Am1e

My name is April and 2 years ago I went to OCC and I got the band.,.... I now know that with all that I am going threw and the fact that no one wants to give me fills cause I got it in mexico I should have gone with the sleeve.... I have been considering going back in November and having the sleeve done...... I was very nervous at first but I can not believe the friendly people and the care you get.... and it took like maybe 15 min and I was in and out and the lap band was in,,,,, My husband went last time but I feel I will go bye my self this time..... if you need some one to talk to let me know or who knows maybe I will see you in November!!!!!

april

I was banded by Dr Ortiz in March 2010. Wonderful experience. No problems with fills in New Orleans, but then I moved to West Texas. Any big cities 5 hours or more away (Dallas is 6 hrs away). No band care here at all unless I pay out of pocket for an inexperienced small town dr who is in network, but refuses to submit my claims to Cigna (most likely so he can collect $350 rather than the cigna negotiated rate which is probably less than $100). My insurance was covering my band maintenance in New Orleans and I had a good provider there. I moved 14 hours away from there, so going back there makes no sense. I wish I would have done the sleeve originally. But I go back to Tijuana in 2 weeks for my sleeve! I love Dr Ortiz and think he is probably the most experienced in the world at weight loss surgery. He was in Newsweek's "15 Leaders in Bariatric Surgery". If you read that article, I believe he has done more surgeries than any of the others. I feel more confident with care by him than any doctor I know in the US. I go on Nov. 7th. When are you going?

My name is April and 2 years ago I went to OCC and I got the band.,.... I now know that with all that I am going threw and the fact that no one wants to give me fills cause I got it in mexico I should have gone with the sleeve.... I have been considering going back in November and having the sleeve done...... I was very nervous at first but I can not believe the friendly people and the care you get.... and it took like maybe 15 min and I was in and out and the lap band was in,,,,, My husband went last time but I feel I will go bye my self this time..... if you need some one to talk to let me know or who knows maybe I will see you in November!!!!!

april

I was banded by Dr Ortiz in March 2010. Wonderful experience. No problems with fills in New Orleans, but then I moved to West Texas. Any big cities 5 hours or more away (Dallas is 6 hrs away). No band care here at all unless I pay out of pocket for an inexperienced small town dr who is in network, but refuses to submit my claims to Cigna (most likely so he can collect $350 rather than the cigna negotiated rate which is probably less than $100). My insurance was covering my band maintenance in New Orleans and I had a good provider there. I moved 14 hours away from there, so going back there makes no sense. I wish I would have done the sleeve originally. But I go back to Tijuana in 2 weeks for my sleeve! I love Dr Ortiz and think he is probably the most experienced in the world at weight loss surgery. He was in Newsweek's "15 Leaders in Bariatric Surgery". If you read that article, I believe he has done more surgeries than any of the others. I feel more confident with care by him than any doctor I know in the US. I go on Nov. 7th. When are you going?

I got the band at OCC in March of 2010. I am headed back to OCC for a revision to the sleeve in November. So excited! I am very frustrated with the band and the providers in the US saying things like "we don't take patients that had their band in Mexico". Dr. Ortiz likely has 100 times the experience and training of these jokers and they say it like its some sub standard back room process. Makes me very angry. I have really good insurance, but I trust Dr. Ortiz and prefer to self pay him than take my chances with my small town inexperienced options where I live. I like that he makes videos and explains how its done and why things are done a certain way. Very excited to go back to OCC and hopefully have my dreams of being thin come true!

So hey,

When do you feel the liquid thing? Early in the AM? with cold drinks? At my last fill I felt this in the office and we talked about the AM and cold liquid tightening up the band....so almost a week to the day I have the same feelings you describe but only in the AM or with ice/cold drinks, and it just seems to take a bit longer to get through the "funnel" other than that I am fine....so I'm thinking its ok..for myself.

I do tend to feel the tightness in my throat with a cold drink. I have noticed that I can drink a hot drink and it feels normal. So far it feels that way all the time, not just in the morning. I also did notice that when I was working outside and it was really hot, the cold drink went down easier. I am thinking I might keep the fill level, but it does feel weird in my throat.

