Intro

[Guest jacqui5150]

Hello, I'm new to this board. I had a date for the RNY and cancelled it.....I did feel a bit sad, as it is all that my insurance will pay for, but I feel I need the nutrition and could never equate RNY to = health. Thinness - yes, Health - no. My surgeon hates the band, and although he does both, is not happy with my indecision problem as he puts it. So, he is sending me back to the shrink to find out what my problems are! I need a very good band doctor in Sacramento, who will deal with a self pay as it looks as if Blue Cross pers choice is out of the question here for paying. If anyone can help, I thankyou so much.

Jacqui5150

[Vera 7]

:cool: Hi Jacqui

Welcome to LapBandTalk

I know all about BC not paying. I went to Monterrey Mexico and had my band placed by Dr. Sanchez at the cost of 10,850. Depending how much your willing to pay there are quit a few doctors in the Bayarea and in Sacramento. Sassaay lives in Roseville, she used Dr Machado ( I don't know anything about her doctor). I use Dr. Mckeen of San Jose for my fills, I believe his cost to place a band including 1 year of fills is about 20,000.

Good luck

[La_madam 20]

Hi Jacqui

I live in southern california and i had my surgery in tiajuana Mexico with a great docotr. the follow up care is easy since i'm so close. i had blue cross and there was no way they would approve the lap band so i did the self pay. self pay is alot cheaper in mexico, there are several awesome doctors in mexico, Dr. Ortiz, dr. kuri, Dr. Lopez. all of these doctors are great! I know that my doctor is a proctor for inamed the company who makes the band. self paying in the states is almost 3 times the price of mexico. several of us women and men on this board and other boards have gone to mexico and have had great success with our bands. its pretty cheap to fly from sacramento to mexico for follow up care also, there are many women andmen who live in other states and still do their follow up care in mexico. my surgery was 8995.00 and I pay 100.00 for fills. the cheapest i could find in california was 17,000 plus cost of fills.

Michelle

[nightingale2u 42]

Hi Jacqui,

I just wanted to welcome you to the site... can't help you with finding a doc... but definitely think it is time to drop the one you already have! This is a HUGE decision... and everyone should be absolutely sure when they do this! I think a lot of doctor's like the immediate results from the RNY... they get all of that positive feedback and hero worship right away! I can't imagine making the decision to cut my stomach apart and re-route my intestines without a whole HECK of a lot of thought put into it! Your decision to leave your GI system intact and opt for something that works as a tool that can be adjusted or removed if need be was a very wise one!

Darcy

[Rebeccalee 2]

Hi Jacqui,

There's a great group of laparoscopic surgeons in San Francisco, and their price is not too bad. They are Lap. Associates of SF and have 3 doctors. Dr. Cirangle placed my band. He does the most bands, as the group does all the weight loss procedures. They are excellent surgeons. They work out of Pacific Medical Center, considered one of the best in SF. They have satellite offices/support groups in Petaluma, Pleasant Hill, Hawaii, Eureka (where I'm from) and a new office in San Jose.

They charge $5000 up front for surgery, the hospital is $6500, and the anesthesiologist is $1000. Fills are $300 or $3500 for 3 years of follow up care. One follow up visit is included in their fee. So you can have it done for $12,500 with more expenses later. The good thing is that they would be close to you. They come up here to Eureka once a month and have a support group, do consultations and fills. I'm not sure if all the other satellites are like that, but I think so. Here's their web site: http://www.lapsf.com/

Good luck with your search. Rebecca

[elbell 0]

Hi Jacqui

Welcome, I jest wanted to let you know that you are not alone. I had the same problem with BC. I finaly got fed up and decited to skip them all together and go self pay, I found a dr in Monterrey Mexico by the name of Dr. Rumbaut he charges $10,600 I have talked to his ofice and they are grate people I havent had my sergery yeat but plan to go in september. Good luck and Go with your Hart

Ellen

[DeLarla 22]

Jacqui. I agree to get rid of your current doctor. A gastric bypass operation mutilates your anatomy. They have to cut and rewire your guts. A band simply goes around the stomach and is 100% reversable. I'm having major problems with one of my incisions now, but I'm still not giving up on my band.

[sheeanisland 0]

Originally posted by elbell

Hi Jacqui

Welcome, I jest wanted to let you know that you are not alone. I had the same problem with BC. I finaly got fed up and decited to skip them all together and go self pay, I found a dr in Monterrey Mexico by the name of Dr. Rumbaut he charges $10,600 I have talked to his ofice and they are grate people I havent had my sergery yeat but plan to go in september. Good luck and Go with your Hart

Ellen

I am also going to monterrey mexico with Dr. Rumbaut in September. Do you have your date yet? my surgery date is the 8th.

[DeLarla 22]

I've been through hell and back with surgeons. I hear good things about Rumbah in Monterey, even though I spell his name differently every time I write it!

[GeezerSue 7]

Welcome, Jacqui...

Rumbaut was my surgeon. But he recommended Cirangle for fills. At this point, I'd feel comfortable with Cirangle. (I've had my band for almost two years, and two years ago Rumbaut had done 1400 bands and few US doctors had done even 50.)

If I were getting a band now and lived in Roseville (where some of my loonier friends and family live) I think I'd opt for Cirangle. I've had issues requiring unfilling and refilling and an experienced doctor nearby would have saved me thousands of dollars. Don't tell Rumbaut I said this, because I adore him. But it's a long--and somewhat expensive--way to Monterrey. Roseville to San Francisco would be a dream.

Of the two, Rumbaut IS far more experienced. But Cirangle is sufficiently experienced (anything over 50 bands) to have learned his craft. You will easily spend the $2000 difference getting to and from Monterrey, and even there you have to pay about $100 for the flouro for each adjustment and another $100 for each night in the hotel and then there are air fare and meals and taxis, etc.

