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Dr. Ariel Ortiz at the OCC



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It's been 7 months since my surgery. The team at ALM were excellent. This surgery has changed my life! I was 240 at the beginning now I am 172 (15 pounds from my goal) off the blood pressure meds and no longer pre-diabetic... Plus I feel amazing! Best decision ever!post-200012-14136620824712_thumb.jpg

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Congrats!!! I wish you the best of luck

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I've finally finished reading this entire thread/topic! So much good information and really calms the nerves.

 

Like most have posted, Hoosier's blog and everyone's posts here helped me make my decision to schedule surgery with OCC after being denied by my insurance for not having qualifying co-morbidities despite a BMI over 40.

 

I'm scheduled for VSG on Friday, 11/14/2014. So excited!! Working on losing the required pre-op weight now.

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Me too, I just finished all 122 pages, phew. I have to say, you all have made my decision a lot easier, I was considering Dr. Alvarez, Dr. Rodriguez, Dr. Kelly and Dr. A. Ortiz. The one thing I was looking for was after care, and from all I've seen OCC seems to be the best. I'm hoping to have the sleeve surgery just before the Christmas holidays, so I have some time to rest before work.

I have to sort out my visa and some other things, also saving up and looking into financing options now.

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You guys will not regret going with Dr. Ortiz.. I'm 2 weeks out tomorrow and feeling great. No incision pain. No real pain after my surgery. Energy levels have been great since coming home. Went to work the following Monday (1 week after surgery). No real complaints other than I want food! Lol I get to start the pureed stage on Thursday and I can't wait to have a scrambled egg. I'm getting over these Protein Shakes fast but I'm almost to the next stage so I i know I can do it.

My experience with Dr. Ortiz at the OCC was great, what everyone on this board has said. It's all true. Make the appointment, get it done and you will be so happy you did!

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I worry every day that my daughters will be safe and in good hands with Dr. A. Ortiz. At some point you just have to close the research and make the final leap of faith and book it! We did that. But I cannot thank everyone enough for all their feedback regarding the Mexico surgeons and Bariatric centers. All the info on this site is invaluable. It certainly played into our final decision. Dec 8th cannot get here fast enough!

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Good luck to those of you who have upcoming surgeries at OCC! I hope your experience is as positive as mine has been!

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Can't believe my date is three week away.. I'm so excited, and quite nervous as well...

 

Does anyone have experience with what happens if I don't lose all the weight preop?

 

I still have just over 20lbs to lose in three weeks... (I'm stressing out over here! lol)

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Can't believe my date is three week away.. I'm so excited, and quite nervous as well...

Does anyone have experience with what happens if I don't lose all the weight preop?

I still have just over 20lbs to lose in three weeks... (I'm stressing out over here! lol)

I'm a bit scared about the pre-op diet as well, I'm not the best at dieting hence my current situation. But if you follow all the guidelines you should be fine.

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I'm doing everything they suggested, even their recommended Vitaleph 3 week pre op kit. Which I have to add are the worst shakes I've ever tasted...

The vanilla looks and tastes like dirty water..,, complete with sand at the bottom... Yuck!!

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I'm doing everything they suggested, even their recommended Vitaleph 3 week pre op kit. Which I have to add are the worst shakes I've ever tasted...

The vanilla looks and tastes like dirty water..,, complete with sand at the bottom... Yuck!!

Woohoo, you're doing great, I can't wait to confirm everything. Currently doing some major saving, I dont want to go through a financing company If I don't have to. Also working on my getting my travel documents, in the USA on a student visa.

Edited by emmuje875

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We just got the Protein Shakes recommended by OCC today. Have not tried them yet. Both my daughters are very concerned that they will not lose the required pre-op weight. Funny but that was kinda why we did not do the surgery in the US. We did not want to go through the hoops and play the ins games. Kind of feel like we are jumping hoops and playing the NUT game. Hope they both lose the required amount pre-op and they are not disqualified when they get to Mexico. I am wondering g if anyone has been turned away if they do not lose the required amount suggested by the NUT. Also wonder if it is an issue if we don't purchase their recommended Protein products.

