melati

Hi Everyone I haven't visited LBT in a while. I am 5 yrs post op & my last yr has been full of problems. Most recently I was unfilled for a stretched esophogus so I shouldve gottenbetter but instead I feel worse.It started last wk when I went running-- I thought I had an air pocket kind of pain that you get when you sprint-- only it didn't go away. Since then I've had a feeling of pressure in my chest and occasionally feel my band pressing against things.I am thinking along the lines of slips dialation or even loose threads where it is sewn. Perhaps its an ulcer or hernia. Has anyone had similar sensations & if so what was your problem? Has anyone recovered from dialation & if so how did you do it & how long did it take? I'm afraid this may be it for my band

I didn't know this. This is how my gastritis was detected before. How else could you see it

Well the trip to the er was a big waste--they took a ct scan and regular xrays and diagnosed me with gastritis which can't be seen w/o an egd. Sounds like they just pulled it out of a hat.

I'm going to the ER today but my ins doesn't start till next wk. I think I have an ulcer/hernia or slip.

Penni, the sleeve offers significant wt loss with minimal complications. It sounds like your dr. is in fact pushing the bypass on you. He has referred you to his successuful (and complication free?) pts. IMO it is best to use the least invasive approach that gives you results.

Leaks aren't always visible on flouro; a friend of mine keeps losing fill within a week, although no leak is visible. Your band may be too loose/big and they may have put in the wrong size. Definately go for more tests.

That's great!! I know Dr. C accepted $ from a philanthropist and he was then able to offer free and low cost fills.

This is why Howard is so popular, I think. However Oz has a much bigger problem with extremists and things came to a head when there were riots last year. I'm glad Aussies are finally standing up to extremists--yes, we could take a page from their book.

Oops--I thought they were talking about the VBG--yes docs seem to be jumping on the sleeve bandwagon all of a sudden--I think it's a nitch for ppl who are scared of the RNY but don't want the band(no doubt they've been told it doesn't work)

VSG ISN'T EVEN DONE MUCH ANY MORE? And why aren't they following more recent pts for longterm study instead of using the same old data with from the FDA trial with the swedish band?

The thing is, most people who appeal ins denial are eventually approved--the odds are very good. If there's an exclusion on the policy you can change ins or hire an attorney. Insurance companies count on you to give up in the face of a denial or exclusion--that is the reason so many companies only will cover the RNY, with all its post-op complications. The testing and leg work I had to do took me almost a year and believe me, the band is well worth it. Of course I wanted my band put in YESTERDAY while I was waiting! The trend I see is that too many of us aren't educated enough about post op issues. I post on OH and I constantly see ppl who either had the surgery already or have their date and are asking what is erosion, what is pb etc. and DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT SIZE BAND THEY HAVE!! I think everyone should have to take pre op classes cuz a lot of pts are going into this blind. Having to wait a little makes you value the exp more IMO.

I wouldn't use them. I've heard the horror stories.

There was never any proven connection between silicone and autoimmune diseases. My dr definately told me that banding wouldn't be a problem with RA in my family. Of course, dr.s are there to make money, so they don't have any $ loss if we lose our bands.

It seems this should be a product liability issue...the way I see it, Inamed owes it to pt's to make sure the product is not being misused; if a dr. has had several erosions, that points to surgical technique, and they should reconsider distributing their band to problem dr.s. What does the FDA have to say about this? Where is Inamed headquarters? They would be regulated by the consumer affairs division of that state. Francesca, I can't begin to imagine your grief/anger. Definately write to Ortiz and tell him what you are going thru. You should not still be making loan payments on a product/procedure that is no longer useful to you. It's as if you bought a tv on layaway and it broke...

What The Hell Is This Guy Doing To His Patients?!

Repost from OH-- I wasn't being rude or trying to rain on her parade--just wanted her to come check out this site. Here is her post: "I have been letting everyone know that I am a bit nervous about my upcoming surgery and I appreciate everyones advice and words of encouragement. However, today someone sent me the following email through this site that I found offensive. "Stacy I don't mean to scare you but I strongly suggest NOT having surgery in MX; there have been several women on lapbandtalk.com with band erosions and all had their surgery with mx doctors; 1 or 2 of the erosions were Dr. Ortiz's patients. Erosion is a serious complication requiring removal of the band. Good luck" First of all, erosion happens. It even happens to patients in the US. My doctor is a leading world expert in Lap Band. He has trained MANY American doctors and was taught himself by the inventor of the Band Dr. Belachew. When a Doctor performs over 3000 procedures, there are bound to be some erosions. I guess I am just aggrivated because I have enough going through my head right now, like not gaining any more weight and I feel that an email trying to scare me about my doctor was very rude. Sorry, I am just venting...." Stacy p.s. For anyone doubting Dr. Ortizs expertise...order his book. www.drarielortiz.com He will also be appearing on Dateline NBC soon doing a piece on the Lap Band.

