Spatz Balloon...anyone had one

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magicbeans

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Hi..im a noob!
read a few threads on here about the balloon in general and ppl seem to have really benefitted. i am 100kg and 5 foot 5.5inches...wanted to get the sleeve but my friend with her lap band talked me out of it and said to the band, my mum isnt happy so i thought id try the balloon.

Was googling it and there is a new adjustable balloon. Called Spatz and stays in for 12months. u can ad more fluid to make it bigger if u plateau. It's £5000 as opposed to £4000 (going through healthier weight). Another place in Wales does it as well.

Thing is i'm trying to get reviews/ppls opinions on the Spatz balloon...and cant find any....so has anyone here had it? I am booked in for my consultation next week and booked my procedure date for April 12th (its fully booked so looks popular!)

Please please can someone le me know any info on either the comapny or Spatz. From what i have read u guys sound like a bunch of lovely people.... i hope u can help, if not thanks for reading anyways. x
 
spazs adjustable balloon

hi magicbeans,

i am also considering haveing this adjustale balloon to... but im still unsure.

how did ur consultation go? how much weight did they say you could lose, and where are you having it done, as ive seen it on this site called health and heathier.

sorry for all the questions, i no you were looking for some advise ur self, i cant give you any, but i can give you support.

please can you post your feed back after you have done it, as ive decided to wait a month before i have a consutation, to see if i can try one more time to lose weight my self :S

well good luck with the fitting in the 12th, hope it all goes well.
 
Hi confused!!

well i went for my consultation with Dr. AShton (Healthier Weight Group) and before i saw him i saw the person i spoke to on the phone and she was like yep u will lose 5.5stones its really good bla bla.

I then saw dr. ashton saying yeah i wana lose 5 stones on it...and he was like u wont ..i was like ????????? he said and 80% of my balloon pateints gain all their weight back...again i was like >?????????????? he asked me where i got the statistic that avg. weight loss was 5.5stones and i said his website at which he got up and called the woman i spoke to in and she confirmed that...he said i have only started this procedure on a few patients and until i got my own stats i dont wana advertise 5.5 stones..so they took it off the website! haha..well not the spatz balloon...just the 5.5stone bits.

He said the balloon is a lot rougher to deal with afterwards then the obrera..i said well what about inflating the balloon wont that work and he was unsure..he said ud do better on it only because it was in for longer, not because it was adjustable.

was strange as he really didnt rate the balloon and told me the best option was a band as the band is long term, ud tk the weight off and keep it off...so im having that on the 14th now!! its al gone crazy!

will try help u with any questions and good luck if u go for the spatz. like he said its in early stages for his patients so who knows hey!!
 
The band has an even lower success rate than the balloon, and putting it in and getting it back out is far more dangerous than getting the balloon. Once it's out, the risk of gaining the weight back is just as high as with the balloon.

From your post it sounds as if that Dr. Ashton doesn't know his backside from a whole in the ground. You do realise that you're putting your life into that person's hands, right?

The reason he suggests the band over the balloon is that the band is more expensive and has more complications, which means people will have to come back more often. More money for him.

I'd reconsider having either of the procedures, but if you do, I would most certainly check with other specialists, and get a lot more information. That doctor sounds dodgy to say the least, he seems to have no experience worth mentioning, and is quite clearly more interested in finances than the wellbeing of his patients...or rather, customers.
 
spats balloon

hi magic beans,

thanks for that feedback, i was wondering about what would happen if the balloon was removed and you answered my question.

this has made me more determind to lose weight more natually. well try to......


as for that band, well i do have info about that as 2 of my close cousins have had it done.

the band does work, but you have to bear in mind the band will be in you for life as it is hard and complicated to remove after you have it.however how tight you have it can be adjusted every now and again if needed.

there are certain foods my cousins both cant eat with the band and these are high weat products like bread, which they throw up when they eat, there are other food to, il get a more detailed list for you when i ask her. but when we go out to eat, she can only eat a 1/4 of meal and if she over eats she throws up.


she cant eat after 7, as she gets heart burn and acidity. but she has been told by her doc that she will need to lossen her band to reduce the heart burn and acidity.

that was all the negative, as for the posative she has lost alot of weight as she was the same size as me which it 18-20 and now is a size 10.

i dont have to courage to get this done, as i dont like the idea of have surgery and that fact that i will have something inside me my whole life.. but thats just me.

thought id give you as much as i no, sorry for the long post.

hope it all goes well for you
 
Spatz Balloon --- Can anyone put me touch with Dr. Machtyka

I'm trying to find places where I get the Spatz adjustable (12 month) gastric balloon in Europe.

