardiovascular health and all those things, but it can also have effect on your mental health and just how you feel about yourself. And so if you can do something that's going to make it so you feel like the best version of yourself every day in a way that also, this is probably for most people going to be a six to eight to 12 month process.

(16:33):
So it's not like it's overnight. And it also gives you this amazing chunk of time where you are able to really hone in on your dietary and lifestyle choices, your exercise routines, your diet, all those things. And that way people, when they finish the program, they've had months and months and months to change their actual habits. And that's how people are successful moving forward is they've actually done the work and change their habits. If you just would did this medication, lost a bunch of weight and then returned back to your old lifestyle the next day, it's all going to come back. So I think that people have to remember that this isn't just a magic drug, it still is a lot of work and you're just helping yourself get there and you're going to thank yourself for it.

Monique Ramsey (17:16):
Yeah, and I think the big key is that having that aid, and I think the way that it works on your brain almost as much as it works on your stomach, you feel fuller quicker for longer, but your brain isn't thinking about food as much. And I know for me that food noise, they talk about food noise and it's just like, what am I going to eat next? Or, oh, I want more of something, and it kind of goes away. And I think that's why they've even been using this drug for helping people who are addicted to different chemical substances or alcohol because it does quiet that part of the brain. And I don't know if we know why yet, but it works.

(18:02):
And so it does allow you to then have the freedom to make those changes to your lifestyle and to do like, oh, because I'm not so stressed out about this other part that's kind of being handled, okay, I'm going to focus on walking one more day a week, or I'm going to focus on adding more protein. That's a hard thing. If you're eating a lot less, you should be eating the right things, and so that kind of stuff. And I love the fact that you have the history of all the patients that have been in our program to help coach people through whatever challenges or frustrations they might be having at any one point. So that's really nice.

Lauren (18:45):
Yeah, I think it's reassuring to people, one thing to have me just say it, but if I can say all these other people who were in the same shoes as you, were having the same fears, they had the same victories, everyone is, it's comforting, I think to a lot of people just to hear that, okay, I'm not alone, and it's just not just me saying it. This is people who actually have gone through the same exact thing as them.

Monique Ramsey (19:07):
Exactly. And we'll put also in the show notes, not just those podcasts, but we also have a on demand webinar that we did with Dr. Haas. And so we'll put that in the show notes with a link. So all you have to do is kind of register for it, and then the moment you do that, you'll have the webinar to play and listen to, which I think is really great. So last question, at La Jolla Cosmetic Surgery Center, our brand is where dreams become real. So Lauren, tell us about a dream of yours that has become real.

Lauren (19:43):
I mean, this is a little bit silly, I guess, but I had always dreamt of going to the Italian coast and I did a trip to Italy with my best friend about two summers ago, and we went to the Amalfi Coast, and it was definitely dreamlike. It was really a really amazing trip and something I never thought I'd get to do.

Monique Ramsey (20:03):
How wonderful. So what was that, do you remember the inspiration for the dream that I want to go there, or was it a movie or did you read something or?

Lauren (20:14):
I think just the dream to travel. I think everyone wants to get to travel around and I guess even moving here was kind of a dream that I got to do and just, I dunno.

Monique Ramsey (20:27):
Well now that I'm 56 and almost I'm staring down 57 in a few weeks, I feel like the time when you're young is the time to do those crazy things. Like, yeah, I'm going to move and let's just do it and see what happens. And those are those chances you can take. You don't have kids and your job is in between whatever. I think it makes it easy for people to go, what's the worst that can happen? If I don't like it, I'll go back. But where you can do those fun, take a chance, type dreams. And so do you think now that you're here in San Diego, do you see yourself living here?

Lauren (21:10):
That's the question. I think I'll definitely be around for some years, for sure. I don't know about for the rest of my life. I love San Diego so far, but it's definitely a city and I do kind of like the small town vibe, but not right now at this point in my life, this is perfect.

Monique Ramsey (21:32):
And that's a perfect answer to be like, yeah, it's perfect for now and it might not be perfect in a few years, and that's okay. So I think it's just all adds into your life experience and that's fun that you shared it with us. I appreciate that.

Lauren (21:47):
Yeah.

Monique Ramsey (21:48):
Well, thanks for showing us, telling us about what you do at La Jolla Cosmetic and explaining to the patients a little bit about your role in helping the Skinny Shot patients realize their dreams and getting their confidence back at their fighting weight, as they might say, at their goal weight. And so thanks again for coming.

Lauren (22:11):
Yeah, no problem. Thanks for having me.

Monique Ramsey (22:14):
Okay, I'll see you on the next one.

Announcer (22:16):
Take a screenshot of this podcast episode with your phone and show it at your consultation or appointment or mention the promo code PODCAST to receive $25 off any service or product of $50 or more at La Jolla Cosmetic. La Jolla Cosmetic is located just off the I-5 San Diego Freeway in the Ximed Building on the Scripps Memorial Hospital campus. To learn more, go to ljcsc.com or follow the team on Instagram @ljcsc. The La Jolla Cosmetic Podcast is a production of The Axis, theaxis.io.