Elisabethsew

Thank you so much! I don't know if I should say I was having a lot of problems or if I should say I kept waiting for it to work. LOL. I do know having this inside me is no longer safe so the countdown to 4/1 begins....

For privacy reasons, MANY people do not feel comfortable posting a picture on this board. When I had surgery, I told 2 people and that's how it remains today. That does NOT mean I am "hiding" and I must caution you on that point. Some members would consider that comment quite insulting. I had my lapband surgery done in the U.S. but can no longer tolerate living with it. I am on nexium, feel little restriction, and worry that the chronic heart burn and regurgitation will lead to esophageal cancer. On 3/31, I fly to Mexico and on 4/1 I will have revision surgery to a sleeve. I did tons of research, picked the surgeon with the most experience, lowest complication rates, and talked with people who had the procedure by him. I am very happy that the band was so good for you. As long term studies begin to come out, others are not as fortunate as you are and more people are electing for other WLS options.

Many banded people don't lose as they expected they would. You might want to talk to your MD about getting revised to a sleeve.

Posts are removed if the rules of the forum are broken. They are easy to read and understand. If anyone needs clarification of the rules, please notify a moderator or an administrator. If rules are followed, posting is not a problem and emails are unnecessary.

The administrators and moderators are on the alert for paid posters. I had one paid poster email me and she stated she worked for a clinic in Mexico. The problem with paid posters is that you ban one and two more pop up. Please trust that IP addresses are checked and Alex is always looking for the latest in software/internet security.

You got that right. I thought I was pretty internet savvy but I only learned that some posters were paid to come to the forum for the sole purpose of drumming up business for a surgeon. I also learned that a good way to "spot them" is to see how many posts they have made and where they post. The paid posters tend to stay on one topic like vultures ready to swoop down and defend the people paying them.

If you look at your deleted post in the thread it states why the post was deleted. As explained by Susan, posters ARE notified when a post is deleted. Is there some confusion understanding this? I don't understand your post????

Excellent advice, Brandy. What is worrisome is that some of the less reputable surgeons engage in this practice and boast low prices to get people to use them. In this economy, people are looking for bargains and might be tempted to make their decisions based on price alone. When you toss in the paid posters who promise the moon for little money, scams can grab a lot of innocent people. That's why this thread was necessary. We want people to be informed and aware so they don't fall prey to these scammers.

Thank you for posting. What you and most of the other members are doing is correct. You are relating YOUR experiences with different facets of the weight loss surgery experience. It is expected that members will have very positive things to say as well as negative comments. I came to this site after I had my surgery. Thankfully, I had a great experience and a positive outcome. I want people to know that. However, if I had a negative experience, I would want to share that as well so others did not have go through it. The difference between you and a paid poster is that you had surgery, are a real patient, are posting from actual experience of self or friends, and you're not getting paid. Paid posters work for one or several surgeons for the sole purpose of drumming up business. They converge a thread that mentions any negatives about "their" surgeon and crucify those who disagree with them.

Reminds me of the saying, "Why buy the cow when the milk is free." LOL.

Unless the woman is proven to be suffering from some kind of post partum psychosis, I can't see ANY excuse that warrants her actions.

Susan asked for this thread to get back on topic well over a week ago. Is there a reason you decided to fuel the fire?

Religion has a lot to do with many peoples' opinions so don't let that cause the debate to deteriorate. Making it personal is hard not to do... at least for me.

cm is a unit of measurement and cc/ml is a measurement of volume. Please don't give out incorrect information.

WASA You do have a way with words!. LOL.

If the "other" site is so good, why are you here stirring the pot?

A good friend of mine went to see a weight loss surgeon who does all types. He told my friend (male, 6', 425 pounds) that the sleeve was "not as effective" as the band or the bypass. Several others heard the same thing from their surgeons. Since the sleeve done today is different than those performed in the past, I think it's important to get accurate info "out there" to people looking for alternatives to the band.

I look forward to reading and learning.

WASA, Do you have a link to info on the sleeve similar to what you've done for Mexican MDs?

I think that one of the ways a surgeon decides which band to use is based on the amount of weight that needs to be lost (in addition to the anatomy). A 4 cc band seems a bit small given the amount Ali wants to lose. Since the Realize band holds 9 cc's, maybe that will "do the trick" for her as she loses the rest of the weight.

WASA... right on the money!

I believe Rockbandster has decided to leave the forum.

I believe Rockbandster elected to leave the forum.

I had surgery in the States and got free fills for a year. I now pay the co-pay which is $35. I do think a lot of MDs get a ridiculous amount of money for fills but the good news is that you eventually get to the place where you should be. After a fill, I get an instruction sheet that states the full effect of the fill might not be noticed for 2 weeks and to eats liquids for a day, soft for the next day or two, and then back to a regular diet.