WASaBubbleButt

Congrats! You'll hear time and time again that you get your life back with this surgery. Good for you for taking over control of food issues!

Can we discuss her horrible behaviors, negative outlook on life, judgmental attitude, insulting persona, and how much we can't stand her or is that out too? Just ask'en. ;o)

You know I think you are trippy and wonderful and all those things but I have to tell you. Do you have any idea how many of your posts start with, "I am worried...."? Stop worrying, you went to great doc, your recovery is fantastic (better than the rest of us), you are losing weight, everything is going as it should and life is good! Stop worrying! ;o)

Did someone suggest you are not entitled to your opinion? If so, let us know. I think most everyone here would explain otherwise. I'm just not seeing the lack of balance you write of. Your post is the 67th post of this thread and nobody I recall has been angry, fighting, bickering, none of that. I'm not saying you don't have a right to claim a lack of balance, I'm just not seeing it. Posting stats and facts isn't lacking balance. (shrug)

What band bashing? Posting stats is bashing the band? How so? Are you under the impression that people are only permitted to post the positives of the band? I had a band, I have a sleeve. I can see both sides. There is no balance that needs to be restored, where are you getting this? Are you under the assumption that the info posted about sleeves was accurate? ;o)

Sorry but you have old information. Long term studies were just released a year ago and clearly, your source is unaware of this. BTW, this same list has been posted before and we corrected it then but I will do so again. The stomach does not stretch. Oh, it will a little but they know that and figure that in at the time of surgery. It is made amazingly small just for this reason. By 4-6 months it is going to get as big as it gets. I am 1 year post op and I can eat 2oz of solid protein. Period. Nope, it's not reversible. I don't see that as a bad feature, I see that as good. When was the last time you wanted temporary results from a diet? I'm done for life. I have no aftercare, I'm at goal, I have nothing left to do. Well, other than plastic surgery. The claim of needing an additional surgery after the sleeve has a history. This will show you how outdated your source is. It used to be if someone was say... a 100 BMI and they were too high risk to do bypass or DS due to their weight, comorbids, etc., they would sleeve them and send them home telling them to lose 200-300#. When they did they could come back and safely have the rest of the procedure. (Think 1970s here) They discovered that people were doing exceedingly well with the sleeve alone and people did not need bypass or DS. They still do that, if you have someone that is just plain too big and high risk for DS they do it in two stages, the sleeve first and later if the person needs it, DS. The study referring to banding and sleeves being the same at 1 and 3 years was blown out of the Water with the long term stats as they discovered people are not keeping their bands. More than 50% are removed by 5 years. Notice how they don't go on and discuss how effective bands are beyond 3 years? Your source is so seriously biased towards the band it's beyond silly. Due to the fact that most do not keep their bands long term, it's good that banding is reversible. More than 1000 people have been studies and we do know what happens long term. People have been getting partial gastrectomies since the late 1800s for issues such as stomach cancer and ulcers. We know they do quite well. Leaks can happen, that's why it's critical to go to someone who has a lot of staple line experience. My doc has done over 500 sleeves and he's never had a sleeve leak. But they happen. Sleeve leaks are less common than band erosion. BTW, leaks are only a concern for the first few weeks. After that it is a non issue. Again, we most certainly DO know what happens long term with partial gastrectomies and it is NOT new. It's been around longer than the lap band. It "might" cause nutritional deficiencies... old info. It can cause a B12 deficiency in less than 1% of sleeved people. Your stomach produces a chemical needed to absorb B12. With a smaller stomach you produce less IF. I am quite sure there are those that have to take a vitamin daily to make up for this but I haven't met one yet. Most surgeons are NOT removing 90-95% of the stomach, they are removing 60-85%. Who wrote this nonsense anyway? Surely not a doctor? The portion of the stomach removed is called the fundus. The fundus does two things. It over produces a hunger causing hormone called Ghrelin and it is designed to hold a lot of excess food. I miss neither feature of my fundus. I want it to stay in the garbage. I view it as a diseased organ just like a gallbladder gone bad. We most certainly do have a fully functioning stomach minus the hunger causing hormone, Ghrelin. The pyloric valve, the vagus nerve, everything necessary is there and working quite well thank you. For the author to say that we do not have a fully functioning stomach because it is "Unlikely" due to size is ridiculous. I'd love to see something other than his hunch that this is the case. He is correct in that we cannot go back and have our stomach put back but can you give me a few examples of why we would want to? For the author to say that gastric bypass can be reversed as far as the stomach goes is a stretch. Theoretically it is possible, but it is not likely. In some cases it can be reversed but it's a very tricky procedure and quite dangerous. If the author knew anything about the bypass procedure he would know that. True, a very small percentage of people get reflux from the surgery. What he doesn't mention is that it usually goes away after a month or two. He forgot that part. I have severe reflux, horrific reflux. I take 8x the usual dose of Omeprazole to try and deal with it. Of course, I got it when I was banded and we hoped it would resolve with the sleeve but no such luck. Now, if someone has severe reflux not due to a mechanical problem (such as the band) or a hiatal hernia then they shouldn't be getting banded or sleeved. They should get bypass. The risk of death with the sleeve is higher than banding. About 0.4% higher than banding. Insignificant to me. The risk is a leak, again... a leak happens in less than 1% of sleeved people. Of that 1% some do die but it is extremely rare. I know of a hack in Mexico (Huacuz) that just killed another person from a sleeve leak in March. Had the person gone to a better surgeon he would still be here. :thumbup:( Is that the procedure or is that the surgeon? If the surgeon makes the stomach too small it can twist. That's why it's nonsense that they typically remove 90-95% of the stomach. B12.. already went over that. For the less than 1% that have a Vit B12 problem they do not need injections. They nee SL tablets, under the tongue. I could live with that. I don't though as I do not have that problem. Protein.. nonsense. We do quite well with protein. We don't need to change restriction, we have perfect restriction for life coming out of surgery. Consider this, you have a valve at the bottom of your stomach called the pylorus valve. It controls how fast your stomach empties. When you get fills and adjustments to your band what is really happening is that they are trying to adjust the band to do what the pyloric valve does naturally, they just try to do it higher up in your stomach. It is true that a revision from ANY WLS to another is quite risky. The scarring and adhesions the band left my stomach with made infection, leaks, bleeding, and perforation x3 with my sleeve revision where if I would have just had the sleeve to start with, I wouldn't have had the added risk. Now, with all that written let's take a look at the fact that I never claimed the sleeve does not have risks. No clue where you get that from. What I wrote is that long term the sleeve is safer than the band and the risks and complications are MUCH less than that of banding. We do agree on finding skilled surgeons. People die when the shop for cheap instead of skill.

