WASaBubbleButt

Do you also have a terrible problem with shower scum build up on your port? Sheesh... glad I'm not the only one. ;o)

I did not know until recently that Dr. Arturo (not Jose) Rodriguez has a verrry high erosion stat. I'm sorry that happened to you. Just because you had a bad experience does not mean all Mexican docs are bad. There are two people on OH that had a band and couldn't figure out why they had no restriction. Turns out, the doc placed their bands around a wad of fat instead of their stomachs. Those docs are in the US. Does that mean everyone should avoid all US docs? Infections... check out these very boards. More people are coming home with infections from US docs than Mexican docs. There are good doctors and bad all over the world. Just because someone has a bad experience by a single doctor does not mean everyone should avoid that country. If that was the case nobody would be banded by any doctor anywhere. Aftercare is a serious issue. That should be lined up before getting surgery anywhere, in any country, by any doctor. One should not wait until after surgery to find a local doctor to take care of aftercare issues. Most docs will remove bands placed by other doctors, your situation is very curious, to say the least. It's fills and such they won't do. It's not a medical malpractice issue, it's a financial issue. The medical malpractice companies tell me they have no problem with doctors seeing patients banded outside the US. The issue is that the doctors want the surgery business, period. They make more money from surgery and can sometimes lose money for fills. I don't blame them for not wanting to fill Mexican banded people, I just wish they'd be honest as to the reason. It is NOT medical malpractice, it is $$. Good luck to you.

4/18? A lady I know is getting banded that same day, I believe! I was just talking to her today and I think that is the date she told me. Oh yeah, the hospital, docs (six of them), staff, everyone was great. Sleeves are trickier procedures and you really want a great surgeon for that. I believe Dr. A has done just shy of 200 of them and he hasn't had a leak or major complication yet. I'm getting a revision surgery from band to sleeve and I'm going back to Dr. A for the revision. My insurance actually covers it in the US but I really don't care for the docs on my insurance. I'd rather pay out of pocket for it in Mexico. Revisions carry more risk than a sleeve without a previous band so I just want to feel good about my doc. Thus, I'm going back to Dr. Aceves. I believe Andrea is having her band the same day as you. You should meet up with her on Dr. Aceves message board and get to know her. You guys can sort of go through this together. Once you get out of the Phoenix area (traffic and all) it's about three hours to get there. There is a bit of as short cut to get to Mexicali from Phoenix. If you PM me your email address I'll send you the entire driving directions. It even tells you which lanes to drive in so you don't turn off on a "Y" street and end up somewhere else. ;o) Good luck to you!

Sadly, not enough are fortunate enough. Way too many mistakes. You are right, luck has nothing to do with the "oups" patients.

Yes, Matt.

I like my doc, Dr. Aceves in Mexicali. I wasn't thrilled with going to Tijuana so Mexicali was appealing to me. My personal two favorites are Aceves and Rumbaut. Please see my sig link for info on how to research Mexican surgeons.

After 18 months to five years their intestines (bypass) start growing and reabsorbing. They never absorb nutrients properly again, however. This is why they have the 18 month honeymoon stage. They malabsorb like crazy during that time. After that they start absorbing calories and fat again.

Hopefully I'll get to meet you! A friend is in need of her first fill and she hasn't been to Mexico alone yet so I'm going along for the ride.

It appears to be just exactly like the rest of us in the sense that eventually it is absorbed. In the beginning (just like RNY) they malabsorb. Actually, they can eat like a heifer and lose weight. Over time they begin regaining if they have not learned better eating habits (ahem....) and they start the regain process. If you look at the advice in the beginning they laugh at bandsters referring to us as stupid for making a healthy lifestyle choice. After a couple of years they start handing out advice to the regainers to avoid white carbs such as sugar and flour. Isn't that what we do? Everything in moderation? So much for their obesity "cure" they tout. While they can eat white carbs and lose weight, they pay for it in stink. The next phase is regain and stink. They *do* appear to have the highest long term weight loss of all major surgery types considering many WLS types only have short term studies available. However, most studies seem to be glorifed opinions and it depends on what the study is trying to prove. (Not what studies were designed to do at all). I guess one has to decide how much weight loss is worth it. Personally, I see no value in losing weight just so you can offend people with an odor you spend a fortune to try to cover up. Body odor, fart odor, and poop odor. For some it is worth it, but not everyone would agree. The human body can handle small amounts of amazingly bad foods and most chemicals. If it didn't, we'd all be dead. After time the body begins to be unable to keep up with constantly ridding itself of ingested horrors. Honestly and sincerely.. I have my own personal thoughts on what is wrong with DSers and it doesn't involve biological functions. It involves emotional issues. But... I'm no psych so it's purely theory on my part.

Anyone have a gun to shoot a hole through their head? Com'on, the human body can only take so much before it keels over and dies. ;o)

Anyone who has met a DSer knows full well that putting DS in a negative light and making it sound as though it isn't the choice of surgery for EVERY fat person out there is completely unacceptable! Surely you aren't serious in suggesting that DS isn't the best surgery choice for little children too, right?