I got a 3rd fill yesterday. I am at 8cc in an 11 cc band now. I can definitely feel the restriction now and wonder if I have too much. It feels funny when I drink something. Like it stays in my throat for a minute. I did eat a little this afternoon and I got full after about 2/3 cup of food. Eating isn't a problem, but drinking does feel funny, so I am worried if I have too much fill. I want to wait it out a few days and see what happens.

I feel tight in the morning occasionally. Then it goes away by afternoon. I also notice that when I start to retain water (like before that time of the month), I start to feel tighter. I think that is why they tell you not to get a fill before or during that time of the month. I am not feeling much restriction yet, because I have only had 2 fills, but those are the times when I have felt something. Hope that helps!

Also it would be great if you could say where your fills were done. Or just OCC or not OCC. I am betting that those who go to OCC have fewer fills than those who go elsewhere. I want to go back to OCC for a fill!!!

Fill Centers USA - New Orleans

I went to the New Orleans fill center on May 12, 2010. I was apprehensive about going there because they only take appointments 1 time a month starting at 3 pm. This worried me that they were not experienced. Also, I was told they just started using flouro (in April I think). I saw Dr. Scharmaine Lawson-Baker. The cost was $349 for the first fill centers USA visit, and $100 to Dr. Baker for flouro. The flouro is not optional, but I wanted it so that was fine. The location and appearance of the office was fine. Dr. Baker was pleasant. I gave her my surgery report. She used the flouro only to locate the port, she does not use the barium at all. She got it in the port on the first stick. She told me she was going to put in .25cc and she would possibly go up to .5cc, and that was the recommended amount for a first fill. I said, "Even in an 11cc band?" She said yes. I was upset about this because it would make sense to me if I only had a 4 cc band to do small fills, but was thinking that would be nothing in my 11 cc band. She put some in and I felt absolutely nothing, she was using a 2cc syringe, so she put in all of the 2 ccs. I still felt absolutely nothing. She had me sit up and drink some water, still I felt nothing different. She said that was all she was comfortable putting in and I should try it out for two weeks and call her if I have trouble.

I called her office a little over a week later and told her I still felt nothing different. She made me an appt for Monday, May 24th, and told me to call fill centers and have them get an approval. I paid $165 to fill centers USA for the second visit. This time she wanted to do it at her regular office and there was no flouro machine there, but she said my port was easy to locate. I went to her office, she tried to locate the port for the fill, but after a couple of minutes, she asked if I minded going to the other office to use the flouro. She told me she would not charge me the $100 for the flouro because she really thought she would be able to locate the port. We went to the other office, only about a mile away and used the flouro to locate the port. She got it on the first try. She put in 1cc more and I still felt nothing. Then 2cc more, still nothing. Then 3cc more for a total of 5. I still didn't really feel anything different. I sat up and drank some water, it went down fine. The doctor and I decided we didn't want to put any more in. I said I would just try out 5 ccs for a while, because I didn't want to get too much. I left the office and drank a bottle of water, then a small bottle of Gatorade. It was fine. I do like the fill doctor in New Orleans, although I would have rather went back to OCC, because I feel that i would be more comfortable with them, due to their experience at doing fills. I just didn't have airfare money. Dr. Baker is a pleasant person and does seem to care about patients. Also, she is only an hour or so drive from where I live. I do believe this will cause me to have to get more fills than someone who goes back to OCC though, so in the long run, it would have been more cost effective to go back to OCC for fills.

I am going to schedule another fill, but I am considering driving to Roswell, GA Fill Centers location (8 hours away) instead of driving 1 hour to New Orleans. I have read good reviews about the Roswell, GA location, and I believe they use barium. Its just with all that I have already spent, that would cost me a couple hundred more by the time I drive there and get a hotel. So I may just go back to New Orleans.

I wondered if everyone would be willing to share their "Sweet Spot" number. (Be sure to say whether you have a 4cc or 11cc band).

