Dolittle

Here at the forum we have a great mix of men and women. I think most men are to busy to post or they just don't want to bother with it? Who knows. LOL. But, if you have any questions that you don't want to post feel free to email me at www.lapbandforummoderator@gmail.com

When I had my Lower Body Lift, Dr. Quiroz at Cosmed told me mine was around 10lbs. I've heard some say 10 to 20lbs,, depends how much loose skin needs to be removed. Everyone is different.

Here's a section taken off the Lap Band website: In Mexico, the latest generation FDA-approved LAP-BAND AP® System is NOT available for use. This advanced performance technology for LAP-BAND® surgery was approved by the FDA in 2006 for use in the U.S. Surgeons in Mexico offer the older LAP-BAND® System models, which are called the 9.75 and 10mm, and the VG models. Nearly ALL LAP-BAND® systems implanted in the U.S. are now the new LAP-BAND AP® band, as surgeons prefer them significantly. This statement is sort of true, but kind of misleading. The OCC uses the 4cc and 10cc lap band model bands. The new (American) AP band is a 14cc to 17cc. All the bands are new, the 4cc and 10cc bands are NOT leftovers or discontinued models. They are all new bands and each model is still in production. I've seen all 3 bands, they don't look much different other than they hold different amounts of saline. They all do the same job, they all close down to a certain diameter. In my opinion, and this is my own personal opinion, the American band was designed and made to hold more saline. This way American surgeons could spoon feed the saline to the patient, which would require the patient to make more visits (fills/adjustments) to the doctor to hit that sweet spot, thus the insurance provider would have to pay more. My biggest complaint when I went to our local lap band support group meetings was all the new patients complaining why they didn't have restriction after having band surgery 6 months ago. This is why 99% of the American surgeons do only blind fills and don't use fluoro during their fills. Most of the patients in those support groups had at least 6 fills and still didn't have restriction. It drove me nuts, why wouldn't American doctors use fluoro and give their patients resrtiction at the first fill. To me it only seemed they wanted the patient have more trips to the office, hence more money spent by the patient/insurance provider to achive restriction with their band. But,, remember, this is my opinion, I'm sure that an American surgeon would have some BS reason why they don't give the patient restriction at the first fill.

There's a good website to check out plastic surgeons and plastic surgery results. It's called www.plasticsurgeryjourneys.com, I'd advise you to do your home work before choosing a plastic surgeon.

A quick note,, make sure you have insurance, contact your auto insurance provider. I know you can buy Mexican auto insurance for your trip across the border. People I know that live in MX and travel back and forth tell me if you don't have insurance and get into any kind of accident,, YOU GO TO JAIL!

There are several parking lots at the border,, which one is best or cheapest? I don't know, those lots are pricey. Best bet to save your money is to get on the bus at the airport and transfer at the trolley station and ride the trolley to the border. The trolley stops right outside the customs building and across the street from the first foot bridge. If you email the OCC, you might be able to find out how much those border lots cost. But, I bet several of the Southern California patients should know and be able to post something.

As I lost weight, my port became more obvious. It kind of stuck out like a small jaw breaker under my skin and you could see the small lump. When you have your gastric lapband surgery, the surgeon usually places the port between the skin and the pars-flaccida. When I had my Lower Body Lift done in October 2008 at Cosmed, Dr. Quiroz moved my port one layer deeper. Now it's between the pars-flaccida and the abdominal muscles. That's as deep as you can go. You can't see it, but I can still feel it,, but no where like I did before. If you decide to have a LBL or TT, talk to your surgeon, they shouldn't have any problem moving the port during surgery. Dr. Quiroz at Cosmed has done so many TT's and LBL's it almost a standard part of the surgery.

I was just down there in TJ,, I stayed at the Real Del Rio, it's two blocks North of the Lucerna. I was in TJ for some plastic surgery stuff and dental work at the OCC. But,, the OCC has the Marriott as they're primary hotel now. The OCC is a big player when it comes to quality hotels. They're not going to place a band patient in any crappy hotel. No, no, They make sure the hotel is a quality place to stay. I stayed at the Del Rio because I was paying my own way and I'm cheap. The Del Rio has a $54, tax included, per night rate. The place was just remodeled and the rooms were really nice. I'd highly recommend the place if your in TJ and going to get a fill or doing any other medical stuff. It's within walking distance of the OCC, The Calimex food store and Cosmed is 3 blocks away too. Last time I was at the OCC I stayed at the Lucerna,, I think the rate was around $85. I've never stayed at the Marriott, I walked over to the place to check it out, it looked real nice too. I haven't heard any complaints about either place. But, it's a good 2 miles South of the Lucerna Hotel and Del Rio. I know that the Marriott shuttles patients back and forth to the OCC because its a long way to the OCC from the Marriott. I walked it for the exercise one morning last week, it was a long way. I just know if your getting banded, the hotel comes with the packaged price of being banded. But, if your down there for your own medical needs and paying your own way,, The Real Del Rio is my choice from now on.

