Ooookay...so this is my rant for the day! I am getting so freaking frustrated with family members and friends hearing that im going to TJ Mexico and them responding with "oh my god!" " seriously! Your crazy!" And.. "why would you put yourself at risk like that"? My favorite: "your going to a border town for surgery?" "People will steal your organs and sell them on the black market!!"

Seriously people!! Really??? Give me a flippin break! And while your at it..how about you educate yourself a little and read up about the hospital and Drs and procedures. Any surgery is risky..There is no difference in risk between habing surgery in Canada or the States and having surgery in Mx. Doesnt matter where you fly post op! Its all the same. You are flying and at risk for DVT. Lets also keep in mind that just like TJ Mexico...anyone can open fire at a hospital or experience a sudden natural disaster. Being in the US or Canada does not make you any more safe or free from natural disasters, criminals or shootings.

Point is: educate yoursel!!

Fear will do amazing things. I routinely have patients that will worry about the most rare of diseases while not paying attention to obvious dangers as not using seat belts, smoking, excesive drinking, routine immunizations, yada yada.

Ooookay...so this is my rant for the day! I am getting so freaking frustrated with family members and friends hearing that im going to TJ Mexico and them responding with "oh my god!" " seriously! Your crazy!" And.. "why would you put yourself at risk like that"? My favorite: "your going to a boarder town for surgery?" "People will steal your organs and sell them on the black market!!"

Seriously people!! Really??? Give me a flippin break! And while your at it..how about you educate yourself a little and read up about the hospital and Drs and procedures. Any surgery is risky..There is no difference in risk between habing surgery in Canada or the States and having surgery in Mx. Doesnt matter where you fly post op! Its all the same. You are flying and at risk for DVT. Lets also keep in mind that just like TJ Mexico...anyone can open fire at a hospital or experience a sudden natural disaster. Being in the US or Canada does not make you any more safe or free from natural disasters, criminals or shootings.

Point is: educate yoursel!!

AMEN SISTER! YOU HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD! I've heard everything you are talking about, especially the "steal your organs" comment. It amazes me that some of the most ignorant remarks have come from some of the otherwise smartest people I know. I am going to have Dr Illan do my surgery and I have logged in hours upon hours doing my research to finally make my decision. Every time I would think I had found my surgeon, something would just come up that didn't settle right with me. Dr Illan is the whole package! First, he is with Mysurgeryoptions which means you get Susan as your US coordinator, then there is Omar, the on site coordinator, which EVERYONE sings the praises of daily and is one step away from being Saint Omar. Third there is florence hospital, which is a surgery hospital connected to Oasis of Hope. Oasis of Hope is a cancer treatment facility that is very holistic and focuses on the whole concept of mind, body and spirit. I believe there cafeteria is even vegan. Anybody who says that it is not up to the level of the US hospitals, has obviously never been inside any state or university run facilities, AKA charity hospitals. I almost died in one of those, thats where students get to practice on you, and yes even for surgery. I haven't even had my surgery yet and i can promise you that Florence Hospital is definitely much much higher in all aspects. Last but not least, there is Dr Illan, who called me personally and did a skype conference call and was so nice and answered all my questions and addressed my concerns regarding the possible scar tissue I may have due to the botched/butcher job I got right here in the US. He was so nice and spoke perfect English which really put me at ease, because I knew he was understanding what I was saying. He said the surgery usually takes about 45-50 min. That made me feel better knowing that he wasn't going to go in there and give me a 25-30 min rush job(I've heard about a lot of those) So basically what I am trying to say is I"VE DONE MY HOMEWORK! I am completely confident in my decision and I don't need some ignoramus who doesn't know s**t about what they are talking about, putting their two cents in. I would be embarrassed for Omar or Dr Illan to know what stupid and yes, racist things people say about the Drs and other health professionals over there. Yes there are some "bad apples" over there, but hey we've got those here too. You just have to read a lot, look hard and ask a lot of questions and you will find a good Dr. Personally with dr Illan, I think I've found a keeper. I apologize for hijacking this thread and making this so long, its just that this particular topic has been on my mind for a while.

