WASaBubbleButt

Wow... did your doc ever call you back? Amazing...

Gunk? You mean poop? ;o) Vegetables will do the same thing without messing up your electrolytes. They are healthier and cheaper too.

Something I want to add. First of all I am sincerely sorry for your loss, it is quite difficult at best. One of the issues of being fat is that we tend to rely upon food a bit too much. We eat it when we aren't even hungry just because it is there. We eat when we are bored, we eat when we are happy, sad, depressed, lonely, we eat it all the freak'en time! I think there comes a point, even during the worst of times, where we have to decide if this is a lifestyle change or not. Do we want to have it removed with each bump in the road that comes with life? People are going to die throughout your whole life. Aren't you really suggesting that you should have the band removed because you want to binge? Or eat all the wrong foods? Isn't it the binging and wrong food choices that got us fat? Shouldn't there come a point in life where we find a new way to deal with stress and the horrors of life? Eating is not the answer, not unless we want to die. If you are 300# you need to do something NOW. You need to resolve some of these issues, food, grief, the works. It's now, it's time. I don't know, from the limited amount you have written I see it as you have a choice, one of two choices. Eat yourself to death due to grief or start dealing with the huge issues you are facing. From my point of view it seems as though it's time to pick one. I don't intend to sound like a cruel and heartless ass, I swear I don't. But this is your LIFE! You can have the band removed and eat and eat and eat if that is really the way you feel it is best to deal with your issues, but isn't that a load? If you really get down to it, isn't it pretending this will fix issues within your life right now? Regardless of WLS types you still have to do your part. You still have to watch what you are putting in your mouth. You already have a band, you already have a tool. I'd suggest using that tool and finding a different way to deal with stress. If you want to lose weight you are still going to have to learn new coping methods anyway. You can do it now or in another 100#. But it's going to happen. Keep coming here, keep posting, vent, scream, whine, do it all. The rest of us do that! But don't have the band removed just so you can eat. It's not safe.

I was banded Dec/06 and I lost 112#. It was a very positive experience, I like the doc, the staff, the hospital, everything was great.

Are you "C" in real time? Just wondering if you are the same person I saw posting on Dr. A's boards. I'm going to Mexicali for a fill next week and I'll be there when you are there. It will be nice to meet you!

A doctor here in Phoenix charges $16,500. I paid $7800 in Mexico. The cost of the surgery depends on many factors, how many days in a hospital vs. a clinic, number of staff, services provided, etc. Personally I don't think surgery in the US should be more than $8K including the hospital. Doctors are in the business to make money, just like the rest of us go to work daily. Most of all, what in the world makes you think someone is risking their life by going to Mexico? Check out infections being posted around here. I have seen one Mexican infection in the last few months and about 15 US infections. Considering the last large, long term poll I saw here 55% of the folks had surgery in Mexico and 45% had surgery in the US. So what's up with those infections? It doesn't matter what country you go to for surgery, your own or another... research is key. There are many very good US surgeons, there are also a ton of US surgeons that see that banding is a big money maker and they want some of that money pie as well. They are new, inexperienced, and their stats are going to be higher during their learning curve. For me it came down to something quite simple. I can go to the student in the US for $16,500 for outpatient surgery where they shove me out the door when I wake up or I can go to the teacher and two nights in a privately owned hospital (vs. clinic/surgery center) for $7800. It was a no brainer. The student had done several hundred bands, my Mexican surgeon has done 1700 bands. It was not a difficult decision in the least. Please, educate yourself before painting an entire country with a broad paintbrush.

Mine has gone from 41 to 23. I look at that every bit as much as the scale. ;o)

Congrats everyone on getting banded! WLS is the BEST! You get your life back.

