WASaBubbleButt

I am self pay, best thing I ever did!!

Well, my neighbors and I have a deal. I just don't accumulate that much trash so mine is rarely full by the end of the week. My neighbors have three kids and their's is sometimes overflowing. When I take mine to the street if they have more trash they haul mine to their house and fill it up. I don't care. When I clean out a closet and don't have enough room I grab theirs. Could it have been something like that?

So you resent being treated like a bag of crap. And now that you are successful and you actually did know what you were talking about, the ones handing out the bad treatment want success too. And you don't know why you feel as you do? In another thread I wrote of my sister. When she discovered I had lost 100 pounds she realized she was the fat sister now. She went around telling all the people in my tiny hometown that I went to a filthy hospital in Mexico and now I'm dying of complications. Yes, DYING. Now she is asking me for the name of that filthy hospital in Mexico because she wants a band too. Yeah, I deleted that email unanswered. A bigger and better person would give her the info she is looking for. I'm obviously not the better person. I can live with that.

Oh GAWD NO!

With treadmills the belt can stretch over time from use and it needs to be adjusted. You also need to treat the area under the belt every few months to keep the treadmill going well. However, that is not an excuse not to exercise. You don't like it? So what, I don't like it either. It's like cleaning the bathroom or going to the dentist. Nobody likes doing those things but sometimes we have to do things we don't like. If you want to bump up weight loss then get out there and exercise. Maybe those losing at a faster rate are exercising. I did and it worked for me. You have to force yourself to do things that aren't fun sometimes and exercise is one of them. I still hate it but I do it because it works.

You know what is really weird about us? Our population? If I hand you a photo of YOU thin and a photo of a piece of fried chicken, which do you want more? Honestly, which would you want more, you thin and healthy or that piece of chicken? You want healthy, right? You want thin, no doubts. Yet if you are like the rest of us even though you WANT thin and healthy, you'll reach for the chicken anyway. It's an obsession, a compulsion and quite frankly, banding doesn't stop the obsession or compulsion but what it does do is make it so you now have control over the obsession vs. it having control over you. If you can diet and exercise, go for it. Most MO people are unable to make that one work. Studies show that of MO people, 3-5% can take all the weight off and keep it off. If you believe you are in the 3-5% range, then go for it. If you are in the 95-97 % range, get the band and move on with your life. Exercise... you don't have time? Bull. You have time but you haven't MADE the time. If you have 10 minutes to post on LBT, you have 10 minutes to run a mile. We say we don't have time but we all know that is a darn load. We need to MAKE the time. Exercise is a part of the lifestyle change. I know Julie is happy with her rate of weight loss but for me that would have been too slow. I didn't get a band to take years to do what could take me months. Each person is different. I wanted to move on with my life and close the fat chapter. But, that's me. But to claim you have no time for exercise, it isn't true and I don't believe you. We have reasons for being fat, we have biological and psychological reasons for overeating. But a lack of exercise? That's lazy behavior, pure and simple. If you can't run, then power walk. If you can't power walk then walk. If you can't walk then do chair or pool exercises. If you could have done the diet and exercise routine, wouldn't you have done it by now? I think there is a pre-banding stage we all go through which is where you are right now. Why don't I just stop filling my pie hole???? Well, why don't we? Maybe we can't. And you have to be one of us to understand that concept. If we could have done it we WOULD have done it. But if you really think you can do it without help, then do it. But I think you and I both know you'll be back here in a year asking yourself why you can't just do it. I don't know why we can't do it, I have just come to accept that for whatever reason, we can't. So we get a band and move on with our lives.

Wheetsin... A glass of saliva? Gahhhhhhhh....... There is a product for chemo patients, it's essentially fake saliva. I gag each and every single time I see that stuff. Ewwwww

Well, let's see if I can make it obvious enough even for you. The need for an unfill could become serious and life threatening if not done soon. The need for a fill would not be life threatening in the same way. If someone is vomiting blood, that is quite serious. Clear enough for you? Why would you worry about my unfills anyway?

