Penni60

MIchelle: I suggested something similar to Don when I spoke with him and he said something to the effect of well what would I do with the information after I collected it? My whole opinion after speaking with Don at Inamed boils down to this (and this is MY opinion). They wanna sell the band to as many certified surgeons as possible. I suggested they devise a questionnaire from Inamed specifically speaking to aftercare issues and include any complications the patient has experienced post surgery. This questionnaire would have the surgery date, place, and surgeons name. Don said well how would we get the questionnaires to the patients? I said give it to all the Docs that place Inamed bands. The good docs would distribute it to their patients like Dr. Billy. Then if one person goes on a message board like this one and says Hey did you know Inamed is asking for feedback, get your questionnaire from either your doc or Inamed directly then Inamed would get the ammunition they need about complications or aftercare issues. Don said well yeah that could work. I said what would you do with that info once it started coming in? He said not sure. So even if we give them the info they don't know what to do with it. Michelle I like the idea of collecting the info and sending it in to Inamed but how about going one step further and sending it to FDA as well. Or the Bariatric Board of Surgeons, Or the American Medical Association. One other thing, Don Mills told me that Mexico Doctors are not required nor encouraged to carry Malpractice Insurance so there is no incentive for them to get it right. Another thing I asked Don was why doesn't Inamed contact the facilities where the surgeons are doing the surgeries and speak to the Director of the Hospital about the complications, Don said they do. I said have you contacted all the facilities where Lopez has worked he said well the problem there is that Lopez most likely OWNS part of the facility. So there ya go. Politics again. I asked him if there was anything we as the consumer of Inamed's product could do as a group to make Inamed more responsible in making sure aftercare and complications were addressed? He said what are you referring to. I said what if a bunch of us filed a class action law suit against Inamed would that shake you up enough to make sure the aftercare and complications were addressed. He said he couldn't comment on litigation issues. Vicky: Inamed does not send referrals. There is NO incentive for the doctors to report complications nor is there incentives to report good outcomes either. All Inamed is concerned about at this point is getting the product into the hands of the surgeons to do the procedure. They feel their responsibility ends there. That is my impression from the talks I had with Don Mills. He said it is beyond their scope to tell a Doctor how to run their offices when it comes to aftercare. He said they teach Patient Management in a workshop. This workshop teaches the fills, encourages them to set up support groups, what the projected weight loss should be, all the mechanics of the band. It does not teach (Don Mills words) how to follow up with the patients once they have been banded. They feel that is something the doctor should know. I was floored by this. The "Patient Management" workshop does nothing to address the psychological aspect of the weight loss journey. Only the physical aspect. I said to Don how can you in good conscience treat one without treating the other? How can you teach one and not address the other in your workshop?? He said Inamed did not think it was their responsibility to tell a Doctor how to relate to their patients in regards to this particular product. UNBELIEVABLE!!!!

