Mexico & Self-Pay Weight Loss Surgery

That should get some attention! I am excited to be preparing for surgery in Cancun in June. I noticed that many sleevers have suggested bringing a post-op pillow for after surgery. I had gallbladder surgery years and years ago, and as I recall, a pillow probably would have been helpful. So I have been searching for one on the internet—better to be prepared I think. I found 2 choices, a roundish bariatric pillow with a picture of the surgery (eeew!) or a cute teddy bear or moose (Bari Buddy by Teddy-Tech). So of course I ordered the moose (what girl can resist a teddy bear). It is cute as…well, a teddy bear. But the thing has a big snozz. My DH is very supportive, but he …

I had not realized that I was crying out inside; to God, the universe, or anyone that would listen… but I was quickly becoming tired of living in my uncooperative body. I was fat, very much so, but my only comorbidity was pain. Bone deep and getting worse. My life was quickly contracting such that I didn’t go out for fear of ridicule and unforeseen challenges… like arms on chairs and seatbelts that would not reach. I had to strategize a trip to the grocery store around my pain threshold. On November 9, 2012 the final straw came. It does not matter what it was. It happened. God had heard the crying I didn’t realize I was pouring out and a solution was presented. On…

Morning all!!! I'm waiting to board my plane. Leaving good ole New Orleans. Missed my flight, but its all good. Everything happens for a reason. If you're keeping tabs on me, like I am keeping up with most of you, I shall post my experience here. Praying for an uneventful flight. Later yall :-)

For those of you who are post-op and used Dr. Aceves, Can I ask you a few questions...please forgive my silly questions. 1. Did your spouse/family member/friend stay with you the whole time, or did they have a hotel room they went back to while you were in the hospital? 2. If they stayed, is there a cafeteria there or somewhere for them to get meals? 3. Do the rooms have bathroom/showers for them to use? 4. Did the hospital have Wifi? 5. Were you pleased with Dr. Aceves? 6. Any tips of things you didn't think to bring, but wish you had? 7. Did you have any issues with any of the staff not knowing English (should I seriously learn the phrases he sent…

??? this is news to me. why are people trying to scare me? can someone shed light on this?

As stated above, I am having the sleeve done with Dr. Garcia same day as I fly in on April 10th. I'm getting butterflies and I'm nervous, scared, excited, all wrapped in one. I can't believe I'm only 6 days away!!!

Heading to Mexico in March....of course abit nervous, but looking forward to the results

After my surgery, I will have about a seven hour flight home. Those of you who had long flights, how did it go for you on the way home?

1. How far minutes wise is the MI hospital from the border? Or airport? 2 how much did u tip your driver once u got to MI hospital? 3. After your tests on the day you arrive do you go straight to Marriott to check in? What tests do they run? 4. How far is Marriott from the Mi hospital? 5. Do you have the same driver to the hotel from the Mi hospital that first day? Did you tip him again? How much? How much for the luggage guy? 6. Once you get back to your hotel that first day and all checked in, did you go out and about? I know at that point I will need to order broth etc... Ill prob be hungry lol...Who takes you places or did you walk? How much did you tip on small…

Can someone who has been sleeved walk me thru first 24-48 hours? When do we drink? What is the leak test? Blue stuff? Thanks

So excited I just paid my deposit schedule for surgery 5/4/2013 same day surgery with Dr. F Garcia in Tijuana MX, at florence Hospital now time to get ready for my pre-op diet . I need help on what to bring to TJ any suggestions pleaseeee... HW:226 CT:215 GW:145 4"11 Age:29 I want to be 30 pounds lighter by my 30th birthday in 08/2013

Has anyone had trouble getting across the border without a passport recently? My husband don't have his. please let me know.My coordinator told me I didn't have to have one.

My wife did great last night! Drank all her liquids all night and actually slept a bit. She showered this morning and I can't believe how great she looks. Doesn't look at all like she had surgery. We are just waiting for her to get her bandages changed, drain out and iv out and we should get to leave soon. In my opinion- the better you do on the preop diet the better you will do after surgery. My wife only needed to do diet for 7 days but she decided to do it for 14 and then only needed to do Clear Liquids for one day but she did 3 and we both really think that it helps so much in the post op! One girl down the hall from us said she didn't really do the preop diet at a…

Hello all, I was sleeved with Dr Garcia in TJ on Dec 4th. No complications and life is great! I am down 55 lbs and losing steady. Here is my most recent pic Best. Decision. Ever! Good luck in your journey!!

Mi hospital. Dr Lopez. Is anyone else there?

