Dolittle

Pammie is referring to question #4, about patients having an unfill or having their band removed once they reach goal. I don't visit other band websites so I have never read or heard of this. In the 3 years that I have been a moderator here at the OCC (lapband) forum I've never seen a post referring to patients doing this either. My own experiances with the band tells me that I will have to live with it the rest of my life. When I had my plastic surgery and had the band unfilled for 4 months, I gained weight. Needless to say, if I had my band removed, OMG. Dolittles band is for life. I don't want to go back to the 300 pounds I was when I got banded. No, no, no. It's for LIFE!

In December, several members of the OCC forum ask me to obtain answers to their questions about lap bands. I tried to get the answers from Allergan/Inamed (the manufacturer of the Lap Band) with no luck. After 6 months of trying with Allergan/Inmed, I contacted Johnson & Johnson/Ethicon who promptly provided the following answers. Johnson & Johnson/Ethicon is the manufacturer of REALIZE Bands. I’d like to thank Marlene and the staff at J&J/Ethicon for their willingness to answer our questions and their quick response. Let me know if you have any other questions. 1. How many bands/models does Johnson & Johnson manufacture? Answer: There are two types of REALIZE Bands. The straight band holds up to 9cc (1.8 teaspoons) of saline and the REALIZE® Adjustable Gastric Band-C (curved band) holds up to 11cc of saline. 2. Which bands are available in the United States? Answer: Both the straight and curved bands are available in the United States and Canada. 3. Which bands are only available outside of the United States? Answer: The same bands are marketed outside the United States but are sold as the Swedish Adjustable Gastric Band (SAGB), although some call the SAGB “REALIZE”. 4. Forum members have read at other forum boards that, once a patient reaches their weight goal, for an unknown reason they require their band to be unfilled or in some cases even removed. Has Johnson and Johnson seen a trend in this direction? Are there any statistics or any truth to this? Answer: The REALIZE Band is intended for long-term use. Because adjustable gastric banding surgery does not permanently change the anatomy of the stomach and intestines, the REALIZE Band can be removed, if necessary. Please keep in mind that surgery reversal is not simple, and weight gain is usually observed in people who have had their bands removed and do not continue a healthy eating regimen. In response to your inquiry regarding trends to remove the fluid or the band, I checked with an internal associate who stated that Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc. does not recommend removal of fluid from the port nor removal of the band . We do not have any statistics on this trend. 5. Forum members seem to think that men require fewer adjustment/fills than women. Is there any truth to that? Answer: The REALIZE Band is adjustable, which allows the bariatric surgeon to personalize the band fit over time. After an adjustment, the patient will be satisfied with less food, so he/she can keep losing weight gradually (1 to 2 pounds per week). As weight loss occurs, the REALIZE Band fit will change. Periodic band adjustments ensure that the amount of saline in the band (often called a "fill level") is comfortable for the patient and keeps him/her on track to meet weight loss goals. Band adjustments are unique to the person, are based on personal anatomy, and the needs of the patient. We have not done any studies regarding fills between men and women. 6. What is the Gastric banding surgery ratio between men and women? Answer: Bariatric surgery is 80% women and 20% men. This is similar for banding surgery.

I had a lower body lift a year and a half after my banding and loosing 100 lbs. I have plastic surgery blog here at the forum. You can check it out, it's under Dolittle's plastic surgery blog.

I don't know when it will be posted here at the forum,, I hope soon. I did notice that the hyper links to the past webinars are not working. I've emailed the IT guy and hopefully we can get everything up and running.

For all of you that attended the June 3 2010 Plastic Surgery Webinar on the Internet, you saw and heard a Plastic Surgery testimonial from an OCC lapband patient named Stephanie. I'd like to congratulate her on her weight loss success. If you attended the Webinar, you would have saw her "before and after" pictures, WOW! she looked GREAT! Hats off to Dr. Ortiz and the OCC for the gastric band surgery. Hats off to Dr. Quiroz and Cosmed for the new Body!

I was 300 pounds and age 53. I had retired and did real well managing my weight the first summer I was retired. Then the weight started to creep back on. I was heading towards my heaviest weight (350), which was when I was in college. I had looked into lapbanding back in 2000, but I chickened out and told myself the same line of BS I had been telling myself all these years, "I can do this myself,, Why do I need WLS?" So, right after Christmas 2006 I stepped on the scale and told myself this was nuts, I couldn't do this on my own. Since I had to pay out of pocket, I went on-line and did the research and came up with the OCC. On March 1st 2007, I flew to San Diego, the OCC picked me up and from that point on, changed my life. Yes,, I had a ton of anxiety, but after loosing 100 pounds, I found it was the smartest thing I had ever done concerning my life. Knowing what I know now, I tell people that I should have done it back in 2000. I only wish they would have had this WLS back when I was a teenager. God only knows what my life would have been like.

The OCC coordinators have been busy. They're already scheduling surgeries for August. If your scheduled for August and want to meet patients and make new friends that will be going through the same experiances as you, this is the topic. So lets hear from all of you that are coming in August.

I read an article that stated they didn't do anything for your butt. The article stated to get the results that was hinted at in the commercial, you needed to join a gym.

