Ruthie

Hi everyone! Thanks so much for your words of encouragement. I feel so much better after yesterdays incident. I talked to my husband who is such a great cheerleader and I talked to my mom who went with me to Mexico. They both said that not to second guess myself and that I made the right choice for me. My mom who was very skeptical of me going totally fell in love with my Dr and said that she would go in a heartbeat and have him band her. So I got an email from my Dr. in Mexico he said that he is sorry that I had a rough time with the fill dr here and then he said "there are some doctors in the US that are only using the Vanguard band, it is the newest and it is not only for patients 400+ lbs. The small bands are high pressue and take only 4 cc and these VGs are low pressure and take up to 10cc, you still have room for plenty adjustment. Your fills will not be as large as the first ones, it is normal that the following ones are smaller. I have patients that come in for fills and only need tweeks, not really big adjustments. In this case this doctor is not only talking bad about other Dr's but also about the product, he does not know how to use it." He said that he has every confident that I will lose all of weight with this band. He said that if he had to do it over again that he would still use the Vanguard band because he felt like it was the best option for me and that he would monitor me and make sure that I was successful. Anyway I feel much better. Thanks again! I appreciate your kind, encouraging words.

I had a fill today and the dr told me liquids for two days but he didn't say clear or full. Does anyone know?

I had period problems too. Only mine stopped and then started and then stopped and then started and so on and so forth. For 6 weeks I was having a period every other week. They each lasted about four days and then I would stop for four and then start again. I've heard several women say that it messed them up pretty bad for a couple of months. Sorry! periods are the worst!

Oh I also really miss drinking with meals. It's been one of my hardest challenges since being banded. Who knew that not drinking with a meal would be a struggle!

I miss social eating. I do pretty good at home but put me at a party or out to dinner with friends and I get all sad and moody (inwardly. nobody knows I had surgery so I can't be sad and moody on the outside ). Maybe when I'm down -50 lbs I won't be sad and moody and I'll enjoy watching every one else stuff themselves!

{warning long post ahead!} Ok, so I had my second fill today and it was a horrible experience. Ok not so much the fill but my interaction with the Dr. Let me start off by saying that like a lot of people on these boards I went to Mexico to have my surgery. I knew it was a risk but it was the ONLY way I could afford to have the surgery done. I researched for a year found a dr. that I felt comfortable with talked to his office and his other patients for months and went ahead and had surgery in June. I totally love my dr. and I had a great experience! I was banded with the Vanguard band. 4 cc's were put in at the time of surgery. I had my first fill at the end of June and they put in 3.5 cc's so I was up to a total of 7.5 cc's. I've just moved to a new state and needed some more restriction. Found a dr. that did mexican patients fills and went to see him today. A few minutes into the fill he starts getting really worked up about the fact that I went to Mexico to have my surgery. Basically he told me that I was an idiot for going to Mexico that all Dr's in Mexico are incompetent. I totally stuck up for my Dr. and said that I had been very pleased with my choice. It just went down hill from there. He told me that I should have done more research and that I should have called him before I went to Mexico (hello! I just moved here and didn't know that he exsisted until last week!). I told him that I had researched for a year and felt confident with my decision for surgery. Anyway here's the part that I'm stressed about. He said that there is no way that I should have been fitted with the large Vanguard band. He said only really heavy people 400+ lbs should be fitted with that band. He said because of my weight and size that I should have been fitted with the smallest band and at the very most the mid sized band. He says that he's worried because I now have 8.7 cc's in my band (as of today) and that my band should only hold 9 cc's and I'm still 80 lbs from goal. He said that in order for me to have restriction and achieve my weight loss goal and to lose everything that I need to that I'm going to need to be refitted with a smaller band. he said that he would do it for $15,000 or I could check and see what kind of deal my dr. would work out with me. I don't have $15,000 or even $1,000 for that matter. I put everything I had into this surgery. He said once I get to 170-180 lbs that I'm not going to have any restriction and that there is nothing that he can do because my band will be at capacity and it will be way too large around my stomach. I'm stressed because I'm at 8.7 and I'm so far from goal. I totally left the office crying. He told me not to be upset he just wanted me to have the facts. Anyway I have a call into my Dr. and should hear back tomorrow. I totally love my mexican Dr. so please don't bash him. I'm just not sure what to do. Anybody else who has the vanguard have any thoughts on this?

