bitteroldhag

I posted this as a reply, but thought I might do it as a thread since there aren't many docs in Oklahoma who will do fills for Mexican lapbands. I found one in Norman, Dr. Ronnie Keith, who will do them. His phone number is 1-800-599-8010 and his website is www.owlo.com.

I called around and found that Dr. Ronnie Keith (1-800-599-8010) in Norman will do fills for Mexican lapbands. I don't know the cost yet, but at least there is one doc in Oklahoma who will do the fills.

I called Dr. Holsaeter's office and he doesn't do fills for lapbands done in Mexico. As far as I know, the Oklahoma docs refuse to do fills, yet the insurance for employees of the state government won't pay for any bariatric surgery. This seems rather ironic, I think. But thanks for mentioning him.

Thanks so much, Carol. I will get some of this stuff before I go. There are a couple of docs in Norman who are on the web. I'll try calling them.

Hope4Jen -- I will call him today. OKC is closer than Coffeyville. I'm so glad to find that there are several people in Oklahoma who have been banded. Thanks for the info.

Ravensriches -- Thanks for replying to my post. I'm going to stay in the Hilton in Monterrey. Did you like Dr. Rodiguez and his staff? Any problems with the surgery? I'd like to be as prepared as possible before I go. I think the surgery is May 11. A friend is going with me and we will fly down on May 10, I'll do the surgery on May 11, stay in the hotel May 12 and come home May 13. I don't have much time between semesters so I have to make it quick. Is the lapband working for you? As I said in another post, I'm worried about being hungry. So many people are really hungry. If I'm hungry, I'll cheat. That's why I'm having the surgery. I just am no good at diets. I always cheat when I get hungry. I live in Tahlequah, right at the opposite end of the state from you. No one does the lapband in this area so I'm on my own. I'd certainly like to hear from you about your experience. Sharon

Carol -- Thanks for your help. There is a doc in Coffeyville, KS I will probably go to. I live in Tahlequah and Coffeyville is about 2-3 hours away. OKC is closer but I don't think any of the docs there will do fills for Mexican surgery. I teach at NSU and our health insurance is terrible. They won't pay for much, so I'm having to pay for lapband myself and I can't afford it in the States. I'm pretty worried about this band thing because the idea was to lose weight without being really hungry and I see a whole lot of people on this forum are really hungry. How are you getting along? Thanks for replying to my post. I know a bunch of people in OKC have had this surgery. I don't think any docs in Tulsa do it. They do gastric bypass and get the big bucks. So there probably won't be a support group around here unless I start one. Maybe I can belong to one of your support groups via email. Sharon

Thanks, ladies. I'm glad to hear some success stories. I have gotten no special preparation measures like going on a liquid diet for a week or two before the surgery. In fact, the gal who is leading me though this says I can eat dinner the night before the surgery. I'm going to Dr. Rodriguez in Monterrey and he's done a whole lot of these surgeries. I'm banking that his experience will pay off. The docs here in Oklahoma who do lapbands have all done less than 100. They are very big on gastric bypasses since they can make a lot more money on those. Several people here have had gastric bypass but I think that's a little radical for me. I'll be back in touch. Thanks again for your support.:nervous

Hi. I'm going to go to Monterrey, Mexico, for the lapband surgery in May, so I'm trying to get as much info as possible from this site. I really hope the band works though I don't expect to lose a whole lot of weight overnight. I have a BMI of 35, but I have heart disease and diabetes, so the band seems like a good way to help fix those problems. I am also 58 years old. I was pleased to see some older people on the forums since I thought everyone would be young. I'm a teacher in Oklahoma so our insurance won't pay for the lapband which is why I'm going to Mexico. Our insurance doesn't pay for much. I hope this works out and I can avoid the problems reported on the problem forum. That makes me nervous. But I'm going to forge ahead because I'm sick, sick, sick of being this fat.