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Hi Chris, My opinion, I would travel to Dr. Ortiz & Martinez and have your first fill done by them, 2 reasons, Dr. Ortiz likes to see you post op for your first fill if at all possible to make sure everything is going good and everything looks good, he uses flouro so he can see your band, port etc..it is peace of mind to for you to know everything is where it should be, second, U.S. docs are less agressive with fills, so it may very well be true that it is closer and less hassle to go to your local doc, but if you do not get resriction right away you wil lbe going back 1-2 more times, why not go the first time spend the 700 and make sure you have a good fill. Burnsun( a member here Jane is her name) flew to Dr. Ortiz for her fisrt fill and is almost at goal, she has only needed one fill so far but if in the states I guarantee she would of not gotten 2.6 cc's her first fill like she did with Dr. Martinez.. GO to TJ, you will not regret it, and if you get a good fil thefirst time, then you can travle to your local doc for tune -up and less agressive fills, butthe firsttime I woulddefinately reccomend going back to TJ.

I chose Dr. ortiz because of the band doctor in my area told me he was the best and he was the one who trianed him, I figured why not have the teacher instead of the student, plus I was a self pay and it was 3 times lees in TJ then with the other Dr. here in CA. I have not regretted my chopice one single moment. Dr. Ortiz & Dr. Martinez are the greatest caring loving doctors you will ever find. They have been there for me every step of the way during my 15 months as their patient.

Hi Katie, I was wondering what happened alll they told me was that you cancelled,thats too bad but you did the right thing. The good thing for me waswas the first fill so I was in and out of there in no time, that was a first. Well zi hope you are doing better now

When I had my surgery 14 months ago with Dr. Ortiz I was told to take FLinstone chewables, I either take those or the Centrum Chewables, I reccomend chewables or liquid vitamins. Once you start getting yourfills, getting a pil lto go down can be sometimes difficult.

Great News!! I am so happy for you and happy to hear you had such a great experience with OCC, they are the best. I just got home from being down there today to have a fill and as usual I was treated with the utmost care and respect. If you can swing it, you should go bac kto Dr. Ortiz for your first fill and check-up, there is peace of mind seeing the Dr. you used for your original surgery. I wish you lots of success with your new band

Hopefully we will get the chance to meet, my appointment is at 10:00am but they are always running late, once you arrive they will take you to the clinic for pre-op testing but may take yo to the hotel to check in first. I will keep my eyes open for you

That's great news! I wish you the best..and just to let you know it is normal to have the emotions of scared, happy, & nervous. You wouldnt be human if you didn't! The OCC is the best, the entire staff will take good care of you, not to worry. Congratulations to you

Sherylm I will be in TJ on Monday for a fill, wil lyou be there for pre -op then> If so I would love to talk with you, maybe I can help relieve some of your fears. You are going to do just fine, your fears you are having now are normal, it is the unexpected, so of course there wil lbe fears and anxiety, but once it is al ldone you will realize the adjustment to your new band is not complicated at all. Iam almost 2 hours away from Dr. Ortiz and have had two things other then fills I was able to get to him for one of them being an emergency but I made it to him and I was fine. You can always go to the ER in your area and they can call Dr. Ortiz or Dr. Martinez and they can speak to the ER docs , it is what I did until I was able to get to Dr. Ortiz. Dr. Ortiz wil lspeak to them directly and guide then in anyway he can if their is a problem, not to worry. The rules are easy, once you do it for a period of time, it becomes second nature. Hope to see you on Monday

Robin, What is it exactly that you are a wreck about? Is it the surgery itself? Is it the unknown of going to TJ for surgery? The surgery is a walk in the park, I have had 3 c-sections, breast reduction, and lap band surgery, lap band surgery was by far the easiest. Recovery time is a cinch. Going to TJ I know sounds scary, TJ has such a stigma attached to it, but once you arrive and see the treatment you get and how beautifu lthe facilities are ( hotel, hospital, Dr. Ortiz's clinic) you will never know you are in TJ. Hisstaff is awesome, theytake such good care of you while you are there. You will do fine Best Wishes to you

HJi Wishy, Iam so happy to hear you had a good experience with Dr. Ortiz and the entire OCC staff, they arethe best! Best Wishes to you on your new band. I hope you have lotsof success

Walking works the best for getting out the gas. I get some trapped gas too after my fills around my port area for a day or two afterwards. WALK WALK WALK!!!