I really question if there is any significant difference in J&J vs. Inamed bands. Of course, there are sucky brands on the market but not in the US. Nobody uses the sucky bands much anymore and again, they are not available in the US. Heliogast has to have the worst rep on the market. As for the J&J and Inamed, they all do the same thing, they all restrict the amount of food available, I don't trust many studies coming from anywhere because everyone has a bias. Get a band, any band. Get a sleeve, get bypass, get WLS. Lose weight, get your life back. The little stuff like port placement or a scar that is a half inch bigger or smaller is not the main focus in life. Getting our lives back is the main focus. There is an emotional honeymoon phase right after surgery. Most everyone is in love with their doc and their surgery type because for the first time they see a true light at the end of the tunnel. About six months later that phase ends. Then sometime later you hit goal and a whole new emotional honeymoon phase starts and instead of wanting everyone to go to YOUR doc and get YOUR weight loss surgery you just want every fat person out there to go to ANY good doc and get WHATEVER WLS is right for that person and get their darn lives back. You experience this joy like no other and you want every other fat person to experience the same thing. Well, I'm in the second honeymoon phase and I want every fat person to go to ANY good doc and get WHATEVER WLS type is best for them. But for goodness sakes, just do it! Find the right doc for you and the right WLS type for you and get it done. Don't dilly dally around, quit wasting time. Time on this planet is not eternity, it's limited. Don't waste it. Research, yes! By all means know everything about every WLS type and bloody well know everything you can about your doc. But don't waste time, get it done and move on with your life. There, my $1.89 worth. ;o)

Are you banded? How many fills have you done?

That's not true. Insurance won't pay attention one way or another WHERE you had surgery, they either cover bariatric procedures or they don't. They can't say, "Well, you had surgery in Mexico or India therefore we aren't going to cover it." That's not how it works. Follow up care... this is a whole different issue. My friends that have had surgery in the states don't have many more options than I do. If Dr. "X" from the US does the surgery they can go to their original doctor, but if something happens to their original doctor such as he moves or retires, the US banded folks are in the same boat as Mexican banded folks. With that said, I have many options in AZ, but not all states are as good as mine when it comes to finding fill docs. Texas is awful when it comes to finding fill docs if you can't go to your original surgeon so it really depends on location. There are several outstanding doctors in Mexico if that is what people want. There are outstanding docs in the US as well. Regardless of where one has surgery they just have to do the legwork and research. There is no excuse not to do it. There are plenty of horror stories from Mexico, there are plenty of horror stories in the US. There are good and bad doctors everywhere. That is why you must research regardless of where you go.

Build up in your colon as in what TV commercials say? It's a load, there is no such thing. Ask ANY GI surgeon about colon build up and he'll laugh at the very concept. It's a money making scheme, nothing more. They target obese people with promises that you'll lose 10-50lbs of sludge from your colon. They fib. No such thing.

As I wrote to you in another thread you started, anyone will remove a band. Just call some bariatric surgeons and get prices. What does having the band in Mexico have to do with anything? Port discomfort happens with all of us. Fills should not hurt and shoulder pain sounds like referred pain that is common. It makes no sense to me that your doctor will fill and unfill you but not do surgery on you.

Growling is not hunger, it's air in your stomach. Hunger is controlled by a nerve at the top of your stomach, in your pouch. Anyone will remove it, just call any bariatric surgeon.

How many more "one last thing" are you going to post before you actually quit responding to me? For goodness sakes! Alex, the owner of LBT knows who my employer is. Why don't you ask him? I don't feel a need to post private information on the internet, you know... like you haven't. Dr. A's name is on my sig link because he's my surgeon. My weight loss is on there too, is that a problem? Lots of people have their doc's name, location, and their weight loss on their sig. Check out my posts, the only time I talk about Dr. A is when asked. I don't start threads talking about him, I don't push him, I don't tell everyone they should go to him. *I* tell people to do their research and research ALL doctors. See the difference? Dr. Aceves isn't the right doctor for everyone and your doctor isn't the right doctor for everyone. People need to do their own research without the "assistance" of patient coordinators pushing a doctor on the boards. Any of us can pick up a phone and call a patient coordinator whenever we wish. You sure are good at asking questions and throwing around insults but you don't do so well answering questions or keeping your word. How many posts ago did you write that you wouldn't respond to me anymore? How many times have you written you weren't going to respond?

