Surgery next week---Should I cancel/postpone???

[bahotmomma 0]

I had my surgery done in Aurora, CO by Dr. Kirshenbaum, I to was a self pay ($9995.00 which included 3 months of follow-up care, after that my fills are way cheap). If I were you I would reconsider having surgery at this time. You have way to much on your plate (no pun intended) and that is an aweful lot of money to spend. Best of luck to you that you make the best choice for your family.

[GayleTX 1]

Has your loan for your new house already been approved? If not, it could get shot down in a hurry if you take on an addition debt like the $18K.

Also, if you should decide to go to Mexico, BE SURE you have an aftercare (fill) doctor lined up in your area who will do fills for Mexico surgeons...many of them will not. The Mexican doctors are wonderful but much of your success depends on your aftercare and the support of the staff there. Also, the cost of the fills varies greatly from $150-600 for a fill so check that out before making a decision.

[stef123633 1]

Ok, I feel compelled to offer a different opinion. I would wait. As someone who suffered PCOS and other infertility issues and I now have two kids, I do know that losing just a wee bit of weight can make a big difference. Money aside, to wait 2 more years to start trying again when you know you already have issues seems like a gamble. Get to the gym, weight watchers, whatever you can do to take 10-20 lbs off (try the Protein Shake pre-op diet a few weeks). Personally, I feel like obligating yourself to additional $500/month payment when you husband is unemployed is financially reckless. You are investing in yourself, but you need to do it maturely and make sure the timing is right.

Good luck

[Susie Girl 75 0]

I think it is a matter of education, we don't do a very good job of that in this country. We tend to let the media teach us about other countries by way of sensationalism instead of picking up a book and reading a bit about the topic of other countries. Mexico is not a tiny village without running Water. ;o)

Let's not forget, it was the Mexican surgeons that trained the majority of US surgeons in banding.

I'm sorry Bubble Butt! It has nothing to do with education. Mexico is a 3rd world county and I said that FOR ME, it wouldn't be an option. And I'm not sure about who trained your surgeoon, but my surgeon, Dr. Meyers was trained here in Chicago at RUSH Hospital which the LARGEST teaching hospital in Illinois. I think YOU should read a book.

[WASaBubbleButt 41]

I'm sorry Bubble Butt! It has nothing to do with education. Mexico is a 3rd world county and I said that FOR ME, it wouldn't be an option. And I'm not sure about who trained your surgeoon, but my surgeon, Dr. Meyers was trained here in Chicago at RUSH Hospital which the LARGEST teaching hospital in Illinois. I think YOU should read a book.

Since Mexico is a 3rd world country that means the doctors are not trained well? Or is the problem that they are Mexican?

Are you aware the band has been approved in Mexico since 1991 and it wasn't approved in the US until 2001? Yes, it was the Mexican surgeons who trained the original US surgeons. If your doctor hasn't been doing the band for very long then he probably was proctored in the US.

You should go outside the US someday and explore. There is great medical care to be had outside the US. We really are not the best in everything, amazing yet true. We are probably the most expensive but not necessarily the best. The entire country of Mexico is not made up of little villages with no running Water. Shockingly many Mexican cities are exactly like the US.

We have mountain people in the US that live off the land, no running Water, no modern facilities and yet that doesn't make us a horror for medical care either as an entire country. It is never a wise idea to take the worse case scenario for a city and assume the entire country is that way. Quite frankly, when it comes to medical culture - Mexico has the US beat 10x over.

People leave the US for medical care in bigger numbers each year. Are many many MANY thousands of people just stupid and you are the only one in the know?

Tell me something, if Mexican surgeons are such a horror, who do YOU think perfected the surgical technique used for banding today?

I did not suggest that you must go anywhere for anything. But passing off negative information about an entire country is not wise and getting your education from the media about other countries isn't wise either. A book, it's a great pastime.

[momma66 0]

I would wait until your husband has secured a job. Maybe his new benifits will pay for the lapband! What if you have other issues caused by the lapband that need medical attention? Moving is stressfull enough! I would wait...

[marie715 0]

As a side issue, you may want to get another opinion on the idea that your weight loss is significantly effected by your polycystic ovarian syndrome, (if I understood your comment correctly). In my opinion, while it may be peripherally related in terms of hormonal- and thus Water retention, it is not something that has a significant impact on your ability to lose wt, and keep it off. (are you on metformin?) I would tend to agree that you should not go in debt at this time. Not only do you have to have the finances for up-front costs, there may be complications (god forbid), and that must be considered as well. I know my doctor was actually trained by Dr. Ortiz in Mexico, (he proctors a lot of US doctors). You may have a doctor in your area that trained with Ortiz and would be willing to have you in his practice.

Please, Brian, with all due respect, there is no way someone who does not have Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome should make statements that imply that water retention is the cause of the inability of those of us that suffer from PCOS to loose weight and keep it off. If only it were as simple as water retention. Peruse the PCOS bandster forum and you'll see stories of what PCOS really does to us. It most definately has a signficant impact on our ability to loose weight and keep it off and water retention is most likely the least of our concerns.

