Newbie

[gigi28]

Hello,
I have been lurking the boards for some time but haven't made a post. Finally I signed up as I am getting more serious about this than ever before. I had been putting it off because insurance has an exclusion so I was leary of self paying. Now, I see that I need this tool to help me achieve my goals so my decision is made. Now, the difficult part is deciding on having surgery in the US or in Mexico. My money says Mexico, my mind says US. I am looking at it from a standpoint that if there are complications, my insurance won't cover me anyway but at least the doctor that did the surgery can be held accountable if something goes terribly wrong.

I know that I will be making this decision soon because I get tired just putting on my clothes. My back was hurting while I was grocery shopping. I had a stress test and the doc took me off the treadmill after 6 minutes. I know its time because it is getting worse. We haven't even started on my knees.

Despite the weight, everything else has been ok health wise. I do get headaches and they don't know why. I have slightly elevated blood pressure - 130/90 and do have some heart valve problems that my cardiologist seems to think is common. But I know it will not get better unless I do something which is why my mind is finally made up.

[dahc]

Welcome aboard. I do not post much, but this board has gotten me through the process. Congratulations on your decision and good luck on your journey. Everything will go great and just a few weeks after surgery you will be so happy you made this decision. Merry Christmas

[jknox65]

US! If you don't have insurance to help I can understand the temptation to look across the border, but all the scary stories I have heard of have been in Mexico. Locally your surgeon will stand behind their work and lord forbid there is an issue they will take care of it and your not going to be charged (in most cases). Also you have full medical staff that speaks English. I have had several people contact me in private message saying they went to Mexico and wish they did not for multiple of reasons but did not feel comfortable posting their experience because this site promotes Mexico surgical clinics so much.

Personally I would rather pay a little more to now it is done to the standards I would expect, to have the pretreatment and follow-up care and again lord forbid there are any issues to know I will be treated in a facility able to handle anything that comes their way while keeping me comfortable with pain management and secure in the staffs ability to provide care.

You get what you pay for!!!

[manda0785]

Hi and welcome!!

[gigi28]

Welcome aboard. I do not post much, but this board has gotten me through the process. Congratulations on your decision and good luck on your journey. Everything will go great and just a few weeks after surgery you will be so happy you made this decision. Merry Christmas

Thanks. I know I will be happy!! I was always thin, don't know what happened!!! Merry Christmas

[gigi28]

Yes, I wish they would post their bad experiences. Reading the results here makes it seem as if Mexico is the place to go and all the results are so positive in nature. I guess the ones that had an issue are probably too sick to post or maybe dead but I try to look at it like this, If it is my time to go, then its my time so the Mexico part is not what scares me, its the complications, not being able to find a doctor to do my after care and if something goes wrong, I wont have the time to fly to mexico to get them to correct it. Also, I keep hearing people say that they can not get insured after the surgery. I don't want this surgery to cause future problems but the way I see it, my weight will also cause future problems. So confused right now

[gigi28]

Thanks and Merry Christmas!

[SoNotABarbie]

I paid for my own surgery and had a local doctor do it.....with everything included...hospital, dietician, psychologist et it all came to about $10,000 and im glad i choose here....I would be alittle weary of doctors here in the US wanting to take care of you if you had the surgery out of the country but you never know.......and i had a complication arise from my surgery......about 2 weeks after surgery one of the incission sites got infected and i wind up in the hospital and my insurance paid for it.....ty BCBS

[zmdh39]

You should always go with what is the best choice for you personally. I had surgery in Mexico, with Dr. Sergio Quinones, and paid $4000. Everything for me went wonderfully. I really hate all the stigmas with having surgery in another country, mistakes can happen anywhere. I had quite a few people tell me that I was putting a price tag over my life, but I think it was just their misconceptions. Sure, you can find bad doctors anywhere, even here in the US, just remember to do your homework, and talk to as many former patients as you can find, and also read the horror stories. Here is one I read while I was searching for a doctor http://www.gastricsleeve.com/forum/t...y-journey.html I think it is important that we don't just weight in the benefits of surgery, but also the potential consequences. I wish you luck on your decisions, this forum is full on wonderful people, who can help you with information and support along the way

