Dolittle

There's been a lot of interest from Forum members concerning aggressive fills. The big question is,, what makes an aggressive fill differ from a regular fill? And the answer is,, not much. An agressive fill is a regular fill with maybe 1 more tenth of a cc added to your regular fill. You say,, one tenth of a cc isn't that much,, but when you have reached a sweet spot,, one more tenth could turn that sweet spot to a hell spot. You have to be so careful with an aggressive fill and be constantly aware you can cause a band slip. If you have a fill and you can't sleep at night because your choking on your own spit or you have to sleep propped up with pillows,, YOUR TO TIGHT! So,, don't think an aggressive fill is the answer,, its one of those things,, some people can get away with it and alot won't. WARNING!! This is not recommended by me or anyone on the OCC staff. Aggressive fills is like playing with FIRE!

Looking good,, You know,, the band may be alittle work,, nobody said it was easy, but you just gotta luv the results!

Cheetoes are yummy! LOL. It isn't going to kill you. You'll find that there's going to be moments where this kind of junk food just jumps into your mouth. I used to cheat after surgery with animal crackers,, but don't tell anyone. They just melt in your mouth.

what's the chat address or url?

Look at Anita's picture,,, No wonder Anita was all over Dr. Ortiz! She didn't want to let go. LOL

Wait??? What's that? LOL

Your pics are smokin! Keep it up! You know,, the band can be a PITA,, but you just got to LUV the results!

Now this is funny, Oprah banded, I'm still shaking my head,, and laughing at the same time.

That's what happen to me,, I'd buy a new pair of jeans in one size and 2 weeks later they were to big, So I got to the point where I'd only buy a couple things to mix and match. And I'd go to Walmart,, so I wouldn't have big bucks invested in clothes that were going to be to big so soon. But,, I'm a cheap skate. LOL

Congrats,, nothing feels better than trying on clothes that were to tight and now there to loose. But,, Don't toss those clothes that are too big,, donate them,, and get a receipt. Use the write offs on next years Tax Return.. Write off everything,, surgery,, transportation, you name it.. Everything that relates to your lapband surgery. Goodwill has a guide line on a form,, before you know it,, all those write offs add up.

You know,, that's a tough question. If your going down to Revolution Ave,, I'd take a taxi there and back. It's only $5 each way. As far as shopping by yourself,, that's questionable. It should be OK,,,, but,, if you have someone with you I'd feel better.

Bandsters that live in the Chicago area, you now have another choice on where you can get your band adjusted. His name is Dr. Brad Watkins, his office is located at Synchrony Health, Oakbrook surgical center, 2425-W 22nd ST, Suite 200, Oakbrook IL, 60523. I talked to his coordinator Melody and she told me that he's accepting patients that have been banded outside of the country. She said he's trained and qualified to do blind fills. His currant rate to do a blind fill is $95. To contact Dr. Watkins, call (630) 990-2440. I heard that several bandsters have used him before,, You guys think you can give us your opinion on what kind of job he does with fills?

This year has been a memorable year, Jenn and Cassie on the Oprah show, The Lapband Forum has its largest gain in members and people have been making the big decision in their lifes by having lap band surgery. Lori and Carolyn have been busy booking surgeries and a lot of them will be coming to the OCC in July. Meet your bandster buddy here at the forum and get to know them before you get to the OCC. So, lets hear from the July surgery and fill patients.

It's a major pain in the butt dealing with insurance providers. Insurance providers will only cover the front part of a tummy tuck and it has to be a medical nessessity. Rash, back pain, the list is small, you have to establish a history of medical need. Then they might approve it. If your wanting a lower body lift,, you'd have to make a deal with the plastic surgeon and make up the difference out of pocket. If you don't get approved, you could always come back to Tijuana and see Dr. Quiroz at the Cosmed Clinic. He's buds with Dr. Ortiz and the OCC will recommend/refer you to the Cosmed clinic. They also give lapband patients a free consultation. You'll find the plastic surgery in Mexico is about half price compared to the US surgeons. Also,, several forum members have mentioned a plastic surgeon up in Washington state that does great work to. I'm currantly playing the approval game here in my home area. I should know sometime this summer if I get approved. I've learned alot about insurance companies in the last couple years,, either with WLS or plastic surgery, it's just a PITA dealing with insurance.

