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The Last Stop
Carolyn W.
Boynton Beach, FL
-100lbs
Carolyn, by her own admission, tried every diet imaginable and without success. All that remained were sore knees, diabetes, high blood pressure, and depression. Left without hope, and more than a bit skeptical, she turned to OCC as the last stop in her weight loss journey.
I had been fat most of my adult life. Diagnosed with diabetes and hypertension, my knees and feet hurt most of the time. Despite the fact that I had endured every diet imaginable, I found myself on a hopeless cycle of losing some weight only to gain it back.
Then I heard about the Lap Band. After doing thorough research on the Internet for more than a year, I finally decided I would have it done. Over and over, one name kept popping up in my research and that was Dr. Ariel Ortiz ® Lagardere, a surgeon in Mexico.
My best friend, an LVN, was very skeptical about the whole thing, especially having surgery in Mexico. So, one Saturday we made the drive to Tijuana to talk with Dr. Ortiz and see the hospital and “check things out.” He instantly put us both at ease and spent a great deal of time explaining everything and answering all of our many questions.
So I had my surgery and to date have lost well over 100 lbs. During the first year of my weight loss journey, I hit several plateaus that left me frustrated, but I never gained any weight back and eventually, I would start losing again.
My knees and joints do not hurt anymore, my blood pressure is normal, my blood sugar is normal, and I was able to go off my diabetic medication. My primary care physician is amazed. Now even my doctors are confident that this weight loss surgery is a wonderful alternative to gastric bypass.
I also encouraged my daughter, age 32, to have lap band surgery to help her with her obesity and she chose to have Dr. Ortiz perform the procedure. In just a few months, she has now lost almost 70 lbs. and is thrilled to be on her way to permanent weight loss.
Dr. Ortiz and Dr. Martinez have been the most caring, professional doctors I have ever met. They have given me a new, healthy life. This surgery has changed my life and is the best thing that I have ever done for myself.
After my long 35-year struggle with obesity, I feel for the first time, that I am a regular sized person. I have gone from a size 22 to a size 10. I still cannot believe that is my slender body when I look in the mirror. I cannot express the confidence and joy that I feel about myself. I hope that my story will give someone else the courage to move forward and be helped by these wonderful doctors and life changing surgery.