I had a rather long (almost an hour and a half) conversation with Don Mills at Inamed. We discussed the dilemma of Lopez aftercare or lack thereof. We discussed the rash of erosions of Lopez patients, Let's me just summarize the whole conversation here. Inamed is aware of the lack of aftercare from Lopez. The Inamed Mexican Distributor has already spoken with Lopez. Don said he is planning on being in Mexico in two weeks and will be speaking with Lopez personally. He told me that they know of at least 6 patients that experienced erosion of Lopez patients. He said that Lopez has done approx 1200 surgeries. He assured me that Lopez is qualified to do the procedure and is very adept at the surgery. I asked him about the high percentage of Lopez erosion and he did not have a comment. He tried to reassure me of the criteria that Inamed uses to qualify a surgeon to perform the surgery. I told him the surgery is not the issue at this point but the aftercare is a HUGE issue. He said they do require all the doctors to attend a "Patient Management" workshop. I asked how they or if they do a checks and balance if the doctors are following through on the learned information. He said they do sit in on surgeries from time to time with Lopez as they do with other surgeons to make sure they are still up to speed on the procedure. Don said Lopez was still qualified and proficient. I said what checks and balances do you have for the "patient management" aspect of the training. He said there is NONE. I asked why not? He did not have an answer. Basically they can't dictate a surgeon be ethical in their treatment when it includes aftercare. I asked him doesn't this bother you and the rest of the Inamed staff knowing there is a surgeon they have qualified as proficient in the surgery that is providing sub-standard aftercare to non-existent aftercare. He had no answer. I had a theory as to why Lopez doesn't provide or has lack of aftercare. Here it is my theory I presented to Don. I said could it be that Lopez is so used to people not expecting aftercare from him since they are coming from the states or overseas that when they leave he doesn't expect to hear from them again so he writes them off? Don said that is highly likely. I said if that is the case then when he does hear from a patient of his he is shocked and decides to ignore it thinking the patient will go elsewhere for the care. Don said he can't comment on that. Basically I got no where but he did say to call anytime with any questions or concerns. Oh and also one more item. There are 9 patients he said he knows of that have stated the will NOT use Lopez as their band doctor. He did not say the reason but it seemed to be related to what we were discussing. Just thought you guys would want to know about the conversation I had with Inamed.

Has anyone noticed or is it just me that Margret never really stated what rumor she was talking about in her initial posting. Hmmm?? Makes me wonder what she really came here for initially.

I have actually talked at great length with Craig Arthur when I had my port issues in July. I have emailed Don Mills several times on other issues. Inamed needs to know and be informed about all the issues we are all facing like erosion, poor after care, port infections, port protrusions, unexplained redness at port site, etc. Some doctors (not all) but Lopez especially do not report complications to Inamed even though they are required to by the company. So that is why some doctors/surgeons have a better reputation that others. Everyone that has had problems with their Inamed bands should report the issue to the company. If the doctors/surgeons won't then we have to. Maybe if enough of us report our problems then they will start weeding out the doctors/surgeons that aren't treating the patients properly and get the more reputable ones in the forefront. Just a thought???

I just emailed Don and Larry Fulton from Inamed.

Wait gotta get Darcy here to assist with Lisa's surgery. Where the heck is she by the way????

LOL Lisa I missed that part about the clogged port statement. She is talking in circles anyway.

As we have been told when we were banded and have heard time and time again the BAND is a tool to help us learn how to lose the weight. We have to work with the band to reach our goal. Who is your band doctor? How often do you see your doctor for checkups? Do you follow the band guidelines? I PB once a month maybe if that, but only because I don't listen and stop eating before it hits. Then when I do I have to give my esophagous a rest cause it gets all irritated with the PB. I do liquids for one day after a PB episode. Learned the hard way to do that. Was never told that till I came here. If you are unfilling because you don't like the feeling then it might not be time for you to be banded. I am sorry if that upsets you but you have to want to work with it not against it. If you are trying to eat like you did before being banded then the band will not work for you and you will gain your weight back. Just my honest opinion. I had to do some head work after being banded as well. I had to give myself a good talking to and get on board to lose weight. It isn't easy and I was pretty rough on myself but if I wanna lose weight I gotta do the work.

Margret: When you or whoever sent the email to me it was signed at the bottom of the email by your husband. Not at the top. You have to PUT it there manually/deliberately whatever. Not sure what you are quoting me on in your last post????? Here is what I have learned about being banded with PB (productive burp) issues. If you eat something that won't go through the stoma you will PB If you eat too fast then you can PB If you eat something and then drink too much you can PB The gurgling sounds we all get as part of the food passing through the stoma. It does not mean you have swelling it just means your food is passing through the stoma. IF you were told that means you have esophagitis then they were mistaken or you misunderstood or you misrepresented what you were told. If you are frequently vomiting then that is different than acid reflux which you previously said was the cause of your esophagitis/erosion ??? whatever it was. If you are frequently vomiting then you are definitely filled too tight and are at risk for band erosion which can be a result of being filled too tight. If you have esophagitis then you need to give yourself a break and rest your esophagous. I hope you seek other care. You are not being treated properly it sounds to me. I hope you get to feeling better Margret. HOORAY!! for Michelle that she got the proper care.

