Littleroo27

Regarding the lipo - fat cells will regenerate if you take them out. They don't want to be gone!!! That's why you gained the weight back. I haven't had the surgery yet, but most people say they cannot eat breads, rice, pasta, etc. Anything that swells in water, lol.

I'm not banded yet, but since I did all the pre-op stuff at Scripps I can tell you. It is $495 per fill. I don't believe that includes under X-Ray.

Lori, As someone with IBS, have you had any post-op attacks? How did you deal with them? When my stomach goes south I tend to eat a lot of bread and applesauce or white rice. Obviously the bread and rice are out. Do you think melba toast or saltines would do the same thing? Luckily I don't have attacks very often and may have them even less after the surgery, since it will be harder to eat the bad foods like that chocolate muffin that attacked me yesterday!!!

Lori, I did e-mail you with the same questions I originally posted on this board, but have not heard back as of yet.

I can't eat raw vegetables and lettuce is the worst... I wonder what I will end up eating!

I did opti-fast for a couple of months about 4 years ago. I lost quite a bit of weight and actually liked the pre-made drinks and soup. My problem is that I have IBS, so if my intestines ever get 100% empty I tend to get cramps and pain. I'm not to the pre-op diet part yet, but I may have to throw in a couple of slices of bread and some applesauce each day just to keep stable.

From the sounds of it from another post - if your a woman you should bring some pads just in case!!! LOL. God, new inciscions AND cramps??? EVIL

Yeah, I really can't say too much about that. Honestly, who doesn't pad their resume with every fancy sounding thing you ever did? And I think it probabably helps people from the US to see a US college on the list amongst all of the colleges and universities in Mexico that we know little to nothing about. I really appreciate the support as well

Date: Wed, 19 Jul 2006 12:29:42 -0400 From: "Robert Bell" <robert.bell@yale.edu> Subject: Re: Confirmation of Dr. Ariel Ortiz as a Lap-Band Surgeon To: "B R" <elsolomio@yahoo.com> Dr. Ortiz in all likelihood attended a COURSE at Yale, sponsored by Dr. Butch Rosser. Dr. Rosser has not been here since the early part of 2002. Those courses generally involved didactic sessions followed by an INANIMATE lab. It was certainly not a fellowship. There is no way he operated on a live person while in New Haven. It is no different than if he took a course at the American College of Surgeons Annual meeting. The only reason anyone would even put this on their resume is that the course was held at Yale. Now, that being said, Dr. Ortiz is generally regarded as one of the MOST experienced Lap Band surgeons in the world and I am happy to confirm that. But his time in New Haven has no bearing, whatsoever, on that fact. Does this help? Robert Bell, MD, MA

I don't want to get into an argument over this, but I did want to make sure you know I wasn't stating any facts, I was simply asking questions.

Several people have given me a lot of flack for posting my concerns about Dr. Ortiz on this board. I would like to state that I am NOT trying to change anyone's mind about this procedure OR going to Dr. Ortiz. I would also like to say that last night I e-mailed Harvard and Yale Medical regarding Dr. Ortiz and recieved the following from the Yale head of Barriatric Surgery: "Dr. Ortiz is generally regarded as one of the MOST experienced Lap Band surgeons in the world." I plan to post the entire e-mail when I get home tonight, as I can only check my yahoo mail account from my cell phone when I'm at work. If I get a response from Harvard I will post that as well. I sincerely hope that the members of this board will take the time to understand the concerns of the people posting on this site. It is not just for happy e-mails about wonderful experiences, but also about people who have never had surgery before and are scared to death. Listen to them and understand them and help them. Do not berate them for posting something that you do not agree with.

Gee, it's so nice to know I'm not allowed to post my own concerns. I was just about to make a post stating that I had e-mailed Yale and Harvard last night to confirm Dr. Ortiz' credentials for my own piece of mind and DID get a response back from Yale confirming that "Dr. Ortiz is generally regarded as one of the MOST experienced Lap Band surgeons in the world." Obviously this puts my mind at considerable ease about everything. And, do I believe someone I know in person over people I've never met? Yeah, probably. Just as you say "am I a ringer trying to destroy Dr. Ortiz's credibility" why couldn't you be someone working for him trying to drum up his practice with false experiences? I don't think that you are, but I also know that I'm just a nervous potential patient who is sharing MY concerns with a group of people in a similar position. If I was an uneducated woman I would have taken my friend's comments at face value and done no further research instead of asking questions and e-mailing 3rd party physicians who have nothing to gain off of recomending Dr. Ortiz.

That is really good to hear. I'm trying to find some secondary sources to verify his qualifications. Not that I don't believe all of you or his website, but it would make me feel a lot better.

I'm seriously freaking out right now, and I don't want to be... if anyone can provide me with links that are NOT related to Dr. Ortiz's website or practice (ie: independent), can you provide them for me? I'm sure it's completely unfounded, but my friend is starting to spazz my poor brain!!! Also, if you have AIM or Yahoo IM, I could use a friend to talk to about this, lol. Click on my user name for my info. almanataliadecastro: hey littleroo27: hi almanataliadecastro: Dr. Ortiz is a general physician, he attended a seminar on surgery and has so far been successful on his operations because until a while back Dr. Kuri the surgeon that assisted Dr. Ortiz's surgeries was the one performing the operations but he left Ortiz and his partner because he wasnt happy with the unorthodox transactions they were taking part in littleroo27: where did you hear this? I have heard nothing but excellent things from his patients and he is trained in the US. almanataliadecastro: health care workers almanataliadecastro: how did you get intouch with his patients? littleroo27: through several different lap-band forums littleroo27: they say he is wonderful and his facility is clean and awesome littleroo27: http://www.lapbandforum.com/index.php?showtopic=626 almanataliadecastro: internet is the headquarter to majorr frauds littleroo27: how about the guy who wants to take me with him when he gets filled in a couple of weeks? almanataliadecastro: and this is your health you are barganing with littleroo27: and he does have training at Harvard and Yale

The problem is that I can't eat anything with fake sugar in it - even Splenda. It can cause severe intestinal cramps in people with IBS. So I will actually have to still have sugar in my diet post-op, no sugar free jello for me! Actually, come to that, I'm not supposed to have gelatine either! I did try blending it with a banana and some crushed ice, and it seemed like all I got was... I don't even KNOW, but even after blending it in my smoothy blender for ever it was still chunky and was sort of like swallowing silty sand. Except it tasted worse. Maybe I can try adding a teaspoon of sugar to the Slim-Fast one and see if that helps... At least it wouldn't have powdery grossness in it, lol. EWWWW.

Ditto!!! Part of me is happy that none of my family lives near me now. Even though they know about the surgery and that I plan on having it done, I don't have to worry about them watching my every bite post-op and feeling like they are waiting for me to fail.

I really appreciate that, Cathy. Thank you so much. I'm 99.9% sure I will be going to Dr. Ortiz for the procedure, I just need to get my financing nailed down or rob a bank or something, lol.

Does anyone have any recomendations for post-op non-dairy options? And I don't mean lactose free, but actually non-dairy. I bought a soy protein powder and about gagged when I tried it. EWWW. Then this morning I tried a slim-fast shake and was transported back to junior high and why I was never able to STAY on the slim-fast diet, lol. I have done the opti-free pre-made drinks before (they are dairy free, unlike the powder), but they are $$$ too.

Rose, first of all - CALM DOWN!!! if you read my post again, you will notice that I DID NOT WRITE THAT. A friend of mine told me that and it made ME nervous. I wanted to get feedback from others on this site, which is what it is FOR. I was not trying to say that he is a bad person or a bad doctor. I did not state anything as fact and, in fact, said "This is her response, and it just seems backwards from everything I've read about him." I have read Dr. Ortiz's book, I have researched a thousand websites and am on 5 different posting boards, where I mostly read other people's experiences. I am NOT uneducated about the process or the doctor. I have copies of his credentials from the website. I do not appreciate you basically SCREAMING at me, when I'm just as nervous about this as every other pre-op person on this board and am just trying to find out the truth. While Dr. Ortiz does appear to have surgical credentials from the US, I did not see any listed from Mexico. Obviously this does not mean he isn't qualified, far from it, but it did make me a little curious as to why that was. I would appreciate it if you would re-read my post and understand what I was asking before bitching me out. Also, if I have posted any other post that you have found offensive, please tell me what I said that was incorrect, as I do not feel that I have posted anything inflammatory or treated any falsity as a fact. Thank you for making me feel absolutely horrible about posting about my own feelings and nervousness.

I was told by Scripps Hospital that soda was okay. I don't actually drink soda anyway cuz carbonation makes my tummy rumbly (IBS), but they said once the band is healed in place, you should be okay with soda - it doesn't really expand the pouch or anything, though you may experience gas after :-D

Thanks for your reply. I tend to agree with you. I've read his credentials, I own his book - with about 500 million sticky tabs in it, lol. The girl who replied just asked her family because she thought they might know something and her response really made me go "WTF!" so I thought I would just see what you all had to say. My Live Journal is primarily about my life and has just added banding stuff in lately as it's become a part of my life. So it's not like she is a bander or posting on lap-band panels or anything.

I have a Live Journal account and have been posting updates on my journey through the lap-band red tape fairly often. One of my friends goes to college in Chula Vista (southern San Diego County), CA and her family lives in TJ. She has two family members that are in the medical community and offered to ask them about Dr. Ortiz. Of course I said YES! This is her response, and it just seems backwards from everything I've read about him. But then I went and looked through his credentials and I DON'T see any listings for surgical training in Mexico, so I don't know what to think... "This is what I found out. My uncle knows a doctor who works in the same building, so this comes from him. They moved in about three months ago from Mexico DF, the capital. They are real doctors, but they are trained as general physicians and not specialized in the field you are looking at. actually, they are not specialized in surgery at all. They are the type you are supposed to go to when you have a cold or a general evaluation of your health. They came here and figured that because weight loss surgery is the latest fad in Tijuana, a border city, and they were doctors already, how hard would it be to become surgeons. They advertised in the internet to draw in US clients to get back all the money spent on the rent for the towers and the equipment, which belongs to the doctor that used the space before them, so it isn't exactly new or state of the art. My godmother recommends a Dr. Kuri, and my uncle recommends this one guy that he is planning to have the surgery done with."

LOL, I'm a web addict. I love my little icons and stuff :-D If you click on my user name "littleroo27" it will take you to a page that shows my cotact info, incuding e-mail and instant messenger.

That's awesome! Yeah, usually the gel capsules like that will disolve all at once and you just get the meds in one lump. With the Paxil-CR, it is made to give your body a little bit over many hours, kind of like 12 hour cold meds. If you crush, break or disolve the meds, you can risk getting too much in your system at one time, and then not enough later. That is USUALLY only an issue for extended release meds, thankfully.

I'm very lucky in that I live in San Diego, so I will be able to go back to TJ for fills. Free unless I want the Xray then it's $100. At Scripps it's $495!!!