I currently have 5 cc in an 11cc band, and am not at my sweet spot. I am not feeling restriction.

I have had 2 fills. The provider used flouro, but no barium. I think she was inexperienced, because I have an 11cc band and she wanted to give me .25cc for my first fill!!!! I was extremely irritated because I had paid $450 already for my first Fill Centers USA visit ($350 initial fee, $100 for flouro). She did go ahead and give me 2ccs because I was irritated about it. Then I went back to her 2 weeks later and got another 3cc, for a total of 5cc. But I already know that I need another fill. I am debating on going back to her or traveling to Roswell, GA where they use the barium and have decent reviews as opposed to no reviews at all. I have been reading tons of posts, and it seems to me that a lot of people on here have right around 8cc in an 11cc band, for good restriction. I do realize that each person's "sweet spot" will vary. I have been losing about 1 lb a week, but can eat 2/3 of what I used to eat and I want to cut that to 1/3 of what I used to eat. I have been exercising on an elliptical for 30 minutes a day as well, and doing weights on my legs and arms too. (Can't do abs, not 3 months post op yet).

I requested my surgery report, since I am getting my first fill soon. I got it today and it does say it is 11cc. So I got the Johnson & Johnson SAGB BD3XV. If the US docs try to tell me something else, I will know they are mistaken, and I have a report to show them!

That is great! 12 lbs from goal!!! Can't wait til I get there. I was just banded 1 month ago, so it will be a while. But I started working out daily last week and hope to lengthen the workout as time goes on. Congratulations!

I was banded on March 23, 2010 and I am 4 weeks post-op. I don't feel any restriction at all. At first I was chewing and chewing my food and worried that I would swallow something too big, but I tried chewing and swallowing like I used to and nothing happened. I am still eating the way I am supposed to and not drinking with my food. I am barely eating. Sometimes I am hungry but I have been sticking to 3 low calorie very very small meals. I didn't loose any weight in the last week and last week I started exercising too, daily. 30 minutes on the elliptical a day. I hope this will change when I get my first fill in 3 weeks. Please let me know if anyone else experienced this and if it is common.

Here is my experience. I have the 11cc band I am told by Dr. Ortiz’ office. I have been filled to 9.4 and only now am I feeling any restriction. I was at 8.4 and felt nothing. (The OCC told my buddy bander that they hardly ever have to fill to an 8.5.) It is my understanding that my band only goes to 10cc. That is what the American doctors are telling me here. I don’t understand why Dr. Ortiz’ office says 11cc when everyone else says 10cc. Here is my concern, because the other fills gave me no restriction whatsoever, it has taken me almost reaching the max fill for my bad for me to feel anything (assuming that I have a 10cc vs. 11cc). What is going to happen when I lose weight and the band needs a fill? My worries are that I won’t have enough room for a fill that will make me feel restriction when I get closer to goal, for I still have the 98lbs to lose. So I wonder why did Dr. Ortiz’ put such a big band on me if my esophagus was smaller. I hope that this 9.4 fill is what will take me to my goal but only time is going to tell. So that is what I learned on my last fill visit to the docs here in the states.

I don't know if this will help or not, but I do think that the US uses a different version than Mexico. The reason I believe that is that my card says Johnson & Johnson SAGB VC, which when I searched on google, it uses J&J and Realize Band interchangeably, like they are the same thing. Then I went back to the OCC website ( http://www.obesitycontrolcenter.com/surgery.php ) and it says they use 2 types of bands, the Lap Band and the Realize. So I assumed, I have a realize band. I went to the realize website and tried to register for the "Realize My Success" website and it wanted the dr name and state, but it wouldn't let me pick Mexico, so my registration was limited, because they couldn't verify with the doctor that I have a realize band. So I called to tell them that my dr was in Mexico and wouldn't let me select that option. She told me that in Mexico they use a band that is not available in the US and it is the Swedish Band, not a US Realize band, so I could not get full access to the realize my success website. So I emailed Carolyn and she said "You do have a Johnson & Johnson Realize C band. In Mexico, the J & J Realize band is calles the SAGB - C band. It is the same band." I don't know if it is 10cc or 11cc but I do intend to ask because I am getting my first fill in 3 weeks. I also think most providers that I have talked to in the US have an attitude about people who went to Mexico, like it is sub-standard or something. But I researched it before I did it and I believe Dr. Ortiz trained a lot of US doctors. Trained them!!! And some of them refuse to do a fill on a patient that he banded!

