Chad

There's really nothing to worry about. The clinic is extremely nice, very clean and Dr. Ortiz is an excellent surgeon. You will be very well taken care of. There are a lot of very ethnocentric people in the US that will just never accept the possibility that you can get as good of health care in Tijuana (or better) as you can in the US. Those are the type of people that my wife and I just try to avoid talking about the lap band with. Most of them will never accept it no matter what you say. At the same time, just like any other city, Tijuana certainly has some bad areas as well so don't fool yourself. Especially since it's a "border town". I had already been there quite a few times before my wife went to have Dr. Ortiz put in her band so I knew what to expect. You will most likely see a little graffiti, maybe a run down building or two when you first cross over the border on your way to the clinic, but it really isn't any different then most other cities. Honestly, I've see more homeless people, bums and "scary" things when I've gone to both San Francisco and New York then I have in Tijuana.

Hmm...not really sure. I think it may actually be BTW...common leet speak for "by the way".

Ahh...I did go through and remove quite a few. I must of missed the suicide one. I just went through them again and got rid of that one and a few more as well.

Great idea...done!

I can feel my wife's port from the outside just by touching her belly. It only bothers her if she gets bumped a little hard right in that spot, but even then I don't know if she would really call it painful or anything like that.

I just loaded tons of new smilies into the forum. Just click on the Show All link while you're posting a message to bring up a full list of them. :beach: :paint2: :dash3: :sun_bespectacled: Chad

She's doing fine and likes being banded, but she hasn't had quite the success as a lot of others. She has still only had one fill and she doesn't have enough restriction. We've had a hard time getting back down to Tijuana and we've been nervous about seeing anyone else for fills. Does anyone have any experience with finding a good fill doctor in the Sacramento area? Or even the Bay Area would be fine.

I thought I should post a little notice here since everyone will see it. If you haven't already noticed, I started a new category called Forum Policies & Technical Help. Since the forum has become much more active over the last month or so (3,000+ visitors a day) I thought it might be wise to start a new section for this kind of thing. If you have any kind of technical question about using the board, uploading avatars and photos, etc you can ask there and I will try to keep a closer eye on it. I will also make "sticky" topics that will stay at the top of the list and be easier to find like I did for Michelle's post (thank you, Michelle) about adding a ticker to your signature. I also created a sticky for the forum "rules". Please send any suggestions for that to me and I will get things added. Remember, this forum is for all of you and I want to make it a good environment for everyone so all of your opinions on how this forum should operate are very important. I know that in the past we've had some problems with spam/porn/pharmaceutical type of posts, but I think most of that has been eliminated. If you do see anything inappropriate on here just let me know. Thanks, Chad

You should see a Calendar link at the top right of every forum page. Once you're on the Calendar if you scroll to the bottom you should see a link to add a new event in the lower right corner. From there you can just fill out the form and select the proper date for your surgery or fill or whatever. You should also see little arrows before and after the month and year to browse through the various months.

lol "Admin Chad". My wife was banded by Dr. Ortiz a little over two years ago now. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to get her to be active on the forum here. I'm still trying though! Chad

This post is for outlining our general forum rules, policies, etiquette, etc. Please be aware that we are not always able to read every single post that gets added. If you find a post that seems inappropriate in any way, please report it so the moderators or admins can take a look. These policies are subject to change. Keep it clean We do allow people to upload avatars and photos in the gallery, however, any objectionable material will be removed. Posts containing foul language may also be removed. If you find anything questionable posted on this forum please report the post to a moderator. No Advertising Posts or signatures trying to sell or promote products must be removed. Please do not post prices There is always another doctor or center willing to slash prices to get more patients. We do offer specials sometimes to patients, especially when they are coming with another family member for surgery but we do not want to start a price war. If you have questions about surgery pricing, please call Lori at 1-866-376-7849 ext. 81. Surgery shouldn't be about getting the cheapest price, it should be getting the best surgeon at a reasonable price! Keep it positive and respectful The intention of this forum is to provide a positive environment for Obesity Control Center patient support. This is a privately owned internet forum and it is moderated for content. If you are looking for a "free for all" environment where anything goes you will not find that here. Harsh, derogatory, and/or negative comments may be removed at the discretion of the forum moderators. Any posts that contain personal attacks or an abundance of negativity will be deleted. Period. Gallery photos All photos uploaded to the gallery will be held until they are approved by a forum administrator. We try to approve them as soon as possible, but it may sometimes take a day or two. Please try to be patient with us. General etiquette -Avoid typing in all caps. In the Internet world THIS IS CONSIDERED YELLING and can also be difficult to read for some people. -Paragraphs are your friend. Long posts without paragraphs can be very difficult to read and are commonly called a "wall of text". -Watch your "quote replies". When replying to a topic, it's not usually needed to quote the original post (OP). The more people that quote long blocks of text in a thread, the more difficult it becomes to read through it. -Forum "trolls" will not be tolerated. If you don't know what a troll is you can find out here. -I'll add to this as I think of more. Suggestions are always welcome.

