Amanda Sizemore

Hello To All! I Have Been Doing My Follow Up Care For The Last Year With Dr. Glascock In Cedar Falls, Ia And The Price With No Insurance Was $403.00 A Fill. That's With Fluro. Just Recently The Fill Price Has Almost Tripled!! It's Unbelievable What They Can Charge People. So, I'm In Desperate Need Of Finding A Fill Center In Iowa That Is Cheep To Get A Fill. I've Gained Some Wt And Really Need A Fill To Get It Back Off. If Anyone Knows Of Any Doctor In Iowa That Takes Pt's From Another Surgeon And Fills Are Cheep Please Let Me Know!! Thanks Amanda

Hey, I'm Just Wandering If Anyone Has Ever Heard Of Puncturing The Tubing From The Port To The Band During A Fill? I Had A Fill Last Monday Of 0.5cc And By Weds. I Had Acid Reflux Again And Could Barely Keep Water Done. So I Went Back In On Friday To Have The Doctor Remove 0.3cc. I Haven't Been Using Fluro The Last Few Times And He's Been Able To Hit The Port With The First Or Second Try But This Past Friday It Took Hi Like 5 Times Before He Got It. I Could Feel When He Missed It Cause It Was Alomost Like The Needle Was Hitting Another Organ. It Didn't Hurt Cause They Use Lidocaine First. I Was To Scard To Try Any Solids Until Yesterday. They Went Down Just Fine With Really No Restriction. Now I'm Wandering If He Didn't Hit The Tubing And Put A Hole In It And The Fluid Is Coming Out Of The Tubing. I Think I Should Have Alot More Restriction Because Before I Had Him Remove 0.3cc I Couldn't Even Get Mashed Potatoes To Stay Down. I Was Throwing Up Off Of Water. So Just Wandering If Anyone Had Ever Had The Tubing Punctured? Maybe It's Not Really Possible But I Just Don't Know Why There's Not More Restriction. I Would Think That The Tubing Would Be Very Difficult To Hit Cause If A Needle Rubbed Up Against It It's So Small That It Would Move To The Side. Well If Anyone Has Had This Thought Let Me Know.

Tricia- Hi, I Just Wanted To Update You On My Condition. I Tried Everything To Stop The Acid Reflux And Food And Stomach Contents From Coming Out My Nose And Nothing Worked. I Tried Different Meds And Home Remedies And They Had No Effect Eathier. So I Finally Went Back To My Doctor And Had All The Fluid Removed From My Band. It Worked! I've Never Had It Again. I Was Defilled For 6 Wks And Gained 10lbs. My Doctor Told Mme That My Band Had Prolapsed More And That's Why I Was Suffering From The Reflux From Too Much Restriction. I Ended Up Going Back To My Surgoen In Mexico And Had A Fill Last Month. It Wasn't Very Much But I Want To Go Slow With The Fills Becuase I Don't Want The Reflux To Come Again. I Ended Up Having An Endoscope And Upper Gi Study In The States To See If The Band Was Slipped Or If I Had Errosion. I Passed It All So That Was Great. This Was All Caused From Being To Tight And Pushing More Food In The Pouch Than What It Could Hold. This Causing Me To Throw Up All The Time. I'm Doing Ok Now But Not Loosing Any Wt Since My Fill 6wks Ago. I've Actually Gained Another 2lbs. I've Schduled Another Fill But Am Only Going To Allow Them To Put In 0.5cc. I Believe That Going Slow With Fills Is The Way To Go. Take Care!

I Can't Figure Out How I Put My Picture Up Under My User Name On The Left Side Of A Post. I Don't Want To Put A Picture In A Post Though. I Want It To Be Where My Name Is. Can Anyone Tell Me How You Did It? Please Make It At Easy As You Can. Thanks!!

