Re: LaDonna a response to your questions - VERY LONG!

[Guest guest]

Cyrena,

Thank you for answering my questions, it has helped.

Could you explain the fills and unfills to me and why

when you were stressed you needed a unfill. Have you

always gone to Mexico for the fills or have you done

it in ND ever? LaDonna

--- Cyrena Weeks <cyrenaweeks@...> wrote:

> Hi LaDonna,

> I remember being right where you are now. I wanted

> to desperately to talk to someone who had gone to

> Dr. A and know about their experience. I called

> Nina and got the list of referrals and started

> calling people. I was so relieved to talk to real

> people I called about 20 of them and they all

> had good things to say. In fact, one of the girls I

> called was in the van headed to Mexicali for a fill

> and had her daughter and daughter-in-law with her

> and they were getting the band done. Too funny! I

> was definitely reassured this is what I wanted.

>

> I will try to keep this brief and I will send you my

> phone number in case you want to call too.

>

> I was trying to get my insurance Blue Cross Blue

> shield of North Dakota to approve my surgery, I

> started the classes the Dr. here in North Dakota

> required, I saw the psychiatrist, dietitian, surgery

> coordinator and all. After 3 appeals my insurance

> still wouldn't cover. All the while I was

> researching Mexico Dr's. I started a spreadsheet of

> what each Dr. charged, the pros and the cons etc.

> Dr. Aceves was not the cheapest but he was

> definitely the most highly recommended. I wanted a

> Surgeon who performed lap band in a hospital not a

> clinic so that was a factor for me. I didn't

> research the sleeve so I can't give you any

> suggestions on that. I want to get pregnant in a

> year or less so I knew I wanted the band for it's

> flexibility. I want to be able to have an unfill if

> I need one when I'm pregnant, I want to be able to

> have a fill again when I'm gaining and know that I

> can get too much food in, reasons like that I went

> for the band. I was able to

> get financing through Dr. Aceves, something that

> most US hospitals don't get involved in. Dr. Aceves

> takes on the tough cases, Jane M. on this board was

> denied lap band by 3 or 4 dr's because of her risk

> factors - blood clots, I believe - But Dr. Aceves

> agreed to take her case. Only a Dr. that is

> confident that he won't have problems takes on high

> risk people. No Dr. wants bad publicity. Mexico

> Dr.'s know they have to work 10x as hard to get a

> good reputation with US patients. They know that if

> they screw up 1,000 people will know, not just a

> few. So after talking to Dr. Aceves patients on the

> phone I set a date and had my surgery done.

>

> There is not a single day in a years time that I'm

> not grateful for my band. That is not to say there

> aren't days I wish I didn't have a band. Like when

> my husband sinks his teeth into a big juicy bacon

> cheeseburger. But I have come to realize that I

> will take weighing 94 lbs less than I used to over

> that greesy hamburger that probably doesn't taste

> near as good as it looks.

>

> Things I will tell you to look out for... Mexico

> Dr.'s that are the cheapest, don't go strictly on

> cost, do your research, see that Dr. Aceves has an

> impeccable reputation too! Mexico Dr.'s that

> perform surgery in their " clinic " , make sure that

> you go to a Dr. that works in a hospital that is

> equipped to handle an emergency should one arise. I

> have to say after all I have heard about the sleeve

> and the band, I would still chose the band. I can't

> get my " head " around something that will make you

> have a smaller stomach for life, with out some

> maintenance (fills) I don't understand how a sleeve

> works so make sure and do your own research, I have

> not research the sleeve, only what little has been

> talked about on this board, but I think if a gastric

> by-pass patient and stretch out that little bypass

> tummy, why can't you stretch out the little tummy

> that the sleeve leaves you. I like that if I start

> to eat too much, I can get another fill and it helps

> me

> stop eating so much. Like I'm sure you have heard

> a million times, the band is a tool, it doesn't do

> all the work for you. Some people say they snack

> all the time and work against the band. I have had

> to deal with that too but I truely have enough

> restriction that even some snacking won't cause me

> to gain weight. You have to work the band, get

> fills when you need them, you need to work into the

> cost of the surgery, the cost of going back to Dr. A

> for fills, that is the safest place to get fills,

> not somewhere local. I thought I would go somewhere

> local to and I did for 2 fills but my last one I

> went back to Dr. A and I'm so glad that I did. I

> don't have any worries when I'm there, I know they

> want the best for me.

>

> I have had NO complications from the surgery. I had

> blood work done in the US about 4 months after

> surgery because I was having heart palpations, it

> turned out to be nothing serious and nothing related

> to my band. The only side effect I have had from

> the band is losing 94lbs In June I quit my job,

> moved my family, started a new job I knew nothing

> about and was very stressed. The stress caused me

> to be too tight during that time, if I would have

> budgeted for fills I would have had an unfill during

> that time but I managed to get through that month on

> mostly liquids and didn't have any problems, I just

> didn't have the quality of life I would have liked

> during that time, but who does in the middle of all

> that. When I have my period every month, I get

> tighter then normal. I have learned to deal with

> that and watch what I eat during that week. You

> will definately have a time in this journey that you

> deal with your emotions rather than eating them

> away. That is tougher than you think. I have to

> " play games " with my head hunger and ask myself if I

> need a drink or to eat, am I really hungry and then

> stand there and figure out if that is head hunger or

> real hunger, I have taken up crocheting to keep my

> hands busy and not eat all the time.

