sandi_022

I have no problem answering :blushing: I'll probably start a different thread on it just because I was so shocked and appalled that we were treated that way, specially in a foreign country where we have no clue where we were and knew anyone, nor the language for that matter. I'll try to make it short and sweet lol. The "hospital" (I say that because it was a clinic in a strip mall, apparently all plastic surgery centers are in strip malls) was great, they were awesome to me and my family. After wards they set you up in what they call a guest house to recover. they told my family that they'd be all taken care of, they'd have breakfast, lunch, and dinner all made up for them the next morning, and just a lot of promises that they couldn't keep. We got to the guest house, it was FREEZING! they didn't have any heaters, and told us they had some small electrical ones in storage, but we had to find them, and couldn't find any. I had to go to the other house to ask for the breakfast, if I didn't, then my family wouldn't have been able to eat. And when the lady did come over to cook it, she couldn't speak a lick of English, and acted like we were putting her out, so we felt bad cuz we were supposed to have a translator there, but... nope, none in sight. Then they said I was supposed to go to xray at 11am... that came and went, and I called up to the office, and they didn't know what was going on. We wanted to shopping afterwards to some of the little market shops, so we just wanted to get this xray done and over with. We finally found a guy that spoke english, he said he'd look into it.... he didn't.. I called back 2 and a half hours later and then they tell me someone is on their way to take me. Well, my patient coordinator just got there when they loaded me into the van, and they said that me and only me could go, my family would have to stay at the guest house and wait. She asked how my family was doing, i said, do u want to ask me or them cuz i knew i wouldn't be as harsh, well apparently this was her form of me "attacking" her. And i was just explaining why we were upset and couldn't get a hold of any one on anything. So she says she'll go a head and talk to them. Meanwhile, the owner is all up in my face not being very nice to me, and i'm like umm... ok... so i go get my xray, come back. The owner and my patient coordinator take me into a room and start to tell me how rude my family is, and how they couldn't believe my family talked to them the way they did, and how they didn't appreciate anything, and how much complaining they did, and that they just wanted me to hear their side. Also told me that my step dad packed our stuff and said that they were leaving, and the owner and the pc tried to get them to stay. And I thought, okay, my step dad can be like that sometimes, maybe they were, who knows? All i knew is i was feeling like crap. So he said that he put me up in the marriot w 1 guest and the rest of my family would have to find somewhere else to stay. then as I'm walking out he says to me, when you get skinny, your friends and family will want nothing to do with you, so just be prepared, and i'm like UMMM NO. my family and friends love me and support anything I do. So then their driver gets to the hotel, my family booked a room right next to mine, and they told me that they were just sitting in the house when the owner and pc came in with body guards, and started yelling at them, and telling them that they couldn't afford to stay in a 5 star hotel and that they needed to get out of the house right now, and they wouldn't even let my family explain anything. and the owner, a man, told my mom that he's more of a man that she is..... there's more, but i tried to make it short and sweet lol

Hey, I was just banded in MX, what doctor are you going to?

Mostly what did it was the fact that its MUCH MUCH cheaper, and I'm a self pay. I would have rather done it here in the US, but, after doing some research I found the MX has been doing lapbands for much longer than the US has. I had my surgery on Monday... and well.. it was a very eventful experience... Nothing really like I had thought, and the place kicked my family out and tried to turn me against them once they had me alone :thumbup: Not cool.

I'm great!! I'm not nervous....yet! I don't usually get super nervous for something until just prior. Excited?! Well... I am, but at the same time I'm not... I'll try to explain... through out this whole experience with trying to get the surgery, I've got nothing but bad news.. its kinda like I'm in the mind set that I'll get there and for some reason I won't be able to get the surgery... I hope that doesn't happen, but with my luck....so its almost like its better not to get my hopes up. I think my boyfriend is way more nervous and excited than I am, lol. He just wants everything to go perfectly fine, cuz he knows how much I want this. I don't actually have a pre-op diet, just a laxitive 3 days before, and nothing to eat or drink after midnight the night before, but that's with any surgery. You were talking about a circus?! I'm flying to California and getting the surgery in Mexico... I've got my boyfriend flying with my and my parents and my little sister are flying from TX to be there, its going to be crazy! lol But I love them all and wouldn't have it any other way

