WASaBubbleButt

Yes, he was one of the folks that started it from my understanding.

My crappy writing style strikes again! ;o) I didn't take it to mean you were inferring I was doing something wrong. I was just pointing out complications that can happen when we try to do everything right. I am an example, I really did do everything right and it didn't work. I just want everyone to know what can happen, not that it WILL happen to them, but it's possible. I want people to know all their options and make a decision that is right for them at the time. But I know you were not directing that to me, I was using "me" as an example. It's that writing style of mine, I'm telling ya! ;o)

Not as much as you'd think. It used to be true but it is not as true today as it was 20 years ago. Now a more muscular portion of the stomach is saved vs. a more elastic portion. So stretching isn't the issue it used to be. The stomach will stretch slightly and just like a band pouch, this is accounted for in OR. They make it smaller so when it stretches normally (vs. dilation) it will be juuuuust right. ;o)

No, the OP is following my advice. I suggested he have this thread deleted. Enough people have had their fun with him. I suggested he starte a new thread, admit he approached this one wrong, and get to know people. I guess not everyone will allow him to do that.

Most of the excess stomach is removed. The important parts of the stomach remain. The part that is removed is the portion that produces Ghrelin, the hormone that tells your brain you are hungry. After surgery you basically have YOUR stomach but much smaller. It is like having a band with good restriction. Instead of focusing on fills to get to a sweet spot, you are at your sweet spot coming out of surgery. It's like a forever band pouch without the fills, unfills, restriction issues, PBs, slips, erosions, port flips/pain, etc. After about 2 years people start getting hungry again, just like presurgery however their stomach still only holds a small amount of food. They used to do this procedure in the 70s but it was a huge failure. The technique has changed drastically and now it is quite effective. I just saw a study that shows that 5 year stats show about the same as bypass weight loss, which is better than banding weight loss. The best part of this procedure is that AFTER the initial 30 days from surgery the complications for a sleeve are drastically less than that of a band. The initial surgical risk is slightly higher but going to a verrrry skilled surgeon makes all the difference in the world. But after 30 days the risks are dramatically lower than banding.

I think I started a "thing" here and that wasn't my intent. But since I did, here goes. I don't think the band is going to kill anyone but I have to admit, there are complications I wasn't banking on. Again, I knew there may be unknown complications before going into this so I'm not whining about it now. Just saying how it is. The band has caused me to have esophageal problems that are progressing. My voice has gone from a soft, feminine, ladylike voice to a frog. Or a little boy in puberty, not sure which describes it better. I am now discovering that this could be permanent. I also have esophageal motility issues which could also be permanent. I choke when I swallow if I don't think about each swallow and I choke when I barf. (sorry, gross) I don't have control over my throat like I used to. Again, possibly permanent. Time will tell. Right. That was my thinking in the beginning too. I'm just saying that hey, here is another potential complication. Newbies need to know this so they can make informed decisons. I'm not suggesting the FDA pull the band from the market. I'm suggesting research, lots and lots of research. Right now Inamed is not putting out new stats, they are still advertising outdated stats on their website for a surgical technique that isn't used anymore. Maybe I question things too much, could be. But that does make me sit back and look at those stats with a raised eyebrow. Maybe another way to look at it is ... how many people cannot help but to contribute to their own complications due to their eating disorder? I didn't contribute to mine, I've been dealing with them for a long time and learning to live with them. Turns out, that wasn't such a hot idea but nobody could know so I was doing the best I could at the time. Yes, some people are too tight for too long, but I never was. I never had good restriction. I kept restriction at the point that I couldn't eat bread and I learned to deal with the quantities without restriction on my own. I didn't cheat in the post op diet, matter of fact I was on clears for three weeks. Fulls for three weeks. NSAIDs... they aren't a bad thing. Some docs say no, most say yes to NSAIDs. It *used* to be thought that NSAIDs caused erosion. We now know that isn't true and that was why docs were suggesting we avoid those drugs. It's been proven this is not a cause of erosion so NSAIDs shouldn't be a problem. The complications I refer to are not patient compliance related. I'm talking band related complications such as esophageal problems. Merely having the band there causing problems.... those issues. Band induced reflux, esophageal spasms causing more problems, esophageal motility issues, then there is always the new "little boy in puberty" voice. There are all kinds of complications, some are patient induced and some are band induced. I'm really referring to band induced complications for the sake of what I originally brought up.

