KoalaDH

OOp, please disregard the DH on my prior posting. I didn't realize I wasn't operating under my own user id.

When? August 7, 2006 Why? I was killing myself Who? Dr. Ortiz/Mexico Insurance or Not? Nope, the Teachers' Health Trust ignores all known data about how 90 some percent of all people who lose weight the "natural" way regain it. They DO offer $50 a year toward gym membership, Weight Watchers, etc. and encourage increased exercise and decreased calorie intake. (Is this asinine or what????) How it felt? I was so excited about making this move and how it would affect my life, that I didn't focus on the physical aspect much. I DO remember wishing I'd brought pain pills from home though. What has changed? I am 5 months and 3 days out, and I've lost 90 pounds. I am me again with energy, life, and hope. At times, I get a bit blue when I reflect on how hard I've worked to get to this weight, and I've worked my way all the way up from super morbidly obese to morbidly obese. I have to get that out of my mind! Pictures! None yet, but I'll work on that soon.

I was initially against my wife having surgery in Mexico. Then, I thought about it, did more research, and checked Dr. Ortiz's credentials. We did much more research for him than we did for the surgeon who removed my gall bladder (but he was recommended by my doctor and had some impressive certificates on the wall that I could have checked). Logically, there was no reason for my feelings. I am certainly not a racist, but I realized the basis for those feelings was a fear of the unknown and a lot of prejudice. I was pre-judging the fact that the doctor went to a university in Mexico, practiced in Mexico, and (honestly) was Mexican. I was bound and determined to not let the recent actions of ignorant masses demonstrating for the right to break the law influence me. Some people on this board had a bad experience with a specific surgeon in Mexico. It wasn't Dr. Ortiz, so their experiences were not relevant since they were totally unrelated to our doctor. The answer to any questions raised by these stories was very simple: "Don't go to that guy" A few days later, it hit me. The logical, completely non-emotional conclusion that made the idea of surgery in Mexico completely acceptable: If a person is going to condemn all of the doctors in a specific country because of the actions of a few, then that argument is also valid for any country. A guy in Florida had the wrong foot removed by a surgeon.That does not mean that every surgeon in the United States is incompetent. We chose Dr. Ortiz in Tijuana because of his extensive experience. The price was initially the attraction, but I realized later that it was far less important. It turns out that we had the money to have it done locally, but in reality they did not have the same level of experience as Dr. Ortiz. That would be virtually impossible since Dr. Ortiz actually trained the more prolific one. They certainly do not have the same attitude about the band since they mainly prefer to alter what (God/nature) has created. Both surgeons' staff are geared to steer people towards the $27,000 roux-en-y (RUIN-You) instead of the $16,000 Lap-Band (that's obviously an opinion, but when the nurse talked over me saying "explosive diarrhea" with "ensuring compliance!" in a sickly sweet manner, it's pretty obvious). They also both told my wife that she would fail with the band and made statements that indicated it would be impossible to lose all of the weight she wants to lose. For us, the choice was crystal clear.

That statement is incorrect. If it is your opinion that most people believe every surgeon in the US was trained by a Mexican surgeon, then you should say so, however your statement above is flat-out wrong. Even opinions can be wrong (the sky can't be purple with pink polka-dots just because someone thinks it is), but adding phrases like "I think" or "It's my opinion that" lets the reader know clearly that the stated position is subjective and influenced by personal feelings and thoughts. Anyone can verify if their chosen doctor is a proctor for Inamed by calling the company. I did and ended up speaking with the Lap-Band product specialist for an hour. He verified that Dr. Ortiz Lagradere was one of the surgeons that Inamed uses to train others, including surgeons in the United States. He is not their only proctor, but he was one of the more prolific ones initially. (We found out directly from him that he doesn't do it as much lately since he doesn't want to be away from his daughter.) Why Dr. Ortiz? Because of his level of experience with the band. When the FDA finally got around to approving the Lap-Band, Dr. Ortiz was already an expert at it since he had been doing it for years already. Dody may "think it's sad" that I believe that, but it's supported by easily verifiable facts that anyone with a phone can check. Of course, if you do not believe me, pick up the phone and call Inamed. If you do not believe Inamed, then you'd better find another form of surgery.

