Frustrations!!!!!

Hi all-- I posted this on the lap-band forum, but I wanted to post it here and get your input as people who have gone to Mexico. Thanks in advance. ******************************************************* All right-- so I need a little advice, and probably more of a pep-talk than anything else. I have been thinking about getting a lap-band for almost a year now. I've researched all kinds of procedures and talked to my doctor about them and the band is the only one that I want to have done. I am young, and actually very healthy despite my weight. I know, however, that I am just asking for major health trouble if I don't do something very soon. I decided on the band for several reasons. It seems safer to me. I also don't have a lot of time to be out of work, so I like the quick recovery time. And most importantly I want to have kids in the next 5 years or so. (I'm single right now, so this is theoretical, but still very important to me.) So the band is the only way to go for me. I expected my parents to freak out about this decision when I first brought it up. I've lived away from home for 6 years, so it's not their decision. But, we are really close and their support is really important to me. So anyway, they freaked out a first because they only knew about bypass and the complications. But, they read a lot about the band and are now really supportive. So anyway, I am planning to get banded in August after I take the bar exam, and before I start my post-grad program in New York. I did a lot of research and discovered Dr. Ren who is one of the top band experts in the country. She is at NYU, and that's where I'm going to get my degree. I decided on NYU in part to be close to the doctor I really wanted to use. So anyway-- to make a long story short I found out today that under no cir****tances will my insurance pay for the band because it's "experimental". So basically I could get easily approved for the bypass, which I don't want, but not the band which I do want. In terms of money, I can't afford to pay for the band here in the states, I could barely have afforded the 20% co-pay if I did get approved. So my option is not to have surgery, which really doesn't seem like an option, or to go to Mexico to have it done. I've lived in Mexico when I was in college, and I speak Spanish, so it's not as scary as it could be. But I'm just really frustrated with the situation. To make matters worse, I've scheduled a trip to NY for next week to see Dr. Ren, the nutritionist, and the psychologist to get things set up with them for my surgery. But now I know that there is no way my insurance will approve it. So I would basically be paying out of pocket for the appointments with absolutely no chance of having the surgery. All that said here are my questions-- 1) Should I just cancel the appointments I have for next week? 2) Do any of you have advice about a great doctor in Mexico? 3) Can someone just give me a little encouragement that it is going to all work out? I know that God will make it happen, but I just need to hear it from someone who has been in my position. 4) Also-- if you went to Mexico did people freak out when you told them? I'm afraid that my friends and family might flip a gasket if they know that this is what I want to do. Thanks all, I don't know what I would do without people to answer all my questions and give me encouragement. Adrian

I would make Mexico my absolute last resort. IF you are healthy, and really want the surgery, wait a year and see if your insurance will cover it then. If you take the option of getting approved with the bypass surgery, you should probably think of that, over MExico. You should know that after gastric bypass, you could still have children. There are lots of people who do, and I am one person who after my surgery, will consider having a baby. If that was the only reason why you didn't want it, I would look further into that. The complications with that surgery, if you see a good reputable doctor, are very minimal compared to a few years ago. Please do all your research before going to Mexico. Good luck! Tricia

There are a lot of us who have gone to Mexico as self-pays for our surgery for one reason - we were not covered by insurance and the $25,000 - $40,000 that US doctors and hospitals want was beyond our reach. I personally feel that most people who are seriously considering any gastric surgery - whether it's RNY, lap-band or other are probably pretty desperate. This is not an easy decision to come to. The denials by insurance or the non-support of our friends and/or family about our decision only increase our desperation. Before I carefully researched having surgery in Mexico I was prone to believe all of the stereotypes: unclean conditions; lower standards; unskilled surgeons. Now I know that in most cases all of these are untrue. We have an elitist attitude about our medical care in the US and in many instances we are being misled. Higher priced does NOT mean better medicine! I resent someone who has not had surgery in Mexico or even considered it telling you that you shouldn't do it. Listen to those of us who have gone to Mexico, who have had successful surgeries, and read the profiles of patients of the doctors you are considering. I am personally very very pleased that I made the choice to go to Mexico and think that I got care equivalent to or better than what I would have received in the states - and saved at least $15,000 in the process. Charlotte Open RNY 2/20/04 Dr. Aguirre - Ensenada Now down 52.5#