Sheesh... I'm at it again! I can't quit! hello, I'm Bubblebutt and I'm a DS gas addict. You can't make this stuff up, folks. SMELLY BAD DAY [Archive] - Duodenal Switch Support Forum Check it out: Fartypants?? OMG, I can't imagine having to Google for something like fartypants. And they wonder why they lose weight: BM problems after DS [Archive] - Duodenal Switch Support Forum I'm wanting revision surgery but I'm fairly comfortable in saying, there's not a freak'en chance in hell it's gonna be DS!

BTW... the inside of a sleeve stomach is about the size of a man's finger but longer. It's in the shape of a banana so many refer to it as the banana procedure. ;o)

They started doing a version of the sleeve in the 70s and it really didn't work out well. It was a huge invasive open procedure and it failed probably more times than it didn't. Today the technique has changed and instead of saving a more elastic part of the stomach they save a more muscular part of the stomach so it doesn't stretch as much. Yes! It can happen and you can stretch your stomach but that isn't something I am worried about. I never stretched my banded pouch, matter of fact it is still a newbie pouch. It never even stretched to what it was supposed to but that could be due to the fact that I have never had decent restriction and I can't use my band the way others do. I only keep enough fill so that I can't eat bread and I've learned to eat bandster portions without restriction. As for the nerve, I assume I know the reason but I have nothing to back it up so I'll ask before I post it. I'll add it to my questions. I've always assumed it would be like any other nerve damaged during surgery but I'll ask before posting so I don't give wrong info.

No, that is something I asked him a long time ago. If I got a band and I were to slip or erode... anything, if I needed to change to a different procedure would I have to wait to gain everything back before he would do a revision. He said no, a revision does not require a BMI of 30 or more. Just an original surgery. A history of MO is sufficient.

We have people from Dr. Blackstone's office, you are more than welcome to join us! We have people from most MD offices in our group.. both Mexico and Phoenix. If you want to join us just PM me your email address and I'll add you to the list. We are planning another lunch and will finalize it tomorrow. So I'll be sending out an email with the date, time, and location within a few days. We are going to shoot for closer to the east valley this time. We always have them on the west valley and it's not fair to those that have to drive long distances all the time. We are growing big enough I was going to see what everyone thought of two lunches monthly, one east valley and one west. We'd love to have you join us. It's nothing formal, we just get together for lunch and have some fun.

It scares me too. At least with the band I have learned to work around issues for the most part. What if I have the same issues with a sleeve? I thought about this a great deal tonight. I wrote out specific questions and I'm going to talk to my doc on Saturday. So far, I have every intention of going through with it one way or another. Due to the band I cough ALL the time. Reflux, I suppose. I've been on four different meds for reflux and it is no better. My voice sounds froggy all the time and I assume it is from coughing. It's getting harder to swallow, it's even hard to barf. It's like my throat does not cooperate. My port hurts all the time, my stomach hurts all the time. Not mega pain, just discomfort but it's constant. There is more, but it is getting worse by the month. I think when I outline everything to my doc he'll be supportive of a revision. Things are much worse than the last time we talked. So I think he'll do it. He has to, he's the only one I'd want doing a revision. :scared2:/ But I know what you mean, I'm scared to death. I'm not the least bit concerned about the actual surgical procedure, I'm not concerned about complications, I mean I'm kinda into research (heh...) and I would be going to one of the two best surgeons for a trickier type surgery so I'm giving myself every advantage. I'm scared to death this won't fix it. Since being fat is not an option then just removing my band is not doable. RNY, MGB, and DS are certainly not options. That leaves staying with the way things are or a sleeve. I have to try, I don't know what else to do.

