I've read mostly positive posts about Dr. Ortiz and OCC on this and other forums. A few people don't seem to like his "celebrity" status and I did find some older complaints about their bands. Anyone out there with bad experiences or complications with their sleeves from him?

<p>It's official! I'm scheduled for surgery on Sept. 1! I paid my deposit and scheduled my flights last night. Today, I found out that I need a passport or passport card to get INTO Mexico though. What the heck?!?! My enhanced driver's license is fine for getting me back into the US, but it's not good enough for getting me into Mexico? Apparently this is a very recent change, as I was in Mexico in August 2011 and had no issues using my enhanced license then.</p> <p> </p> <p>So now I have to get a passport card in a HURRY, which means paying $60 for expedited processing. Ugh! There's anoterh $125 total expense I wasn't prepared for. At least I'll have it if I go back to Mexico for follow-up care of for any sort of plastics once I've lost the weight, I guess.</p> <p> </p> <p>In happier news, I told my parents about the surgery last night and their reaction shocked me. I had been dreading telling them, but knew I couldn't wait any longer once I had an official date. To my amazement, they were genuinely THRILLED for me! The are so happy and excited. In hind sight, I don't see what I was so worried about. My parents have known me my entire life and they've seen the way I've struggled with my weight since middle school. The also know how thorough I am about researching and weighing all the pros and cons before making any decision. So of course they would support me 100%! I don't know why I thought it could possibly have gone any differently. Have I mentioned I have the best parents in the world?</p>

Congrats Jamie! There's nothing like having the people who's opinion you care about most having your back and supporting your decision. You're nervous enough as it is and them being cool with it I'm sure puts your mind more at ease.

 

Hope all the OCCers are doing well! I'm now in size 14 jeans! I truly can't believe it!!

Hope all the OCCers are doing well! I'm now in size 14 jeans! I truly can't believe it!!

Barb, it's great to hear you are doing well. Your posts throughout this thread really inspired and encouraged me to choose OCC!

If I do it in September it would have to be: pre-op on the 14th, surgery on the 15th only because I have to do it around my days off work, so we wouldn't be on the same schedule.

Sadly I don't get much time off work and will have to be back at the old grind on Sept 23rd.

I agree having someone would make it that much easier.

I'm still trying to find a protien shake I can tolerate and other things I can eat as I work in a remote location without access to cooking facilities, everything is provided.

I would love to meet up with you anyway later in the week maybe. I just emailed my health questionaire to Janese and put September 16 as my surgery date by accident. That was the day I wanted to fly out but I am not as time limited as you. I understand how long hours at a job could make this surgery difficult. ...my hat's off to you! I was a nurse and worked 2 jobs over 60 hrs a week for many years til I hurt my back. Broke it in 2 places so I can't get around like I used to but the drastic weight gain in the past 3 years has created a whole new list of pains and difficulties. Right now my job is watching my 4 week old grand baby while my daughter works....but I really do not want to have surgery on a Monday for many reasons...I guess Tuesday will be ok. I hope to see you in Tijuana, Cody's mom! I hope to make many new friends during my trip...I truly love people! Guess that's why I'm a nurse. If this surgery helps me lose weight it may help my back enough to go back to work and that would be truly life changing!

Had surgery yesterday at OCC w/ Dr. Ortiz. It was an overall wonderful experience. Good luck to those whose surgery is coming up & many thanks to those who've shared their experiences...it certainly helped make my choice easier! Currently just hanging at the Marriott resting & reading!

Edited August 2, 201412 yr by ressa_t

Had surgery yesterday at OCC w/ Dr. Ortiz. It was an overall wonderful experience. Good luck to those whose surgery is coming up & many thanks to those who've shared their experiences...it certainly helped make my choice easier! Currently just hanging at the Marriott resting & reading!

Ressa_t so glad to hear it went well. Keep us posted on how your doing.

Ressa_t so glad to hear it went well. Keep us posted on how your doing.

Thanks!! I'm super excited about the coming weeks & looking forward to awesome progress!

Hey OCC buddies! Just checking in! Monday August 4, 2014 marks my 18 month surgiversary! I'm 5'8" and started at 237. Proud to say I hit my goal weight this January and have been maintaining ever since. Today, I weigh 145 and am a size 6 or 8 in most clothes. This procedure gave me back a quality of life I had truly forgotten existed. Just want to thank you all for your encouragement and sharing your experiences. This forum has been so helpful to me! Live reading about all the vets and new sleevers experiences. Hugs to you all!!

Great to hear from you, Hoosiergirl! Glad to hear maintenance is going well. You were such an inspiration to me when making my decision to have surgery, just want yo say thanks again! I'm below goal and loving sleeve life!

Way to go Kindle!!! Below goal is quite an accomplishment! Sleeve life is pretty fantastic.

Edited August 3, 201412 yr by HoosierGirl

HoosierGirl!!! So glad you posted. I was thinking about you the other day. So glad you're well. Love ya!!!

I had mine done July 4th. It's been great so far it got nervous about it all an had panic attacks after surgery. An the doctor sat with me held my hand an calmed me down. An I had called there cell phone after I was back in Canada an they called me right back. As I was having calf muscle pain an was worried an that doctor was also great.

Ginaa where are you from in canada?

I'm having my surgery with Dr Ortez on Oct 19/14. I can't wait!!

How is everyone doing after their surgeries?

I'm doing great! Sleeved 6/29. No issues what so ever.

Hi everyone! I'm still working my way through this whole thread (up to page 83!), but I decided to go ahead and post, because I feel like maybe I made a decision today that I really am going to do this and NOW the stress just switched right on! I didn't want my decision to be based on cost, because I wanted to decide whether or not to have the surgery for the RIGHT reasons, but I feel like now that I think I've decided I really am going to do it, I've immediately started to stress about money. OCC is definitely not the cheapest option. When I first started considering gastric sleeve, I contacted my former plastic surgeon in Tijuana (had some plastics done after I lost 90 pounds back in 2011, but I've put the weight back on now) and she recommended a surgeon that offers a package for $5500. In fact, she and her patient coordinator both got sleeved by him in 2012. So it's very tempting to go with him because of the lower price tag and the fact that I put a LOT of faith in my plastic surgeon's opinion. I adore her! But reading this thread and researching the media coverage, credentials, and patient reviews for OCC, it's kind of overwhelmingly evident that I can't go wrong with OCC. Plus the doctor my plastic surgeon recommended doesn't speak English, so I would be HEAVILY reliant on the patient coordinator for translation. So I guess right now I'm leaning toward OCC, despite the $1000 higher price tag. You'd think deciding to have the surgery at all would have been the hard part, but really it's just opened up a whole host of new decisions to be made!

 

 

Jamie I'm off to OCC for sept 1 too!!!!

Look for me, I'll be the one shaking in my boots!