Anyone had DS? Anyone had there surgery in Mexico? Not sure if I can wait a year+

 Afternoon all, 

As of now I'm still jumping thru the CF's hoops for surgery and am worried I won't be post op before our posting to NB/NS in July 2013. I'm committed to progressing with surgery and financially could shoulder self financing if it means being post op before my self imposed deadline. 

Anyone have experience with Self Financing ? Anyone have DS over RNY? I've posted in there other forums but would really like to hear from my Ontario community. 


How did you all deal with the slow process? I've never been the type who deals well with waiting for life changing events.  I have an amazing support system both personal and professional and I've researched to the the point of being obsessive so I'm not worried about the long term lifestyle changes I'm actually excited about them. 

Any advice would be great

Keith

I may be wrong here but as military are you not covered under a different health care plan than OHIP since you are moved around the country often?  If so then it shouldn't matter which province you are stationed in, as you could come back to Ontario for surgery when it's your time.

As for self paying, I self paid of course because my surgery of choice was not covered by OHIP.  I didn't finance but many people do.  Some get a line of credit at their bank as it is the best rate going or you could go through Medicard, which is a line of credit strictly for medical purposes but their rates are higher than a bank.  You don't have to settle for their rate and can negotiate it down.  They always try for the highest rate but I know of many that managed to get a few points dropped off the interest rate.  

You could go to Mexico but you could also just go to Montreal and self pay.  Dr. Christou does RNY and VSG and Dr. Gagner does VSG and DS.  You have to decide which surgery is best for you and then you can either wait in Ontario or else self pay there.  There are many good surgeons in Mexico as well but my main concern would be the follow up.

You need to find some patience as waiting for the surgery isn't the only patience needed in this journey.

First off thanks for your quick reply,

You are correct being a military member I do not fall under ohip and do indeed have nation wide coverage the sticking point is the military does not do surveys in house and therefore refers you thru your provincial health care thereby putting you in the same system and same wait times as those civies in your current province the only difference being the costs covered nationally. I've discussed this with my Heath care provider and was told if transferred my place in Ontario wait Leif would. Ot be held and I would need to start again in ns or nb. Sadly my research seems to show the wait list for those provs are extremely long.

Ideally my preference for surgery would be DS with rny a cLose second. Self pay would be from my savings.

Lastly I may have misrepresented myself regarding having patience I have just comPleted one year of supervised medical weight loss/ exercise and have committed to long term lifestyle changes I'm just excited to get this process started and use this tool to improve my quality of life. I admit I find the red tape frustrating but am aware this is not a quick fix but a tool. I'm committed to change I've taken all the steps to prepare radically changing my eating habits Bach in march giving up junk food and Soda and daily intake of vits and minerals

My biggest concern is my preference for the DS surgery and the length of the process from referal to post op as it would be heart breaking to start over in a new prov

Once we make the decision to have surgery, we want it like yesterday. I completely understand that part.  DS is only offered in Hamilton right now and am not sure how easy it would be to get a transfer there.  No guarantees you would be even seen before you leave Ontario.  If it were me and I truly wanted DS then I'd self pay but then again that is how I felt almost 7 years ago when I did self pay. Back then the wait list for anything covered by OHIP was about 7 years and I had decided that no matter which surgery I chose, I was self paying as I didn't want to wait that long.  The wait times are no longer anything like that but if you are going to have to start over each time you get transferred then maybe you should consider self pay. 

BTW, a friend of mine that is air force had her lapband completely paid for by the military.  She fought to have them pay for it even though it's not covered and they finally did   You may be able to fight to have your DS covered by them since you won't be able to likely get it before you leave this province.  You may want to look into that too before spending your own money.

If you do decide to go to Mexico for the DS there are really only two surgeons that should be considered; Dr. Ungson and Dr. Aceves (who is currently proctoring under Dr. Ungson).
Good luck with whatever you choose!

Should you choose to go to Mexico, I would only have Dr. Ungson do my surgery. You could also go to Montreal and have Dr. Gagner. Good luck :)