GeezerSue

When I have a fill and proper restriction, I cannot eat pasta. Ever. I've always drunk my carbonated water...but it's just water. I let it sit for quite a while so most of the carbonation dissipates but I still get a hint of carbonation.

Lisa, That WAS the taco stand. And I asked you stop by with my order of carnitas and you did not. Miffed, Sue

I had that problem. I'm unfilled right now and the first thing I went after was a major salad. Could you be somewhat looser? Meanwhile, steamed squashes...zucchini, and all.

Well...you can call the doctor's office directly, or you can ask us. Or you can look through the posts. I'm pretty sure that some of the paid recruiters (carnival barkers?) are: Diane Lee Beck from Lopez Corvala Anita from Lopez Corvala Sandy Johnston from Ortiz Robyn from Ortiz (I think she is no longer with him) Belighter.com seems to be a referral service for a number of doctors and the ILOST team has some of the same staff. I'm not sure, but I think most coordinators are commissioned.

Let me add (so that the Tijuana patients can kick me) that the Monterrey doctors practice in hospitals that function like hospitals here function. They are large, usually teaching facilities, with many, many doctors of many, many specialties on site. If I'm not mistaken, Santa Engracia has a post-op floor that is pretty much a hotel, and your family stays there with you. In Tijuana, the facilities are very different. One of the hospitals is a bare-bones little birthing center in very, very modest circumstances. (They haven't lost a LapBand patient yet, and many nurses swear by it, but it IS different.) And some of the doctors practice at "alternative healing center" places for cancer patients and other very small facilites. A couple are very nice, but they are not the fully-staffed, bustling hospitals one would expect in a city of that size in the US. Also, the facility at Ciudad Acuña (another Dr. Rodriguez, I believe) is a one-man operation. It is over three hours, by road, to a big-city facility in San Antonio, if the need for a big city facility should arise. ~~~~~~~~~ [LISA--the dude's name is Roberto Rumbaut Diaz. (The Diaz is his mom's maiden name, and they leave that off in addressing him.)]

Keep asking.... Sue

Like the invitation to the "informational seminar" proffered by a Lopez employee, this is an invitation to an "message board" proffered by an Ortiz employee. But at least the Lopez employees admit to being on the payroll. That would, I guess, make them more honest. And, if someone who has had a negative experience with Ortiz tries to post about that experience, I wonder what would happen on THAT board. (Actually, no, I don't.) The fact the Alex started this board with absolutely NO commercial interest says a lot about him and why THIS board is not just a front to scare up a patient or two. (Well, and the gentle scoldings by Alexandra when she's had about enough or when she can see the other side of a position make a difference, too.) I just can't abide by people selling stuff to those desperate enough to consider wls surgery and not even having the decency to mention that they are on the payroll. We are here because we are or were morbidly obese. Our very existence is in jeopardy. Those who would slither around trying to sell stuff to people who are sick are...well..."human pond scum" kind of does it for me. Sue

This might help: http://www.lorislapband.com/photos/photo2.html

Again, I'm personally familiar with Rumbaut's procedures. He works in a state-of-the-art-teaching hospital. I'll get you the links to another member's photos. Good luck...

Hmmm. Pretend you had to pick one of these: A) Being married to Chris, with his $600/month bike and renting; or Owning a home, but no Chris. Okay, then once you know what is most important to you, it is easier to decide what to ask for, what to do, that sort of thing... I know what I'd do, but what you need to know is what you're going to do. Sue (I just read this to Mr. Sue who said, "He's really threatened by her, isn't he?")

¡Exactamente!

Yes, but... Sandy says in her "testimonial" that she wants to shout her thanks to Dr. Ortiz from the rooftops. And that's what she is doing. She is a very personable young woman, and very bright. But she is very, very involved with that "shouting from the rooftops" thing, to wit: She is listed as the owner of the Yahoo Ortiz Board; She is one of the moderators of the Tijuana Bandsters Board; She is the before-and-after model on the home page of Ortiz's Obesity Control Center. She is one of the testimonial letter writers at that site. She signs posts on the Yahoo board as "Sandy, Obesity Control Center." She lists her phone number for people wanting to make fill appointments with Ortiz. She is an administrator on the new board she is promoting, which is just more advertising for Ortiz. Also, when Dr. Kuri moved the Bash he has always sponsored away from the city (Tijuana) and to the beach (Rosarito) and to a weekend after the insanely crazy Labor Day Weekend border-crossing madness, Sandy started advertising a different bash and insinuated that the bash she was promoting would be open to everyone, not just the patients of one doctor. But Kuri's bash has always had other doctors and I was invited and he was not my surgeon, so it appears that it is just a "who's in charge?" battle between doctors. If she isn't on Ortiz's payroll, she's being used. If she is, she should be more honest about it. This is just more of the same, Sue