Ohhhh, there is more. Once you hit goal (at least in my case) you'll keep shrinking even if the scale isn't moving. I've lost almost two sizes and 4 pounds. Things also shift and move. You really can't bank on staying at your size until you have been at goal for a bit. Seriously, when you hit goal wait a bit THEN buy tons of clothes. I can't even think about what I've spent since I was banded just in clothes. A bloody fortune.

Sometimes the obvious does not need to be spelled out. I'm not sure I understand your latest whining, honestly I don't. You have done the very same thing you complain about others doing. So what's the problem? What is the big issue that has you wrapped so tight? This issue is obviously bothering you a great deal, it shows in your temper and your rants. You are insulting me left and right so obviously, it bothers you. If you know who someone is talking about, why is it so important for you that people spell it out. You don't, why should others do what you are not willing to do? Why must others follow your rules you are not willing to follow? It seems to me that each time you come here you tend to post in spurts and you are battling someone. There is always a battle. I'm just curious as to why that is. Obviously it will always be someone else's fault, but I was just wondering why you are always in the middle of a battle with someone. Even those that don't even know you, such as me.

During surgery the surgeon takes a portion of the lower stomach, brings it up over the band and attaches it to the pouch. This creates a pocket at the top of the lower stomach. When you drink soda the carbonation goes through the pouch, through the band, and to the lower stomach. The gas goes up to the pocket at the top of the lower stomach. This can stretch out and it is verrrry painful. Really, the only way to ease the pain is to stand on your head. I mean that literally. Is soda really worth that? Remember, this is a lifestyle change. Not a quick fix, not a diet. A lifestyle change. Soda is not good for you and it's surely not good for your band. It causes bone loss as well. Believe me, I tried and it hurts a great deal with restriction. Your stoma acts as a one way valve with carbonation and air. What goes down does not come back up, it comes out. You'll be farting up a storm. Is that worth it?? So you are risking your band, causing pain, losing bone mass, and farting like a real class act. Is it worth it? I understand the addiction, I'd go for weeks and weeks without ever drinking Water - just Diet Coke. I'd wake up in the middle of the night and realize I was out of soda so I'd get dressed and to to a 24 hour drive through for a mega diet coke. It's time to realize that we can give up the crap, it's worth it in the end.

Actually, it's "feeties" but that's okay. We can all stand back and watch the temper tantrum continue. (Yawn)

Could'a fooled me!

I realize you are not a fan of Mexican medical care and in all fairness, I didn't used to be either. But I have to admit, I am very impressed with what I have seen so far and I have every intention in the world of having my plastics done in Mexico. Research needs to be done just as with any doc, but with the appropriate research the care can potentially be better. What is done on an outpatient basis here in the US is done with a 2-3 day hospitalization in Mexico. I don't agree with how insurance co's are forcing the medical profession to kick people loose immediately after surgery and in the case of plastics, most patients are self pay anyway so why are we cutting corners? I can have a tummy tuck done by a good and responsible surgeon for half the price and 3x the hospital supervision in Mexico. There are risks either way the patient goes. In the US the supervision is not what I believe it should be. In Mexico if something goes wrong it's unlikely any US citizen is going to win a lawsuit. People have to consider what matters to them.

Might want to check out this link, it's in the food section: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/f9/mushies-stage-recipes-17637/

Influenza is actually upper respiratory. Coughing, sneezing, etc. Sudden nausea and vomiting is usually not an infection but most common is food poisoning. Could you have eaten something that may have been not as fresh as you thought? I would call you doc and see if they can give you something for nausea and vomiting.

