Lap-bandit

Hi,

I have not been on this website in a long time. I was banded, in Mexico, 4 years ago and I am now looking to have a Tummy Tuck done. I had a consultation yesterday with a Plastic Surgeon and although he seemed to know what he was doing and had great pictures to show....he has never done a tummy tuck on a band patient. He has done plenty on gastric bypass patients, which to me is not the same. He told me that he does have experience with Chemotherapy ports and assured me that he could handle it. I also ask him if "minimal lipo" was included in the price of the tummy tuck and he said that he doesn't do the Lipo during the surgery and if I wanted lipo done I would have to come and have it done before or after and it would cost and additional $3900. I have read plenty of stories from other patients that they received minimal lipo to scult and contour their bodies. So this bothered me that I was going to have to pay an additional fee for this. He told me that I would need an extended tummy tuck and the price is $10,000. I just figured if I was paying that much I wanted to make sure that my body was not going to look oddly shaped afterwards.

So, my question to all you is do you have experience with any plastic surgeons in the PA area or even surrounding states.....but I think that it must be a reasonable distance. I live in Central PA....so I am smack in the middle and it is three hours to pittsburgh and three hours to philly. Any help would be greatly appreciated. As I said, the doctor was very nice and I liked him.....but I am a little concerned about my port (I don't have a doctor to follow up with if something goes wrong since I had mine done in Mexico) and I also think that the minimal lipo should be included in with the price of the tummy tuck. Maybe I did not make myself clear when I ask the question. I wasn't talking about a procedure...I was talking about the contouring. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

First off, I want to thank you Festivus, for answering my post. I guess I just did not want to believe that something as simple (or maybe complex) as gas could be causing me continuous misery. PLUS, the whole menstrual thing. That is why I was so sure that it could not be gas...how could anybody have gas that long. Now, when you had your pain did that area become tender almost like you were working your abs and they were sore? That is also how I describe it....like I had a really rough ab workout and my muscles are sore. The whole hormonal thing makes sense and thank you so much for responding. I will have to figure out a way to relieve the gas. Do you have any suggestions? It is pretty sad when you pray for your period to start... but that is what life has begun to be like for me. I guess having an idea of what it is makes me feel better and also to have other people say that they are experiencing the same thing....makes me feel like I am not going crazy. Hopefully this post will help other people who are suffering. If anybody has any tips or suggestions....please post. I find that exercise makes me feel better, but does not make it go away. That would also make sense with gas because they tell you to move more after surgery to get the gas moving.

I hope other people respond and maybe there is some tips to help deal with this.

I am hoping that somebody out there can tell me if they are having or have experienced the same problem as me. I was banded in September of 07 and I have lost over 70 pounds...about a year and a half ago I started having this pain in and around my gallbladder on the right side. It would come about one to two weeks BEFORE my period and it would be continuous up until I got my period. I went to my doctor who sent me to a surgeon who was so sure that it was my gallbladder.....Well, it wasn't.....All test came back fine. He checked my band because then he was so sure that my band had slipped and everything was fine there too. Another doctor said it was gas...this is absolutely NOT gas. I get this like clockwork every month for one to two weeks and it suddenly resolves after I get my period. It hurts to breath sometimes and I can only describe it as like a side stitch (but in the gallbladder area) that you get from running where when you take a deep breath the pain goes into my ribs. When I sit, it is difficult sometimes to stand upright....I am at a loss as to what this is. I am almost ready to throw the towel in and have my band removed because I did not have this before I got the band. Does anbody else have these symptoms??? This pain also is not associated with eating....meaning that I can eat or not and I still have it. I sometimes have to take pain pills so that I can sleep at night. The thing that bugs me is that it seems to revolve around my menstrual cycle, but it seems too high up to be reproductive related. I would appreciate any input I can get.

Thank You!

aliveandwell - First off, congratulate yourself for taking the first step. Only you can make the decision to get the band. For me, it was the best life changing thing I could have done, but for some, it has been a nightmare. Can I just say, that this past January was the first time in probably 20 years that I have not had some "diet plan" that I was going to be starting in the new year. This is the first time, in many years that I have not thought about what I was going to do to lose the weight. The obsession of dieting and trying to find the next quick fix are over for me and I have to tell you, it is one of the most wonderful feelings that you can experience. I feel that I am able to live and enjoy my life without the worry of being over weight or gaining weight with every thing I stick in my mouth. I am finally FREE!!!

