OCC never called me back

[MrsParris]

Julie, I have been following your problem closely and I am so glad to hear that you are feeling better, and thanks for the thorough report of your fill center. It helps to put my mind to ease. Thanks again,

Kimberly

[julieburns]

Good morning all:

I wish I could reply to each post individually but that would take another page or 2. Each of you who has replied made me feel so special and cared for. I listened to what all you said and do have a few responses in general about this experience I want to clarify.

First of all I am very grateful and happy I had my surgery by Dr. Ortiz and Dr. Martinez. Yes they are the premium Docs when it comes to this surgery and I would still go back or recommend them to anyone I know who wants a lapband. I understand that aftercare was not ever a part of the deal but as Cathy pointed out I did pay for the fill. I knew Dr. Ortiz was out but other Dr. were around such as Dr. Acosta who did the fill, Dr. So the next day and I'm sure Dr. Martinez was somewhere also as surgeries were being performed. I do hope there is an explanation but 4 messages later and no call even today yet is absolutely sub standard care. I really wanted some expert advice from them and was willing to get a last minute ticket and go back to TJ for care. I had the concern that if anything goes wrong with the band down the road I didn't want anyone else to have touched it so if necessary they wouldn't have that excuse to not maybe replace something or do a procedure with no cost if necessary. Now that's screwed up because of their lack of response. Oh well I really pray this is my only "bad" situation with my band and all will be good from here on out.

Secondly I learned so much from this provider. I now know how terribly important many things are that I had sort of taken for granted. This experience really heightened my awareness of the possibilities of complications and I have a whole new respect for the amount of food at one time I should eat. This was not new news to me at all but in being able to have someone talk to me one on one and explain the numerous patients who eat too much regularly and then their esophagus erodes and sooner or later they have to have the band out. She said she sees it ALL the time. And yes it is because when you don't have restriction you tend to eat more than 1/3-1/2 cup at a time. Over time this will cause problems almost as a given. My warning to all is to take this recommendation seriously and at any time DO NOT eat more than 1/3 cup of food. Measure your food. Also foods like broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus and the others we all have heard about should ALWAYS be cooked until they are limp and then chewed to liquids. I know this is old news but now I really respect how important these guidelines are.

I am on clear liquids for 2 days. She said the Fill Center USA ALWAYS has patients go on liquids for 2-3 days after a fill not matter what number fill it is. This is very important also. She said small more frequent fills is the gold standard and it's not just to make more money. It is to prevent situations just like these!! Do not push your fill person into giving you an "aggressive " fill. Maybe you will be ok but please hear me..."It is not worth it". I have lost 2 days of work from this experience as well as the extra expense of the unfill. I would have been so much better off to just stay local with my fills, blind or not, I truly believe this is the most important thing to consider. Having a local place in case of emergencies is the most important thing to consider in my opinion. After having 2 fills with fluoro and an unfill and then a fill blind I am a believer that fluoro DOES NOT MAKE that much of a difference. Especially for the first fill when you are not going to be overfilled or too restricted. I have never heard of a first fill being too tight. I know we all want to "see"our band at that first fill but truly unless you blew all the rules and know you havn't been compliant then in my opinion fluoro is unnecessary. Now if you have

unlimited funds than go for it!!

And finally I just got off the phone with the same person I spoke to yesterday from Fill Centers USA who helped me make my appointment. She called me to make sure I was ok and to ask how my experience was. She told me she will call me in 1 month to follow-up. She also told me to call her anytime and someone would always talk to me or return my call within an hour. Even if I just need encouragement or whatever. What a nice surprise.

Sorry this is so long. I am feeling better today. I am drinking juice and my pills went down fine. I do feel somewhat "full" so I hope I still have restriction. Again thank you all and I love this forum because of all of you who are here!!

[LoriBecky]

Julie,

I am so sorry about your experience - I have forwarded your note to the clinic so they can make sure that doesn't happen again! There is a doctor on duty day and night, so even in the evenings or before or after hours you should always get someone on the phone. 1-866-376-7849 ext 5 for post-op docs, ext 3 for Dr. Martinez or ext. 4 for Dr. Ortiz.

Victoria - I just sent you an email, I haven't received anything from you so please forward those emails with questions - i don't have anything from you - just went through my old emails and my junk folder and don't see anything - you can always call me 1-866-376-7849 ext. 81 with questions.

[julieburns]

Julie,

I am so sorry about your experience - I have forwarded your note to the clinic so they can make sure that doesn't happen again! There is a doctor on duty day and night, so even in the evenings or before or after hours you should always get someone on the phone. 1-866-376-7849 ext 5 for post-op docs, ext 3 for Dr. Martinez or ext. 4 for Dr. Ortiz.