Nope, not illegal in the least. A doctor is running a business like any other and he can pretty well run it as he chooses, and that is the way it should be. Too much of big brother isn't a great idea. Banding is a big money maker, fills are not. Docs are in business to make a living. Fair is fair. I do wish they'd be a little more honest about it though. These docs that flat out refuse to provide care to patients that they didn't band, fine. At least be honest about it.. there isn't enough money in it to be worth while but don't hide behind liability issues. Banding is the only surgery I can think of that docs hide behind this. Money is a fair subject, so be honest. But it isn't liability according to the boards of medicine or medical malpractice insurance co's. That is something Inamed started and how it's gotten out of hand and docs use it to hide behind. I'm sure there is a sense of frustration as well. Look at all the business US docs are losing to Mexico? That has to hurt the bottom line, you know it does. So be honest about it. But the deceit of Inamed has to come to an end. It has reached a point where US citizens cannot obtain even emergency care in the US as a CASH PAY PATIENT! Inamed is gonna pay for this one day and in a big way. Let's see if my psychic predictions pan out.

Actually, it is more like saying, "Dr. ABC did your surgery and he got the big bucks for surgery. Follow up isn't much of a money maker so if I didn't get the surgery, I'm not doing the follow up."

Here are a bunch of Crystal Light flavors. [ame=http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw/104-3868419-1132751?url=search-alias%3Dgrocery&field-keywords=crystal+light&x=19&y=16]Amazon.com: crystal light - Groceries: Grocery[/ame]