Sooo here's the short version of my story. Tried to get my insurance to cover the surgery.... well, no can do. I was actually down to the point that all they had to do was schedule my surgery... dangit! Well, I decided to go with Dr. Almanza in Mexico. I've been talking to the pt. coordinator, but I still have some questions. My surgery is on March 8th. What should I expect? They never said anything about a pre-op diet, but from what I've been reading, its looking like something I should do, even if he doesn't require it. Also, for those who've had theirs done in Mexico.... if there are complications, were you able to find doctors around you that would be able to assist you? or are most of them against helping? Lets hope not for my sake lol. If there was one piece of advice you'd give to someone going in for the surgery, what would it be?

I'm not, I'm from Michigan. Since the economy here is so terrible, my step dad went to work in the Oil fields in wyoming, and that TX was where the BCBS was out of. Kinda weird, I know. lol So I spoke with the pt. coordinator, and she forgot to send me the paperwork on what they need me to do, and what I should expect. I got the paperwork this morning, and I feel MUCH MUCH better. I don't feel lost any more. All my questions were answered, well, most of them :thumbup:

Well... My mom worked at a hospital as an RN. We had her insurance, and they covered the entire amount of the surgery. I was stoked! So I went into the meeting and all that and they got me an appt, and I found out that I had to have a year of a supervised diet, pretty much through my dr. I went a head and got the psych. eval, and everything was good. Unfortunately, before the year was up, I was no longer covered under the insurance, because I turned 24. I was on the supervised diet for like 8 months. So I then looked into a self pay option, seen a sign on the door that they had a program that would help pay for it. The Dr's office was NO help what so ever. It was like ask the right questions get the right answers, then get transfered to 50 different people just for them to tell you that they can't help you. Then my step-dad got Blue Cross Blue Shield out of TX. Well with the one out of Texas I had to jump through flaming hoops to try and get them to cover it. They said they'd cover it, but I had to go another 6 months, not only a supervised diet, but it had to be with the nutritionist. Well, my step dad left that job before the 6 months were up. I then got another insurance company and they told me that they would pay for the doctor to do it in his office, but since he had to do it in the hospital, the hospital wasn't covered. I'm like wtf? Seriously?! And that was after calling a ton of different people at the dr's office for them to help me. I think my dr's office just didn't care to help me at all. They make it sound like they're going to do whatever they can to get the insurance company to accept the procedure, so you get all excited, and they don't do a darn thing. By then I just gave up, and started doing research for doctors in Mexico. The issue i'm having now is just the unknown. Again, I feel like i have to ask the right questions to get the right answers out of them, and then I feel like i'm asking way to many questions. I figure they would at least mail, or e-mail me a packet of what to expect, or something to re-assure me that i'm going to be taken care of, and I'm in good hands, but I haven't got anything. The only correspondence i've had is when I contact them. I guess its one of those things tho, thats probably why its cheaper, because you don't have that one on one, you just have to go into it and hope for the best. I'm sure everything will be fine, I'm not scared or anything, I just don't want to have to get all the way there, and them be like "oh by the way... we can't do your surgery because...." That would just stink! I can definitely say tho, that I probably wouldn't have even thought about going to a different country to get surgery if it weren't for this site. There are so many things that I've learned and so many questions that I've had answered just by reading. I'm glad I found it :sad:

I definitely know how you feel. I'm just kinda upset that my dr's office isn't giving me ANY information. Its like I have to ask all the right questions to get the right answers. Its upsetting, but I'm glad that I've found this site, and can find any answers on here that they don't give. I don't know if I would have even went through with it if it wasn't for this site. :sad:

I feel the exact same way! :confused: getting yours in Mexico?

I am scheduled for March 8th in Mexico!!! I'm excited, and can't wait!!

I to am going on March 8th!