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Dolittle

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Everything posted by Dolittle

  1. I was just in TJ in December, I saw nothing out of the ordinary. In fact, a couple times I walked from the Marriott to the OCC just for the exercise. From what I read in the news papers, the drug gangs were kidnapping other drug gang family members or Mexican businessmen. If your that worried, take a taxicab at the border or ride in the OCC van from the airport to the OCC or hotel. The areas your in are pretty commercial, lots of cops, the commercial/business areas don't want to see anyone hurt or harmed in anyway. There's a lot of Mexican citizens that make their living in the medical tourism trade.
  2. do not put hyper links in on your profile page or in any posts.

  3. Welcome to the forum

  4. Welcome to the forum

  5. Welcome to the forum. Your pictures have been approved.

  6. Welcome to the forum

  7. Welcome to the forum

  8. Waitin on Santa,, I'm here. LOL

  9. The glue will fall off on its own. Don't worry, just take your shower and be as normal as you can be. Before you know it, it will be gone and you'll be all healed up.
  10. I really think it depends on how much fat you have internally clinging onto and around your stomach. As you loose weight and body fat, the first fat you'll loose is that fat hanging onto your stomach. That's why we need a fill so soon. I've never heard that men require less fills than females. I really think thats BS. Everyone is different, why Dr. Ortiz picks one size band versus another is why he's the surgeon and I'm not. There could be numerous reasons why I got a 4cc band versus another patient got a 10cc band. I was banded almost 3 years ago, band criteria has changed since I was banded. Maybe the 4cc band is no longer available, I don't know. Like I said, bigger bands are being used in the states, maybe it's for many reasons? One, to eliminate the restriction right after surgery. The other is that in the USA, your lap band surgeon can ding the insurance company a few more times before you achive restriction. Also, there's always the possibility the 4cc band is no longer the best choice to use and its being phased out? I can't speak for your surgeon. I can't say why a surgeon uses one band or another. Plus, things change over time, some to the good and some are questionable. Since I was banded using the bigger band might be the best thing for patients. Lap band surgeons and Inamed have learned alot since I was banded and maybe the 4cc band isn't the best choice anymore. I know that every clinic that specializes in banding, they want you, as a patient, to be successful. They all live on their reputation and want you to succeed. Patients that succeed tell their friends and others that the band works. I know in the area I live in, the surgeons slowly bring a patient to restriction when they could do it the first time they adjust a patients band via using a fluoroscope and a barium swallow. Why they do blind fills and spoon feed the saline to the patients band is my theory of milking the insurance company for more money. I guess we'll have to see what Dr. Ortiz has to say about this. But, I love this kind of debate, this is why this forum and many others are on the web, to bring questions like this to the front and have a nice friendly debate,, OH I JUST LOVE THIS KIND OF DEBATE!!!
  11. OK, I sent this question to Dr. Ortiz and we'll see what he has to say about this subject. But,, I have an opinion and I think it's a good one. I think patients that get close to goal and end up having an unfill were too tight in the first place. As you get close to goal you start to try to eat normal,, like what you used to. A combination of a physicological and physical thing. Physiologically you think your close and don't have to work as hard, and you start eating more, but physically, your still banded and have the same restriction, you end up PBing more and irritating your stomach. With this constant yo-yo/PBing thing going on, you find yourself in trouble and end up having an unfill. But like I said,, this is my opinion.
  12. To my understanding and back when I got banded, I was told most women get the smaller band and the men get the larger. I've been told that women carry most of their fat on the outside and men have more internally. It's not a good thing to have restriction right after surgery. You want that band to heal and nest itself in that spot where the surgeon placed it. With the band healing and locking itself in the proper position, it decreases the complication rate in the future,, like band slippage. In my case I had to be very careful those first 3 months to make sure I healed and the band stayed in the proper position. As I lost weight and lost my internal fat, my restriction eased up and my first fill wasn't till the 12 week mark after surgery. Like I said, all I needed at the first fill was a little squirt and I had my restriction back. The trend now is for everyone to get the larger band, so you don't have the complication of having what I experienced. I think this is one of the reasons patients that get banded in the states get the huge Avantage band, the other reason is, and this is my opinion, its so you need more fills and have to go back, thus the insurance pays more over the long run. I've been to several post surgery support groups in my area and all the post-op patients complain that it takes them 6 months and numerous fills to have restriction. And its because their doctor just adjusts the band in small amounts of saline. More trips to the doctor for fills, more money in their pocket. But this is just my opinion. LOL
