64 fills and a few unfills in 5 years - Is this excessive?

I'm a big enough person to want to protect newbies from misinformation and panic.  I'm a big enough person to stand up to bullies, liars, and troublemakers.

One of my moral standards is that I will not tolerate discrimination based on race, sex, ethnicity, age, religious belief, disability (physical or mental), body size, sexual orientation or species.  Nor do I tolerate hate-mongering, stealing, murder, adultery, or the bearing of false witness.  Although I'm a Christian, I do not use the "turn the other cheek" approach.  I believe it's my responsibility to set boundaries for acceptable behavior.  When I see or hear others behaving in a discriminating, dishonest, illegal fashion, I react quickly because I have a short fuse.  My reaction generally starts fairly mild and, if necessary, escalates from there depending on how the other person reacts.  Perhaps the person is merely ignorant, or having a bad day, but if they repeat the offensive behavior over and over, my response becomes more strident. 

Well, Naomi is a repeat offender.  I have tried reasoning with her, joking with her, ignoring her, you name it.  None of it makes a bit of difference.  Her last stunt expressed homophobic lies that brought a storm of passionate responses (and mine was mild compared to the others) into this forum.  When I see someone like Noami acting badly, I can't help but be cautious with that person the next time I encounter them.  Basically, Naomi has made her own bed with her past behavior here, and now she has to lie in it.

Jean

Good for you Jean but we are totally different because I do things in the correct
order this is why these post caught me off guard. I stand up for what I feel is
right as well. And again the question was asked you can either answer or
ignore it. But being attackful is wrong whether its you or her its wrong. I could
careless of who did it or didn't do it or the history of the person. I would never
step down to someone else level. That was my point. 

 
 

Point taken.

Jean,

If you're such an "Ad *****" why can't I find an ad anywhere from which I can order what I know will be your Wonderful book?  Given that I could not put Ransom down, and that I live by your 30 days of Band Rules, I can't wait to read it.

Terri

Terri,

It's a good thing Naomi has me blocked now, or she'd be shrieking because I mentioned my book here!  I talked to the book printer yesterday.  They're backed up with textbooks right now (back to school, you know) so my book will be printed at the end of August, at which time the OH ads (horizontal banner ad on the top of the Lap-Band forum page and a vertical banner at on the right hand side of the Realize Band forum page) will go "live".

Jean

Hey Tiff, I am not sure about a class action suite, I am not really looking into that, but I am looking for IS ANSWERS of why I've NEVER KEPT restriction for more than a few months since I've been banded, I don't think many of the people that were possibly scammed are looking for MONEY OR LAWSUITE....ALL WE WANT IS OUR BANDS TO WORK, and NO I will not seek legal counsel UNLESS I me and my new surgeon find deliberate misuse of my band.

Nana,
I'm new with the band, so I don't have any experience to base you number of fills on.  I have done a lot of reading prior to and after getting my band, and I am a nurse and transcriptionist.  So I do have knowledge of health care in general as it relates to my profession.  One thing I can say is that if that is normal, the band would be rejected as an option by most people and most insurance companies.  That being said, your surgeon can and would probably try to turn this back on you.  It would be easy to infer (not actually say) you were a neurotic patient obsessed with getting fills and were otherwise preoccupied/obsessive about your band, and your outstanding success with your weight loss indicates the band not only worked for you, but he was diligent in providing you care.  He is more experienced in medical/legal issues and will have the upper hand if you try to deal with this on your own.

I would recommend you seek legal counsel to make sure your steps are in order and effective both to alert Allergan that they have a surgeon who is practicing in this manner and filing any lawsuit you might have against him.  You are likely going to have a hard time getting your new surgeon to say the old one was involved in any form of malpractice or fraudulent practice.  I think you would be doing others a big service by filing a complaint with the manufacturer, the state medical board and seeking a refund of fees as well as the cost of your legal fees.  If money is an issue to seek legal counsel, it's possible you can find a lawyer who will take your case and charge you only if you win a settlement.  You could seek a settlement that includes the legal fees.  If you can pay for  your legal fees initially, you might be able to settle quicker than with a lawyer who works on commission.   I'm also not so sure I would talk about this to the new doctor beyond the scope of getting the treatments you need.  I would be concerned the new surgeon would be reluctant to take you on if you are involved in a legal dispute with your original surgeon. 

So, I guess the bottom line for me is either you are OCD about your band or you are a victim of medical fraud or malpractice.  You have your records.  Be sure to hang on to them.  If you need to make a copy for the new doc, I would do that.  Don't let your originals out of your possession until you discuss them with a lawyer. 

Good luck,
Cheryl

 2..3 years out.  25 adjustments including 2 total unfills.............lots of "tweaking" 

Cheryl,

You are so kind, but I have to tell you that you've wasted your breath on this one.  The OP has a long history of attention-getting stunts and this is almost certainly yet another one.

Jean

I always liked to reed a good science fiction story. You got it Jean!