Kristina J.

I had my surgery with Dr. Garcia there just shy of two months ago. My surgery was perfect, I had no pain and a pretty easy recovery overall. He is so easy to contact at any time with questions. I would highly recommend him! I'm down a total of 55lbs including pre-op and couldn't be happier!!

I can't tell you how much better it is! It's just a whole new world. I was banded for roller coaster 10 years including a removal and rebanding in the middle. When I scheduled my revision I was 2lbs lighter than the day I was first banded. I would get food stuck constantly. I was never sure if I could get down dry white chicken or if it was gonna be a day where I would puke up my coffee! I was always pretty hungry and felt like it was all my fault. Did I make mistakes? Of course. Did I fail the band? In some ways, you bet. But did the band fail me?! Definitely. It's a flawed system. I'm now just shy of 2 months out and including pre-op, down a total of 54lbs. After having all the Fluid from my band released 2 months before surgery, I LOST weight because I was finally able to eat vegetables and meats without fatty sauces and gravy to help keep them from getting stuck. Post op, I've battled mostly with not being hungry. Having to force myself to eat when I'm not hungry after 20 years of trying not to eat when I was starving has been quite an adjustment. But food has been a whole new world. I don't worry with each bite if I'm gonna be puking 10 minutes later! Somedays I feel like a WLS veteran who's got it all figured out, but most days, it's so different that I feel like I've started all over. I say it's not just better, it's a whole new world!!

In all fairness, coons seems like a really weird word choice! joannao and I are far from friends but I can't imagine she purposely threw out coons. Doesn't make sense. lol

Could be that it's a group of people that agree with each other, even if just for this thread, trying to move on! Just a thought.

Lol really? It's better to keep the vicious and hateful arguments raging?! I think I've been more personally effected than most of the posters here, but I think it's a good thing to finally be off topic this time.

The rest of what you said was kinda mean, but thanks for defending me a little... Though her comment was actually directed at me! lol Luckily though, it looks like we're all moving on! No need to argue in circles about this. It could seriously go on forever!

Lol we had a beta once... Norman Nash Johnson... But I didn't read the feeding schedule properly and killed him. Much in the same way I almost killed myself pre-sleeve. I still feel the guilt whenever I see a beta! Lol

I was terrified of doxies as a kid because this one across the street used to bark at all the kids and chase us when we walked to school! Lol never was bit, but had nightmares as a kid that I would be!!

Except Abby. The worlds best "No Bark Chihuahua" ... Yeah, that's actually a thing, much to my pleasant surprise!!

Lol if you swapped the black and white spots with each other, she looks just like mine! Haha

My brother's girlfriend is OBSESSED with corgis!! She has an adorable one who is two steps away from his own Facebook page! Lol Adorable dogs!!

Lol I didn't make the analogy, but my dad lost a finger to a pit bull... Soooo... I guess I kinda see it. But please, for the love of God, yes, let's find yet another subject to all argue about! Lol who loves pitbulls?! Who thinks they're violence prone?! Lol sorry, but wow.

I know that for psychology care (at least in the state of Arizona) it is. I don't quite care much about the intricacies of it, as it was really more of a side note that doesn't apply directly to this incident. Rather, I was just pointing out that it exists in some fields (if only regionally). Feel free to do more research on it yourself, but here are a few articles that are readily available if you google the subject: http://www.thedoctorwillseeyounow.com/content/bioethics/art1977.html http://jama.jamanetwork.com/Mobile/article.aspx?articleid=408696

You're right (as per usual)!! And I said I wasn't going to post again. That I wasn't going to let this bs get to me. I think I need to eat! Lol I don't make great decisions without calories!!

Lol well, if you're determined to follow ONE piece of the puzzle, I can't help you. Yes, she retracted and said she lied. She has told the same story for 2 months to friends, and in ONE post she said it was untrue (after a long night of sweet talk from the doc), and then followed up to me, in writing, saying that she would rather people think she is a liar, than him lose his job. But again, if you're determined to look at one piece, and assume its complete factuality and abandon all others, then I don't know what to tell you. You keep saying "she LIED" but ironically you're 100% convinced you know WHEN she lied! Lol