  13. OK, here's my experience, when I was banded, Dr. Ortiz had a choice of using the 4cc band or the 10cc band. It depened on how much fat was surrounding my stomach. It's the surgeons judgement call. Internally we all have fat attached to our stomach and its usually a thicker amount in men. In my case, Dr. Ortiz placed the smaller band around my stomach and I had restriction from the beginning. In fact, I had too much restriction, I was so tight that there was talk that I might have to have my lap band replaced with the larger 10cc band. But I managed somehow to live with the restriction and everything worked out. On my first fill 12 weeks after surgery, I only took .4cc's, today I only have 2.0cc's in my band. Every fill I had was never more than a half of a cc. After banding, the first fat you'll loose is the internal fat around your stomach. This is why after your first fill it's a short time later that you'll need another fill. As you loose the weight and the internal fat disappears, the band becomes looser and you loose that restriction. This is why most patients require 3 to 6 fills the first year, it's that internal fat that you can't see that is why you loose your restriction. Once most of that internal fat is gone, you stabilize with your fills and you hit the so called "sweet spot". As you know, here in the USA they use only the 15/17cc Inamed Advantage lap band. It's so big that it's like putting a "Hula Hoop" around your stomach. LOL. The restriction right after surgery very rarely ever happens with that big band. But, as you read about patients with this band, it takes a lot of saline and adjustments to get restriction and or to hit the sweet spot. All the bands do the same job, with a proper fill/adjustment they give you restriction, depending how much internal fat you have, each patient will require a differnet amount of saline to get that restriction. The statement about men only requiring one adjustment??? I don't know about that??? Hmmm,, That wasn't true in my case. I probably had the normal 4 to 6 the first year.
  14. I was just in Tijuana a week ago, I did both and I have to say that it didn't take hours to get across the border. As you all know, coming into Mexico only takes minutes, but leaving Mexico and going through US Customs can be a timely ordeal. When leaving and going across the border you have several options. Your fastest way across the border is to ride in the OCC van with Fransisco the driver. It can take 45 to 60 minutes to get through the border even in the OCC van. I think that when you have surgery the OCC includes airport arrival and departure transportation packaged in the price of your surgery. It's when you go back for fills you have the option of choosing the OCC fill package which includes transportation and hotel room or doing it all on your own. I've done both and I can say doing it on your own is alot cheaper and its easy. Last week, my last day in TJ was the day I was finishing my dental work. My dental appointment was at 10am and my flight back to Chicago was at 5:15pm. Here's how the day went and how much time I spent. Dental appointment at 10am, they finished my crown and I was done at noon. The dental clinic was kind enough to have their van driver give me a ride to the border, If I was to take a taxi, the cost would be $5. The dental clinic and the OCC are about the same distance from the border. The van driver dropped me off at the closest spot where the walking line starts, just about 20 yards away from the end of the people line. If you were to take a taxi, they would drop you at the same spot. And this was on a Friday afternoon, and Fridays are usually the busiest day at the border crossing. It took 50 minutes for me to get from the end of the line and out the door of the customs building. Right outside the customs building is the Blue Line Trolley, which by the way, the trolley is painted "RED" Duh!. I walked right to the Trolley, paid $5 for an all day MTS pass at the automated ticket machine and got on the trolley. It took another 60 to 70 minutes and I was at the airport via the trolley and 992 bus. Follow the instructions on several posts that tell you how to take the Bus and Trolley from the airport to the border. I've included 2 hyperlinks showing the bus and trolley route TROLLEY AIRPORT BUS PS, If you were to take a taxi from the US customs building to the airport, be prepared to spend between $40 to $60 for that taxi ride, it's very pricey.
  15. I'm posting this link so members could check out the OCC and Dr. Ortiz's Youtube videos. They are very informative and educational. YOUTUBE I know some of you have seen them, but I know there's a lot of the new members that haven't. Check it out. I've heard that Dr. Ortiz is going to be adding more sometime in the future. But I don't know when that is going to happen.
  16. You know, like I said at the beginning of my post, I don't want anyone taking this the wrong way. Yes, the forum is here to help members with the life changing decision about choosing to have lap band surgery. Yes, most new patients have a lot of anxiety with the process of making a decision and it's great that we have members that like to help above and beyond. But everyone that posts here has their own style of writing and their own style of giving advise. Yes, I did jump into this subject and try to make members think about the search option. My goal was to get members to think and use the search option. As a moderator here for the 2 1/2 years, I get tons of questions that the answers are easily found here at the forum by doing a search. But I'm kind of glad that the subject of asking the same questions came up. Dr. Ortiz requested Lori and I to compile a list of FAQ. We have been working on this for the last 3 months. I don't know yet how he's going to address these questions, that decision hasn't been made yet. I'm hoping it will be a seperate section here at the forum. I've heard it might also be addressed in a different presentation or media, like maybe youtube or something like that. I'll keep you posted on what happens. As you know, the OCC has a list of "YOUTUBE" videos on different subjects, here's the link. LAPBAND VIDEOS
  17. I don't want anyone to take this the wrong way, but this is one of my pet peeves and I'd like to add my 2 cents here about this subject. LINDSAY IS RIGHT, there's a lot of members, new and old, that find it easier to ask questions than do a search. As a moderator here, I've found this to be true, but it's really their loss. Part of the educational process you'll find you'll learn more about this or any subject if you start surfing around and or doing a search. I can say that some members aren't that computer savy and they do have trouble finding information, which is OK, and yes, they'll need some help. BUT, there are some that are just lazy and find it easier to ask questions and get answers. My advise to any member if they have a question, first do a search, if you can't find the answer, send an email to either your patient coordinator or one of the moderators here at the forum. But, PLEASE, try doing a search first.
