Hi All,

This is my first post,

My surgery is in less than a week, I don't know my surgeon, I don't know the country, I have not had any tests, I'll be alone..

Am I crazy to do it?

So I'm 45, struggled with my weight and my relationship to food all my life, my BMI is "only" 33, but my eating is out of control and l know I need help, otherwise I'll be miserable for the rest of my life. I don't want to wait for all the serious medical problems to start..

I live in London, England and decided to have the sleeve done about 3 weeks ago, after doing a little research. I would have gone for the mini gastric bypass, but not a lot of doctors do it yet.

Anyway, despite of what people think, I could find no-one to do more than a "balloon" in my stomach, because I'm not morbidly obese.

So I found a surgeon in Amman, JORDAN!!!! Yes, he will do it! I did do a little research into it and the Middle East seems quite advanced when it comes to these type of surgeries. But I do know that most people would no way consider going to an Arab country for surgery. I will be going alone, my pre-op appointment and tests are the day before surgery. I don't need to go on any pre-op diet, in fact in the last 2 weeks I have put on about 10 pounds, just eating things I will never be able to eat again. I will leave hospital the day after surgery and 2 days later fly back to London, it's a 5 and half hour flight.

I have done some crazy things in my life, recently, in January I successfully climbed Kilimanjaro, but reading all the posts here and seeing just how much preparation and thought goes into some people's weight loss journey, it puts a little doubt in my mind...

Any thoughts on this?

Any suggestions?

Any tips?

Thanks

Hello Lambada,

I don't want to discourage you at all but there are a few things that raise "red flags" for me. I am a Registered Nurse here in the U.S. so I have a fair amount of medical knowledge. Traveling to have surgery with someone that has not even met you in person yet is flag #1. The fact that you are traveling there alone as a female is flag #2. The fact that they are willing to do the all of the pre op testing the day before surgery is flag #3. Lastly the fact that you will have to take a 5.5 hr flight home 2 days post surgery is flag #4. You will already be at a much higher risk for forming blood clots in your legs without having to sit on a plane for several hours. That is beyond risky. I am quite fearful for you should you proceed with this plan. If you are able to travel to another country, why not look into some areas that are much safer and rigorously regulated. Would you be able to come to the U.S.? I know that it is expensive, but this is your life!! I hope this will give you serious pause to really evaluate all of the risks that you are taking. Again, this is written with nothing but absolute concern for you and your safety.

Best,

Aubrey

Hi Aubrey,

Oh, thank you for your concern and reply. This is exactly why I posted it.. I did want to hear concerns I might have missed myself. And I do admit, I'm maybe a bit quick to decide..

1)I will meet the surgeon the day before my surgery and if I don't feel comfortable with him, I will re-consider. Yes, I also think it's not an ideal situation.

2) travelling alone as a female I'm not worried about, I travelled to Tanzania by myself this year, it was the best thing ever..

3) there will only be a couple of very basic tests, as I'm relatively healthy, not a major concern, I have had other operations with tests the day before

4) staying in hospital for only one night after surgery is a worry to me, I don't want to be alone in a hotel room, if something goes wrong, so I will ask whether I could stay one extra night. Also going home so soon on a long flight is not great, to say the least, I very much agree with you!!!!t Unfortunately I have to go back to work :-( the day after I fly back. I will google what I can do to reduce the risk of blood clots or similar on the flight. I recall getting a daily injection after a previous surgery I had, to prevent such thing, I think I will ask my doctor to give that to me and take one with me..

Again, thank you for taking the time, and yes, you did make me consider these risks again and highlighted the main ones to me. I am now much more aware of what might possibly go wrong, which is a good thing as I will ask all the questions and be more cautious. I will also read up on it a bit more. I am pretty tough (and probably a bit crazy :-) ), I did a 56 meter bungee jump just 3 weeks ago with my kids. :-)

Unfortunately, not only that I cannot afford to have it done in the UK, so locally, but no-one would even consider me for the surgery as I'm not big enough. I need it, I am convinced of that.

I will write my experiences down, whether good or bad.. many thanks!! :-)

Hello Lambada,

I don't want to discourage you at all but there are a few things that raise "red flags" for me. I am a Registered Nurse here in the U.S. so I have a fair amount of medical knowledge. Traveling to have surgery with someone that has not even met you in person yet is flag #1. The fact that you are traveling there alone as a female is flag #2. The fact that they are willing to do the all of the pre op testing the day before surgery is flag #3. Lastly the fact that you will have to take a 5.5 hr flight home 2 days post surgery is flag #4. You will already be at a much higher risk for forming blood clots in your legs without having to sit on a plane for several hours. That is beyond risky. I am quite fearful for you should you proceed with this plan. If you are able to travel to another country, why not look into some areas that are much safer and rigorously regulated. Would you be able to come to the U.S.? I know that it is expensive, but this is your life!! I hope this will give you serious pause to really evaluate all of the risks that you are taking. Again, this is written with nothing but absolute concern for you and your safety.

Best,

Aubrey