FurEllie

Many thanks!! I will call the first guy today and see what I need to do if there's an emergency. The Moultrie place is 6.5+ hour drive so it would almost be faster to go to TJ, lol. I don't know why I thought you had gone to Ortiz - sorry about that!!

I've flown back and forth from GA to CA 4 times and 1 trip to London and back since the band and no extra restriction

I couldn't eat or drink for 4 days before I could get back to TJ for an unfill. Would I have attempted to do it myself? NO! I have zero medical training. Do I wish I'd had a "kit" I could take to an ER or my regular doctor? Yes. That would have been great. I didn't mind going back to TJ, but the time involved getting there was just plain misery.

Personally, I used the internet a lot. I read articles, message boards, ordered a few books, etc. In addition my doctor here has been a good friend of mine for over 30 years so I got him to do some checking for me too

As Cathy stated, it's quite a drive for us in N. GA to Moultrie. And TBH, right now I don't have a lot of faith in FillcentersUSA if they are notifying people the day or even the night before that they can't do a fill For the time it takes me to get to Moultrie, get a room, spend the night then drive home the next day, I can go to TJ and get filled by someone I KNOW is good and who uses the Fluro every time. Hopefully they can get the kinks worked out in ATL or I can find another aftercare doctor here in case I have an emergency.

Bobble headed, lol! :what: Thanks - you made my night. I DID wonder why GBP folks always looked a little odd

I had "carte blanc" and could have gone to any doctor in the US. I went to Dr. Ortiz because like you, I'm anal and found out he's done over 4K bands, written a book and taught many of the US doctors Sure, it would have been great if it was FREE, but when I want the best, I'll pay for the best. It was worth the money to get it done there and not in the US as well as the 3 trips I've taken there since. I did the math at the beginning and based on 4 fills, I'll end up paying more for Dr. Ortiz than I would have for a doctor in the US. I AM looking for a doctor whom I can go to in case of emergency in Georgia because I live in a small rural town that I'm 99.99999% sure has no idea how to handle a lapband complication, but if I have the time, like I did when I needed an unfill, I was more than willing to go back to Dr. Ortiz and again, pay more money for what I could have gotten cheaper here in the states. YMMV

WABB - where did you get that list? Do you have a similar one for Georgia? Like you, I was banded by Dr. Ortiz and am VERY, VERY pleased, but if an emergency should arise, I've realized I need to have someone w/in ASAP driving distance

With my first fill, even though it was a conservative 1.5cc, it was an overfill. I don't think I've EVER felt so much relief than when I was able to drink an entire bottle of Water right after I was unfilled :mad: Congrats and glad you feel better!!

One of the MAIN reasons I regret telling anyone is that people think it's similart to GBP and can't believe I've only lost 20+ pounds in over 2 months. :mad: Personally, I'm DARNED HAPPY with my loss. But they are so disappointed that I haven't lost the 50 or so those with GBP lose in the first couple of months.

As always, EVERYONE IS DIFFERENT!! Period. I didn't feel any restriction w/o a fill until about a week before I got my 2nd fill - 2.5 months later. My first fill was 1.5ccs which is relatively small, but it was an overfill for me. I had the band by Dr. Ortiz, the fill, unfill and another fill by his office. Unless I'm swamped for time, I don't see a reason to go anywhere else. When I read of people where the doctor has tried several times to hit the port, then charges $400?? I don't think so. I've never heard of Dr. Romero (Dr. Ortiz's fill doctor) having to make more than one try at the port and it's $100 - with floru. They are VERY conservative with their fills, BTW. Back to YMMV - to think that some people won't have any restriction with the band alone is just nuts. Just like some people (like me) have very good restriction with less than 1cc and others have no restriction with 3cc+, EVERY ONE IS DIFFERENT!

I already regret telling most of the people I've told, lol. If I could go back and do it again, I wouldn't tell ANYONE!!

