AJW

OK, some more questions: What do you do for pain meds after you leave Mexico? Do they send you home with Vicodin or get you a script that you have to get filled in Mexicali, or how does that work? What if you have an issue after you're home, some problem from the surgery? You can't go see the doctor you decided NOT to go to, so what to do about that? Yes, I understand you can call Dr. Aceves' office and get someone on the phone to discuss your issue, but if you need to be seen that's another trip back to Mexico. How did you resolve this in your mind before going for it?

I'm in Los Angeles, land of everything cosmetic from WLS to cosmetics after WLS. There are doctors everywhere. My doctor here is with beverlyhillsphysicians.com. They are world-wide. The surgeon is Michael Feiz, M.D., he's the bariatric guy. I will be speaking to him soon to ask all those questions about his experience, of course, I'm sure he'll love me grilling him on his experience levels but that's OK. Re my insurance the most I can pay out of pocket for approved medical procedures in one year is $5,000. Of course IDK how it's handled if for instance the anesthesiologist is out of network or something; been there before and you just have to make a deal with them for cash. The hospital is separate from the surgery costs, naturally, but again all I'm responsible for is $5K. I will get to the fine print on that if I decide to stay in the US. The hospital would be Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles. They have a weight loss center there so again, very experienced people. It will all come down to how comfortable I am with the doctor. He seems very good, but I don't know his stats, and doctors do have a tendency to gloss over details, especially when they "can" because they're in Beverly Hills. I don't live in BH, just saying that's where the group has one office. I'm sure I'd get much better personal attention with Dr. Aceves and his team, but there is a big difference in price from $5K to $9.5K. My husband is fine with whatever I want to do; I'm just trying to decide what to do. I've told Nina to set it up in August; we'll see what Dr. Feiz has to say about his stats, but again as I say, there's no way for me to call him on it if he decides to be less than forthcoming with me, kwim?!:wink0:

That's an amazing story. I don't know how to find out the stats on my local doctor. He has different offices he works out of. The coordinator for the office local to me, where I went for the band seminar, has been the most responsive. She sent my chart to his Beverly Hills office and that coordinator is not responsive at all. I finally just asked the responsive person to give me an answer on how many VSG he's done; she said she doesn't know, but would email the doctor and see what she can find out. This is about all I think I can expect as far as "above and beyond" the call of duty. Every story I hear about Dr. Aceves' group seems exceptional, and although this is just "perception" for me based on reading many people's stories, it's all I have to go on. I don't have any "inside" contacts to find out stuff about doctors as you apparently do, so most of my impressions/research is based on the experiences of others which as far as this doctor goes, have all been great and that's a good start.:001_tongue:

Maybe I should have prefaced that question to ask "Those of you going for a first time WLS . . ." :001_tongue: OK, here's the deal: I'm a great believer in following the way that the signs lead, ya know, as in the signs will point you to the best situation for you. So I had been emailing my doctor's office about getting information on how many VGS my doctor's done, and even emailed another doctor referred by somehow who's had RNY but her surgeon does the sleeve as well, and no reply so far. Then I get email back from Dr. Aceves' office (Nina) saying she explained to him (while he's on vacation, mind you) about my ulcer situation, etc., and he gave her an answer for me (which made sense to me as well) so we could go ahead and schedule it. Now MAYBE they're just needing patients, IDK, maybe things are a little slow for them, again IDK, but they came back with an answer. I've been waiting on my doctor's office for days now to come back with an answer and get nothing. I realize they may be busy and that's OK, but I take it as a "sign" that I'm supposed to follow along where the signs point. In other words, the path of least resistance is usually the right path to follow when you've "asked aka prayed" to be guided to the best situation for you. Call me silly, but it seems like Dr. A is still coming out on top here even though it will cost me more $$$ than going through my insurance. What do you guys think?:confused1:

/ That's what I'm trying to find out unless there's some way to learn those stats on line. I'm in Calif. and this would be a first WLS issue. I understand about your situation, though, and why you wouldn't want to wait. My ins. does NOT require a 6-month medically supervised diet, however, so I don't think the wait/hoops would be long or difficult. The doc was ready to submit to insurance after the EDG except that I decided against the band.

Is this your fiance in your avatar photo? He doesn't look heavy at all. How do you get this process started with Dr. Aceves??:lol0:

All sounds great to me. You guys are good motivation and inspiration. Thanks!:lol0:

/ And how are you doing now approx. 14 days post-op?

After reading these stories, I'm convinced that the sleeve is the right procedure. Either that or I can keep doing Medifast for another year to lose the 97 pounds I have left to go. I think it would be a real draw between losing weight with a band and staying Medifast; the end result would be about the same amount of loss. The thing is, I can't do Medifast for another year and as soon as you transition to normal food, the weight will come back. I've been communicating with my band doctor's surgical consultant because he also does the sleeve procedure. I've asked for a quote because I'm pretty sure that my insurance (Healthnet PPO) will not pay for it, but of course I'll confirm that first. No one at the doc's office is getting back to me; I think they're too busy scheduling band patients to pay attention to me, which is weird. Yes, I could go to Mexico - I could drive down to Mexicali where Dr. Aceves is in about 4.5 hours. I'm still just "iffy" about the Mexico thing. I know those who went had good experiences, but I'm the type who gets nervous about getting blood taken, kwim? So going so far out of my comfort zone is rather scary to put it mildly. I always insist on Lidocaine before IV insertion, wonder if they'd coddle me like that down there, or is everything done their way or not at all? These are questions I wonder about. In the meantime am waiting for my ulcer to heal that was discovered on June 5th at EDG. Questions to mull over.:001_unsure:

60 isn't that old! Of course I have all my teeth. LOL!!

Today I was watching TV and noticed that for some unk. reason I had gas pain in my upper mid-seciton. I NEVER have gas pain nor stomach problems, per se. I kept thinking that IF I had the band, this might be a common occurence. I'm not good with pain in the stomach or with on-going pain issues. I'm wondering if that would make me a poor candidate for the band? My surgery has not been scheduled because they found an ulcer upon upper GI endoscopy so GI doc wants me to let that heal before taking any further action. I'm thinking this might be a good thing so I can figure out which procedure I really want. I'm 60 so I don't want ongoing problems and I do have 100 pounds to lose. Which way to go here?:thumbup:

I'm trying to find out if my insurance will pay for this, but as I say, I doubt it as it's considered investigational. I'm waiting to hear back from my surgical consultant - she's been in touch with the insurance company. So far I haven't heard anything about anything.:thumbup:

Thanks, Ruthie, and everyone. I can't get it done that soon; does the price go up after that date?

Oh OK, thanks.

Thanks, I'm excited that you are in SCV too! I consulted with BH Physicians for the band, which my insurance will pay for, but they also do the VGS as well. I sort of doubt my insurance will pay for it, but I'm investigating the possibilities. I'm willing to go to Dr. Aceves since I've heard so many great things.

What is this B thing?