BandsterHopeful

Many obese people have heartburn (GERD) before banding from a hiatal hernia. These are often routinely repaired along with the band surgery, since the band goes just where the hernia is. About 3/4 of those with this cause of reflux find it completely gone after band sugery. DEVELOPING reflux after banding is an entirely different thing, and can be very dangerous. Not only can it mean a too tight fill (or other trouble if youhave no fill yet), it can cause a very bad form of pneumonia which will set you back badly. It also damages the esophagus, mouth, teeth and more. It can causeasthma, ear infections, sinus infections and hurts the stomach - and we have to do all we can to keep the stomach healthy if we want to keep pur Bands. Your doctor should have given you a clear post-op diet, and I don't know of any who allow solid meat and fish only 3 weeks after surgery. the stomach needs to heal and the band needs to be secured by good scar tissue before you add the stress of digesting (whih causes the stomach to move around and will loosen unhealed sutures) Talk with your doctor about the reflux; never ignore it or suppress it with medication before you find out WHY you are having it. It is a danger signal. Renee

I chose Dr Kuri and have been very happy -everything was great, and that was even before the brand new, beautiful hospital, lab, and offices. He has 2 other Inamed-certified band surgeons with him, and they work together so your surgery time is very short, which is much safer. Renee

I don't believe there is any evidence at all that the VG band will have fewer slips. it is so new that this information simply is not available yet. It is theorized that it MAY have a lesser chance of erosion than the other Inamed bands becuase of the design, but even this will take years to evaluate. This info is direct from the Inamed/Allergan people at the recent Seattle Bash. renee

I used Dr Kuri last year and my experience was excellent from beginning to end. I feel his followup is excellent, he is extremely attentive, the staff is wonderful and very caring, and they all do their best to help you do well. There are a huge number of happy Kuri patients in my area (West Coast) and all I am aware of are happpy and doing very well. But I also agree with Thersa above that we all take on additional responsibility if we choose ANY doctor not very close to us. Amanda, I would have wanted you to see your local family doctor and/or a local GI doctor if you were truly having so much trouble, but your surgeon told you repeatedly that he could find nothing wrong with your band and the fluoro test was fine. You had some very unusual problems that no one could understand, from what you posted on the Kuri and other Boards, and several of the things you have said now make no sense at all. For example, you posted on the BayBandsters board that you had a narrowing of the esophagus above the band that you felt caused the trouble. This has nothing to do with banding, as The band is not placed on the esophagus. You posted on another board that you were much better after a fluoro showed there was no band trouble and you had no trouble swallowing then - but then you said later that you had horrible trouble and pain every day. The band is not for everyone, and I'm truly sorrry it wasn't for you. But only a few weeks is not a sufficient test, in my opinion. I wish you well. Renee

This doctor is one of the very highly-experienced European doctors . I'm sure he is a very good surgeon. But that is not the real issue. Price should not be the biggest factor for any of us. What happens if you have trouble and need to return to France several times? How and from whom will you get fills? Will a doctor in Portugal take care of you after a surgery in France? These are the same issues we deal with here in the US when we go out of the country for surgery. It is often cheaper in the long run to use a local doctor, have close contact and followup from him or her, get local fills, have local support groups. The surgery is only the very first step. The many years of care after that are what help you be successful or not. You have to look at costs for at least 5 years, not just surgery costs. Renee

Just for everyone's information, and not regarding any doctor in particular, Inamed (now Allergan) cannot say anything negative about any of the doctors, unless they wish to be sued for "interfering with a doctor's right to make a living" or some such similar legal wording - even if the info is true. all Inamed can say is that the docs are Inamed-certified and approved to use the Inamed bands, which is true once they have been through Inamed's training program and have been proctored. Even for the doctors who have been in jail or had serious problems or complaints, the response would be the same "no complaints, and certified by Inamed". They just cannot and do not stick their necks out. It is much more difficult to find info on MX doctors, since there are no public-information sites where medical and legal problems, license suspentions, etc are legally posted as there are in the US. There is also no FDA regulation. The best we can do is to do a very thorough search on sites like this one, and on Mexican Bandsters, Bandsters, and SmartBandsters. Search back at least 1-2 years. Even this is hard, becuase some of the MX docs and their coordinators have threatened people (even physically) who post negatively or honestly discuss problems they have encountered - so people are reluctant to post, and also worry then that they will not get good followup care from that doctor/coordinator. To further complicate matters, some of the less-ethical doctors actually employ people to post online about how wonderful the docs are - and they might not even have been banded! I found all this out - much to my chagrin - when i was researching my own banding last year and talked personally to some of the longterm and publicly-known Bandsters. I don't know the solution, other than to choose only one of the highly-ethical and longterm band surgeons, and never by price alone. No doctor is perfect, without a complaint, or without any band problems - unless they have been in practice only a very short period of time. It might sound great that some doctor has never had a slip or an eroison - until you learn they have been banding only a year (for instance) and don't have many clients at all, and NO longterm clients - when the big problems are more likely to occur. all you can do is look at the big picture - banding a long time? Few complaints? Minor complaints ("I missed a plane because he was late getting out of the surgery before me") or big ones ("I had a bad infection and he wouldn't return my calls for days") Lots of complaints or only a few? Regular complaints or only irrgegular ones? This is all extremely difficult for us, since the band and weight loss are already very emotional issues. Maybe some of the longtimers here can comment on these issues? Renee

