LoriBecky

If you haven't already taken a peek - check out the Doctor's Corner area. The doctors at OCC will be answering questions and we are posting video's. Send comments and suggestions to LoriBecky or Dolittle :-h

Dr. Romero is pursuing some other interests... yes, but he is still a member of the OCC crew, he's just taking some time off. We still have 2 great fill doctors! Dr. Acosta and Dr. So... or as we call him, Dr. Marco. He has been a member of the OCC staff for well over a year, he has been our over night doctor and "back-up" fill doctor for quite some time, so most patients are familiar with him and he has been a LapBand doctor for quite awhile now. He has had the same training as Dr. Romero & Dr. Acosta and is now moving up to "prime time" and working during the day. So he isn't new to OCC or to our patients!

Hold the phone! Dr. Romero is on a long over-due vacation. I'm actually not sure for how long, I think he is taking some time to work on some projects of his own. Dr. Ortiz has hired an interim, highly qualified addition to our staff. As always, if you have any doubts about the after care/fill doctor you see, you can always request a peek in from Dr. Martinez.

you may want to contact www.cosmedclinic.com and speak with Dr. Quiroz. Let him know that Lori at OCC referred you and he'll speak with you right away!

Ok... this is a test area. We are still trying to figure out how to best use it Dolittle and I will review questions and submit them to Dr. Ortiz and Dr. Martinez and the answer to chosen questions - the ones of benefit to the most bandsters - will be posted here. Specific questions about a problem you are having with your band or any immediate need question should be called it directly to our office at 1-866-376-7849 ext. 5 for after-care/fill doctors, ext 3 for Dr. Martinez or ext. 4 for Dr. Ortiz. Thank you!

Statements for Success….. Once you get the band your not home free…It’s the home stretch! Same Band, same surgical group and same follow-up…Why do some patients fail while others succeed? During the first two months, before your first fill, the presence of the band just hanging around your stomach will keep you from feeling too hungry. This means you and the band will work as a team. It offers you a chance at eating less and not feeling the extreme hunger you are used to when you were doing this all alone. The band is a tool. First three weeks (liquid phase): It will help you feel less hunger. Do liquids, just liquids…vary them. You don’t need the protein of constant shakes or high calorie liquids. Don’t do just one type of liquid, and please don’t use a blender! Do not use substitute shakes more than once a day during the last week. Liquid phase is three weeks is 21 days Yes you will hear that some patients did less days of liquids and nothing happenned. Well wait until six months have passed and you find yourself struggling with more band adjustments and not feeling the restriction. These patients enlarged their pouch. Once the harm is done it won’t show up imediately, but it will hinder your weightloss and you may never reach your goal. Now I ask you is it really worth it? By the way the only way to correct pouch enlargement is through surgical repair. Solid phase between three weeks and your first fill. Most patients lose weight. Some will challenge the band. Here is the mentality. You decided to have surgery, you will carry a foreign body around your stomach for life, you shelled out some money the least you can do is help this little ring out. How? Once you are on solids challenge the band, not by eating everything in site and then asking I don’t feel restriction, is this normal? Of course it is normal, the band is healing in place totally lose. The real challenge is by testing how small a portion you can eat three times a day without feeling too hungry. Reasons to follow these guidelines. I have studied thousands of patients and found common things to those who succeed and those who fail. Those that follow these statements tend to lose around 30% of their excess weight during the first two months. They also reach their weightloss goal earlier (sometimes less than a year) and with less fills and no complications. If you follow these guidelines, once the 6 to 8 weeks are up, you won’t be wanting a fill because poor weightloss requires it…you will be getting one because this last weight-loss effort and you deserve it! Dr. Ariel Ortiz, MD, FACS Board Certified Mexican medical doctor under license #2526822

Fills…..Facts and Myths A fill is basically the band being adjusted with the injection of saline solution through an injection at the site where your port has been implanted. Fills can be performed earlier than 6 weeks. Fills are performed at 6-8 weeks. Never before. Some bands are purged but this liquid in the band should never cause retriction, it would put undue tention on the band and either cause an early slip or a pouch dilation and render the procedure useless. Once I get the band I will lose weight. Wanting a fill earlier than recomended is usually a bad sign. It happens when patients expect to perform on it’s own. Remember the first two months after your banding is the home stretch, this is when the band permits you to eat less without feeling too hungry. This means you should do your part by keeping the 21 days of liquids, and then solids so it hels in place properly and you lose weight. The larger band requires more fills. Sometimes it does. But it does not depend on the band. When you get a larger band it is because one size does not fit all. It also means that you had a excess amount of fat around your stomach that required a band that would fit. If this happenned to you most probably as you lose weight you will notice your band required additional fills. Why you ask? Well simply because that fat around the stomach is dissappearing and the band loostens. I will request that a samll band be implanted The only way to logically get the smaller standard band is by pre-surgical weightloss. The more you lose the better your chances are. I read on the forum that patients need many fills Well usually you will find that some patients stay on the forums looking for answers they like. Our average number of fills on females is 2-3 and on males is 1-2, in a lifetime. Some folks get 5 but usually something also happened. Patients may have recieved two fills then suddenly they needed a band deflation and then started all over again by the time they reach their adecquate restriction level they are up to five fills. Makes sense? Patients that tend to overrely on the band also get more fills, thinking that restriction will compensate for the inability follow the simple guidelines. Some patients sadly started eating solids before their 21 day liquid phase and have stretched out their pouch permanently. These patients will never reach their weightloss goal unless they get corrective surgery. Fills performed under fluoroscopy are precise. Yes they are for many reasons. Even though we are dealing with something as dynamic as the everchanging human body we can get to an aproximation of your ideal restriction in less fills. This means tht the fill performed will be more or less precise at the date performed. You may lose this restriction as your experiment further weightloss, you learn how to chew, select better foods, eat slower etc. We can also see other changes that will let us know if you band is too tight (surely this will cause a complication in weeks) also if it is too loose and you won’t lose any weight. Sometimes it will tell us if the patient is not being sincere with us. Dr. Ariel Ortiz, MD, FACS Board Certified Mexican medical doctor under license #2526822