It's not really the size of the bougie that matters, it's the technique. A TJ doctor uses a 32F but her patients can eat an entire chicken breast three weeks post op. I am at the one year point and I can't eat half that. It really doesn't matter what the bougie size is, it's all technique.

It's both, it's the surgeon and the device. The best surgeon in the whole world can't change the problems of the device. The long term affects of the band have nothing to do with surgeon skill. Esophageal damage, stoma spasms, slips, band intolerance... those are not surgeon issues. Those are a direct result of the band. MGB is a horror. That's another procedure that the best surgeon in the world isn't going to make the problems of that type of surgery better.

OMG OMG OMG! I busted out laughing reading that!

I do not believe any clinic is going to turn down a multi-thousand dollar surgery because they did not go through CB. I'll apply and see what happens.

Yes, I'd have to agree.

Hoping Mac joins in here too, I thought you might want to have an idea of what folks at goal or near goal eat regarding quantity. We have seen what those in the weight loss mode eat, but as for quantity thought you might be interested. I'll be one year post op 6/3/09. Some examples, and this is not on a daily basis just foods I like and quantities. My new BLT without the bread sandwich. A large romaine lettuce leaf stuffed with 2 slices of bacon and about half a tomato. I can eat about 85% of it. Loaded Egg salad (I put everything in there, eggs, mayo, bell peppers, onion, mustard, celery, etc.) about 2oz, 2.5oz max. I can eat again in about an hour with softer foods like this. Steamed veggies: Cauliflower, broccoli, bell peppers, zucchini, yellow squash, anything I have in the frig. Steamed with soy sauce, drain, add more soy sauce and sesame oil/garlic. Steamed I can eat about 1 cup if I eat slowly. I use this on my days I want to graze. A 2oz hamburger w/no bun (I avoid white carbs) loaded with toppings. This is the same size as a child's meal hamburger at Mickey D's. One chicken leg, or most of one chicken thigh, or 1/3 chicken breast. Tortilla w/home made refried Beans topped w/cheese, heat under broiler. Top w/Pico de Gullo and taco sauce. I can eat half of it. Sandwich... if I do eat bread and that is rare (trigger food for me) I use 1 slice of bread, PB/J, fold over. If I remove the crust I can eat about 3/4 of the sandwich. If I keep the crust I can eat about half. Celery stick w/PB. I pack on the Peanut Butter, I can eat 1/4 celery stick with about 3tbls PB. Salad... 2 very large Romaine lettuce leafs (not the heart, the outside mega leaves) with 1oz cheese, pico de gullo, 1 hard boiled egg, small amounts of assorted veggies such as broccoli. I can eat about 1/2 of this over about 30 minutes. Not sure why I keep making them so large. If I use the hard crunchy parts of the lettuce, the heart of the lettuce I can eat more because it's mostly Water. For me the sleeve is perfect *because* I'm a grazer. I can graze on appropriate foods and I just can't eat much. Now, a lot of this depends on the doctor. I have a 32F stomach. The bougie size really doesn't matter it's technique. There is a doc in TJ that uses a 32F and her patients can eat an entire chicken breast 3 weeks post op. So it's not bougie size, it's technique. On another board we wanted to compare how much each of us could eat. It was the infamous cottage cheese test. The test was to be done first thing in the morning before ANY food or drink was consumed. We were to measure how much cottage cheese we could eat in 5 minutes. I can't stand CC, hate the stuff and can't get it down. Same with others so those that can't stand CC ate egg salad without the solid bits such as celery. Mine was eggs, mayo, and spices. It was interesting, I do wish some of the crappy doctor's patients would have done it because we already know they can eat a lot. My results were: 1.5 oz I was satisfied. 2.0 oz I was full. 2.5 oz and I wanted to puke. Since I was banded I can't force myself to eat fast so I did it over 7 minutes. Most people maxed out around 2.5/3.0oz. I think one person was able to get 4oz down. This is just to see the size of your stomach, this does not mean it's all we can eat. If I eat slowly (soft slider foods) it just the same as a band, it goes right through. I am picturing Jacqui thinking there is no way she could survive on this quantity of food. Unless it is a solid Protein we can eat more, this was a 5 minute test just to see how big our stomach is. Over a 30 minute period of time I could eat more, maybe double. Mac? Anyone else a year or so out?

The actual surgery for the band is safer but long term the sleeve is safer. Much fewer risks and complications. Totally agree with you about the band mills!

Those that come here and want to discuss surgery, weight issues, MDs, etc., those people are very welcome here. Those that use a support board to sell snake oil are not typically treated with a warm reception. The idea of support boards is to support, offer surgery advice, weight loss advice. When you come here to push a 3rd party agency that does absolutely nothing that the MD office cannot provide... it's nothing short of a scam.

No, that's not it at all. If you want to advertise CB you are free to contact Alex and pay for your advertising. If you want to discuss WLS and expediences that is what the board is for.

My PCP is in Nogales, MX. I'm pretty sure he's not going to know how to get it done. After having had surgery in MX and seeing the huge difference in the medical culture I switched my PCP to MX as well. I am lucky in the sense that I live on a border state.

I've been kinda shocked, thedailplate.com matches my weight loss. When I compare it (at goal, didn't work pre-goal) to my treadmill it is within about 20 calories. When I calculated my BMR to my weight loss to thedailyplate.com, it was pretty much on target. I want to get my RMR tested, how do you find someone to do it?

