WASaBubbleButt

I'd call them and ask them to set you up with a password and method to check your results on line. It's just faster that way. I can't remember if you have seen the on line version of results or not, if you want to see mine I'll call you with the password. You can see what it looks like and all the info they give you.

Yes, that was the lady that wasn't planning to follow the post op diet. I didn't want her to be his first leak, it wouldn't even have been his fault.

If I got preggers today I'd have to dig my eye out with a rusty nail.

I was gun shy about another WLS as well. I was really scared that a sleeve would just make my problems permanent but it didn't, it fixed everything. Life can be so miserable with a band and you just get to the point that you can't trust another WLS. I know exactly how you feel. You don't want to live life like this anymore but you don't want to gain weight either. It's a hard decision to make. I doubt that he's never had a sleeve complication, it's leaks. He's never had a leak with a sleeve. He's probably had some other types of complications.

Lucky for us that we glued it down.... with pink glue made in the shape of pretty pink flowers. We wanted to make it all nice and foo foo for you guys in your room. ;o)

There is nothing to be done. The scars are forever. She's lucky to be alive, quite frankly. Huacuz is probably one of the worst surgeons in Mexico, if not the worst surgeon. He's nothing short of dangerous. People need to do more research as HeadHunter writes.

You were given a sales pitch vs. honesty IMHO. One thing I will suggest, stop and think long and hard about something. A sleeve is restrictive only just like a band is restrictive only. If you do not have great restriction are you making wise food choices? What is your white carb intake daily? Are you resorting to high calorie foods and white carbs or are you at least making excellent choices in the meantime? The reason I ask is that I think most people need malabsorption and a good guide is to look at what you are eating when the band isn't working. I had nothing but band problems from the start but I didn't fall into the trap that a lot of banded folks say. They claim that they can't eat good foods, it won't go through the band. That's a crock, a total crock. If you can drink milkshakes you can drink Protein shakes. If you can eat chips and dip you can eat dried veggies. See what I mean? Over the last 5.5 years what have your food choices been? Are you leaning more towards poor food choices or really good foods but just a lot of them? It's really an important question to ask yourself because if you are still struggling with poor food choices a sleeve might not be your best option. You'll be able to eat those same foods with a sleeve. It's something that nobody can decide for you, only you know if you can do it with restriction alone. I hear you about no restriction, many have that problem. If we could manage quantity on our own we wouldn't have needed WLS to begin with. We can all eat around any surgery type, I sure did it last weekend! I did it in a big way. ;o) But that's not my usual. Point being, it is easier to eat around a band or sleeve than it is bypass or DS. White carbs are a killer, that's what got us in the mess we were in at the time of surgery. Some really can't give up white carbs. Just something to think about. Glad to have you here, if there is anything we can do for you please let us know!

You don't mention quantities, carb intake (protein shake/yogurt/salad dressing), or exercise. We need more information.

This is not accurate, for at least July and maybe August you can bring proof you applied for a passport. The border is accepting this. I do not know if this holds true for "flying" into Mexico but it is true for driving into Mexico.

Ahhhh, but I didn't tell you all the other stuff I ate! I was sooooo angry! One of the nurses I sent out to a child's home gave 10x the amount of growth hormone to this child for three days in a row. There was no excuse, none. I was soooo angry I could'a spit. She was supposed to give 3mg, she gave 30mg three days in a row. It should have lasted a month, I figured there was a problem when he was out of medication in three days. Another person (patient) decided that her internet research showed she should take double the amount of a drug she was prescribed. Her doctor didn't know what he was talking about, an on line chat room told her so. So she doubled up on a drug and went through a 2 week supply of a verrrrrry expensive drug in a week. Then she told the doctor we told her to do it because she didn't want him upset with her. Luckily with that particular drug she didn't harm herself but trying to sort out what happened at 10PM with a doctor screaming in my ear was not enjoyable. Had another one that is on a drug for bone density problems and she called me hourly in a panic because her feet are getting bigger. They aren't, she's just crazy. She's actually the 2nd person that swore her feet were growing a size daily. Finally I suggested she get bigger shoes and now she's happy. These doctors need to start treating the psych issues people have as well as the medical. Then my dog got an abscess on his butt, poor baby had to go to the ER clinic and have his butt lanced. That hurt. He's zonked out on pain pills as I type. The whole entire weekend was like that, one piece of stupidity or frustration after another. I couldn't decide if I wanted to run or eat so I did both. ;o)

