Cubankitten9

Does anyone else have trouble going to the bathroom? I dont know if its a sign of something else, or if Im jut not going as much cause Im not eating as much... Its almost as if the bowel isnt even contracting... any thoughts from anyone? Kyle

Melissa... call Dr. Ortiz right away... he will probably tell you to come down to the office immediately...Dr. Martinez will do a fluoroscopy on you and be able to tell you what's what... the rule is when liquids hurt, its too tight... or if you cant keep liquids or water down something is amiss and if you get it addressed right away, you will be fine... it might just be an overfill. 2 weeks ago today, I had a stomach flu that hd me vomiting a lot, which caused my band to slip...actually, it caused my stomach to come up through the band (my vomiting was pretty intense, like over 200 times in 24 hours) causing a complete obstruction... I couldnt keep water down..l. I called Dr. Ortiz the next morning on his cell and his wife answered and put him on the phone immediately... I told him what was happening and he said to come down immediately (I was already on the road there)... 15 minutes after I got there, Dr. Martinez took me in and unfilled me in a matter of seconds... when we did the fluoroscopy he showed me on the screen how my stomach had bulged and that NONE of the liquid was passing through the band... he said i needed emergency surgery and within less than 2 hours all the doctors were congregated in the OR and I was on the table... Dr. Ortiz said he released the band and was able to reposition it BECAUSE I WENT IN IMMEDITATELY AND DIDNT WAIT, so there was no damage to the stomach... He said sometimes when you wait too long to address a problem, the stomach suffers too mcuh trauma and he cant replace the band immediately... in my case, I was lucky I didnt ignore any symptoms... my friend was able to watch the surgery on the monitor and she told me that my stomach had lost all its color, then once he released the band, the color flushed right back into the stomach, so they could tell it hadn't suffered and was healthy... both Dr. Ortiz and Dr. Martinez kept saying over and over again, that the reason it was a relatively simple procedure was because I addressed it right away...thank goodness I didnt have to have my band removed and wait 3 months to have it put back on... call Dr. Ortiz's office 866-drortiz, and when it says to speak to Dr. Ortiz press 2, it should go to his cell phone... if not, keep trying... you could just be a little overfilled, but MUCH better safe than sorry. Keep us posted. Kyle

Jenna... I have exactly the same problem...no solids til like 5 hours after waking, and starving by the time dinner comes... do you experience a lot of stomach gas? lately in the past 2 weeks, everything i eat i get stomach bloating and literally after 1 or 2 bites im done... it seems to have tightened on its own... is there something I can take to reduce the stomach gas so I can have at least 2 of my 3 meals a day? Thanks... Kyle

Thanks, Queen Bee, Im staying positive and just giving myself the time to wait for a fill... I appreciate your input... Kyle

Hey Jackie!!! Como estas chica? lol Other than the misery of a pound and a half loss Im alright... Email me your email address, I cant find the paper you gave me... My address is Cubankitten9@hotmail.com Say hi to your mom for me... Kyle

This procedure has only been approved and performed in the US for the last 4 years, whereas its been performed in Mexico, Australia, Italy, France and Spain (Im sure others too) since 1993(ish)... so the doctors who are the least experienced in the procedure are in the US... Dr. Ortiz is one of the leading bariatric surgeons in the world... certainly he is one of the top 3-4 in Mexico... he is a member of the American College of Surgeons, which is the society that all US surgeons are members of... he has proctored many, many US surgeons (this means he's taught them the procedure)... if you have questions about him or any other doctor, call INAMED, the manufacturer of the only band approved for use in the US by the FDA... they will give you more information Im sure... INAMED will not distribute the band to anyone who hasnt been trained by INAMED to perform the surgery... then after they are trained, the doctors are proctored, or mentored in surgery by senior surgeons, who have performed the surgery... Dr. Ortiz is one of those senior surgeons... he has also written the definitive book on lap band surgery with many of the top surgeons in the world contributing chapters to the book... he is no slouch... but do some homework on the procedure and Dr. Ortiz (or any other surgeon you decide to use) because Im sure the excellent doctors have reputations that will speak for themselves. Your family is probably just concerned about your safety... and so should you be, so if you do your homework, check references and check the bad press too, you will know what to do... I will tell you that many Americans think the US is the only place to get surgery, but thats just small thinking, many other countries have FAR more progressive and advanced healtcare systems... the record of anyone you decide to use will speak for itself if you look for it. Take care... Kyle PS... I liquidated my IRA account to do it because the 10% penalties, and the income taxes were less than financing! (go figure)

I had my surgery on 9/16 with Dr. Ortiz, and I have been RELIGIOUS with the liquid diet... I spoke to Dr. Martinez on the 7th day after surgery and he told me that I could begin to add yogurts and liquid protein because I got very dizzy while driving... ever since day 8, the diet has not been as hard... easy, no, but not impossible... So 2 weeks to my surgery day and I go in and weigh myself and Ive lost 1.5 lbs... yes, you read that right! To say that I am beside myself with disappointment is an understatement... I figured that in a best case scenario I'd have lost like 10 lbs... in a worst case maybe 5, but a pound and a half???!! I find it hard to believe that water retention could account for a lack of weight loss... most people I've read on this and other boards show more of a weight loss than this. I had been weight training 2ce a week and spinning 4 times a week for the 18 months prior to surgery, so I know that even when I just do cardio, I begin to build muscle... so I havent been doing any cardio since surgery because I didnt want muscle building to interfere with seeing a difference on the scale... at least not at the beginning. Plus, I usually take a break from all exercise for one month a year to give my body a rest, and I figured that this would be a good month, then I'd go back to it when I begin back on solids. I am beside myself and wonder what the hell is wrong with me... Im going to put a call into the doctors office once they open today, but at the moment I feel completely deflated. Kyle