Yep, due to time limitations I'm going to be turning over the AZ list to KittenQutie. Shhhhhhh.... she doesn't know yet. ;o)

Inamed has a certification class in the US. In order to attend you have to be referred by a bariatric doctor that is certified by Inamed to place their band. The idea being that you will do fills under his name. I keep meaning to go to the class myself, not because I want to do fills (I don't) but just for the education. They have them about twice yearly, I have been unable to attend the last two but maybe next time.

Never heard of this doc before. The non adjustable band is not really used much anymore because the failure rate was so high. I'd think long and hard about getting that one. I know TriCare offers it, or at least they did as of a few months ago but nobody uses it. It simply does not work. May I ask what this doctor is charging for this band?

I don't know Denise. But keep in mind, I was offering my opinions only. The more I see banded folks and the longer they have their bands the more complications they have. We have to be realistic here and face up to the fact that we *are* guinea pigs in the world of bariatric surgery. We can't claim we didn't know there could be complications 20 years out when we knew full well the band hasn't even been around for 20 years when we had our own bands placed. But you know what? It is what it is and all the worrying in the world isn't going to change anything. My Mom used to be a worrier, her therapist told her to set aside 20 minutes two times daily to sit and worry. heh.. Kinda puts it all in perspective, you know? Knott: Yep, those things can happen but it comes down to a choice, do you want to be fat or deal with some issues that may not be fun? We caused ourselves pain and body damage with obesity, I don't know. Maybe the only way to fix it is with some band discomfort. I really have mixed feelings about this one. At this point our options are not huge. Obesity, band, sleeve, or bypass. For me bypass is not an option. It's doable for others but not me. Sleeves... seems like a pretty good option to me.

What an ignorant statement. You "worked" there for four years and after that you chose to go there for your own surgery. Not being able to drink the water didn't phase you in the least when you willingly requested to have your own surgery in Mexico, why is it the best you have today to try and prevent others from getting life saving surgery for themselves? Honestly, it sounds more like the band did not work for you so you don't want it to work for others. There are many people that if it were not for Mexico they would not be getting a band at all. They just don't have the money. Are you willing to scare people out of having surgery in Mexico because they have to drink bottled water like the rest of the country when their alternative is to die from obesity related issues? That really sucks. I hope the universe pays you back for the one even if it doesn't work. You aren't there to drink the water, you are there to have surgery. I don't drink the water in the US either, it is so loaded with chemicals it tastes like chlorine so I only drink bottled water. So why should it suddenly an issue for others when it wasn't an issue for you? Your surgical issues didn't have anything to do with the water, it did not have anything to do with how clean anything was. You had a known complication with the band. Get over yourself for goodness sakes, you are grasping for straws. Arturo Rodriguez does not have a history of infections from a lack of "clean," he has a history of erosions just like many US docs. You are still miffed that you had to pay for your own complications. It would have happened here too and if you would have had your band surgically removed in the US it would have been a heck of a lot more than you paid even if your original surgery would have been in the US to begin with. Face it, if everything that happened to you in Mexico happened in the US, you'd be facing a lot more medical bills than you have paid to date. You wouldn't be out your life savings, you'd *still* be paying it off. So let's get a bit realistic here. And this story about the US docs not being willing to remove your eroded band, I'm not buying it. Your insurance would have covered it (federal law) and if you did not have insurance you *still* would have been paying more in the US than Mexico. You really need to pick a story and stick with it as outlined to you previously by several. In the meantime you are doing nothing but bolstering those who are pro-Mexico for surgery for those who want it. So keep on doing what you are, we appreciate it. You'll what? Continuing scaring people out of having life saving surgery that they can't afford in the US so they die instead? Obviously you aren't trying to tell us you suddenly have religion, are you?

