ivansmom

I had my band removed by the same Doctor who put it in - Dr. Ortiz in Tijuana. The removal was $3,500 and it included my hotel for 2 days and a ride back to the airport.

Last year, I was having trouble with my band and was sitting in Dr. Ortiz's waiting room and a few well-meaning people asked me if I was there to get a band. I told them the truth, that I had already lost 100 lbs and was there to be unbanded due to complications. I still needed to lose 40 pounds at that point.

What number are you calling?

I called the number on the site. I think it was 384-thin, and I spoke with their office rep, so it was definitely not a wrong number. They finally called me on Friday. In my line of work, I call people back with 4 hours, not 4 days, so that was disappointing. I am hopeful though, because they were helpful when they finally did call.

I don't have any personal experience with these two doctors. I called their office this monday to request a consultation, since their website says to call for a consultation or to reserve a spot at their seminar. I have already had been banded and unbanded and did not want to go to the seminar. So, I said to the "operator" in their call center that I wanted to schedule a consultation. They said they would have to take my number and call me back, because they can't just schedule a consultation. That was Monday and as of Wednesday night, I have not gotten a call back.

Karey, I am curious about your slippages. How are you doing now? What do you know about the sleeve? I had a slippage last year and had my band removed. I am sad, because I gained back a lot of the weight that I lost - from 206 back up to 242. I am trying to get the courage up to try again. I miss my smaller self, even though I still had about 45 pounds I wanted to lose.

I tried for 2 years to get approved through Kaiser. I finally gave up and paid for it myself in Mexico. I work for an insurance company, but I think that health insurance companies really are dishonest.

I had my band removed after a little over two years. I did not want to, but it had slipped and was way too tight. It was honestly too tight from the beginning and I did not follow up like I should have. I had it removed about 2 weeks ago and I am sad. I feel like I am starting over and am afraid I will regain the weight. I have a knot of scar tissue about the size of a ping pong ball, but otherwise, no problems so far.

Thanks for taking a look at my post. I had my surgery about 16 months ago and since then have not lost a lot of weight. I have had problems with the band feeling too tight, even when it was not filled. I was basically on liquids for the first 3-4 months or so, with occasional attempts at solids. Not very successful.

I was not really losing weight, so I went back to my doctor, Dr. Ortiz. They gave me a small fill. I don't remember what it was. After that, the problem got even worse. The funny thing is, when the weather is warm, I seem to be able to eat more. Since it has gotten cold though, even some liquids don't want to go down.

I would really like to be a lapband success story. Have any of you had weather-related tightening of the band? Right now I have no fill at all and even with that, it is hard to eat and sometimes hard to drink. When I can eat/drink, I tend to go for Chili and frosties from Wendys.

I went to him for an emergency un-fill while I was in Denver on a business trip. He is possibly one of the nicest doctors I have ever met. Very polite and he put me at ease. He is an ex-Air Force guy and truly a gentleman.

Good luck with your band.

Kudos to you, Dr. C, for suggesting that. Every little bit helps. Thank you also for the time and effort you spend responding to all of our questions.

That's funny! Maybe she thinks she DOES have an apple bottom. I do, which is both good and bad, but I would never wear anything that draws that much attention to my, uh, bottom.

I recommend the Slim-Fast Low Carb chocolate flavor. 20g Protein, very low carbs, no gas, no nasty texture, etc. I actually LIKE these. I drink one for breakfast while I am driving to work and it keeps me satisfied until lunchtime. Make sure you are getting the low-carb version. I am not fond of the other varieties.

This is just my two cents, but I occasionally take liquid ibuprofen when I have severe pain, like cramps. I buy the children's version, so it takes 2 teaspoons to get 200mg, but that has been enough for me. I take it very rarely, but I have not had any resulting problems. You should talk to your md, of course, since I am not a doctor. I make sure to take mine with plenty of Water and after I have eaten a couple of crackers or something, since I have a very sensitive stomach and ibuprofen has always irritated it if I take it on an empty stomach.

I had my lapband surgery in August 2006. I had a complication in January of 2007 after having been filled too tightly in October (1.8 cc). I was on a business trip to Denver and a wonderful doctor there, Dr. Brown at Presbytarian-St. Luke's did the unfill and helped me to be able to eat and drink again.

Well, now I am interested in getting my follow-up care locally and I have found that the doctor that my friend recommended to me charges patients who had their surgery out of the country a fee of $3000. Wow! That seems steep to me, even if it includes one fill (no fluoro) and their support groups, etc.

Has anyone else come across this kind of fee? The office staff explained that the doctor does it to cover himself because patients who had their surgery outside the country have more complications and this increases their liability insurance.

I have not made an appt. with them yet, since part of the reason I had my surgery in Mexico was to save money, since I had the privelege of paying for it myself.

I wish you the best of luck. Please don't take this as a flame, but it is a little hard to understand you.

Hi all,

I am new to Las Vegas. I moved here from the San Francisco Bay area in June of 2006. I had my surgery on August 1, 2006 in Tijuana, with Dr. Ortiz. I was very impressed with the treatment I received immediately before and immediately after the surgery.

I would love to hear your recommendations for a fill doctor in the Las Vegas area.

Also, if any of you are interested in working out together, I am a member of the Fitness 19 at Ann & Simmons (or is it Decatur & Simmons?) It is in N. Las Vegas.

I am new to Las Vegas and I only know of one way to get cheaper tickets for the shows. There are booths located throughout the tourist areas on the strip, including (I think) the Fashion Show Mall and near the M&M/Coca Cola museum. This is not a sure thing, since these places just have tickets for that night only.

Here is what I found when I was looking on the web:

http://gosw.about.com/od/lasvegas/a/tix4tonight.htm

If you have a chance, I really recommend trying Cafe BA Ba Reeba at the Fashion Show Mall. They have great tapas and their happy hour is inexpensive.

First of all, I am sorry that my first post is a panic post, but I am really hurting here.

I was banded on August 1, 2006. I had my first fill on October 4, 2006. Since then, I have had a lot of trouble with my band and have really had to limit what I eat to a list of less than a dozen things. I have lost almost 60 pounds, so I am determined to stick it out, since I am happy with my progress.

I am halfway through a two-week business trip to Denver, Colorado and since I arrived, I have really been unable to take in solid foods and have trouble getting liquids down too. I am wondering if the problem is related to atmospheric pressure or altitude. Since I am having terrible pain near my port, I am also wondering if maybe my band is slipping.

Until this happened, I was able to eat the following:

1. Slim-fast low-carb shakes

2. Milk, coffee, soda and other liquids

3. Nuts

4. popcorn

5. Crackers

6. Cooked veggies

7. Soup (including Wendy's chili)

8. chocolate

9. Ice cream

Periodically since this started happening, I have been able to drink chicken broth or coffee. Sometimes, when I try though, it feels like it is just sitting above my band (it will stay for hours like that).

What's wrong with me? :sick