I used www.cosmeticfeeplan.com it is Capital One. I paid cash for part of my surgery & I financed only 2000 of my surgery and my payment was 125 for 18 months, I paid it off 4 months early with no penalty.

I have had all of my fills with Dr. Ortiz & Martinez, ( Martinez usually does all of the fills and he is the master at fills) I did have Dr. Ortiz give me a fill once. I can only say from my experience is that they use flouro and I like that, it gives me peace of mind seeing my band, my port and the barium flowing through the band. Also it has been said that U.S. docs are very conservative on fills only giving a little at a time to creep up on restriction so if it is cost you are looking for, it may be cheaper to go to Dr. Ortiz since you will get a nice fill and wont need one too often, I have had 3 fills in 14 months and am almost to goal weight. The doc here I would of used only gives .5cc's at a time, if I would of went to him, I would of only been at 1.5 cc's after 3 fills and it would of been more money out of pocket then going to TJ, with Dr. Ortiz after 3 fills I was at 2.5 cc's .I also like knowing the Dr. who did my surgery does all of my aftercare. Just my opinion.

Is anyone going to be in TJ on June 20th I will be there having a fill. Would love to meet any of you

My experience with fills has been wonderful My first fill was on June 7th 9 weeks pot op and I had 1.1cc's My second fill was August 19th and I had .9 cc's My third fill was January 17th of .5 cc's for a total of 2.5 cc's I was recently unfilled on April 20th and have been empty for 2 months now but I'm going on Monday June 20th for a fill Dr. Martinez is the master of fills in my opinion. The process is quick and painless and it is all done under flouro which gives peace of mind because you can see your port, your band .etc..

Chris, the band works. You do have to do your part though. There are wasys to eat past the band or through the band which will hinder your weight loss. I'm not saying Iam a perfect bandster, because believe me I had had my days where I do not make the best of choices but for the most part I do try and follow the rules. The great thing is, on the days I do not make the best choices, not much damage is done since I can not eat very much. So do not beat yourself up if you have a bad day ..To me this has never felt like a diet. I have not weighed or measured my food, I have not had to count points etc...I have lost weight while still enjoying food! Good Luck to you, sounds like you are on your wayt o a happier healthier lifestyle!

I had my surgery on April 6th 2004 My starting weight was 265. I wore a size 22 Iam now 172 and wear a size 10 Down 93 lbs in 14 months Dr. Ortiz & martinez and the enitre OCC staff have been completely fantastic to me during the last 14 months. Not only did Dr. Ortiz save my life by giving me my band, but on April 20 2005, he saved my life again. He preformed a life saving surgery on me, not band related. A surgery the Dr.'s here in California would not do because of my band and having it done in Mexico.I owe him in such a huge way. He is truly the most caring Dr. I have ever encountered. He and his entire staff take such good care of you. Renee, Sandy, Dr. Martinez, Mrs. Ortiz ( his mother) and Dr. Miranda are all very caring people. My experience in Mexico is something I have never experienced here in the U.S.

Hi There is a woman here named Karen, she was banded and her 17yr old daughter just was banded. I am sure if you send her a PM she will reply, she is the nicest woman. Her name is KarenB and I am sure shewil lgive you her daughter's email address

Anyone else have any before & during pics to share or before & after pics to share? Come on guys post those pics!!!

I forgot to post this yesterday on June 13th I lost 1 lb this past week which is great for me since I have an empty band. -93 for me total in 14 months Anyone else in this challenge with me?

