My Lap Band Experience

[lgonzalez]

Hi folks,

I thought I would share my experience, start to finish with the OCC, and the lap band.

Arrived 2/14/08

Banded 2/15/08

Departed 2/17/08

I arrived at the airport just before 2pm, and Fransico was there to meet me. I was under the impression that I was going to the hotel, but Fransico told me that the Nutritionist was expecting me. He took me to the clinic, and I ended up having to wait 2 hours for the Nutrtitionist to get to the clinic. I was kind of upset - I thought she was there waiting for me, turns out I ended up waiting for her! She took me in her office and spent less than 5 minutes talking to me, going over the diet after surgery. All the info she gave me was already emailed to me. I feel like my time was really wasted. While I know they have a Nutrionist there to help guide us, I felt like it was all robotic. She was just running through what she tells everyone everytime they step into her office. I was a bit dissappointed.

I finally was taken to my hotel, checked in and relaxed a while. I decided to get some soup at the resturant downstairs (it was yummy) and then come back to my room and jsut relax and prepare for the next morning.

There was a group of us that were told to be ready and waiting in the lobby first thing in the morning - I think it was 8am or something like that. While waiting down there, I met a few other folks who were getting surgery too. I was so SHOCKED!!!!!! to meet a gal who was getting surgery that day (everyone there was SHOCKED - it wasn't just me). She was average height, and average weight. We all thought she was going to pick up a friend who had the surgery - she just did not fit the profile for Lap Band surgery. She told us that it took her a few weeks to convince them to give her the Lap Band. She was told NOT to do a pre op diet or anything. She told us that she wanted to loose the extra weight she gained during early menopause. I suspect she was about 5 feet 6 inches, or 7 inches and her weight - taking a guess was probably 145 or so. She was super nice and was really looking forward to loosing 35lbs. This also confused me! I get that if she's gained weight since menopause that she might be looking at herself much differnt - however while talking to us, she told us how much she loves to eat, and how hard it was going to be to give up her diet soda and other things. It seems like if she were to change her eating habits and drinking habits she might have some success loosing those few (not 35!) extra pounds she's added. --THIS is nothing against her - she was very nice - this rant is directed to the CLINIC. I was very dissappointed that they agreed to this surgery. This surgery is supposed to be for people who are OBESE, not those who need to shed 10lbs. The ALL MIGHTY DOLLAR ladies and gentlemen THE ALL MIGHTY DOLLAR!!! This was the most dissappointing thing, truely.

Anyway - to continue -

I ended up waiting in the waiting room for about 2 hours, with doing a fast dental check and a EKG. I was then taken to my room, got into my gown and stuff. I was given a pill for relaxation, and got my IV and all that. I think I waited another 2 hours (fell asleep) before it was 'my turn'. I met Dr. Ortiz - he's very nice.

In recovery, I slept most of the day. I thought somone would wake me up to make me go walking - they keep saying all the walking you need to do after the surgery. I woke up 2 times after surgery. Once I had to use the restroom, so I thought I would walk a little. Then several hours later I woke up and did a few more laps. No one checked on me, either - which I thought was a bit strange! I wish they would be more aggressive with the after surgery care.

I slept great that night.

The next morning, I was told it was time to go, so I got up,dressed and then - haha - waited about another 2 hours (I could have been resting those two hours) before I was taken back to my hotel. I went shopping for about 1 hour, then back to the hotel and rested for the rest of the day/night. I thought that someone (nurse, doc, etc) would call and check on all of us - nobody did.

I got a call from Dr. Ortiz's mom letting me know that I had to be ready at 9am the next morning for my transport to the airport, even though my flight wasn't until 4:11pm. They told me that it takes a few hours, minimum, to cross the boarder - and the only other time they offered was at 1pm, but she told me I would not make my plane. So I needed to take the 9am transport. I ended up being the only person going on that transport - which I thought was funny - they could not have taken me a few hours later -- knowing that no other patients were needing to get to the airport before my flight. So, I had to sit in the hotel from 10:15 am until my flight at 4:11pm - that's 6 hours!!!!

Anyway, I'm home - it's been 6 days since my surgery. I'm doing pretty well. I'm sore on my left side (port side) but trying to take it easy. Yesterday was the first day I started to feel a little hungry, but then realized that I had not had enough to drink which is likely the cause. I made some homemade cream of mushroom soup and cream of broccoli/chicken soup last night. I look forward to enjoying that later today.