I had a lower BMI and I am so glad that I had the surgery. I was banded on September 14, 2007 and I have lost 51 pounds WITHOUT a fill. Initially, I went through a period of thinking that maybe I did not make the right decision, but once I got through the rough part of getting acquainted with the band and the issues that you sometimes face, I realized that after years of struggling with weight that I finally felt at peace with food. I have yo-yoed for years and I am an avid exerciser, but it seemed like no matter how much I exercised or how healthy I ate, there was always a point where I would collapse and screw everything up and end up right back where I started weighing even more. I still want to lose another 30 pounds and I am not even sure if I am going to get a fill, because honestly, I still have a sense of restriction. So, for me, I am so glad I took the plunge, because after struggling for so long to be "skinny" I am finally almost to where I want to be and I know for a fact that I would be still struggling to lose weight if it wasn't for the band.

Just need to vent for a second...

So I get to work tonight and the day staff has left a giant box of pastries and 3 liters of soda in the workroom, the bastards! HOW RUDE IS THAT??!!! LOL! So now I hate myself because I ate half an apple fritter. Grrrrr! Damn all drug company and home health agency reps who bring treats!

I feel your pain too. I work in a hospital and practically everyday there is a drug rep trying to outdo another one and they ALWAYS have unhealthy thing to hand out. Then, after I make it through that, I have to deal with all the food that my department brings in for people to eat throughout the day....it is a constant party.

How much time do you really need off work, I had originally asked for my vacation time after the holidays and first was told "no problem" and now of course they said NOT A CHANCE!!! so I was thinking maybe I could take only a couple of days off ,any input????

Jessiel55 - I thought that I could just have the surgery on Friday and hop up and go to work on Monday or Tuesday. I ended up not going back until the following Monday. I had planned on going back that Thursday, but I was just not feeling up to it and I knew that I could not manage at work. I guess everybody is different. I personally needed the extra days. I also developed an allergy to the steri-strips which really threw me for a loop.

Am I the only one who wasn't able to get on the website until this afternoon? I was beginning to think we'd all been banned! ~LOL~

Jimmyjoe: Don't forget about the holidays in December. I'm only 5 days post op so I can't really advise you but I know others have said it hurt to eat for a few weeks, things got stuck. I live in Southern Calif if you need help. I won't go for my first fill until Dec. I had already planned a cruise with my family and even Dr G thought I should wait under the circumstances.

Well, I'm heading to the grocery to get more Soup. I know I'm suppose to be on Clear liquids but if I blend and thin really well, it doesn't bother me.

Hope everyone has a wonderful night!

Judy

Me too Judy.....I couldn't get on yesterday until late. I thought I might have gotten the boot. Maybe it was down due to upgrades or something.

This is a great Idea. My suggestion is to ignore IsaButthole. Don't respond to any posts. Sooner or later she will go away.

LA LA LA LA LA....we can't hear you!!!!! :whoo:

HA! There you are, haven't seen you posting in some time. I thought my posting on this thread would bring you out.

There are many that would disagree with you about erosion. Much of the old information has been demonstrated to be false regarding erosion. Erosion is from the outside of the stomach, eating spicy foods isn't going to affect the outside of the stomach lining. They used to think erosion was from smoking. That is been disproven. Then they thought erosion was from NSAIDs, again... disproven. Spicy food... disproven. Those are issues from inside the stomach lining.

If you think about a dog and a collar, ever see those horribly abused dogs that get a collar as a puppy and the evil owner doesn't replace the collar as the dog grows up? The collar becomes too small and it erodes into the neck of the dog and needs to be removed surgically. Same concept applies to banding.

Now they think it is from a band that is too small for the patient (doc's fault) or from a fill that is wayyy too tight for a long time (patient's fault).

If posting a doc's own stats is "discrediting" him, so be it. They aren't my numbers, check out the email Dr. Valencia sent to Jennypoo. The numbers come from his office, not my mind.

I don't know if Dr. G is a good surgeon or not, not a clue. But just as I have told you and the other alter IDs previously, the 4% erosion stat is concerning, and it is.

EVERY doc has his negatives. People are human and they aren't perfect.

BRING ME OUT????? I do not spend 24 hours a day on the computer as I can see, by your 4,000 plus posts, that you must certainly do. Is that what you do for a living.....sit in front of the computer and post crap to scare people. Do you realize that you you have only been a member since March of this year and you have over 4,000 posts.....what person has the time to sit and write that many posts. I, for one, have a job and a family. I would say that you should probably get out more often instead of sitting on the computer. It looks like the computer is your only friend. What a shame. I am not going to play into your little game. I was banded by Dr. Gonzalez, you were not.....and to sit there and spout off about a doctor that you NEVER even went to is ridiculous.