I wanted to up date this post. One part of the return back to the border when leaving has changed. This is the change, When taking a taxi back to the border, instead of the taxi dropping you off at the border taxi stand, they will drop you off right at the end of the walk through line. The sidewalk will be to the right when you get out of the taxi, follow the sidewalk and people to the US customs building. I've seen the line backed up to this point, but the line moves fast. Another reminder, if your going to do the walk across from arrival to leaving,, pack light. Also, buy only a one day bus/trolley pass if your going to do your fill and leave the same day.

Since the OCC has expanded it's services to include Gastric Sleeve Surgery and Gastric By-Pass Surgery, we have added two new sub forums for those patients. We also changed the name of a sub forum topic that was named Gastric Band Testimonials to " Weight Loss Surgery Testimonials", to cover all the weight loss surgeries that the OCC offers. These would be the Gastric Band, Gastric Sleeve and the Gastric By-Pass. We hope those new patients that have selected the sleeve or the by-pass will post their experiances along with the bandsters.

Oop's I made a mistake, I was thinking Chux were the big thick bandage,, Now I remember the nurses aid at the recovery house called the big thick pads that went between you and the sheets were called chux. I don't remember what the thick absorbent bandages were called. I know I couldn't find them locally and had to buy the womens pads. sorry for the lack of memory.

Cosmed is in TJ,, so they use then in Mexico. I don't think "chucks" is the proper name for them. That was the term they used when I was at Cosmed and even when I was at the recovery house in MX. I just know them as "chucks" too.

Big, Fat, Thick, absorbant bandages. They kind of remind you of the old style monthly pads (Kotex) for women. I know this from when I had my LBL at Cosmed. You can't find them at your local drug store.

I'm a 56 year old male, knowing what I know today and how the band has been God sent, I would have choose the band at his age in a heart beat. In the USA, the FDA has rules that state anyone under the age of 18 can't have any form of Weight Loss Surgery (WLS). I think this will change over time. There are several WLS studies going on now where several University Hospital programs are performing WLS on teenagers. You could try to get your child into one of these programs, but it's almost impossible to get into one, the waiting list is over full. Many parents make the decision and go across the border. The OCC has a lot of experiance with teenagers. We have had several post their experiances here at the forum. One of our most famous is a young girl named Cassie. She's been on Oprah, and she was very open and talked about her lap band experiance. You can type in her name in the search box and a lot of her posts should be available. I know Tootsie and her teenage daughter were both banded on the same day and they have posted their experiances too. Also you could call Lori, one of the OCC surgery coordinators and she could give you more information concerning this.

Your probably in that grey area of restriction. Do you learn to live with the small amount of restriction you have now, or tweek the band a little more? I have the 4cc band and I've found that even .1cc (one tenth) can be to little or too much restriction. I'd consult my fill doctor before I'd do anything.

The year is just flying by. July has all those picnics, food and beer everywhere. For some of you,, you've decided to change your life and choose to have WLS and skip the food frenzy. This topic is where you can meet those who have scheduled their surgery or fills. Let's hear from the patients that have scheduled during the month of July.

I wish I waited. I was about like you, 20 pounds from goal, but I didn't like my hanging apron. But I'm still at the same weight I was when I had my lower body lift.

I'm not a big drinker, but if I have a glass or two of wine, it has to be a Zin and I always add a little diet 7-up to it. I think they call it a spritzer? This way your cutting your carbs.

Sorry to tell you this, Rene is no longer at the OCC, so if you directed your email straight to him, he wouldn't be answering it. Leaks in the band are very rare. From what I've learned over the years is that if you have a leak, it's most likely the port or the tube coming out of the port. And usually it was punctured during a fill, example would be the fill doctor or tech missing the port and hitting the tube. But this is all speculation, you need to email your OCC coordinator and discuss this problem with them. Omnipaque saline fluid will not fix a leak.

The Lucerna has 3 or 4 computers just off the lobby for hotel guests to use. The OCC has a couple computers in the recovery area for patients to use. So there's no need to worry that you won't have access to the internet and they're free to use. I've stayed at 4 hotels ( Lucerna, Marriott, Camino and the Del Rio) while I have been in TJ over the last couple years. They all have their pro's and con's, but I've always like the Lucerna the best out of all of them.

First, I'm not a doctor. LOL. As far as I know, when my port was relocated during my lower body lift, the plastic surgeon moved it down one level. Originally it was located between the skin and the membrane layer, now it's down under the membrane, sitting between the membrane and the muscle layer, sutured to my ab muscle. If it was below your muscle layer, how would you be able to keep it from floating around your internal body cavity? It would be hard to find and access too. Before my LBL, my port really was noticeable by touch, now it's not. I can thank Dr. Quiroz at Cosmed for that.

It just drives me nuts when a plastic surgeon uses that excuse.

I would say that Dr. So is the wrong guy to ask, call the OCC and ask the office manager or call Lori the coordinator. One of those two should be able to tell you how much it would cost you to have that procedure.

The port can be moved one more layer down, but "NOT" below the muscle. I know the OCC will do this, but I don't know how much it costs. Call one of the OCC coordinators or the OCC direct, they will be able to tell you. I had mine moved down one layer by Dr. Quiroz at Cosmed plastic surgery clinic when I had my Lower Body Lift. If anyone is thinking about plastic surgery,, wait till then, it could save you a couple bucks.