I think the fact that J&J is in the picture now things will be changing. Historically Inamed pretty well got their own way since they didn't have any competition. Today they do, today they have J&J. It used to be that Inamed didn't give any deals on the band, something like buy 10 and get one free. Today they are reconsidering and thinking it might pay to give quantity discounts. That is only because of J&J IMHO. I agree, insurance co's are doing a little better covering WLS but they still have a very long way to go. I have often wondered if the reason they don't like paying for WLS is because typically WLS is quite expensive and does not have a great deal of success. Look at the technique used 25 years ago for the sleeve procedure? What an ineffective horror. Look at the cost to follow a bypass patient. The labs, the complications, the strictures, everything. Then look at the number that eventually gain it all back again? What purpose did the surgery serve? I can't help but to wonder if the band turns out to be effective 20 and 30 years from now, would insurance be pushing the procedure instead of making people jump through hoops to get it done? My own insurance covers banding but I went to Mexico anyway. Between the psych eval, nut eval, sleep studies, six month medically supervised diet, etc etc etc., I realized recently that had I used insurance vs. paying cash... by the time I would have been getting my first fill under insurance I was actually at goal by going to Mexico. The hoops they wanted me to jump through served them well, they didn't have to pay for my surgery because I was not willing to wait. I agree with you here. I suspect that people stuck it to Medicare for so many years that Medicare finally put their foot down and now they are doing a 180 here. Of course, I'm reminded of the gal on OH that had a band placed under Medicare and for whatever reason she thought she would have to pay $20 towards her fills and she wasn't willing to do that. She wanted a revision to bypass so she didn't have to pay the $20 out of pocket. How many times can Medicare play these games? Well, I live in AZ so my surgeon is only about three hours away from me. I can go there anytime I wish and it's not a big deal but that is not the case for many. There are quite a few people getting bypass vs. a band because they can't afford US rates for either a bypass or band and if they get a band they can't keep running to Mexico for fills. So they opt for bypass thinking there is no follow up care. Obviously, that isn't accurate. I agree with you that it is ideal to have the support system in place but many who have surgery in the US don't have that. I drove three hours to Mexico for my surgery yet a person posting here who also lives in the Phoenix area drove 14 hours to Denver for her surgery last week. She's planning to go to Mexicali and see my surgeon for her follow up care because it's easier and cheaper. And if she were to have a complication or problem it is much easier to drive to Mexico vs. CO. So it really isn't just Mexican banded patients that experience the very issue you refer to, it is a good number of US banded folks as well. Look at the number of people posting here and on OH that drive hours and hours to see Dr. C for follow up care, same thing. My doc is willing to do her follow up even though it really ends up costing him money but his explanation is that there are docs that do follow up for his patients, it's only fair to do follow up for other doc's patients. He charges $175 for fills on people he did not band. $100 goes to the Asst. surgeon for doing the fill, $75 goes to the hospital for radiology services, and my doc gets to pay for the supplies. :confused: But he's right, fair is fair. If US docs are going to follow up his patients he needs to return the favor. Sure, these things do happen. Just as in any country there are good docs and bad ones. If you'll notice the link in my sig it is how to research Mexican doctors. While there are jerks in Mexico there are also quite a few very good docs. If someone can't afford US prices they either leave the country or go without surgery. I think that is a shame. While complications certainly happen in Mexico they happen in the US as well. Look at all the infections happening lately. I have not seen a single post from anyone that went to Mexico and had surgery in the last few months that came home with an infection. But there are plenty that are coming home with infections in the US. Did you know that according to the CDC US hospitals have higher infections stats than Mexican hospitals. Now, this could be that they do fewer elective procedures or a few other reasons. But the point is that Mexico does have a lower infection stat than the US. I don't know what it is about infections lately but my goodness, people are posting a great deal lately about infections. It's spooky. I know exactly what you are talking about. There was a Mexican doc (I believe he was in Monterrey) and he was actually making his own band. He referred to it as the "Mexican" band. He and his asst surgeon placed about 650 of these bands and a whopping 50% eroded. One would THINK that after removing the first 100 bands to erosion they would have a bit of a clue but nope, it took 650 bands and over 300 erosions before they quit using that band and began using Inamed. That surgeon was murdered and the bands are no longer being made or placed but sure, it happened. That's why patients need to research regardless of where they are having surgery. I don't care if it is the US, Mexico, India, or anywhere else. They have to do their research. It is surgeons like that, that give all Mexican docs a bad name. Yet if the same level of horror happens in the US people don't claim all medical care in the US is risky. There are posts right here regarding liver lacerations, stomach lacerations, infection, and everything else including death and these folks had surgery in the US. We tend to forgive those docs because they are US docs. But Mexican docs are a different story. As for nurses taking the narcotics, that happens every single day in the US. I used to work for a hospital and part of my job was to catch these nurses. It was much easier than many think but due to the Pyxis system it made it almost simple to catch them. If you look at the board actions for nurses or docs in AZ, the greater majority of the board actions involve drug and alcohol abuse (Arizona Medical Board - Protecting the Public's Health). Nurses take patient's meds all the time. Orders might be to give 6mg IV morphine. Maybe the patient gets 3mg and the nurse keeps 3mg. Happens all the time. There was one nurse that was so used to popping drugs she didn't even think twice about it and one day I was at the Pyxis and she was at the other, about 2' away from me. She entered the patients name and info, removed a Vicodin, and popped it in her mouth right in front of me. I have no doubt US docs have had to remove bands that were placed wrong, infected, etc. But Mexican docs do the same. My doc operated on a botched bypass patient. Patient had bypass in the US and the surgeon essentially butchered her. She couldn't find anyone to fix it. Either they didn't have the skill to undo the damage (according to the family her case was very tricky and quite complicated) or they didn't want to mess with their stats. Regardless, she couldn't get it taken care of in the US. She resorted going to Mexico and having the problems repaired there. So sure, there are some really bad docs in Mexico and they pretty well butcher their patients. But that is not the norm just like it isn't the norm in the US. I am familiar with Laminar flow hoods and when I worked at Mayo we had the same set up as you describe in OR. With all the precautions we take in the US we really shouldn't have any hospital caused infections such as MRSA but again, our stats are higher than Mexico for infection. And nursing homes? Holy crap, MRSA spreads faster than the staff can keep up with. It's usually lazy behavior on the part of the staff. All in all I think the US and Mexico have very similar issues in many ways. Infections, bad doctors, lazy nurses who steal narcotics, botched surgeries, the works. That is why I push research, again... see my sig link. We are less forgiving of Mexican docs vs. US docs. What would really be ideal is to make the band more affordable to everyone, more accessible to people, and much fewer hoops to jump through to satisfy the insurance co's. Thank you. One person here often times says we should all meet in real time and discuss these kinds of issues over a bit of wine or imported beer. It would be kind of fun to get everyone on the boards together for some good discussion. One point I would like to clarify... in rereading this post I am writing it appears that I am anti-US and pro-Mexico. That is not my intent at all. My first choice for people is to stay in the US for surgery. But there are many people that simply can't afford US prices so they either leave the country or go without. That isn't right.