Hi- I To Also Have Started Coughing When Eating And It Even Happends If I Don't Eat. At Times I'm Eating And Start Coughing And Get Wheezy And Can Hear A Bunch Of Excess Secreations In My Esophages. Sometimes I Cough So Hard I Throw Up. It's Just Like Slimmy Phlem Stuff Though. This Just Started Like Last Week. I'm Not Sure If It May Be Cold Related Or Not. I've Been Slightly Congested This Past Week. I Also Feel A Tickle In My Throat And That Causes Me To Cough. I Also Recently Was Diagnosed With Acir Reflux. I've Been On Prevacid For A Little Over 2wks Now And It Seems To Be Helping Alittle With The Extreme Reflux I Suffer At Night. I To Would Like To Hear If Other's Have This Coughing Problem.

Well I Would Have To Say I Did Cheat. I Had Surgery In Mexico With Dr. Ortiz And He Strongly Push His Pt's To Be On Liquids For 21 Days!! It Seemed Like Forever. The First Week It Was Like Clear Liquids, Then By The 10th Day I Was Able To Start Creamed Soups With No Chunks And Yogart. I Think By The 14th Day I Cheated. I Tried A Couple Of Noodles But Chewed Them Really Well And I Also Tried Really Thin Mashed Potatoes. I Knew It Was Really Wrong To Do. I Wasn't Even Hungry It Was All In My Head That I Thought I Just Needed That Food. I Came Out Ok But I Wouldn't Advise You To Keep Doing It. Our Doctor's Tells Us Things To Prevent Complication. The Risk Of Band Slipping And Poor Healing Is Huge When You Eat Solids Before Your Suppose To. They Place A Few Stiches In Place To Help The Band Stay In Place Until The Scar Tissue Can Form And Help Make A Anchor For The Band To Stay In Place. If You Eat Something That Your Not Suppose To Your Risking The Stiches To Be Pulled Out And The Band Slipping. Like I Said I Did Cheat But I Don't Recomend It.

Laurieu- Hi, Sorry To Here About Your Problem. I Myself Had Surgery In Mexico And Thought The Hospital There Was Way Nicer And Cleaner Then Some Hospital's I've Seen Here In The States. I Had Dr. Ortiz As My Doctor. He And His Staff Were Wonderful. I Myself Am A Nurse And Really Looked Into My Doctor And Hospital Before I Made Up My Mind To Do Surgery In Mexico. May I Ask Who Was Your Doctor In Mexico? Maybe If You Don't Feel Comfortable Going Back To Him You Could See Another Doctor In Mexico. Always Remember That Staph Infection Happened Everywhere. Not Just In Mexico. I Myself Am Private Pay So I Know What You Mean When You Talk About The Cost Of All This. It's Really Exspensive. If I Were You I'ld Really Consider Going Back To Mexico And Giving It Another Shot. And The Cost Is Such A Difference To Go To Mexico Than To Pay Private Here In The States. Hope I've Helped You Ease Your Mind And Maybe It'll Be Easier To Make Up Your Mind.

Ok, Well Now I Think It's Gotten Worse For Me. I Used To Just Wake Up With Fluid And Food Particles In My Throat And Mouth But For The Last 3 Nights I've Woken Up With It Coming Out My Nose And Mouth. It Burns And Taste Terrible. I Don't Feel Like I Need A Unfill Again. I'm Able To Eat 1/2 To 1 Cup For Supper B4 I Feel A Restriction. I Don't Want To Be Put On Meds For This. Is There Anything That Is Over The Counter That Anyone Has Tried That Works? I Really Need Some Help Cause I'm Not Getting Much Sleep At Night. I Also Wander What All This Acid Stuff Is Doing To My Teeth?

Icecream- It Sounds Like We Have The Same Problem. I Even Had Some Fluid Removed Almost 2 Months Ago And Still Have Some Problems. I Don't Get It Every Night Just Once In Awhile. It Seems Like This Past Month Has Been The Worst. Does Taking A Rolaid Help? I Never Wake Up Needing To Throw Up. I Just Wake Up With Food Particles Or Excess Saliva In My Mouth And Have To Spit It Out Or Cough Alot.