I have heard many good things about Orris and Debarros but there is one source of frustration I have as a self pay patient. Now, I went to Mexico for surgery so I am not a patient of these docs but as a self pay patient maybe I look at things a little differently. I become annoyed and frustrated when people want to have surgery locally and cost is a factor. I'm not talking a fair price, I'm talking what these guys charge. They charge $19K for a private pay band. Kirshenbaum charges $10K. Why can one doc do it cheaper than these guys? We are talking almost double for the same procedure. Now, I realize they say that they have TWO surgeons in OR but you know what? So does everyone else! There are 4-5 instruments to hold during surgery, thus 4-5 incisions. Unless a doctor has 4-5 hands they ALWAYS have 2 surgeons. Why is it that Debarros and Orris charge double compared to others? It is deceptive to make it sound like you are safer because there are two surgeons, everyone else has two surgeons as well. Some have three for things like bypass, etc. So why are these guys so expensive? Are they both charging as though they are the lead surgeon? Or is one lead and one assisting? I know these guys have great reps and I am not talking surgical skill here in the least. I'm talking ethics. Why do these guys charge $19K for doing the SAME exact thing as other doctors charging 50% or less? If they need another surgeon in there because one isn't bright enough to do surgery as lead surgeon, they shouldn't be operating. But I know that is not the case here. They are both good docs, I just don't like their financial ethics. Another thing I don't like. They have a coordinator posting here. At first he was posing as a person interested in a band. Check it out: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/688701-post13.html Shortly after posting this he PMed me asking if he could join our bandster lunches. I said absolutely, of course he could join. Thing is, at that time he was not advertising that he is an employee of Debarros/Orris. I was silly enough to believe him that he was just one of us wanting to meet other local banded folks. Happens to be I had *just* sent out an email that day letting local folks know the date, time, and place of our next monthly lunch. So since I already sent out the email I forwarded it to Clayco and when I did, everyone's email address was at the top of the email since it was forwarded. He responded thanking me for the "list". The only list was the email addresses of everyone going to the lunch. Silly me, I thought I was inviting him to our lunch, I didn't know he only wanted a list of people to spam or whatever his intent was. I responded saying I questioned if he was a coordinator for someone and lo and behold, he is. He wasn't interested in our lunch, he was interested in the email addresses of newbies. He admitted being a coordinator and immediately after that added to his posts that he works for Debarros and Orris. Since that time I've learned my lesson. I have to send our monthly emails out to everyone as a blind carbon copy so we don't all get spammed to death by coordinators posing as patients. It made me angry, we have enough coordinators posting on the boards. To have them invade our monthly support group looking for newbies... it was not pleasing. Can we not get away from these people? The silly part is that probably 99% of that list is already banded. So what was the value of the deceit? So he can talk us into a 2nd band for $19K? I still think Orris and Debarros are good and safe surgeons. But I'm none too pleased with the business practices. The lunch thing was a clincher for me.

I don't know, I kinda wonder if they begin to float up in the air with expandable charcoal undies. But the real question is, the DSers floating in the air by their own gas, does the smell kill them? Are they corpses floating around up there? How would they survive it? Plain: Ohhh nooo, we aren't talking run of the mill gas, this is SPECIAL gas that is possibly LETHAL! HA! And lots of it too! Remember banding? Remember the people walking around the halls right out of surgery farting up a storm? Do you suppose on a DS floor the nurses wear gas masks or do they get hazard pay? Personally, I think I'd have to refuse to work on such a floor.

No, a sleeve cannot slip. A slip is when the back of the stomach wall (usually it's the back) slides up through the band creating a bigger pouch. With a sleeve there is no band. Just a smaller stomach. There is a bit more surgical risk because of potential leaks and potential infection as there is a drain for a couple of days. Drains work two ways, they allow body Fluid to drain from the body but they also create a place for bacteria to travel in the body cavity so usually people are on antibiotics for a few days after surgery just as a preventative measure. But after the initial 30 days are done, you are done. There is virtually no medical care needed. Sleeve folks take a Multivitamin daily like banded folks and some take a b12 tablet under their tongue monthly. That's it. No fills, unfills, restriction, ports, erosion, slips, nothing! I am soooo looking forward to the day of no restriction issues!

A sleeve is where they remove a majority of your stomach. That affects the vagus nerve and people don't typically experience hunger for about two years. It's like a forever band pouch with perfect restriction. There is nothing bypass, no malabsorption, etc. Just a smaller stomach like a band pouch without the fills, unfills, restriction issues, port issues, slips, erosion, etc. Thing is, you have to go to an especially good surgeon for a sleeve. It's not a procedure you can go to just anyone for. Risks are low but they happen more with an experienced or bad surgeon. I'm kinda anxious to get it done. I am finding myself with this spooky feeling of .. what if my doc moves? What if he retires? There are two surgeons I'd trust with this particular revision and my doc is one of them. Not sure why I have this feeling that I need to get it done and not mess around with it anymore. Probably an unreasonable feeling on my part, I know. But I would like to get it done before I do plastics. BTW, PB means the same as STHU! ;o)

Yeah, if it was a choice between RNY, DS, or a band, I'd find a way to make this band doable. But with a sleeve... it's a great option. I too didn't know if the band would work and the idea of reversible was appealing at first. But no way to I want to regain weight and today (vs. yesterday) permanent sounds pretty darn good! Why would I want to regain? Mostly I'm tired of battling band issues at the moment.

I take it he is not planning on you revising from a band to DS? ;o))))))

If you had it to do all over again, starting from day #1, would you get a sleeve or a band?

See people??? Did I TELL you this would be an inappropriate thread? How many ways is this not PC? HA! But I just can't help it. I have to say, I'm thrilled this thread was started, without a doubt I have to say that reading through this I have LOL in real time more than any other thread. People are coming up with some real gems here. Not sure about the rest of you but I seriously needed a laugh the last couple of days! Wheet... it IS addictive, Jacqui... it IS like a car crash, Gloucester... it is amazing the products that are on the market. Turler: Kinda makes you appreciate Alex and our mods over here, eh? HA! I'm floored each time I go over there and find a new prize of a post. ;o)