shouldn't matter who HAS the disease, what counts is the vector(s)

For those who implied I am mean/bigoted: name-calling and launching personal attacks at someone who disagrees with you is bigoted/intolerant (and pc) Also: one exception does not disprove the entire rule or objective facts, for that matter. TB and Hep A orginate in open sewers, this is a fact. I did what I thought was right, based on what I am learning from this site, and BTW, no one on OH thought I was a meanie. I am upset by the general demoralization I sense on this board; I hate to see new bandsters thinking "Maybe my wonderful tool isn't meant to last forever" when we know that not to be the case.

BTW most of the TB cases in the U.S. are in the illegal population, who are obviously not tested before entering this country.

Amy, if your U.S. changes his mind about doing fills on MX pts, check out fillcentersusa.com. As for the filth factor, you can't convince me that MX is as clean as the U.S.

:faint: Repost from OH-- I wasn't being rude or trying to rain on her parade--just wanted her to come check out this site. Here is her post: "I have been letting everyone know that I am a bit nervous about my upcoming surgery and I appreciate everyones advice and words of encouragement. However, today someone sent me the following email through this site that I found offensive. "Stacy I don't mean to scare you but I strongly suggest NOT having surgery in MX; there have been several women on lapbandtalk.com with band erosions and all had their surgery with mx doctors; 1 or 2 of the erosions were Dr. Ortiz's patients. Erosion is a serious complication requiring removal of the band. Good luck" First of all, erosion happens. It even happens to patients in the US. My doctor is a leading world expert in Lap Band. He has trained MANY American doctors and was taught himself by the inventor of the Band Dr. Belachew. When a Doctor performs over 3000 procedures, there are bound to be some erosions. I guess I am just aggrivated because I have enough going through my head right now, like not gaining any more weight and I feel that an email trying to scare me about my doctor was very rude. Sorry, I am just venting...." Stacy p.s. For anyone doubting Dr. Ortizs expertise...order his book. www.drarielortiz.com He will also be appearing on Dateline NBC soon doing a piece on the Lap Band.

Amy, I am tired of arguing the same point over and over. MX and other third world countries are filthy. The United States is comparatively clean. Doesn't mean America is spit shined, but there is a difference; it is cleaner and safer here, on many levels.In my travels, I saw ppl s@%&&*ing in the rivers and out in the street, for that matter., (even though individually the ppl themselves were very clean) Generally, that doesn't happen here because there are different standards. As someone on OH recently said,(and I will paraphrase here lest I get in trouble again) we would not be much of a support group if we didn't question a decision we think may not be a good idea. The way I see it, I tried to do what I thought was right and I knew I would meet with resistance--this person is not entitled to uncritical and unconditional support, and I am tired of this "how dare you rain on my parade" attitude. If someone had tried to warn me about the surgeon/hospital I had chosen, I would at least have considered what the person was saying and asked a few questions and maybe done additional research. I had no idea this person was already nervous about her surgery; I hadn't been following her threads, but I saw an opportunity and took it, hoping she would at least be open-minded enough to visit the site and see what has happened to others. Incidentally, how many erosions has your doc had? Where did you get this info? Who will be doing your fills?

The fact remains that MX does not regulate sanitation issues, so yes for me, the whole country IS suspect--to me it follows; dirty country=dirty hospitals. (For example, MX has yet to wipe out TB,which is something we accomplished almost two centuries ago in this country, b/c we realized it was caused by lack of sewage and took action.) that is why I decided if my ins didn't approve me, I would not travel there, both for cleanliness issues and not having recourse, should something go wrong. I never said there were no dirty hospitals in this country, but at least you can sue the hospital if you get a staph infection.

Endoscopy is done for us on a referral by a band dr. They will probably start out with an upper GI to rule out slippage. I am in the same situation(lost ins and couldn't afford fills) I have been having reflux and was also banded in 03. So far I have had the upper GI and it seems clear, but I will start pushing for the endoscopy now. My reflux is under control with nexium or prilosec. Dr. thinks my band may be too tight, but that was not shown by the UGI, so we will see. I believe it may be an ulcer, gastritis, GERD or similar.

My dr. had a pt whose tubing came disconnected; hopefully yours will fix itself b/c this woman suffered unexplained pain before they realized what happened; the dr. had to re-operate. Don't know if she had to have a new band. anyway at least you know about the kink so you know what to look for.