It does not sound like a leak at all to me. She has restriction (probably not enough), if she overeats (and admits that she does) she does not lose. She admits to eating around the band... No signs of a leak thus far. The bigger bands take a LOT more fills to get to restriction or a sweet spot. I've seen people posting that they are getting fills monthly and at 8 months they still have no restriction. If I was to get another band, and in my case I would not, I would only get the smaller bands for this very reason. As for it being difficult to defeat the band that is not true at all. You can very easily eat around any surgery type.

Slime is when your body is producing really super thick saliva and theoretically, it's supposed to act a a lubricant to help food pass through the stoma. I don't know about others but for me when I was banded it just meant more stuff to barf. ;o)

This is usually caused from a carb rich diet. You will likely experience problems after surgery until your body adjusts to a healthier diet. When it happen do NOT consume sugar!! Consume Protein, it will even out your blood sugar.

There are two types of Slim Fast including a low carb version. Honestly, I don't know how anyone could stomach either. I think they are gross.

I'm sorry about the scars. There is a doctor in Monterrey that swears he can spot a Huacuz patient just by the scars. He said that it looks like he sews people up with his foot, and his left foot at that. They will fade to some degree over time. You know what is spooky? Huacuz does plastic surgery as well. He's not certified to do it but if it will earn him a buck... Can you imagine what that looks like? ;o) You really do have to chew well, small bites, and eat slowly. You risk a slip if you do not. Not true. Many banded people have shoulder pain as a soft stop. Some have shoulder pain when they are hungry. As for gas pains it is a matter of the gas pushing on the diaphragm and that irritates a nerve that causes referred pain in the shoulder. It's not that gas is "roaming" around the chest. How do you know it's a small start? Do you know what size band she received? Do you know how thick her stomach wall is? For some people 2.9cc would not even be close for restriction and for others 0.6 would cause them to be obstructed. You do not know if she has a 4cc band or a 10cc band. So how can you suggest that 2.9 is a small fill? There are two ways to look at this. If you draw out all the fluid from the band and reinject it, it causes more swelling than if you just added saline to good restriction. Many doctors will not remove the saline unless they have reason to believe there is a leak. No, you don't understand. Huacuz leaves horrific scars. Somewhere there is a thread on scar stages. Check out his incisions, then you will understand what the OP is talking about.

Three tacos is a bit much for a banded person with good restriction. Maybe a fill and better food choices? ;o)

The other thing is that we don't have to worry about getting stuck if we do dare to eat at social events. Nothing like excusing yourself to go slime and puke. :001_tt2:/

If your insurance will pay for a future complication if a US doctor did your surgery they would pay for it if a non US doctor did your surgery. "Where" you have surgery is not the issue, it is "what" your insurance covers. I think everyone worries about a surgery type that is not reversible. I fretted over that as well. It's a lot easier to come to terms with it after it's done. ;o) After it is done you kind of sit back and wonder why you fretted over it. Also, when you are having band problems and it goes on for months and months, when you switch to a surgery type that you still lose weight without battling your stomach on a daily basis, it's a huge relief. Have you talked to Vicki the insurance guru? She's a wealth of information. I'd push insurance and appeal everything you possibly can before considering self pay anywhere.