The cost for an Inamed band is cheaper in Mexico for several reasons and advertising is just one of them. Another is that Inamed will pay attorney fees to fight insurance companies to force them to pay for banding *in* the US. They give US docs first shot at the new band. I believe Inamed's latest band still isn't available to Mexican doctors. Website advertising, US docs can use Inamed's logo, Inamed's videos, Inamed's everything. Mexican docs are not permitted to do the same. In AZ the Inamed advertising I see is geared to the doc of the night. :confused: If Dr. ABC gets his turn on Monday then Dr. XYZ gets his turn on Tuesday and they are not giving out call center numbers but the doc's direct office number. I'm wondering if it varies by location? Or the number of bands a doctor has placed? Even OH (sponsored by Inamed) advertising is much different. All docs pay the same for advertising but in order to search for Mexican docs you have to have a name. You can't just click on Mexico and see all the docs in that area. US docs are divided by state, if you put your mouse over the state on the photo of the map it will list all the bariatric docs (that pay for advertising) in that state. Yet everyone pays the same for advertising. The way I understand it, there is a contractual agreement between Inamed and Mexican docs. It has to do with the work the Mexican docs did on the band to perfect the band and procedure. They really did do quite a bit of work and much of the real time research so that is another reason they get the bands for less money. Another issue, US docs ALWAYS have access to Inamed bands. When Inamed is running low on stock Mexico is the last place to receive shipments. They went for about two months with no bands at all recently and Inamed claimed that was because of customs. Well, come to find out that isn't true. But that one kind of backfired on Inamed because many docs switched over to the J&J band. However, many of the better docs had at least a month supply of bands for just these times. The docs that are not as busy and well known don't really have the $$ to keep that kind of an inventory available. So sure, there is a cost difference between Mexico and the US for bands but there are many reasons for that too. It seems to me that it all averages out in the end. I would have to disagree with this. If a patient has surgery in CA and later moves to NY, trying to find a doc that will do follow up care is very difficult. Ask around, read the posts. People that are looking for a fill doc are not just Mexican banded patients, they are US banded patients. I talked to Bart Bandy a few months ago. For those who may not be familiar with Bart Bandy (and yes, that's really his name <G>) he used to be the owner of Inamed. When he sold Inamed to Allergan he became the Sr. VP of Allergan. I spoke with him a couple of months ago about some issues in the US. Namely, patients trying to obtain follow up care regardless of where they were banded. I'll even give you an example, and this is the example I gave Bart as well. I had only been banded a couple of months or so and I went to a Nurse practitioner in AZ for a fill. I happen to have weird band problems and I don't tolerate fills well at all. I didn't know this at that time. I point that out because I don't want to make it appear she did anything wrong, she did not. But due to swelling I couldn't even keep my own saliva down. I was barfing about every 20 minutes for almost a full day and it got to the point that I was barfing blood and blood clots. It was 3AM and I was exhausted, getting dehydrated, and quite ill. No ER in the Phoenix area had a doc with a clue about bands and ports. All I needed was an unfill. The NP that filled me was out of town, she left the evening she did the fill and I was SOL. What was I supposed to do? No US doc that I knew of at that time would see me, (I've since found three that will in a similar situation) no ER knew what to do with the port, my NP was out of town, and my surgeon was in Mexico. Not having many choices at the time I finally did an unfill myself. Now, I'm a nurse and I know sterile technique, I understand the port, I know how it works. What if I didn't have that knowledge? What is someone to do if they don't have the supplies and know sterile technique? It's not exactly a matter of alcohol and a clean needle. When I spoke to Bart Bandy he explained that he hires a lawyer to come to the certification classes and warn doctors that if they fill a patient they did not band, they now own the surgery. That's just a load. The board of medicine in AZ does not agree with this, medical malpractice insurance co's don't agree with this thinking, this is all from Inamed. They are frightening doctors into believing all kinds of things that are quite frankly, untrue. My personal opinion is that Inamed started doing this to keep people in the US for surgery. Let's face it, if they sell the band to you they make more money than they do if they sell the band to my Mexican surgeon. It pays Inamed to keep people in the US for surgery. I don't think they banked on the fact that docs won't even fill a band placed by a surgeon in the US. What they have essentially done is to be proactive in preventing US patients from getting medical care. Just as I asked Bart, how stupid is that? That's just ignorant to put themselves in a position where they are responsible for that kind of liability. Since when does a doc take ownership of the surgery for doing follow up care on another doc's patient? People have surgery every single day and they have no problem finding a doctor to do follow up care. What if I had a total knee replacement and let's say I had it done in Mexico. I wouldn't have any problem getting follow up care if I were to move, or if my doc were to die. It wouldn't be an issue. This is Inamed that has done this and I feel quite certain they are going to pay for this one someday. I think their greed is going to get the better of them. Someone is going to start a class action lawsuit against Inamed and I'll be behind them 100%. I'll respond to the rest of your post in a bit.

