MollieBeth

I would definitely choose Mexico. I went down to Monterrey Mexico to have my surgery with Dr. De la Garza through the litenfree website. I have never seen such a beautiful hospital as OCA hospital. I was treated like a queen there, the nurses and everyone was so friendly. I couldn't have asked for anything better and it was about a 1/4 of a cost of what you can find in the states and you get a doctor that has done about 3 times as many surgeries as doctors in the states. My surgeon was one of the earlier pioneers as well and started about 12 years ago putting some of the first bands on in Mexico. I would love to talk to people interested in going. I am almost to my goal weight but I love going down there for fills/check ups since they are free. Email me if you want someone to talk to, I was very nervous in picking out a place to go as well. But I would over all chose Mexico to have my surgery.

Congratulations, on your surgery date. That is super excited. I wish you the best of luck. Where did you decide to have the surgery done, just curious.:thumbup:

I wasn't that much higher than you, I had a BMI of a 32.5, I know that is a lot higher than a 28 but like you said you are losing and gaining. I can tell you it has been the best thing I have ever done for myself. My doctor does the surgery for lower BMI patients but he always says, now...you aren't going to lose like all of the other patients in their 6 week period before their first fill. That is true, because you have to think about it. The reason heavier patients with a higher BMI have a lot more fat lining the stomach wall which gives them restrcition with the band. So you may not lose very much in the beginning but after your first fill you will be just as tight as everyone else. It is the way to go and I recommend it for everyone that has problems sitting down at the table and eating way more than we should. Another great thing, is I have not lost as many pounds as I thought, but I am losing inches and pant sizes. So it all works out. Email me if you want molliebeth.smith@yahoo.com I would love to tell you about my experience, but I also say GO for it!! It will be the best thing for you! Mollie

Mine is the same way, but up on my higher ab muscle. I can feel it, but it does not show on the outside. No one would be able to tell you have anything except from seeing the scars. Don't worry, its not visible.

It is not possible for someone to reach their full limit. I have heard of someone saying that the doctor put too big of a band on them and they had all of the fills they could get. I guess that could be a possibility but I don't know of anyone that has gotten 4ccs put in their band and has been able to eat anything. However you still have a ways to go, I am not sure why your doctor is saying you can only have .5 more. You are only half way to your full point.

Ahh...well us sitting here reading the posts don't really know what is going on with you two, but yes, you guys can work it out on your own. We are here to help other people and answer questions. Good Luck HotPink on your weight loss, I am glad things are going better for you. The best thing was to just get up and get through the pain. I know what you were going through, I came home from work my first day bawling. I even laid flat down on the floor in my office to try to make it go away. It is just something that has to work itself out and it will. I wish you the best of luck again! As far as your boyfriend, give him a break, he will come around if you are telling the truth. It is really hard for them to understand what we are going through. They don't feel that shoulder pain and they have no idea how bad it hurts. But he still loves you and you should want to lose for yourself and then for him. Keep up the good work on getting better!

It was true for me! I was little to begin with, was a C and now I am a B. I didn't want it to happen but its okay, if the rest of my body shrinks too, I will look okay. I might even consider getting a boob job when I am all done. =)

Yes I have it too, but only if I eat to much! Yes it is the signal from your brain that your diaphram is hurting. It is the nerve but it the way that your brain tells you your diaphram is hurting or irritated is up there in your shoulder. Try different things, try not to eat as much, or drink when you are eating. I know that you are not supposed to drink when you are eating but I notice that mine comes more often if I do which helps me to not drink while I am eating But yes it is perfectly normal, its just your body telling you that something is hurting.

Aww, I am sorry to hear that, that happened to you. Some people just have no clue what you have been through. You will become more confident with less weight. I am not even sure what you look like, but yes there are always going to be people bigger than you. Don't worry about what others think of you. You are your own person, and you are going to be beautiful no matter what anyone else says. I am sure he was just put in an awkward position, but he should have handled it in a different way and not so rudely. I wish you luck on your journey to a banded life. I tell you that it has changed my life completely and it will do the same for you. Which doctors are you looking at? Are you planning to have the surgery soon? I wish you the best of luck!