For all those out there that are scared because of what this "expert poster" has written...just know that Dr. Gonzalez is a wonderful doctor and person. He treats you as a person, not a number and his follow-up is better than any doctor here in the US. If you are afraid of complications, then don't ever have surgery......EVERY procedure carries risks. I just know that if I were to have a serious complication, Dr. Gonzalez would be there for me a 100%. That is what is really important. I can email Dr. Valenzuela, the Clinical Manager, and he usually responds the same day and if not, it is the very next. I am not here to tell you who to go to, but I am going to stand up for my doctor when somebody, who obviously has some issues, is trying to make him sound like a unskilled surgeon. If I developed a complication and had to do it all over again.....I would still go to Dr. Gonzalez.

<p>

I was one of the ones Dr.V gave the high stats to and I posted that back when this first came up.</p> <p> </p> <p>Dr. G was one of the doc's that I was choosing to go see.But when Dr V gave me the stats I was shocked and crossed him off my list.He might have excellent follow up care but I wasnt chancing it.</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p>I would have choosen Ortiz(assembly line from whats said) over Dr G </p> <p>stats.

</p> <p>Jennypoo.... Why don't you also go read up on erosions and learn what really causes them and once you do that, then you can comment on Dr. Gonzalez's erosion rate, because as I just posted.....erosions are not soley caused by the doctor.....it is what WE do after getting the band and how WE follow directions that can potentially cause complications. I guess I should blame Mcdonalds for me being fat too.....since they are the ones that forced the food down my throat! BTW, I hope you don't have any of those complications and need Dr. Ortiz to do follow-up.....I heard his follow-up is less than desirable.</p>

I don't know about your friend's case specifically but if you talk to a number of Ortiz patients they typically say that he's great about returning phone calls, etc.

The 4% erosion stats for Gonzales came from his office. If you look earlier in this thread you'll see where one person posted the email from his office giving the stats. There was a huge amount of drama during that time. I dared to offer the 4% stats and you would have thought his patient coordinator was going to have heart failure. She insisted that Dr. G was wrong, his stats were not that high. HA!

I have been having back pain too and I was banded on September 14th. I decided to do a search and see if anybody else was having the pain. I thought maybe it had something to do with what I ate. I actually had to use a heating pad a few times. It seems to be frequent. I also had a horrible period this month and I NEVER get cramps and I had terrible cramps in my back that kept me on the couch all weekend with a heating pad. I hope every month isn't like that. I feel for those of you who have always had bad cramps

I was told not to take motrin, advil or any other ibuprofen due to stomach irritation. The only thing I can take is Tylenol, which does nothing for me. I guess if things don't soon get better I will contact my doctor.

I am having MAJOR problems. My incisions sites are having an allergic reaction to something. I was banded on 9/24/07 and they put steri strips on me. I was fine after the surgery. Then 2 weeks after, I had huge red circles around my incisions. The steri strips had been off for a week by then. Now, almost a week after that the itching is insane and I am about to rip my head off. Has anyone else had this problem?

I have used creams and sprays, and the only thing that works is atarax which was prescribed by my doctor, only problem is that it makes me go night night and causes severe dry mouth, which is never fun.

WHAT CAN I DO????

I will have to go to my doc again soon, but at this point, I dont think the steri strips are causing this reaction.

HELP!:help:

I had the same thing happen with the steri-strips, but it didn't happen until a week out and I had to take them off because I was itching so bad and you could see where all the steri-strips had been. So, I put on 1% hydrocortisone....which, seemed to be making it worse instead of better. I finally went to the ER because the itching was just driving me insane and I did not want to rip open my incisions. They gave me a five day dose of prednisone, which helped initially, but after I stopped, I developed a rash under my breast, all over my belly and it got worse when I put that hydrocortisone cream on. So, I went to my family doctor and she was afraid I was either allergic to prenisone or I was having a worse reaction because I wasn't on the prednisone long enough. At any rate, I was prescribed allegra and I started taking it only to have my rash spread the next day to my lower body. It was the weekend and I decided if it did not start to get better and it spread any further that I would be going back to the ER. Luckily, the allegra started to kick in after the second day. That has really been the only bad thing that has happened since my banding on 9/14.....but it was not pleasant that is for sure! I have never had a problem with Steri-strips before, so it was a shock when it happened.