Amanda, I'm wondering why in the world did you not see a GI doc near you if you were having so much trouble? That seems to be a logical thing, when your band doctor is so far away. Lots of tests could have been run in MX, but your insurance would not have covered them and they would have been extremely expensive. Also, GERD is very common in heavy people, with or without the band. You said on anothr board that the GI doc you just saw found some esopageal narrowing above the band? Well, that had nothing to do with the band and may well have been there before. I'm sorry you had so much trouble. GERD is easily treated , and you should not have lasting trouble. It's common with any GI upset. I do hope you're better soon. Renee

Geezer and others - I'm afraid you're a bit out of date! Dr Kuri has a brand-new, top-of-the-line hospital that is up to ANY US standards, and is certainly "Full-staffed, competant, and modern". The fluoro lab in the hospital also is with brand-new equipment. I have to say, though, that i was banded in the "older" hospital and the care was excellent, from both a medical perspective as well as a "human" one. any medical person will tell you that many of the larger, busier, "shiny new" hospitals have a far greater infection rate that the (good) small hospitals. There were NO band or wound infections from the years time in the smaller hospital, while there were plenty with some of the other MX surgeons using larger and bigger facilities. Also, Don Mills will confirm that once a doctor has done several hundred surgeries, he is highly-experienced and likely to have seen and dealt with almost all possibilities - so there is no difference in the skill of someone who has done - say - 2000 surgeries or 4000 surgeries. So what is left, then? Personalities, staff, facilitators, and other things. One of the biggest reasons I chose Dr Kuri, is that he has a very excellent online teaching and support site, with banded medical professionals and other very experienced bandsters trained by him to guide and advise you, from both a medical and a personal perspective. I believe no other surgeon can offer this. The surgery itself is only the very first step - it is the care, fills, followup, trouble-shooting and teaching AFTERwards that will make a huge difference in how you do. Just things to consider. Renee

To my knowledge despite a great many studies silicone from these implants was never shown to cause any illness at all, although it does appear suspicious. There is a big difference between a breast implant that leaks liquid silicone into the tissues and circulation, and a implant like the band that is made of solid silicone. I believe, after all the extensive FDA testing that showed no conclusive problems, that the silicone breast implants are again back on the market in the US - or soon will be. They have continued to used safely in many other parts of the world. Renee

Jen, I doubt you slipped. I think you just very badly irritated your poor pouch and stoma. Any time you have ANY problem, stop eating that meal. then go back on liquids only for at least a day and call your doctor or post here for help. Dry chicken is one of the foods that may not work very well - all foods have to be very moist. you also muct start with tiny bites and chew very well. Hope you'r ok. Please follow the band rules very well, to avoid trouble. Renee

You really need to be in touch with your family doctor about all this too. if you are drinking as little as you say, you are badly dehydrated and that is making everything worse. your own doctor will be able to get answers quicker than you will, and should be your advocate here. Please call him/her. You could have a slip, a band that is the wrong size, or several other things. If you'r not getting the help you need from your own band surgeon, see another one - and quickly. You must be a good advocate for yourself here. Is your band surgeon highly-experienced?? VERY few things with the band are not quickly reversible, so don't worry about that, but you need urgent help NOW. Renee

Many obese people have a hiatal hernia (suspect this and discuss it if you have ANY reflux) and an upper GI will give the surgeon important information, since it will need to be repaired along with the band surgery. the band goes just where the hernias usually are, so they have to be fixed first. An upper GI is not lab work. All this testing is for your own good, and for a sfe and predictable sugery with no unexpected surprises. renee

Inamed has trained all of the surgeons it seels bands to. They can still be dishonest doctors. One <MX doctor has been in jail on Medicare fraud and is again practicing. the one who promised a Inamed band and placed a cheaper one was also Inamed certified. This is why you must go with only the longterm, well-known doctors espceially in MX. You get what you pay for, and the best doctors are not the cheapest. But even this is not always safe - one very longterm doctor was very drunk at the recent Seattle Bash on the doctor's panel and another quite so. very pathetic. who is to say they were not also drunk when they operated on you. :scared: Renee

