Guest tina Posted March 27, 2006 Report Share Posted March 27, 2006 I have an appointment on April 20 in TJ to be banded. I have told a couple of people about where I am going to have this done, they go off the deep end. Has anyone had any problems? Should I be more worried than what I am? I also am leaving to go on a cruise at 7 weeks after my surgery. Do you think I should get a fill befor I go or afterward? I am not sure on what to do. I have read some post that people are still eating what ever they want after they go on "real" food. I thought after the band was in place it would start restrecting the intake of food no matter how long you waited to get a fill. Could some one please give me their view point? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kim Posted March 27, 2006 Report Share Posted March 27, 2006 I have an appointment on April 20 in TJ to be banded. I have told a couple of people about where I am going to have this done, they go off the deep end. Has anyone had any problems? Should I be more worried than what I am? I also am leaving to go on a cruise at 7 weeks after my surgery. Do you think I should get a fill befor I go or afterward? I am not sure on what to do. I have read some post that people are still eating what ever they want after they go on "real" food. I thought after the band was in place it would start restrecting the intake of food no matter how long you waited to get a fill. Could some one please give me their view point? Thanks Dear Tina, I have an appointment to get a band Aqril 5th in TJ with Dr.Ortiz, I will be glad to let you know how it goes when I return next week! And as far as the fill, I believe that everyone is different on how many fills you need. I have heard some people needing none to very few fills, and others needing several. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cutieKel Posted March 28, 2006 Report Share Posted March 28, 2006 I have an appointment on April 20 in TJ to be banded. I have told a couple of people about where I am going to have this done, they go off the deep end. Has anyone had any problems? Should I be more worried than what I am? I also am leaving to go on a cruise at 7 weeks after my surgery. Do you think I should get a fill befor I go or afterward? I am not sure on what to do. I have read some post that people are still eating what ever they want after they go on "real" food. I thought after the band was in place it would start restrecting the intake of food no matter how long you waited to get a fill. Could some one please give me their view point? Thanks Tina, I have friends that thought the same thing too when I told them I was going to Mexico to have my surgery. However, I took one of my toughest critics with me to meet Dr. Ortiz and she was so impressed. She works in the medical field so she has really high standards. Needless to say, she told me that it was one of the nicest facilites she has seen. As well, she thought that Dr. Ortiz was so nice and answered all her quesitons honestly. I feel extremely comfortable with having my surgery there. I am going to Europe for 3 weeks about 10 weeks after my surgery. I am going to try to get a fill at 6 weeks in order to give me enough time to adjust to it. However, Dr. Ortiz would be your best bet to answer that quesiton. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tina Posted March 28, 2006 Report Share Posted March 28, 2006 Dear Tina, I have an appointment to get a band Aqril 5th in TJ with Dr.Ortiz, I will be glad to let you know how it goes when I return next week! And as far as the fill, I believe that everyone is different on how many fills you need. I have heard some people needing none to very few fills, and others needing several. I look forward to hearing from you!! Good Luck!!! Tina, I have friends that thought the same thing too when I told them I was going to Mexico to have my surgery. However, I took one of my toughest critics with me to meet Dr. Ortiz and she was so impressed. She works in the medical field so she has really high standards. Needless to say, she told me that it was one of the nicest facilites she has seen. As well, she thought that Dr. Ortiz was so nice and answered all her quesitons honestly. I feel extremely comfortable with having my surgery there. I am going to Europe for 3 weeks about 10 weeks after my surgery. I am going to try to get a fill at 6 weeks in order to give me enough time to adjust to it. However, Dr. Ortiz would be your best bet to answer that quesiton. Tina, I have friends that thought the same thing too when I told them I was going to Mexico to have my surgery. However, I took one of my toughest critics with me to meet Dr. Ortiz and she was so impressed. She works in the medical field so she has really high standards. Needless to say, she told me that it was one of the nicest facilites she has seen. As well, she thought that Dr. Ortiz was so nice and answered all her quesitons honestly. I feel extremely comfortable with having my surgery there. I am going to Europe for 3 weeks about 10 weeks after my surgery. I am going