kimikat3

Good to know.

I'm scheduled for the Preparing for weight loss class in Pleasanton on Thursday. Do you think that class is okay to take outside of the "jurisdiction"? Just the classes after your referral have to be in the same location as your surgery?

Boy, that's going to be a killer on my work schedule. Seems like I will have to request a bit of time off just for the qualifying appointments.

We're you able to take FMLA time???

~kimi

Wow! This is all pretty great news.

I was completely set on going to Dr. Joya in Pv Mexico because I didn't meet the BMI requirements last time I met with my MD. She made it very clear that she would not refer me unless my BMI was 40(+). Once I made my mind up that this was going to be IT, I started to really think about how much money I would save by having it done here. I mean, sheesh, I pay an arm and a leg for my insurance premiums as it is, I should use my insurance if I can.

So now I meet the BMI and them some.

I live in Modesto, and according to my calculations Sacramento, Fremont and Richmond are all about the same distance (give and take a few miles). I wonder if they would allow me to have a say so in the facility??? I have family in Fremont, so that would be great.

Wait... So you didn't have to go trough the options program for Fremont???

I'm signed up to attend the preparing for weight loss class on the 6th of this month. I'm meeting with my PCP on the 11th to request a referral.

She and I have discussed weight loss surg before and she is one that will push excersise

. So I'm hoping she will work with me this time.

If you don't mind me asking, what was your highest weight? I'm @230.

Did you have to prove a history of previous weight loss attempts? I've done weight watchers several times and been to a weight loss md that supplied me with ephedrine. O course I lost weight but ALWAYS gained it back... Blah blah blah... Story of our lives, right?

How long has your over all process taken?

Sorry for all of the questions... You are the only person who has responded to me, and I don't know of anyone personally that has gone trough Kaiser.

Can I request Fremont? Or do they assign you???

Okay, I'm done.

Thanks again for all of your assistance!!!

I'm meeting with my PCP on Monday to request a referral to the bariatric surgery dept. I was able to grab a spot in the Preparing for Success class scheduled a couple days after my appointment.

I have a couple questions about the Nor Ca Kaiser process and if any of you have been down his road that can help, I would GREATLY appreciate any feedback.

One question I have is, how long in the process do you have to wait to start loosing weight? Sounds crazy, I know. But I have gained about 15 lbs to meet BMI requirementS, andI'm already dying to start working it off.

Question #2 how long is the options program that you have to complete? I've heard all types of different answers to this (sixteen weeks, six months, a year...) I guess it probably ranges from districts.

Okay, I think that's all I have...

Thanks all!!!

I have not had the surgery, I'm still in the "wanting it done" stage.

But this topic is one that constantly runs through my mind. I know of two women at work that have had gastric bypass done and they are both very open about it, and I can't recall ever hearing anyone snickering behind their backs, everyone in our office has seemed rathe supportive. I just don't know how I feel about it personally. I know that if I chose to tell a few selected people the truth, it will eventually come out to the whole office. News spreads like wildfire amongst our cubicals! HA! So, I'm thinking it might be in my best interest to be honest up front. While I KNOW it's no ones business, I think I like the idea of vein able to be open and honest about it. Hiding something that I am so excited about and (hopefully) very proud of would be a shame!

OMG!!!! That is so awesome!!! I'm so excited for you! I'm praying things work out in my end as well. I'd LOVE to have a sleeve-sister for my surgery. ????

Have you scheduled your surgery date yet???

I should know next week if my co-signer is a go. After that, I will have no prob getting my loan. My deposit will be out down as soon as my school $$$ comes in from financial aid. Fingers crossed by the end of this month!!! But it could be first week of December .

There is so much up in the air that is just out of my control at this time. But as soon as I have my loan or my deposit (whichever comes first) I will book. If I get the personal loan, I will try and book the same date as u!!! If I don't get my personal loan, I'll have to save up the $ for the surgery, so I'll have to book towards next November or early December.

I'll keep you posted for sure!!!