If you are only eating fruit to get the carbs then I can understand what he is saying. I don't think it's going to make you fat but it can mess with your blood sugar and make you hungry. If you are just looking to get carbs there are enough in veggies and berries. I tend to believe the real carbs to avoid are the dreaded white carbs. Sugar, flour, pasta, rice, potatoes, etc.

Most common treatment for a dilated banded pouch is a complete unfill and full liquids for 2-3 weeks. With a dilated pouch you just won't lose weight well and you end up eating more and more food. Eventually you could also end up with a dilated esophagus. Best cure is to avoid doing it to begin with. Only way to diagnose it is under fluoro.

Water really is best but if you can't stomach water then a S/F product is not bad. If you drink juice the sugar makes your pancreas kick in. If you drink coffee/tea the caffeine makes your heart work harder. If you drink S/F soda the carbonation tends to make people lose bone mass and carbonation isn't great for your banded stomach either. Some people still react to S/F products, it makes them hungry, thirsty, gives some diarrhea, etc. Water is best but S/F products are a 2nd best if the sweeteners don't get to you. The reason you need extra water during the weight loss phase is that when you burn fat it turns into various chemicals that are released from the body mostly through urine. So you want to flush out your kidneys due to these chemicals.

I agree. I think between TV commercials for the band, newbies excited and in a stage where their biggest challenge is the post op diet, it does come off as being easier than it is. Doctors are not usually banded and I think there is no way to really relate to our issues unless you have/are going through the same thing. One can empathize but relating is a whole different ball game. While I agree with you that the band is very hard I would want to take that a step farther and say that traditional diet and exercise are things that are too hard for us, our population. Many can lose weight but keeping it off is a different story. Some can't lose it to begin with. While traditional diet and exercise are the kind of hard we cannot do for whatever reason, the band is the kind of hard we CAN do. But you have to want it and you have to be willing to stop the excuses (not specifically you but "you" in general) and stop justifying poor behaviors. We are all going to have hard times in life. Whether it is finances, marriage/relationship issues, loss of a loved one, whatever. We all experience hard times in life and we have always justified more food because we are going through difficult phases in life. Part of the change, the lifestyle change, is to stop justifying and excusing bad behaviors. To me that is the hard part of banding.