Want to get some of this before we leave Friday??b

Only complaint so far.... It takes a while to get checked in at the hospital. We got here at 630 and just now are in the room getting settled. However when you think about it- there were 5 people here for dr Garcia and then there were several people here for other doctors as well- Cabrera was one and I heard a couple other names as well. However it gave us the chance to talk to a couple other patients so that was nice. The nurse has been great. Speaks really good English. Melissa speaks perfectly clear English and is very nice. I guess her and Samuel are brother and sister? Haven't confirmed that yet but that is what someone else told us. And Rosie and Melissa are going t…

I have scheduled with dr.ponce but now thinking garcia instead. Can anyone give me advice. Thanks :-)

I'm currently searching for a doctor. I was strongly leaning toward dr Alvarez, but the more research I do, the more competent surgeons I find. Right now I'm seriously considering Dr. Ismael Cabrera Garcia in Tijuana, but I'm really struggling with the price... not because it's too high but because it's SO LOW! He charges $4500 and that includes 3nights at the Marriott and 2 nights in the hospital. I feel like he easily stacks up against the local surgeons I have to choose from near me, I can find no negatives about him, I LOVE Christy the TC at MBC... but I keep coming back to the price.... Why is he charging so little? Thoughts?

It went really well. My wife was having a hard time sleeping comfortably so we asked for some medicine. They have her a very small amount of liquid to drink. No idea what it was. It was gross and made her nauseas. They said it was because she still has gas in her new little tummy so it was normal. She burped had some nausea medicine thru the iv and was sound asleep within minutes. She slept for a couple hours and then would have to pee.... That's how she is normally after surgery- she doesn't sleep and pees a lot. So every 2 hours we got up, peed, and walked. We got our roommate up and she walked with us too. My wife feels great today. Showered, dressing change, clean cl…

I am getting sleeved April 10th with dr aceves in Mexicali. Anyone else doing around this time?

I am going to TJ on the 8th for surgery on the 9th, staying at the Mariott and going through Dr. Lopez-Ortega and Ortiz at MiHospital... Was hoping to find some others, same day/hotel???

Little nervous very excited!!! Dr Aceves here I come!

Well I am off to mexico in less than 12 hours. Hope to se some of you all there! I will keep you all posted. I am having surgery on April 4th with Dr. Elias Ortiz at Mi Hospital. Coming from Florida. All day flight.

I just paid my deposit Dr. Ortiz today. So nervous and excited. I am going alone since my husband is staying home with our son. I haven't booked my ticket because I want to get some dental work done too. Has anyone gotten any dental work done in TJ and if do what dentist?

We are up and ready to go off to the hospital! Last night my wife got to meet a couple other sleevers she had met online and it was so great. It was nice to sit and talk about their common stories and things they have felt and gone through. I think she was has met some lifeline friends! The broth was a little tasteless she said so we added a half a bouillon cube to it and it was much better. The Popsicles are homemade we think and she wasn't a huge fan as they were peach flavor and she hates peach. We did bring our water enhanced and we added that to her water bottles last night. I washed out one of the plastic garbage cans real good and put her water on ice and it was mu…

Is anyone planning on having surgery in June?

We are at the airport and waiting to get on our plane!!! We are usually up around 430 to feed our little guy so it wasnt too tough to get up. Amazing thing is our little man woke up and actually stayed awake after eating to say bye to his mommies. Gonna miss him. We are both sad to leave him but he will have a fun week with his grandma. We had one last talk with my wife's parents- be careful, call us when you get there and after the surgery, etc. I know they are worries but the baby will distract them I'm sure. Our older daughter doesn't know what we are going down there for. She thinks we are just going on a little vacation. I'm sure she knows something is up but she has…

Well after a year of waiting and saving, Im on my way. Surgery tomorrow. Good luck fellow sleevers.

Hey all, I've been lurking a little bit, just trying to educate myself on the surgery. If it says anything about me, I'm not too worried about most of the side effects except hair loss...LOL! I haven't chosen a surgeon but plan on flying into San Diego. I've been talking to Janese at A Lighter You and thankfully she's not high pressure. She suggested I schedule in April or May while the doctors were running specials, but I have two large conventions to attend in May and can't see myself sipping protien drink at the banquets. LOL! I'm roughly 100 pounds over, and have been on WW many times, Medi fast, Spark People...I'm sure there's other plans. Initially I lose a litt…

I have had 3 replays to a question regarding the occ and 3x I revived a reply all different user IDs but the same story of their experience ????

Since Novemeber, I have been planning this surgery. I only told my husband and my friend who is picking me up from the airport. I intentionally left my parents out of the information loop because they are older and I was worried how they would receive the news. Well, last night they showed up on my front doorstep at 9pm. My husband, who unbeknownst to me was desperate to keep me from going (he couldn't tell me this?!), had called them and told them I was going to Mexico to have an organ removed. They were crying and begging me to reconsider. They said they would help me find an alternative and they would pay for health services my insurance wouldn't cover. For two hours I…

Hey guys.... I just wanted to say hello and let you know that I am down in Tijuana, Mexico at Dr. Garcias/Mi hospital and my surgery is in about an hour!! Dr. Garcia has come in and spoke with me he is fantastic!! Everyone from Samuel the driver to the nurses and staff so far have been great, The facility is spotless and they use universal precautions and I am very impressed that far!! I will keep you guys updated and post as many pictures as I can so those who have not been yet can get an idea Of what to expect when they come here!! I have already met several others who have already sleeved and they are doing great!! They are Walking the halls.... So, its finally m…

All in all was a good trip. The doctor was very personable, hospital and hotel staff very accommodating. Very happy I took this route.

