Just had my LapBand applied this Tuesday!!

I had my LapBand surgery this past Tuesday morning on the 8th of November. I have had zero pain with only twinges of tightness. I am keeping well hydrated and taking in liquid protein. My physician was Jose Rodriguez, MD in Ciudad Acuna, across from Del Rio, Texas. The cost was $7,300, but he will soon be bumping his cost up a thousand dollars (fyi for those of you still scouting out your options). His new patient coordinator, Diana Bradshaw, was the reason I settled on "Dr. Rod". She is personable, charismatic and confidence-inspiring. She not only made it unnecessary for me to as much as lift a finger, she answered all my questions, made sure I had a lot of education in place before the surgery, kept in touch with my parents for me, and has checked in on me since the surgery. His website is http://www.thelapbands.com for those who want to check him out. Perhaps I will convince him to become a supporting member here so he can have his own surgeon's statistics page?? It took me more than a few months to put on so much weight, and I will not give up on myself if it takes more than a few months to take it off. My emphasis is to build muscle back and get physically fit. Theresa Reynolds SouthTxLapBand @ aol.com Orange Grove, Texas BMI 47 and losing

Congratulations Theresa! Goodluck and welcome to the losing side! Sandy

Congratulations Theresa! Goodluck and welcome to the losing side! Sandy

Hi Theresa, My name is Brenda. Congratulations on your Lap Band! I was hoping I could ask you some questions. I have an appointment here in Boston for my initial consult in January. This is the procedure I'm interested in having. If you don't mind me asking, what was one of your biggest fears going into surgery and what does it feel like now that you've had it placed? Does it feel different when taking in fluids? I know it's alot of questions but, I would really appreciate getting your opinions and feelings. Thanks for your time and hope all is going well today.

MAJOR RETRACTION AND APOLOGY TO EVERYONE FOR MY DECEPTION Right after having my surgery, I wrote the following words "His new patient coordinator, Diana Bradshaw, was the reason I settled on "Dr. Rod". She is personable, charismatic and confidence-inspiring. She not only made it unnecessary for me to as much as lift a finger, she answered all my questions, made sure I had a lot of education in place before the surgery, kept in touch with my parents for me, and has checked in on me since the surgery." I am back to say that EVEN AT THE TIME I WROTE THESE WORDS, THEY WERE ALL TOTAL LIE. I am not the first person to be in serious denial right after their surgery. You may have noticed that you have never read a letter from a just back patient who gripes about their coordinator - the person who did the driving. You have just saved, begged and borrowed thousands of dollars and then gone to an out-of-country surgeon in a tiny private hospital without any intensive care unit to have major surgery. You have spent months convincing yourself you are making the right decision and you have stomped on your doubts, pretended bad things have not happened, just telling yourself that it will all be worth it. Well, my experience was tons of charm on the phone --- but consistent failure to respond to certain questions in emails and continual ignoring questions she didn't want to answer over AIM -- only beginning to chat again if I was willing to change the subject to something else. She told me many things that were not true, anytime what I was talking about might put off my surgery date and sending in my deposit. The minute the surgery was over and I was awake, she suddenly became an entirely other person - distant and off-hand. She reneged on a prior agreement by pretending to have a reason she could not honor them --- something that she would have known to exist way before I left home for surgery. Yes, she was "personable, charismatic and confidence-inspiring" -- but so was Ted Bundy. Through participation on Smart Bandsters, I have discovered that she is not the expert she described herself as being. She told me many things that were inaccurate --- including that the doctor filled bands with silicone gel as well as saline and that I could have whatever I asked him for. Once I was home, I was on my own. On another trip down, to get my first fill, I saw her give print-outs on wound care, post-op nutrition and such, to other patients --- and she tried to claim in front of them that she had given the same to me... but she finally admitted that she must not have. Regardless, the only voluntary communications I have gotten from her since my surgery over six weeks ago were commands to "Send me patients!" and "Do you want to order more Inury whey powder from me?" There was no more money to be made out of me because she doesn't host fill trips. So when you research a doctor --- CONSIDER getting the doctor's email address and dealing directly with him and his office in Mexico -- and you can ask for or will be offered a SERIOUS DISCOUNT. And if you already have contacted the referral company website, and have registered there with your real name, address and phone number, then they've probably got the doctor by the short hairs already, so they will be assigning you a "patient coordinator" or "patient facilitator" --- but RESEARCH this person to check on what kind of a person you are paying for out of your own pocket (your deposit is sent directly to them). Ask for the PHONE NUMBERS of prior patients -- ideally those from a year or more before. Ask them lots of questions. If you don't like what you hear, ask for another coordinator or facilitator. and most of all -- NEVER NEVER NEVER use this person as your only way of learning about banding, banded life and nutrition, or anything else. Do your own homework, your own legwork. Join an intensive support group moderated by an registered nurse with years of banded patient care under her belt. I went to every other place online where I had lied about my coordinator and either edited or deleted my post ---- but here I do not have the option of either deleting or editing, so this apolgy for lying and explanation for why I did it will have to suffice. To this day, I have continued to lie to my parents about what happened on the trip and what has happened since. I don't want to see their stricken faces, to hear their pity. But I will never again lie to someone about what kind of experiences I had with "my" coordinator. sincerely, Theresa Reynolds.