MamaMichelle

Thanks for sharing the first half of your surgery experience, I am also from Las Vegas (Henderson actually) and am scheduled for the 29th. Maybe we can get together for a fill trip back to TJ!

Still no one for the 29th?

I know someone out there must be scheduled, maybe they just haven't found the boards yet! I may have to crash the party for all you girls with surgery on the 28th, since I will be there that afternoon for blood-work!

NO NEITHER PERSON ABOVE WAS DONE BY DR ORTIZ, I just pulled their pics off of google when looking for scar pictures to calm my own fears. From just the chatter I have heard on the boards most say their port scar from Dr Ortiz was less than an inch long.

Maybe we can get some brave bandsters who were done by Dr. Ortiz to post their scar pics!!

This was another pictures of post-op scars I found, this girl's surgery surgery was 2 years ago and NOT by Dr. Ortiz which I think explains why the port scar is so large!

SCAR @ 3 MONTHS POST OP

SCAR @ 6 MONTHS POST OP

SCAR @ 12 MONTHS POST OP

I was really concerned about the scarring so I also searched for pictures post op... This is from another Doctors website, but you can see the longer scar on the right which is where her port is and as you can see it is invisible!

It is placed under the skin/muscle and for most people is is not visible though some can feel a bump from where it is if they press on it!

I have yet to be banded (9 more days!) but I also want to reassure those who have booked their surgeries and are feeling concerned about this post, that 99% of the trip reports I have seen posted have been nothing but praise towards OCC, and it's human nature that when things go flawlessly people don't really feel the need to post that praise, it is only when they are dissatisfied that you hear an opinion.

Here's an example of what I mean, many of us go to the dry cleaners every week- pick up our clothes with little more than a quick "thank you" but the one time the dry cleaners shrink your favorite skirt or burn a hole in your husbands work shirt you will spend 20 min complaining to them about how badly they messed up, and most likely tell all your friends about the 1 bad experience while neglecting to mention that for the past year you have never had an issue with that cleaning service.

I think that Maggie's experience, while unfortunate, is totally valid and I applaud her for sharing it. I believe I read in another post that Lori has forwarded the story to the powers that be which is exactly what needed to be done so hopefully those issues and the circumstances around them will be evaluated and corrected if needed so no one else will have cause to post a similarly negative story in the future!

Don't worry, Be Happy!

Somewhat along the same line when discussing shakes...

I recently got my shipment of Optifast (Chocolate Flavor) and didn't like the taste as much as the Slim-Fast (Chocolate Flavor) so I did some searching on another board and found a few great tips to enhance the flavor of the Optifast powdered shakes.

1. Add a spoonful of instant coffee into the blender to make a great Mocha-Chocolate flavor similar to what you would pay $6 for at Starbucks.

2. You can buy sugar-free zero calorie coffee flavoring (like the liquid shots of peppermint or whatever) which can give you a different version of your shake eah day.

3. Another good add in to the Vanilla Shakes is to add some of your favorite powdered crystal lite; this way you can have a Vanilla-Strawberry-Kiwi Shake or a Vanilla-Raspberry shake.

I'm sure with the ready-made slimfast shakes and the individually packaged servings of crystal lite (the ones made for the water bottles) you could find a easily portable flavor combo that "won't make you vomit".

Good Luck!

I am arriving on the 28th for blood work and getting banded on the 29th, I believe I got the last spot on that date and all the private rooms were full so it should be a full house on the 29th though I am yet to find anyone else posting here with that date. I don't drink or smoke so no issues there and I have been doing the slim fast since the 17th and have lost 2lbs so far. I wanted to do optifast but the shipping was going to take too long so I started the slimfast until the optifast shakes arrive.

Also, they say you must fast the day you come down so they can do a blood test the day before surgery, but for me, that would mean a tremendous amount of time to not be able to eat since I would be coming from so far away.

When I booked my surgery for Feb 29th (only 12 days to go!) I didn't think I was going to be able to arrive until late in the evening before my surgery and Lori said that sometimes they can arrange to do your blood work and surgery on the same day. So you could fly in the evening before and as long as you stop eating by midnight the evening before you will be fine for blood work and surgery the next day!

I have yet to be banded (Only 12 days to go) but whenever I need extra protein I always use egg whites! You can drink them raw without issues (think egg nog) they are super high in protein and super low in calories, if you are still on the liquid diet you can just add 1/2 cup to the shakes you are already drinking for 18 grams of protein and only 60 calories and the best part is there is no taste so whatever you add it to (protein shake, soup, or juice) tastes the same!

P.S. You can always crack the eggs yourself but I much prefer using the pre-packaged 100% egg whites that come in the pint sized cartons, it's the easiest and quickest way!

Clynn is correct-

I only looked back at posts from the past 3 months and didn't see anything and when I searched I put in s.c.u.b.a. and nothing came up... Rookie mistakes!

Here is a link to the post from last year: http://www.lapbandforum.com/index.php?showtopic=4626

Hope this helps someone else that loves to dive!

I just grabbed the last spot for Feb 29th which is the leap year day, so I guess my yearly surgery anniversary will only come around every 4 years! LOL

I am arriving on the 28th and would love to chat with anyone else having surgery on the same date!

Hi All,

I am new to the boards- hoping to get my surgery at OCC scheduled for late Feb early March (thanks Lori) and I wanted to know if anyone knows if SCUBA diving is ok with the band. Obviously I'm not looking to go out a month after it is put in; but has any one heard of any problems with the band given the difference in pressure underwater? Maybe it's a non-issue but it is something I enjoy so I would love some insight!

Thanks and I look forward to participating on these boards more!