I also had my band put on my Dr. Javier de la Garza at OCA Hospital. It is the prettiest hospital, I have ever been in. I would definitely recommend it. The aftercare program is great too! Mexico is not anything like what people say. You definitely want to chose a hospital rather than a clinic and that is why I went to Monterrey rather than TJ. But that was just by choice. I would do it over in a heart beat. Cyndilou what doctors are you looking at so far?

Where is his clinic located? I had mine done in Monterrey, I wonder if it is close to him. I chose a hospital though, I was afraid of something happening and I didn't want to be in just a clinic when it happened. Even though nothing happened =)

Wow I can't believe there is a surgeon that is doing it for that price on CO. I had mine done in Mexico, but only because I wanted a surgeon that had done lap band procedure more than 2000 times. My surgeon had done it over 3000 and he said the procedure took about 25 min. while he was inside my stomach. That meant less time under anesthesia and surgery overall. I could not have been happier. I got the 9.75 CM band, he said it depended on weight. I hope you didn't get too big of a band Kirsten, maybe that is why your fills are not sitting in well. But you have only had one so don't worry your second one should help a lot more. The surgeon and hospital that I went to have a great aftercare program, where I just fly back down there and everything is included. I think its easier to get a flight down to Monterrey, MX and have my fill done with my original surgeon rather than paying about the same to have one done in my area. I have only had to pay around 8000 and everything else was included. I could not have been happier. I am glad so many more people are getting the band. It is changing lives left and right. Soon we will all be skinny =)

I had my surgery done in Monterrey Mexico. It is about 3 hours from the Laredo, TX border. So it was really close. We could have driven but we just flew right in to Monterrey Airport, and the hospital chofer came and picked us up. We had a great time. It was the best experience of my life. I was a self pay, and it was only 8,000 and that includes everything with the hospital and the follow up visits. So I would definitely recommend it. My surgeon was Dr. De la Garza and I went through www.litenfree.com. I was very impressed since it was my very first time to go to Mexico. The hospital was beautiful and I had a wonderful time. Email me if you have any questions molliebeth.smith@yahoo.com. Mollie

Hi Everyone, I know everyone is talking about all of their doctors, I am so glad there are so many out there that help everyone. There is nothing better than to get the band. I am so excited, and its the best thing I have ever done for myself. My surgeon was Dr. Javier De la Garza through www.litenfree.com I had an awesome experience and their price is only $8,000 and that includes everything even fills for life if you get your airfare back. They have an awesome patient coordinator, her name was Stephanie. She is the best part of the program. Everyone speaks English and everyone is SOO helpful. I wasn't scared at all when I arrived. The hospital is amazing, so clean and beautiful. Mollie

Hello There, I don't mean to be rude, but I thought that assistants and doctors were not aloud to go online and solicit themselves like this. I know you are trying to help but this can be discouraging to people as well to know that the assitants and doctors are roaming around reading all of our stuff. This is a site for banded people, or people looking to get banded. You are not supposed to be writing stuff like this, plus it is kind of confusing, what is obesityoff.com? We are all talking about Lite 'n Free, are you something different? Anyways, I just wanted to put my point of view out there. I know that Dr. De la Garza is a really nice surgeon and I know that he works for www.litenfree.com as well. That is who I went through like I said above and I had an amazing time. I would have done nothing different. If you have any questions feel free to email me molliebeth.smith@yahoo.com. Mollie

Hello, My name is Mollie Smith, and I was banded by Dr. Del la Garza in Monterrey Mexico about 2 months ago. I don't see too many posts about him, so I was wondering if there was anyone else out there that was banded by him so I can have some people to talk to. I also just wanted to just share how please I was with him and the team. I know everyone, thinks Oh my gosh, I can't have surgery in Mexico, but I tell you what, I felt like I was a queen there. They treated me with so much respect and everyone was so nice and friendly. I went through litenfree.com if anyone is interested in a beautiful hospital and a wonderful surgeon. I would recommend him to anyone, and if anyone has any questions or just wants to talk I am here email me at molliebeth.smith@yahoo.com. I am new at these forums but I think they are a great way to get to know people and help others out with questions. Mollie

