Hi, I am new to this forum. I am scheduled to be banded next week by Dr. Lopez in Mexico. I hope to get lot of advice from everyone. I definately need it.

Congratulations on your decision, Bob, and best wishes for a smooth and uneventful trip. Welcome to the forum!!

WELCOME!!!!

I must admit that this was the best thing that I could have done!!!!

Birdee

Congratulation Bob

Travel light, bring a couple of bottles of gatoraid, walk alot.

Read alot of old posts!!!

Everything will be just fine.

Hi Bob,

Good luck with your surgery and trip to MX. I'm sure everything will go fine for you. I was just banded on April 5 and am doing great. No real pain..surgery was a breeze. You'll be banded and back home before you realize it!

Take care and let us know how everything goes.

Sheila

Hiya Bob,

Wishing you the best with your banding adventure! I'm still awaiting my surgery so looking foward to hearing of your experiences.

Sheila... I hope for a recovery like yours!

Darcy

Bob,

When Donali notices your post, she will likely participate. She's a Dr. Lopez patient and so she is most likely to be able to answer many of your questions. (I've met him, once or twice, I think.)

Good luck,

Sue

Hi Bob -

Congrats on your banding date!

I was banded by Dr. Lopez 1/23/03 at the Oasis Hospital. Everything was uneventful, and Dr. Lopez is warm and caring. I enjoy his sense of humor. And Dr. Carmen is great, too - I believe she handles almost all of his fill patients now.

As far as advice/recommendations, I wish I'd taken slip-on shoes. Luckily Mom was with me, so she did "5 year old duty" and put on my socks and shoes for me at the hospital. You are likely going to be very reluctant to bend over for a while.

If you're going to the Oasis for surgery, and are taking someone with you, they'll be able to stay in your room, which is a great comfort. However, the food available at the Oasis dining room is specially prepared for their cancer patients, and Mom did not find much of it palatable, and I don't think there were any vending machines. So your guest may want to bring some snacky stuff, and/or be willing to walk the neighborhood a bit for stuff to eat. They'll probably be really grateful to have brought a good book, as well, as they'll do a lot of waiting for you through your pre-op appointments and the day of surgery.

Read as much as you can - the post-op course is different for everyone, so the more you read, the more you'll be prepared for your own personal experiences.

Best of luck!

Hello all,

I just went to the meeting and trying to find a little more on this. Why go to Mexico? Is it cheaper? Just as safe? Does US health care except it? Sorry for all the questions, but this is one I didn't think about until reading this tread.

Hi Kram -

I went to Mexico because my insurance didn't cover it. Being a self-pay, then I had to think about costs. My surgery was only $10,000. Depending on the surgeon and the specials they may be running, you can sometimes find the surgery for as low as $6500.

But, cost is not everything, of course! I still would not have gone to Mexico if I had not learned that many of the Mexican doctors have lots and lots of experience placing the band, and have been used by Inamed as proctors for the US surgeons.

You can also get banded for a reasonable price in France, Germany, Sweden, and other overseas places, as you will find. I also read more and more that there are U.S. surgeons who have comparable prices to their international counterparts (although those still seem to be few and far between).

Choosing a surgeon depends on a lot of factors. One of the most important (next to experience) is follow-up care. If you choose a surgeon that is far away, you want to make sure you have arranged for follow-up care close to home FIRST. It is not reasonable to think you would fly back to France for an emergency, and most docs/ERs have never heard of the band and wouldn't know what to do if you encounter a serious problem.

Being in Southern California it was easy for me to choose a Mexican doc - I'm close by, and the rates were reasonable, and my doc has an excellent reputation and lots of experience.

Thanks to all of you for your comments and well wishes. I am excited that it is finally happening on Thursday. I will certainly update you all on my progress.

Thank you and god bless.

Bob