Dedria

I understand and we'll keep those things private, BM&Y, from now on.

Oh yes, we sure do know how to cook and eat here, too. I live just outside Baton Rouge. Is your daughter going to church somewhere here in the area? Do you ever come to visit? We'll have to meet sometime if you do. Maybe I could invite you to one of our dinner-on-the ground events... it's so much fun, now, for me. There's another lady in my church and we still cook like crazy, but really enjoy being able to resist temptation... and Lord knows he delivers us from evil all the time, especially on those days!

I want to encourage you all to continue praying until your surgery dates and I am going to covenant in prayer with you. Also, will you please pray for a friend of mine (actually she is in my Sunday School class)? She really needs to have the gastric band, but just can't afford it and our insurance will not cover it. I promised her that I would pray for her. One more word of encouragement... soon you will no longer be worried about taming your hunger -- you can spend more time enjoying Christian fellowship at those dinner-on-the-ground (as we call it in the south); pot-lucks (for everybody else) and eat like healthy people do. You will be more concerned about what is coming out of your mouth than what is going in! Enjoy this new experience! I certainly do.

Honestly, how do I quit? I really don't want to participate anymore in this forum... I don't like it. It was my first attempt and a bad one. I went to My Account and tried to delete my information. Really, I want to know how to get out. Can some of your experts tell me how.

No problem... I have not done this before and I don't plan to do it, again. I didn't understand the rules. Now, I do and I quit.

One last thing I noticed... if you are not pushing one doctor, then why is his name on every one of your posts: Alberto Aceves/Mexicali, Mexico

For some reason you are very competitive. I am a university professor... that's who pays me. Now who pays you? I know you are not being mean just for the fun of it. You win. I quit... seriously no more mean insults. I don't think it's good for either of us!

You are mean... I quit... no more. You win, OK. I don't want to play your game and I'm not that kind of person. Yes, I am trying to be a Christian and help people without intimidating them like you do. I don't appreciate your unkindness underneath a cloak that you are trying to help people. No thank you... I don't like that kind of help. I quit. You win. No more bullying!

I quit... you bore me and insult my intelligence -- plus you are have a real mean streak... I won't speak to you anymore on your soapbox... from now on you are number 1 on my prayer list, but no more on your own personal forum.

P.S. Who's paying you to be the foremost authority on lapbands... I checked out your highly opinionated, AKA disguised as "neutral" site, on "How to Find a Mexican Surgeon". I though maybe you were like me... just somebody happy to have a gastric band, healthier, hopefully adding a few years to my life as a result. Alas, I guess I'm one of those people whose cup is always half full and trying to find the best in people... someone you would probably consider niave.

They saved my life -- that's pay enough for me. I had no hope of ever loosing the weight. I dieted and failed too many times to count and was facing so many life-threatening illnesses. So, if it seems that I am very happy with that group... then, yes I am, especially after I went to several doctors here in the good ole' USA who were either unwilling or unable to help me -- that's what I call unethical and illegal. How about those sweet US insurance companies who are always robbing us blind with high premiums, but never willing to cover a simple procedure that can save our lives. To me we are living in jail in our unethical health care system where the rich get richer and the sick get sicker. Now, if you want to criticize someone... as my grandmother would say -- "we should sweep around our own backdoors first" before we go sweeping around someone else's.

Actually, I never heard that tale about Dr. "V"... I just know he saved my life, unlike any of the doctors (or especially the insurance companies here). Not one insurance company here would consider covering my lap band surgery and I was almost 200 lbs overweight, suffering from so many illnesses I can't count... but yet they wanted me to pay twice as much as I did in Mexico to have the surgery done. Now, you tell me who should go to jail?

I will definitely join you in prayer because that's exactly what I did before having my band done. I prayed earnestly from God to help me find a way to pay for it if it be His will. I have two small children -- 7 and 5 (who is speech challenged) and I need to live to be at least 150 to raise them. The band was the easiest thing I've ever done to get healthier and has really become a ministry for me... in my church and in my community. I've lost 120 lbs. -- never to gain it back -- and I feel so much better. I even ride bikes with my children now!

Hi Alyssa, I had my surgery done with the Obesity Goodbye Center in Tijuana and can't be happier. Their surgeons have done about 7,000 bands -- even one of the doctors, Dr. Sergio Verboonan, has a band himself. I go often to take patients from the states because the prices are so much better and the doctors so much more experienced. You can go and be done in about three days. It's the best hospital experience I've ever had -- great folks who are so atten tive and really care. I've lost 120 lbs. never to regain!

