LoriBecky

Just don't count on getting into surgery if you haven't lost the required weight. We postpone a lot of surgeries too! It depends on your BMI and where you carry the weight, sometimes they will let you go in if you haven't reached the 5% but more often... nope and then you have to either reschedule and come back or stay in Mexico for a week (at your expense) and be strict with the diet. So follow orders! If you are struggling check in with Dr. Miranda at ext. 86!!

Hi Bandsters, First off, please know that this is a VERY unusual situation! (never heard of it before with our patients!!!) As in the US, sometimes other companies try to swoop in to make some money, I've heard it happen at US hotels where a van claiming they work for the hotel comes to pick up people at the airport and then takes them to a competing hotel. This van company tried to pick up some of our patients in order to make some money. Remember... we post our drivers picture and give you his name for a reason, so you know who you should get into a car with. We always let our patients know in advance if somebody else will be picking them up other than Francisco or Mrs. Ortiz. It rarely happens, but sometimes Francisco's schedule is too busy and we need to hire a service, but this shouldn't be a surprise to our patients, they will be notified if this is the situation. If another van comes to the hotel and its not Francisco, and you haven't been informed in advance, DO NOT GET IN THAT VAN, check with the hotel desk staff, they have Rene's cell numbers and can verify what is going on. I'm so sorry that this happened! Be safe travelers and always check a situation that seems questionable. Francisco always wears ID and will always know the names of the passengers that he is picking up.

Hi everybody - I was asked to post this by BigTed. Hello out there. I had the surgery on Feb 18,08. I made a new years resolution to lose weight. On Jan 1 I was starving to death. I had a regular scheald doctor appointment on about the 3rd. I told my doctor I knew I needed to lose weight ( I weighed 340 the most I have ever weighted ) I said you don't see many Fat old people (I'm 62). I have tried several times in my life to lose weight but seems like I may lose 20 or 30 lbs and then 6 mos latter I weight the same plus 10 lbs. My doc told me about lap band. I went home and researched it on the internet and found a seminar a few miles from home on Jan 10th . My wife and I went to that and was convinced that is what I need to do. Now all I needed to do is get the best price they wanted $15,500, sad but we have to pay for all their liability Insurance and all the extras to do business in the USA. I rembered a lady in my home town (Prague OK) who went to Mexico for a weight loss surgery a year or so ago so I called and talked to her she highly recommend Dr Ortiz. I called and talked with Carolyn, she is great we set a price and date after a few conversation. God gave such a peace about it that it was truly great. So many of family and friends were nerves about me going to Tijuana Mexico for surgery. But I had such an amazing peace they could not discouge me. Sunday Feb 17 we arrived at San Diego airport and was meet by Francisco. He took us to our wonderful hotel. Monday Dr Ortiz's mother picked us up at the hotel and took us the center it was all clean and everything but what expressed me the most was how friendly ever one was they were all loving and wonderful people they were always giving me and my wife love pats and it was a great experice. They run all there test and the good news was I lost 25 lbs on the pre-op diet. The room they put us in before and after surgery was great flat screen TV with DirecTV, a telephone with free calls to anybody in the USA, couch for the wife and real comfortable bed. I don't rember anything about the surgery except a big guy saying "welcome to my OR" After the surgery I had little or no pain. Tuesday morning they took us back to the hotel. My wife and I went shopping that afternoon. Wenesday morning I was in the resuant and saw a lady that had surgery with me. I went over to her and her husbands table we were talking and she said she has been taking her pain pills faithfully, I said they didn't give me any pain pills all they gave were this antacid pills as I showed them to her she said those are your pain pills. We got home Wed night. Thursday morning after taking my shower I came down stairs and ask my wife "I have five hole in my body from the surgery do you know what hurts the worst?" she said no I said where I bumped my head getting into the van. That is amazing but it was great experice and I would recommend Obesity Control Center to anybody

We have 6 private rooms at the clinic for patients. If we are full on those days we have a couple of non-private rooms (curtained) available that we offer to patients. If you are booked and we didn't discuss a non-private room with you - then you are scheduled in a private room!

Good Luck Meesh and as I offered, if you decide to reschedule your surgery we can honor that deposit for you for your new surgery date! And I really do try to return all my calls and emails everyday but sometimes there just isn't enough time in the day and I do fall behind sometimes especially at the beginning of the week trying to catch up from the weekend. (you'd be amazed at how many people send emails and leave messages on Sunday when i'm not at the office) If you have already scheduled your surgery and have a question and you can't get in touch with me you can always call the clinic directly at 1-866-376-7849 ext. 80 and speak with our Personal Surgery Concierge, they are there to answer questions about itineraries, paperwork, payments or can get you in touch with one of our doctors. As always, if you are already banded and are having a problem with your band or need to speak with a doctor immediately use the cell phone numbers provided to you at discharge or call 1-866-376-7849 ext. 4 for Dr. Martinez or ext 5 for an after-care/fill doctor.

We do have another driver at times, but in order to keep the cost down for surgery sometimes it requires that we coordinate the trips across the border. I think most would agree they'd rather have a bit of a wait at the airport rather than pay for a second driver. I know I would. Again, I won't discuss another patients information on here, and its possible she didn't want to disclose her personal information as well, but one of the reasons people come to Dr. Ortiz is to avoid the games or having to gain weight just to qualify with another doctor. He believes in the benefits of preventative medicine. I know I wish I had found Dr. O earlier in my life when I didn't have as much to lose. We do welcome hearing about everyone's experience, and we know that everyone has a different opnion, but we do try very hard to be accomodating and try to make every patient's experience a positive one.

