I'll be getting banded in tijuana maybe the 1st week of September any advice of what I should do to prepare and take with me its about 6hrs away from where I live I've been reading all the great stories people have had some bad but I guess there's bad in everything right? I'll be self pay so basically I just have to set up a date and be there the day before to run all the testing so I'm not too sure what to expect..any advice will be appreciated my starting weight is about 244 and I'm 5'1 thanks again for your time;)

The first thing I'd do is make sure you've already found a local surgeon who will do your fills when you return. Many surgeons won't touch someone who's banded in Mexico so I'd definitely start looking for one now. Otherwise, you run the risk of having to drive 6hrs back once a month for fills.

very true Mis73...i live 2 hours from my surgeon, was overfilled once and had to wait all weekend to get back to the doctor bc not even the hospital would help me

Hi. I am going to be banded this Friday in Tijuana. My doc is Mario Almaraz at Jerusalam Hospital. The staff has been great so. They email me frequently and pretty much held my hand through all the prop stuff

Sorry, accidentally hit send button! You should have a patient advocate that can advise you and tell you the steps you take pre op.

Thanks everyone I'm going to start looking for a Dr near my town. The lady ive spoken to sent me an email with info and a list of fill centers but the closest one is still about 3hrs away being I live in the middle of no where :/ she also gave me an idea of what to expect but id also like to hear it from someone that's already been through the process in case they don't cover something

Good luck cdillow hope everything goes smoothly pls keep me posted

As for fills I don't think you would need them monthly. Dr Kuri said his patients usually need at the very most 4 per year. I'm going for my first this week and it's been 5 months since surgery.

How much is it to get banded in Mexico

Dr Kuri charges $5000.00. That includes transport from san Diego airport tonthe facility in Tijuana and all labs, two nights stay at the surgery center. And free fills for life at hospital Angeles in tijuana.

That's awesome!! How much have you lost?? How was your experience with Dr Kuri? I'd love to hear about your journey;)

Ive lost 27 pounds but I was stagnant for a few months because I put off getting a fill for 5 months. I didn't gain weight which was good but nor was I losing. So I finally got my first fill yesterday so I'm back on track. I can actually feel the restriction and I only had a .5 fill.

My experience with Dr. Kuri and his staff was fantastic. I get lots of support from my patient coordinator and Dr. Kuris patient educator. They give out their personal cell numbers so you can call with any questions. I have heard that Dr. Kuri has his service patch over all emergency calls to his home when he is not at the hospital.

I'm a chicken and this whole experience was less scary than I thought it was going to be.

Send me a message if you want the coordinators phone number.

I can't send you a pm it gives me an error msg?!

I've spoken to Joann from Dr.kuris office (I believe that's her name) she gave me info but talking to someone who actually went through the process with them is important to me any other tips or advice would be great thanks again;)

JoAnn was my facilitator too. She had the surgery by Dr. Kuri back in 2006 I believe. I've also met the patient educator Gena who also had surgery by Dr. Kuri 11 years ago.

I have a lot of faith in Dr Kuri and I did a lot of research. He's done more procedures than the majority of doctors in the US and has very low complication rates. The reason a lot of drs in Mexico are more experienced is because the lapband was available there years before the US approved it for weight loss use.

He speaks very good English as does most of his staff and his facilities are top notch.

Dr. Kuri is awesome, he did my band too. They are so attentive, and when I was researching I was also impressed by the number of bands he has done, and also had heard that he has provided training to a lot of the US surgeons. When I was down there my best friend was so scared that I was going to Tijuana for surgery that she called in the middle of the night because she couldn't get a hold of me, (as I went alone) and they put her through to Dr. Kuri who took her call and talked her down from the "edge" LOL.

Any surgery can have complications and all have mortality rates, it is a risk. I've found on lap band boards you are likely to read about complications because it is often where people go for answers. In my opinion, the mortality rate of obesity is a lot higher than the surgery.

I too went to Mexico and live in the middle of know where lol..

Dr.Ortiz was my doctor and his price was $5000.oo, best thing I have ever done. I was banded the first week of march and had a fill just a few weeks ago, and have lost 45pds. I feel so fantastic!!! best decision ever!! I looked at a few doctors, and chose Dr.Ortiz, he was on Oprah a couple of times and I like what I read about him. The coordinator will also give you advice and even doctors that will do fills, and to be honest, there are still doctors out there that will do it, even if you get it done in Canada some doctors will not touch it if they did not do it.

all the best to you!!! Not sure where you live, but if it is in alberta let me know, I have a few doctors that will do it!!