Hi All!

I've been lurking here for a couple weeks, but I didn't see this section until today. I live about 90 miles north of NYC. I'm being banded 6/22 by Dr Ortiz, and I can't wait. I'm going alone, so I am a LITTLE nervous!

Barbara

Dr Ortiz - 6/22/05

Hello Barbara! I saw your intro and thought, "she's not new!!" but it's nice to have an intro post! You will do fine going alone. From what I hear, Dr ortiz will take good care of you, no worries!

Oh, I know, Kathy, I was sticking my nose in BEFORE I introduced myself. I always get ahead of myself! LOL!

Gotta ask about your screen name -- do you have a Mastiff dog? What kind (English, Tibetan, Neapolitan, plain old Mastiff)? We have lots of dog nuts here, including me.

Barbara, I live on Long Island & flew to Dr. Ortiz myself too. It was fine. Everyone there is really helpful & supportive. Chances are there will be others & you will form a "group". I really, really like Dr. Ortiz & Dr. Martinez. I think they're the best. So much so, that I took my daughter to be banded there 2 weeks ago. The very first thing she said when she woke up was "tell the others that it's not so bad". There were two others being banded that day, and they did my daughter first.

I had my banding 6 months ago, and you can barely see any scars except for where the port is. Pack lite & feel free to PM me if you'd like. I told the airline (JetBlue) that I had surgery & that my daughter did & they gave me the bulkhead seat on the aisle on the way home. That was a big help.

Dr. Ortiz likes you to come back to him for your 1st fill, but you should have aftercare here lined up. Do you have someone? I know of someone good w/an office in Westchester don't have anyone yet.

Zoe - Yup we have mastiffs. We have 4 english mastiffs plus I do mastiff rescue. Thanks for asking! They are all peacefully snoring as I write this. LOL!

Barbara

Four mastiffs?! Cool. That's, what, 600 lbs. of dog? My Sophie (Lab x maniac) has a wonderful Tibetan Mastiff buddy, and she often plays with a couple of English Mastiffs on the beach. Check out http://lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=5054 for some bandster animal posts. Welcome to LBT!

HaHaHa! Yeah, about 600 lbs PLUS, one couch potato and 3 others that manage to get out of their own way!

Welcome Barbara to LBT. Congratulations on your upcoming surgery date. I have also heard great things about Dr. Ortiz, so I'm sure it will be fine. Best of luck to you.

Welcome to LBT!

Best of luck on your soon to be banded date- I wish you a smooth operation & quick & speedy recovery with no complications. Safe travels to you & let us know how you are when you feel well enough!