Just remember, you can't always tell someone's weight or other health factors just by looking at them. The minimum BMI for surgery is 30. If a person has been heavier and managed to get slightly below 30 we may consider them for surgery based on other risk factors. Believe me, we turn down more than we accept. Because I won't discuss a patients medical profile I won't tell you what that patients information is, but they did qualify for surgery. While you may have had to go back to the airport earlier than expected, it may be possible that we had another patient needing pick up at the airport and there may not have been time to make more than one run to get you back in time had we waited. I don't schedule the driver, so I'm not sure. I'm sorry this was an inconvenience. We would just rather you get there early then miss a flight. I hope that overall you had a pleasant experience at the clinic. We do welcome suggestions and I have forwarded your post for evaluation. thank you Reposted by Lori - didn't realize original post was in 2 different locations and was still getting emails about this one.

Just remember, you can't always tell someone's weight or other health factors just by looking at them. The minimum BMI for surgery is 30. If a person has been heavier and managed to get slightly below 30 we may consider them for surgery based on other risk factors. Believe me, we turn down more than we accept. Because I won't discuss a patients medical profile I won't tell you what that patients information is, but they did qualify for surgery. While you may have had to go back to the airport earlier than expected, it may be possible that we had another patient needing pick up at the airport and there may not have been time to make more than one run to get you back in time had we waited. I don't schedule the driver, so I'm not sure. I'm sorry this was an inconvenience. We would just rather you get there early then miss a flight. I hope that overall you had a pleasant experience at the clinic. We do welcome suggestions and I have forwarded your post for evaluation. thank you

Judy, this is a process, not a magic wand. We all go through those times where we are eating around our band a bit. Don't beat yourself up... try to focus on making healthier choices, one meal at a time. Sometimes it helps to keep a food diary so you can see what you are eating. We are all here to support you. You can always call Dr. Miranda at 1-866-376-7849 ext. 86 to get some guidance with your choices. Don't give up, tomorrow is another chance to start again... we're here for you. You can do it

If you can't eat meat or "normal foods" my guess is that your band may be too tight. Sometimes a slight unfill allows you to eat healthier foods and you will actually lose weight faster. Call you band doctor. I know many patients that had a slight unfill and were able to eat better, healthier choices of food, and started seeing faster results because their metabolism kicked back in. I can eat almost anything but in much smaller quantities.

Hey Teens... we have a great way for you to connect with others at www.myspace.com/obesitycontrolcenter the email is lori@obesitycontrolcenter.com Hope to see you there!

Cassie's story from Oprah Website - dont' forget to watch the show today! Cassie's story on OPRAH

Hey Bandsters.... weigh in (pun intended) at the Oprah site... let's let Dr. Oz know he needs to do a bit more research. Let's go support our teen bandsters! Oprah message boards

Oprah explains the difference between gastric bypass and gastric banding: Oprah Video

Jenn & Cassie, Thank you so much for sharing your experiences with us! We are all so proud of Cassie. Make sure to Watch Oprah on Monday, February 4th. - check out www.oprah.com for details and a preview.

you can just go to www.myspace.com/obesitycontrolcenter the email is lori@obesitycontrolcenter.com

Cassie's Mom just told me that the Oprah episode will air Monday, February 4th. I'll keep you posted

I will post it in the announcement section as soon as we hear! I will also post it on our myspace account www.myspace.com/obesitycontrolcenter I'm sure we'll be hearing from Jenn & Cassie, too

you know.... if anybody should understand the struggle and the need to lose weight and keep it off... it should be Oprah. I think she'll be opened minded... maybe she'll consider the band for herself. I mean if someone that can hire a personal trainer and personal chef can't keep the weight off... who better to understand the need for a permanent solution? We all remember Oprah wheeling out that wagon full of fat... I praise God everyday for my band and am so thankful to Dr. O

DO NOT EAT ANYTHING SOLID UNTIL 3 WEEKS AFTER SURGERY!!! ok.. i'm not yelling, but this is so important! Only take in things you could take through a straw. If you are filing up on just a little liquid yogurt you aren't really hungry. Make sure you are keeping very well hydrated! Sometimes dehydration feels like hunger. If you are truly feeling hungry or getting light headed check in with Dr. Miranda at the clinic (ext. 86) but don't eat until day 22 after surgery unless she tells you its OK!! We aren't trying to deprive you, we just want to make sure all your surgery swelling is down prior to you eating solid food. Its for your safety and success!

Oprah is coming! They are taping a segment at our clinic this Friday featuring Dr. Ortiz' teen patient Cassie (featured in his book). Stay tuned for more details and air dates. How exciting!!!

I have just started creating a myspace account for OCC - take a look and if you are already a myspace member, add us as a friend and leave a comment! If you don't already have a myspace account, considering joining and adding us as a friend! Myspace email address is lori@obesitycontrolcenter.com Since I've just started working on this, any suggestions are appreciated!

send me an email and i send you directions!!!

we do try! I have 2 spaminators and I pop on and try to delete posts as fast as I can but a lot of them happen overnight. make sure you report the porn/ad sites - that way we know we need to fly in with our spaminator capes and save the forum - i already have my magic glasses on

You should have your note by now Dot... let me know if you need anything else btw... for any other divers out there.... 3 weeks then you can get back to it