Questions and Concerns

[Allcdngirl]

Hi All, This is an absolutely wonderful forum. Thanks to all of you who take the time to provide such valuable information and support. I live in Vancouver BC Canada, and am almost convinced that LB is the right WLS for me. I have a few concerns and questions. Some of these questions come from a friend of mine that had LB here in Canada 1 yr ago, and because I want to go to Mexico she said it would be best for me to get some answers first. So here goes:

1 - She has had 2 issues with food getting stuck and had to get in immediately to her dr. to be flushed with water. She is very concerned that if I have this surgery in Mexico, who is going to take care of me in Canada, should I need this kind of attention?

2 - She had to do a whole bunch of blood work, tests, and sleep apnea testing, and she's wondering why I don't have to do it? Should I be concerned?

3 - I have a hiatus hernia, is this going to cause a problem?

4 - I understood that I should only need approx. 2 - 3 fills after my surgery. (I am 250 lbs, 5'6, BMI 41). She was approx. the same as me, and has had 6 fills so far.

I think this is it for now. I am thinking about going down on May 15th. Another women from the Vancouver area going down at that time? I will be going by myself.

Thanks for your time... AllCdnGirl!

[MamaMichelle]

Some of these questions come from a friend of mine that had LB here in Canada 1 yr ago, and because I want to go to Mexico she said it would be best for me to get some answers first. So here goes:

1 - She has had 2 issues with food getting stuck and had to get in immediately to her dr. to be flushed with water. She is very concerned that if I have this surgery in Mexico, who is going to take care of me in Canada, should I need this kind of attention? Personally I have never heard of someone having something so stuck they needed to see someone to have it flushed out, especially with water because that usually creates a worse problem. We are all told to walk around if something gets stuck and it should clear itself out in a few min (usually by coming back up in a productive burp). Now if after your first fill you are continually getting food stuck you might need an unfill at which point you would see your doctor. Many people can't or won't travel back to Mexico for a fill so they find a local dr to be their fill doctor and that doc takes over your primary band care.

2 - She had to do a whole bunch of blood work, tests, and sleep apnea testing, and she's wondering why I don't have to do it? Should I be concerned? They run the full range of tests at OCC on either the day of your surgery or the day before, everything except for the sleep test. If anything comes up as a red flag they will not do the surgery so you shouldn't worry about their competency. I read somewhere that these exorbitant tests are all done to make the patient (or the insurance company if they are paying) feel better about spending $20,000 on the surgery... When we all spent around $8,000.

3 - I have a hiatus hernia, is this going to cause a problem? Many people have this issue and Dr. Ortiz repairs it at the same time he installs the lap band (at no charge), there are a few bandsters here that can give more specific details on their experiences with that type of hernia..

4 - I understood that I should only need approx. 2 - 3 fills after my surgery. (I am 250 lbs, 5'6, BMI 41). She was approx. the same as me, and has had 6 fills so far. Fills are a totally personal experience, some people get banded and never need a fill in their lifetime, others may need 3-4 a year... It depends on the size of your band and how aggressive the doctor is (another way some doctors try to get money from bandsters is to give them tiny fills each time (say .5cc's at a time) when another doctor may put in more ( say 2.0cc's). Only you will know when you get to that point, again this is why it is important to find a local fill doctor (be sure he accepts patients banded in Mexico as some won't) so you don't have to travel back to Mexico each time you need a fill, or if you need an un-fill

Dr. Ortiz has done over 5,000 surgeries and you will find so many totally satisfied customers on this board that any doubts will be out of your head by the time your surgery date rolls around! Welcome to our family!

[Allcdngirl]

Thank you so much MammaMichelle... the reason I am going to choose Dr. Ortiz is because of all the success that everyone is having. (Of course when I mentioned "Tijuana" to my girlfriend, she cringed", but she hasn't done her homework like I have.

I guess my biggest concern, is leaving there, and something going wrong, and not having the dr. there. I did find a dr. here in Delta that will treat LapBand patients that have had their surgery in Mexico, so that does make me feel better.

