NJsharon

Great, thanks for the fast replies!

I see a lot of the Protein shakes say to mix with milk or Water. Can you use milk for the Protein Shakes post-op or just water?

Thanks everyone for the advice! Waving "hi" back to swimmy!

Thanks! I will be going with Dr Kelly & hoping for a surgery date of May 10th. Just waiting for confirmation of that date!

Great slideshow, thanks! I know I will be taking lots of photos when I am there as I am a scrapbooker! Silly questions for you... how do you warm up the chicken broth then & did they give that to you or did you have to go buy the chicken broth? Do they give you any gatorade or anything else or did you have to go out & buy the stuff?

Best of luck to you!

Just ordered the regular sampler box, thanks!

I am in the same boat & so worried about this. I think I am going to have to change my regular Dr. She was not supportive of me wanting to have bariatric surgery done (she insisted I try one more diet through her). So I know now I have decided to have the surgery done she will not be happy & having it done in MX she will be probably even more upset. So thinking I may change my PCP to another one more local anyway & tell them up front I am having surgery on this date, can you do follow up appts for me?

I tried the Unjury chicken broth & loved it! I just ordered 2 more tubs of the stuff!

Thanks all, I feel so much more at ease going alone now! Also even more confident in my decision to go with Dr Kelly! Kbs1010... couple of silly questions for you (or anyone else that was recently sleeved by Dr Kelly). Did they give you drinks for the hotel, or help you to go buy some? I am worried about how I will buy Water or broth or gatorade, or whatever fluids I am meant to drink. Silly thing I know. Also how much did you tip whomever drove you around? I was thinking to give them $20 after they drop me off at the airport? Or should I tip more? I am planning to maybe get my teeth whitened so will need them to drive me to that too.

Do you mind me where you are travelling from, or what state? I may end up being a sleeve buddy to you. I am pretty sure I am going with Dr Kelly. Just need to fill out the forms & figure out a date! I just had tonsillectomy & uvullectomy last week though, so in huge amount of pain right now. Have to drink Water & just hurts to do it. So waiting until this surgery is over & I am feeling better, before I book with Dr Kelly. I would also be travelling alone, from NJ. So would love to have a sleeve buddy there to meet up with!

That is great news! I am hoping to be sleeved by Dr Kelly & may request for late April or early May, but no date yet. I just had tonsillectomy & uvullectomy yesterday, so recovering from that, before I book another surgery!

I am also hoping to be sleeved by Dr Kelly too, so hoping my journey is just as smooth as yours! Thanks for keeping us posted!

Well I sent you a PM, but just letting the others know too. I think I will be going to MX for surgery now. Dr Ballem & his staff were wonderful, but unfortunately I would not be covered by insurance & the total cost was over $24,000. I just can't afford that. So looking at Dr Kelly & Dr Garcia now in Mexico.

Thanks, your responses are all very reassuring! My next question is, which doctor did you choose & can you give me the website for them? I was thinking of going through www.alighterme.com & Dr Kelly, I swore I saw him on there. But now I don't, so thinking of Dr Garcia. Would really appreciate any advice in this!

Have my initial consultation today with Dr Ballem. I am very excited to get this started now!

Yes, my problem is I haven't had a BMI of 40+ for 2yrs or more. I have had a BMI of 35+ for more than 2 yrs but no comorbidities. Dr Ballem's office sounded very helpful though & sounds like they will really try to get me covered too. But don't think I will be covered.

Thank you. I will be going local it seems. DE doctor was very very nice, but basically told me Aetna won't cover me, so I am better off choosing somewhere closer to my house (as I would need follow up appts etc.). I have a consultation with Dr Ballem (with Hunterdon Medical Center) next tuesday. I'm excited to get this started!

Well I went for my first seminar last night, in Newark DE! Going for my consultation today, same place. I live in Flemington NJ, so could get it done here. But heard this doctor in DE is very aggressive with insurance & hoping he can get me covered. My problem is that I have a BMI of 40 (just there), but have not had it for 2yrs+ & need that for my Aetna insurance. I have definitely had a BMI of 35+ for 2 years, but that isn't going to help I don't think. If the doctor today does not think I can get covered by insurance, then I will be looking coser to home for my surgery & doing self-pay. Hoping not to do that though!

Hello everyone, I am completely new on here, but seems like a great board and so friendly! I am hoping to get gastric sleeve surgery for myself, but have not started any of the pre-op work yet. I am going to a information seminar (run by a local hospital) on Dec 7th and quite excited about that actually. My worry is that I have Aetna and that I will not be approved. My BMI is about 38 and do not have any comorbidities - blood pressure is great, no diabetes & no sleep apnea. I had a sleep study actually & found that I snore a lot & wake up several times during the night (7 times an hour for 3-4 seconds) but no apnea. I have read on the Aetna website that even if I gained some weight to get to a BMI of 40 I need to have had that for 2 years. So this worries me a bit. Anyone used Aetna & been approved in similar circumstances? Not sure I could self-pay, so really hoping I can get insurance to cover it! That is all that worries me though, the thought of having the surgery does not actually worry me. I hope I can start this journey and be on my way as most of you are! Oh and if I do have to do self-pay, is there a forum to help me find cheap NJ surgeons that would possibly do payment plans? Sorry so many questions, but excited & worried!

Thank you so very much Suzanne, that is very helpful. I am not sure my PCP will be on board, she had a diet meeting that was held at her office that I went to for a while, was not losing anything so quit. It was the 'Transitions' diet. Think she is still mad at me about that. I will try to venture into her office though & put the idea past her & see what she says. So if something does happen, like my incision opens up, or there is a leak, after I get back to the USA. I would see a US dr & they are required to look after me & insurance to cover it? Thank you so much, Dr Aceves sounds wonderful.

I looked up Dr Aceves, but didn't see that he did sleeve surgery on his website? What were the average cost & does that include any flights (as I would be coming from NJ)? Could not see any costs on his website either. I do also understand that cost is just one factor though, my main factor is that I want them to be safe. Actually the main thing I worry about with surgery in MX is what happens if something goes wrong when you are back in the USA? So I want to go with someone reliable that is tried & trusted by other people I 'know'.

I am also looking into having my surgery, eventually, in Mexico. Mainly as I do not think I would be covered by insurance in the USA. My main question is, what happens if there is a complication after you get back to the USA? Something crazy like bleeding internally or something like that? I am looking at/leaning towards A Lighter Me, as they seem to cover everything I need and from the positive replies left on here about them. If anyone has used them and wants to PM me with any info about the whole process & how it works, I would love that.

I am from Flemington NJ.... only just getting started on this journey though! Have the information session for Dec 7th, so I really am JUST getting started! Do you mind me asking which Dr you used, rough price & if you would recommend them?

Hi I am new to this board & hoping to get gastric sleeve surgery & have Aetna. I wondered if you had any other comorbidities or if you did manage to get Aetna to approve it without that? You can PM or e-mail me if you prefer! I wish you lots of luck & congrats on getting the approval!