All in all, I'm happy I had the surgery. I really just wish they had a tighter regiem of how things are done. AND I will never be ok with them doing surgery on people who just need to drop a few pounds. I feel that's abusing what the Lap Band was intended for.

The entire staff IS very nice. I just wish they were more together - knowing that I was not walking - getting me up and walking. Instead of asking me if I've already had medication, they should have it charted what they've given me, when and who gave it to me.

With a little effort, I beleive this clinic could run more more smoothly.

Much Peace to you all,

Maggie

maggie: I'M SO GLAD U POSTED YOUR EXPERIENCE, I AM AT EASE AND NOW VERY EXCITED AND COUNTING DOWN THE DAYS.

I HOPE THAT ALL GOES WELL AND HOPE TO HEAR MORE FROM U

LYDIA

[magpel]

Jill,

Everyone on this forum is welcome to post what they like. My experience was mine. I would not suggest you edit your comments on your experience, or how you felt. You can not tell anyone else how to feel. As for your comment about Dr. Ortiz - I never said anything bad about him. This is a FREE Forum. People want honest information. I gave my experience. You are welcome to share your experience.

I'm not angry Jill. Just because people have different experiences doesn't make them angry. You are essentially saying if you don't have only the best things to say you should not say anything. That's an unfair suggestion.

Good Luck to you on your journey.

[KylisMommySara]

Hi sara, its jill from our surgery day. i am one of the girls you thought shouldn't be having the surgery. your post was sent to me by the other girl you thought didn't need the surgery. sara, tell your fiance hi. i kept calling him your husband. you guys are a very cute couple and so very nice. i remember how much pain you were in after surgery. i felt for you.

i appreciate your opinion of my body and what i should do with it, but, it is my body.

Hey Jill! Great to hear from you! How are you doing? I just want to say that I completely respect your decision and your reasons for having surgery. I do think you are a very beautiful woman. I didn't mean to come off as judgemental. I was VERY VERY appreciative of your help after surgery. I thought you were very nice and I really enjoyed meeting you. I just want you to know that I really didn't mean to come off as judgemental. I tried getting that point across in my post and apparently didn't do a very good job of it Anyway--I will definately tell John hi. He did comment that he also understood your position of prevention. I hope all is going well for you Sara

[jilltexas]

Jill,

Everyone on this forum is welcome to post what they like. My experience was mine. I would not suggest you edit your comments on your experience, or how you felt. You can not tell anyone else how to feel. As for your comment about Dr. Ortiz - I never said anything bad about him. This is a FREE Forum. People want honest information. I gave my experience. You are welcome to share your experience.

I'm not angry Jill. Just because people have different experiences doesn't make them angry. You are essentially saying if you don't have only the best things to say you should not say anything. That's an unfair suggestion.

Good Luck to you on your journey.

its cool maggie, but i was not talking about your experience i was talking about the judgement you passed on dr. ortiz and the other "thinner" patient. your quote:

It seems like if she were to change her eating habits and drinking habits she might have some success loosing those few (not 35!) extra pounds she's added. --THIS is nothing against her - she was very nice - this rant is directed to the CLINIC. I was very dissappointed that they agreed to this surgery. This surgery is supposed to be for people who are OBESE, not those who need to shed 10lbs. The ALL MIGHTY DOLLAR ladies and gentlemen THE ALL MIGHTY DOLLAR!!! This was the most dissappointing thing, truely.

what makes you think it is easier for that woman to change her eating and drinking habits than it is for you? and why is it wrong that dr. ortiz believes in prevention? or why is it wrong for dr. ortiz to make some money (the all mighty dollar)? because of dr. ortiz, my 153 lbs and my bmi of 27 is now 142 lbs 13 days after surgery. i only have 20 more pounds to go. had i waited until i was 60 or 70 pounds overweight, i would have some health issues, the surgery would have been more dangerous, and i would be struggling more. i think it smart to know when you can not just "change eating and drinking habits" (your quote) and do something more drastic. so you did not just give your experience, you passed judgement on the physician you trusted to do surgery on you and you passed judgement on a woman you did not know.

you can not sugar coat that.

good luck to you too. i hope you lose the weight you want and live a long happy life.

jill

[jilltexas]

sara, so glad to hear from you too. i was relieved to read that john did get his birth certificate and was able to come home with you. last i heard was the birth certificate was maybe at dr ortiz' house. i know you were missing your daughter. we mommas will do anything for our children~~even leaving behind our men in foreign countries!! i hope your post operative time has been ok, i know you have some back trouble. kara and i are going back on the 26th for our fill. when are you going? take care little one. i think about our "group" often. we had a good group to support each other. xxxooo's jill

[mlgpdx]

(sigh) IMHO this conversation seems to have taken a turn... Thanks to everyone for sharing THEIR experience/opinion.

