Proud2BMe

Freddie is right. Also most do not cover you in the U.S. You would have to return to Mexico if anything went wrong. I too was offered it but turned it down.

@@freddie8_8 San Diego is 25 minutes from Tijuana, not hours away. If a doctor is charging below say $4,500, then it's usually because they are a new doctor trying to get established. I personally want a doctor who has done hundreds of procedures and who is not just starting out. I don't want to become a new doctors learning lesson. Tijuana is right next door to San Ysidro, Ca, in case of a Medical Emergency the border is opened up for the ambulance it takes mere minutes Most Hospitals are no more than 5 miles from the Border some are even closer People who are transported to the USA go back there because they do not want or have the money to pay the medical bill for their care so they are taken back to the USA so they can have their insurance cover the expenses

@@SimplySharon The point is that you should have already been made aware that you might die during surgery. If anyone is going into this without understanding that there is risk for surgery then please realize that you have not researched this enough. No surgery is 100% safe. However, you need to do some soul searching to find out if the risk is worth it or not. Many people who chicken out of having the surgery will go on to die of an obesity-related illness. For example, I knew a woman in the early 2000s who canceled her gastric bypass within days of doing it. She lived for 2 more years and died of a heart attack brought on by the fact that she was morbidly obese, weighing over 400 lbs. So don't think that you are safe by canceling your surgery. You just need to be aware that there is a risk of death and a risk for complications. If you feel the benefits outweigh the risk then go ahead and do it. The majority of people do fine with gastric sleeve. This board is filled with people who have had the surgery and are pleased with the results. Speak to your doctor if you have any more concerns.

@@SuninVirgo You don't know what the health of the person is going into surgery. Not every death is from negligence. In fact most surgery-related deaths are natural, part of the risk of having surgery. Simply being obese puts you at a greater risk for dying during surgery. Did you know that? The higher your BMI the greater your risk of death. If you are diabetic or have high blood pressure then your risks for death during or shortly after surgery are even higher. Then again, even healthy people sometimes die in surgery. I've heard of a case of a healthy 20 year old guy who had a heart attack when given anesthesia and died. So this belief that surgery should be 100% safe is simply not correct. Whichever doctor you chose will let you know that there is a risk of death. No doctor can promise you that you will not die or will not experience any complications. There are things you can do to lessen your risk of death. If you are diabetic or have high blood pressure, get it under control before having surgery. Follow the pre-op diet and lose as much weight as possible before surgery. If you plan your surgery for a month or longer into the future don't wait until two weeks before your surgery to start your diet. Start your diet right then and there. The lower your weight at surgery the higher your chance of surviving.

@@Kristomoto Good luck!

Okay, updated for those who haven't started the pre-op diet yet. The first 2 days were horrible! I had a constant headache, felt like I was going to faint, and had zero energy. I almost gave up and caved in but I am determined to be successful at this so I kept marching onward. I'm on day 4 and I feel much better. No more headache and no more feeling of faint. However, I still get periods where I feel I have no energy. I started the diet on Monday. I don't eat Breakfast so I have a Protein shake for lunch. Then between lunch and supper I have a sugar free popsicle. For supper I have lettuce and some skinless, unbreaded chicken or other lean meat. Then later in the evening I have some sugar-free Jello. Starting on Monday I can no longer have the lettuce and meat for supper and have to swap that out for another Protein Shake. I have lost a total of 13 pounds since Monday. However, I suspect that as my body is getting used to my diet that my weight loss will slow down. As long as I can lose 7 more pounds before surgery, for a total of 20lb lost, then I will be pleased. Next week I also have to stop drinking caffeinated beverages, mostly diet pop, which I am addicted to. I probably will once again have some bad headaches as I get weaned off of caffeine. So I'm not going to lie. The diet is hard. But if you can find the strength to keep with it for the first 2-3 days then it gets a whole lot easier.

@@Salonboi I'll check into the sugar free pudding next time I'm at the store.

People seem to forget that death is always a risk with surgery. Patients who have comorbidities, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, heart problems, lung problems, etc., are at a greater risk than those who do not have such issues. The risk of death is small for a relatively healthy person. However, every patient needs to be aware of the risks before going into this.

@@Salonboi It's a negative on the "cream of" soups. They have too many carbs. I'm supposed to stay under 5gm carbs a day and just one can of cream of mushroom as 18gms of carbs, if you eat the full can. I made 2 full boxes of sugar-free Jello last night and ate it all. I felt like such a pig until I checked the calories. 2 boxes of sugar-free jello only have 80 calories. LOL

@@Salonboi They didn't tell me anything about broccoli or cauliflower. I'll have to check. Ditto on the "cream of" soups but broth is okay. I never even thought about sugar free pudding. I'll have to look into that! Thanks.

@@PMJ Thank you!

So today I start my pre-op diet. I'm so excited! I will be having protein shakes during the day and lettuce with some skinless grilled chicken in the evening. If I crave something sweet I will be having either sugar free jello of a suger-free popsicle. I can't believe 2 weeks from now I will be having my surgery! I've waiting for so very long to save up money for this and now it seems to be moving so very fast!

May 12 for me but with Dr. Sergio Verboonen in Tijuana.

My coordinator talked me into only one pre-op hotel stay and said that I don't need an additional hotel stay after I'm released from the clinic. She said that when I'm checked out of the hospital I could then go home. Has anyone else done this? Is that enough time to be able to come back okay? Am I going to be able do that?

@@bham05 Tijuana, Obesity Goodbye Center with dr. verboonen. I'm getting it through a different company

@@bham05 Congrats to you as well!

@@sh1211 LOL! Well, good luck to you as well! Yeah, definitely have some food funeral, especially with food and restaurants that you know you will not be able to go to for a very long time. I love Chinese but it's almost entirely starches so they have to go. So I'm going to pig out one last time. Love me some eggrolls deepfried in peanut oil! I'm also going to go the casino and eat their awesome buffet one last time before the surgery.

May 12! I've been on this journey for so long that I can't believe it's almost here! I'm nervous and want to begin my pre-op diet immediately but I think I should have some "food funerals" first. I plan on going to my fave Chinese restaurant before starting the pre-op diet. Man, I can't wait for the brand new me! Wish me luck!

Its actually easy. Whatever you do, do not buy Flintstone's chewable Vitamins as they do not have all the things an adult needs. Instead, buy Centrum chewable vitamins. One or two bottles will be enough for you to be healed and after that you can go back to taking your regular Vitamin. You can also purchase bariatric vitamins but these aren't really necessary and are far more expensive than Centrum chewable vitamins. Remember, after you stomach heals you should be able to swallow your pills as normal.

What's a "border crossing document"?

The reason I ask is because I watched a YouTube video about visiting Tijuana and it says for tourists not to publicly display any electronics they might have in order to prevent being targeted for theft.

Your link doesn't work. I'm mainly interested in people who have already gone to see if they were able to get back without a passport card or passport.

I was going to get a Passport card but I figured why bother if I can get back in using existing documentation. What do I need to bring?

I've read here that people bought a spirometer and took it with them. Some even took a Mexican phone card. Are these things really necessary? I don't want to take anything I don't really need.

Is this a complete package? Like does it come with hotel stay?