The latest word from our Oprah contact is sometime this summer.... more updates to follow

Dr. Ortiz bands professional athletes (including a professional wrestler) I'm sure you are OK, but if you swell around your port area or notice any changes just call our after-care doctors and review your symptoms with them. I'm sure you are OK

Happy Birthday Dave! Thank you so much for all your help on the forum. You ROCK! Hope you have an excellent Birthday! Everybody send wishes to our Dave, our excellent moderator and spaminator supreme!! =D> > :-h

Democracy at work! You voiced your opinions and we listened! We are officially back at the Lucerna for all our patients!! =D> woohoooooooo! Information on Hotel Lucerna or Hotel Lucerna Info (link directly to Lucerna - in spanish)

one of these days we need to have a bandster party where we can all meet and greet and support each other in person! I know one of the patients was talking about doing something in Vegas - that would be AWESOME! I'd be there! Even if we just planned a weekend in Vegas and got together for a meal or a show or something, it would be great! It doesn't have to be anything formal, just a date and time and pick a hotel so we can all stay in the same place. If we planned it in San Diego area we could probably get Dr. O to come. If you guys figure something out let me know, i'd love to meet everybody!!!

awwwww you guys made my day! Call me anytime if I"m on the phone I promise to get back to you as soon as I can Everybody have a GREAT weekend!!! xoxoxxo >

Announcement We are happy to announce to our patients that we have been able to secure an agreement with a newer hotel that is even closer to our clinic, The Camino Real http://www.caminoreal.com/tijuana_i/main.php. The Camino Real also has higher ratings than the Lucerna for customer satisfaction. As you can see, this is an upgrade for our patients comfort and convenience during their stay in Tijuana and we are happy to be able to offer them this option. If you have stayed at the Lucerna in the past and would like to stay there during your next visit to the clinic we still maintain our relationship with them and are happy to make those reservations for you. If you have any questions please call Rene at 1-866-376-7849 ext. 80 for more information.

Ok... i got this recipe from a patient and Dr. Miranda approves. It sounds yummy!! > 8 oz of nonfat milk > 1 scoop 100% whey vanilla protein powder > 1 tsp instant coffee/decaf or a tsp of caffeine okay? > 1 TBS of sugar free French vanilla cappachinno..red box..got at > Walmart a little ice..mix until blended! I let it sit in the fridge > for a bit, because it gets really frothy. > You can also use Nescafe Hazelnut. Good luck!

Just a clarification The poster is not a patient of Dr. O's and Dr. O has never had to open a patient to place the band. Annie, you are welcome to post, find support and share your struggles and your successes here! I'm so sorry that you had these complications!

Ok - i heard Sharon Osbourne on an interview and she didn't say anything about "having" to take the band out - she said she wanted to take it out so she would force herself to deal with her food issues. She was tired of "throwing up" because she was overeating even with the band. I find it interesting that celebrities change their story based on the reaction they get. Let's be honest, if the band had a 5 year life, insurance would be approving it as an alternative more and more. I talk to people that have had their band beyond this 5 year mark, so that doesn't even make sense, besides she got her band in 1999, so she's beyond that 5 years anyway. If I can find her interview i'll post the link found one: Sharon Osbourne Interview excerpt

Hi OCC Family, I've been trying to do some research on Ann Wilson and am getting conflicting reports, whether or not she had her band removed. So I can't confirm that that is the case, but if she did have her band removed, that would for sure explain the weight gain. I, too, was very surprised and heartbroken for her when I saw her last night. As we know, this is a tool, you still have to do the work. It is possible to "eat around the band" by eating high calorie liquid or liquifyable foods, or making unhealthy food choices. I have been on a plateau for months now and started analyzing WHAT I'm eating, because I have plenty of restriction. I realized that since Christmas I had fallen back into my bad food choices (high carb NO nutrition "food") Thankfully the band kept me from gaining weight, but since I wasn't feeding my body what it needs (protein!) i had stayed the same (thank GOD!) I know without my band I'd have headed back up the scale! I'm back with my post-op diet guidelines (plenty of protein!!!) and my weight is coming off again... I WILL GET THIS LAST 10 POUNDS OFF!!!! So... remember the band is a tool that really does help but you have to take care of yourself and take care of your band by following the post op diet recommendations. This isn't just about losing weight, but getting healthy! By the way, I heard Sharon Osbourne was going to get her band removed so she could work out her issues, OK just my humble opinion.. but is she NUTS?!?!! hahahhaa - I say work on that, of course, but keep your band! She looks fabulous, hasn't reported problems with her band, she just didn't like the restriction. I dunno, I LOVE that the band controls my portions, because obviously, I was unable to do that on my own. And I'm guessing that if I had the band removed, I'd start struggling with those issues as well. If you are looking for a temporary fix, why not do something besides surgery! I love my band... i'm keeping it

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.