“MEET THE PEOPLE OF THE OCC” We all know the stars of the OCC, like Dr. Ortiz and Dr. Martinez, but what about the people behind the scenes? If you happen to be at the OCC for surgery and fills, you’ll see these employees doing their jobs but who are they? Each week, we’ll feature a different employee of the OCC.

Thanks Mona,, I edited the post to include your new info and added the State Departments website. I hadn't went there for awhile and was assuming the requirment for a passport was still going to be this June.

I'm posting this topic again by request,,, These are step by step instructions to do the trip from the airport to the Obesity Control Center on your own. I would say the number one rule is to make sure you have your PASSPORT. Go to the US State Deprtments web site and read currant rules for travel. http://travel.state.gov/travel/cbpmc/cbpmc_2223.html The second rule is to travel very light, limit yourself to a small duffle bag or gym bag or nothing at all. If you’re carrying a small bag make sure it has a shoulder strap. If you’re staying over night somewhere, still carry a small bag with shoulder strap. Only bring the bare essentials and remember the TSA rule of 3-1-1. When arriving at the San Diego airport, go out the front exit on the street level and walk to the right, go to the #992 bus stop sign. Buses run every 12 minutes or less. Get on the #992 bus and ask the driver for a $5 day pass, this pass will be good all day long and good for both bus and trolley. Tell the bus driver you’re not from here and if he could, call out the American Plaza/Broadway stop, this is where you want to get off the bus and get on the Blueline Trolley. You’ll see the trolley, walk across the street and get on the Blueline Trolley marked San Ysidro/Tijuana. If you have any questions, make sure you ask the bus driver or any Transit policeman/Transit information personal. Ride the Trolley to the border, it will stop several times on the way to the border, but it will end at the border. Get off the Trolley and kind of follow the flow of people and watch where they go, they’ll head for a walkway/ramp type structure. This is the first of two foot bridges that will lead you across the border. After crossing the first foot bridge you’ll come to gate that leads to the Mexican Taxi area, Have $5 in hand and the address of the OCC on a piece of paper,, which is #1510 LEONA VICARIO, ZONA RIO, TIJUANA. The OCC clinic is about 6 blocks away from here. NOTE: make sure you have only $5 in your hand and before you get in the taxi tell them you’re only going to pay $5, otherwise their going to try to get more money out of you. This is the fastest way to do the bus/trolley/Mexican taxi route, figure in about a 2 hour time frame or less from airport to the OCC. So, here’s an example, if your plane arrives in San Diego at 8:00am, you have no checked luggage, just a carry on, come out of the airport, get on bus, switch to trolley, cross the border, take a Taxi to the clinic, you should get there by 10:00am or less. So make your appointment for the fill accordingly. If your spending the night at the Lucerna, you can walk south from the clinic to the Lucerna, it’s about an 8 block walk south along the Ave of the Hero’s. Now, if you don’t want to take the $5 Taxi ride and feel really adventurous, you can walk to the clinic all the way from the second foot bridge. After getting off the first foot bridge, do not go thru the gate that takes you to the taxi stand, instead, go to the right, you can just watch where the people go and follow the flow and go to the second foot bridge. After crossing the second foot bridge you’ll end up at the beginning of Revolution Ave by the big Arch. Go straight thru the beginning of the shops and walk a couple blocks to a main street and then turn left, walk about 4 or 6 blocks till you come to a new Costco. Then turn right and head South about 4 or 6 blocks till you come to LEONA VICARIO Street, turn left and the clinics in the middle of that block. Note: If you’re a woman or by yourself, I wouldn’t recommend this way. The easiest/safest way is to take a taxi after the first foot bridge. When leaving and going back to the USA, just reverse these directions. Note: It depends on which day of the week and time of the day you’re leaving to how congested customs gets. The OCC will call you a taxi or if you’re staying at the Lucerna there’s a Taxi stand there. The Taxi will take you back to the border Taxi stand. You will still have to walk across a foot bridge which takes you over the 10 lanes of cars in line to leave Mexico. From there you will have to get in line with everyone else and go with the flow to the US customs building. You will need your US PASSPORT or photo ID with Birth Certificate to go thru customs. Once thru customs walk out of the building and the Trolley will be right in front of you. Go back to the airport from here, reversing the instructions which brought you to the OCC. Count on a worst case scenario of taking at least 2 hours of standing in line getting thru customs. Note: If your doing your fill trip all in one day, make sure you test your fill before you leave TJ. You never know, you may need to hit the clinic again for an unfill. Also, make sure you leave with plenty of time to make it back to the airport in time for your flight.

