ckopasek

I have had mine in Mexico two years ago, my daughter 1 year ago and two of her friends. If you call me I will tell you the about the best Dr. ever. He is my hero. I can get it for you for only $5500 and the clinic is beautiful, clean and safe. They will pick you up and fills are free for life, if you are close by. I love the Dr. I went to. Anyone can call me and I will tell you where to go to get it done safely and right by a man who cares about is patients. I can send you before and after pics of me and my daughter. I put one of the most precious people in the world to me in this Dr.'s hands, that is how much I trust him. 619-866-9947

Wonderful!! You will not regret your decision to take action against being overweight, it will change your life. Dr. Gonzalez is the nicest man ever, you will love him. He is very sweet and very competent. Good luck!! PS. I just got back today from getting a fill and I go straight there and straight back it doesn't take any time at all and the border walk through is not very crowded because of the problems they are having down there. I have never had any problems at all.

Yes that is me on the video, I am the first person on the website for Dr. Gonzales, my only claim to fame. I am very happy with the successful outcome of my operation and owe it all to Dr. Gonzalez and his marvelous staff. He is my hero. My life has changed dramatically. :thumbup:

I forgot to mention that when I drink carbonated drinks I feel very uncomfortable, therefore, I have given up carbonated drinks. Also, you need to drink slowly and not with meals.

Thank you for your response beebic. Wanita, My daughter and I have not had any problems with discomfort from out lapbands from drinking. That is too bad, however, it may be just a temporary discomfort from the area that your port was placed. My daughter had some discomfort initially and then when she went to get a fill found out that the discomfort she was feeling was in the area of were the port was placed. This was right after her surgery. She just had her lapband put on Dec. 2008, mine was Dec. 2007. I too have experienced some discomfort temporarily from my port site, which mine was placed lower than my daughters, her's was place up high by the band, mine was place below the belly button off to the side, anyway I hope that your discomfort will subside. Let me know how it is going for you now. I highly recommend the lapband and think that you made the right choice.

Dr. Gonzalez and his support staff are the best anywhere. I had my lapband surgery one year ago today, December 16, 2007, and I have lost 73 pounds. I have 9 more to go to reach my goal of 120 pounds. I was so impressed with Dr. Gonzalez's clinic and staff that my daughter just had lapband surgery by Dr. Gonzalez on December 12, 2008. I recently went for a diabetic check up at my Dr’s. and based on the last lab work and my new lab work I have been declared as no longer being a diabetic due to the weight loss, exercise and better eating habits. I could never put a price on getting rid of diabetes and no longer having to take medication daily. I will not have to always worry about going blind, loosing a limb, as my father did from diabetes, suffering from stokes or any of the other terrible complications that come from having diabetes. I am cured and I have no one to thank but Dr. Gonzalez and his wonderful staff! The entire experience is priceless! Of all the benefits of having lapband, I would say that this is, without a doubt, the most wonderful of all. I was so impressed with Dr. Gonzalez's clinic and staff that my daughter just had lapband surgery by Dr. Gonzalez on December 12, 2008. Everything went great and she is now on her way to great health and a new attitude. I felt so confident with Dr. Gonzalez, his staff and his clinic that I entrusted my daughter in his hands, and my instincts were proven to be right!! She has now lost 33 pounds in just 3 months. Dr. Gonzalez is my hero; no one has ever done something that changed my life as much as loosing 78 pounds has changed my life. His patient coordinator, Laura, is also wonderful at her job and helps make the surgery smooth and a great experience!! I RECOMMEND DR. GONZALEZ TO ANYONE CONSIDERING THIS LIFE CHANGING SURGERY!!:scared2:

I just want to say that Dr. Gonzalez and his support staff are the best anywhere. I had my lapband surgery one year ago today, December 16, 2007, and I have lost 73 pounds. I have 9 more to go to reach my goal of 120 pounds. I was so impressed with Dr. Gonzalez's clinic and staff that my daughter just had lapband surgery by Dr. Gonzalez on December 12, 2008. Everything went great and she is now on her way to great health and a new attitude. I felt so confident with Dr. Gonzalez, his staff and his clinic that I entrusted my daughter in his hands, and my instincts were proven to be right!! Dr. Gonzalez is my hero, no one has ever done somethng that changed my life as much as loosing 73 pounds has changed my life. I am a diabetic and my blood sugar was an average of 289-390, now my blood sugar averages aroung 82-97, WOW, what a difference. His patient coordinator, Laura, is also wonderful at her job and helps make the surgery smooth and a great experience!! I RECOMMEND DR. GONZALEZ TO ANYONE CONSIDERING THIS LIFE CHANGING SURGERY!! :thumbup:

Maybe go to : Edit Profile??

Good luck! You will love it.

If you live in SD, Dr. Gonzalez will have someone pick you up and take you home. The clinic is beautiful, the staff excellent and Dr. Gonzalez is excellent too. I only paid $6,750 for my surgery and all my fills are free for life. They quoted me $7,500, but I said that I only had $6,750 and they accepted my offer. I had the surgery a month ago and have lost 21 pounds. As far as what to take with you I brought my make up, a hair brush or comb, nite gown, panties, and that was it. The clinic that I had my surgery performed in that was in Mexico even had slippers with their clinic logo printed on them. I could not believe how beautiful the clinic was, it was on the 17th floor of a huge office building that overlooked the golf course. The floors were marble, my room had a beautiful bathroom with a shower, that had shampoo and conditioner that was in dispensers, it was just grand. By the way, there is very little discomfort. Also make sure that you have your ATM or Credit Card in case you have to get any prescriptions in Mexico. A Mexican Doctor cannot prescribe drugs that are purchased in the USA. My stomach swelled too much and my Dr. had to prescribe something for inflamation and some antibiotics, it cost a total of $95, so make sure that you have money or your plastic to buy anything you might need. Good luck!