I have read really great things about the doctors above. I have narrowed it down to these 3 doctors. I'm sure there are other very competent doctors in Mexico but I'm requesting feedback on only the 3 above. The all work out of hospitals and have monitored recovery at a hospital & hotel. Anyway...sound off on your favorite Doctor! (as long as its one of the 3 above)

Here I come lets get this show on the road!!!!!!!! 2 weeks preop diet and this my third day liquids surgery tomorrow!! I'm ready!!!

We have arrived! The pick up was very smooth... Called Samuel when we were by baggage claim and he was there within minutes! Pulled right up and picked us up! Off we go to cross the border!

Okay, it's day 3, and I feel really great!!!! The sugar-withdrawl headache is gone, finally!!! It was HARRRRRRRD to get over that one, let me tell ya! Ouch! When I stepped on the scale this morning, I was down 6 pounds. I'm having frozen dinners that are not over 300 calories (tonight was lasagne) and I'm getting 2 Protein shakes during the day. Loving Diet Snapple Half & Half, which is an Arnold Palmer (half iced tea, half lemonaid), and my regular cold-pressed nettle leaf tea. You get tons of Vitamins and minerals from that, and it's quite good w/ a bit of Truvia if you like it sweeter. I'm eating romaine w/ wishbone balsamic spray, sugar snap peas as a snack, cucu…

I decided today was a good day to go ahead an just start eating a little healthier, cutting out sodas and all the sugary junk I eat all the time. I did good up until about 4pm, then I felt like crap. I mean, just awful. My mouth was all dry, I felt dizzy, I felt like I was going to be sick. So I got me a sweet tea and immediately felt a lot better. This is ridiculous. I try to do better but my body freaks out and makes me feel awful.

Yay my sister just got sleeved hours ago. She finally jumped on board. She is in Tijuana and just got sleeved by Fernando Garcia. She is raving about the doctor, nursing staff, and hospital! Great experience so far!

I had to share this with my fellow Mexi-Sleevers 1st. I weighed in on my 2 week Surgiversary today at my doc's office. I'm officially down 27 lbs! Feeling good and so motivated! I go back in 3 weeks. I think I may "weight" until then to weigh in again!!! Amanda Rae

Has any one had Dr. Fernando Garcia in Tijuana Mexico? Please let me what u thought of him? And I need help with pre-op instructions, what not eat or what to eat please help mmmme

I am 11days away from my surgery date (April 11) and I've fallen off the diet wagon. From Thursday, March 28th thru Sunday, April 7th, my diet was/is supposed to consist of a Protein shake for Breakfast, a Protein Shake for lunch, and a salad with protein for dinner. Then on Monday, April 8th, I move to a liquid diet. However, I ate a few pieces of candy today. And I have to be honest, the smell of Easter dinner is calling my name! Has anyone else cheated on their pre-surgery diet and were they still able to go thru with their scheduled surgery? Anyone had a less restrictive pre-surgery diet and, if so, who was your surgeon (mine is Dr.Alejandro Lopez-Ortega)? …

Hello...my name is Becky and I am coming out of lurkerdom to introduce myself. My long story in short form: banded in Oct 2010 and lost 75 lbs thru May 2012 when I had a horrible food poisoning experience that caused my band to slip. Had emergency surgery and they had to remove my band. Hindsight, the band was not a good longterm tool for me, constant sinus/allergy issues meant fill/unfill more than normal. I am healed, both physically and mentally now and am scheduled for sleeve surgery on May 31 with Dr. Alvarez, exactly one year after my emergency surgery. Howdy everyone!

Anyone had him? Good? Havent heard much about him on this forum. Would appreciate your input.

I just got everything set to have surgery on March 28th. A stay for the weekend, I need all the rest I can get, then back home on Monday the 1st of April. I then looked at the calendar and realized I will be there for Easter! Just as well, I'm getting the greatest gift I can possibly imagine. Anyone else in for and egg hunt at the Tijuana Marriott?

Down more inches. Then pounds [ATTACH]10924[/ATTACH]

I'm saving, saving, saving so I can go to Dr. Aceves in June!! I have about $2,500 saved, just need $2,000 more. everyone pray that I can make it! If not, then hopefully no later than August. I'm getting so excited.

I'm scheduled for surgery in about two weeks with Dr. Garcia. I'm just feeling really overwhelmed right now. Apprehensive about the procedure and it's risks, worried about having low energy during the transition phase, worried I wont lose the weight I need to lose etc. I had a lap band in from 2008-2010 and had a lot of problems with it and had to have it taken out. It was a really difficult time for me and I'm sure that it's that experience that is contributing to my current feelings. I've also been trying to lose 20 pounds before surgery so I started the preop diet 4 weeks out and then two days ago (I've lost 15 pounds so far) decided to eat a few normal things before I…