I am going to New Orleans for a fill in May and wondered if anyone else has used that location. It is a fill centers USA. I am a bit worried about it because when I first looked New Orleans did not use flouro this was around March 1, 2010, so I was going to go to St. Petersburg, but then I was looking at fillcentersusa.com again around April 10th and it said New Orleans uses the flouro now. So I called to make my appointment. (This is my first fill ever). Anyway I was told they only make appointments one day a month, so I said I will take it, no matter what time it is at, but I prefer the earliest time available. Then they called me back and said that they start at 3 so I got a 3:00 appt. Anyway, this sounds a little weird to me. Only 1 day a month and it starts at 3:00????? I hope this goes well, and this is an experienced provider.

Thanks Kris for speaking up. It is good to know that the OCC does give 5cc fills when needed. Congrats on your loss this week of 2 pounds. That is really awesome and although you are not at your sweet spot yet I am sure you will have a lot of loss to show for it once you get there.

I just wanted to share my experience so far, as it relates to the conversation. I didn't ask or know what brand I was getting at the OCC. I assumed that Dr. Ortiz is a gastric band expert as he trains others and I believe he was part of the trials before they ever started doing it on people. (I believe I read that in the "Lap-Band For Life" book). Anyway, back to more relevant stuff....When I got home and looked at the patient ID card and saw that it was a J&J band, I thought, OMG! I assumed it would be a Lap-Band, and some providers I called actually said they would not fill a J&J band, and some said they would not see me just because it was done in Mexico. But I started doing some research on my own, and this is my opinion as to why the doctor MAY have chosen a J&J for me: I had a 35 BMI, but had a previous tummy tuck, so a perfectly flat stomach, and 65 lbs to lose. I read, and I'm not sure it is a fact, but I read that a Realize J&J band has a shorter port. What I mean by shorter is that when you lose the weight, it will be less likely to stick out and make a bump on your stomach. I would like to discuss the differences with Dr. Ortiz and maybe sometime I will email or something, but I am just trusting that he knows what he is doing. Did you ever get to talk to him? Hopefully he resolved all your questions. I am only 3 weeks post-op and I won't have the money for a trip back to the OCC, so I will be getting a fill at the fill centers usa. I have chosen to only use a provider who uses flouro, because I have read horror stories about getting a hole poked in the tube or port messed up from a blind fill. But I have read posts on this site as well as others about getting a 5 and 6 cc fill on the first time. Probably not for everyone though, because I have seen some who said they felt restriction at 1.5cc.

Good Luck!

Just remembered - "Lower Profile" was the term used.

I had a friend who had wonderful radiant skin (on his face) and I wondered how it could be so nice. He is around 55 yrs old, and I am 34, anyway one day he mentioned that he takes MSM for joint trouble but that it makes your skin nice too. So thinking I finally had his secret, I went out that day and got some and after about 3 days of it I had wonderful facial skin too! I used to have an acne problem and now if I forget to take it for a while the acne comes back. I take 4000mg per day (which is what he told me he took). You can get capsules or powder. I like to put powder in orange juice to drink it every morning. Anyway, I loved it so much I bought some cream, like a lotion in a little jar. I had a breast lift surgery and after the incisions closed, I put it on the incisions and at my month check up, both the Dr and his nurse commented on how my scars were the best they had ever seen at 1 month. I love it, and I will continue to use it and if it helps with saggy skin too, then that will be great! Also, I know they sell a powder for horses like at a feed store, and this man said his wife puts it in her bath water for softer skin. I thought, what the heck, I'll try that too. And it does seem to make your skin really nice.