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Dr. Ariel Ortiz at the OCC



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I'm from Canada as well and will be going to Dr. E Ortiz in September, which Dr. Ortiz were you searching, there are two..

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And I'm doing sleeve not lap band which it looks like you're doing.

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Why did you choose dr.e ortiz and where is he located? I have paid my deposit so far

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I'm going to Dr. E. Ortiz, Sept 4 th. I from Canada, just outside Edmonton. I chose Dr Ortiz because of the reviews I read. He seems to be very well respected and a lighter me has a great reputation. His price was also really great. $4400.00

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I'm going Sept 14, please keep me updated with how you're doing.. I'm from outside of Calgary.. Good Luck, I'm sure is going wonderfully!

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No I am doing the sleeve now and I am going to the OCC areil ortiz!

You will be very well taken care of at OCC. Everyone....Dr. Ariel Ortiz, Dr. Martinez, Dr. Jimenez, Dr. So, the nurses and rest of the staff are attentive, kind and skilled at their jobs. The facility is clean and well equipped to deal with anything unexpected. If you haven't already, check out the OCC/Ariel Ortiz thread in the self pay/Mexico subforum. It's very long...over 1000 posts, but it has all you possibly need to know from people who have "been there, done that".

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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!

Oh thank you soooooooooooooo much!

I LOVE the long post, i read it to my fiance and he was comforted by it!

Im still up and down between excited and terrified,,,,,LOL but I think thats just the way it will go until i lay on the table.

I am worried about the pre op diet, they gave me a goal of 23 lbs to lose and im down 9 but geeesh it feels like its going slow and its only 22 days till the surgery!!!! 

How much did you lose on pre op?

if you dont mind me asking…...

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Oh thank you soooooooooooooo much! I LOVE the long post, i read it to my fiance and he was comforted by it! Im still up and down between excited and terrified,,,,,LOL but I think thats just the way it will go until i lay on the table. I am worried about the pre op diet, they gave me a goal of 23 lbs to lose and im down 9 but geeesh it feels like its going slow and its only 22 days till the surgery!!!! How much did you lose on pre op? if you dont mind me asking…...

My date is on September 2nd, starting the diet today, need to lose 15-20 lbs preop..

Are you getting the sleeve done?

My parents are hell bent on trying to get me to switch to the sleeve plication but I don't like what I've been reading about people regaining their weight within a few months to a year.

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Oh thank you soooooooooooooo much!</p> <p>I LOVE the long post, i read it to my fiance and he was comforted by it!</p> <p>Im still up and down between excited and terrified,,,,,LOL but I think thats just the way it will go until i lay on the table.</p> <p>I am worried about the pre op diet, they gave me a goal of 23 lbs to lose and im down 9 but geeesh it feels like its going slow and its only 22 days till the surgery!!!! </p> <p>How much did you lose on pre op?</p> <p>if you dont mind me asking…...</p>

 

That's wonderful you've lost 9 already :) just follow what they say do and the weight will come off. I weighed 325 to start and I was 299 lbs on surgery day.

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Hi all,

I am 6 months post-op and doing great. I've lost 55 lbs so far. Now 145 from 200! Still 3 lbs to go to get into the "normal" BMI range but what do they know?? I look fantastic. hehe

Good luck to all and like most people, my only regret is not doing it sooner.

Cheers!!

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<p>There was one person in my group who required a hernia repair, and the repair was free. There were NO extra fees except for our prescription medications, which we were told about before hand.</p>

Hey Sweetums!

How are you doing? Have been so busy I haven't had a chance to get on and see what everyone is doing.

I'm doing well. Had a couple of bad days with diet change. But I think I got it under control now. I did well yesterday. I had about a 6 day stall but I am back to losing again. Down 22 lbs so far.

What's been going on with you?

Take care!

Jessie

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I'm going to Dr. E. Ortiz, Sept 4 th. I from Canada, just outside Edmonton. I chose Dr Ortiz because of the reviews I read. He seems to be very well respected and a lighter me has a great reputation. His price was also really great. $4400.00

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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
      1. This update has no replies.
    • 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! 🤣
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    • 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
      1. This update has no replies.
    • 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!
      · 0 replies
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