  18. You know, to my knowledge and my bad memory, I read that a Detroit councilwomen died of complications after lap band surgery back maybe 10 years ago. This was due to a combination of a very inexperienced surgeon and patient that had numerous post surgery complications and failed to go back to the hospital. What had happened was the surgeon nicked the colon or small intestine and patient died from sever bacteria infection a week after surgery. The surgery was done on a Michigin border town in Canada. Back then the lap band wasn't FDA approved in the USA, so patients had to cross the border to have the surgery. The surgeon had only done 3 or 4 lap band procedures and was very inexperienced. The patient, post surgery, had very sever cramps and a very, very high fever for days, but didn't seek medical attention till it was too late. So I'd say it pays to do your homework and choose an experienced surgeon or clinic. Also, it would be wise if your having some sort of complications post surgery,, seek medical attention.
  19. I know they're north of the border, but not in walking distance to the border. If I remember right, the forum had them in a post that said they offered shuttle to the border or to the clinic, but in reality they never came throught with that offer. So we dropped them from our hotel referral list. Let us know what happens.
  20. You did good,, can you post something on the hotel after your fill. I've never stayed at this hotel. Thanks for sharing this info.
  21. We used to have a chat option here at the forum, but we had to disable it. Several members abused the chat system. That's about all I can about this subject, the decision came down from Dr. Ortiz himself. He was not very happy with what had happened. I don't forsee it changing. Sorry, but a few members ruined it for the many.
  22. OK, here's the poop on Cosmed and plastic surgery in Tijuana. Tijuana is a big big border town that specializes in medical tourism. A lot of Southern Californians cross the border and have some sort of medical procedure done and their reasons are mostly financial. If you don't have insurance coverage in the states and have to pay out of pocket, Tijuana is the place to go to. There are numerous clinics that specialize in Dental, Plastic Surgery, Vision and even in Lap Banding. I can tell you that Cosmed is not the only Plastic Surgery clinic and the OCC is not the only Lap Band clinic in Tijuana. Some clinics will have a good reputation and some won't. That's why when you did your homework about lap banding you found the OCC and you found this forum and other band forums. You found that the OCC has a great reputation and has maintained a high standard in the lap banding field. The same is true about plastic surgery, there are several plastic surgery forums for you to seek other patients opinions about certain clinics, doctors and procedures. The power of the Internet can make or break any clinic or doctor that relies on their reputation. The main reason that Cosmed is recommended by the OCC is that Dr. Ortiz (OCC) and Dr. Quiroz (Cosmed) are very close friends. And Dr. Ortiz isn't going to recommend any of his patients to any other doctor in Tijuana that doesn't do the quality of work that he does. They all live by their reputations. So do your homework and check with other patients on other forums. I know that Lisa and Pammie recommend a great plastic surgeon up in the Northwest named Dr. Nyte. He has some very compeditive prices too! So, do your homework and try to make the best decision. I had a Lower Body lift at Cosmed a year ago and I have a plastic surgery blog here at the Lapband forum, check it out. I can also tell you that plastic surgery is MAJOR SURGERY, it's not like lap band surgery, not even close.
  23. I'm not trying to beat up Tootsie, or pick on her, or anything like that, but Tootsie shows you a good example of what not to do,, and that is arrive at the airport late. Most airlines now have policies that if you don't check in 45 minutes to an hour before your flight, the check-in computers will lock you out and you won't be getting on your scheduled flight. The TSA check point will not speed up the screening process because your running late. They'll assume that if someone was to try to get a restricted item on board an aircraft, they'd be looking for a passenger that was trying to create chaos by being late and that the TSA would skip steps in the security procedure to accommodate a passenger that was running late. If a passenger sets off alarms, they're going to check you till they're satisfied you are not trying to hide or bring a restricted item onto a plane. A good example would be a passenger having metal piercings in a hidden area of the body. Stuff like this is like asking for trouble and slowing you down in the screening process, hence, you miss your flight. The TSA does not do strip or cavity searches. They just bring in the police and they'll do it. I know going through airport security is a pain in the butt, but there's over three thousand people dead because of 911. I've heard passengers complain about having to go through the security, but I guarantee you don't want to be on the next plane that some idiots hijack and try to recreate the next 911. So my best advice is to pack light and according to the TSA rules, arrive early and be friendly and nice to everyone you come in contact with. Be it the TSA screener or the person next to you on the plane, life is so much easier when everyone is nice to each other. PS,, if you get selected for extra screening at the airport, it's because you either have set off the alarms or it's just a random screening. Unfortunately this is just the way it is now. Also,, leave those hidden body piercings at home. LOL.
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