HOORAY!! I was so thinking about you this morning on my way to taking my son to school. I said a little prayer for you. I am so glad that your band is doing fine. I was sorta suspicious it might be something that simple but wasn't sure. Dr. Ortiz sounds like a gem.

Margret: If you use your husband's email then why would you sign it with his name? That seems slightly deceptive to me. Wouldn't you sign it with YOUR name? No one said your experiences weren't as relevant as anyone elses. We have all said we would love to hear of your experiences regarding the band. I even said that in one of my posts here. Also, if you were banded by Lopez you are at risk for erosion. Everyone that was banded by Lopez is at risk for erosion. Lately you hear of more of his patients with erosion than any other doctor. So there is your answer about being at risk. However, he might have changed his technique to put you less at risk. Margret, did someone tell you that you have esophageal erosion? How did they diagnose that? Just curious, so that this is something we can all look out for. Did they tell you what could have caused the erosion to take place other than the acid reflux? How long did you have acid reflux before the diagnosis of esophageal erosion?

Hello Judy: First: Milkshakes are high calorie high fat content. It can easily make you gain weight even being banded. So those types of items should be taken in moderation. Any liquid will pass through easily so we need to monitor the amount we take in. Second: Water is a great weight loss aid. This seems funny but it is true. It also has the benefit of hydrating the skin and keeping wrinkles at bay. LOL!! Water in and of itself is a great benefit regardless of the weight loss aid. It keeps the kidneys working properly, helps flush out toxins in the body, hydrates us, etc etc. I try to drink at least 64 oz a day. That would be 8 - 8oz glasses per day. One thing to remember being banded is to NOT NOT NOT drink during a meal. Only drink before and up to an hour after a meal. If you drink during a meal you will just be aiding the food you have eaten to flush through the upper pouch into the lower stomach and you will eat more thus running the risk of gaining weight through eating more calories. Just remember PROTEIN FIRST, then veggies, then anything else if you have room. Third, Milk is that high fat content again. Just remember to drink in moderation. This includes any dairy product like ice cream, cheese, etc. Take into consideration of all the dairy you are taking in and adjust your calorie intake accordingly. If you are not sure then you can track it at www.fitday.com for an accurate accounting. Fourth, Mashed Bananas and Cottage Cheese is great for mushy foods when you are in that stage. Keep in mind cottage cheese another dairy food but it also has protein as well. Bananas are a great sounce of potassium among other things and can cause some gassy type issues. Being freshly banded you might want to rethink adding that factor into your already gassy bowel. You can do the cottage cheese and a fruit like a canned pear just make sure it is not full of calories and not canned in heavy syrup. The pears are easier to tolerate freshly banded. They can be mashed to mush easier than any other fruit. If you like tomatoes with your cottage cheese then please take off skin prior to eating. I learned that the hard way. Protein drinks are good but some have high calorie content so be mindful of that when purchasing. Fifth, Vitamins was my achilles heel for the longest time. I had to crush mine all the time and they tasted awful. I finally found a liquid vitamin I can take and it isn't bad tasting at all. I don't do well with taking them more than once a day too. This you take one capful, about 30 cc, a day. It can be found at www.vitaminshoppe.com. It is called Source of Life Liquid Vitamin. There is a thread on here about it. Just do a search for Liquid Vitamin and you should find it. Hope this helps. Feel free to ask any question you want. Penni

ok tonna gry his. took avice. mixed floody mary's. why is mary mixed? oh sorry sot gidetracked. LOLOL!! only thing is the damn ccler celey clery,...you know that green stick kept gettin in my eye. So had to leaveit out. Just drank the dink, dkn, rink, drink. Darnit. HEHEHEHE!!! Want one??

