US or Mexico? -- Family Pressure

I am self pay and found a surgeon that I am very comfortable in Mexico (Dr Ramos Kelly).  My PCP looked him up with me and was on board.  He said he would have no problem helping me with any follow up care.  My parents however are not at all comfortable with Mexico.  They convinced me to do the surgery in Chicago (they are helping me fund the additional cost of doing it here).  

 

I am working with a surgeon in Chicago, but have not been impressed so far with everything.  I had a horrible experience with his psychologist and am unsure about his nutritionist so far (have my one on one with her on Monday).  I have a surgery date 12/9, but based on the discussion with the psychologist she might want to pu**** back b/c she needs paperwork done from my Doctor & Therapist and is unable to e-mail it so it must be done by snail mail (?!?!)

 

Because I had a surgery date, I have already bought tickets for my mother to come to Chicago for that date and set up the time off from work.  So changing it at this point would be stressful on many fronts and expensive!  I'm meeting with the surgeon on Monday, so should just remain calm and wait for that discussion, but the uncertainty has me very stressed out.  

 

I am not wishing I just went with my gut and went to Mexico.  I would already be in recovery :(  if things do not go well on Monday, I may just take that route regardless.  

 

Has anyone had a similar experience?  Did you do the surgery where your family wanted or do what made you feel most comfortable?

I went to Mexico (not Dr. Kelly) and had an OK experience.  Not much support post-op, so you'll need your PCP.  I would do it again, but I might use a different surgeon.  I only saw mine once after surgery, though I saw the assistant surgeon several times.  He seemed to be a much better doc (people care skills) than my surgeon.

I went to Mexico and was happy with my experience. If I had insurance or had access to additional funds I probally would have had it done in the states. Im from kansas so when people hear of "mexico surgery" it is not the norm. My family was nervous about it...but I made my mind up and went. Best of luck with you decision.

I went to Mexico. I'm very happy with my results so far. I actually didn't tell my family before I went because I knew they'd try to talk me out of it.

If I'm interpreting correctly, you do not live in Chicago, so there doesn't seem to be any advantage to that particular location because you would not be able to fully participate in an any aftercare program offer.  The weight loss diet regime is widely talked about here, so that information is easy to get.  

There are good and 'okay' surgeons everywhere, so I personally viewed Mexico as a viable option.  VSG procedures vary widely, so whomever you choose make sure they create small sleeves, have a low complication rate and can demonstrate that their patients have a superior level of weight loss.  

 

I bounced back and forth for MONTHS trying to figure out the best route for me.  I had surgery scheduled in Mexico twice.  For some reason I just couldn't make myself go there although I know 5 people that have gone to Mexico  without any problems.  I opted for the states.  I am also self pay and it cost a pretty penny more to have it done here than in Mexico.  But I found I had a lot of questions post op that I wanted answers to and a lot of support people to answer them for me in the states.  But I was very comfortable with my support team here.  The bottom line is that you need to do what's right for YOU.  This is not about what everyone else wants.  It is about YOU.  I had a really hard time remembering that.  I wish you luck :)

 

 

Thanks everyone for your responses.  

I do live in Chicago, it is my mom who is flying in to support me.  So the big benefit is having the support group, nutritionist and follow up with the surgeon.    I wasn't sure about how I felt about the nutritionist, but we had a good appointment today.  I'm meeting with the surgeon on Monday, so as long as things go well I think I will stick with the plan.  If the psychologist puts a wrench in it or I get a bad feeling from the surgeon, I will go to Mexico.