to try to get a fill at 6 weeks in order to give me enough time to adjust to it. However, Dr. Ortiz would be your best bet to answer that quesiton. Thank you!! you have made me feel soooo much better Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amyg Posted March 31, 2006 Report Share Posted March 31, 2006 Hi Tina! Excited for you! Your cruise will be wonderful and you will be ready to sail off with a whole new you! The good thing is that you will be over the hump of your surgery and getting your mind set in about how to eat and what to drink. To be honest, don't worry about getting fill so fast. Like someone mentioned earlier some people loose 100lbs+ without a fill or with only 1cc. I only have 1 cc now and I managed to lose 60lbs the first year! I took it slow bc I didn't want to sag. I still have 35lbs to go though. With my terrible week experience with my band and the fill I got, I don't think I want to ever have another fill. (was too tight and had to have the fluid removed emergently). Personally, see if you can lose the weight with just no fill and that will be your first goal. Trust me, you will have some restriction when you try to eat old favorite foods. Now, granted you can eat around the band if you start diving into milkshakes, chocolate, candy, etc etc....we don't want to do that. We already know what happens on that route. If you start to slip or gain weight, then that's about the time you need to fill your band. Your cruise will be wonderful as they will have plenty of things that are good for you. Fruits, veggies, and also the bar tender can make you some wonderful smoothies (non alcoholic) from fresh fruit if you cannot get them down. Best wishes!!! ~amy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cubankitten9 Posted April 2, 2006 Report Share Posted April 2, 2006 Hi Tina... a few things... as far as Dr. Ortiz's qualifications, he is a member of the American College of Surgeons (not sure if he has his American medical license or not), but basically this means he has been accredited by the standards other American surgeons are (denoted by the letters F.A.C.S after his name)... also, any surgeon in the US who can band you will never have as much experience as Dr. Ortiz, because the procedure has only been performed here since 2001, when it was approved by the FDA... Doctors in Italy, Australia, Spain, Mexico and Sweden (and others Im sure) have been doing this procedure much, much longer than any doc in America. Also, the way INAMED (the maker of the only band approved for use in the US) works is that any doctor who wants to place an INAMED band, must be trained and certified by INAMED first, THEN, an already certified doctor proctors (trains) them in surgery... Dr. Ortiz has proctored many doctors in the States... He certainly has to be one of the top 5 doctors in Mexico for this surgery, and he is well respected in this field... If you want more "data" on him, try looking up his professional affiliations off his website, and look into them... see if you can get US references from his office... if your family and friends are concerned, its only a combination of caring for you and not having enough information... so your own journey to do this might be easier if you give them information that will reassure them. Congratulations on being banded! Kyle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lalive Posted April 2, 2006 Report Share Posted April 2, 2006 Dear Tina, I have an appointment to get a band Aqril 5th in TJ with Dr.Ortiz, I will be glad to let you know how it goes when I return next week! And as far as the fill, I believe that everyone is different on how many fills you need. I have heard some people needing none to very few fills, and others needing several. Hey Kim, I am getting banded on the 6th, and will arrive on the 5th. If you don't mind, maybe I could check in on you and see how you are doing when you're finished. It may be good for me to see what I can possibly expect, also. Are you getting jittery yet? Lynn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kim Posted April 2, 2006 Report Share Posted April 2, 2006 Hey Tina, No, I'm not getting gittery yet, just excited!! I will be glad to give you updates and you be sure and do the same! Good Luck! Kim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest marys Posted April 3, 2006 Report Share Posted April 3, 2006 Yes - I have experienced what you describe - most people have a lot of misconceptions about Mexico and I found for ME it was best to NOT TELL. I only told my husband and he is still the only one who knows. But no I don't think YOu need to be more worried - esp with Dr. Ortiz and staff and facilities - everything is top notch and I feel BETTER care/conditions than in the states - esp the care and the nursing staff - awesome and kind and gentle and always there. Amazing. You will be in GOOD hands. Re your crusie and fill - I had surgery Nov 18 and my first fill January 14, 2006 so you will have to see how you feel. Dr. Ortiz likes you to wait at least 6 weeks for healing so another week won't matter - You might want to go on the cruise first because at least for me, the first fill took/TAKES a bit getting used to. You might not feel a lot of restriction after 6 weeks (or you might as some of the gals that had surgery with me did). I personally could eat almost at the same level as pre surgery as I was lower bmi and think my swelling had gone down. I gained all but two pounds back since surgery before my fill because I coould eat just about at the same level. So, if you do go on crusie you might have an easier time eating before your fill but I wouldn't go crazy either. Take care~ I have an appointment on April 20 in TJ to be banded. I have told a couple of people about where I am going to have this done, they go off the deep end. Has anyone had any problems? Should I be more worried than what I am? I also am leaving to go on a cruise at 7 weeks after my surgery. Do you think I should get a fill befor I go or afterward? I am not sure on what to do. I have read some post that people are still eating what ever they want after they go on "real" food. I thought after the band was in place it would start restrecting the intake of food no matter how long you waited to get a fill. Could some one please give me their view point? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JuliaA Posted April 7, 2006 Report Share Posted April 7, 2006 I have an appointment on April 20 in TJ to be banded. I have told a couple of people about where I am going to have this done, they go off the deep end. Has anyone had any problems? Should I be more worried than what I am? I also am leaving to go on a cruise at 7 weeks after my surgery. Do you think I should get a fill befor I go or afterward? I am not sure on what to do. I have read some post that people are still eating what ever they want after they go on "real" food. I thought after the band was in place it would start restrecting the intake of food no matter how long you waited to get a fill. Could some one please give me their view point? Thanks Hi Tina, I just had the surgery done on April 4th. I had the same reaction from most of the people I told..."You're going where?!?!" I have already lost 5 pounds! The hotel was very nice (altough I agree probably not a 5 start by US standards, more like a 3.5 or 4), the grounds of the hotel were very pretty, Dr. Ortiz and his staff were SO nice and their office was beautiful. I am still quite sore in my abdomen, but did go out shopping the day after surgery. It gets a little better every day. I'll be posting updates on my success here just as others have. I hope that will alleviate some of your fears. I look forward to hearing about yours as well. Best of Luck, Julia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cutieKel Posted April 8, 2006 Report Share Posted April 8, 2006 Thanks for the information Julia. I am scheduled to be banded on the 14th of this month and it is nice to hear from others that have done it. Please keep up updated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BUBBLESFROSTY Posted April 8, 2006 Report Share Posted April 8, 2006 I have an appointment on April 20 in TJ to be banded. I have told a couple of people about where I am going to have this done, they go off the deep end. Has anyone had any problems? Should I be more worried than what I am? I also am leaving to go on a cruise at 7 weeks after my surgery. Do you think I should get a fill befor I go or afterward? I am not sure on what to do. I have read some post that people are still eating what ever they want after they go on "real" food. I thought after the band was in place it would start restrecting the intake of food no matter how long you waited to get a fill. Could some one please give me their view point? Thanks I had my lap band done 12/1/05. I have lost 42pounds. There is a lot of stuff that you will not be able to eat. but I look much better... I was scared... No problem.. The fills burn just a little.. I have had 2 now.. Last time I went they said that they didn't need to see me for a few months. I didn't even need an adjustment... You will feel fine... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JennaR Posted April 8, 2006 Report Share Posted April 8, 2006 Yep, everyone I told WHERE I was going freaked out. But all was good. There is just a lot of rumors and stigmatism to Tijuana and Mexico. "dirty cut" "taking kidneys" "sex with donkeys" Yada yada yada. Blah blah blah. I am sure there are bad places and under the table surgeries there, but they are in the US too. Look at the abortion market! In the states that have banned the abortions recently, there are women getting seriously sick going to bad places. Surgery in Mexico isn't like a hospital here, but it isn't necessarily bad either. The look of things is "different" but it is acceptable. Re: the fill. Wait until after the cruise. At 7 weeks post op, you won't be able to eat a ton anyways but at least you might be able to enjoy some things that you won't later, like breads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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