The San Diego/TJ weather is always the same year round. It seems like it never changes. It's not like what were used to. Heck,, if it gets into the 80's out there they think its smoking hot. LOL.

Since it's a coastal town, It's weather is similar to San Diego,, Today a high of 68, low of 58. When you go inland,, then it starts to heat up. I guess you'll have to stick your big toe into the pool and see if its swimming temp. LOL. Everytime I've been to the Lucerna,, I've never saw anyone in the pool, I saw a few laying around the pool, but not in.

Jenn, Cassies Mom, just emailed me, She doesn't have access to the forum today, so she wanted me to post this giving everyone the heads up. The Oprah show they were on is going to be reshown. The producers were trying to get in contact with her,, but she's out of town right now. She doesn't have the date yet. We'll post the date as soon as we get it confirmed. I know a lot of you wished they had more notice last time. So now's your chance, get those recorders warmed up!

I'd like to thank all of you guys for the birthday wishes that were posted and sent to me via email.. You guys are making me blush.

You just got to play it by ear,, everyone is different,, you were probably hungery before but didn't notice it because of the anxiety with having your first fill. You now get to see if have any restriction compared to before. The OCC doesn't recommend how many fills you need or how often. Inamed say's that the average patient will require 4 to 6 fills in their first year. But,, like I said,, everyone is different. I've only had 4 in 16 months,, I've also know someone who has had only 1 fill in 2 years. Give this first fill a go and see what happens,, keep us posted on what you think as far as restriction goes.

If a patient has 3cc's in a 4cc band, it really doesn't mean much other than what it says. A patient could go on and never require another fill or the fills would be in tenths from now on. When you hit a certain spot of restriction,, you may only require a fine tuning/tweeking of the band. In reality,, a 4 cc band will hold a little more than 4 cc's,, but your not get Inamed to tell you what it really holds. I'd think that if you get close to the 4cc mark your going to be really restricted or completely closed off. A 4cc band and a 10cc band when completely filled have almost the same inside diameter when there full of saline. It all depends at the time of surgery,, how thick the layer of fat is around your stomach and how thick your stomach wall is to which band the surgeon places inside of you. Most American surgeons use only one size band for all patients,, they'll use either the 10cc or 14cc band. They all do the same job,, just some are bigger and require more saline and or fills to get you to a "sweet spot"

The port is designed to be poked hundreds of times and still be OK,, it's the tube that can't handle being poked. If a doctor or fill tech misses the port and hits a tube,, you'll have a leak. So, normally an average patient would require maybe 4 to 6 fills in a year,, after that,, fills should taper way off. Once you hit a "sweet spot" you might not have a fill or unfill for a long time. I might be a good example,, I've had my band since March 1st 2007,, I've had 4 fills total,, the last one was in December. I just got back from TJ and the OCC and I did a barium swallow and Dr. Romero said restriction was good and I didn't need to have my band adjusted. Those patients that require fills and unfills constantly are in my opinion, playing games. I just don't see why patients would need to keep filling or unfilling their band. I know that the girls may have an issue with a certain time of the month, but if you get a little tighter for a week,, I'm sure you can manage to adjust your eating to work around that and not run to a fill doctor to add or remove saline on a monthy schedule. I think making the eating adjustment would be easier,, on you,, your band and your wallet.