I will keep you all posted on when I've made my decision, and when I'm actually going to do it.

AllCdnGirl

Hi All, This is an absolutely wonderful forum. Thanks to all of you who take the time to provide such valuable information and support. I live in Vancouver BC Canada, and am almost convinced that LB is the right WLS for me. I have a few concerns and questions. Some of these questions come from a friend of mine that had LB here in Canada 1 yr ago, and because I want to go to Mexico she said it would be best for me to get some answers first. So here goes:

1 - She has had 2 issues with food getting stuck and had to get in immediately to her dr. to be flushed with water. She is very concerned that if I have this surgery in Mexico, who is going to take care of me in Canada, should I need this kind of attention?

2 - She had to do a whole bunch of blood work, tests, and sleep apnea testing, and she's wondering why I don't have to do it? Should I be concerned?

3 - I have a hiatus hernia, is this going to cause a problem?

4 - I understood that I should only need approx. 2 - 3 fills after my surgery. (I am 250 lbs, 5'6, BMI 41). She was approx. the same as me, and has had 6 fills so far.

I think this is it for now. I am thinking about going down on May 15th. Another women from the Vancouver area going down at that time? I will be going by myself.

Thanks for your time... AllCdnGirl!

[sparetire]

I had a hiatal hernia that i did not know about prior to surgery. Dr. Ortiz fixed it and told me after the surgery. the size of fill also depends on the size of the band that the dr. puts in. when i go for my fill with my sister, i expect that mine will be a larger amount as I have the 10cc band and she has the 4 cc band. I think Michelle hit the nail on the head with the reasons as to why all the excessive testing is done. Most obese/extreme obese ppl have apnea issues.

Which Dr in Delta will do your fills? We called all over and the only one who would accept us from a Mexican surgery ended up being in Calgary...

[snowbird]

Hi, allcdngirl. Everyone else has answered you well, so I will just say welcome, neighbor. Our home base is Blaine, Washington just across the border, although we spend a good part of the year in Arizona. I too have never heard of anyone having to get stuck food "flushed out" so I would say that is not a common occurrence.

My husband and I are headed to OCC in late May for a possible fill for him and some dental work, so maybe we will see you there.

[Allcdngirl]

Dr. Woodhead is doing them right now.

How are you finding eating such little food, having to chew it so much, etc. I know it's quite a lifestyle change. Are you managing okay? Congrat's on the weight loss!

I had a hiatal hernia that i did not know about prior to surgery. Dr. Ortiz fixed it and told me after the surgery. the size of fill also depends on the size of the band that the dr. puts in. when i go for my fill with my sister, i expect that mine will be a larger amount as I have the 10cc band and she has the 4 cc band. I think Michelle hit the nail on the head with the reasons as to why all the excessive testing is done. Most obese/extreme obese ppl have apnea issues.

Which Dr in Delta will do your fills? We called all over and the only one who would accept us from a Mexican surgery ended up being in Calgary...

[Par Girl]

Dr. Woodhead is doing them right now.

How are you finding eating such little food, having to chew it so much, etc. I know it's quite a lifestyle change. Are you managing okay? Congrat's on the weight loss!

Hi there,

I had the band on the 1st of April at the OCC and I highly recommend this facility, the doctors and the whole staff (including Mrs. Ortiz!) are everything you read here on the forum.

In regards to your inquiry, my good friend who had the surgery done at the OCC 16 months ago has had two sever experiences with food getting stuck. The food would not come up nor go through and it was frightening. My friend is the first to admit that it was 100% her fault. In any case she had to rush to the OCC in the middle of the night (12:00 a.m.) and they simply did a unfill, she felt relief immediately and there were no residual pains. If you have a Dr. in Canada to attend to your fills or unfills you should do just fine.

For the OCC bandee's isn't it comforting to know the OCC is ALWAYS so attentive!

Pargil