Hellooooo, I am Josette. I am 17 years old and I live in Oregon. I am currently about a week and a half out from my gastric banding! I am having the surgery at Obesity Control Center by Dr. Ortiz on July 30th 2013. My surgery will be a revision from the gastric plication, in which I had only minor success with, due to severe illness. I am looking forward to being a bandster! I hope that this forum can be a great tool for me in staying on track with my weight loss and dieting. I love reading about all of your guys' experiences, triumphs and tribulations. (: Well here are the numbers-

Highest weight: 308

Current weight: 275

Goal Weight: 170

*The photo attatched is of me currently (pre-op) (:

So, why did the plication not work? And, are you keeping the plication and adding the band or removing the sutures and expanding your stomach?

Sorry, don't mean to be nosey but your post is the first I've seen where someone is doing what you are doing?

tmf

Welcome! I'm excited that you are getting back on track and I hope you are super successful! You will be looking and feeling great very soon! Also I LOVE visiting Oregon. Such a pretty place.

So, why did the plication not work? And, are you keeping the plication and adding the band or removing the sutures and expanding your stomach?

Sorry, don't mean to be nosey but your post is the first I've seen where someone is doing what you are doing?

tmf

No it's fine lol. When I first got the plication it made me very very sick. I threw up all the time and couldn't even get down a glass of Water. That in turn made me lose 30 pounds in the first 3 weeks after surgery. I know that sounds awesome, but the loss was at the expense of my health and well being. Initially they told me it would be a month and a half before I could ride my horse/exercise, but the surgery left me so weak that I couldn't ride him without getting dizzy and nauseous for about five months. The same was true about going to the gym. After the five months it seemed like I had no restriction at all. It was like one day I just woke up and felt better, butwas able to eat just as much as I could before, maybe only slightly less. With that being said, I dieted and went to the gym with no results because of having no restriction what so ever. I feel like possibly I had so much swelling that it stretched out the plication. OCC offered to go in and tighten the plication however but I felt so awful with it the first time that I couldn't even bear the thought of going through that again, ever! Currently I am having the plication reversed and then having a band placed over my normal stomach. Thanks for your question though, I'm glad to share my story.

And thank you! I just love how supportive this community is! (:

I know this is none of my business, but I say this out of genuine concern.

Please reconsider using this surgeon. It says on his website he uses the 4cc band. The 4cc band is very outdated and no longer used in the US. The reason it's no longer used is because of it's very high rate of complications.

There are reputable surgeons in Mexico that use the newer, safer, bigger bands. I urge you to consider one of them. Your health is worth it and I would truly hate to see you go through more hell because of the 4cc band.

Best wishes.

I know this is none of my business, but I say this out of genuine concern.

Please reconsider using this surgeon. It says on his website he uses the 4cc band. The 4cc band is very outdated and no longer used in the US. The reason it's no longer used is because of it's very high rate of complications.

There are reputable surgeons in Mexico that use the newer, safer, bigger bands. I urge you to consider one of them. Your health is worth it and I would truly hate to see you go through more hell because of the 4cc band.

Best wishes.

Hi, thanks for responding! Where did you see that he uses the 4CC band at? I will for sure be asking them about this on Monday because I would hate for that to be the case. Thanks for bringing that to my attention!

It's actually all over the place if you Google him.

If you contact Allergan, the maker of the Lap Band, they will verify which band he uses apparently. I found this:

"If you are considering Mexico for your LAP-BAND, you should always make sure that the LAP-BAND® devices and implants they use are exact same devices currently approved for the United States. Allergan, The maker of the LAP-BAND, can be contacted directly to confirm whether a surgeon in Mexico uses the older generation LAP-BANDs. An extremely important question to ask Allergan is when was the last time that the Mexican surgeon purchased last-generation devices from Allergan, and how many devices did they purchase. The answer can often be very enlightening. Coupled with looser medical regulations, the possibility of outdated equipment and possibly less experienced surgeons, you must heavily consider if the actual “real” cost, including travel, is worth the potential risks."

If I were you, I'd check with Allergan just to see if he's updated his practices. I mean, it is possible. I don't want to discourage you from getting the band- at all. I just don't want to see you end up with a band that will cause you more problems.

Or, ask his office specifically which generation band and what size they use. If they say the bigger current ones by Allergan or Realize- you're all set. It's just the old 4cc one you don't want.

It's actually all over the place if you Google him.

If you contact Allergan' date=' the maker of the Lap Band, they will verify which band he uses apparently. I found this:

"If you are considering Mexico for your LAP-BAND, you should always make sure that the LAP-BAND® devices and implants they use are exact same devices currently approved for the United States. Allergan, The maker of the LAP-BAND, can be contacted directly to confirm whether a surgeon in Mexico uses the older generation LAP-BANDs. An extremely important question to ask Allergan is when was the last time that the Mexican surgeon purchased last-generation devices from Allergan, and how many devices did they purchase. The answer can often be very enlightening. Coupled with looser medical regulations, the possibility of outdated equipment and possibly less experienced surgeons, you must heavily consider if the actual “real” cost, including travel, is worth the potential risks."

If I were you, I'd check with Allergan just to see if he's updated his practices. I mean, it is possible. I don't want to discourage you from getting the band- at all. I just don't want to see you end up with a band that will cause you more problems.

Or, ask his office specifically which generation band and what size they use. If they say the bigger current ones by Allergan or Realize- you're all set. It's just the old 4cc one you don't want.[/quote']

Missy. You are wonderful!