Thanks ladies for the encouragement. Yes I knew that it would take me more then one fill to get restriction. I was just a little surprised that I hadn't even lost a teeny tiny bit of weight after my first fill. Anyway I"m looking forward to my second fill tomorrow. congrats on your weight losses!

hi! I'm not angle eyes but I'm originally from Provo and my family is still there. I'm also a Mexican banster. Right after I had surgery I posted on the Utah board and AngelEyes gave me the name and number of Dr. McKeen. When I called his office to see about getting a fill from him while I was in Provo they said that they do Mexican bandsters but because of Dr. McKeen's patient load it's hard to get into see him since his patients come first. Dr. McKeen's nurse (who was very nice) referred me to Dr. Green who does fills on patients in the Payson hosptial. Dr. Green was so nice and encouraging. He uses flouro and his price was $250. $100 in cash for the Dr. and then $150 for the hosptial. I had a great experience and will be using him when I'm back in Utah. If you're interested Dr. Green's contact information is 801/465-7089. they are in Mountain View Hospital in Payson. When you call you'll get the radiology department and they'll schedule it for you. One of the ladies that does the scheduling had lap band done a year ago. it was a great experience and an alternative if you can't get into Dr. McKeen. Email me if you have any questions!

Ok, I'm not whining or complaing I'm just asking... I had my first fill at the end of July and I haven't lost anything. Not even a smidgen of a pound. Just wondering if that's happened to anyone else or if I'm the lone non-loser out there? I have my second fill on Wednesday so we'll see how that goes. I'm just curious to see if anybody else is in the same situation. Inquiring minds want to know!

I'm in Denison. I've only been here for a couple of weeks so I'm not sure where all the cities are but it sounds like there's a bunch of bansters pretty close by! That's exciting.

Chat? we have a chat room? Hmmmm.... I'll have to check that out one of these days. Thanks for the heads up!

Thank you for your words. Other newbie's might not be struggling but I sure am. I felt like I was very informed going in to surgery. I had read and researched and studied for a year before having surgery. But living with the band now is completley different then what I "thought" living with the band would be like. Just yesterday I ate a piece of chicken and a few minutes later up it came. I had taken little bites, I had chewed it well and I had eaten it slow. I did everything that I had read about and studied but the reality is that my band had a mind of its own and no amount of me studying could prepare me for that . For me every day is a struggle as I learn how to live with my band. What I can and can't eat. why my port randomly hurts for no reason. why the scale hasn't moved in over a month.... those kind of things. But I'm happy that I did it and I hope one day that's it's not a struggle and that me and my band can have a long happy life and grow old together. So again thank you for your words and I'll try not to freak out that the scale hasn't moved in a MONTH!!!!!!!!!!!!! (I go for my second fill on Wednesday!)

I hate buffets. They make me panic. I hated them before I was banded. I always knew that I was going to way overeat and as much as I would try to give myself a pep talk about only eating one plate, it never happened. My mother in law (who is very overweight) loves them. She doesn't know I"m banded so i'm anxious to see how things go next time she "treats me" to lunch. Did I mention I hate buffets! Great job on your victory over the buffet!

Good luck! I"m excited for you! Let us know how it goes! You'll be losin' before you know it!

I have nothing but good things to say about Dr. Aceves. He is kind and a great surgeon. I researched him for about 6 months and tried to find out anything bad that I could about him. Wasn't able to find anything (and I looked hard!). I called several of his patients and they raved and raved him. But the thing that sold me was his nurse coordinator Nina. She is amazing. She was so patient and kind and answered a bazillion questions for me the months prior to me having surgery (and after my surgery!). I've been banded for two and half months now and really don't have any reason to be in contact with their office any more since I go to a Dr. here in the states for my fills. But just yesterday I got an email from Nina out of the blue saying that she was thinking of me during this hard time (my mom has cancer) and wanted to know how I was doing. I've never had anybody in the medical field give me that kind of follow up and personal care. I also have her and Dr. Aceves phone numbers in case anything ever goes wrong with instructions to call any time night or day if I"m having a problem. I can't express how much the means to me. I've never felt alone or scared during this whole process. Any time I have a question I just email or call Nina and she gets back to me ASAP. They are both amazing. Ok I'll stop but I seriously love them and am so happy that I went with Dr. Aceves for my band. Good luck and please feel free to email me if you have any questions or just want to know more about Dr. Aceves. Oh also Dr. Aceves has a yahoo group if you are interested. Good luck!