[KylisMommySara]

sara, so glad to hear from you too. i was relieved to read that john did get his birth certificate and was able to come home with you. last i heard was the birth certificate was maybe at dr ortiz' house. i know you were missing your daughter. we mommas will do anything for our children~~even leaving behind our men in foreign countries!! i hope your post operative time has been ok, i know you have some back trouble. kara and i are going back on the 26th for our fill. when are you going? take care little one. i think about our "group" often. we had a good group to support each other. xxxooo's jill

Hey Jill! We haven't decided exactly when we are going back for my fill, but are thinking somewhere right around that time. We have to figure out when John can take a day off work--he won't let me go back alone lol. I agree, we did have a great "group" to support each other! Its good to see you've only got 20 pounds to go! That is so awesome! I have lost about 50 pounds since I started and am so happy so far! > Sara

[jetdeck]

Magpel

IMHO...this post has two distinctions:

Your experience, which for me was helpful. I like knowing that things may take longer than usual, I will be prepared and less anxious.

Your judgments, which for me was not helpful and personally offensive. We all have our demons whether we are 30, 70, 100, 250, 300 lbs overweight, I would have preferred that you left your opinions of others to yourself and would appreciate it if you would acknowledge your lapse in judgment.

I realize that this post has been belabored but I think it is because you continue to justify your experience which was very beneficial instead of addressing the various people that took offense to your judgments.

I look forward to my journey to see Dr. Ortiz next week and hope that the group I am with will choose to be supportive of our given situations.

Respectfully - SJ

[magpel]

Picture this:

You get into a car accident and your sitting in the ER waiting for a doctor to see you. While you're waiting you see a few new people come in, one who seems to have a cut on his head and another guy seems to be throwing up blood. Another person in the waiting room sees this and alerts a nurse. 45 minutes later the man with the cut on his head is headed home with 4 stitches and the guy throwing up is still in the waiting room.

There are two things I'm trying to point out here. One is that you'll go home and tell people what you saw for 2 reasons - one - you can't beleive while this man is throwing up blood a nurse is alerted, and he's still waiting 45 minutes later. The 2nd is he was still seated while they chose to take someone else and give him 4 stiches.

When you tell your loved ones, family, friends or you blog about it, you blog what you saw. You recap with any conversation you had with this person, or any other people around you.

Do you see my point? I'm tired of explaining myself, and this will be the last time. I feel I'm under a personal attach. I was not attaching this gal, and I wish she was one this board, and she could tell you everything I said was what you told me.

How would you like it if I told you I'd prefer you would keep your negative comments to yourself? It's not a good feeling, is it?

I am a woman of purpose. I choose to share my experiences fully. I can apppreciate that you may not have shared YOUR WHOLE experience, and that would be ok with me. It's your choice. I don't tell other people what they can and can not say.

Thank you.

Peace,

Maggie

[jetdeck]

Obviously you are unable to distinguish the difference between judging another person and sharing an experience.

I as well am done with this thread.

I wish you the best with your weight loss experience.

SJ

[jilltexas]

Hey Jill! We haven't decided exactly when we are going back for my fill, but are thinking somewhere right around that time. We have to figure out when John can take a day off work--he won't let me go back alone lol. I agree, we did have a great "group" to support each other! Its good to see you've only got 20 pounds to go! That is so awesome! I have lost about 50 pounds since I started and am so happy so far! > Sara

sara, 50 pounds, that is amazing. i bet you feel great. i bet your chronic aches and pains are lessening. yea, i am so happy for you. you tell john that if he can not get off of work, kara and i will be there the evening of the 25th and leaving the afternoon on the 26th. the center has a great package. transportation, hotel, and fluoroscopy for $299. kara and i are sharing the transportation as we coordinated our arrivals and departures so we are splitting the cost of the transportation. so it is even cheaper. of course john wants to come back with you, he is very protective of you. and mabye he wants to do a bit more shopping. i so wish you all the success and the next time i see you, i know i will be seeing less of you. good night little one. take care and we well and safe. jill

[kym828]

My only concern about this whole conversation is that we all plan on being normal and healthy in the correct BMI within one or two years following the lapband procedure...

