What to do before and after?

My insurance wouldn't pay for the gastric sleeve surgery. So, I did a lot of research and liked what I read about Dr. Alvarez in Mexico. I contacted his office and filled out medical history forms and all that, and they just got back to me today to let me know that they have approved me for surgery and they let me know of several dates that they have available.

What I am wondering is, when having the surgery done in Mexico, what do you do before and after? And where do you do it? I live in a state bordering Canada, so I live no where near where this doctor is. I know that there are a lot of appointments typically to be had before and after the surgery.....what do I do about those? Should I schedule appointments here at home? If so, what appointments? And with who (the local metabolic center or can I use my regular doctor?)? Or are they more of an insurance mandated thing and not something that I actually need? I just had a blood panel done with the nearest bariatric center (everything was great except for low vitamin d) and also met with a nut who gave me the basic rundown of what I can expect pre and post-op (I had these appointments before I found out that insurance wouldn't pay. once we heard from insurance the local center dropped me like a hot potato).

If I am really going to do this, I want to do it right. I am just not exactly sure what I should be doing from this point on. I would greatly appreciate any help or info anyone could share.

Thank you!

lol -- so I had this very same question and then I realized that 90% of what insurance companies make you do here is to disqualify you. no joke. There are psychological evaluations, seminars, blood work, more blood work, check ups, more check ups, yadda yadda, yadda... and all of these things are to protect the investments of the big, evil, moneymaking corporation which is the insurance company. They could care less about you.

The only thing you're going to have to do beforehand is a pre-op diet, which consists of low carb dieting. Read up on the Atkins plan. 

... were you expecting something else?  Sorry to disappoint.

Yep -- all the BS the insurance companies have you do, and in Mexico its a matter of filling out the medical questionnaire, preop diet, and buying your plane ticket. I'm not kidding. If you want to read up on what I did from start to finish i wrote a blog at theobesityblog.com. I even have a copy of the questionnaire from BeLite Weight's doctors.  You'll be absolutely fine where you are. 

The only thing I would recommend is to have insurance after the fact just in case there are any complications down the road so you're covered for things like docs, ER, and meds.

Hope this helps, 

Cheers!

All I did beforehand was follow the pre-op diet and instructions my surgeon gave me (Dr. Garcia - Tijuana Bariatrics). When I got to Mexico, before my surgery, they did an EKG and a blood panel. After surgery, they gave me all the appropriate medications, supplies for cleaning and changing my bandages, and my post-op instructions. They had me meet with a nutritionist and she gave me my detailed post-op nutrition guidelines. My drain and incision staples were removed there; there is nothing for me to have to do back here in Canada, except follow their plan. I would imagine your surgery centre will do many if not all of these things too. You should have a coordinator that will be guiding you through the process and this person should be able to answer any questions you have. Hope this helps! Congratulations on your approval, best of luck!

This is what I'm wondering too. I am about 15lbs away from a 40 BMI and otherwise perfectly healthy. Just got all my blood work back today - I don't have even one problem besides being fat and being sad about it. So, my insurance isn't going to cover me. In the meantime I've been looking at Mexico and while I'm actually perfectly at ease as far as the competency of the surgeons and quality of the hospitals goes, I'm worried about complications. 

What happens if I spring a leak a week after I'm back here in NJ? Sure, I can go to the ER, but I'll also probably bankrupt my family.