The comments from other people is exactly why I never told anyone except my husband. I had the surgery and home before any one knew. The only ones who knows now are my two daughters and probably their husbands. And they were told a day after I was home I like it this way. No one is asking any questions and no one is watching me lose weight. If I had to do it over I would do exactly the same way.

Oh yeah...my Mom was completely nuts before my surgery in Tijuana. Now, she wants to go there for a VSG too!

Stay strong in your decision. Smile politely at those who 'just don't get it' yet. You know what they don't.

I got some of it. I just tell people the truth and if they don't like it to bad. I tell them I had a fabulous dr and better care in Mexico then ANY dr or hospital in the US. I will be honest the idea of going to TJ is scary even to me (I went to Mexicali ) but I have to trust people do their research as I did and that they are making the best decision for their own situation and life. I was afraid to tell lots of people about the surgery in general but found it to be liberating when I did. good luck in your continued journey.

That's why I searched and searched for a reasonably priced self-pay doc in the states. My husband flat-out refused to even discuss Mexico

hence why I waited until people started raving about how awesome and healthy I looked before telling them about my surgery or the fact that I had it in Mexico.

I tested it out on a friend, but I'm not planning on telling my family until after. Just my husband. I feel guilty about it but I won't deal with the judgmental comments I'd get.

I told as many people as I cold that I was having surgery in Mexico. There reaction was priceless. As far as my family was concrned I told them that I wasn't asking for permission' I was just letting them know what my plans were. i'm still in Mexico, 2 days post-op and feeling remarkably good. Heading home to STL on Tuesday.

I didn't want to tell anyone just because I didn't want to hear the flack. Bad enough I told my closest family members. My daughter flipped smooth out going on about the organ thieves and the abductions that could happen. I would have been better off keeping it from her especially.

I had to hear the same line of BS from my friends and family. "What about the drug cartels" "what about the sub standard care" "what happens if you have problems down there" etc. etc. Blah Blah Blah!!!

My husband finally had to step in and shut them all up!!!

Then to top it all off I came on here to tell people about my journey ( I thought that's what you did on here). Boy was I wrong!!!!! I immediately got jumped and accused of being paid by the company to post and that I was a coordinator!!! I won't name a names.. you know who you are and its obvious you have given yourself the title of "forum police" & that you have no life. Anyways enough of that rant.

For me Mexico was GREAT, I had no other options. I had a great surgeon, I did my research and felt totally comfortable with MY DECISION.

Is there good surgeons in the states? Of course there is!! There are also equally as good of surgeons outside the states!!!!

Don't listen to the bashing, do what you feel in your heart is right!!!

Also I wanted to add that my surgery was on May 22nd, 2013. I am down 59 pounds!!! Im 5ft 6 and start weight was 218 and current weight is 159!!!! Only about 15-20 from goal weight. I haven't had ANY problems and I am so happy I went to Mexico and had it done!!! Plus no red tape insurance BS of jumping through hoops to get this done!!!

Good luck to everyone!!!!

Yeah Im getting pretty freakin fed up with my husband on the Mexico issue. I had my surgery here in my home state and basically now have a car payment for the next several years to afford it :/ Now, Im a little ahead of myself, but after all the great experiences here I've read about, I've been looking into maybe plastics down there. I mean 1 possibly 2 years in tax returns and it would be paid for! No loans and unbelievable price tags. I mean we are middle class people here. We are not rich. My car is old and having transmission issues, but I paid out of pocket for a $25000 surgery here in the states! I did it because I knew it would save my life. Im so glad I had, and don't mind dealing with a crappy car for years to come. However, plastics in the US would be unrealistic for us. Yet, my dumba** husband won't even entertain me with the thought of Mexico. I straight up told him yesterday "Hon, I love you to death, but Im not breaking the bank here in the US if I find the right doc. elsewhere, and I really think that this decision is ultimately my decision not yours." Well he didn't like that answer. I hope he comes around, looks at the info I have for him, and understands my thought process.