[badmadmama 0]

Dr. Myers, at Rush, was actually trained by Dr. Santiago Horgan, who went to school in Argentina and was one of the first doctors to bring lap band surgery to the US. Dr. Myers did my lap band surgery.

[badmadmama 0]

My girlfriend's sister went to Mexico for her lap band surgery. The facilities there are ultra-luxurious, and they do everything to make it easy for people to come there from the US. If I was self-pay, I would definitely check it out. A lot of the surgeons there DID come here to teach lap band methods.

[Heft_Bandit 1]

2nd2none1 , looks like you stuck between a rock and a hard spot. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>

<o:p></o:p>

Like many others have said, you are the only one that can really make the decision to have the surgery. <o:p></o:p>

<o:p></o:p>

From personal experience, two things that can make/break a marriage are Sex and Money. Lack of either can cause serious stress in a relationship. <o:p></o:p>

Would the stress of adding 18k Debt to your marriage be worth it?<o:p></o:p>

<o:p></o:p>

Then there is the baby. <o:p></o:p>

Would the financial stress of paying off the surgery and taking care of new baby, take away from the joys of your new baby?<o:p></o:p>

<o:p></o:p>

Is there any penalty for postponing the surgery?<o:p></o:p>

<o:p></o:p>

My personal opinion if I were in this situation would be to wait. I would stick by my man until he got on his feet. Only then would I consider losing weight and gaining a baby.

Most men, get depressed when they are unemployeed. Depression is not good. Working out is a good way to keep depression at bay. So maybe the two of you could start working out together while he's looking for a job? Maybe by the time he's got one, you've lost enough weight to start baby making. Now imagine how speical that would be. Doing everything together, supporting each other in times of need and now making a family.

-Tear...

HEFT!

Edited July 27, 2008 by Heft_Bandit
grammer

[Sunwyse 1]

As a side issue, you may want to get another opinion on the idea that your weight loss is significantly effected by your polycystic ovarian syndrome, (if I understood your comment correctly). In my opinion, while it may be peripherally related in terms of hormonal- and thus Water retention, it is not something that has a significant impact on your ability to lose wt, and keep it off. (are you on metformin?) I would tend to agree that you should not go in debt at this time. Not only do you have to have the finances for up-front costs, there may be complications (god forbid), and that must be considered as well. I know my doctor was actually trained by Dr. Ortiz in Mexico, (he proctors a lot of US doctors). You may have a doctor in your area that trained with Ortiz and would be willing to have you in his practice.

I am a woman who was diagnosed with PCOS at 22. I am now 41, so I've had it a few years and I know a fair bit about it.

I know for instance that the jury is still out on whether fat causes PCOS or PCOS causes fat, but they never the less, go hand in hand.

I know Water retention has NOTHING to do with PCOS and is simply part of the weight.

I know after trying just about every dammed diet in the world that my only solution is weight loss surgery.

Now. I don't preach on what I don't know. Please Brian, tell me with what great experience you've had with PCOS that you are speaking about? You can have an opinion, that is one thing, but when you start spouting out medical opinion/advice on something you know NOTHING about, you are crossing a line and being dangerous.

Oh yes one more thing. Not sure how old you are, but women no longer need men to tell them what they should and shouldn't do. Get a clue.

[Brian 2]

Dear 2nd2none1; it may be best if I revisit the issue of PCOS, if you don't mind, as my earlier note was abbreviated and left false impressions. When I read your note, I was struck by your statement that having PCOS, (constrained) "how much weight I can and can't lose..". I infered from that statement that others (or perhaps your physician) may have given you some unhappy, (or perhaps incorrect) news as to how much weight loss is possible, and not possible, with PCOS. That is why I suggested another opinion may help clarify the issue.

I had written a much longer version of my earlier note, and in making it much shorter, I see that all I ended up mentioning was the Water retention vis a vis hormonal changes- and that of course is a

gross mischaracterization of a complex syndrome- missing the point entirely about the metabolic consequences of PCOS. Stated more clearly, symptoms may range from the mild to severe and I apologize for implying that weight managment with PCOS is all about Water weight; I think it is obvious that is incorrect. Having said that, the question remains, "can people with metabolic problems lose weight, how much, how easily, and will weight loss correct or help reverse the condition?" Similarly, can Type I and Type II diabetics lose weight? Again, in my opinion yes, though it may be harder, take longer etc. But the diagnosis of diabetes, pre-diabetes, insulin resistance, PCOS, metabolic sydrome, etc, should not keep someone from getting the band, or attmepting weight loss. (It is likely a greater motivation.)

Should you get the band? I don't know. If your weight is #225, but fertility is really the issue and you can do that with 25 pound weight loss, that is one thing. If you want to get to an IBW of #145 lbs, needing 80 pound wt. loss, well, that is another.

