Liz5660

Does anyone know if it is okay to do sit-ups and other abdominal exercises after lap band surgery?

Hello Fellow Arkansans! I believe Dr. Wellborn is an excellent doctor and he knows how to do a fill, and I think he is probably the most experienced in Arkansas but he and his wife Suzanne (the office manager) have a very bad attitude towards patients who were banded elsewhere (Mexico in particular). I am Mexican banded and needed a local doc to care for me. He did the fill for me and did a good job I believe but it was after I received a lecture about how American docs don't appreciate us going to Mexico for our surgery and his wife Suzanne had stopped me in the hall when she found out I was banded in Mexico and said she didn't know how I'd "slipped through" but I needed to know they charged Mexican banded patients $750 for their first fill and $500 a fill thereafter. I was in tears by the time I was in the procedure room. They made me feel like a "bad child". Anyway, I was in and out in 15 minutes and they had my check for $700 in their hands. Pretty good rate, huh? Anyway, my point is that unless Dr. Wellborn actually did your surgery he is not going to be the friendliest follow up doc in the world, and if you were banded in Mexico you will feel the hostility towards you in his office.

Thanks for the input! As I understand the doc totally filled the band up first so I could see what that felt like and then took some out and had me sip water to see what they felt like. So I don't know what happened to the 1 cc I supposedly had the first time elsewhere. And it was an unpleasant visit, if you've read any of my other posts - I was banded in Mexico also and this doc had a very bad attitude towards Mexican banded patients. So I was out of there in a hurry and didn't think to ask if there was any in the band already!

Hi Cyndi, I was banded in Monterrey, Mexico and live in Little Rock, Arkansas. I have had difficulty too with my fill here. I found a local doc to do the fill yesterday, but I had to put up with a big lecture on Americans going to Mexico, a sour grapes attitude and a huge bill. A very unpleasant experience. I'll be looking elsewhere - another state if needed - for my next fill. I am making a note of your doctor's name! Thanks! Liz5660

I was banded 7/29/05 in Monterrey, Mexico by Dr. Rumbaut. I'm looking for surgeons in my extended area, which could be as far as Dallas or Chicago or Atlanta, who are friendly to Mexican banded patients. I had a bad experience here in Little Rock yesterday with a local surgeon who has a "sour grapes" attitude towards a patient who was banded in Mexico. I got a lecture, a huge bill for a 15 minute visit ($700) and it was a very unpleasant experience. Next time for that money I'm willing to fly somewhere to see a good surgeon who isn't going to give me all the grief! Any suggestions?

Hi everyone, I live in Little Rock, Arkansas. I was banded on 7/29/05 in Monterrey, Mexico by Dr. Roberto Rumbaut. Insurance denied coverage of my surgery, so since I had to pay out of pocket I went to Mexico where it was less expensive. I went to a local surgeon yesterday for a fill. I was chastised for going to Mexico. This doc was real "sour grapes". I got a lecture on why American docs are resentful of us going to Mexico for our surgery and then coming home and expecting the local doc to take care of us. I nicely explained to him that it was strictly a matter of money. He suggested I could have saved the extra money. I then told him, yes, but I work for the State (meaning low salary!) and it would have taken me two years to save the extra money. Oh, he ended up giving me the fill. But his office informed me that they charge Mexican banded patients $750 for the first fill and $500 thereafter. Supposedly because the Mexican docs "put the band in weird places and it's hard to find". I'm happy to report he found my port immediately and I was out of there in 15 minutes (but $700 poorer). I managed to talk them down a little on the price because I was not informed ahead of time. All in all it was a very unpleasant experience. I felt like I was lectured and punished like a wayward child. Yuck! I think I'll spend the same money next time and go to another city with another doc and make a mini vacation out of it! I just had to get my "bad experience" off my chest! Any other Mexican bandsters experiencing the same problem with American docs?

I was wondering why it is that when you get a fill it may be really snug and then sometime in the future you may need another fill? Does your upper stomach stretch or does your body just adjust? I got a fill yesterday of 1.4cc and I'm so snug I'm doing good to sip liquids today and only small sips at that. I'm wondering if in a few weeks I'll stretch enough so that I can eat or am I going to have to have some cc's taken out? I was just banded 7/29/05 so I'm new at all this! I did have one fill by a different doctor about 3 weeks ago but I didn't think he did it correctly because I had absolutely no restriction.