Woo-Hoo!!!' Good for you!!! If I can get the personal loan I will shoot for the same dates! I would love to go have a buddy having surgery at the same time!!! I'm so excited for you!!!

August does seem far... That something I'm struggling with too! I'm planning for next November, and I think once I put my deposit down, I will feel better because it will be set in stone and I'll have something to look forward to. If I can't get approved for personal loan, I will HAVE to wait due to finances.

It makes me sick to my stomach to think of how much money I pay for my health insurance and yet they have the right to tell me that I don't qualify for this surgery. Why in hell would try want to wait until someone is beyond obese to approve them?! I don't get it. I don't want to gain more weight.. I won't.

Ughhhh!!! I can't wait!!!! I wish I could do it now! I live the success stories!

Well trust and believe that if I can get a co-signer for a personal loan, I will be going MUCH sooner than next November! HA! I'm from Northern California (approx 1 1/2 from San Francisco).

OMGosh!!!! I love that I am not alone in this!!! First off, I'm super sorry that you have been dealing with that horrible news!!! I too would be devastated.

I personally am SET in going to Dr. Joya. I am trying to book by the end of this month and schedule for next next November. I ideally would like to use my thanksgiving holiday days off during my "recovery" period. I'm just waiting on my school loan $$$ to come in to put my deposit down. However, I'm trying to find a co-signer to sign on a personal loan for me. If that happens, then I'm going to go full charge and get it done sooner! Like ASAP! HA!

Using medical malpractice claims as an example of why not to go overseas isn't always a great argument.

My mother was given a totally bogus diagnoses for numbness and tingling in both legs (was told it was a kidney stone pressing on the sciatic nerve) that resulted in her being partially paralyzed' date=' wheelchair bound and on Warfarin for the rest of her life. She'd had an aneurysm. She spent nearly two months in a medically induced coma once they finally figured out what was wrong. She had to go to a different hospital to get someone to acknowledge that blue feet and numbness in her legs was a serious concern! And she HAS insurance.

When all was said and done she was saddled with over a hundred thousand dollars in medical expenses. She lost her job...or rather, still has her job but is only given about ten hours of work per week. She is still fighting for disability, two years later.

The state she lives in caps malpractice suits at 150,000 so lawyers will not take the case. Three separate malpractice lawyers told her she had an excellent case because the very idea that a kidney stone would cause paralysis is laughable, but nobody was willing to take on a complicated case for what amounts to a pittance in lawyer fees.

So please, let's not pretend that even American citizens, with insurance, in America, are fully protected under the law. This is not always the case. My mother is wheelchair bound for life, has lost her independence completely (she now lives with my sister and is only 49 years old) and she has been forced to live below the poverty line without any help from the government or recourse with the medical hospital and doctor that put her in this predicament.

Furthermore, it is comparing apples and oranges to point at overseas medical training programs and say "Americans train longer, and therefore are more experienced." In other countries, even in Europe (Germany and Italy, where I've personally lived and received care) doctors are not generally educated on all medicine - they are specialists that focus their education on one medical specialty for several years instead of learning about general medicine for several years AFTER pursuing a general degree. This cuts their training time down considerably. Many foreign doctors have expressed to me (not doctors providing my care, but rather those I've personally known on a social level) that they're amazed that American doctors can be proficient at any one skill, since they're learning so many different areas of medicine before narrowing into a specific field. This is also a reason that becoming a doctor overseas is not the status profession it is in America. Your education does not cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars and you are not paid an extremely high salary to compensate for your twelve years of education. Doctors are respected, yes, but no more so than any other professional.

In fact, in Germany, Italy and especially the former Soviet Union there is no real glamour in being a doctor. It is far more respected and admired to be a professor in a university, for instance, than a doctor.

In any case, I think that these continual anti-Mexico posts are a bit redundant and in many cases, far too biased. Nobody coming here to criticize care in Mexico actually had a negative experience there! They're just afraid that it could happen. I could say the same for doctors in the US. It's a silly round-and-round.