OK Pammie,, how do you make your own Sangria? LOL

I just got home from my recent visit to TJ. I wanted to tell everyone about how great the dental services are at the OCC. OMG, that Dr. Marisol is awesome. First,, let me tell you that I originaly was going to go to Cosmed for my own plastic surgery needs and by just by fate I had a crown come off this summer and my local dentist said I was going to need a root canal. So I figured,, what the hell, I just might try the dentist out at the OCC and see how that goes. So I canceled my root canal here at home and made a dental appointment at the OCC. I scheduled myself 4 days in TJ, a kind of 3 for 1 trip, Cosmed, have my band checked out by Dr. So and Dr. Martinez and have dental work. On Tuesday when I arrived, I went to the OCC and straight into the denist's chair. Dr. Marisol worked all day on my teeth. I had to have one root canal and two crowns with posts and build up. She worked her tail off, suprisingly she didn't want anything to be imperfect. Let me tell you,, she's a perfectionist, in a good way. I was impressed and amazed. Since crowns have to be made by a dental lab, we were going to finish my dental work on Friday. Wednesday I had a goof off day, I kind of hung around the OCC and did some forum stuff and chatted with Dr. Ortiz. I had my band checked and after two and a half years everything still is A-OK. I also went and hung out with Fransisco the the van driver and helped him the rest of the day. I made several trips across the border with him and we picked up new arriving patients. That was fun, I met several nice girls from Canada and a nice family from the Bahamas. Fransisco is the bomb, we had a good time. Thursday was my scheduled appointment at Cosmed, but that wasn't till the afternoon. Thursday morning I hung around the OCC and talked to new patients and answered band questions. The appointment at Cosmed went well, I had to have a couple little spots on my LBL fixed, where a couple internal stitches were wanting to migrate out. Dr. Quiroz took about 10 minutes to fix those and we talked about future PS proceedures. Dr. Quiroz's coordinator Joyce and I went over to the new Cosmed clinic and checked that out. I took a bunch of pictures and it's going to be awesome when they get it done and open. Friday morning it was back to the OCC to finish up my dental work. Dr. Marisol fitted my new crowns and finished up. I had scheduled my departure fight for 5:45pm that afternoon, it was perfect timing. I can say if your scheduled to come to the OCC for a fill or whatever,, check out the dental services. The OCC has some great prices and Dr. Marisol is a GREAT dentist. Dr. Marisol Barajas

Remember,, not every patient has a problem with the CO2. But, I think walking is about the best way of working it out of your system. I haven't heard of any thing else that works. Some patients will state that they took Gas-X and other products,, but they never say if it worked. Walk, Walk, Walk.

I'm in TJ right at this moment, in fact at the OCC. I've been here 3 days and haven't saw anyone with a mask on or even anyone with flu like conditions.

I'm sitting here at the OCC today and talking to Dr. Ortiz. I had a request from a forum member to ask him about the different bands the OCC is using. Currantly he's using 3 bands during surgery. One is the Johnson and Johnson Realize band and the other two are the 4cc and the 10cc Lap Band gastric bands. He said it depends on the patient to which one he'll use, which means he has to evaluate the patients weight, height, BMI and other medical factors. Right now he hasn't singled out one to be better than another. So, as it stands now, Dr. Ortiz is using both brands.

Recovery by the Sea is a private home owned by an American nurse. It's OK,, but,,, and I say but,, it's a step above staying at a hotel and trying to do the recovery on your own,, and that's it. I'm not saying its a great place,, they have their pro's and con's, but it's better than nothing. Their staff is real friendly and very christian. They really watch over you and if you need more attention that what they can provide,, they'll get you to the nearest hospital. They are not like a hospital, it's the owners home with hospital beds in some of the bedrooms. Cosmed is supposed to have their own recovery wing in the new clinic whenever they get it open. Which will be a couple steps above in quality and more like a hospital with equipment if needed in an emergancy than compared to Recovery by the Sea. I guess there's a couple other recovery places in TJ, but they're pretty much the same as Recovery by the Sea. As far as how long to stay in TJ after a Plastic Surgery procedure, I guess it depends on what your having done. On my LBL,, I stayed 8 days and flew back home to Illinois. Those first 4 or 5 days after surgery were tough. If you have a lot of excess to be removed in the LBL, it can be brutal. The LBL is the toughest of all the procedures. If your having any other plastic surgery procedure other than the LBL, I'd say you can do the recovery at the Lucerna Hotel and have the PS clinic check in on you. There's is also one other option. There's this nice lady named BajaVicki. She offers a personal aftercare service, She's a nurse and she'll stay with you the whole way. I don't know what her service costs, but I've seen her posts here at the forum and she has a contact email address. You could email her and see what she has to offer. The Cosmed clinic in TJ is owned by Dr. Quiroz and as far as I know, he's not affiliated with any other plastic surgery clinic or franchise.

