suegirl

Get the facts from a accountant because:

A... You simply have to prove the medical necessity of having it.ie.the treatment of obesity or other co-morbitities.

B... I also do not believe that you have to have had the procedure done stateside to claim it.

C... According to the IRS website, http://www.irs.gov/publications/p502/ar02.html#en_US_publink1000178862 You can deduct a portion of the travel...

Like I said, as low as $7,200. If you have health insurance a portion of your procedure can be covered by the insurance company. They are very good at what they do. I was a self pay patient through them myself. I would encourage anyone considering the procedure look into their program. Also, if you live 150+ miles away from them, they will pay for 1 night in a hotel to help cut down on your travel expense. They really work with you and they're staff is top notch. Dr. Stowers bedside manner is excellent, I've never had a doctor that is more caring then Dr. Stowers. I can't speak highly enough about Dr. Stowers and their program.

I was self pay and the least expensive found and done at 12,500 which is what I paid. A LOT of people on here had to go self pay for insurance issues...You spout of about having "done your homework" yet you just joined this site today and you aren't willing to share your facts? Gimme a break..

I honestly think anyone even considering having surgery in Mexico is just nuts. There are plenty of options available within the US, why travel into dangerous territory to have surgery? Plus, the key to your success is your follow up care, who is going to monitor this care for you?

Please do your homework before you shoot off your mouth about something of which you obviously haven't investigated... There is an entire industry built on medical "tourism" and those locations are not in the middle of crime ridden sections of countries... There are NUMEROUS people on this board that have had their surgeries South of the border with absolutely no problems...

hi suegirl, one question?? when u had surgery and how many LBS you lost... i had surgery in May2012 with the same bmi and it been hard to me to lose weight.. 20lbs so far but i am stock with the seme 20 pounds for 6 weeks... how is your process???

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I am now 10 days out and I just hit the 20lb mark... Of course right now I cannot tolerate any Protein drinks... so I am still on liquid and egg drop Soup which has a little Protein in it...No nausea and today was the first day without pain of any kind....

And I have to backtrack... Post surgery, I cannot tolerate anything for Protein as of yet.. I have a nutritionist appt Wednesday... we will see what they have to say..

I have drank more Water than I ever thought possible... I cannot tolerate ANY of the Protein I have tried.. I ordered egg drop Soup and added a bit of chicken bullion in it to add more flavor... SF popsicles and so far, that's it but yippee... not much if any pain anymore..but GAS? OMG ugh....the more I walk the more I have LOL

Burleson here... 10 days post op....Dr. Smith with Fort Worth Lap Band at Baylor Trophy Club... Loved that hospital...

Walking is the only thing that I found that moved that gas out... I was walking by myself and boy was I glad... LOL... I could not imagine there being that much gas in there but your body also creates more gas from the changing diet... I am 9th day out and finally starting to feel "normal"

Is it 10,0000$ to get the procedure done?

Mine here in Texas was 12,500

Not trying to be nosy, but why would your insurance NOT cover it if you have other co-morbitities? Your BMI is well within the required ranges and every morbitity is one more reason for them to cover it....Mine wouldn't because I had not co-morbitities and I didn't "weigh enough"... I self paid and other than some adhesions that had to be removed internally, I have had no surgical side effects..

One right below my left breast. One lower right rib cage, right inside my gall bladder incision. Then three more parallel with my belly button left side of stomach.... The biggest pain I am having was from the adhesions that he had to remove from prior surgeries... Oh and they are all super glued... which kind of grossed me out to start with LOL...

Yeah.... thank goodness Unjury has a great return program... I cannot stomach the whey Protein post surgery. Turns out it tastes like hell with soy/almond "milk" I am ordering the Liquid Protein from Bariatric Advantage and hope for it....

If you are going to Tijuana, you aren't going to the war torn area...

God I hope not... I went searching today... couldn't find one but I need it... it helps holding everyone in place...

My BMI was 35.5 before my surgery. I had to self pay because of it because of no co-morbitities.... No regrets...

Day two home... no nausea, only sporadic pain... except the last couple of nights... cannot find a comfortable, pain free position to sleep... :-) All in due time I guess...

Speaking in "ebonics", instant messaging short spelling, loud and obnoxious cell phone users... Oh, was I supposed to just list one? :-)

My kids have always called me the Grammar Nazi... Today, language is simply based on lazy behavior.

I went in with allergies... snotty nose, the whole nine yards... came home with a upper respiratory infection.. Day 9 of the nastiest antibiotic liquids every.. ugh... coughing after surgery is fun anyway but when you have too? OUCH!

Well, here I am day 9 out post op and I have found that the whey Protein doesn't seem to like me much now... I haven't found any way to make it that doesn't run right through me.. I tried it will the almond milk and gagged, Tried it with soy milk, gagged... and Water? Yuck. Bariatric Advantage makes a Liquid Protein at 15 and 18 mg one ounce servings that I think I am going to try..

Mine said either one because it appears the whey doesn't like me lol

I was released to drive, today, day 6 Post Op

Today is day 6 post op and follow up appointment... No pain meds since day two, no nausea at all, but came home from the hospital with a sinus/upper respiratory infection... Oh yippee... Couldn't figure out why my incision pain was just to the side of my actual incision.. the doctor laughed at me and explained... apparently my previous 3 c-sections, hysterectomy, and gall bladder surgery let a lot of excess scar tissue and adhesions.. he had to clean those up while he was in there so that's why I am more sore than some...

Still on liquids for another week... weight loss not so much yet... crossing my fingers next week will be better.. but I am allowed to drive again.. so happy!

My doctor said no due to the sugar content... I tried them when dieting, pre surgery and YUCK... they left a twangy, metallic taste and I couldn't deal with the reflux they caused... Unjury actually makes a medical grade Protein that is less expensive and can be mixed with Water or milk... and it tastes good LOL... www.unjury.com

No I am not a revision but I have known a couple of people that were.... They regretted not getting the sleeve to start with... There is the Texas Medical Board website where you can check the doctors reputation and status... http://reg.tmb.state.tx.us/OnLineVerif/Phys_NoticeVerif.asp

Just type in his first and last name... Looks like he has a clean record and the reason there isn't much on him is he is rather new to the metroplex....

Until I was 40, I was bone, rail thin.. I could eat as much of anything I wanted and never gained a pound.. EVERYONE would comment on how skinny I was... I was asked more times than I can remember if I was anorexic. Then when I turned 40, something in my metabolism just "turned off" and my weight started sky rocketing an average 20 lbs per year... It didn't matter if I cut back on what I ate. It didn't matter if I was careful about my calories... I was always self conscious about how much I looked like I was eating when I got to my heaviest. I would eat salads or half orders of everything because you just knew people were "looking".

Not one person has mentioned that I gained 140 lbs... I was told that there was no way that I weighed that much... Really? You think it is ok to tell me I am too skinny but you call me a liar when I tell you how much I weigh now? I have the sleeve surgery and you tell me that I am taking the easy way out? EASY? Where do people get the nerve???? Those people got kicked to the curb.. done. You don't know me. You have NO RIGHT to speak to me in that manner.. and I am very careful about judging others based on what I see in a 10-20 minute interaction. I don't want people judging me, and I give what I get...