Sue

[DeLarla 22]

Dr. Kuri in TJ is very reasonable. The Santorio San Francisco hospital isn't very nice but Kuri seems to know his stuff. I think he charges $50 for fills but it's less than $2.00 taxi fare from the border if you take Taxi Libre. He's really close to the border. Sue, how are you doing? I've been so bad that I've selfishly ignored everyone else. I hope you're well.

Lis

[elbell 0]

Hi sheeanisland

to anser your question no I havent set a date yeat becouse of finnancell problems, but I am hopping to set a date fot the firest week or two of September, becouse i hate traveling on my birthday. So far what are your experences with Dr. Rumbauts office. I have talked to them a cupple of times and have had a good experience with them both times. Aneyway let me know how you are dooing and good Luck

Ellen:banana

[GeezerSue 7]

Hi, Lisa! Welcome home. I, too, have been focusing on me. I hope that's normal. I'm glad you're on your way to repair.

Kuri is a pro. He charges $175 for the fill, plus the $50 for radiology. But since Jacqui is up north, I still think having Cirangle would be a good move, depending on what is important to her. Kuri practices out of two hospitals--one very basic, one more modern. But neither of them is like an American style teaching hospital, with 24 hour/day specialists in multiple fields. Kuri's bargain rate is, I think, around $8500, and his fancier hospital is closer to $10,000. Some of his fees include hotel...although my last experience at Palacio Azteca was not too pleasing. (A water/sewer issue, with brown Water coming out of the tap in the morning...ugh.)

It all depends. I'm not crazy about the commute to Tijuana, but it is doable and kind of a mini-vacation for my husband and me. And he LOVES the stuffed shrimp at Los Arcos. On the other hand, working folks who live in the Los Angeles area complain about the commute to Tijuana, because at best, it takes an entire day. At best. I think I would like it a lot less if I were starting in Roseville. I had to have an unfill for my PS, then I'll need a refill when I'm up to the travel. If I had a local doctor (which I'm going to get in July), I'd be ready for a refill now. Which would be nice, since I'm barely moving and could use help with the weight thing.

But now, you're the expert when it comes to the routine when the doctor is far away and you need him NOW. Also, I'm older, and i think the logistics become more important as we age.

Sue

[DeLarla 22]

Yeah, Sue, I think it's normal to be selfish while suffering. How are you feeling? Any pain? One day I hope to get abdominoplasty myself.

How odd that you had a bad experience at Palacio Azteca. Our room was great. Everything was clean and functioning with a huge balcony and excellent room service (but bland food.) The room was identical to the rooms in the hotel we stayed at last Christmas in San Diego. We decided to stay a 2nd night in Mexico but wanted a cheaper room. However, after checking out 2 other sleazy hotels went back to Palacio Azteca and spent the $58.00 for another night. One skanky hotel offered to give us a room for $20.00 for four hours. EEK!

The hospital I saw Kuri at was shaky - the kind of place I wouldn't walk into in the US for medical care. But I was so desperate for help that I'd have let the security guard operate on me. By the time I made it to Mexico, my tube was protruding so far out of my incision that you could slip a straw through it. It was awful living that way for a week. And the week prior to that my incision was lanced, drained, and packed 3 days in a row. The weeks before that my incision was swollen, painful, and infected. Kuri fixed me up in a heartbeat, so I admire & respect him for that.

Today someone sent me a list of doctors in Los Angeles that treat Mexican patients. On Monday I'll call to compare rates. My friends & family are in the LA area, so I have plenty of places to stay if I want to visit for a weekend and get filled. By the time we paid for hotels, gas, parking, taxis and tipping every person in Mexico, it might be the same price in California, and I'd get the bonus of seeing my family.

One thing's for sure - Monday will be devoted to finding a reasonable and reputable doctor that's not in Mexico for emergencies. Dr. Kuri removed my port, so I'll need another surgery to replace it in 3-4 months. I've heard other doctors simply move the port to a different area, but many of those patients get infected again and have to start again by having the port removed and replaced. Dr. Kuri saved me. I was impressed with his abilities and caring nature. And when I call, he answers the phone himself and takes as much time as I need to calm me down and answer all my questions. Dr. Kuri fixes band patients that can't find help elsewhere. His assistant surgeon took extra time working on my incision to lessen the indentation and scarring simply for aesthetic purposes, and my incision looks excellent. However, as much as I respect and trust Kuri, truthfully, the Tijuana thing is unsettling no matter which way I look at it. There are 3 band doctors here in Vegas, but they can't treat Mexican patients because their insurance won't allow it. Only one of the 3 will give fills, but the price is ridiculous. I truly appreciate Dr. Kuri, but I hope to find a nearby American doctor soon.

By the way, Dr. Ortiz was kind enough to call me because I wanted a second opinion before letting Kuri remove my port. I even got Lopez on the phone once (miraculously) and they all agreed that infected ports need to be removed. I just took a pain pill... did I float way off the topic?

[DeLarla 22]

By the way, if I could go back and do the whole band again, I'd probably be more patient and fight my insurance companies. I have dual insurance that both pay for gastric bypass but not the band. But my life has been such a struggle. Everything seems to be a major fight with me, and I'm sick of fighting so I self-paid to avoid all that stress. My desperation got to the point of coming home after work, eating, and laying down. I was never suicidal, but I'd fantasize about the Grim Reaper finally ending it for me.

However, after my bad Mexico experience, I probably should have fought the good fight and tried getting my insurance to pay so I'd have a doctor at home. The last few weeks were truly horrifying not having a doctor nearby.