GeezerSue

I got my band. Then, due to problems, I had the band removed and had the DS (which is NOT the RnY). I'm sorry that I didn't "connect" with the data available at the time, which was that at age 55 and a starting BMI of over 50 (but lower at surgery time), I was not the best candidate. AND, that "success" is declared when 60% of excess weight is lost. (That would have left me on the cusp between MO and O.) I'm not really sorry I got the band (except for the money), but I am sorry I waited so long to have it removed and to move on to another approach. Sue

I declare myself Valium-deficient. Is that an accepted disability?

Just adding that you might want to check out the DS. Two of us here have gone from band to DS and seem to be doing well.

What Jacqui said..and he's wrong. The immediate post-op time is NOT about losing weight. The band is designed to work WHEN IT IS PROPERLY ADUSTED!! Most of the immediate post-op weight loss is dehydration. Tell him to RTFM! (Read the ___manual.)

Here's the answer you don't really want...and it's all about number crunching. Apparently, for higher BMI patients, the end result ON AVERAGE gives less than optimum bang for the buck. So, let's say that someone who is 5'4" and weighs 300 pounds (BMI 51.5) has "average" success and loses 60% of her excess weight. That person would then weigh 216 and still be obese, with a BMI of 37.1. In fact, with "the right comorbidities," she would STILL qualify for wls. For that reason, BC California has stopped covering the band for patients with BMI's of over 50. Of course, it's illogical, in that the band and the RnY have the same long-term results. But they can show that the RnY patients GET to a lower weight and then regain and blame that regain on the patient...but the band patient who just loses slower and ends up where the RnY patient is two or three years out can be called a "failure," for never getting to the goal weight. I think it was Twain who said somthing like, "There are three kinds of untruths...Lies, damn lies and statistics."

(I answered Amanda in an email, but I hadn't read this.) Amanda, I was given the drug Reglan, which I took about a half-hour before meals. It causes stomach contractions and moves the food along. I don't seem to need it any longer. I'm pretty sure it helped when I used it. I didn't have vagus nerve damage...just the dysmotility and that caused the food to pack into the esophagus, so I had some dilatation, as well. It seems:::she says, knocking on wood:::that it's all healed, as of about two and a half months after having the band out. Sue Sue

Yup...that part that exceeds 7.5% of your adjusted gross income (AGI). So, compare two patients who paid $10,000 for their bands: 1--AGI of $30,000. 10,000 - 2250 = $7750 deductible 2--AGI of $80,000. 10,000 - 6000 = $4000 deductible How much you can deduct depends on your income. But there are no requirements as to where you have your medical care.

Babs, Since you have had only fouroscopy, and not endoscopy, I'm not sure how he's sure that there is no erosion. Sue

YOU can call you shallow...I wouldn't do that. I guess I grew up too close to Hollywood and I'm too close to the subject matter (my daughter has worked in film and in other working-with-the-big-names gigs) to believe anything in a rag. I don't think people who DO care are shallow...just interested in things other than stuff I care about.

To see who DOES care and to try to understand why those who DO care, care.

At the risk of sounding like a snob--which I already know I am--I cannot IMAGINE why anyone would care what a couple of talking heads from televison do about their weight. (I guess that also explains why I'd never buy Jones' book, either.) And..my mother has lap surgery scars from having her gall bladder removed... Sue

By the time I had a scope, it was part of the pre-op process to have the band removed. I had no erosion, so that was good news. My DS surgeon did it, so that he'd know what he was in for, before doing the revision.

I was a revision to another surgery, so there is no way to know.

Rumbaut...10/15/2002...Monterrey, MX...no erosion.

Some of us see a man who deserves our respect and gratitude for trying to educate us. Some of us see a guy who jumped in to try to prevent any further damage to his reputation. I'm looking at a stark-naked emperor, myself. The people I respect and owe gratitude are in a whole different category. But, to each his/her own.

He may be from Mexico, but he attended school in the US and is a US resident, north of the border. There are advantages to having a practice south of the border. As far as the spelling errors and medical terminology...you should SEE his book! BTW, guess who pockets WAY more money on a banding...an Ohio surgeon or a Tijuana surgeon?

1--I am not eroded. 2--My band has been removed. (The dysmotility is greatly improved.) 3--I'm no longer all that supportive of the band, but will try to help those who have made a decision contrary to what I'd choose. 4--I have observed Dr. Pleatman offer reasonably-priced adjustments to those whom other US-based surgeons won't touch--or those who were going to be charged mucho--because they were banded in Mexico. I've also seen him catch hell for his manner of expressing things...not unlike this episode. 5--I didn't say one bad thing about Ortiz in this thread, because now you can all read how wonderful he is in his own post.

...except for the damage it can cause... ...but people should be financially and emotionally ready to deal with surgery if it is needed... ...again, an additional surgery, and if an infection is involved, could signal erosion... ...MANY, MANY people (I'm one of them) have esophageal dilatation and unfills can only do so much... Well, as I've had the band and the DS, I'd like to add that my esophagus SEEMS to be getting better. But that was only after REMOVING THE BAND. and I'm still taking drugs for the band-induced motility problems. My DS-related problems so far include knowing that I'm not getting in enough Protein and Calcium (I'm working on it), and having clothes that fit for only a week at a time. I've lost as much weight in eight weeks with the DS as I did in eight MONTHS with the band. My knees are happier. Sue

I just think that before we assert that we speak other languages--or know how things are in other cultures or countries--we get a second opinion on our proficiency in such matters. While "~*~La Vita Esta Bella~*~" may mean something to YOU, it is not Spanish. Or Italian. Or even Portuguese. I hope you get correct information on the other issues, too. "GOOD parts of Mexico?" Are you serious? Sue

When you stay in the BETTER hotels, there are two Water fountains...one for washing and one for drinking. I wish my mother's stateside hospital in Orange County, CA, had been as clean as my rooms were in Monterrey, MX. Sue :::another Rumbaut patient, with no hygiene-related complications:::

I have a Bi-PAP. I inhale at 18 and exhale at 14. I don't need it now that I've lost almost 50 pounds since the DS surgery. BTW, research has shown that rats with the same sleep interruption as sleep apnea provides DO eat more and DO gain weight.

:clap2: "Spoken" like a true... Never mind. You've got to start hanging out in better places, and that includes better than Beverly Hills. Because, one of the reasons that "Heal the Bay's Beach Report Card" for certain west coast beaches--including those closest to Beverly Hills--has failing grades has more than a little to do with how many homeless folks are camped out there. So much for wealthy cities in "First World" countires.

All the photos you've seen here (of erosion, etc) were done on banded people.

IMHO, not a complication. You may just be one of those people who cannot eat potatoes or pasta. I was.

I had mine removed by Dr. Ara Keshishian, a DS surgeon in central California. It was part of my DS procedure. You can find him at www.dssurgery.com