NOW, the part that will make you crazy is about two or three weeks post-op, when you are felling perfectly fine, but have little or no restriction (because you will not have had any adjustments) and you'll be thinking you wasted your money and it's not working for you. THAT's a tough time. Welcome, Sue

From Dr. Rumbaut (banded band surgeon)...for capsules. Place capsule on your tongue and wait. In a minute or two the gelatin will begin to soften. When that happens, wash down the capsule with water.

:::wondering how to start negotiating for the rights to bottle Donali:::

Ladies and Gentlemen, She's not just cute; she has a real brain, too!

Good luck at the war, Sue

Miss Thang...

Oh, my! My cousins Chuey, Flaca, Huero and Prieta have moved into your neighborhood. If they get out a piñata and a baseball bat, take cover.

Alexandra, you have just outlined what I see as the problem. (I put it in blue.) People who would never call a Mexican doctor's office because they wouldn't know what they are getting into, feel somehow protected by the presence of another American. EVEN THOUGH that person offers NO protection at all. For a hundred dollars or maybe two hundred, anyone can hire an interpreter to sit next to them on a telephone extension and translate every question and answer. The interpreter is on YOUR payroll and has nothing to gain by talking you into or out of anything. I still profess--while people here and there may have had good experiences that they think are worth $1500 give or take--the person who is on the doctor's payroll to talk you into ANY surgery (there are advisors at plastic surgeons' offices all over this country), is the one least likely to have your needs at the top of their list.

Or that there was glue in the sparkling fairy dust. Thanks for the visual. I spent few moments spitting sparkling Water out my nose. At my age, that kind of thing can pass for sexual activity, you know.

You have an ethical responsibility to yourself to seek the best possible care you can find. Period. NEVER, EVER, EVER go to a doctor who, in your opinion, is not the best you can find for your needs. Your responsibility to your doctors is to give them the info they need to understand what your medical needs are, to do as they say or tell them why you are NOT doing what they say (don't do one thing and pretend to do another), and to pay them or fill out the paperwork necessary so that they can get paid. And, a doctor who is not "sold" on the idea of the lap band is a doctor who is not ready to support the patients post-op, and IMHO a very bad choice. Since you asked...

Bravo...estamos de acuerdo. (Or something like that...but close enought to make the point.)

Getting anything other than the Inamed (or POSSIBLY the Johnson & Johnson backed Swedish AGB because it should soon be approved by the FDA) would be a lot like driving cross-country, in the 1970's, in a Citroen or Saab. You might find a mechanic. Or not.

Dr. Kuri is an excellent surgeon and, because he has chosen NOT to proctor surgeons in other areas, he is almost always available in Tijuana. He practices out of two facilities in Tijuana. One is a VERY, VERY bare bones maternity sanitarium with about eight rooms. The other is his new, modern facility with much a much nicer view of the world and room for a friend/family member. Like the other Tijuana hospitals, they are more like two- or three-doctor clinics than like the fully staffed hospitals we have here. From your west coast location, Kuri is a good choice. I think he runs from $8-10K, depending on which facility you use. And Rumbaut from Monterrey used to have a follow-up deal going with Fox in Tacoma. I don't know if that still exists. And have you checked out Cirangle in San Francisco? He is closer to you. Rumbaut recommended him to me. The cost, which I think is around $12,000, includes some follow up. I'm still amazed that you (and others) have found doctors will to do follow-up on other surgeons' patients. That has been a rarity. At one point I found two independent doctors who SAID they would do follow up. But then one called back to say I'd have to have an endo$copy first and have the results sent ot his office and the other took my money and then wanted an endoscopy before doing a fill. In other words, they both needed me to spend a few thousand dollars to cover their asses before they would actually involve themselves in my care. And this was just for routine care. Anyway, yes. Kuri is one of the best. The only reason I mention the others is that getting to and from Tijuana--and getting fit into his schedule--can be very time-consuming starting in LA. So you will consume even more time. Good luck on your search. Sue