StephieLynn

I was sleeved by Dr. Ariel Ortiz of Obesity Control Center. He is awesome and his center is extremely clean. I had no problems what so ever and didn't even need any pain meds. I still contact them 6 months out with questions and they know who I am. http://obesitycontrolcenter.com/ You can click on the top tab, About OCC, and see the video library. You can also go to You Tube and look up WeightLossSurgeryOCC and see many videos. Dr. Ortiz is a dual citizen and actually lives in San Diego but crosses border to Mexico daily to do what he believes in. He has an autistic daughter and a portion of the surgery proceeds go to autism research. I did a LOT of research before having my surgery this past June. Hands down, Dr. Ortiz, was who I felt most comfortable with. In all my research I could not find where he had any complaints against him and he has never lost a patient. I had such a GREAT experience (and was back to work in 7 days) that a friend of mine, who is an OB/Gyn here in the states, went to him in November. She also did her research at the doctor level and had a family member who is CIA level research him and they could find NOTHING against him. ALL good. She too was very impressed with the level of care she received and how clean the facilities were. He will not take chances on his patients and I witnessed this first hand when I was there. A patient came to him, that had her lap band done by him many years ago. She decided she wanted it removed and have the sleeve done. He went in to do the procedure and was able to remove the lap band but there was too much scar tissue there to proceed safely. So, he cleaned out the scar tissue and closed her up. He told her it was not safe to proceed. He wanted her to heal for several months and go back in Oct for the sleeve. She was disappointed but grateful. She trusted him with her life and he knows that and doesn't intend to let you down.

I was sleeved on June 27th by Dr. Ariel Ortiz of the Obesity Control Center. I LOVE him and his entire staff. I too did a lot of research after I was turned down by my insurance company. I did also look at Dr. Aceves because he has such a huge following but ultimately my instinct told me to stay with Dr. Ortiz and I am very pleased that I did. I had a text book recovery and was back at work a week later. Aside from many many reasons I chose to go to him, a big one is the fact that his center is an International Center of Excellence. He has many videos posted under weightlosssurgeryOCC on You Tube or you can access his website. http://obesitycontrolcenter.com/ My cost for the sleeve for $8000 including hotel accommodations at the Marriott and my meals. Dr. Ortiz lives in San Diego, and carries Dual Citizenship. He commutes across the border daily for work. He is very committed to his patients. I saw that even the staff loves him. He was gone the week before I was there for a conference and when he came in all the staff that were free were coming up to him and hugging him and welcoming him back with big smiles. Just witnessing that as I am awaiting my surgery, made me feel great.

Congratulations on taking that first step. I was sleeved on June 27th. I had a textbook recovery and am doing GREAT. Last week I had a problem with retaining fluid, but it is coming off now. I am down 30 pounds since surgery. I have had amazing support group from my family and even my doctors (And I went to Mexico). The hardest part for me post surgery is knowing how much my stomach can hold and not listening to my brain when it tries to tell me to eat more. It is a very miserable feeling when you eat just one bite too many.

I just flew to San Diego and back June 25th and returned on July 3rd. We flew out of Cola, SC (usually fly out of Charlotte due to cheaper air fares) but we were able to secure flights out of Columiba for just $25 ea more. This really surprised us. That was with Delta. Our airfare was 398 + 70 dollars for taxes, etc. We also flew in on a Saturday when my surgery was on Monday just because it was a lot cheaper to fly on Saturday versus Sunday so we had a couple days to unwind and do some things before the big day. I used Booking Buddy and then went to the airlines site itself. I generally find better deals just by going directly to the airlines website but I like to know prices of the online booking sites to compare. Also, check jet blue. Do they fly out of Charlotte? They had great prices, but did not fly out of Columbia.

Hi Pink Betty! I am 2 weeks post surgery with Dr. Ortiz at Obesity Control Center. I did a LOT of research and it was between him and Aceves. However, I kept going back to Ortiz. I am soooo glad I did. If you go to his website you will get a lot of information and he also has a lot of You Tube Videos by weightlosssurgery (I think). I will be glad to give you more information if you want to PM me. You don't see his name much on this blog, but I can tell you he is awesome. I have had NO problems at all. His staff is amazing. His Center is VERY clean. He also is an International Center Of Excellence. (A recognition given by an organization in the states to stateside doctors and now to international doctors as they qualify.)

I was going to say Mucinex DM too and also Neil Med Sinus Rinse. I have a chronic cough due to allergic asthma. These two things help me a lot. You will be amazed at how much the Neil Med Sinus Rinse Helps.

I am one week post op today and thankfully feel great. I did have some bloated issues about day 3 but GasX was a lifesaver. I was taking 2 about every 4 hours. Also, I am concerned with your being so tired... that is also a sign of dehydration. If your urine is dark in color... another sign. May need fluids... Drink lots of Water.