This is an important day. Today is my first ever blog and I have made a huge decision to have weight loss surgery to get the lapband. After several weeks of working out hard at the gym and dieting I have lost 10 pounds and I know that I need the band to help me keep losing and to keep it off. I was a fat kid, fat teen and now a fat adult. I have never been able to visualize myself at a healthy weight until now. Now the next big decision is... who does the surgery and where? I am a self pay patient and looking at all of the options. Fortunately my husband is the king of online research and he has come up with several options to consider. I am considering a doctor in Denver that is reasonable and I do not want to go to Mexico. Any suggestions out there?

WELCOME to LBT and congratulations on your decision! The blogs don't get nearly as much visibility for questions as the forum does (mostly journals here). I'd suggest you go to the forum tab at the top here and then go down to 'hospitals and doctors' and copy and paste this question as a new thread there (put DENVER in your title). A 'search' there for your docs name might help you too. There is also a forum for each state under groups and you can try there. Let me know if you need help...send me a message. Good luck to you...there are people here from every city, so I know you'll get some input for a bigger city like Denver! -BG

I was banded on Monday by Dr. Ortiz at the OCC in Tijuana Mexico. It was an amazing experience. The clinic is like a spa. Everyone there was so wonderful! They handle everything. They put me in the Marriott and it was so nice, definitely as nice as any hotel in the states. The clinic is 15 minutes from the San Diego airport. I am so pleased with everything. My total cost was $7,300 including my hotel stay and transportation to and from the airport. Dr. Ortiz has written many books on lap band surgery and even teaches doctors in the US how to do them. I'd be glad to answer any questions you have. ( I even have pictures). Google the Obesity Control Center and you will find tons of info. There are even a lot of posts about him on this site.