Still 242 lbs for me. No loss but no gain either which is even better over Thanksgiving. Not much exercise for me this week and did not drink alot of water as I should have. So that explains the no loss. Will do better this week.

Well I have maintained my weight from last week. BUMMER! for no loss. And HOORAY!! for no gain. Didn't really do a lot of exercise last week either so that has something to do with no loss. Will try to step it up this week. Tried to get out and do some walking this AM but the wind was like a knife it was so cold out there. So I did about a 10 to 15 min walk and then went to Starbucks for some Mocha coffee. LOL!!!

Rita: Nora is still with Lopez as far as I know. Carmen left along time ago was replaced by Dr. Gabby who has since left too. So not sure who Lopez' assistant is now. I am sure if Margret comes back she can fill you in on that issue. If I were you though I would not even bother with Lopez anymore. He is an uncaring surgeon as far as old patients are concerned. At least that is my experience. I am so sorry you are having the erosion problem. I too was banded by him in April of 2004 and so far no erosion. I had an Endoscopy done in July to rule it out when I started having problems with my port. THank god it was ok.

I just love this one. A friend sent it to me. Subject: Silent Treatment A man and his wife were having some problems at home and were giving each other the silent treatment. Suddenly, the man realized that the next day, he would need his wife to wake him at 5:00 AM for an early morning business flight. Not wanting to be the first to break the silence (and LOSE), he wrote on a piece of paper, "Please wake me at 5:00 AM." He left it where he knew she would find it. The next morning, the man woke up, only to discover it was 9:00 AM and he had missed his flight. Furious, he was about to go and see why his wife hadn't wakened him, when he noticed a piece of paper by the bed. The paper said, "It is 5:00 AM. Wake up." Men are not equipped for these kinds of contests. God may have created man before woman, but there is always a rough draft before the masterpiece

You know what it is obvious to me that Margret does not care in the least bit about any of us that are having these problems with Lopez. If she did she would not be so flippant and accuse anyone of spreading rumors.

Who did your surgery and where was it done? I am so sorry to hear of your problem. Is it painful and how was it diagnosed?

CHrissy: Has Lopez contacted you personally via either phone call or email? I mean have you spoken to him directly? And has he offered to help in any way via support or alternative options? I am so sorry to hear of your removal. I faced the same fear in July but thankfully I did not have erosion. I was devastated with the idea of needing my band removed prior to learning it was not needed. I was simply a basket case and did not know how to deal with it all. Please do come back and visit and keep us informed of how you are doing. Where are you having the surgery done to remove the band?

Margret, you are so full of crap. Esophagitis is SO not the same as erosion. Those are two entirely different issues. And Erosion is NOT a common problem with being banded. If you were told that then I would question the source. Erosion stats are 1% to 3% which would itself be a definition of NOT A COMMON PROBLEM. I am happy that you are treating your Esophagitis with Nexium. At least you got instructions from Lopez; I never did and learned what I did on my own. You sent me an email Margret but only after your husband and I had been exchanging emails and he was fighting your battles. Margret your so called OFFER to make appointments so we can GO SEE him in his office is not what we are wanting. I want a phone call from Lopez himself asking me how I am doing. Can you arrange that? The phone numbers you provide are the same ones I had back when I was trying to get him to respond to my calls regarding the emergent issue of my grapefruit size redness around my port area. I sent pics, emails, phone calls, and left several messages on his cell phone numbers with Nora and his assistant at the time. I am still waiting ot hear back from him. All your offers to set up appts for us is so bogus. Who says we have the time or the money to go? Why should we rely on a third party to talk to our doctor? Why can't we just call his office and talk to his assistant or at least get a phone call back when we leave a message? Is that so hard? The follow up surgeon I have now (who was proctored by Lopez by the way) returns my phone calls and emails within 24 hours. This surgeon called me after I had surgery to see how I was doing? The surgery was to repair my port where Lopez' technique caused me problems. This was this surgeon's words not mine. I would not get you to make me an appointment at all. We should be able to make our own. I still say you are working for him otherwise why make the offer. HMMM??? You are attacked on this board because you continually belittle our horrible experiences by suggesting we are spreading rumors, and that suggests we are not telling the whole truth. If you came on this board and just talked about how much weight you are losing or what issues you are having to face or posted a pic of yourself before and where you are now, you would not be attacked as you say. This board is all about information and support. You come on here and start the whole LOPEZ drama everytime you post. If you would just post your experiences post surgery and how you are progressing or not progressing you would see much more support and compassion. If you come on here and attack us with your accusations of spreading rumors then you get what you dish out. I am so thankful that you are not having any HUGELY horrendous complications that requires you to be in touch with a surgeon or doctor in an emergent situation. I think your experience might be something similar to ours who have dealt with Lopez on that level. Enough said.