Just a reminder that there's a calendar on the forum here that anyone can use to post their surgery dates as well.

If you recently changed your avatar but you're still seeing your old one or it looks "pixilated" then your browser most likely has your old avatar "cached". If you clear your browser cache it should solve the problem. Chad

I don't really do very much topic moderation or anything like that, but if there's something going wrong from a technical standpoint you can send me a message.

I also just doubled the dimensions that are allowed for the avatars so they can now be up to 128x128 pixels. Also, the file size can now be 100KB instead of only 20KB.

I installed an upgrade to the gallery yesterday afternoon and I think it messed up some of the album permissions. I just fixed it so all should work properly again.

I know this is completely off topic, but keep your eyes open for a blog feature to be added to the forum in the next couple of weeks. Each member will be able to start their own Blog...similar to how the Gallery works. Chad

EDIT: I'm adjusting the "base" time for the forum right now, so you may need to make another adjustment. I figured the base time should be set to the correct time in CA/Tijuana since that's where the OCC office is located.

There's really not much I can do to correct the time zone since everyone that posts on the forum could live in a different time zone. What would be seen as the correct time for one person would be incorrect for others. You can adjust your own individual time display from here: http://www.lapbandforum.com/index.php?act=UserCP&CODE=04 Regards, Chad

I completely agree. The kind of people you find on support group forums like this one and lapbandtalk.com will be very kind compared to most other public forums. Don't let forum trolls like that bother you. Most people that post on public forums like that are not even worth responding too and only post if they have something negative to say.

(This is the program excerpt from Oprah.com) Since some weight loss procedures like gastric banding aren't FDA-approved for children in this country, one mother traveled to Tijuana, Mexico, for help. In 2004, Jennifer's 13-year-old daughter Cassie weighed 220 pounds. Though Cassie tried dieting and consulted a nutritionist, Jennifer says she kept putting on weight. "Every month, [she gained] between 5 to 8 pounds. … We don't know where the weight was coming [from]," she says. "My biggest fear was mentally, Cassie would crash. She'd become depressed, she'd eat because of the depression, she'd stop sports, she'd stop being who she was." When Cassie revealed that she was being teased about her weight, Jennifer says she decided it was time to take action. She researched gastric banding surgery and found a doctor in Mexico who agreed to perform the procedure. "In the United States, there are no other options for these children," she says. "No doctor would touch her." Jennifer says maternal instincts made her want to fix things for her child. "You want to protect them and do what's right for them," Jennifer says. "I know this was major, but in my heart, I felt I was doing the right thing for her." At age 13, Cassie became one of the youngest patients ever to undergo a gastric banding procedure. Unlike gastric bypass, gastric banding doesn't permanently alter the digestive system. Instead, an adjustable belt is placed around the upper part of the stomach. This belt restricts the amount of food you can eat and slows how quickly food empties from the stomach, which causes a constant feeling of fullness. An inflatable, saline-filled tube on the inside of the belt allows doctors to squeeze the stomach tighter by filling it with extra fluid or deflate it so a patient can put on weight. When Cassie and her mother first arrived at the Tijuana surgical clinic, they both say they felt scared. "It was the first time I ever went into Mexico," Cassie says. "I just kept thinking, 'Is this the right decision?'" Jennifer says. "The things going through my mind were, 'She's out of my hands now. I can't protect her—and her life is in their hands.'" Once inside the operating room, Cassie says the doctors put her at ease. Her surgery was a success, and she says she was up and walking soon after the anesthesia wore off. Since her surgery, Cassie has dropped almost 80 pounds. Today, at 141 pounds, she says she's happier and healthier. Her outward appearance isn't the only thing that's changed. Cassie has also developed new eating habits. "I can eat anything I want, it's just smaller portions. I can eat like a hamburger, take three bites of a hamburger and maybe two french fries, and I'm set," she says. "It's like they put a different kind of gas tank in me and whenever it hits full, you're full." Despite the risks, Jennifer says she's glad they didn't wait until Cassie was older to have the surgery. "I didn't want her knees to go," she says. "I didn't want her to get diabetes. I didn't want it to go past the point of no return." If she had the funds, Jennifer says she'd help other obese teens get gastric banding surgery. "I'll tell anybody, you know, this is [less] invasive. It's proven with her. She's very happy, and most of all, she's healthy."