betrdaz

Thinking of my sleeve friends whose year anniversary was yesterday, mine is today. I'm 95 lbs different than a year ago and I have no regrets! "Barb" and"Kindle" I hope you are well and think of you often!

Thinking of my sleeve friends whose year anniversary was yesterday, mine is today. I'm 95 lbs different than a year ago and I have no regrets! "Barb" and"Kindle" I hope you are well and think of you often!

Thinking of my sleeve friends whose year anniversary was yesterday, mine is today. I'm 95 lbs different than a year ago and I have no regrets! "Barb" and"Kindle" I hope you are well and think of you often!

I was there the same days as B2b and raven123. ( I had my surgery the day after theirs). I agree with everything they are saying. I came from Canada alone and met B2B and her parents on the van ride across the boarder. Never once was I "scared". I was a little apprehensive as I did not what to expect but 10 months later and 90 pounds lost and happily wearing a size 12 for the first time in 25 years I have no regrets whatsoever! I feel great! I look good, ( I still have fat brain from time to time). I was alone but never felt alone thanks to the great people I met in the lobby and the staff. No regrets!!!

I was there the same days as B2b and raven123. ( I had my surgery the day after theirs). I agree with everything they are saying. I came from Canada alone and met B2B and her parents on the van ride across the boarder. Never once was I "scared". I was a little apprehensive as I did not what to expect but 10 months later and 90 pounds lost and happily wearing a size 12 for the first time in 25 years I have no regrets whatsoever! I feel great! I look good, ( I still have fat brain from time to time). I was alone but never felt alone thanks to the great people I met in the lobby and the staff. No regrets!!!

I was there the same days as B2b and raven123. ( I had my surgery the day after theirs). I agree with everything they are saying. I came from Canada alone and met B2B and her parents on the van ride across the boarder. Never once was I "scared". I was a little apprehensive as I did not what to expect but 10 months later and 90 pounds lost and happily wearing a size 12 for the first time in 25 years I have no regrets whatsoever! I feel great! I look good, ( I still have fat brain from time to time). I was alone but never felt alone thanks to the great people I met in the lobby and the staff. No regrets!!!

I definitely was impressed by the surgical center. I had made a pact with my mom and dad that if anyone of us saw anything we didn't like or felt uneasy in any way that they would speak up and we would all get the hell out of there. They picked us up on time in San Diego and were very organized. They called me in my room to tell me when to leave on surgery day and called me a few times throughout the stay when things needed to be changed. They were very organized preop. Everyone sits together in the lobby and goes one by one to get labs drawn, your EKG, and weigh in and nutritionist consult. The private room was very clean and they had good cable (I watch I Love Lucy every day and watched my show the morning after surgery). Nothing looked worn or second hand and I'm super nit picky when it comes to cleanliness because I'm a bit of a germaphobe honestly. The wifi didn't work while I was there so I wasn't able to communicate with people back home until I got to the Marriott which wasn't a big deal anyway since both my parents were with me. The operating room was spotless- I'm not kidding it really was. I looked all around when I walked in. I really can appreciate that because I've been in many ORs that are overfilled with junk for multiple procedures that take place- this one was clean. They even have a hover air mat for transferring you easily from bed to bed and I've only worked at one hospital here that has that. The nurses were fine but their English was not as good as the Doctors but it was ok. I didn't have trouble communicating with anyone. One I think got perturbed with me because she wanted to give me some medicine to calm me down but I was totally calm so I didn't want to take it- I ultimately did because my mom said just take it I was impressed because my nurse looked super young and she got a huge IV in me on her first stick. I was still was a little scared before I went to the OCC but when I got there, I truly felt a calm come over me. I wanted to remain positive because I believe it's important to have a good outcome. I knew everything would be ok. There was a bit of waiting because they put you in order from easiest case to most difficult I believe once they evaluate everyone having surgery that day so there's no set time for your surgery. You hang out in your room watching TV until it's your turn then they take you to use the bathroom and to the OR you go! You won't see the surgeons in the OR- the anesthesiologist and the operative nurse will be there and that's standard in any OR- the surgeon is last person to go in after you're prepped. There were 2 nurses in the beginning after surgery but I think one nurse only throughout night. I was up every couple hours walking but I think most everyone else slept (all the doors to everyone's room are left open). It's weird- we became a little family. I will say some of the people in the group were annoyed that when they got back to OCC for dressing changes they had to wait. It didn't bother me though because seriously what else is there for me to do? All I was going to do is go back to the hotel and sleep anyway. I guess postop could have been more organized, but again I had nothing else to do but walk and eat Popsicles I didn't watch the cable at the hotel but I don't think it was great. I accessed my home TV on my computer. I will say when you first drive in its typical Tijuana- I'm not sure where you're from but Tijuana can be a bit unsettling when you drove around- people are very aggressive there like any other Mexican city you drive in. But when you get to the Marriott it's nice. All in all I was definitely impressed. I don't feel I got sub par care because I went to Mexico. I feel I picked the right surgeon for me- Dr Ortiz is not arrogant in any way shape or form. He's is super personable, energetic, and bubbly. I wasn't expecting him to be that way at all- he was way more serious in his videos. I found him to be genuine in his conversation. I believe he loves what he does. Being someone who's around MDs all day, they don't act like that girl!! It's rare. And BTW- you see my surgery was 10 months ago. People STILL freak out when I say I went to Mexico. It's understandable- people get nervous and I would've thought the same thing if someone I cared about told me they were going to a foreign country for surgery. You're going to get that even later after you've lost you're weight and your sitting right in front of them skinny and talking about it with everything ok Everyone knows someone who something bad happened to and you know what I say to that? Well I know tons of people who are doing amazing and I communicate with them on a regular basis! If you look on here there are almost 200 people who've been to OCC as patients. I didn't see any doctors in the states with that many patients you could communicate with. I stalked everyone on here I could looking for a reason not to go and I couldn't find one. Sorry for the long post I you have any other questions don't hesitate to message me So many people helped me on here with my decision and calming me down while I was freaking out preop so I definitely want to pay it forward. Ok I do have one major complaint about the OCC- those stupid paper underwear! My @$$ was too big for them and I had to go commando! They need bigger undies!