Vicky: I did contact the head honcho at the hospital where I was banded by Lopez. I received an email and phone call from him and the doctor that followed my case after I left. They both assured me that Lopez was still a doctor in good standing in their facility but that they were unaware of the lack of follow up care. They said they would follow up with him regarding that issue. Maybe this is why he has "straightened" up his act with new patients. If in fact he really has. Who knows??? Yes there are laws against email harrassment Leatha. LOL!!! Might have to look into that if it starts again. I couldn't believe when I started getting emails from Margaret's Margret's however you spell her name husband. I responded to an email from her and it turned out to be from her husband. That is misrepresnentation isn't it??? Something like what Lopez is doing HUH?? OK I am done till the next round of posts. Love you all and love all the support here. I just want one phone call from Lopez that is all. Just one. Is that too much to ask???

Thanks Betty!

I agree everyone that cooked T-Dinner should get extra points. That really takes willpower to not nibble while cooking it. And being banded we can nibble easily. LOL!! Well guys Delarla and Chris and Sachi and VooDoo left this morning. WITHOUT SAYING GOOD BYE!! Well let me clarify that. THey left a note on the kitchen counter saying good bye. I am gonna get her so bad. LOL!! Wench!! So, back to the challenge. I did not exercise today. I might do something tonight but not likely. I am a morning person when it comes to exercise. I guess I will have to get in something today. Maybe I can talk John into walking with me in the park. Think I can get him to do that??? We will see. I really think I have lost some over this holiday. I feel lighter. LOL!! We will see come Monday morning. Hey do we post our weight here or send it to Greg?

Kathy: THank you so much for posting. This only validates what I suspected all along. This Margaret person (if in fact that is her or his name) must be working for Lopez. They are just here to do damage control and put a spin on all this. This makes me mad. Or the other solution to Pseudo Margaret's Lopez experience could be that she is a personal friend of his. And of course Lopez will treat her better than his other substandard patients. THis also makes me mad. As a health professional myself it is always hard to not play favorites when it comes to health care. I would struggle with that when a loved one of mine had to have a procedure or go into the hospital. But Lopez' ethics are so skewed in that he puts friends care above his other patients. There is one more factor to take into consideration when thinking about his care. It is Mexico we are talking about as well. They have a different way of doing things from the US. Not all Mexico Surgeons are like Lopez I want to clarify that here. Some are really good about calling and checking up on their surgical patients. But it is surgeons like Lopez that give the rest a HUGELY bad name. When this Margaret person came on the first time, I sent her a personal email and lo and behold her husband came on and starting getting into the act and emailing me talking about ethics and how I should be careful what I am saying and blah blah blah. Wonder if the same thing will happen??? You know if they are so concerned about Lopez reputation then maybe they should give him my contact info and have him call me personally to rectify this issue. HMMM??? Up to the challenge Margaret type person????