Look, I didn't say not to consider going to MExico...I was considering it myself, even scheduled a surgery date with Dr. Aguirre. I just decided to keep trying to get approval, and I finally did.....all I am saying to you, is to really research the types of surgery further into details before you make any decisions on where you are going to have it, and what type you will have. Dr A is great, from what I heard, but I still would rather have it at home, incase there are complications. Open RNY is my choice, and I think you should consider more options, especially if your insurance is going to approve you, just not for the band. Sorry if I made it seem like I wasn't being supportive, because I am. Tricia

Obviously I'm pro-Mexico, but with a caveat and that would be to double and triple check out who you are going to go to. Get good references and don't just take the website testamonials or a slick website as good enough. Of course, that can be said for the US as well. There are horrible doctors here, as in everywhere. The thing that makes it scarier is that we don't understand their legal system there and if we can have any protections. Obviously they have a medical board in Mexico and the doctors are subject to their laws and licensing. The thing is that you have to think about: There are a lot of people who live in Mexico. If the doctors were so horrible, would the citizens of that country not complain to the medical board and seek to have the doctors stopped? As for the insurance issue, I would be inclined to stay in US only because you would have a surgeon locally who could follow up with you. Although the RNY is more invasive than the lap band, it is also more permanent and carries better results. But I can understand why you have this choice for the band over rny. It's a tough choice, but for me I would go for the rny. I like the idea of not having to worry about getting it all off and keeping it off. I will have a better chance of that with the rny. Whatever you decide to do, good luck. Feel free to ask more questions if you need more help! Dina

Thanks all for your input, I have made up my mind for sure that the band is the right decision FOR ME. That's not to say that it's right for everyone, or that I don't totally respect other people's decisions to do other surgeries. I've just read almost everything out there and I know that I'll be best off with a band. I also know that I can't have one in this country. My insurance won't pay for it, and I certainly can't pay for it myself. So that leaves Mexico for me. Right now I'm leaning towards Dr. Kuro, but I would love any input that anyone else has. Thanks for all the support, Adrian

I'm coming in a little late on this, but I'll second the opinion that Mexico is worth considering. My doctor, Dr. Rumbaut in Monterrey, uses a hospital that was easily equal if not better to anything I've seen in the US. I felt my care might have been better than if I'd done it here in the US. They sit down, they visit, they TALK to you. When I was there, one of Dr. Rumbaut's residents was getting ready to leave for his master's in public health at Harvard, and he picked my dp's brain about Boston. The resident who was replacing him had just finished his medical degree at the University of Chicago. And these were just the residents. I agree with Dina, (at least, I think it was Dina) about Americans having elitist attitudes about our medical system. If our medical system was so freaking great, we wouldn't have to go to other countries to get freaking care we could afford. JMO. The prescriptions from Canada thing comes to mind. Remember that idiot Congressman who said we shouldn't be letting our seniors import medicines from Canada until we could prove they were safe? Right.....cause EVERYbody knows that Canadians are dropping dead everyday cause their pharmecuetical industry is so poor. Oh please. Anyway, do your research, call around, talk to people, then pick the best doc for the procedure that you want, regardless of where he is. I considered banding, and I heard amazing things about Dr. Ortiz, fwiw. I told *some* people about my surgery, I told even fewer I was going to Mexico. I just didn't feel like I needed to combat other people's ignorance at a time when I was feeling pretty vunerable and overwhelmed. Now that it's done, and with some time under my belt to prove it's been sucessful (my surgery was May 6th), I will tell more people. Good luck.