GonnaDoIt

Cool, there's my ticker!!

Trying to get my ticker on there. Let's see if I've done it.

Sherri, I just on another thread that you were banded by Dr. Sanchez last month. I was going to email you when I saw you'd posted to my thread. I researched several doctors and found Dr. Sanchez to be a good combo of (a) experience/competence, (:rofl: price, and © distance (I'm in Houston). So far his staff has been easy to work with. Thanks for the advice, I'll bring some DVDs, though nearly all I have are children's movies that I've watch 500 times each with my kids. Maybe I'll ... I don't know ... read.

Just scheduled my surgery for August 25!!! Recap: I had wanted the surgery, but had some debts and didn't know how I was going to afford it. Then my mom gave me $8333 unexpectedly. I decided to go forward with surgery then had doubts about whether I should instead spend money someplace else. Decided to do both. Paid off some credit cards, thereby improving credit score. Bought house!!! Now will have surgery, running credit cards up again. Having bought the house, I feel like I've done right by my kids financially and I feel more justified about spending this money on the surgery. Yes, I know that this surgery is not just cosmetic, its about my health, and my health is very important to my kids. Still, I just feel better about having bought the house before spending the money on the surgery. So, I arrive in Monterrey the 24th, have my surgery the 25th and am back on the 27th. Mom's coming to watch the kids (ages 3 and 5). BTW, my boyfriend is super-proud of me that I bought the house. I'm not sure how he feels about me having the surgery. He's Middle Eastern and has always liked my body the way it is now. I've even gained 30 pounds since meeting him (due to giving birth to his daughter) and he's never stopped telling me I'm beautiful. As much as I love him, the relationship is far from perfect and we've stated explicitly that if I find someone else I'll break it off with him and we'll stay friends (daughter in common and all that). Was that another overshare?

Oh, a few other updates ... When I contacted Dr. Sanchez' office, the patient coordinator told me that they will do the surgery on 'low' BMI patients as long as you have at least 50 pounds to lose. So, that's not a problem. Also, the patient coordinator sent me a bunch of documents including info about one financing plan that I was VERY interested in. If you can put 60% down in cash, you can finance the other 40% without a credit check and without it appearing on your credit report. They would have an automatic debit from your checking account each month. I love, love, love this plan because it will make it possible for me to buy a house AND have the surgery. I used the $8500 to pay off most of my credit cards and keep a little extra emergency cash. This will raise my credit score high enough to buy a house, which I plan to do within the next 60 days. Then, after closing on the house, I can use one of those paid-off credit cards to make the 60% down payment for the surgery. It doesn't matter if my credit score goes back down some after I buy the house. So, I'm very excited. Now I can 'do right by my kids' by buying a house AND I can 'do right by my health' by getting the surgery. Very excited!

Kmecey, One of the things I learned in my research is that because the FDA dragged its feet in approving the lap band long after research proved it was safe, the Mexican doctors started performing the surgery long before the American doctors, so the Mexican doctors actually have more experience than the Americans. And many of them have studied in the US or have done Residencies or Fellowships at American hospitals. They know that they are marketing their services to Americans so they do their best to get the credentials Americans are looking for. Yes, we are all trained to believe that American medicine is not only the best, but the only medicine we can trust. While its true that US medicine as a whole is the best in the world, that does not mean that quality medical care does not exist in other countries, or that Americans are the best in absolutely every type of surgery. Having surgery is a big deal, so wherever you do it, you need to research the doctor and the hospital in advance.

Yep. But I've checked out the doctor I think I will be using - Dr. Sanchez - and he has lots of American credentials, such as having completed a fellowship in Texas and being a member of some American medical associations. I don't think I can afford the surgery in the US and, more importantly, since my BMI is just under 35, I would have a lot of problems finding an American doctor who would do it.

Even though I have some other very good uses for the money, I've decided to spend it on the surgery. Of all the possible ways to spend it, the surgery will have the biggest impact. This isn't vanity or selfishness, its about my health. Having the surgery now will probably buy me another ten years of life. Ten years without diabetes. Ten years that I don't have to avoid stairs (my mom avoids stairs because 40 years of carrying an extra 100 pounds has destroyed her knees). Ten years of people NOT asking me when "the baby" is due! That sounds like a fantastic investment!

Do we have links for doctors Sanchez and Ortiz?

An unexpected twist. After my father passed away over a year ago my mother sold the house my sisters and I grew up in. She gave us all a 'payout' from the sale of the house. The rest of my father's estate went to my mother (which I'm 100% fine with - she needs something to live on). I expected that small 'payout' of less than $10,000 to be my entire inheritance from my father's estate. I used it to make some investments. However, now, 12 months later, my mother has decided to make another 'payout'. Today, I got a check from her for $8333. Why $8333? I have no idea why she chose that number. But my sisters and I all got the same amount. Oh, and no tax due on it since gifts under $10,000 per year per giver-receiver pair are exempt under all tax laws. Anyway, I find myself suddenly in possession of the money for the surgery! That is, if I go to Dr. Ortiz or Dr. Sanchez. I'll be researching them. Part of me thinks I should spend the money on debt repayment or a new car (old one has over 120,000 miles), so I have some hesitation, but only about the money. Not about the surgery. I'm going to research those two doctors and just do a little bit of soul-searching to make sure this is really the best place for the money to go. I'm thinking that of all the possible ways to spend the money, the surgery will have the biggest overall impact on my life.