From my previous post: Dr. Ortiz has a message board too: Lap Band Forum (Powered by Invision Power Board) I've been there 4 times in 2.5 months :clap2:

Thanks, Cathy! That's SO expensive - I need to figure out what my time is worth, I suppose.... Are you a Mexican Bandster or done elsewhere? I can always find places in Athens to grab an "after the fill to make sure things are going down OK" snack

I plan on getting a boob job, but I'll probably do it BEFORE my goal weight. Back when I was my goal weight, they were still too big and too saggy and now is when I can take time off for surgery. I have a consultation scheduled for next month and he very well may say "Forget it - come back in X pounds" but I'm at least going to ask

I had Dr. Ortiz and it was an AWESOME experience. From the drivers (if you're really lucky, you'll have Mama Ortiz, the Dr's Mother, drive you around TJ), to the office staff, to all the doctors, to the nurses - everyone is WONDERFUL. The clinic is spotless, you're up and walking around within a couple of hours, the rooms are incredible and the hotel staff feels like they are going to throw their coats down for you when you walk in! I went to TJ for the surgery and have been back 3 times for 2 fills and an unfill. 100% professional and even though it takes me 2 complete days, it's worth it for me to go there for fills. I can't say enough good things about OCC

Wow - I was actually thinking of eventually using them. This is the nurse/PA from Moultrie who's coming up to Duluth once a month, right? I was banded in MX and so far went back for a fill, unfill, then another fill. I was really hoping the Duluth location worked out since the time (2 full days) it takes to get to MX and back is sometimes difficult. But geeze, at least they are there when I show up!! Let us know if you try them again - or if you find somewhere near Dalton. I'm about an hour east of you.

My first fill was 1.5cc - then I had it all taken out a week later since I couldn't even keep water down. I was headed on vacation and really didn't want another emergency visit so I was completely unfilled. Just got back from getting .8cc He put 1cc in but knowing what to look for this time, I could feel water not getting down again so he took a little out. So far I've been able to eat, but I have been getting full a lot faster

Well, I talked to the doctor's office and right now I'm trying to schedule flying in Sun night and getting an unfill Monday AM, then flying home Monday night

I was banded March 5, 2007. Got my first fill of 1.5ccs this past Monday, the 16th. EVERYTHING still hurts going down! I've only PBd once and that was the first night when I thought I could eat like I normally could - bad idea. The fill was around noon. We went to eat a few hours later and even though it was a little painful, I was able to get some chips (very chewed up), dip, Soup and chicken enchilada down. Per the fill Dr., he wanted us to really EAT before we left Mexico to make sure it wasn't too tight. That night I had a pear and some apple. I also tried more chips and dip and that's what came back up. The next morning I had a few bites of banana, a cup of hot chocolate, some OJ and a handful of trail mix. Got it down. On the flight home I had about 3 bites of the manicotti stuffing and a couple of bites of pie and Water. The next morning, even water hurt going down. This is now Wed. I did get some hot chocoloate and beef broth down because I'd read where hot liquids were easier. Managed to get a few freeze pops down too. Next AM - hot chocolate. Again, water was a no go. Tried some cottage cheese - nope. Went out to dinner and had about 1/2 a cup of soup that managed to go down after a bit of pain at first. This AM, soup. Water STILL a problem, even at room temperature. IOW, I am eating a LOT less than I was right after the fill but there's a lot more pain. The water is room temp, not cold. I know the choices in foods look funky, and obviously I don't intend to eat chips, dip, enchiladas, manicotti, pie and freeze pops forever. But I AM worried that I still can't get anything that's not hot down. And even the Soups (broths, not cream - though I did have some cream based last night) are having trouble going down. I'm headed to Europe on Tuesday night so if NEEDED, I could go to TJ for an unfill on Monday AM but if this is normal and it's going to get better in the next couple of days, needless to say I'd rather not take the time/money to do it! What say thee, professional bandsters?!! Added - dang, editing is not fun, lol!

I also had mine 3/5 and was told I could start eating "real food" today. I cheated and started yesterday (well, the surgery was really early in the morning ). I have had NO problems but I've been chewing to mush. I've had a low carb bagel, chicken, turkey, veggies and even some pineapple. As always, check with your doctor first!

Arizona Diet Green Tea. I love carbonated drinks but thankfully I've never been addicted to them. I can't say the same about my tea And I just KNOW there's going to be an expose that shows it's not diet because it tastes so good, lol.

LOL, I got a giggle out of this - I'd LOVE to have a "skeleton look" My friend and I were commenting the other day how great it would be for someone to look at us (75-150 pounds overweight now) and say "Oh my, are those ladies anorexic??";) No, I'm not poking fun at those who have a different eating disorder than I do, but it just hit me as cute to worry about that

I got one when I had my surgery. I really don't see a need to use it since I don't cook and leftovers are a dream! But I can see it coming in handy at a buffet.

Thanks, Kat. I'm going to use the heating pad and see if it feels better tomorrow. I'm so impatient, sometimes I forget I DID have SURGERY