I hope some of this is of interest.

[Susie Girl 75 0]

Since Mexico is a 3rd world country that means the doctors are not trained well? Or is the problem that they are Mexican?

Are you aware the band has been approved in Mexico since 1991 and it wasn't approved in the US until 2001? Yes, it was the Mexican surgeons who trained the original US surgeons. If your doctor hasn't been doing the band for very long then he probably was proctored in the US.

You should go outside the US someday and explore. There is great medical care to be had outside the US. We really are not the best in everything, amazing yet true. We are probably the most expensive but not necessarily the best. The entire country of Mexico is not made up of little villages with no running Water. Shockingly many Mexican cities are exactly like the US.

We have mountain people in the US that live off the land, no running Water, no modern facilities and yet that doesn't make us a horror for medical care either as an entire country. It is never a wise idea to take the worse case scenario for a city and assume the entire country is that way. Quite frankly, when it comes to medical culture - Mexico has the US beat 10x over.

People leave the US for medical care in bigger numbers each year. Are many many MANY thousands of people just stupid and you are the only one in the know?

Tell me something, if Mexican surgeons are such a horror, who do YOU think perfected the surgical technique used for banding today?

I did not suggest that you must go anywhere for anything. But passing off negative information about an entire country is not wise and getting your education from the media about other countries isn't wise either. A book, it's a great pastime.

I refuse to clutter this thread with a petty argument and that's CLEARLY what you are doing.

I have been to Mexico, twice actually... 1st time in 1995 and the 2nd time in 2000! So, telling me to 'explore' is a mute point. I don't need to share my traveling travel experience with you to know that I coudn't drink the water while traveling there.

I do read, and I have traveled out of the country and I refuse to continure a bicker fest that is totally off the original topic of this poor girls original post.

I will conclude with this final point and then I will NOT POST AGAIN to this thread... so any response you send will not even be read...

If we here in the US are not the best at everything and Mexico is such a great place, then why in the world are you still living in, where is it? Arizona... Last time I checked, AZ is part of THIS great country that we live it. If you prefer life in Mexico, you really should move there.

My body and whom I let cut it open is my choice... you should learn to respect that.

[Susie Girl 75 0]

Dr. Myers, at Rush, was actually trained by Dr. Santiago Horgan, who went to school in Argentina and was one of the first doctors to bring lap band surgery to the US. Dr. Myers did my lap band surgery.

Thank you Eileen, I too was well aware that Dr. Meyer's was trained by Dr. Horgan from Argentina, but Argentina is not Mexico, last I checked... Two seperate countries actually!!!

I'm so glad that your girlfriends sister had such a wonderful experience in Mexico, I think that's a great thing and If I were a self-pay patient, I would make a different choice, but that's really all that I was saying. I don't criticize or redicule anyone that has made that decision, they did what is best for them. I was simply stating that would not have been the correct choice for me.

I think Doc Meyers is wonderful and I would not change a thing about my procedure or anything about my decison. He is a great doctor and I was very fortunate to find him!!!

I only hope that you feel the same way.

Best,

Chi Town Susie Girl!

Edited July 28, 2008 by Susie Girl 75

[WASaBubbleButt 41]

I refuse to clutter this thread with a petty argument and that's CLEARLY what you are doing.

And yes amazingly, you just did!

I have been to Mexico, twice actually... 1st time in 1995 and the 2nd time in 2000! So, telling me to 'explore' is a mute point. I don't need to share my traveling travel experience with you to know that I coudn't drink the Water while traveling there.

That's okay, nobody is asking you to go to MX, nobody is asking you to have surgery in MX, most of all nobody is asking you to drink Water while you have surgery in MX. See? Easy!

I do read, and I have traveled out of the country and I refuse to continure a bicker fest that is totally off the original topic of this poor girls original post.

And yet, here you are, bickering.

I will conclude with this final point and then I will NOT POST AGAIN to this thread... so any response you send will not even be read...

Riiiiiight.

If we here in the US are not the best at everything and Mexico is such a great place, then why in the world are you still living in, where is it? Arizona... Last time I checked, AZ is part of THIS great country that we live it. If you prefer life in Mexico, you really should move there.

Oh please, surely you can do better than that? Just because I don't hate a country then I should move there? And yes, you get a brownie point for knowing AZ is in the US.

But you should know, the geography questions get harder when we start adding culture and medicine to the mix. ;o)

My body and whom I let cut it open is my choice... you should learn to respect that.

You continue stomping those feeties insisting someone is telling you that you must go to MX and have surgery. Is someone suggesting this to you? Please tell, who would that be? Quotes? Any quotes where someone is telling you that you must go to MX for anything would be fine. However, much as you apparently enjoy arguing nobody has suggested any such thing to you.

Perhaps a bit of integrity is something you might wish to learn a bit about. It's a respect thing...