Dr. Rumbaut's office says I would need to be 'cleared' by one of his associates if my BMI is under 35, but they would consider me even with no co-morbitities. Several people have emailed me letting me know about physicians who will consider patients like me on a case-by-case basis. So, I believe I will be able to do the surgery. Right now its just a matter of M-O-N-E-Y.

I'm working on my computer at a coffee shop. One of the baristas just brought me a cup of Water with the comment, "the baby needs some water". I have no baby with me. Obviously she thinks I'm pregnant and is concerned that I'm drinking coffee. I didn't think I looked pregnant in this top. I don't think its the top. I think its the belly. This is the third time in the past six months someone has thought I was pregnant. I always throw away the top I was wearing whenever this happens, but it keeps happening again. This is the type of thing that makes me think - "money be damned, I'm getting the surgery now if it sends me into bankruptcy."

"If you kick someones ass, no matter how provoked you were, you risk losing your children to the state. It's sooooooooo not worth it." Joking! Joking! I happen to know she moved to New Zealand anyway.

No replies. Was that an overshare?

Thanks for all the replies, everyone! I'm encouraged that I might actually be able to find a competent doctor who would be willing to take me with a BMI of 30-35 (currently just under 35, but it fluctuates some) and no co-morbitities. Now that I know I can get it done, I have to start collecting the money. Its a big chunk of change for a self-pay. Money's already tight at the moment and my credit cards are maxed out, so I'm not optimistic that I would qualify for financing. I currently pay $500 a month for my son's daycare, but he's about to start all-day Kindergarten so that expense will go away in a few months. I also just paid about $10,000 in taxes about 6 weeks ago because I'm self-employed and hadn't been making the quarterly payments. Oh, heck, I'll go ahead and tell you all my story. About three and a half years ago I was laid off in the first trimester of pregnancy and my boyfriend promptly abandoned me. I already had one child to take care of at the time. As soon as I started to show it became impossible to get a job since no one wants to hire and train a woman who so clearly is about to take a few months off. To make matters worse I got sued. I'll spare you the details of the suit, but I won. Even though I won, I ended up paying thousands of dollars to an attorney defending myself (there was no counter-suit available for me to get money from the accuser but if I ever see her on the street I'm going to kick her ass). By then I was on welfare, medicaid, food stamps, the works. And by the way, the welfare was only about $200 per month, so I had to borrow from my family to pay rent or my son and I would have been living in a shelter. It was pretty depressing being a welfare Mom and living off of government assistance and my family's loans. Pretty lonely, too, since my boyfriend left and there was no way to get a new boyfriend while I was pregnant. After the baby was born I weighed 225 pounds at 5' 6", which didn't make me feel any better, considering that I was about 193 before I got pregnant (I had managed to lose thirty after my son was born two years prior, bringing me down to 185, but I was slowly gaining weight again). I spent several nights crying in bed because of all of the above. I knew that getting my life back together was going to be a huge task. I put together a 'total life recovery plan' that included financial recovery and stability, emotional health, weight loss, a house for myself and my kids, and an honorable boyfriend - no more deadbeats. I decided that since I couldn't find work, I would have to start my own business. It was very, very hard, but I did it. I had to borrow more money from my family for start-up costs. For a while I made almost nothing while I built the business up. My business is now about 2 1/2 years old and while I'm now making a salary of over $50,000, I'm still recovering financially from all the attorney's fees for the lawsuit, the start-up cost for the business and the reduced income while I built things up. I've paid my family back 100% of everything I borrowed from them (around $10,000), and I'm now on good terms with the IRS, but I'm still working on paying back around $20,000 in high interest credit card debts and personal loans. I no longer cry in bed at night. I've definitely made a lot of progress on my 'total life recovery plan'. But there's still a long way to go. I'm hoping to buy a house this year. If I can get the credit card bills down a bit, my research indicates that the home purchase will be possible. But I also want to do something about my weight. My daughter is nearly 3 and I've only managed to lose about 12 pounds since she was born despite several failed attempts at dieting. I've been carrying this weight around too long already. If affects my life every day in many ways. When I'm in a very good mood, seeing a photo of myself is a sure way to bring me down. And my back is only getting worse. On Saturday while out with the kids, I actually had some trouble standing up because my back was bothering me. There's lots of research indicating that back trouble in an obese person can be lessened by weight loss. Both the house and the surgery are part of my 'total life recovery plan'. But money and credit are obviously an issue. If anyone happens to have any info on a medical financing program/company that will take a lower credit score due to debt load, I could probably get the surgery at the end of the summer and start making payments as soon as my son starts school. If I buy the house before getting medical financing, it won't affect my ability to buy the house. And if the medical financing company isn't concerned about my debt load, then its do-able. Do you think I could keep the payments under $500 per month??