You are free to be just as offended as you wish. That is your choice. I never claimed you did not do your research, I was quite clear and specific by explaining a 3rd party is not needed in choosing a surgeon. You do your research, pick a surgeon, and darn well go there for surgery. I do not like these 3rd party agencies and as offended as you may wish to be my thoughts are not going to change. The majority of them will sign up any doctor who wishes to participate. It does not matter if they are any good or not, it matters if they will participate and sign a contract. Your desire of being insulted isn't going to change that reality. The 3rd party agencies have to be paid by someone, either the consumer or the doctor. So people are going to get a better deal by going to the doctor directly. You avoid paying the 3rd party. You either pay less or bargain with the doctor for a better price. Surgery isn't all about price, it's about skill and quality of medical care. I'm thrilled for you that you found a good price. Had you gone to the doctor directly you would have stood a chance of an even better price. You make it a point to discuss Cosmetic Bliss in most every post you write. Amazingly, most do not do that. A more rational person would tend to think you are doing their advertising for them on a support board. While most refer to their surgeon, you refer to the 3rd party that referred you to your surgeon. Call me cynical but I find that curious. I see these 3rd party companies all the darn time and they do NOT worry about the skill of the surgeon. They sign up hacks like Huacuz and Emmanual. They know nothing about who is doing the surgery as they are interested in recruiting patients and making money. I will write it again, there is NOOO value in going with these 3rd party agencies. Do a little research, find your own surgeon, get the surgery, get your life back. For your choice of being offended... you'll have to understand that I just don't care. I think patients need to find their own doctors, do their own research, go to the doctor of their choice and save some money. Cheers to you on "this will be my final word to you on this matter," but don't bank on the idea that these will be my final words to YOU on this matter. You are free to push and promote this company (to a point) on the boards. It does not mean I will not go toe to toe with your promotion of 3rd party companies. They are unnecesssary, they are an unneeded expense, and I damn sure would not trust them to choose my surgeon. ETA: It should be noted that of your whole 7 posts .... 5 of those have been pushing Cosmetic Bliss instead of lending a hand to the newbies wanting information and support. Face it, you come here to push a company instead of participating in what allll the others do, to ask questions about their surgery type and offer support to others who wish to have surgery or just had surgery. If you think your efforts are not obvious, you are sadly mistaken. Cheers.

Agreed. As I was losing I was tracking calories and exercise on thedailyplate.com and I have to say, it was pretty much on track! If I entered info correctly I could gauge how it would be in real time regarding weight loss.

You did it the right way, you went directly to the MD office. Those that pay a premium for finding them a surgeon... those are the idiots. You done good. ;o)))) You also picked a safe surgeon.

Many docs do alcohol/drug screening, it's normal and standard.

No, Ready4AChange IS Dr. Zapata, that's his website. ;o)

I'm not suggesting you not have surgery, I'm saying you don't need to go through a 3rd party to get it done. Call the doctor you choose directly. Forget Cosmetic Bliss. YOU do the research and YOU find the doctor you want.

I would never ever ever ever use an agency such as this. My personal opinion only. Why pay for a service that is not needed? Seems to be a huge waste of money. I would want to work directly with the MD office. They already have transportation issues worked out, they come and get you themselves. I would want to work with the MD office before surgery to see what they are like. If they are uncooperative and difficult to reach before surgery when they are on their best behavior, what will they be like after surgery? It is in the person's best interest to see what the staff is life BEFORE surgery. I'm pretty anal about research. I would never dream of trusting someone else to research a surgeon for me. I do that myself. I want to know information that I'll bet my bottom dollar an agency would not know. Some of these 3rd party agencies will sign up any doctor willing to contract with them. *I* do my *own* research. My personal opinion, I think it is nothing short of playing with fire and at additional cost to go through these agencies. People can go directly to the MD and save money, do their research, and feel much better about their decisions.

When I was banded and having so many problems I was still an advocate of the band. I thought I was unique and most were not like me. I didn't want someone to get bypass because *I* had band problems. Also, long term US stats were not out on the band or the sleeve. Now that the stats are out and I know I am not the only one with problems I do tell people about everything and I'm an advocate of the sleeve. Very few people (in my mind) are good people for banding.