Secretlyskinny

If you want post-op nutrition counseling and follow-ups go the US. route. I felt I could do this on my own so I went the Mexico route, I got written post-op instructions and my primary care physician is going to take over my healthcare. My surgery and hospital was amazing and way better care than I would get in the US. My surgery and stay was in a hospital so maybe a bit different than other experiences.

My aunt and cousin both had sleeve surgeries done in Mexico. Quite frankly I think it's a bad idea. Mexico has different health and safety laws and regulations, there is much less chance of being able to travel back and forth for follow ups. I understand the appeal of pricing and availability to have it done sooner than waiting on insurance. I started this journey on 2/7/16 by attending a seminar and meet/greet with one of the surgeons in the group I was referred to. Then my consult with my surgeon was on 2/15 and insurance requires me to be under medical weight loss supervision for 90 days in the mean time I am to lose approx 5 lbs, have a psych evaluation; a variation nutrition class, upper gi scope, gall bladder ultrasound and monthly weigh ins with my surgeon. My plan is to have the surgery the week of 6/27/16 while my kids are visiting their grandma for a few weeks. I don't want them seeing me leaving for the hospital or immediately post op. By the time they come home I should be starting the puréed foods phase of post op and they won't know any different except mommy is losing weight.
My aunt and cousin both had sleeve surgeries done in Mexico. Quite frankly I think it's a bad idea. Mexico has different health and safety laws and regulations, there is much less chance of being able to travel back and forth for follow ups. I understand the appeal of pricing and availability to have it done sooner than waiting on insurance. I started this journey on 2/7/16 by attending a seminar and meet/greet with one of the surgeons in the group I was referred to. Then my consult with my surgeon was on 2/15 and insurance requires me to be under medical weight loss supervision for 90 days in the mean time I am to lose approx 5 lbs, have a psych evaluation; a variation nutrition class, upper gi scope, gall bladder ultrasound and monthly weigh ins with my surgeon. My plan is to have the surgery the week of 6/27/16 while my kids are visiting their grandma for a few weeks. I don't want them seeing me leaving for the hospital or immediately post op. By the time they come home I should be starting the puréed foods phase of post op and they won't know any different except mommy is losing weight.

@secretlyskinny73
so many questions, so little time!! LOL
welcome, welcome and welcome
always nice to meet new people
lapband, sleeve, RNY etc
we're allll great
you've been researching for a couple months
continue to come to board
read and hear other peoples questions and answers
you might (probably) will find similar questions
to what you were thinking about
look at books ie WLS for Dummies
others in that series too!
Knowledge is Power
eating fast, large quantities is in your soon to be past life!!!
you MUST learn to eat slowly and very small portions
this is essential
you can practice the above before surgery
i think the lap band works differently than the sleeve
so other lappers will have to discuss, explain different things to you
(you said sleeve on your post, but lap band is also shown)
doesn't take much to confuse me LOL
glad you're insurance covers the lapband
it takes a little longer to jump through hoops of insurance
you've been overweight all your adult life
so waiting a longer wouldn't be awful
but i get it that waiting is a bitchhh!!
waiting to have in the states IMO makes more sense
you will find cheaper docs in Mexico
many people love mexico
i have heard some people don't want to
wait for insurance/hoops and do travel
very happy with results
cost isn't too bad
if you have no other choice (ins doesn't cover)
repeating i would stay in the states where you would be covered (my opinion)
sure you'll have certain things to pay out of pocket
i would rather not travel to Mexico or anywhere else
not to mention hospital is close to you
my reason, for staying in states
i would like to see my doc anytime i wanted to
face to face talk to him
my opinion, and i'm stickin' to it LOL
most of us have stress, and LLLOVE food
feeling better about yourself might ease your stress
i still love and think about food
but not as often as before
lot of head doing, soul searching you must do
having surgery alone will not fix everything
you need to"fix" your mind, attitude, lifestyle
will take time to put everything together
but you can do it!!
as usual this post was too long
did you take periodic naps LOL
i think others do
good luck
decision are hard to deal with sometimes
Mexico vs United State?
what to do, what to do!!
good luck bud
kathy

Hello.....I'm new to this site and have lots of questions so hopefully someone out there has advise
I started researching weightloss surgery about 2 months ago when I was at my wits end. I have been overweight my entire adult life, starting after the birth of my second child (he's 21 now). I have tried every diet out there and some have worked and some haven't. Even the ones that have worked, I always end up putting the weight back on, except it is doubled. So if I lose 10, I gain 20. I have this mental block that believes if I lose it, it won't come back, even if I eat the whole bag of sour cream and onion potato chips! I think I use to blame it on stress but currently I'm not what you would say "stressed". I recently changed jobs which really reduced my stress. I just really like food, the taste, the smell, the texture....but I don't know how to eat in moderation. I always eat until I hurt.
What I found the most interesting about Gastric Sleeve Surgery is that many patient say they don't really crave food any longer. Is this true? It would be amazing to know that my life didn't revolve around what I was going to eat next. It seems like I'm obsessed about where I want to eat and what on the menu is the biggest portion. I also have a horrible habit of eating faster than anyone I've ever met. So the second thing that appeals to me about GVS is that you cannot eat fast. Is this also true?
So during my research I was afraid my insurance wouldn't cover surgery so I expanded my research to Mexico. Let me tell you, I was ready to go and still would go.....I think....? But come to find out my insurance is going to pay and I've been accepted to an approved and Bariatric accredited hospital near me. Problem is my first surgeon consultation is not until April 11 and then my appointment with a Nutritionist until April 18. My next question is obvious....should I wait that long or head to Mexico?
I have more questions but will post them in shorter rants I hope everyone is having a wonderful Sunday
@secretlyskinny73

Hi.... Find out how long the process is through your insurance. If it's too long of a wait/process then check out "Beliteweight." I went through them to finance my surgeries. First I had lap band by Dr. Rodriguez in Tijuana, Mexico in 2013 and now I am having revision surgery to the sleeve. Dr. R is the best!! I can let you know how my sleeve surgery goes if you want. It is scheduled 3/24.

From my experience, the surgery is a great tool to help modify your eating habits to get the weight loss that you need, but you also need to tackle and change the behaviors that have caused you to purposefully over eat. The surgery may take away cravings, but your brain & who you are at your core remains the same. If u had trouble moderating food before, you'll have trouble again unless you make some mental changes as well. On these sites I've seem people do both, I went through my insurance & the education process and I'm glad I did. It gave me time to deal with myself, do some research and get it in my head that I needed to make adjustments. I didn't want to spend time & energy to get a quick fix just to go back and did what I did before. I wanted to make it a lifestyle change. so I'm not sure there's a perfect way to do it, or where to go...different strokes for different folks. Just whatever you do, make the decision because you want to be healthy and successful mentally and physically!
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