FurEllie

Bingo. When I was at the point where I was vomiting "black" it was because I had vomited so much my stomach folded over itself and died. I had to have 1/2 of it removed. I "died" several times both on and off the operating table I hope this woman has gotten to the ER by now. And no, we as adults don't always make the right decisions - it was my father who convinced me to go to the ER and I'm 46!!

Have you had your blood levels checked? When I was anemic, I was EXTREMELY winded after just a few steps. I didn't have enough red blood cells to get to my heart/lungs to make things "work" right. I had to have my band removed because of complications completely unrelated to the band and I REALLY wish I still had it :tongue2:

Seriously, my best friends asked me "WTH are you doing going to Mexico for surgery??!!" It wasn't until I told them of my experience AND that the doctor was recommended to me by my personal doctor AND that every visit I've made to OCC has had nurses and PAs as patients of Dr. Ortiz AND that compared with the 2 medical experiences I had in the states, I would charter a plane to be treated in Mexico any day compared to here that I think it sunk through their heads. There are stories after stories after stories about how bad the medical care is in the US. Then people come and knowing NOTHING of the Mexican doctors WHICH WE HAVE PERSONALLY BEEN TO, tell us how wonderful the US is and how horrible Mexico is? Give me a break. The US doctors are getting hammered by medical malpractice insurance (and it's obvious why since so many oppositions to being treated in Mexico is that there's no "legal" recourse) which is why they probably HAVE to charge as much as they do. I know Dr. Ortiz lives in the US - he could very easily do this in the US. But why deal with the hassles of the screwed up healthcare system here? BTW, every nurse and PA I was with was just amazed at how professional and clean OCC was and all stated that they wished where they worked was run as well. Oh, and I haven't met anyone on this board that I know of, nor am I "coyote", lol. The way some people's minds work...or don't.....

If you had an infected port and walked into an ER for treatment or went to your family doctor, you're telling me you were denied treatment? That honestly sounds more like bull than any of the "coyote" (aren't they the ones who transport illegal aliens over the border? What does that have to do with getting surgery in Mexico?) accusations.

Well I'm certainly not getting paid a penny for posting my excellent experiences with Dr. Oritz - wish I was He was recommended by my personal doctor who is also a family friend. As he pointed out to me, someone who has done 5000 Lapbands over the years is going to have a bit more experience than someone who's done a few hundred over the last couple of years. Do what you feel safe with, but I can 100% tell you that after several medical procedures in the last year, I would rate Dr. Ortiz's center as a 10 and the "prestigious" US hospital I was at a 4. Plus you can drink the Water in TJ

My insurance would have covered it too but I still went to Mexico under the advice of my personal doctor whom I've known since I was 13. His words "Why have the student do it when you can have the teacher do it?" There is a FillCentersUSA in VA Beach Fill Centers USA - Weight Loss Surgery - Bariatric Surgery - Gastric Bypass Surgery - Lap Band Surgery Information and Support Obviously you should always find aftercare BEFORE you made the decision to have any kind of medical work done far away from your home. This whole "But they won't treat me because I was banded in Mexico" doesn't make any sense to me. What if a Mexican citizen walked in there who had been banded or had had ANY sort of medical procedure - they'd just send them away? And I suppose if I have surgery in London and have complications later then no one in the US will treat me? I have yet to find a doctor who won't "treat" a Mexican banded patient though many will TELL you they won't. In fact, if she's having complications and goes to an ER it's against the law for them NOT to treat her.

Well, I'm back where I was w/o my band. I can eat whatever I want and I'm gaining all the weight back :Dancing_wub: If I could have done it w/o the band I would have figured out how to do it 30+ years ago! I'll wait until the beginning of next year, but I plan on talking to Dr. Ortiz about getting banded again. They may not do it due do my compromised stomach.

The band worked fine. I got sick. Either with the flu, food poisoning or the antibiotics I was given for my hysterectomy. Had they removed the fill at the ER first thing, I'd still have my band, my stomach they removed and I wouldn't have a 6 inch scare down my belly (funny they can do the exact same surgery laproscopically if a bariactric surgeon does it........). I wasn't vomiting often - maybe 5 times in the 12 or so hours I was at home. I had had an overfill before so I knew it wasn't that. The band worked fine. The hospital - not so much. They actually have a bariactric group on staff and never contacted them the entire time I was there until the nurse on my last day said she'd send in the bariactric dietician. They (bariactric group) was never even told of my presence. Had they been, the results would have been a lot different IMO. But that will be up for a judge to decide.

I am, unfortunately, able to eat anything and everything after the surgery :Dancing_wub: They removed 50% of my stomach and with a weight loss stapling/stomach removal they removed much more. For a few weeks I had trouble with sugar going right through me, but now even that is a breeze. I miss my band :thumbup:

I had mine "forcibly" removed back at the end of November. I too know how you feel :thumbup: They ended up removing 1/2 of my stomach and STILL I can eat whatever I want. I miss my band!!

Folks, the kids menu is there to bring the parents in. If you're an adult I think you need to order off the adult menu. If you can't eat it all, take it home and eat it later. If a restaurant DOES accommodate you, then reward them with more visits, big tips, recommend to full ordering friends, etc. But if a resto doesn't accommodate you, just accept it and move on. Though making a scene in a restaurant might alone qualify you for a child's meal :smile2:

Which is why it's always advised to get aftercare set up in your town if you go to Mexico. I had my personal doctor who was set up to take care of any issues I had with the band (and in fact, recommended Dr. Ortiz to me) and when I had other medical problems and had to have my stomach reduced, the WLS department at that hospital said they have no problems taking care of Mexican banded patients. It seems most of the WLS doctors who say they won't take care of a Mexican patient are in the process of trying to sign up a patient and are in danger of losing that patient to a Mexican Dr. If I ran into a US doctor who told me that I'd walk out the door immediately. There are bad doctors in the US too as well as people who have had all kinds of medical care outside the US. Can you imagine if doctors started refusing to see all those patients??!

I was given one when I got my band card (had the serial number, size of my band and when it was placed).