WannaBeABrickHouse

To: PatU, Littleroo, & anyone else who is a little nervous. It's been almost a year since my surgery and I've been nothing but pleased w/ everything. I grew up in Chula Vista, CA & a lot of my friends & family have always gone to Tijuana for medical care (anything from medication & the dentist to open heart surgery) so I didn't really have that fear of medical care in Mexico, just as long as I did my research. And I did tons!!! I am so happy that I had this surgery & at OCC. I had a little problem w/ my band in May so I called Dr. Martinez on his cell phone, he answered right away & was able to help. OCC has moved to a new facility since I had my surgery & the new place is very nice, but the old place was nice too. Very clean, and everyone was very attentive to my needs. As far as telling people about my band (PatU especially) I've told practically everyone I know EXCEPT my parents. If you think your parents & sister will kind of freak out (as my mother would) or have any kind of negative reaction, don't tell them. What a lot of people don't realize is that this is a slow(er) method of weight loss than a gastric bypass, and they could end up discouraging you unintentionally. Once you get to a certain point in your weight loss the band can only do so much & the rest depends on your diet & exercise so to hear negative remarks could possibly hinder you. I hope all of your surgeries go well & if you have any questions about my experience I will try my best to answer them. (I am going to Eastern Europe from 7/25 - 8/10 & won't be on-line. So if you ask me something during that time I'll respond when I return.)

I am very happy to be banded. The weight loss has been a little slower than I hoped for but like everyone has said it is not a "magic pill". You still have to work hard to lose the weight. I have gotten discouraged many times by being unrealistic and expecting to be running on the beach in a bikini by now - which I am not even close to doing. So I have to reflect on where I was and the difference between then & now. Right before my surgery I had to buy some new pants - size 20W. I bought some new jeans last week and they were a regular size 16...no more plus sizes!!! WooHoo! Anyway, my point is that I wouldn't be at this point at all without my band and there are no regrets. And I am still confident that I will get to my goal weight eventually, especially since now that I am thinner it is so much easier & enjoyable to work out.

I hope so. I'm right there with the others of you not losing any weight. I was banded on August 25, 2005. (Lost 10 lbs after the liquid.) Received my first fill on Oct. 8th (2.4cc's) and have lost nothing since. I just called and made an appointment for another fill on Monday Dec. 19th. It's strange though. I definitely am eating a lot less than I did before my surgery, but have not lost any weight, inches, or sizes. I'm also exercising a couple of times a week, which before surgery I hardly ever did. I have a feeling my metabolism is just shot from all the years weird dieting, liquid diets, etc. My body is probably just trying as hard as it can to hold onto the weight. Oh well, hopefully this fill will help and I am going to step up my gym visits.

Very odd indeed!

okay im at the hotel and feelin great..im in thelobby and on my way to my room! just wanted to let u know that it was great! i am now banded and am very excited about my journey ahead. i will tell about me experience when i gethome

Should I tell any other doctors about my lap band? I've heard that if this information goes into my permanent record (whereever that is) I could have problems getting new life insurance, health insurance, etc. in the future. It seems unnatural to not tell my doctor I've had a major medical procedure, but I don't want it haunt me my entire life either. Any one else have this issue?

I just wanted to agree with everyone else. Dr. Ortiz has to be the best Doctor I have ever been to and the nurses and staff are wonderful. I had a root canal a few years ago that was more painful and a lot more work than this surgery was. I highly recommend him!!!

The walks work for me too. Every time I "eat" (if you can call it that) I go for a little walk, even if it's for five minutes. I always feel so much better after.

I had surgery on Thursday, August 25th and came to work on Monday. I feel fine. My stomach aches and my back hurts but other than that I don't think you'll have a problem. Just as long as you don't have a P.E. class. If you do, get a note from the doctor excusing you from all physical activity for at least a week. I hope everything goes well with your surgery. Keep us posted on your progress!

I remember her saying that too. But I think she only said to not lay down for the first month or so for about an hour after eating or drinking. And I think it was to protect our "pouch" because it is so sensitive right now. Am I just totally dreaming or does anyone else remember anything like this?

You're in Orange County? Well I live in Temecula. Does anyone around here do any of those "bandster" get-togethers? They look like fun.

Thank you so much! I just wanted to say how much I've appreciated your advice and comments. And since I am a brand new bandster...is anyone else as sick of Jello as I am?

Liana, Call Dr. Martinez right away. You may need to go in to your first fill now. Have you been reading Dr. Ortiz's book? (I highly recommend getting it if you haven't yet.) It has a lot in it about "mental hunger". You can really damage your "pouch" if you eat too much too soon.