Its sooo good to hear everyone has done sooo good!!!!! Im back on schedule for surgery with doctor Gonzalez! After I broke my wrist on a super nasty fall I had to cancel, but I'm back!!!!!!yea BABY! This Time broken wrist and all!!!!Im doin it!!!!Its done and nothin'stoppin me now!

Hotmomma,

I was wondering where you were at. I thought maybe you bailed on the surgery. Good to hear you are back. Hope you are feeling better! Good Luck!

Thanks Sunshine!! I'm nervous but I'm ready! I feel like I've been on hold for the past month and that life will start again tomorrow

I'll check in when I get home!!

Jill

BlueEyedKitty -

Good luck and get in touch with me when you get home and get situated. Everything will be okay.

:help::help::help: EVERYONE AND ANYONE

I can see that I have been neglectful with my diet. Yesterday I read that the doc wants us to eat only 4 ounces of food per meal.

I have been eating as much as 16 ounces at a time. Often it hurt afterwards. I'm afraid that I stretched my pouch? Or worse what if I made my band slip :faint:

Later Yesterday I did the 4 ounces thing. That is such a small amount of food!!

How do I know if I damaged my band or stretched my pouch???

Sunshine-

I am not certain how much I am eating at a time....I don't think it is 16 oz, but it may be 5 or 6 and I have thought the same thing.....did I do any damage. food seems to be going down way too easily and being on that Prednisone for the allergic reaction and my period coming up, has made me feel like I need more food. If you find anything out let me know. I have read this before about people eating more than what they are suppose to and I guess if it was that easy to slip your band, it would be happening a lot.

Thanks for the suggestions. I work two job everyday. One is in an office sitting on by tush(8am- 1 pm) and the other is at my daughters daycare(2pm-7pm). Orginally I thought I could have the surgery on a Friday, recover over the weekend and be back at my desk Monday morning. After reading few post though I'm not to sure returning to work so quickly is a good idea. I will most likely take a weeks vacation from my desk job but I'm new at the daycare so I have no time off available. At the daycare I am on my feet, moving around, and picking up kids. Do you think I will be able to work this job so soon after sugery?

NMSunshine- Right now I'm totally laughing at your comment" six months later showing up pregnant" thinking no way that's going to happen but then again ya never know. Maybe in six months I'll have a body that my husband can't resist!:whoo:

Omalgirl-

I thought the same thing.....have the surgery on Friday and return to my desk job on Monday! HA....I was wrong. I had intended to return to work that Thursday, which would have given me almost a week off....well, I had to call off the rest of the week. I had extremely bad gas pain and I was just miserable. I am not saying that this will be you, because obviously, I did not move enough....but just keep that in mind. Recovery was harder than I had expected. Now, I am two weeks out and I feel much better. Take as much time as you can get.

Lap-Bandt

WOW, so you did have an allergy to the steri-strips. Sorry to hear that ,but , glad you found out what was wrong.

So, is all going smooth now?

Yesterday I checked with my pharmacist about a med I take. He said that I am not surpose to chew it, crush it or cut the pill up. Gads, I need to check on all my meds, especially before I get my first fill.

Since then I have been swolling my pills whole and they don't hurt my pouch.

Yes....major allergy!! and I cannot say for certain if I am okay yet, because I started the prednisone about two hours ago and I think I may have an allergy to that....it seems as though I am developing hives. I was going to ask him if this could happen with the prednisone if I was allergic to the steroid cream, but I didn't. I did tell the doctor that I though I was allergic to the cream because it made the rash worse instead of better. I hope things get better.

BlueEyedKitty and Bakerman - Best of luck and let us know how things go. I will be thinking of you both.

wasabubblebutt- Thank you for the information and encouraging words - we all need that. This definitely has not bee a picnic postop and hopefully the days will get better. I developed an allergic reaction to the ster-strips....which I never knew I had....and I had to go to the ER to get predinisone because it was getting worse....so I have definitely wondered to myself - "what have I done?"....but I know that in the end, this will be the best thing I could have ever done for myself and my kids.

So everybody hang in there and take it one day at a time.

hey Lap-bandit

How is your pain doing? It was really nice meeting you in TJ.

After the plane ride and six hour drive home and two footballgames the next day has done me in. I am just relaxing today.

