Overwhelmed and I've got TONS of questions...HELP
I'm w/ Mary...only it was me not a husband...
My journey was different..I have been following Dr. Joya over 10 years..before VSG was even the deal...yes I wished and waited this long..I thought it was something I'd never get to do. But over that 10 years of wishing away I always browsed time to time and when VSG started popping up, (I believe dr. joya was one of the first to offer VSG) I knew I no longer wanted to re-route my insides, have a bib put in, or put some band in..I knew VSG was for me. I also still thought it would never be something I could do :( I went back to school at my age and when I was done, with honors I might add :) My mother gifted it to me...from the minute she said "DO IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" ........it took a month to get my butt to PVA..ONLY bc I had to wait for passport...:) NO REGRETS, we all love our Dr. and think they are the best, SO I won't try to convince you of anything there...
One thing I never mentioned before, I just thought of it recently...When I first contacted dr. joya through the webpage before, his assistant Gerald was with him then...10 years ago....his nutritionist Natalie, same thing.....that meant a lot to me as well. Dr Joya also has a page full of credientials..he teaches...does things all over the world..including Florida here in our states....he is also a leader in repairs/revisions, my mom has found he is one of the only surgeons in state and out that can and has done a failed WLS surgery from the 80's repair..(basically an early version of a lap band before the lap band came out...it has literally cinched my mothers stomach in 2 , has caused a lot of scar tissue, and now something else is wrong with it and its made it very uncomfortable for her as well as failing her) .pricey..but he can and has done it.
I'm not sure why we have a hard time with after care from Mexico Dr.s maybe its ego...its money out of USA Dr. pockets bc they will not work with people and are so tied up in the web of insurance...but for example here in AZ we do have a Weight loss institute that WILL work with us Mexico surgery people...... So depending on how your pcp feels...that might be something else you research, if you have somewhere close/in your state that will help if you have some sort of aftercare needed.
I flew on Sunday, checked into hospital Mon June 25...Surgery was around 6 Mond evening, Was back at the resort sitting by the pool on Wed...flew home Friday, Went back to work Monday.... I had a very vanilla surgery...no hernia repairs or anything, I had no drains..I didnt even have stitches, he used skin glue, you can see my incisisions from the morning after surgery in my photos..I think if your surgery is more difficult or he finds hernias to repair etc, you can not expect such a quick recovery like I had, so keep in mind our testimonies are just our stories and there is no way to know how you will react to surgery or what is needed for you etc... I was not on any medications either..no high bp, no diabetes, etc..extremely vanilla surgery for me. Also keep in mind Dr.s have different methods...some go through the belly button, in fact on another forum, apparantly in New York someone is doing Single incision VSG via the belly button so there are no visable scars anywhere... Look outside OH there are many many communities, I think the support here is great but for basic info and testimony about Dr.s and the various methods of VSG surgery they are using, make sure you branch out of just OH 
Dr. Joya: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/officialdrjoya
Website: http://www.drjoya.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/drjoyadotcom
Also, I talk too much in the morning before work when having my atkins protein coffee and browsing...sorry bout that :P
Dr. Joya: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/officialdrjoya
Website: http://www.drjoya.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/drjoyadotcom
LOL I love you, you crack me up
HW: 275 SW: 265 CW: 200 GW: 135 Month 1: -25 Month 5: -65lbs total
On the fence about self-pay options and if Mexico is the right choice (or scared of that option)? Let my experience (first time ever in Mexico) be your guide. Don't let fear hold you back!
"You make me new, you are making me new" Gungor
Talk away! I asked for it...LOL. Thank you for all of your advice. This is something that I have wanted (needed) for as long as I remember and I have finally decided to just go with it! I had lost a bunch of weight then I hurt my back. Herniated the L5 / S1 and now I have neuropathy and WELL I just can't exercise and I have been quite sedentary for the better part of a year and between the meds and 6 steroid epidurals I have gained well over 100 lbs and I just lost my insurance and cannot get anyone to fix my back. EVERYONE blames my weight for the back problems, but in fact when I hurt my back I walked 3-5 miles a day and went country line dancing (just for the cardio) twice a week. SO I have decided that if they are not going to fix my back so I can loose the weight then I will have surgery to loose the weight and it will help my back. I am really tired of the blaming everything on my weight. GRRRRRR! But I'll show them. I'm gonna be all sexy and think and healthy and wont need them anymore 
Hey there I just wanted to add my comments here to.
1. It took me less then 3 weeks to decide that I was going to have VSG done, I did not want to have time to chicken out or have the time for other people to try and change my mind. I wanted to have this and had been looking at WLS for over 10 years but always thought it was out of my reach.
2. Dr Kelly did my surgery in TJ. He is a very relaxed person and that helped to relax me. While I was there it really did show that he cared about his patients and worked hard to complete some hard cases. I was nervous before I met him then was totally relaxed. If you are going to go through Dr Kelly I sugest booking directly through him and not using one of the companies to bring you down. There is less hassle that way. No matter what just be comfortable with your choice as that will matter more then anything else. If you have any questions regarding Dr Kelly you can PM me.
3. I went to TJ for my surgery. I was picked up at the San Diago airport then driven across the border. I had no issues and it was all pretty painless.
4. I had a longer stay in TJ as I was there pre surgery for medication adjustments. Normally the stay there depends on when you get into TJ. you stay 2 nights in the hospital and 2 at the hotel then they bring you back to San Diago on the fourth day. Of course that all depends on if you have complications. I really thought that I would have some complications but I didn't, and was shocked that I wasn't hurting more after having the surgery. To be honest I started working just shy of being two weeks post op and let me tell you it nearly killed me. I do locum work as a community health nurse in a remote norther Canadian community and the first week I did not have enough energy to do my job as well as I could have. I had to increase my protein intake lots to keep up my energy stores.