Does that mean we no longer require this tool and shouldnt have it since we are healthy? If people need the tool i dont think it should matter what your BMI is - i plan on having a 26 BMI for life and keeping my lapband for life. If it slips, i would head back to Dr Ortiz in a second to get a new one so i dont gain all the wt back again.

kim

[magpel]

Would you get the lap band if you had a bmi of 26?

[Clynn]

Would you get the lap band if you had a bmi of 26?

I think the point people are trying to make is that the answer to your question above is irrelevant. It is for the patient and their doctor to decide, no one else.

I would also like to take this moment to say to everyone that yes, you are entitled to your opinions. However, by extension everyone else is entitled to their opinions of your opinion. Thus we have discussions about (mostly) important issues. Unless I missed a posting, magpel at no point did anyone call you names or tell you to be quiet. From the tone of your replies it seemed like you were feeling like you were under personal attack. I hope this is not the case, though I can only speak for myself and not for others. I hope that was not their intention as that would diminish an otherwise important tool for people going through the process of surgery and recovery.

Goodnight everyone, and have a pleasant weekend.

[magpel]

Clynn, I do feel like people are attacking me. They are telling me what I should and should not say. Accusing me of saying nasty things about Dr. Ortiz, etc. I've had more than a handful of people send me personal messages thanking me for my original post, even if they didn't agree with it. Respecting that it was my experience. Then there are people who are suggesting I should only post good things and leave anything negative things out.

I would just wish that we could all post and cross post with no fear of being 'attacked' in any way. I almost feel like the fat kid off to the side while all the other kids are talking about me. I don't know. I feel like I'm constantly defending my post.

As for my comment about a 26bmi, could you imagine having a bmi of 26 (you, being any of us) and needing the lap band? If I had a bmi of 26 I would weigh less than my goal weight. That's all I was saying.

It is not my intent to hurt any feelings or be mean. I really love this forum, and I hope it continues to be open and I look forward to hearing about other people's experiences.

[jetdeck]

Magpel,

Since you like scenarios, here is one for you.

Let's say you had lap band at 40 BMI... had great success and lost done to 26 BMI... was finally enjoying the life you always dreamed. Then unfortunately the band slipped and had to be removed. After six months recuperating you saw the scales slowly creeping up. Are you saying that since your BMI was currently at 26 that you would not be re-banded to prevent going back up to 40 BMI?????

SJ

[magpel]

SJ,

I'm sitting here not knowing exactally what to say to you. I feel like you are picking on me. You can choose not to respond to something I post. When you call me out and keep posting things like this - I feel like you are taking everything I say personally. I don't know you, you don't know me. I would appreciate if you would respect that we can all post our thoughts.

As for your question - I would hope that I had learned from living with the band. What to eat, what not to eat, how much to eat and when to eat. The Lap Band is a tool I chose to assist me in my journey of weight loss. It is one of several tools I am using. I'm also relearning how to cook healthy for my family, how to better control my portions, what foods respond better than others to my body's digestion, listening to my body, working out, and personal issues with the loss of family and how it relates to food. With all of these tools, I expect to be successful in my journey. It's not only about the weight loss, there are several other things that need work in order for the weight to stay off. So to answer your question, If my band slipped and I had it removed and the wieght started to come back slowly. I would re-evaluate what was going on in my life, and make sure I was continuing to honor the commitment I have made to myself and to my health.

I take this journey very seriously, and the lap band is just a small part of it. It does not define my journey. It is not my quick fix, my miricle cure or easy way out. I am a mother of two young babies and have been hit with devine inspiriation to get my health in check and live long and love long.

I respect everyone on these boards. Everyone is on their own journey. This is mine.

Much Peace to you all,

Maggie

[alicia]

Thank you for your comment. I am 60lbs overweight but I am pretty proportionate. Many people are surprised at what I actually weigh. I was concerned that Magpel’s opinion was prevalent throughout this forum and I am pleased to see that there is understanding for different people’s situations. I am having my surgery next week and I am uncomfortable telling a complete stranger my motives for having this surgery. This conversation has prepared me for what I might face when I go to have my surgery. Although, I would rather face a thousand Magpel's than stay overweight!