WASaBubbleButt

You know how it isn't wise to insult a waiter, the food, etc. because you'll end up with spit in your food? In a way the same concept applies to unprofessional MD offices. If you are not a "supportive" patient and one that does things their way, you will have spit in your medical care. Your Rx's will be last to be called in, your phone messages will be last to be returned, but more importantly your medical records will identify you as difficult, unwilling to follow the program, uncooperative, etc. Just change docs now. You already know you are not going to get the care you need from this guy, you already know you can't trust the information you are being given, you already know there is a serious lack of professionalism within the office. So many are quick to say, "Oh, the doc is great it's the staff I can't stand." That is a load. The staff are doing as they are instructed and if the employer (the doc) can't get a grip on his staff then his own BS is just rolling downhill to the staff. Sorry you have to go through this. I would get a copy of your medical records in person. Go stand there and wait for them but I'll bet they won't permit it. But I hope you are not surprised at what you see in your records, I hope they haven't gone that far over the edge.

The reality is that you have to make better food choices. There is no magic cure for weight loss. The band restricts the amount of food you can eat in most cases, but if you choose malts over water, you are not going to lose. If you follow good eating habits you will lose weight.

1) Each doc is different. Mine said nothing heavier than a gallon of milk for several weeks. 2) Nope. I can feel the port with my hand but no, you can't feel the band. 3) I didn't go to TJ, I went to Mexicali but the situation is the same throughout Mexico. The issue you need to be aware of is their emergency services. It's not like in the US where if you throw a clot, have an emergency of some sort, whatever... you don't just dial 911 and you are at a hospital in minutes. It's more like as soon as they can get to you. That is usually quite a long time, hours. That's why it is my preference to have surgery in an actual hospital vs. a clinic. A clinic is not set up for all emergencies as a hospital is. The two do not compare. 4) Slips are when part of the stomach (usually the back side) slips UP through the band. There is somewhere between a 3-7% risk for this happening. If it does happen about 80% of the time it is fixed via an unfill. Symptoms vary with people. Some have no idea, others can't keep food or Water down.

Have you not read the posts about restriction and an inability to eat huge quantities of food?

Nobody asked for justification. Nobody was rude. It was difficult to figure out. Nobody gets off on correcting others. Nobody feels better about correcting others. Nobody wants to deal with people like that. No, we understand this post. Standard English? As in paragraphs, etc? Good for you, I'm glad you are a writer/poet. Good for you, you speak slang. Perhaps that is why we didn't understand. Oh oh... if you don't identify too bad? Dare I ask for clarification? I think not.

Lots of reasons from being unable to be banded in the US (the US is the only country that bands and requires a BMI of 35 or more. Most countries require a BMI of 30 or more). Cost is another factor, it's about half the cost of the majority of places in the US. Some of the docs there are better than some of the docs here, and most of the docs there have done more bands than the docs here.

HA! I do that about once a week! Every two weeks at most. I d/l them to my hard drive by date so if someone says I wrote something that doesn't ring a bell, I can go back and look to see what the heck they are talking about.

I am nobody to correct grammar, period. I send important stuff to Lauren and she proofs it before I send it.

I agree with the above post. In addition, get rid of ALL the crap foods in your house. Only grocery shop when you have just eaten and you are not hungry and don't buy more crap food. Get to the basics as written above.

Nope, no bread for me. I suspect I'll never be able to eat it again but it comes down to a choice. Get a photo of a loaf of bread and that of a thin person. Then decide which you want more. Bread is one big factor in why I was fat, I'll take thin any 'ol day over bread.

No, insurance won't pay for plastics in my case. I'm scheduled with a plastic surgeon but I don't like him. I asked my band doc for a referral to someone else. I appreciate the referral, do you know if he has a web site? Do you know if he works out of Almatar hospital? Since he's in Mexicali I assume he does but do you know for sure? The surgeon I chose is a great surgeon, it's a personality thing. I just can't stand him. I should just shut up, suck it up, and deal with the personality but I seriously can't stand him.

I can do iceberg and romaine but not light leafy things such as butter lettuce. I chew well and the heavier types go down well.

He doesn't deny being in the OR for the actual banding only. Check out the "Ortiz" thread (It's towards the end of the thread). A patient's husband was a surgeon and they went to Ortiz. Since the husband was a surgeon Dr. Ortiz permitted him in the OR during all procedures that day. He timed him, he was in the OR for an average of 7 minutes per procedure. The asst. opens the patient, prepares them for the band, Ortiz then comes in, slips the band around the stomach and leaves. The asst. then closes the patient. And no, my Mexican surgeon did not tell me this, I did my research on all docs long before I had my own surgery. It's merely personal preference, I want the doc I chose to do the entire procedure, not just a small part of it.

Yeah, for those of us who have tried it, it does seem to be a big hit. I love it myself.

It's not really something you can explain, instead it is something you have to watch yourself doing. Kinda like using a straw. You WILL get air in your mouth using a straw but it's your choice to let it out before you swallow or not. Same thing applies to food. You just have to be ultra aware of what you are swallowing and get the air out first.

Laura... Sounds like you are swallowing too much air.

They have that on OH. Many times it doesn't work. I believe the way they have it set up is that you send the person money for postage and they send the clothes. Lots of complaints over there that people send the postage money and never hear from the person again. I give mine to fellow bandsters here locally.

Not everyone having surgery with anesthesia loses hair just like not every weight loss person loses hair. It happens in some and not others. Anesthesiologists claims it usually happens at about 4 months after surgery if it is going to happen.

I'd be a lot more impressed with Dr. Ortiz if he actually did a bulk of the surgical procedure but he doesn't. When I look at a surgeon via reputation, I look at that surgeon, not the asst.

Can you do Optifast five days a week for the rest of your life? If so, go for it! But the emotional thing is normal. I tend to think we all go through that.

Did your bariatric surgeon refer you to her vs. your insurance co? If so, I would be sure to let him know so that he doesn't refer anyone else. She obviously doesn't understand our issues.

Clothing size is what matters to me. At first it was pounds, then the more often I had to go out and buy new clothes then that became my new way of looking at it.

I don't believe Beliteweight exists anymore, but Belite does. (A different company). I haven't seen anything but one complaint after another about Belite on the boards. Do a search and you'll see what I mean.

What is really embarrassing is to get a bunch of bandsters with good restriction in a restaurant EATING. I swear people can hear us 3 tables over.

I did, I kinda chalked it up to things "condensing" a bit. Not sure if that was it but my answer satisfied me. I do have mega knee pain. There are days it's really bad but it didn't happen until after I lost weight so it must be the running.