>

> There is so much support on this board that when I

> have questions or concerns they are all here for me,

> or when I had a victory that no one else would

> understand they are all here for me. I'm sorry that

> I talked so long, please keep asking questions and

> reading posts and continue your research until you

> feel at peace with your desicion.

>

> Best of luck,

> Cyrena

> DOB: 1/19/07

> 240/146/150

>

> Re: My Funny NSV

> Yesterday

> 3 fills - 1.9cc's in 4cc band.

>

> >

>

> Hi my name is LaDonna

>

> I looking to have the band or possiable the sleeve?

> How have you enjoyed having this done

>

> now almost 1 year later? Why did you choose this

> Dr. as to a Us hospital? Have you had

>

> complications related the surgery itself. Anything

> else in the way of heads up for me to

>

> beware of. I could really use some answers from a

> patient; former patient. Thank you

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

> __

>

>

>

>

>

________________________________________________________________________________\

____

Be a better friend, newshound, and

know-it-all with Mobile. Try it now.

http://mobile./;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ

[Guest guest]

Hi LaDonna,The band is a device that wraps around your stomach with a "deflated tire" in the middle (this is just my wording, be sure to go to Dr. Aceves site to understand the technical side of all this). After you have the band placed around your stomach there is a port that is placed under your skin on your left of your abdomen. After you have healed from the surgery - around 6-9 weeks, I believe. You can get a fill. The Dr, preferable Dr. Aceves' group, will put a needle in that port and put saline into it, that fills the deflated tire around your stomach. Now when you eat the food stays in that little pouch and slowly goes into the big stomach giving you a feeling a fullness long before your big stomach would be full. The amt of saline in your band is VERY

subjective and changes with each person and with each phase in your weight loss and your life. When you have a fill the Dr. should be looking at your band and your port under fluroscopy, then they can make sure the needle doesn't hit your tubing and that your port is fine, your band is fine etc. The dr will put some saline in your port and have you drink barium (a small amt) so he can look on the fluro and see what kind of restriction you have with your new fill. I didn't budget for going back to Mexicali and I should have. I had my first fill in Bismarck North Dakota. The surgeon who does banding here is the one who did my fill, I was there for about 3 seconds. He put the needle in, gave me 1cc of saline and away I went. AFTER the fill, he had me go to x-ray and they did fluroscopy so they knew everything was OK with my band. They were very understanding that I was a Mexico pt, but that isn't

always the case. My next fill was 2 weeks later at the same hospital, but I got the new girl. She was horrible, she stuck me 7+ times, she bruised my port area terribly. I asked her to use a new needle each time she stuck me and she asked why? I told her I didn't want any contamination in there and she kind of blew me off, but did use a new needle. It was horribly stressful and she could have done much more damage, I'm fortunate she didn't. Again, she just guessed at how much fill I needed, if the Dr. isn't doing fluro they can't tell if you are at the right level or not. At that appt she gave me .6, I asked for 1cc but she insisted that .6 was enough. She was right. I was at the perfect level for a few months. At that time I quit my job, moved to another town, started a new job. High stress like that type of thing, seems to make most people tighter. If I had budgeted for fills

better I would have gone in and had .4 or .6 taken out so that I could eat better during that month of my life. Instead, I was too tight and living on liquids, this can be very dangerous and could have caused my bigger stomach to come through the band and cause a slip. This can sometimes require a total unfill and in some cases surgery. When things settled down for me this summer the stress was less, which meant the swelling was less and I was able to go back to eating normal foods again. The only time I think that I'm a little too tight is during my period, you know how everything swells during that time of the month and you get bloated, well apparently my stomach swells too, causing me to feel much tighter than I normally do. What does this mean for me... I don't usually drink my protein drink until around 10 or 11 am, around 2 or 3 pm I will have tuna on crackers and I eat maybe 5 bites and I'm full, dinner is smaller

than usual. Typically, bread is out for me, sometime, around 9pm I can have bread but then it is sometimes a gamble if it will come back up or not, so I don't like to take the chance on it. My last fill I was able to go back to Mexicali and I'm so grateful, they want me to succeed, they want me to be at the perfect amount. When I went in Dr. Compos said, you have a good fill, and I agreed that I just needed a little more so I could get to goal. He agreed, I told him I wanted .4 and he said no, .3 and I said, no .4 Because he was doing the fill with fluro he was able to show me how tight I would be with .4 and what .3 looked like. It was perfect, there was no guessing. If I had been in Bismarck, I would have pushed for the .4 and probably have gotten it and then been too tight and been miserable and possibly caused a slip or something worse before I went back to get an unfill.I hope all this

has helped and please let me know if something or all of it didn't make sense.Take care, Cyrena Re: LaDonna a response to your questions - VERY LONG!