I just had lap band surgery on 12/16/07. I have lost 21 pounds since the surgery. I have had 2 fills since the surgery. I had my surgery done in Tijuana, Mexico in a beautiful clinic with an exceptional Dr. My surgery on cost $6,750, they quoted me $7,500, but I sent an email back and said that I only had $6,750, they accepted my offer. All my fills are free. If you fly into the airport in San Diego they pick you up and take you back to the SD airport. You stay the night in a 4 star hotel that is next to the building that the clinic is located at and then you have your surgery the next morning, you are realeased the following morning after that. You would be there for a total of 3 days, 1 day at the hotel and 2 at the clinic. You feel good enough to make the flight home. It was a little scarry having it done in Mexico, but it has turned out to be well worth it. Once I saw the clinic and met the Dr. my fears were gone. I have heard that the operation in the USA is in the neighborhood of $16,000. If you live in San Diego the patient coordinator picks you up at your house and someone will take you home after the surgery. If you don't live in SD and you fly into the airport in SD, again someone will pick you up and drop you off at the airport. The surgery is very none intrusive. If you live in SD all of your fills are free at Dr. Gonzalez's, I just got back today from having a fill. I park my car on the USA side, take a cab to the clinic, next to the Grand Hotel, and then take a cab back to the walk through border, it is EZ Breezy. You really should read the content on this website for Dr. Gonzalez's website, the clinic that I had the surgery done at: (I cannot put a link to Dr. Gonzales's website, but it is golap-band and then of course dot com, if you have more questions you can email them and Dr. Alvarez will answer your questions. It is a really nice place and it is about $10,000 cheaper. Also, since lapband was just recently FDA approved, there are no American doctors with any where near the experience that Dr. Gonzales has with gastric banding. Dr. Gonzales is one of the first Dr.'s to be approved by the INAMED lapband devices. INAMED is the FDA approved lapband device that is placed around your stomach when you get banded. Good luck with your decision, lapband offers me a new and exciting outlook for my weight control and my diabetes. ckopasek

I just had lap band surgery on 12/16/07. I have lost 21 pounds since the surgery. I have had 2 fills since the surgery. I had my surgery done in Tijuana, Mexico in a beautiful clinic with an exceptional Dr. My surgery on cost $6,750, they quoted me $7,500, but I sent an email back and said that I only had $6,750, they accepted my offer. All my fills are free. If you fly into the airport in San Diego they pick you up and take you back to the SD airport. You stay the night in a 4 star hotel that is next to the building that the clinic is located at and then you have your surgery the next morning, you are realeased the following morning after that. You would be there for a total of 3 days, 1 day at the hotel and 2 at the clinic. You feel good enough to make the flight home. It was a little scarry having it done in Mexico, but it has turned out to be well worth it. Once I saw the clinic and met the Dr. my fears were gone. I have heard that the operation in the USA is in the neighborhood of $16,000. As far as your questions, and since you do not live in San Diego as I do, you would have to find a Dr. nearby that can do the fills, but the money you save by having it done in Mexico makes that worth it. There is no pre-op bullshit, no counseling, or psychiatrist. You do not feel anything like a ring feels around your finger, but if you eat too much you do feel that and too much is not very much at all. If it gets too uncomfortable from eating too much I stick my finger down my throat and throw it up. I have only had to do that twice in a little over a months time. The surgery is very none intrusive, but like any surgery there is always a danger and that danger is from being under anethesia, there is no change in lifestyle. You really should read the content on this website for Dr. Gonzalez's website, the clinic that I had the surgery done at: (I cannot put a link to Dr. Gonzales's website, but it is golap-band and then of course dot com, if you have more questions you can email them and Dr. Alvarez will answer your questions. It is a really nice place and it is about $10,000 cheaper. Also, since lapband was just recently FDA approved, there are no American doctors with any where near the experience that Dr. Gonzales has with gastric banding. Dr. Gonzales is one of the first Dr.'s to be approved by the INAMED lapband devices. INAMED is the FDA approved lapband device that is placed around your stomach when you get banded. Good luck with your decision, lapband offers me a new and exciting outlook for my weight control and my diabetes. ckopasek

No, bypass is so drastic, and banding is reversible. Also, you have to be 100 pounds overweight to get the bypass. I like the idea of being able to control it by getting fills with the band.

Hi, I was banded on Friday, 12/16/2007 in Tijuana, Mexico at Dr. Gonzale's clinic. My stomach swelled and I could not get anything down, therefore, the Dr. made me stay over the weekend and wait until Monday, if the swelling did not go away he would have to go in and put a bigger band in. The swelling did not go down, so he went back in. The total cost for my banding was only $6,750, the clinic was beautiful with a view of the gold course below, the staff was excellent and so was Dr. Gonzales and Dr. Alvarez. I have since had 2 fills and lost a total of 21 pounds. I can't wait to loose my goal weight and wear cute clothes again that look good!! Good luck to you all! ckopasek:smile: