Littleroo27

I have Dr. Ortiz' book at home, which has specific info about the post-op recomendations. Would it help either of you to type up a little blurb from that?

Yes, I survived a trip to TJ by myself!!! It was actually very easy and I was never scared or felt endangered or anything. My parents were freaking out from Kansas and kept calling me, even before I left my apartment, but I was fine! Took the trolley to San Ysidro and a bus to the edge of the border crossing. Walked through the border and hopped in a cab to the doctor's office. Spoke with Dr. Ortiz and the nutritionist and took a tour of the office. Dr. Ortiz is very very nice and knowledgable, and the clinic itself is spotlessly clean and beautiful, if small. 6 recovery rooms, one surgical room, two computers with high speed internet to keep in touch with your family back home during your short stay. The nutritionist weighed me and said I needed to lose 16 lbs before surgery in order to shrink my liver, so that's not bad . After that they called a taxi for me and I went back to the border crossing. After seeing the insane line to cross back to the US I decided to hop in one of the border crossing vans. That took us to Otay Mesa, where we got out and waited in a much shorter line (about 10 minutes or so) and then got back in the van on the other side. We were then driven to the San Ysidro trolley station where I hopped on and was taken back to my car. All in all, not a bad trip! Round Trip Trolley: $5.00 Taxi to Dr. Ortiz: $5.00 Taxi to border: $5.00 Border crossing van $10.00 Weight Loss Surgery: Priceless

ohhh, that's a great question. I'm totally and completely unable to eat / drink anything that came from a cow at any point in time (no red meat, no dairy), but there is this awesome little smoothie place at the mall that does a blueberry soy smoothie. Yummmm

Tom, It took me forever to get the book through Amazon cuz it wasn't in stock, but it's well worth it. If you don't want to go back to Amazon, you can always order it through your local Borders or Barnes and Nobles. You can pick it up at the store when they get it in or they can send it to you. I'm going to TJ tomorrow to meet Dr. Ortiz and tour the clinic - can't wait!!!

The surgery costs do vary depending on where you have it done. My insurance has a blanket denial on weight loss surgeries, which is a huge bummer. I did consider getting private insurance (self-pay) with a company that would cover the surgery, but it would have taken at least a year to get approval because it would be considered a pre-existing condition. Then I would still have to pay the monthly insurance premiums and the co-payments and deductibles and... it just wasn't worth it to me. Dr. Ortiz charges under or around $10,000 with free fills for life. The hospital I was working with charges $18,000 and each fill is around $500. Dr. Ortiz is ideal for me because I live in San Diego, so his office is nothing more then a trolley ride and a taxi away. There are options to get payment if you want to go through the hassle, but for me, the best option was a fixed APR low interest credit card and Dr. Ortiz. I am still pre-op and I meet Dr. Ortiz on Monday for my consultation, but I am fully prepared to have this done, I just need a date!

I am 5'4" and around 320 lbs, BMI of 51+. Do you think it's fairly likely that I will have the larger 14cm band, or does it depend on how much fat is surrounding the area to be banded? It seems like the size of the band wouldn't depend so much on how much you weigh as how large the area being banded is, but I'm certainly no surgeon!!!

I've been told to give myself 2 hours. The airport is in downtown san diego. Acording to the website (www.sdcommute.com) it will take anywhere from an hour to an hour and a half to get from there to the border as you will have to take a bus to the trolley and then the trolley all the way south. It's also faster to walk back across from MX to the US if you can, rather then go in a taxi. You can hop into the trolley on the other side and head back to the airport.

I will be posting something on the boards either Monday night or Tuesday regarding my visit Monday afternoon. I've never been down there, but have heard nothing but wonderful things about Dr. Ortiz and the clinic itself. I have read his book and it is wonderful - I really recomend it no matter what doctor you go with.

You might ask what their prices are anyway. In the long run, it may be cheaper to get a flight out to see Dr. Ortiz and get a fill there then to get a fill in Indiana. I know the clinic near me charges around $500 for a blind fill (no x-ray). I could easily buy a plane ticket and one night at a hotel for that!

How much does the lap-band procedure cose without medical insurance? This varied depending on where you go. Dr. Ortiz is currently around $9,700. This does include free fills for life. Scripps Weight Management Clinic (La Jolla, CA) charges somewhere around $18,000 for the procedure, plus $500 for each fill or de-fill. There is a clinic in Kansas City that I checked out that was less then $1,000 less then Scripps, but it was fairly similar overall. If I do obtain medical insurance, how do I go about getting coverage for this kind of surgery? This varies widly depending on your insurance. My insurance through work doesn't cover the surgery regardless of medical necessities, co-morbidities (other problems related to the weight), etc. So I am going through this as a self-pay. Some insurance companies require 6 months of documented weight loss attempts before they will agree to pay. Some want one month of strict dietary restriction to make sure you can stick with the program before they will agree. Lots of companies have their own little hoops. Do you prefer gastric bypass or lap-band? I think everyone here would say lap-band, because this is a lap-band only support group. For me it was several factors. One, the risk factors for the GBS are just too high. Not only is there a prolonged recovery period, but there can be a lot of changes to your digestion post-op that are a real pain in the rear end. Plus, I have IBS (irritable bowel syndrome), so bypassing some of my intestine was just not an option as it would have made my symptoms that much worse. How satisified are you with your results? I'm still pre-op. I'm going down to meet Dr. Ortiz and see the clinic on Sept 4. I'm very excited! Beth in San Diego