Dr. Pleatman: This is getting old in a hurry. Nobody said a doctor must have 250 sleeves, it's not quite as you suggest. I think you need to remember that this is a board for sleeve patients to communicate with other sleeve patients. As explained earlier we exchange tips and tricks for everything from procedure types to researching surgeons, to diet and exercise and everything else. We have every right to post our opinions on all these topics. It most certainly is my opinion that it is better to go to an experienced surgeon vs. an inexperienced surgeon. I have the right to express my opinions as well as other WLS patients have a right to express their opinions. When I wrote the post on how to research a sleeve surgeon I sent that to three experienced sleeve surgeons for their opinions. I removed anything they did not agree with except for one thing, two of three doctors did not feel a UA was necessary as a pre op lab. I added items at their suggestion. Everything was a combination of efforts from these experienced sleeve surgeons and me. I'm sorry you do not agree with it but it still remains to be my opinion. I agree that revisions need to be considered. Someone with 500-1000 sleeves under their belt is more likely to have done quite a few revisions, all the more reason to go to a very experienced surgeon especially for a revision. At the rate people are losing their bands and switching to sleeves, bypass, and DS - many surgeons are becoming increasingly more experienced with revisions. Bougie size... I think most surgeons use narrow bougies, the only place I know of that uses large bougies on a routine basis are doctors in Chile, they use a 60F. Most of the more popular surgeons use a 32-38F. When you come in here and suggest that anyone who has 600 sleeves and no leaks is a God or a liar, you are indeed resorting to name calling. It's just not professional for a surgeon to say that about another surgeon and especially when you cannot support your claims. As a patient, who would you rather go to? Someone less experienced with a higher complication stat or someone more experienced with a lower complication stat?

This is interesting. If you were in a bike accident how would anyone know where to look for your info? Is the info on a medical alert bracelet or something? How much info can you put on there? What is the cost? Thx!

I just tweaked it for sleeve folks by getting rid of all the banding references for my blog but I can't get the stupid blog to cooperate. Time for another email to Alex so he can fix my messes. :thumbup:/ I heart Alex. ;o)

It was the worst I have done since being banded originally. You don't need garlic cheese bread, I ate enough today for both of us. ;o) I'm cool, tomorrow is back to no white carbs. :blush:/

When I was losing a friend of mine gave me a version of a "kick your butt" speech and I realized that I could take it coming from her, she battled pounds too. I couldn't have accepted those words from a naturally thin person but I could from a fellow fattie. I received an email from a young lady that was actually eating a donut as she was reading this. She threw the donut away while reading the "donut" part (amazing ... coincidences in life) and really started putting forth effort starting that minute. I've always wondered how she is doing now. Just remember, white carbs got us all fat. Not eating them goes a long way to getting thin. I'm not talking all carbs, just the white ones.

If I dare to mention those symptoms on the band board I'm blasted from the banded newbies for being a band hater. I guess I am a band hater, I experienced everything you are referring to above. There isn't a single part of your life that isn't affected by a band. Going out to eat with friends is nothing short of embarrassing. I hated it. Trying to eat lunch at work turns into a puke fest, going out to dinner with your spouse is a waster of time and money. Most everyone loves their band for the first 6 months. Then at about 1 year the problems are getting bad but the scale is moving and at this point we are living proof that we will do bloody anything to lose weight. We puke, slime, vomit in ways we did not know were possible until we became banded. You know what is the most bizarre of all of this? It becomes a way of life. You don't realize how bad is bad until you don't have bad anymore. The transition from normal to banded life is so slow you don't fully realize the impact it has on your life until you don't have the problems anymore. As you get your life back you realize just what you gave up for a band. Feeling full with a band IS different than with a normal stomach or a sleeve. Full usually means... one more bite and I'll hurl. Having a sleeve full goes back to full, the way it is supposed to be. Why would you want to reverse your surgery type? You won't have the same kinds of problems you do with a band. It feels just like it did before I ever had WLS but I get full faster. Life with a band vs. sleeve is like night vs. day.

Green Jell-O. Gahhh What about orange? Grape? Tangerine? Can you have small amounts of fruit? Canned manderine (sp?) oranges in orange jello is pretty good. Also, if you want raspberry, grape, or cherry popsicles they have sugar free, coloring free (looks like water) kool aid now. Couldn't you freeze that for more flavor variety?