Then does it matter that she's said multiple times to me that she did sleep with him (both before and after the retraction ... with time stamps to prove it)? Does it matter that there is proof of their relationship? Does it matter that I spoke to him about it myself?! lol I swore I wouldn't comment again, but some of you are killing me! I kept the evidence that I have only to protect myself, because some one messaged me a pretty nasty little message about how I could be sued for slander. Let's be clear though, I'm not worried about a lawsuit one bit. Not only because I only said truthful things, but because Dr. Luna is well aware of what I know, what he and I discussed personally and what has been forwarded to me by the OP. And I will say again... No, of course there wouldn't have been anything said to his employers if they stayed together and at their wedding we probably would have all laughed about how they met! (Again, not in a position now that I want to put my neck out defending her, but...) The OP didn't post because she was simply a woman scorned. She posted because she genuinely felt tricked into believing it was more than a one night stand by someone she believed, in part, because of his position as her attending physician. She WAS embarrassed and ashamed of falling for it and hopping into bed with him, which is why she posted under a fake name. By the way, there is no anonymity with Dr. Garcia or Ready 4 A Change. They know who she is. But she fully admits that she was wrong too and shouldn't have jumped into bed with someone just because they sweet talked her. But, all of that is beside the point that a lot of people here are trying to make. Consensual as it was, he was in a position that prohibits the behavior he displayed. He knew very well what the consequences were when he started but likely thought he could talk his way through it, even when she realized he wasn't interested long term... And he almost succeeded!! He got her to retract at least. But in the end, the evidence was just too overwhelming to talk his way out of. And in the US, not only are doctors prohibited from sleeping with their patients (and yes, that definitely includes consensual sex, or even if they were "seduced"), and in some fields, that doctor can actually face CRIMINAL charges for that consensual sex. And as far as that goes, when I worked for a hotel there was a very strict policy against dating guests. We would have long term guests (up to a year sometimes) and if I was caught sleeping with one of them, I would have been let go as well. As a patient, I was more than happy with every aspect of my medical care from Dr. Garcia and even Dr. Luna. However, when you break the rules of your employment, you lose that employment. There are many reasons why doctors aren't allowed to sleep with patients. If you are arguing against that restriction, then that's a different conversation. But for this topic, it doesn't matter how willing each one was, the rules were black and white!

I had a lap band for 10 years. I was initially successful losing 80lbs, but 2 years in, my band slipped and I went in for surgery to readjust it. During surgery the surgeon punctured my stomach and my band was removed so my stomach could heal. After a year of battling insurance, and gaining back all 80 I had lost, plus an additional 20, I finally self paid to have a second band placed. I never had the success with my 2nd band like I did with the first. I lost 60, then slowly but surely gained 40 back and by my 9 year mark, I was back at my original starting weight for my lap band. I spent the next year researching and planning and I had my revision done in one surgery on May 11th. I lost 30lbs pre-op after having my band emptied. I was able to eat the fresh fruits and vegetables I spent 10 years puking up everytime I tried. I have lost another 23lbs since surgery and cannot believe how much my life has changed. I am thankful for all that I learned with the band and think that my success/failure/success/failure with it put me in the position to really make the life change commitment that is making me successful with my sleeve. It's a whole different world from the band... an AMAZINGLY different world!!

You look fantastic!!! Congratulations on the new you! I am 7 weeks out, also with Garcia and down a total of 53, with 23 of that post op. The new "alive" feeling is definitely the best part!!