Diamond, We will pray that all will go well with your banding -- it's the best gift God ever gave me for my health. I was banded in Mexico two years ago, after much prayer, and have lost 120 lbs. -- never to regain it -- praise the Lord! I feel so much better... I just can't explain the joy and how this has turned into a ministry for me... helping people live healthier lives. We'll keep you in our prayers.

My doctors are with Obesity Goodbye and they have an U.S. phone number. They will pick you up at the San Diego airport and take you back and... they have a completely bi-lingual patient coordinator. Uscually the day you arrive, you have the pre-opt testing done and if early enough the procedure done that evening. Then, stay in the hospital overnight and the next day are discharged. The second day is spent shopping and sightseeing -- usually with the patient coordinator -- then the following day go home. A quick trip (usually Friday or Saturday through Monday)... including travel time. As a matter of fact, I'm going next Saturday, March 1 and returning Monday, March 3 if anyone wants to go with me. I had it done with this group and have lost 120 lbs. -- never to regain it!

My doctors are at the Obesity Goodbye clinic in Tijuana: Dr. Ponce de Leon and Dr. Verboonan, we call him "Dr. V". They are fantastic and if you want to go back for fills... you just pay for the flouroscopy fee... they meet you at the airport and everything.

:rolleyes2: I had lap band surgery and have lost 120 lbs. I can't say enough good things about my doctors in Mexico... they are so kind, so personable! I've only had three fills and have dodged the diabetes bullet.

Check out Obesity Goodbye's web site at Obesity Goodbye Center - Home. My photos before and after are on the Testimonials page. They are wonderful doctors who are willing to help. One of the docs even has a band.

OK, Marsha, I keep remembering stuff... like if you get a fill at the Obesity Goodbye Center you have to pay the flouro fee, which is $50 for the first time... and of course your travel expenses, whether you fly or drive. But, this team of doctors have done over 6,000 banding procedures and you can choose whatever band type you want from the two that are FDA approved, or the two others.

I also forgot to tell you, Marsha, that one of my surgeons, Dr. Sergio Verboonan, we call him "Dr. V" has a band himself, so he knows just how his patients feel. I've gone out to dinner with him a couple of times and we both eat like birds... really cool... he's lost over 110 lbs.

Hi Marsha, I had my surgery in Mexico -- with the best group, I think -- Obesity Goodbye -- the doctors are so kind, so considerate... don't treat you like you have a handicap or something. I've lost 120 lbs and will never regain it. I've taken a couple of nurses and they were so impressed with the OR and all the other facilities. Their package includes ground transportation (you pay for your own flights all the time), pre-opt testing, consultation with an internal medicine specialists, local escort, services from a patient coordinator, two nights in a resort hotel, one night in a very nice/clean hospital, post opt nutritional counseling and discharge instructions, plus more for $8,800 about half of what you would pay here. I like to accompany their patients from the U.S. because I speak Spanish, plus I like to take everybody to the spa and/or shopping (because I like to do that too). Their offices are in Tijuana, just across the border from San Diego. No passport needed, yet.

Most of the doctors do provide ground transportation services, mine does... all of that was included, plus pre-opt testing, resort hotel for two nights, hospital, interpreter, etc. for just $8,800... about half of what you pay here. I just got back last weekend from a visit and they didn't say anything about needing a passport... I think they've extended it again for a couple of months. You can cross with just your driver's license.

I'll certainly say my prayers for you. My husband was also very concerned, but now he is so happy that I'm so much healthier. I was on the verge of being diabetic, having suffered through gestational diabetes with my second child. I also had problem with my hormones and thyroid -- all related to my obesity. You may want to look up the latest issue of the American Medical Association's Journal that talks about how the band surgery cures (no more meds) Type 2 diabetes. The doctors wrote that it is the safest, best way to treat diabetes. Just something to study. I'll pray that the Lord's will be done in your life.

Not all insurance companies will cover it. I finally had to pay for mine, but it cost about half of what the doctors here charge and I didn't have to go through all that pre-surgical diet, psychiatric analysis, etc. I just went on a Friday, came back Monday and was back to work on Tuesday. I'll keep your sister in my prayers and if she decides that she just needs to do it NOW, then get it touch with me and I'll help her make it happen.