Dolittle

Meet the people of the OCC This week we feature a nurse that's everyones favorite. Her name is Josef and her duties consist of doing your blood work, starting your IV and etc. After your surgery she'll hover over you and start your speedy recovery by getting you out of bed and walking up and down the hallways. She's a grandmother and enjoys being with her family in her off time. She is also the most mentioned employee in the patient testimonials. Her nickname is Jose. Everyone LOVES her. Josef "Jose"

I was almost 54 when I was banded and I don't regret anything. I just wish I would have done it 7 years ago when I first looked into banding. Back then it wasn't FDA approved here in the states yet.

Meet the people of the OCC This week we highlight one of the sweetest nurses at the OCC. Patients just rant and rave about her. Her name is Carmelita Rivera. Her job duties consist of waiting on patients and taking care of all their needs. She's been with the OCC since the beginning and loves her work and she loves all of her patients. Carmelita Rivera

bump! I'd like to add one more thing,, If your getting private emails from other members that aren't very nice,, or harassing, or just plain mean and nasty,, please send them to the moderators via our private email. This type of harassment will not be tolerated either.

The Cosmed Clinic is about 2 blocks away from the Lucerna Hotel. The Lucerna hotel is about 8 blocks away from the OCC clinic. If you can find your way back from the OCC clinic to the Lucerna,, you can ask anyone at the Lucerna to point you in the direction of the Cosmed clinic.

"Meet the people of the OCC" This week we go back into the surgery area and meet Lulu Velasco. You'll see Lulu assisting Manual and she also helps Dr. Ortiz with his surgery uniforms. She's also Dr. Ortiz's personal chef at the OCC. In her off time she's just an ordinary housewife with 3 daughters. She loves spending her free time with her family. Lulu has been with the OCC since it opened in 2006. Lulu Velasco

Meet the People of the OCC Our next employee to meet is Manuel Valdez. You have seen this gentleman running around the back rooms of the OCC, He's always very busy. His job title is "Maintenance Assistant" His duties consist of cleaning the surgery room and the patient rooms,, making sure the OCC meets high standards of sterilization. He's been with the OCC for about 2 years. In his free time he enjoys spending time with his family and he also raises roosters. Manuel Valdez

You can't go wrong with your choice of Plastic Surgeons by going with Dr. Quiroz and the Cosmed clinic. He has one of the best reputations in TJ and Southern California. When you call the Cosmed clinic you'll most likely talk first with his public relations manager named Joyce Palau. She's a sweet heart and will be very reassuring during your plastic surgery journey. Here's a picture of Dr. Quiroz's office manager Jezel and his pubic relations manager Joyce Jezel and Joyce

The summer is flying by and soon autumn will be here. Where has the year gone? For those who have scheduled their lap-band surgery or fills in September, this is the post to meet with your future "Bandster Buddies" and start that new life long relationship. So,, post your date when your going to be at the OCC. Having lap-band surgery is a new start to your future,, It will be a new you and with new friends!

I've heard of Belite,, at other forums they mention it,, but you'd have to go to the other forums to read what they say. As far as you having a gastric by-pass already and wanting to be banded??? There aren't many surgeons that do this proceedure,, I know Dr. Ortiz offers this surgery,, He might be the one who came up with this proceedure? Call an OCC coordinator and talk to either Lori or Carolyn.

Hi Stormy, I had my surgery in March or 2007. The next day we walked all over Revolution Ave and back to the Lucerna. I felt so good I wondered if they even put a band inside of me. LOL. He'll be fine,, He'll just have to watch the lifting when he gets back to work.

Dealing with insurance providers is a major pain in the ass. First, you have to have WLS coverage in your plan. Then, most insurance requirements are that you have a BMI of 40 or above,, at least 2 co-morbidies and they want you to be on a 6 month doctor supervised diet. So,, they make it really tough to get approval. Their goal is for you to get tired of jumping through the hoops and they're hoping you give up. As far as paying for a tummy tuck,, no insurance provider pays for any cosmedic plastic surgery. They will pay for a tummy tuck if its a medical nessessity,, but that takes your family doctor and the plastic surgeon to calaborate and work the system for you. Good luck and hang in there. But,, If you don't have coverage,,, the OCC is the place to go if you have to pay out of pocket!

Here's a link to a good post on how to get the most out of your first fill. http://www.lapbandforum.com/index.php?s=&a...ost&p=19873

My wife and I are both banded. I was banded in March of 2007 and when she saw what great results I had,, In September she came out of the blue and said she wanted to be banded too. And I mean she wanted to be banded right now! LOL. So off we went to the OCC. She's been doing good with the band too. I dropped 95lbs and so far she's lost 45lbs. The band is a great tool,, remember,, with proper fills and good restriction,, the band works!