I'm torn. There's two possible responses to that person: 1. Uhhhhhh, yeahhhhhhh, that's obviously the Lap-Band's fault! 2. Thank goodness those things do go through the band or that woman would've been in some serious trouble. This person was frustrated because she couldn't lose weight eating ice cream, M&M's, and milkshakes? Unless a representative from Inamed was holding her down and force feeding them to her, someone should have told her to grow up and take responsibility for her own dietary choices. The band didn't fail her; She failed herself. She made ridiculous choices to defeat the band. I can see how a group of long term patients could be very cool to new people who are just dropping pounds left and right. It's not right, but it is human nature. Of course, I don't know why they would bother being part of a "support" group. The bottom line is this: If anyone tells you that the band or gastric bypass will do all of the work for you, they are a liar. I spent close to an hour talking to the Inamed person who is the Lap-band product specialist (can't remember his name now). He said the biggest difference between Band and Bypass is the amount of effort required to lose the weight at different stages. The two methods are exact opposites. The first half of your desired weight loss on the band is 80%band/20%your effort. It changes for the last half of your weight. So, that last half will take more effort on your part...but you'll be healthier because of the slower weight loss, etc. (You all know the drill.) Hopefully, you will already have established habits that will make it easier. Bypass is the opposite. It takes an incredible amount of effort at first to adjust to your new, surgeon provided digestive tract. Here's the kicker. How many times does a "65% of your weight" person quote the studies that show long term weight loss is about the same for both methods? Remember. Statistics can be skewed to support predetermined outcomes. All weight loss surgery can be defeated by poor choices. Thank God for these Lap-Band bulletin boards and the ability to see people who blow that 65% statistic out of the water.

If it's a self-pay situation for elective surgery, a doctor can charge whatever they want. This is quite obviously a "don't want to mess with you" charge. It would be interesting to hear if he has anything negative to say about his Lap-band proctor. I do not doubt the technical skill of either Dr. Fisher nor Dr. Teng here in Las Vegas. (Dr. Teng was Chief Resident at Cedars Sinai and is an amazing laparascopic surgeon. He operated on me and we would not hesitate to return to him for anything covered by insurance.) In the WLS department, they are primarily gastric bypass surgeons and their practices are geared towards that. We didn't really appreciate hearing "you cannot lose all the weight you want to lose with the band" from both of them (or members of their staff) when quite obviously there are plenty of people who have lost that amount of weight. That was one of the reasons why we just decided to pay for it on our own: the attitude of the surgeon doing the operation. I don't know what causes it, but it looks like there is an obvious bias towards bypass and against the band. Naturally, they don't mention the bypass patients who tend to lose a lot of weight, very quickly, then start to regain it in a few years after their body has adapted to the injury caused by the operation. Anyone notice Carnie Wilson and Randy Jackson lately? Any bets as to when they will get a Band Over Bypass? Of course, after we told a few people we were going to Mexico, we heard quite a bit about "well, there's someone here in Vegas who will do it for $12K/$10K/$8K..." from people who hadn't looked into it. I can't see any reason to fly to Las Vegas to have a Lap-Band installed, especially if you have a high BMI.

I don't know of a single clearinghouse for information about any doctor, let alone foreign ones. The absolute best thing you can do to check any references they claim is to work backwards. Contact the source and check their credentials. Don't believe anything just because you saw it on a website, especially their website. Any certificate can be faked. However, you can (and should) contact the the American College of Surgeons (for anyone claiming to be a Fellow by having the initials FACS after their name), the American Society for Baratric Surgeons, or any other organization to verify their membership. Most of them should have searchable websites, too. If not, call them. Beware of any "excuse" stories by a physician for why they wouldn't be listed. Also, view forum messages for what they are: messages that are easily entered by anyone with a computer. That person could be a shill for any doctor, good or bad, or someone with a vendetta against a certain doctor. Be sure to consider the background and reputation of the poster. We heard a story this week about someone who had a meal the day of his scheduled surgery and did not stop smoking two weeks prior. He was denied surgery (as he should have been). I'm sure that person would have a less than favorable opinion of the doctor.