Yes,, this is the only Cosmed Clinic I know of. Dr Quiroz is the owner and head plastic surgeon. He's also buddies with Dr. Ortiz and Dr. Martinez.

The LBL goes all the way around to the middle of your back, it gets rid of the apron and those "large" love handles. I have about an inch space above the middle of my butt where I wasn't cut. Dr. Quiroz stated that the LBL was like cutting you in half and putting you back together. If you only need the front of you done,, that's great. But years of being overweight "very obese" took its toll on me. I needed the LBL.

The LBL is the hardest plastic surgery to recover from. It's Brutal! There's a lot of healing issues and complications that go with it. But, if you want to get rid of the big apron that's hanging almost 360 degrees around you, it's the only way to go. But,, not everyone has healing issues or complications. But you got to be prepared for them.

Hey Stormy,, check out my plastic surgery blog here at the forum. It pretty much gives you a step by step idea on what takes place with a tummy tuck and what I had,, which was the extreme, the Lower Body Lift (LBL). After losing all my weight, my port stuck out, like a jaw breaker under my skin. Dr. Quiroz at Cosmed relocated it one level deeper during the LBL. Now I can only feel it by touch.

I tried to get my insurance provider to pay for my TT,, tried the apron, rash and back pain route,, had doctor letters and all the good stuff, but they still said to go @#$% myself. Trying to get insurance to cover you is like talking to the wall. All I can say is Good Luck. You never know, you might just slip by and fall through the cracks and get approval. It's one of those deals where if you don't try, you'll always wonder if you could of got the insurance to pay for it.

I remember reading an article about a study on BMI and mortality. I've been trying to find it but I can't seem to locate it. Going by memory, the article said that to live the longest, the ideal BMI was 22-24. What this ment was if your BMI was lower or higher than 22-24, the mortality curve went up. So,, if your BMI is lower or higher, AKA, too skinny or too fat, you weren't going to live as long as those who kept their BMI in the 22-24 range. I will continue to look for the article and when I find it I'll post the link.

It doesn't take much to get a doctor to say you need a tummy tuck or any WLS related plastic surgery. That's usually the first step in trying to get insurance approval. But most insurance companies will deny you,, but you still end up with the letter.

If your coming into San Diego airport and going to take the bus and trolley to the border,, you can ask for and buy the $5 all day pass right on the bus. It's good all day long and good for the trolley too. If your going to spend the night in TJ and fly out the next day, $9 gets you a 2 day mass transit pass,, you can save a buck. LOL.

Every dollar you write off over the 7% of your gross is worth it. It all depends on your gross income, the higher your gross, the harder it is to write medical off. I was using the $100,000.00 as an example because it made the math easier to understand, 7% of a $100,000 is $7000. Say you only made $50,000 you'd be able to write everything thing over $3500. Remember, everything that's related counts, airfare, taxi's and etc. All the stuff your family spends normally during the year counts too. Even if you pay part of your insurance premium and your employer pays part of your premium, the part you pay you get to write off. All I can say is that you'll be surprised what it all adds up to in the end. PS,, I use the Turbo Tax program,, All you got to do is type in the numbers and it will do the rest.

I think the girl that goes by the screen name of Canadianbandster was going to post her pictures, but hasn't. I think she went to Cosmed.

As moderators here at the Lapband Forum, were always trying to maintain a high standard. We appreciate the feedback and concerns of all forum members. As you know, we're always running across professional spammers, I think we do a pretty good job of deleting the spam posts. But, as you know, we have some members that can cross the line and write some really offensive posts. But,, what one member finds offensive, the forum as a whole may not. What I need out of all the members that belong to the Lapband forum, is that when you report a post, you need to be more specific in the reasons that why you find a certain post to be offensive. A one word reason isn't enough detail to support your reason,, go into detail of why you feel we should step in and edit a post or even delete it.