I just want everyon that is going are thing about going to Dr. G a great choice. What caring people. My surgery went well and I had very little gas ( thanks to lapbandit for sharing her gas x). The whole team takes good care of you. They take the time to answer all of your questions. Laura ran us around very helpful she even took us shopping. The clinic was clean and everyone new there stuff.

Laura even went above and beyond for us. I needed to pick up some cancer tonic for a gentleman that was not able to make the trip himself.I was not surehow I was going to make it to get it. So Laura grabbed my mom and drove her to get the medicine while I was in surgery. What a great women. Now I am on way to a new life.:whoo:

IDLOSERSM-

It is great to meet you as well and it also great to hear you are doing well. I still have some gas....I must be a gassy person.

I tried going to the grocery store yesterday and I think it was a little premature. I did go to my son's football game last night and that was okay...but I didn't drive. Next week is full of football games - three in a row.....hopefully, I will be able to drive without problems (I have a stick shift).

Take care and I will email you soon.

For those of you who went to Mexico, where do you go for fills if you can't arrange to go to Mexico? What about post op complications? I've heard that doctors in the US don't want to have anything to do w/those who got banded in Mexico? I'm asking because I'm considering Dr. Orwitz, in Tijuana.< /div>

Gracie-

I live on the East Coast and when I was going through the process of getting set up for my surgery, Dr. Valenzuela the clinical manager for Dr. Gonzalez, called around to different doctors near me to see about getting me set up for fills. He worked until he found me a fill doctor, or otherwise, I would not have had the surgery, because getting fills is a part of your success at weight loss. He did run into some problems, because some doctors just do not want to deal with someone else's patients, but there were some that had no problem seeing me. I wished that I was closer to Mexico so that I could take advantage of the free fills, but my plane ticket would cost more than having a fill done at home.

I don't think that you will be disappointed about your decision to go with Dr. G. I think the worst thing about my whole experience was the gas pain and the second worst thing was my long flight, but that really could not be avoided when I live across the country. When I first tried to get a flight, I was looking for nonstop ones and there was only one and that was really expensive, so I went with one layover and I honestly can say that I am glad I had that layover. It gave me time to stretch and get something to eat.....or I should say drink

BTW - Don't forget your Gas-X. You will be glad to have it. I am not certain how effective the strips are compared to liquid. I had the strips and they helped, but I still had pain. Today, I got gas pain in my one shoulder and I layed down and put a heating pad on it and it seemed to really help. I wish you both luck. Keep in touch and let us know how everything goes.

Hi all-

I am back....well, I am actually at the San Diego airport right now. It was a waste taking my laptop because this was the only place that I could use it.

I just have to say WOW!!! Dr. Gonzalez took such wonderful care of me and Laura and Dr. V are awesome. Laura drove us everywhere and took care of basically all our needs while in Tijuana, I just can't say enough about how wonderful they were. I did have extreme gas and on saturday night my friend called laura because I was having a lot of pain and she came and got me because Dr. Gonzalez wanted to see me in the clinic, so at around 4:30, I went back to the clinic and Dr. G was checking and he felt that I was having too much pain and wanted to take me back to the OR to make sure that I was not bleeding. I went back in and I was just full of gas, he looked around and said everything was fine. I felt a 100% better after coming around, I did not have the severe pain that I had been having prior to going back to the OR. When I had my last c-section I experienced the same type of pain. I am feeling a little gassy right now, but not anything like yesterday. Definitely take the gas-x strips along and walk a lot to break up the air bubbles.

NM Sunshine- I am glad all went well. Laura had mentioned when she picked us up that she had to go back to the airport to take a patient back and I told her if it was NM sunshine to tell her I said "Hi".

All in all, things went extremely well and I would do it again in a heart beat. The staff was beyond amazing and they CARE....they would not have sent me home in the pain that I was in and they did not just do the procedure and let me at the hospital to suffer.

Chubbyone - I forgot my journals and I even forgot all about them when I got there and the dietician did not ask me for them. We discussed all of the stages and she did measurements and yes, the scales weigh heavier....I think about five pounds heavier than mine at home.

I will keep you posted and let you know how things progress. Unfortuantely while I was in TJ, my boyfriend called and told me that My fill doctor that I was scheduled to see had to cancel my appointment because she is having surgery, So, Dr. V is going to see if he can find me another one.

Good luck to all who are going to be banded soon. I don't think that you will regret going to Dr. Gonzalez. He is Great! He is a hottie too :heh:

Thanks Bakerman, for the words of encouragement. I can do this. I will just get my friend to medicate me :confused: AND carry me through the airport on a luggage cart!