I had mine the same day back2barb had hers. My sister and brother in law both had their sleeves at OCC. They researched it and I went because of their success. They are both doctors. One of the reasons they liked OCC, after all the information about the skill and experience of the doctors and staff, was that it was a clinic and not a hospital. Dr Ortiz has complete control over how it is run. there do nothing else there so you are never exposed to sick people and the kinds of germs that are in hospitals.
I had no problems at all. the surgery was the easiest part of the whole thing. learning to live with the sleeve is the real work.
I have lost 70% of my excess weight and am wearing a size 12. best thing I ever did for myself.

Made it to the 100's while I was in Hawaii. Very excited to come home and see that number that starts with a one instead of a two!

Made it to the 100's while I was in Hawaii. Very excited to come home and see that number that starts with a one instead of a two!

Good morning to my OCC mentors and friends!
I have spent the past few months reading all your posts and learning a lot from all of you. I am proud and happy for all of your successes and I'm amazed at how this procedure has changed all our lives.
My SW was 266 when I had my surgery on 08Oct13. B2B was there with her family and I was honoured to get to know her and her mom and dad. My journey has been relatively quiet and internal. But I want to share with people who understand. The "normal" folk in my life are happy for my success but don't relate to the journey.
I am in Hawaii right now with my mother, aunt and uncle. I was invited by them last August before I had decided to have the surgery. I had said I would go only to appease them. (I would back out later using my arsenal of excuses to cover up my weight insecurities). With my surgery complete and my recovery over and my weight decreasing, I found I didn't need to make an excuse not to go. So, here I am. A moment I had boarding the plane was the memory of having to ask for a seatbelt extension. (not anymore)
My weight before leaving home was 200.8. I was excited to hit onederland but I will see that number when I get back.
This long winded post is my way of saying thank you to you all for helping me get to this day. Here's to many more successes to each of you!!! Hugs!

Good morning to my OCC mentors and friends!
I have spent the past few months reading all your posts and learning a lot from all of you. I am proud and happy for all of your successes and I'm amazed at how this procedure has changed all our lives.
My SW was 266 when I had my surgery on 08Oct13. B2B was there with her family and I was honoured to get to know her and her mom and dad. My journey has been relatively quiet and internal. But I want to share with people who understand. The "normal" folk in my life are happy for my success but don't relate to the journey.
I am in Hawaii right now with my mother, aunt and uncle. I was invited by them last August before I had decided to have the surgery. I had said I would go only to appease them. (I would back out later using my arsenal of excuses to cover up my weight insecurities). With my surgery complete and my recovery over and my weight decreasing, I found I didn't need to make an excuse not to go. So, here I am. A moment I had boarding the plane was the memory of having to ask for a seatbelt extension. (not anymore)
My weight before leaving home was 200.8. I was excited to hit onederland but I will see that number when I get back.
This long winded post is my way of saying thank you to you all for helping me get to this day. Here's to many more successes to each of you!!! Hugs!

Have not had surgery yet but while in the Dr. Oz website this morning I saw they had a recipe for an acid reflux smoothie and thought I would share with any sufferers out there. Maybe it could help!
1 1/2 C fresh chopped pineapple
1 banana
1/2 Cup Greek Yogurt
1/2 C ice
Blend!