Thanks Chris for the kind words... My success has been mainly from following the bandster rules I eat my protein first I do not drink with meal and wait 1 hr after a meal to drink I waterload, I drink atleast 100 oz's a day of water. I do not drink any liquid calories like juice, smoothies, the only time I drink liquid calories is when I have 3 days of liquids after a fill other then that it is just water and coffee. I do not eat soft foods that go through the band quickly like puddings, ice cream, applesauce etc.. I do not weight myself but once a week,I did weigh everyday in the beginning and it became an obsession and I found it was sabatoging me. I started a weekely wiegh in here on the board it does help to only weigh once a week. I try to not eat junk food, in the beginning I was the perfect bandster but now that Iam 14 months out I tend to splurge every now and then on chocolate I do not live to eat any longer, I eat to live, figuring that out is half the battle, I do not eat for taste like I used to, I eat for nutritional needs, Imake fairly good choices for example I eat egg whites instead of whole eggs, I eat dry toast instead of toast with butter., I eat alot more chicken & fish instead of red meat. I only eat for 20 minutes at meal time, after that I walk away. Right now I have no fill, I was unfilled on April 20th for a surgical procedure but luckily for me I have lost 5 lbs in that time, somedays I struggle and somedays I dont Iam scheduled to be re-filled on Monday with Dr. Martinez. I am horrible with theexercise, that is one area I wish I was better at, I am not saying I have never exercised since banding but it is not a prioity, I exercise once a week sometimes twice a week. I am excited to get my fill, Iam very close to the century mark ( losing 100 lbs) after I reach that, Iam going to takeit 1 lb at a time.

You will ned your drivers license, I have not needed anything else but that, but as of december 2007 you will need a passport and adrivers license.

You know I had the same concerns, I though to myself there is no way I can do liquids for 3 weeks, but guess what I did, and trust me it was not bad at all, the swelling and thetrapped gas you have after surgery, you are not even hungry, it is amazing. If we could do it on our own, we would,. it is easy to do a diet for 2-3 weeks but as you know , something happens and we give up...only to gain the weight we lost right back and then some. The great thing about the band is everyday is a new day, if you have a bad day and eat the wrong things, you start over. I can not begin to tell you how my band has changed my life. This is the first time in my life I actually feel I will never gain weight again, it is the greatest tool if you use it correctly. As far as food getting stuck, no you can not choke to death, if a piece gets stuck , you just throw it up, it can be somewhat painful depending on the size of the piece, but you learn the hard way to take small bites and to chew your food to bits, you also learn what foods work for you and what foods don't. I have been banded for 14 months and have lost 93 lbs. The last 2 months I have been completely unfilled due to a surgical procedure I had in April, and guess what? I have not gained any weight in this time, I have actually lost 5 lbs in 2 months, it is a lifestyle change, you do have to do some work, your band will not do all of the work. Since you live in Ohio, the most importan thing I can reccomend to you is that you make sure ahead of time prior to your surgery that you find a band Dr. in your area who will take you on as his patient if you do not plan on going back to TJ for your fills and in the event of an emergency. Many U.S. Dr.'s will not take on patients banded in Mexico and if they do they charge nore so line it up ahead of time. You can email Don Mills at Inamed and ask for a list of surgeons in your area and start calling them and ask them if they take Mexico patients, his email address is Don.Mills@inamed.com It is normal to be a little apprehensive. I think most of us were where you are at pre surgery. I know for me, nothing was standing in my way of getting my life back, not just for me but for my children and husband. My band was just the tool I needed... I LOVE MY BAND!!!

I do not know if I would of gone camping either, not so much forthe pain but more so for being on the liquid phase. I wanted my popsicles and jello and hot hot chicken broth, camping may be difficult for the lclear liquid phase and it is possible you wil lstill be umcomfortable from thegas and the incision pain.

Gas issue is something you may have to get used to, it was the same for me, I never have been so gassy as I have been since I got the band 14 months ago, the band becomes a one way valve which is why there is more gas, I find when I lie around I have mnore gas, I try to keep active and it does help, also if you chew gun that wil lproduce more gas, and if you drink through a straw that will produce more gas, once we had thesurgery we became air swalowers more so then before the band since we have ot chew chew chew we swallow much more air then before. These are the answers I got from Martinez when I asked him about the gas.