My surgeon told me The removal surgery is often more difficult since there is scar tissue and adhesions that have to be cut through. This is only normal. Once the band is out the stomach returns to a normal shape quickly if there was no erosion. I'm doing fine, but asked for a friend. good luck to all of you with problems - Renee

There are many kinds of auto-immune diseases. some are indeed contra-indications for banding. I think the nurse did not mean EVERY one is - but caution still must be used becuase lots is still not known about the band. Some of the people here have rejected their bands becuase of autoimmune disorders they did not reveal before surgery. Hashimoto's is sometimes ok, if it is very well-controlled and you are stable. I think It is up to your surgeon and family doctor to decide if you are a good risk for banding. Renee

Why not just drink enough??? I'd never advise getting an unfill for a reason like this. Not if you're serious about your weight loss. Now, Remember you can't simply jump right back up to your old level. Every unfill changes things a lot. After my unfill for reflux, it took me 4 fills to get even close to where i was before, and a dop more gives me reflux. The less foolling around you do with a fill, the better. Renee

:couch2: It's normal to need more than 1-2 fills to get to a good level! The average is about 3-5 , at least a month apart. Your stomach needs very small increses to get used to the pressure. If you get too much, you'll need it out,a rest period, and you'll end up further behind. Be patient, and work on all the other things YOU have to add to the mix to do well. Renee

It's normal to need more than 1-2 fills to get to a good level! The average is about 3-5 , at least a month apart. Your stomach needs very small increses to get used to the pressure. If you get too much, you'll need it out,a rest period, and you'll end up further behind. Be patient, and work on all the other things YOU have to add to the mix to do well. Renee

Join the PregnantBandsters yahoo group for good and accurate info.

Cake sure does not work for me - it's no different than soft gooey bread. Lots of the WW stuff is not good band food. Scrambled aggs are also tricky - they can be dry, and dry STICKS. What i've been taught is that if you cannot eat decent small meals within 3-4 days max of a new fill, it is too much, and you need some out. Trying to keep a fill that is too much gets people in big trouble. Having to rely on liquids for weeks defeats the band and the "no liquid calorie" rule. The band really only works with solid foods. Hope this helps a bit - Renee

After a doctor has done several hundred surgeries, they are very experienced. There is no difference, imo, betwen 500 surgeries and 1500 surgeries. SO - I'd suggest choosing based on the aftecare program, the exxperience of the fill person( and a talented PA or Nurse Practitoner who does the fills is idea, becuase that will be their expertise. They also often do much of the teaching. the expertise of the surgeon is SURGERY. ), the demeanor of the office staff, and how you "feel" about the doc - easy to talk to? Explains things clearly? is a personality match with you? Go to a couple of the support groups and talk to people. you will have a relationship with these people the rest of your life, so listen to your gut. Renee

Ethical docs, from my experience, provide the serial number of the band they implant in someone. The package also shows the expiration date. In Mexico, bands are sold to the hospitals, not to an individual doctor. Those docs doing a great many band surgeries every month will use and replace bands quickly, and they would be unlikely to expire. The other docs performing far fewer surgeries could certainly have expired bands they should be returning. Being "expired" does not have anything to do with the functioning of the band. Medications"Expire" too, but are considered safe to use for at least 12 months after the "expiration." One of the (imo) questionable Mexican doctors about a year ago was promising an Inamed band, and charging for that - but then implanting a less-expenseive, non-US-approved band. This are likely the type of person bidding on and intending to implant these EBay bands. It would save them several thousand dollars and an unaware patient would never know the difference. We have every right to see and inspect the unopened Band package. renee

Delarla said above : "Then again, Mexican surgeons fill you all the way to the max (as much as you can tolerate.) " This is not true at all. Please do not make such broad and inaccurate statements. My MX surgeon always teaches on his own forum that fills should be as small as possible and just enough to give good restriction. I'm really sorry you lost your band, but your experience was extremely unusual and should not make you bad-mouth all the excellent MX surgeons. Thousands and thousands of us are doing just great and having no problems at all. I don't feel my band at all and forget I even have it most of the time. Renee __________________

Lots of the most experienced docs don't even bother using the Huber needles anymore. After many thousands of fills and unfills with regular needles, there have been no port failures because of needles. The Huber needles also are not made long enough to get through 4-6 inches worth of belly fat. They are made primarily to use with the very shallow chemo ports that are just under the skin. I think the longest one made is 1.5 inches, not sure. My doctor uses 6 inch "spinal" needles and has no trouble. They have the normal end, not the Huber end. I'm confused when you say "sealing" because the needles don't "seal". they go through the port membrane and into the fill reservoir. Do you mean there is a problem with the hub of the needle fitting tightly into into the syringe? Renee

Depends on your doctor. mine wants fluids for 24 hrs after a fill, then back to normal food. i've done fine with this. Renee