Hi everyone,

My name is Jenn and I'm 29. Weight has been a constant battle in my life and after doing numerous diets over the years, I'm now looking into WLS. I'm 5'6'' and weigh 230 lbs. I am going to be tested for sleep apnea soon because I have quite a few of the symptoms and need a comorbidity to make up for my BMI of 37 in order to get insurance to cover the surgery.

I've looked into self-pay and going to Mexico if insurance won't cover it but I'm nervous about going to Mexico (oddly enough, I trust their doctors, just not the country) and running the risk of complications and being far from my surgeon.

I've been reading through the boards and have learned quite a bit of great information from you all so I'm throwing out my line to see if anyone has any advice for someone with a "low" BMI (seems silly they consider it "low" even though it falls into the morbidly obese category) and making it through the insurance approval process. My insurance is Blue Shield of California if that helps.

Any advice?

They say that Dr. Aceeves is one of the best in Mexico. There are a lot of folks that used him and from what I have heard the hospital is quite amazing and clean.. There will be some more to chime in on this post who used him. Good luck and as far as the Bmi I don't think there is a lot of things that you can do about it..

Welcome CAJean;

If you live in the SoCal area - a group of us (about 15 people) get together once a month now. Varies for newbies - those considering surgery to those who have been sleeved. Wide age ranges. Send me a private message (click on my user name) and I can provide details. Group is not all one surgeon, but those who went via different types of insurance, self pay in US and self pay in Mexico.

Most barriatric surgeons will provide a free insurance verification. I have BCBS and did not meet the 2 comorbidities, diet for 6 months, 40BMI so I was a self payer here in US.

Good luck to you and keep us posted on your journey.

Do you have a reason to believe you might have apnea? I did get dxed with it- and also am over 40 BMI, but that said my doctor said BC/BS is one of the best insurance companies in terms of approval. I have BS CA and their requirement was that I meet my doctors requirements- no diet, etc. I also was recommended for surgery due to chronic pain in my knees and back- do you have any other weight related condition?

Hi there! Glad you are considering getting a VSG in Mexico. The options are numerous and the doctors are amazing. We take pride in going the extra mile for the patient...not to mention the prices are amazing over here.

When you here those stories that people tell you, just shrug them off. Here is a recent article I came across today:

http://blogs.ocweekly.com/stickaforkinit/2011/04/mision_19_guadalupe_valley.php

Another one:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/09/dining/09tijuana.html?_r=2&pagewanted=2

Moral of the story...stick to your itinerary and you will be fine. Tijuana is just like every other city: it has its good neighborhoods and its bad ones. Stay away from the latter and you will want to come back...guaranteed.

If you need some advice on teh city, or anything at all, be sure to send me a message!!

Best,

Dr. JSA