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.

Hey GonnaDoIt,

I posted this in that other thread but I'll copy it here too:

Have you you spoken with Dr. Rumbaut himself? While I was in Mexico being banded he did a patient who had a lower BMI. She said she spoke with Dr. Rumbaut about her weight, lifestyle and dieting history and he agreed to do the surgery. She may have had other issues which she didn't mention but she seemed pretty healthy to me. If you've only spoken with Dr. Rumbaut's staff, see if you can speak with him directly. It might make all the difference.

I had a BMI at 35 and got mine done here in Utah. E-mail me if you wnat more info.

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.

Its commonplace in Australia - that's exactly the position I was in. It has worked brilliantly for me, and that's what they've generally found which is why they're a lot more relaxed about actual BMI here. Everyperson who has a BMI of 40+ once had a BMI of 30 for however long.

I've heard about some doctors doing "Cosmetic" Lap banding for anyone with only 40 pounds to loose. I was "stupid" and gained weight just to get my BMI up. After doing that it really took a long time for my weight lose to kick in. And I found out my doctor wouldn't have done the surgery anyway since i was self pay. (The first surgeon I saw wouldn't do it (even self pay) so I gained weight and went to another surgeon. - Later found out he would have done it without my extra weight gain)

when I went to my G.P for a referral for Barriatric surgery, I wore clothes that would make me look fatter and when I asked him that I would like to have lap banding, he said yes most definately.

I was shocked that he did not even hesitate,as my image of myself was fat...not massive, and I said do you think they would accept me, and he said, of course........at your age the sooner the better. [52]

He wrote me out my referral to Prof Paul O'brien and off I went to the information night. [i had to have the G.P referral for this night]

Then I made an appointment with the surgeon, they weighed me and at no stage did they say I was not heavy enough for the band.

They booked me in for surgery 2 months later and told me it will be $2700 out of pocket with follow up fills and appointments for chats as many times as I like for the rest of my life. It was just that easy.

MyBand obviously you're in Melbourne if you had Paul O'Brien - there's a few of us here and several that were done at The Avenue. We sometimes have Melbourne meet ups - there's been a thread recently if you want to search it out. We're trying to settle on days/times.

my bmi was 34.5 dr joya in mexico did mine april4,2006

Hi Jachut,

Yes I have seen the Melb get together site.

I would have had to wait 6 months for O'brien, so I went with A Skinner.

Still at the same rooms........The Avenue.

I see Dr Paul Mccartney, for follow up app. Only saw Skinner twice after I had the band. Apparentley Dr Mccartney assists Skinner during surgery.

He is the very young looking one there.

I have not even told my grown up children about my band, only my husband knows and he is a brick wall.

A few women at work have had the band some years ago and regretted anyone knowing at work. I learnt big time not to say anything. Even my closest girlfriend has no idea and would not even know about WLS. She is skinny and my weight has come off so slow that she thinks I'm doing so good and is so pleased with me. That is why I find this forum very handy, and does not leave me alone in this WLS.

I've heard of American doctors doing the lap-band on low BMI patients but only if self-pay. I think Dr. Fox in WA State might do them and he is doing a new self-pay price of $12,800 (he has been banding since FDA trails so a lot longer than most American surgeons) It's important when looking at Mexico to realize you may not get the same quality of clinic or hospital but the care can actually be higher since they've been doing these surgeries for so long. If I had all the money to afford to go anywhere I would have picked Mexico or Europe because of the greater experience doing the surgeries there. I had a great experience at Bajanor clinic, but Dr. Ortiz in TJ is highly qualified and very well known (he's even wrote a book on the topic). I have an letter from Inamed saying how important he was for the FDA trail phase and training other surgeons. I offer a copy of that to anyone interested. If you want more of a hospital setting go to Monterrey, Mexico. Dr. Zorilla is $8,300 and suppose to be absolutely great. I've heard very positive things about Dr. Sanchez too and also Dr. Raumbault. Otherwise there is Europe. I love Dr. Frering, he's absolutely top notch with less than 1% slippage and errosion rate and believe me in France low BMI banding is common. That's the trick for the women to keep smaller esp. as they age. When I was there, at least two of the other patients were probably BMI of 30 at most, two others around 32-34, and another 2 maybe 36. Dr. Frering is in Lyon, France and will give you a list of pre-op tests to get done in the US usually any insurance will cover if your regular doctor orders the tests and uses the proper codes (nothing mentioning bariatric/weight loss) or for $700 (not sure if American or euro) they can do the testing, the rest is $6,700ish American dollars, then you just have to stay 5 days post-op in France. The first three days puree, mushies, juices, jellos, then whatever is tolerated (unless he's changed his rules) I felt so great I was on the train the day after I got out of the hospital (high tech. with nurses falling all over themselves to help but poor english-I was still able to communicate pretty easily despite language barrier) on my way for a 7 day vacation in Paris. Although I wish I would have stayed awhile in Lyon, it is beautiful and very unique. If you want even less expensive it seems Belgium is the place to go right now (under $4000 eurodollars) In Europe it is usually done at a normal hospital or small hospital close to larger care facility. If someone could have gone with me I would have gone to Belgium but cost was such an issue I had to go by myself so I picked Bajanor since the cost is great, the surgeons highly qualified (inamed certified), good care, and not too long of flight by myself.

Best Wishes

I had my surgery in Mexico by Dr. Ortiz. My brother is a surgeon and he checked out Dr. Ortiz for me.

Your story sounds like mine. Despite my hardest efforts, my weight hovered in the 29 - 33 BMI range for the last six years. You are so right, the social aspects of obesity are the hardest to live with. Dr. Ortiz told me that it makes no difference if you have 50 pounds to lose or 100 pounds to lose in the way you might view yourself. I know that I have withdrawn socially to a degree since I became obese.

But that is all changing since I was banded! In the past month, I have gotten more involved in activities I love and with friends that I have missed. I have lost 20#, have more energy, and am not obsessed over my weight. I have not been banded long, but already my life has improved. I am very grateful!

Good luck!

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??

No replies. Was that an overshare?

I don't think it was an overshare, lol. I just don't have an answer for you. Sorry.

P.S. 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.

"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.