I have the larger band and was told by somebody on this board (don't remember what post, sorry) that the larger band has chambers that distributes the saline more evenly for less chance of erosion. I'm 5'4 and was 242 at surgery. So i'm not sure if my dr does this on all patients. I'm assuming he does since I know I wasn't his largest patient. I know if you do a search on this board for Vanguard bands there's been quite a bit said about them. hope that helps!

When were you banded? June 10 2005 What was your weight ON DAY OF SURGERY? 242.2 What is your weight now? 220.8 What size do you wear? who knows. I tried on 18's the other day and they fit but were a little snug and then I tried on another pair of jeans and they were 22's and a bit snug. So I'm just living this summer in stretch capri's. How tall are you? 5'5

Where in the Dallas area is Dr. Maese located? I just moved to Texas (two days ago) and am not really familiar with the different towns surrounding Dallas. I live in the Sherman/Denison area and am just wondering where Dr. Maese is located. thanks!

two years ago on Christmas eve we went to the grocery store to pick up some last minute items for the holidays. I was standing off to the side near the front door (completley out of the way) waiting for my husband. This guy out of no where runs into me with his shopping cart and yells "get out of the way fat ass!". I was shocked and the only comeback I had was "merry christmas to you too!" I was so embarrased. Anyway I didn't tell my husband until we were in the car because I knew he would have hit the guy and I didn't want to deal with that on Christmas eve. It's amazing to me how people treat other people so badly. I can't even imagine being so full of yuckiness that I feel the need to treat others so badly.

Hi! Thanks so much for your words of encouragement on my post. I feel better this morning. I should know better then to post late at night when I'm feeling down. Anyway I think I'm mostly stressed about my mom. Thanks for your words of encouragement! I appreciate it!

I'm at the ucky stage...I'm in between surgery and my first fill and i'm just frustrated I'm six weeks out this week and I'm just feeling blue. I dropped 20 lbs fast and then it stopped. I've put five pounds back on and am feeling sad about that. I know its because I have no restriction. I'm visiting my mom right now who is going through chemo, I'm trying to get a dr. to give me a fill where she lives but haven't had any luck since I don't permanently live here. I haven't seen my husband in three weeks and won't see him for another three. We're moving across country and it's just been a stressful summer anyway just feeling blue and wanted to complain. Thanks for listening.

congrats on your upcoming surgery! You'll do great! while i was on Clear Liquids I lived on Isopure, chicken broth and gatorade. while i was on full liquids I did slimfast, Protein shakes, smoothies. good luck!

Hi! I'm in the process of moving to Denison, TX. I hear that's fairly close to Denton (maybe an hour?) I'd love to have some sort of north texas support group! I'm moving to Texas from Washington state. it's going to be an adjustment but I'm excited for the change!

hi! I'm in Utah for a couple of weeks while my mom goes through chemo. I've been banded for six weeks now and am trying to get my first fill while I'm in Utah since we are in the process of moving from Washington to Texas and I don't have a dr. in Texas yet (and I won't be there until the end of August). I've called Dr. McKeen's office for two weeks now and have left a couple of messages but haven't gotten a call back yet. Do Dr. Alldredge or Hansen do fills on people that have been banded in Mexico? I'd really like to get a fill before I leave on three weeks worth of business trips. I'm just getting frustrated and would love to know where I can get a fill while I'm here in Utah. Any suggestions? Thanks in advanced!

that gives me hope! my dr. said he wanted me to wait a year and half to get pregnant! I don't want to wait a year and a half but I also don't want to hurt my band. I'm anxious to see how you do! congrats!