I've Been Banded For 7 Months And For The Past 4 Months I Wake Up In The Night Coughing On Phlem And Food Particles That Have Came Back Up In My Throat And Mouth. I've Been Researching And Have Found Out The The Number One Sign Of Gerd Is Heart Burn Which I Don't Have. So I Talked With My Doctor And He Said It's Not Gerd It's Regergitation. It Is Terrible And Taste Nasty!! Some Times The Coughing Is So Bad I Think I've Aspirated It In My Lungs. I've Tried Not Eating Or Drinking 3-4 Hrs B4 Bed And That Doesn't Always Work. I Still Will Wake Up With Food Particles In My Mouth. It Seems Like If I Sleep On My Stomach It's Worse. Just Wandering If Anyone Else Has This Problem? Does Anyone Have A Cure For This?

My Doctor Told Me Clear Liquids For 7 Days Then Could Start Protein Shakes Then Start Soup With No Chunks On The 10th Day. I Was Ordered To Be On Liquids For 21 Days After Surgery. This Gives Everything Time To Heal Properly And To Also Make Sure The Scar Tissue Has Time To Adhere To The Band To Also Help Keep It Secured. I Do Admit I Did Cheat. I Had Really Running Mashed Potatoes In The Second Week Post-op. I Thought It Was Tough To Be On Liquids That Long But They Only Tell You To Do What's Best To Have The Best Outcome. I'ld Listen To Whatever Ur Doctor Had Ordered For Post-op Diet. Good Luck!!

Terri- I've Also Had This Problem For The Past 6 Wks. I Had A Fill Then 2 Days Later Started Running A Low Grade Temp. I Had A Sever Sore Throat At The Time So I Got Put On Some Atb's And Thought That The Sore Throat Was What Was Causing Me The Temp But I Was Wrong. I Was Atb's For 14days And When They Were Done I Still Had A Low Grade Temp. I Also Have No Sign Of Infection Around My Port Site. I Think I Found That My Band Was To Tight Because For The Past 6 Wks I Have Thrown Up Daily And Could Barely Keep Liquids Down. So I Just Went To The Doctor Yesterday To Have Some Fluid Removed Before It Slipped And I Ended Up In The Hospital For Dehydration. I Think The Irratation Around My Stomach From The Band Being To Tight May Be What Was Causing The Temp. I'm Going To Cont. To Watch To See If I'm Still Running A Temp In A Few Days And Let You Know If I've Found The Cure. I Really Hope I Have Becuase If This Isn't What Was Causing Me A Fever Then I'm Not Sure What Is.

Jane- I'm So Sorry To Hear About This. I'm Also A Nurse And Wandering If Ther's Been Any Improvement With The Antibiotics They Have You On? If Not You Should Have Them Test The Drng For Mrsa. Mrsa Is A Form Of A Staph Infection That Is Resistant To Most Antibiotics. The Reddend Area Appears To Be Celluitis. Oh, I Feel So Bad For You. The Area Doesn't Look Good At All. Keep Us Updated. I Really Want To Know How It's Doing. And I Would Agree With Not Using Neosporin.

Living The Dream- I Was In Ur Shoes About 10 Months Ago When I Was Trying Every Way Possible To Get My Insurance To Pay For The Surgery Here In The States. I Had No Luck So That's When I Made Up My Mind That I Wasn't Going To Pay $19,900 To Have It Done In Iowa Since It Only Cost $8,500 In Mexico. I Did Alot Of Research About The Doctor There And Was Very Confident In Him. I Being A Nurse Myself Was Very Picky On Choosing My Surgeon. He Actualy Lives In San Diego And Just Drives Over The Boarder Every Day To Work. I Also Liked Knowing That. I Haven't Had And Complications And I Was Able To Follow Up With A Doctor Here Where I Live. If I Were You I'ld Keep Looking At Options On Where To Have Surgery Done. Dr. Ortiz In Tijuania Was Excellant And It Was Very Clean And Such A Nice Hospital. Feel Free To Ask More Question If You Would Consider Surgery In Mexico. I Have Pics Also. Best Of Luck!!