I thought you weren't going to respond to me anymore? There is no game here, you got caught. Most here post about their struggles with weight loss, they offer encouragement to others, they post of their frustrations and excitement, they answer questions for newbies, they ask questions, they ask for advice, they do all kinds of things. Verrrry few are like you only post pushing a specific doctor. If you consider it mean to point that out, well... I'm mean. I can live with that. I call it honesty, you call it mean. So be it.

Thank you. That would be nice. This does not change reality. The majority of your posts are pushing Dr. Verboonan and you only have 24 as of this minute. The majority of my posts are helping people with issues, answering questions, but most important, researching ALL doctors, not pushing them to go to only one doctor. Who is the patient coordinator? Face it, you got caught. Just be honest for goodness sakes. Is that such a horror?

No, you don't have it wrong. It's just that some bands hold more saline. My inamed holds 4cc but for people with a different anatomy there is an Inamed 10cc band, the J&J band holds 9cc I believe. I think that is why there are usually more fills with the bands that hold more saline. Some doctors put the Inamed 10cc band in everyone across the board. Those people don't lose weight well. It has to fit to your body.

I'm not sure how it would be sutured, there are no holes to run sutures through. I also have to say I don't know what the Model 2011X is. I just know them by their names. The port is like a stack of quarters. No place to put sutures in. Maybe one of the docs who place them will chime in and explain. The way I saw the port it would be like having a stack of quarters glued together. If you were to sew the stack of glued quarters together to a piece of fabric, how would you do it? The old port had holes for sutures, but not the new one. ETA: I just emailed the band manufacturer for clarification. We'll see if they can clarify.

I have to admit, I don't believe the band will outlive me. It's just a gut feeling. For many reasons if I had it all to do over again I'd get a sleeve. It's like a forever band pouch without restriction issues. You get the sleeve and move on with your life. Fewer long term complications, minimal after care, no fills, no frills. I'm still weighing my options and considering revision to a sleeve.

With all due respect, you failed to answer my question in your tantrum. Did you demand to pay more when you ate more at places such as a buffet before you were banded? Did you threaten to pee on their floors unless you paid more? I have a hunch you really have had pee in your soup and snot in your burgers.

Oh, I should have clarified. I wasn't referring to you specifically as much as this thread. The "my band is better than your band" thing just surprises me but you haven't done that. Again, I was really referring to the thread. I think one issue people should know about is price. MANY US and Mexican docs (not all, many) are getting a $600 break on the J&J band. Most Mexican docs are passing that savings on to the patients. I haven't seen too many US docs that are passing that savings on. If a doc offers both, is he offering one price for Inamed and a lower price for J&J? I haven't seen much of that but I don't pay a lot of attention to price.

It does seem as though the bigger the band (how many cc's it holds) the more fills it takes to get to a sweet spot. That holds true for the Inamed VG band and J&J bands. But you know what? Who cares? We did not get fat overnight and even with your sweet spot it does not come off overnight. We ALL went into this knowing the sweet spot will come when it comes. I have an Inamed 9.75cm band and it holds 4cc. I like my band, I prefer it. If I could get it changed to ANY other band out there I wouldn't. This is what *I* like. I had surgery in Mexico and I believe there are 9-10 bands available. I would still choose the one I have if I were to be rebanded. But someone with a J&J band will only want THEIR band and no other. If it works for you, it's the right band for you. There are people that put their surgeon on a God-like status after surgery, it's normal. It's the honeymoon phase of WLS. But I have to admit, I didn't see this coming with band brands. Do your research, don't believe everything you read. Ignore Wiki as it is incorrect. Read everyone's opinions, read all the research. Pick a band and get your surgery. Get your life back and don't sweat the small stuff.

With that attitude I'll bet you already had someone pee in your soup and you didn't know. Unfair policies.. bah! Did you beg, scream, and pee on the floor (as you previously wrote) demanding to pay more when you ate more? Such as at a buffet? I'll bet you didn't. Be an adult, pay for your food.

I've heard people mention that they went to Walter Reed for banding. Wish I could be of more help.