I have been lead to believe by the Spatz website that it is available in the Czech Rebublic:

Evzen Machytka, M.D. PhD.
University Hospital Ostrava
Department of Gastroenterology
Principal Investigator – Spatz Adjustable Balloon System
Ostrava, Czech Republic

Supposedly, this doctor was the principal investigator in Spatz European clinical trials. However, I cannot get this doctor or hospital answer my emails.

Does anyone know how i can contact him.

I could get it in Ontario, but the $8,000 cost is too high and the only clinic that appears to do it, has only recently installed its first 5 balloons.
 
I was due to have a Spatz balloon fitted on the 7th May 2011, but was contacted today by Healthier Weight to say that they are no longer fitting them because there have been too many problems. I am hugely disappointed, as I am only left with the option of having the 6 month balloon, and obviously I will lose nowhere near as much weight. Has anybody else heard anything about this and got any advice?

Thanks
 
I had the 6 month balloon and lost 30kg - though I worked hard exercising and watching what I ate during the 6 month period. You only get out what you put in and the balloon is only a tool to assist with managing appetite - you can still eat the wrong things and sit around doing nothing. Since having the balloon out at the end of January I have lost another 7kgs. I still watch what I eat and exercise a lot. I have also found that my appetite is lower than pre-balloon even after having it out.
 
Hi
I seem to have had the same experience as you. When i went to see Dr Ashton, he practically discouraged me from having the Spatz balloon. He said that most people put the weight back on afterwards and that it does not ultimately work...But I had it anyway and so far it has not been a success. I had to gain a small amount of weight to actually get the balloon, and was hoping that the weight would fall off. The procedure was 2 months ago now and the food restriction has worn off. Nobody would think I have a device implanted which is supposed to restrict portions. I probably only had a few weeks of portion restriction. Even a week after the procedure, I went to a dinner party and consumed 4 courses of food! Obviously you have a make an effort yourself (your ultimately control what you put in your body) but the whole point is to have a helping hand...It is no surprise really as I only had 380 ml of fluid injected into the balloon. It can take 700ml, so I'm hoping my adjustment will be more successful. If not, I don't really fancy gaining additional weight to get the band!!! So in short, I have actually lost no weight whatsoever...
 
Hi All

I had a consultation with Dr Ashton as well and he gave me exactly the same message as you - that the balloon did not work as well as the gastric band because it was temporary. I was really pleased to meet a doctor who was so honest! We did speak about volume in the balloon and he said one of the benefits of the Spatz was that you could start at a lower volume to reduce problems and then increase it if necessary which made sense - sounds like you need more in. Anyway I haven't made my mind up yet. I was dead against surgery but I'm thinking about having a gastric band now.
 
The band is only supposed to be temporary as well, and is much more risky than the balloon. When it comes to efficiency, they don't differ that much, the only real difference is the price - the surgery for the band is a lot more expensive (meaning, more money for the surgeon). That, and there's a lot more complications with the band than with the ballon.
 
Hi Gonggirl. It sounds like you had a lot of success! Can I ask what weight you started at and where you are today?

Thanks
 
Hi Mizzminna - I am 180 cm tall. I started at 152kg - lost a bit before having the balloon in - lost 30kg with the balloon and have continued to lose post balloon. I am now 114. Just had my one year anniversary the other day - so 38kg in 1 year. Have just been on holidays for a couple of weeks and would say that my appetite is still a lot less than what it was 12 months ago. I seem to fill up quicker and stay fuller for longer. I do not regret getting the balloon one bit (even with the horrible burping!). I would like to lose another 20 to 25kg and then reassess. At the moment I am on Weight Watchers and I work out around 10+ hours per week. I now run which I have never done before! My goal weight with weight watchers is 82 - though i will be completely happy with 90.
 
Gonggirl said:
Hi Mizzminna - I am 180 cm tall. I started at 152kg - lost a bit before having the balloon in - lost 30kg with the balloon and have continued to lose post balloon. I am now 114. Just had my one year anniversary the other day - so 38kg in 1 year. Have just been on holidays for a couple of weeks and would say that my appetite is still a lot less than what it was 12 months ago. I seem to fill up quicker and stay fuller for longer. I do not regret getting the balloon one bit (even with the horrible burping!). I would like to lose another 20 to 25kg and then reassess. At the moment I am on Weight Watchers and I work out around 10+ hours per week. I now run which I have never done before! My goal weight with weight watchers is 82 - though i will be completely happy with 90.
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Hello Gonggirl! Thank you so much for the info. Its great to hear how well things have gone for you and I hope to have the same experience! I had to push my placement back until August but still can't wait to get it done. Thank you again for the info, its very helpful!!
 
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