Laserjock

A blonde is driving through the country along some cotton fields when she sees another blonde sitting out in the middle of the field in a rowboat rowing her fanny off. Furious, she stops the car and steps to the edge of the field and yells at the woman: "I cannot believe you!! You are the reason we blondes have developed such a bad reputation!!!..." "If I could swim I would come out there and kick your ass!!!"

This must be a form email response they are using as they sent the exact response to Tricia as well. Not sure that makes me any more comfortable that they already have a form email response...makes me wonder how many people have been "accidentally" overcharged.

This smells of fraudulent practice and not accidental. I have no patience for this kind of fraud. I am filing a complaint with the Internet Fraud Complaint Center and will be contacting both my local and the California State's Attorney General office to complain. You can also add the appropriate BBB offices in both California and here in TN. No excuses...

Magster: The only real "advantage" at the moment for the Inamed product is its FDA approval status. Once J&J's subsidiary, Ethicon, gets FDA approval for the Swedish band then there will be plenty of docs in the U.S. willing to do both the surgeries and the follow up. I have read my weight in journal articles comparing the two bands and neither has any more of a significant downside than the other. Erosion rates are practically the same and both success and failure rates are practically identical. Its more important for you to find a doctor that you are comfortable with who has significant experience in placing the band and has a good reputation for follow up. Good luck in your search.

Is that dang motorcycle already broke down????

Someone on here recommended slices of frozen banana blended in with the protein drink...and it works. It makes them taste a little thicker and adds some flavor to them.

Sounds like we communicated with the same person. She tried to tell me how Dr. Ponce was "leery" of Dr. Rodriguez...yet Dr. Rodriguez, Dr. Sanchez and Dr. Ponce published a comparison paper together showing no significant differences between the Inamed and the J&J [not the AMI] swedish band a few years ago. Interestingly, this was before Ponce became associated with Inamed. I do not tolerate people like this [the "lady" in question..not Dr. Ponce] for obvious reasons. As a scientist I believe there is a code of ethics that anyone in the sciences or medicine should hold to...this lady has none. Okay...off my soapbox now...[breathe Alan breathe].

I emailed their group asking a couple of questions about follow up care, mentioning that my wife had arranged her surgery with Dr. Rodgriguez, and I received an long email back from whoever answers their main email address on the BeLighter.com website that was very vicious in its attack on Dr. Rodriguez. It was filled with some disinformation and some outright lies regarding Dr. Rodriguez's practice and experience. Maybe she was just in a bad mood that day, and I have read a ton of great things about Dr. Ponce and his experience, but this lady completely turned me off to having anything to do with them. I am sure Dr. Ponce is very good and have no doubts about him, but he really needs to choose his associates a bit more carefully. This has become a vicious marketing environment with people slanting truth and some outright lying about other docs, which does more a disservice to the entire community than it helps...and that in my opinion is a sad statement on the ethics of some of these people. They aren't selling used cars for crying out loud. Just my .02

He is still your friend and too much alcohol might erode your relationship. [okay...that was pretty bad] Seriously though, I hope your hubby comes around to see the hastiness of his decision and what it is doing to you. Maybe after sleeping on it he will change his mind. Good luck in all of this....

and ask him when he is going to get one for himself!

Just thought I would pop on here and let the board know that my wife was banded this morning by Dr. Arturo Rodriguez, and the surgery went perfectly with no complications. The hospital [saint Engracia] is as nice as any I have seen and the nurses have been incredibly attentive to my wife during the day. Dr. Rodriguez is one of the most patient and gracious physicians I have ever dealt with, both personally and professionally. He answered many [and I do mean many] questions via email and phone leading up to the surgery without any reserve or hesitation. My wife is feeling no pain today [good drugs] and getting plenty of sleep...taking in some of the juice and ice they have given her as she could...but otherwise the only real issue was some nausea coming out of the general anesthesia, which they quickly countered with some drugs in her IV. I am at the hotel with my son, but she is on my mind and I am comfortable in the knowledge that she is in excellent hands. Dr. Rodriquez will be visiting her later this evening to see how she is doing. One down, a lifetime to go...so begins her journey. LJ

I find myself feeling a combination of nervousness and anxiety that I cannot be with her in the room all the time...but know she is well taken care of. I am sure once we are home she will hop on here and get in the mix of things. I know she has read the board and liked the content and the lack of all the other things I have mentioned about some of the other groups and such. Thanks again... LJ

but there is really nothing better than the wisdom of experience, and there is a ton of that here. Things that reading will never prepare you for being as how everyone probably responds to all the various affects of the band a little differently. That is why I like this site. A lot of great advice from those that have made, or are making, the journey. That is far more valuable than anything I could read!

Actually no...I am not banded. My wife is scheduled to be banded this Monday. I have been heavily researching this procedure for her, and doing so from a review of the scientific literature as well as reading as many personal accounts of the procedure as I can find. This board is the first one I have found that seems devoid of all the politics, blatant dis- and mis-information, or "ads" for credit and crap. I have read journal articles and literature reviews of this procedure going back for about 3-4 years...and have based my opinions on that, along with taking personal accounts and considering their post-op behavior and expectations. I have read so much and asked so many questions of the surgeon my wife will be using that I probably am bordering on being a pest...but this is still surgery and I want to be completely satisfied with the choice we have made as she is the most important thing in my life next to our son and I had to be sure of all the details. I am completely comfortable with this procedure and we both understand the risks and rewards. As for my work, I direct a clinical trials laboratory that provides esoteric testing and development for pharmaceutical and biotech companies, focusing mainly on the immunologic impacts of their targeted therapeutics. Most are involved in monoclonal antibody or small molecule based therapeutics in the oncology and autoimmune disease corridors. So yes...I am a science geek...just look at my photo over to the left...

What I was trying to say is that from what I understand in reading about port placement is that the area right beneath the ribs appears to be a popular place to locate the port for a couple of reasons. First, it helps insure a lateral orientation of the tubing between the port and the band. The argument for this as I understand is that this helps minimize stress on the tubing that might result in dislocation from the port. Second, some information suggested [and this might be "old" info now and may not be a concern any further] that placing the port in the xiphoid [sternum] region, may have resulted in cases of bone infection. Logic to me would dictate that the amount of experience surgeons have now with band surgery may have resulted in a decrease in these complications, and I am sure that even with lateral tube orientation some will have their port tube disconnect by accident. Experience clearly appears to be key to the reduction of complications in this procedure...but that is not much of a revelation!

That placing the port subcostally [just below the ribs on the left or right] is often chosen because it provides a lateral orientation of the tubing between the band and the port, and may prevent dislocation of the tubing and port. That is just what I have gathered from various journal articles related to the placement of the port. I have read that there could be greater risk of osteomylitis with the xiphoid orientation of the port...but once again I am sure that both placements will have their sucess stories and their problem stories.