Well, I See You Tried To Eat The Same Day After Getting A Fill. My Surgeon Told Me To Remain On Liquids For The First 48hrs Then Go To Pureed On The 3rd Day Then Solids As Tolerated. Adding Fluid To Ur Band Can Cause Irratation And Swelling So That's Why They Recommend To Stay On Fluids Those First 48hrs. I Also Understand What Ur Frustration Is When You Barely Eat Anything And Still Don't Loose. That Happend To Me For About 2 Months I Barely Ate But Was Only Loosing Oz's. I Even Felt The Restriction All Day Until Evening Then It Seemed Things Just Opened Up. So I Went And Got A Fill. Now It's Been 6 Wks Since This Last Fill And I'm Way To Tight. I Can Barely Keep Water Down. I've Been On Pureed For The Past 6wks And Throw Up Daily. I've Lost 18lbs In 6 Wks But I Know This Is Way Unhealthy So I've Scheduled To Get Some Fluid Removed On Monday. I Don't Want Erosion Or My Band To Slip Praying That It Hasn't Already. It Gets Very Frustrating For Me Too. I'm So Thristy At Times And Just Want To Drink Water And When I Try To Take A Mouth Full It Comes Right Back Up. Maybe You Should Try To Go On Liquids For A Few Days And Let Things Calm Down. If That Doesn't Work Maybe You Should Go Back And See What Ur Doc Says. Maybe There's To Much Fluid In Ur Band Now. Best Of Luck!

Laura- The Numbing Agent That Is Topical Is Called Emla Cream. I'm A Nurse And This Is What We Apply Over Dialysis Patients Port Sites. You Need A Prescription For This And Then You Can Just Get It At The Pharmacy And Apply It 30mins-1hr Before Your Fill. Best Of Luck!!

Lila- I Too Pb Daily. There's Times I Throw Up And It's Like The Kind Of Throwing Up You Would Do If You Had The Flu. I Hate It! I Think I'm To Tight. I Got My First Fill Of 2.5cc And Wasn't Loosing Any Wt And Was Still Feeling Restricted All Day Until Supper. Then It Seemed Like Everything Opened Up And I Could Eat A 6in Sub With No Restriction. After 3 Months I Decided To Get My Second Fill Of 0.8cc To See If That Would Help Me Start To Loose Wt. It's Been 1 Month Now Since That Second Fill And I'm Still Trying To Get Pureed Foods Down. I Have A Serious Hard Time Drinking Fluid Or Attempting To Eat Mush Until Late In The Afternoon. And I Can Only Eat 1-2 Bites At A Time And Sometimes That Doesn't Seem To Stay Down. I Think I Need To Get Some Fluid Removed But I'm Now Looseing Wt Like 3-6lbs A Wk And I Have To Pay Privately Every Time I Get Something Done So That's What's Keeping Me From Having Some Removed. I Just Pray My Band Doesn't Slip!! I Plan To Have Some Removed But Not For Awhile Until I Get Down At Least Anither 30 Lbs. I'm Just Affraid That If I Get Some Taken Back Out I Won't Be Able To Loose Any Wt Again?!?

Hi, This Is The First Time I've Wrote On Here But I Saw Ur Concerns And Thought I'ld Let You In On My Experience. I Too Went To Tijuania, Mexico And Had Lapband Surgery By Dr. Ortiz. I Would Do It All Over Again If I Had To. The Hospital Was So Nice And Clean. I Have Many Pics From There If U Wanted To See Some I Could Email U Them. I Am A Nurse And Had The Same Worries As Everyone Had. My Friend Went A Few Months B4 Me All By Herself And Had No Complications So That's When I Made Up My Mind That I Was Going To Go There To. I Was Banded 5/17/07 And Have Lost Now 34lbs. It Has Been Hard To Get Used To And Learn How U Have To Change Ur Eating Habbits But I Think It'll Be Worth It. I Live In Iowa And I Didn't Have Any Problem Finding A Follow Up Doctor. If U Have Any More Questions Let Me Know I'll Try To Help U Out! Best Of Luck! ~amanda~