And frankly, instead of providing information and being supportive, it turns into a battle for-or-against that does nothing to change anyone's mind or even to disseminate information.

Truly, if you don't believe people should go to Mexico, there is no need to post about it beyond stating that you wouldn't and why. Hearsay helps nobody. Saying "I've read horror stories" could apply to any doctor in any country. I'm sorry, but the medically induced comas and leaks on VST lately were all AMERICAN SURGEONS.

So please, accept that some people will go to Mexico whether you think they should or not. And some people will be more comfortable in the states. Sometimes it's a money thing but not always (as I previously stated I could have gone anywhere and many others face these options, too) and likewise it is not always a "last resort" option. Accept that some people are more comfortable with something you are not.

There are dozens of these threads on here and what ultimately happens is despite the good intentions of some of the posters, it turns into an us-vs.-them debate that DOES border on prejudices that are most often based in hearsay and rumor than actual fact. Everyone has "heard of someone" or "saw a 20/20 report" or "knew a doctor that said" or "ran into one case that proves this is the norm" and honestly, I hardly see anyone with personal experience that is negative contribute to these conversations.

People are so happy with Dr. Aceves that they rave about him without being compensated. We happen to take unfair criticisms of him, due to the fact that he's operating in Mexico, as offensive. If you don't know him and he didn't operate on you, what right do you have to say that his care is substandard? Basing it on rumor, hearsay and assumption offends his many happy customers on here, sorry to say. And you will not convince those of us (hundreds of us!) that had a positive experience in Mexico that it's more dangerous or terrible to go there, so there is no need to continually refresh the argument with a new topic!

Vent over, I'm just annoyed that I'm repeatedly posting these same logical arguments and it keeps coming up over and over again. If you're not comfortable with Mexican surgeons the answer is simple: don't use one!

~Cheri[/quote']

If I could like your post more than once, I would!!! First off, I'm extremely heartbroken to hear about your mother. Words can't even begin to describe the "unfair" nature of the issue at hand.

You made some VERY valid points in your discussion. I hope people that are truly on the fence about going to Mexico for their surgery, will come across your post.

Amazingly beautiful!!! Congrats!

It's me! I have found myself doing all sorts of health&beauty things since I had my surgery. I'm a 26 year old guy that in the last week has gone to the spa for manicure' date=' pedicure, facial, and massage. I bought all sorts of fancy face scrubs. I had a lady friend fix my straggly eye brows. Spent a ton of money on a fancy electric tooth brush and whitening things. And go to the gym every day. What the heck happened to me!?!?!? I guess I'm feeling better and way more confident and decided I need all of this??? I never would have done all this pre op lol! I can't help but to laugh at myself.[/quote']

Donny... I think that is awesome!!! All I can say if when we are given a 2nd chance at creating our physical self... Watch Out!!! HA!!! Congrats on your transformation!

Okay, I'm glad to hear I'm not alone in thinking that I have found some amazing-ness in Dr. Joya's reviews. I have only found one patient review that was negative, and frankly it was a default to the Lap Band product itself, not Dr. Joya's negligence.

I have been glued to researching Dr. Joya (it has become my new obsession). I too have watched the you tube videos and everyone seem to have nothing but wonderful things to say about Dr. Joya and his staff. I also love the idea of flying right in and having everything in one area. And have you seen the hotel/resort?!?!? Holy Moses!!!! Puts the Marriott to shame! I talked to his surgery schedule Gerald, and he told me that I can put my deposit down and lock in my surgery date for up to a year ahead. Which I thought was fabulous. My ideal surgery date would be next November (not because I wan to wait a year, but because I need to save some $$$ and some vacation/sick time to cover me while I'm gone). He did mention that the package price covered myself and all of my needs, the only additional costs would be the round trip airfare for myself and whoever I take with me.

Anyone having surgery with Dr. Joya??? I've been researching him and he has a lot of great reviews, yet, I haven't seen mention of him in these forums....