So here is my last post on the subject. But I'm going to include it all. Knowing her personally and being there from the beginning, I can promise you that nothing would ever have been reported if the relationship had continued and things went well. And I don't think she would have deny that either. When it all started, she really did believe that this was a one time thing. That he was going out on a limb this one time because his "love at first sight" thing was so strong, it was worth this one time risk. While I don't care to defend her after what she's dragged me through at this point, I will say that she is not one to hop into bed with someone normally. This whole thing was played as a "fate" thing and she was swept away. Foolishly? Sure. But I have to admit, he was convincing and even I believed, against my better judgment, that he actually was genuine about it all in the beginning. The relationship continued after we left. Emails that would make you blush and melt a little at the same time. But the girlfriend thing was huge red flag for me. She was just in too deep to see it or want to see it. And he played it so perfectly. Again, foolish? Absolutely. But she fell for it. In time, she found enough red flags to make even the most love struck teenager smarten up. She realized she'd been duped and felt more foolish and embarrassed than anyone here could make her feel. But just because someone breaks your heart, you don't automatically stop wanting what they said to be true. And you don't automatically stop all the feelings you have for them. She was hurt and angry, but mostly sad. And while I'm sure that part of the intent of the first post was to serve as a warning to other women not to fall for what she fell for, it was much more for attention from the doctor who was clearly moving on, but admittedly loves to read the forums (especially where everyone speaks to how charming and cute he is). Her motives weren't completely pure, but not meant to damage him, even with the truth. I honestly believe it was to get his attention. But as information came out (against her wishes as people started putting two and two together), all hell broke loose. And as much as she instead was hoping for a rekindling, she spoke a lot about making an official complaint. Not of rape or even seduction, but of a doctor who was reading forums and becoming familiar with vulnerable, insecure patients before they came to visit him, and in at least this one case, using it to start a sexual relationship. When a second thread started, two different people commented how he had seemingly been "feeling them out" to get their interest level. These women said he used a couple of lines that she had never posted, but matched word for word the lines he had used on her. Without too much detail, let's just say he sure loves to tell women how amazingly beautiful their eyes are. After hearing the "sweet words he'd spoken just for her," repeated in chorus, I honestly believed she saw the whole picture and was done believing that it really had been a once in a lifetime kinda thing for him. But, despite the obvious in the front, I believe she hung onto the "chance" in the back. The good doctor in her ear, singing his sob story of how he had real feelings all along and was so "disappointed in her" and how he had been planning on talking to her again soon (after 2 weeks of dropping her like a bad habit) ... and of course reminding her that he told her to keep the information she shared with me at a minimum from the beginning (she never listened, as girls want girl talk when they're head over heels). That little old ME was now in a position to destroy him if I continued my communication with the company. The communication that started when she ASKED me to send specific messages for her so she didn't have to reveal her identity yet. She retracted, and then begged me not to say another word to the company. And so now, here I am. I went out on a limb to defend someone I really loved and cared about as a friend who had honestly been duped by someone who had no right to be romantically involved with her at all in the first place. She spent enough time talking to him, that she retracted her story and martyred herself as a bold faced liar to help him keep his job. He, while admitting that he had communicated with her post-op, played her off as a lying, scorned groupie about everything else to the company. Despite the information available, the company told me in an email that they would be putting their faith in her retraction and that they have never heard anything aside from compliments about his professionalism (despite links to both threads where multiple women claimed otherwise). In some ways, they don't have a choice but to accept the retraction. But in other ways, common sense says that there is much more going on here than he claims or her retraction explains. I was (and in a lot of ways, still am) WAY too involved. I suppose most of you don't know me from a hole in the wall, so you have no reason to believe what I say. But, I wanted to just explain what happened, one time, from beginning to end. I've read emails, I've seen pictures, I've even spoken to him about it myself briefly. If I thought it would put this all to rest, I would do things I promised I wouldn't just to see this finished. But at this point, I understand that no matter what evidence is floating around or submitted, with their stories straight, everything can and will be denied and (poorly) explained away. So I am putting it to rest for myself. I understand that Dr. Garcia is now looking into it for himself. Though, I don't know what options he or any authority over Dr. Luna will have, given the coordinated retraction and defense. I just wanted it to be clear that the OP wasn't paid, threatened, coerced or pressured into her retraction. Ready 4A Change and Dr. Garcia had absolutely NOTHING to do with her retraction and never even spoke to her directly. It was much easier than that. Just a little charm and back peddling did the trick. And also to be very clear, the OP has no evidence that he has actually slept with other patients. Does it seem obvious that he has a consistent technique that has been confirmed from multiple women? Yes. Was he very familiar with leaving down the back stairs of the hotel so as not to be seen at 2am? You bet. But only one has come forward that he actually slept with, and she retracted. So again, because it's only fair to make it perfectly clear: there is zero proof that this has happened before, only suspicion. And with that novel, I'm officially out. I'm not in contact with the OP anymore. And I'm not going to post on the subject anymore. If in the course of any investigation, my involvement is requested, I'll be available and honest. But this has my tiny little tummy filled with knots and some anger of my own. So I'm letting it fly. Like a wise old man said ( ) "Support isn't always pretty, don't you all have family?!" Thanks to both my sweet friends and even some strangers for standing up for me. Integrity matters and it's nice to know that my friends don't doubt mine!

I had a conversation with HIM about it. In addition to seeing a ton of their emails back and forth. And pictures of them together. Of course I was not in the room, and didn't witness the sexual acts, but I didn't need (nor did I want) to. She is clearly a liar based on her multiple stories and I have no interest in defending her any further based on the position her actions put me in. BUT, I stated very carefully that all of my opinions and my unwillingness to recommend Dr. Garcia's team anymore are based on what I know factually. I used the word factually on purpose.