Cyrena,

Thank you for answering my questions, it has helped.

Could you explain the fills and unfills to me and why

when you were stressed you needed a unfill. Have you

always gone to Mexico for the fills or have you done

it in ND ever? LaDonna

--- Cyrena Weeks <cyrenaweeks> wrote:

>

[Guest guest]

CyrenaThank you for all the insight. Im a Montana girl so ND is a place Ive heard of. My surgery is on the 30th, Im really excited to start my new life and making new healthy goals to live by. Best of luck in all you do.LaDonnaCyrena Weeks <cyrenaweeks@...> wrote: Hi LaDonna,The band is a device that wraps around your stomach with a "deflated tire" in the middle (this is just my wording, be sure to go to Dr. Aceves site to understand the technical side of all

this). After you have the band placed around your stomach there is a port that is placed under your skin on your left of your abdomen. After you have healed from the surgery - around 6-9 weeks, I believe. You can get a fill. The Dr, preferable Dr. Aceves' group, will put a needle in that port and put saline into it, that fills the deflated tire around your stomach. Now when you eat the food stays in that little pouch and slowly goes into the big stomach giving you a feeling a fullness long before your big stomach would be full. The amt of saline in your band is VERY subjective and changes with each person and with each phase in your weight loss and your life. When you have a fill the Dr. should be looking at your band and your port under fluroscopy, then they can make sure the needle doesn't hit your tubing and that your port is fine, your band is fine etc. The dr will put some saline in your port and have you drink barium

(a small amt) so he can look on the fluro and see what kind of restriction you have with your new fill. I didn't budget for going back to Mexicali and I should have. I had my first fill in Bismarck North Dakota. The surgeon who does banding here is the one who did my fill, I was there for about 3 seconds. He put the needle in, gave me 1cc of saline and away I went. AFTER the fill, he had me go to x-ray and they did fluroscopy so they knew everything was OK with my band. They were very understanding that I was a Mexico pt, but that isn't always the case. My next fill was 2 weeks later at the same hospital, but I got the new girl. She was horrible, she stuck me 7+ times, she bruised my port area terribly. I asked her to use a new needle each time she stuck me and she asked why? I told her I didn't want any contamination in there and she kind of blew me off, but did use a new needle. It was horribly

stressful and she could have done much more damage, I'm fortunate she didn't. Again, she just guessed at how much fill I needed, if the Dr. isn't doing fluro they can't tell if you are at the right level or not. At that appt she gave me .6, I asked for 1cc but she insisted that .6 was enough. She was right. I was at the perfect level for a few months. At that time I quit my job, moved to another town, started a new job. High stress like that type of thing, seems to make most people tighter. If I had budgeted for fills better I would have gone in and had .4 or .6 taken out so that I could eat better during that month of my life. Instead, I was too tight and living on liquids, this can be very dangerous and could have caused my bigger stomach to come through the band and cause a slip. This can sometimes require a total unfill and in some cases surgery. When things settled down for me this summer the stress was

less, which meant the swelling was less and I was able to go back to eating normal foods again. The only time I think that I'm a little too tight is during my period, you know how everything swells during that time of the month and you get bloated, well apparently my stomach swells too, causing me to feel much tighter than I normally do. What does this mean for me... I don't usually drink my protein drink until around 10 or 11 am, around 2 or 3 pm I will have tuna on crackers and I eat maybe 5 bites and I'm full, dinner is smaller than usual. Typically, bread is out for me, sometime, around 9pm I can have bread but then it is sometimes a gamble if it will come back up or not, so I don't like to take the chance on it. My last fill I was able to go back to Mexicali and I'm so grateful, they want me to succeed, they want me to be at the perfect amount. When I went in Dr. Compos said, you have a good fill, and I agreed that I just needed

a little more so I could get to goal. He agreed, I told him I wanted .4 and he said no, .3 and I said, no .4 Because he was doing the fill with fluro he was able to show me how tight I would be with .4 and what .3 looked like. It was perfect, there was no guessing. If I had been in Bismarck, I would have pushed for the .4 and probably have gotten it and then been too tight and been miserable and possibly caused a slip or something worse before I went back to get an unfill.I hope all this has helped and please let me know if something or all of it didn't make sense.Take care, Cyrena Re: LaDonna a response to your questions - VERY LONG! Cyrena, Thank you for answering my questions, it has helped. Could you explain the fills and unfills to me and why when you were stressed you needed a unfill. Have you always gone to Mexico for the fills or have you done it in ND ever? LaDonna --- Cyrena Weeks <cyrenaweeks> wrote: >

Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Mobile. Try it now.