I had to delete some of topics, delete a few posts and edited a couple. I'm sorry to say, some of your posts had to go to,, cause when you reply to a post, the original post is attached. I can say its best to ignore people that are offensive,, it makes it easier to clean up the mess.

Dr. Quiroz at the Cosmed Clinic told me a tummy tuck or a lower body lift patient may have to stay up to a week in the San Diego area. Also,, It would be a possibility a lower body lift patient may have to stay up to 2 weeks. I think alot of the patients just stay at the Lucerna for a week or till they have the drains pulled and then head back home. I know they check on you constantly while your at the Lucerna. Also, there are nurses that offer aftercare service in their homes for a daily fee. Of course, you have to take all this into concederation when pricing your Plastic Surgery. For those patients that have to pay out of pocket, the airfare, aftercare and the original price of the surgery adds up. For you lapband patients,, you know what I'm talking about,, you priced what the lapband surgery would cost you in your home area and then made a decision weather to have it done locally or go to Mexico. New info from Dr. Quiroz, he's in the process of building a new clinic and its supposably going to have aftercare rooms for those patients that have the big surgeries. The new clinic is supposed to be opening soon. I'm hoping he's going to run some grand opening specials..

Has anyone in the Chicago area used this new fill doctor yet? If anyone has,, could you post your findings here at the forum. thanks

I highly recommend downloading Southwests "DING" program. If you can plan a trip out to San Diego about 6 weeks out,, you can usually catch a "DING" special. If your planning a trip,, its best to call Rene at the OCC office and see if there are any dates that blacked out at the OCC,, like if the doctors were all out of town or something weird like that. Then start looking for the cheaper flights. This fuel thing thats going on has the frickin airlines cutting back the cheap fares. It's getting tuff out there.

Looking Gooooood!

I see the girls at the OCC have been busy scheduling surgeries for August already. Where's the summer going? Patients are making changes in their lifestyles and have made the first step by choosing the Lap-band. So lets hear it from everyone that's scheduled for the month of August. Meet your new "Bandster Buddy" here at the forum. This way when you arrive at the clinic you'll already be friends.

Jenn emailed me with a August 11th date for the re-airing of the Oprah show. So,, write this date down, AUGUST 11th

Go to the topic fill doctors and fill trips to TJ. There's a step by step post on how to go by bus and trolley to TJ and back. Buses run every where in San Diego. The bus that runs to the Zoo is available once you get off the trolley. I think its bus route 7. You can also do a web search on the San Diego mass transit system. That will give you all the bus routes. Once you buy that $5 all day pass,, you can go almost anywhere.

You can bring anything you want in "CHECKED" luggage,, as long as its not a weapon. If your only bringing a "CARRY ON" you can only bring 3oz of anything and it has to be in a 1qt bag and 1 bag per person. You can go to the TSA.gov website and check what the restrictions are. They seem to change sometimes.

There's a CalMex grocery store 3 blocks to the North of the Lucerna. Along the Ave of the Hero's. You can get water, juice and anything else you need. It's kind of half way between the OCC clinic and the Lucerna. All stores take US Dollars, infact,, everyone takes the US Dollar. Here's a little history lesson,, Tijuana's economy was based on the US Dollar for years. They were like in their own little world. The Mexican government didn't like this and came in years ago and forced all the banks in TJ to switch to the Mexican Peso. The way I understand it, alot of people lost alot of money when that happened. They love American money in Tijuana.

The show wasn't that negative, It was Dr. Oz and another doctor that showed they didn't know crap about the band. They had did a small amount of research on the subject. They're biggest gaff was saying that everyone that was over weight had some sort of mental problem. The show is going to be re-aired sometime this summer,, We'll let you know the date when Jenn and Cassie are notified by Oprah's people. Make sure you watch and you can judge it for yourself. I can say one thing,, the show must not have been to negative,, cause the OCC has been overwhelmed with people wanting the lapband surgery. Also,, The Lapband forum membership jumped increasingly after the Oprah show and is still experiancing heavy web traffic. I personally think that lapband patients have done their homework and could tell the differance between Dr. Oz's BS and the real facts of Lap banding. The demand on the OCC and the forum prove that Dr. Oz didn't know what he was talking about. You got to remember,, Dr. Oz is a TV personality,, We have the real deal with Dr. Ortiz and Dr. Martinez.