Man, I'm going down on the 4th and was looking for a buddy! As for low cost, there is another post floating around here with very specific directions, but best is to take the bus from the airport to the trolley stop (the bus driver can tell you where it is, but it's by America Plaza). From there, you will see signs saying "Tijuana" - go stand by one! The trolley will have a sign on it saying the color of the trolley line and that it is going to Tijana. Hop on it and go to the end of the line. From there you can walk across the border and hop a cab to the clinic - just hand the guy the directions and ask how much. From the other post, I've heard it's about $5. The bus is $2.25 or $2.50 and you should be able to get a transfer pass to the trolley as long as you transfer within 2 hours. If you have any questions, ask the bus driver or even someone waiting for the trolley. We are all pretty friendly folk down here in San Diego and happy to help. Also, you can go to www.sdcommute.com for more info on the bus and trolley numbers and fairs.

The trolley goes straight to Mission Valley Mall, Fashion Valley Mall, and about 2 or 3 blocks from Horton Plaza Mall. Lovely thing, the trolley!

LOL, I love your tracker!!! So much better then the ones online.

I've been told 20 minutes prior and 1 hour after, though the prior is less of a big deal then the after (water goes through pretty fast, so 5 to 10 minutes should be fine too).

Oh my gosh, thank you so much!!! I'm going down for my consult on Sept 4 and was fretting the border crossing part (I failed Spanish miserably in college!!!) As for the trolley, yes, they are all red This is the MTS (metro transit system) color, I think. But all of the trolleys have that big sign on the front and side of the first car that says what color line it is and where it is going. If you are coming from some place other then the airport and want to see what bus to take to the trolley, or where the closest trolley stop is, go to www.sdcommute.com and click on "trip planner."

As someone who can't drink carbonated soda (IBS), I can tell you that it never really goes flat. It can get flattER, but there is still fizz enough to cause gas pressure. I would really just suggest trying not to drink soda if you can possibly stand it, at least not until you are 100% healed and stable and less likely to slip.

Dr. Ortiz's book is awesome; I read it cover to cover and it's FULL of those little sticky arrows where I read something I wanted to remember.

I am not getting a fill, but I am looking for someone to navigate the trolley & border crossing with on Sept 4th for my consultation. I am willing to pick up from the airport if you fly in that morning.

Yeah, it really does depend on the person. People's levels of pain tolerance differ, as well as how long their surgery was, were there any complications, even how long your drive to work is or how much post-op gas you have. My step-mom had a histeroctomy and was up and about within 2 days, doing everything except lifting/bending. I would suggest telling your office you could be gone for as long as two weeks, one week realistically, but may try to come back for short days as early as Monday or Tuesday, depending on how you feel.

That is SO awesome!!!!! I was thrilled to hear that they regularly do fleuro, as the hospital I was going to go to only does that for the first fill. I don't like needles anyway and am not thrilled at the thought of 10 or 11 pokes only to still miss the band in the end!!! I'm lucky in that I live in San Diego, so a fill trip to TJ isn't a big deal, but I'm so happy that you finally had a good experience and some restriction.

I am going down to TJ on Sept 4 for a consultation appt at 1 pm. I am going to TRY and cross the border on my own by taking the trolley to TJ and getting a cab on the other side of the border. If there is anyone else going down that morning that would like to come with me, I'd be happy to pick people up at the airport. I can park at my office building and hop on the trolley just one block from there in Downtown SD. I have a Taurus, so I can take 3 people comfortably and one in the trunk :-D Feel free to PM me, IM me or e-mail me. All info is in my profile. I'm really excited about being able to do the consult on a day where our office is closed so I don't even have to miss work!

Gel Shoe Inserts????? *boggles* So glad I thought to read this - I'm getting on the plane in 5 hours to go home!!! Will pack those puppies in my checked luggage!

I'm so sorry, hun! I'm not really sure what to suggest other then, make sure you are taking a really good vitamin and mineral supplement every day and try to get more protein. If you need to, drink a protein shake as one of your meals. At least then you can get some sustinance! Your body thinks you're starving right now, which is why it's not giving up anything an you are not losing weight.

Just out of curiosity, why couldn't they reband you when they went in to remove the old one?

I would also like to suggest Enteric Coated Peppermint Capsules. I take them for gas related to my IBS pain when the Gas-X / Phazyme gels don't do anything. They are specially made to not disolve until they get to your digestive tract which, yes, means they may not help as much with the post-op gas, but they may be something to consider for any pains you have due to trapped air after the band is in place. I bought mine through www.helpforibs.com, but I think they are becoming more common elsewhere in the US. At one time you couldn't find them outside of Europe. Oh - fun side effect - you may end up burping peppermint breath