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I'm doing everything they suggested, even their recommended Vitaleph 3 week pre op kit. Which I have to add are the worst shakes I've ever tasted...

 

The vanilla looks and tastes like dirty water..,, complete with sand at the bottom... Yuck!!

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    • Aunty Mamo

      Iʻm roughly 6 weeks post-op this morning and have begun to feel like a normal human, with a normal human body again. I started introducing solid foods and pill forms of medications/supplements a couple of weeks ago and it's really amazing to eat meals with my family again, despite the fact that my portions are so much smaller than theirs. 
      I live on the island of Oʻahu and spend a lot of time in the water- for exercise, for play,  and for spiritual & mental health. The day I had my month out appointment with my surgeon, I packed all my gear in my truck, anticipating his permission to get back in the ocean. The minute I walked out of that hospital I drove straight to the shore and got in that water. Hallelujah! My appointment was at 10 am. I didn't get home until after 5 pm. 
      I'm down 31 pounds since the day of surgery and 47 since my pre-op diet began, with that typical week long stall occurring at three weeks. I'm really starting to see some changes lately- some of my clothing is too big, some fits again. The most drastic changes I notice however are in my face. I've also noticed my endurance and flexibility increasing. I was really starting to be held up physically, and I'm so grateful that I'm seeing that turn around in such short order. 
      My general disposition lately is hopeful and motivated. The only thing that bugs me on a daily basis still is the way those supplements make my house smell. So stink! But I just bought a smell proof bag online that other people use to put their pot in. My house doesn't stink anymore. 
       
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    • BeanitoDiego

      Oh yeah, something I wanted to rant about, a billing dispute that cropped up 3 months ago.
      Surgery was in August of 2023. A bill shows up for over $7,000 in January. WTF? I asks myself. I know that I jumped through all of the insurance hoops and verified this and triple checked that, as did the surgeon's office. All was set, and I paid all of the known costs before surgery.
      A looong story short, is that an assistant surgeon that was in the process of accepting money from my insurance company touched me while I was under anesthesia. That is what the bill was for. But hey, guess what? Some federal legislation was enacted last year to help patients out when they cannot consent to being touched by someone out of their insurance network. These types of bills fall under something called, "surprise billing," and you don't have to put up with it.
      https://www.cms.gov/nosurprises
      I had to make a lot of phone calls to both the surgeon's office and the insurance company and explain my rights and what the maximum out of pocket costs were that I could be liable for. Also had to remind them that it isn't my place to be taking care of all of this and that I was going to escalate things if they could not play nice with one another.
      Quick ending is that I don't have to pay that $7,000+. Advocate, advocate, advocate for yourself no matter how long it takes and learn more about this law if you are ever hit with a surprise bill.
      · 0 replies
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    • BeanitoDiego

      Some days I feel like an infiltrator... I'm participating in society as a "thin" person. They have no idea that I haven't always been one of them! 🤣
      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.
    • ChunkCat

      Thank you everyone for your well wishes! I totally forgot I wrote an update here... I'm one week post op today. I gained 15 lbs in water weight overnight because they had to give me tons of fluids to bring my BP up after surgery! I stayed one night in the hospital. Everything has been fine except I seem to have picked up a bug while I was there and I've been running a low grade fever, coughing, and a sore throat. So I've been hydrating well and sleeping a ton. So far the Covid tests are negative.
      I haven't been able to advance my diet past purees. Everything I eat other than tofu makes me choke and feels like trying to swallow rocks. They warned me it would get worse before it gets better, so lets hope this is all normal. I have my follow up on Monday so we'll see. Living on shakes and soup again is not fun. I had enough of them the first time!! LOL 
      · 0 replies
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    • BeanitoDiego

      Still purging all of the larger clothing. This morning, a shirt that I ADORED wearing ended up on top. Hard to let it go, but it was also hard to let go of those habits that also no longer serve my highest good. Onward and upward!
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