AZ people are cool. ;o)

Can you switch back to your current insurance after banding and at the next enrollment?

Green is much loved around here. She's certainly a favorite! It's a sad sad day when one of our own has to go through this stuff.

Yeah, slips are an issue too with banding and chemo. Many people are under the impression they would not be able to get enough nutrition with bands or sleeves and that's incorrect information. Kat made an excellent point about bypass and dumping with Ensure, I never thought about that. I was thinking about an ability to get any nutrition down, I didn't think about dumping with food replacements.

One issue about those stats is that they are old and outdated. The technique changed during those 12 years and is no longer used.

If you have coverage for it I'd fight to get it under insurance. It's hard jumping through their hoops but for that kind of money, it's worth it.

Many patients write that not realizing that they are perpetuating a myth. Sleeved and banded folks can do just find getting nutrition in during radiation, chemo, etc. Yes, end stages are very sad. :tongue_smilie:

I think they have always sewn it into place but the old technique was not good enough, people were slipping and eroding like crazy. So the technique was changed and now slips are doing to 3%+.

All doctors suture the band in place. If they don't I'd be running like hell the other direction. It's kinda like having open heart surgery and boasting that you put the heart back in before closing. I mean, some things are just a given. ;o)

Not sure I can agree. Look at the comments made by Americans due to sheer ignorance of any country other than the US. If doctors tried to to explain that the US doesn't always have the best standards of care and other countries accept patients for surgery at a BMI of 30 or more, US patients would just assume that since the US is best (ahem) then the Mexican surgeons or Australian surgeons simply are greedy and would band their dog if the price was right. They have to write similar things to the US docs. They have to depend on rep, US docs have to depend on insurance contracts. I think everyone prefers a local surgeon but sometimes it's just easier and faster (and just as safe) to go out of the country.

Heh... many of those people are one in the same. One person with multiple IDs. ;o)

You bring up an excellent point. Personally, I have never gone to a doctor and questioned if he has medical malpractice insurance before I went there. Many are under the assumption that all docs in the US carry it. Not true, they most certainly do not. I have never gone to a doc based on IF he has med. mal, instead I go to doctors where I feel confident that I'll never need to sue them. Our country is sue happy. Read threads here, complications happen! It does not always mean it is the doc's fault. Sometimes stuff happens, it's life and it's the way it works. But in the US we have a mentality that we need to be paid for every ache and pain we experience. We can't fathom suffering without someone paying out big bucks, doesn't matter whose wallet we are taking from, we just deserve to be paid for life's issues that come up. I question if the same people worried about med mal call their own docs and ask if THEY carry the same insurance. It somehow is only necessary in Mexico. ;o)

You mention something that is a common misconception about cancer and the lap band vs. sleeve. There is no need to have the band removed or for a sleeve patient to worry if they get cancer. When cancer patients are end stage they are getting NO nutrition, it's the bodies way of dealing with the illness. If it feeds the cells it prolongs the life of the cancer cells. So you will often times find that patients just can't eat, they don't want food and the mere thought of food is repulsive to them. With cancer you don't necessarily need extra nutrition, you simply need nutrition. The band and sleeve both would be fully adequate for a cancer patient. You can eat with either procedure, it's getting cancer patients to eat anything that is the challenge. So a sleeve would be exactly the same as a band for a cancer patient. Both are equally doable. Actually bypass would be acceptable too. Patients don't eat anything at all during the end stages. The idea is just to get calories in them.

With every single one of those doctors that you listed if you call them they will do your surgery if you are a 30BMI or greater. Every single one of them. Same holds true with Australia. Each country has an accepted standard of care, for Mexico and Australia (as well as others) it is 30 or more. It is ONLY the US that requires 35 w/comorbs or 40 w/o comorbids. Try it, see what you find out.