Indeed I may want more info. Since I'll be a self-pay, right now I'm still just doing preliminary research because I'm nowhere near being able to pay for it. I know there are payment plans, but my credit is not so good.

Thanks. I sent an email. I will follow up with a phone call. Perhaps when I tell him about my extensive family history of Type II diabetes he'll be willing to do the surgery.

I put a lot of this on another thread, but I thought it might be good to start a new thread for this issue. My BMI is just under 35 and I have no co-morbidities. My BMI has been consistently between 30 and 35 for over ten years despite many temporarily successful dieting and exercize plans. I have minor weight-related problems such as back pain, lack of energy, and skin infections where the folds of flesh overlap. Type II diabetes runs in my family, though I don't currently have that condition. In the US you have to have a BMI of over 35 in order to get banded, but I've been reading medical articles about recent studies on lap band surgery for patients like me and they are promising, with complications similar to other types of elective surgeries (even getting your wisdom teeth out carries risks of complications). I don't think the risks of complications are any higher than they were for my two C-sections. Still, I'm sure it will take years before the surgery is approved by US government authorities for people with a BMI between 30 and 35 who have no major co-morbidities. I've heard that in Mexico some doctors are willing to perform the surgery on patients in my category, but while I would seek out such a doctor because he's free from the restraints of US government regulations, I'm also concerned about the quality of care that I would normally be assured of by those very same restraints. Comments? Is there a really good doctor in Mexico that I can check up on somehow, who is willing to perform a lap band on a patient with a BMI of about 34? Now, some of you with a very high BMI or serious co-morbidities may be thinking that I'm 'too thin' for the surgery and I should go out and do diet and excercize or learn to be happy with my size. I have two responses for that. 1. My family history shows that if I stay this weight for the rest of my life, which is likely given the number of times I've tried to lose weight and failed, I will develop Type II diabetes and severe joint problems. My cousin lost an eye to diabetes. My uncle lost a leg to diabetes. My mother's joint problems are so bad she can't walk more than a few minutes. I know I'm headed in this direction. I don't want to wait until things get this bad before I can have the surgery, especially since the surgery is less risky on a younger patient. 2. I'm big enough to experience a lot of the social problems obese people face and I'm tired of that. Obesity is absolutely a social problem and one that I want to resolve in my own life.

Thanks for responding guys, but Dr. Rumbaut normally only take patients with a BMI over 40. A patient with a BMI of 35-40 must have co-morbidities. I'm looking for someone who would take a patient with a BMI of 30-35 with no co-morbitities, i.e. a doctor who has read the recent studies on patients like me and thinks the benefits outweight the risks.

My BMI is just under 35 and I have no co-morbidities. My BMI has been consistently between 30 and 35 for over ten years despite many temporarily successful dieting and exercize plans. I have minor weight-related problems such as back pain, lack of energy, and skin infections where the folds of flesh overlap. Type II diabetes runs in my family, though I don't currently have that condition. In the US you have to have a BMI of over 35 in order to get banded, but I've been reading medical articles about recent studies on lap band surgery for patients like me and they are promising, with complications similar to other types of elective surgeries (even getting your wisdom teeth out carries risks of complications). I don't think the risks of complications are any higher than they were for my two C-sections. Still, I'm sure it will take years before the surgery is approved by US government authorities for people with a BMI between 30 and 35 who have no major co-morbidities. I've heard that in Mexico some doctors are willing to perform the surgery on patients in my category, but while I would seek out such a doctor because he's free from the restraints of US government regulations, I'm also concerned about the quality of care that I would normally be assured of by those very same restraints. Comments? Is there a really good doctor in Mexico that I can check up on somehow, who is willing to perform a lap band on a patient with a BMI of about 34?

Hi everyone. I'm new to the forum. I've been thinking about getting the Lap-Band ever since I heard of it a few months ago. I'm borderline on medically qualifying with a BMI of 35.2 and no major weight-related health problems ... yet. Even though I 'only' need to lose 70-90 pounds, I've been trying to lose weight for pretty much my whole life. And when I look at my sisters, my mother and my aunts and I see them just gain weight as they get older, I know its not coming off. I have to do something DIFFERENT and PERMANENT. So, I've decided to do it. But the problem is that I already know my insurance won't cover it. I am self-employed with individual health insurance that specifically states it does not cover obesity surgery. Its pretty much impossible to get individual health insurance that does cover it. I should still be able to get a tax break for it, but that still doesn't exactly make it free. So, given that I'll be paying for it, should I get it done in Houston or go to Mexico? Medical care in the US is unquestionably the best in the world. Is it risky to get it done in Mexico? We're talking about my health here. But if I can find a doctor/facility that's first rate in Mexico for thousands of dollars less, maybe I should consider it. I need more info to make a decision. Comments?