I used www.litenfree.com as well. The staff were wonderful. I had a blast and I made some really good friends especially with the patient coordinator Stephanie. She is the patient coordinator that sets up everything at Lite 'n Free. They can get you in super quick and the doctor was great as well. It is a good price and the hospital is so clean and the staff is always smiling. If you have any questions please email me, I will tell you my story. My email is molliebeth.smith@yahoo.com. Mollie

I went in May and had my surgery done, but I think I met a new patient coordinator from Litenfree. Her name was Stephanie, I thinks he replaced Nina since she had a baby. I worked with both of them, but Stephanie met me when I got there. She was wonderful too. She is actually from Arkansas so that made me feel a ton better too. She helped me with everything I needed. I had Dr. De la Garza too and he was wonderful. I loved him and the anesthesiologist. He was wonderful, the whole team was. I would recommend him to anyone!!! Please email if you want my story, MollieBeth.smith@yahoo.com I would be glad to talk to anyone. Mollie

I had Dr. De la Garza too! He was wonderful, I have also heard great things about Dr. Rumbaut but I would defintely recommend Dr. De la Garza. I went through the program litenfree which was located right in the Hospital at litenfree . com. The patient coordinator was wonderful, she is actually from the states so she made me feel so welcome and we became really good friends. She loves to keep up with her patients. As far as the hospital and staff they are soo wonderful. The hospital is so clean and the staff is so friendly. If you have any questions or would like to know more about my experience don't hesitate to contact me by email at molliebeth.smith@yahoo.com. I know I wanted to talk to a bunch of people before my surgery, it helps calm everything. Mollie

Hello Guys, I just wanted to put my experience in here too! I had Dr De la Garza too but I went through a completely different process. I actually went through the hospital instead of going through someone in the US. There is a patient coordinator named Stephanie who actually replaced Georgina and Nina. They have their own website litenfree. I had a wonderful experience, and everything was handled perfectly. I got all of my questions and everything set up by Stephanie, and then when I got there, I met her and she took care of me from there. I had an awesome experience, I am sorry to hear that some of you haven't. If you are really considering surgery and you have any questions or want to know more about my experience please email me at molliebeth.smith@yahoo.com, I would love to tell you. Mollie

I just wanted to throw this in too. I had Dr. De la Garza as my surgeon and he was wonderful and so was all of the staff at the hospital. I had a WONDERFUL patient coordinator Stephanie, she works there at the hospital and is from the States so she can understand what scares us when we want to go to a foreign country. But I went to the litenfree website and she was my patient coordinator. I feel really sorry for the people that get sucked into scams or all of that. I am just very lucky I had a patient coordinator that took care of me before the surgery and when I got there. I saw here everyday, so I didn't feel like I just paid and got left behind, she was there for me the whole time. If you have any questions email me molliebeth.smith@yahoo.com, I love to answer questions and tell about my experience. Mollie

I was banded by Dr. De la Garza and I could not have had a better experience. I know that Monterrey is a beautiful city. If you have any questions, I will be happy to answer them and tell you about my experience as well. The doctor's team and staff were great. I would definitely have it done all over again if I had to.

I had my surgery with Dr. De la Garza, through Lite 'n Free. I had a blast, and I thought the patient coordinator was awesome!! She even took me and dropped me off at the Centro so I wouldn't have to take a cab. The hotel staff was great, and we had a great time. I would not have changed anything. The doctor team was great, and Dr. De la Garza really knows what he is doing. He is very kind and will sit down to answer any of your questions and he will make you feel so much better. I would definately recommend him, if anyone has any questions or would like to email me personally my email is MollieBeth_Smith@yahoo.com.