I DID call those numbers and only could leave messages. To say we should always be able to get someone on the phone just isn't true of my experience. Just to clarify I did use the correct numbers. I left several messages on these numbers. The extension for Dr. O wouldn't even let me leave a message it just hung up on me after a long silence. This should really be looked at.

[denisem]

Julie,

I've been thinking about you all night last night and today and just got caught up on your situation. I'm SOOO glad you found someone to perform your unfill. It sounds like you found a perfect place to go from now on. Just wanted you to know you've been in my thoughts and prayers and I'm glad you are better.

Congrats on the 8 lb loss! Although, I'm sure you wouldn't recommend losing it the way you did!

Denise

[Jann]

Good morning all:

I wish I could reply to each post individually but that would take another page or 2. Each of you who has replied made me feel so special and cared for. I listened to what all you said and do have a few responses in general about this experience I want to clarify.

First of all I am very grateful and happy I had my surgery by Dr. Ortiz and Dr. Martinez. Yes they are the premium Docs when it comes to this surgery and I would still go back or recommend them to anyone I know who wants a lapband. I understand that aftercare was not ever a part of the deal but as Cathy pointed out I did pay for the fill.

Secondly I learned so much from this provider. I now know how terribly important many things are that I had sort of taken for granted. This experience really heightened my awareness of the possibilities of complications and I have a whole new respect for the amount of food at one time I should eat. This was not new news to me at all but in being able to have someone talk to me one on one and explain the numerous patients who eat too much regularly and then their esophagus erodes and sooner or later they have to have the band out. She said she sees it ALL the time. And yes it is because when you don't have restriction you tend to eat more than 1/3-1/2 cup at a time. Over time this will cause problems almost as a given. My warning to all is to take this recommendation seriously and at any time DO NOT eat more than 1/3 cup of food. Measure your food. Also foods like broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus and the others we all have heard about should ALWAYS be cooked until they are limp and then chewed to liquids. I know this is old news but now I really respect how important these guidelines are.

I'm sorry you went through that Julie but your experience highlights that we need to clarify what service levels we should expect and secondly good bandster guidelines. I'm going back to read through all my books to refresh. It's been awhile. I hope you are feeling better! Hopefully, this issue will be resolved at the OCC level. It seems reasonable that if they did the fill they would do the follow-up in this case. Take good care.

Jann

[OSuzanna]

To the best of my knowledge OCC patients were never promised aftercare, however, by virtue of being given all kinds of phone numbers including the supposedly cel phone numbers of the docs, you assumed if there was a problem and you called that call would be returned.

Just my two cents.

[cfuture88]

I was banded with my husband on the 19th and we have not had a call yet about how we are doing. I would think someone would call to check on us. Very strange. They didnt tell us to check in either. So I dont understand that. I guess maybe they think no news is good news. Even my dr here at home checks on me after an appt. The only concern I have had is what I call dry stomach. I wake up in the AM and I feel all dry. I drink my gaterade and it goes away but it does not feel good when it happens. It would be nice just to have someone call to see if I am still alive..

You feel dry because you are in ketosis, i.e. losing weight. Dry mouth, bad breath. May be worthwhile to use "oasis" for your mouth because a dry mouth can contribute for periodontal disease and cavities. Drink alot and know that that dry feeling is you losing weight.

Now, I called the OCC 3 days after my surgery and Dr. Acosta came on the phone in a couple of minutes, spent as much time as I desired, gave me good advice... I do think that their immediate post op care (after hospital) leaves a lot to be desired. They should call after 2 days, and 1 week, and should send out a questionaire, and when you go back to the OcC for fills, you should be weighed and meet with dr. Mirando if you want. I am a nurse and although I thought the perioperative care was good, I did notice holes in the aftercare.

[stormy]

You feel dry because you are in ketosis, i.e. losing weight. Dry mouth, bad breath. May be worthwhile to use "oasis" for your mouth because a dry mouth can contribute for periodontal disease and cavities. Drink alot and know that that dry feeling is you losing weight.

Now, I called the OCC 3 days after my surgery and Dr. Acosta came on the phone in a couple of minutes, spent as much time as I desired, gave me good advice... I do think that their immediate post op care (after hospital) leaves a lot to be desired. They should call after 2 days, and 1 week, and should send out a questionaire, and when you go back to the OcC for fills, you should be weighed and meet with dr. Mirando if you want. I am a nurse and although I thought the perioperative care was good, I did notice holes in the aftercare.

No, my mouth is not dry, my stomach feels dry. It is hard to explain. When I get up in the morning my stomach hurts. I have to put something in it because it feels dry and my throat sometimes hurts but my mouth doesnt feel dry. Ok well it did once but I think I was sleeping with my mouth open. HA!

[BandDiva]

Ya know, now that I think about it. I had another surgery, and no one every called. So, maybe it is normal. But, I don't think it is right that Julie wasn't called back from her call with her problem with her Fill. That can be dangerous.