Hi everyone! QueenBee and I met Carolyn the morning after her surgery and you could not tell she'd had surgery the day before. We thought she was someone else's support person. Carolyn, you made me feel so much better and confident with my decision. I hope you had a good trip home and don't have to evacuate with that horrible storm. Please keep in touch, hopefully we can arrange our first fills for the same time and see each other again.

It went great! I can't believe how simple it was. I am so excited! Dr. Ortiz, Dr. Martinez and their staff were so wonderful. I can't believe I had surgery just three days ago. I just got back from walking my dogs and am going to work tomorrow. My mom had a gastric bypass four year's ago and she was still in the hospital after four days. She wasn't able to go back to work for over a month! I'll keep in touch and keep everyone up to date on my progress. Thanks for all your advice and support!

Hi! QueenBee and I are here! We are in the Hotel Lucerna lobby. Is anyone else here? Our surgery is tomorrow...we will let you know how it goes.

Thank you so much! I have a desk job too. So I guess I will be able to come in to work. I'm not telling anyone at work about it and I didn't want to be too obvious by taking three days vacation and then calling in sick on Monday. And yes I do live just outside of San Diego, but very far north (about 70 miles from TJ). But I already arranged with Rene to be picked up and dropped off at my sister's house in Chula Vista which is on the way to and from the airport. (And I'm planning on giving the driver a very large tip, because this is so helpful to us.) My husband and I are going to leave our car there so we don't have to park at the border or drive across. Thanks again for the advice. I'll probably be online in the middle of the night again if you have anymore.

Sounds fun! I'll be at Hotel Lucerna on Saturday when you get your fill, since I'm having surgery on Thursday. I was told that the Doctor came and saw us off at the hotel with one more check on us before we leave. (I'm having the surgery with a friend.) Is this true? What time does he come by? What time can we leave to go home? Is it true that I will be able to go back to work on Monday? Sorry for all the questions. Now that it is getting close I'm getting a little antsy. I can't even sleep. I'm not sure if I am nervous or excited. I get up at least once in the middle of the night and look on this forum to see if anyone else has posted anything. So thank you all for keeping up the encouraging comments, it helps tremendously!

I'd probably do the Wyndham. I used to work in downtown San Diego, it is a nice hotel. Don't do the St. James (unless they've remodeled in the last few years.) If the Padres are in town when you come try to catch a game. The new ballpark is downtown and very nice. And you can't go wrong with Mission Valley, everything is around there. I guess it just depends on what you want to do. How long are you going to be here? Are you renting a car?

I'm sorry some of you had the experiences you have had with telling your family members. I think sometimes people fear the unknown and all we hear living in the United States are the horror stories of having surgery in other countries. I've grown up in the city of Chula Vista, CA which is 5 minutes from Tijuana. Because of the close proximity and the expense of having medical care in the US without insurance, it is very common for my friends and family to get their health care in Mexico. My mom doesn't have dental insurance and has gone to her dentist in TJ for years. The doctor is wonderful! My Grandma goes to a Parkinson's specialist and gets most of her medication down there, because she couldn't afford it up here even with Medicare. One of my friends had plastic surgery and couldn't be happier with the results. Because of these and many others first hand experiences, plus with the research I've done on Dr. Ortiz it's makes me feel very confident I am doing the right thing. (Have you Googled him? All I found were fabulous responses.) Plus I've found out that he lives in Chula Vista so we have a little in common. If your support system is still not convinced after telling them how confident you are that you will be safe. Tell them to do their own research, read the posts in this forum and express their opinions to you after they have some knowledge on the subject. After you have surgery you will have a lot of work to do and need to focus on getting well and that is difficult when you have someone giving you a hard time.

Wow! Just before deciding to get the surgery I almost got on Wellbutrin to help me lose weight. The doctor said it might help because a side effect was weight loss and since I do have some depression (no doubt due to my weight, I was fine until I gained so much) I would be a good candidate for it. I'm going this route instead. I'm reading Dr. Ortiz's book right now and I am confident this is the way for me. As far as taking the Wellbutrin, check with Dr. Ortiz and the doctor that prescribed it to you. I've read that if you crush or break some pills before ingesting them they could be very harmful. I don't know if Wellbutrin is one of them.

True! I'm planning on being pretty hot. In fact I decided today that when I reach my goal weight I am going to buy myself a convertable Mini Cooper. QueenBee I'll pick you up, we can cruise and we'll look hot together. Carolyn, I like QueenBee am also a San Diegan. I look forward to meeting you! Are you going to be traveling back for fills? Or did you find a doctor near you?

I like the Catamaran! I haven't actually stayed at the hotel because I live in San Diego but I've been to the spa for a massage and I highly recommend it. If your husband is coming too it might be fun to do the couples massage. Have a fun time!

I'm on the 25th too!