Hello,
I have been lurking the boards for some time but haven't made a post. Finally I signed up as I am getting more serious about this than ever before. I had been putting it off because insurance has an exclusion so I was leary of self paying. Now, I see that I need this tool to help me achieve my goals so my decision is made. Now, the difficult part is deciding on having surgery in the US or in Mexico. My money says Mexico, my mind says US. I am looking at it from a standpoint that if there are complications, my insurance won't cover me anyway but at least the doctor that did the surgery can be held accountable if something goes terribly wrong.

I know that I will be making this decision soon because I get tired just putting on my clothes. My back was hurting while I was grocery shopping. I had a stress test and the doc took me off the treadmill after 6 minutes. I know its time because it is getting worse. We haven't even started on my knees.

Despite the weight, everything else has been ok health wise. I do get headaches and they don't know why. I have slightly elevated blood pressure - 130/90 and do have some heart valve problems that my cardiologist seems to think is common. But I know it will not get better unless I do something which is why my mind is finally made up.

[gigi28]

Hello,
Where is Dr. Sherrod located in Texas? The cheapest I found was 11300.

[Sunflower]

Welcome to the forum and good luck on your journey. I have had a lot of surgeries, and have been hospitalized several times. I chose to go to Mexico for my sleeve because of the cost and because Mexican surgeons are by and large more experienced with this procedure than American surgeons. I can tell you that not only did I have a great experience, but I have never received care as good in the US or the UK where I was born. The care I received was superior in every way. I have no regrets and 9 months later, I am 93 pounds down from my pre-op weight.

[gigi28]

Wow, that is awesome. I hope I am that successful. I guess it would be hard not to be successful with this tool. Keep up with good work.

[marilynlw]

Welcome to the forum. Glad you have decided to take control of your health. I know it is a big decision to chose a surgeon because your are putting you life in his hands. Just be sure you do your research and check out the potential surgeon, not just what he charges. There are many fine doctors in both the US and Mexico. One way to tell if the surgeon has a good reputation if by if he is associated with a Bariatric Center of Excellence. I was very lucky that my insurance paid most of my expenses and could stay close to home. I basically had 3 choices here in Hawaii and went with the one at a Center of Excellence. If money is not a factor it would be best to stay close to home in case complications do arise and of all the additional care pre and post surgery. But if you are on a limited budget there are some excellent doctors in Mexico. The decision is yours to make as to what is best for you. Best wishes in your journey. And Happy Holidays.

[gigi28]

Thanks for your reply. Yes the decision is pretty much financial. I am looking for the best, cheapest surgery/surgeon possible

[zmdh39]

If the after care is something that you worry about, I would call around to bariatric facilities in your area to see if they would do your follow up care, if you were to choose surgery out of the country. I am a huge fan of my doctor, and he is the least expensive in MX, but their are a lot of great doctors out there.I know that someone on this forum had compiled a list of VSG prices in the stats, if I can find the info I will post it for you. What I did before my surgery was talk to my PCP and a bariatric facility that was in my home town, both of them were fine seeing me as a patient after having surgery in Mexico, but I am sure there are places that probably wouldn't be so cool about it. There was also a post I saw on here the other day, where are girl had her PCP do all the needed follow up blood work and then sent the results to her surgeon, so that might be an option as well. If those options won't work for you, you could always try the medical financing route. Their are also negative reviews of surgeons on this site, I know it seems like everyone is just beaming about the great experiences they all had, but if you search for complications you will find a list of them on here as well.

Thanks for your reply. Yes the decision is pretty much financial. I am looking for the best, cheapest surgery/surgeon possible