Hi,

I am posting my story because during my "research stage" I have found other low BMIers hard to come by and I want to help someone else like myself out there looking, hoping to find someone with similiar stats. My story: I am 36 years old, 4'11" and my BMI is about 32. I have 3 kids (2 biological, 1 adopted). I am married and my hubby is 12 --count em, 12 yrs younger than me! I have struggled with my weight since I hit my 30s but after my 2nd child it has been completely unmanageable and I can sell you a bunch of other reasons why I am doing this but its irrelevant at this point because now that I have researched everything sleeve related NOTHING can stop me LOL I am obsessed. I was initially researching TT and lipo because I am "not that big" according to everyone (except myself). You see my body type has always been "thicker than a snicker" and it was cute when I weighed about 125 lbs. My bottom had always been my my best asset lol but now that I am over 160 umm it aint cute! If i was to just have TT and lipo my hubby would probably be like dammmmmmmmmmmmm a$$ for days but honestly it would look unnatural and I would STILL be unhealthy and overweight. I would still yo-yo diet and per genetics, keep gaining. So I let go of that idea and started looking into the lap-band because at that time even I thought these other procedures were too drastic for me cuz im "not that big." well that didnt work out because i found too many complications and revisions so i set my sights on the sleeve. YAYY SLEEVE YOURE GOING TO BE PERFECT FOR ME!! Next, I was like ohhh yeah Tijuana here I come because eff paying full price here in the US so i spent countless hours reading up on going to Mexico. But when I told my husband my great idea he said HELLNO. Okay fine. More than likely (depending on my endoscopy next wednesday) I will be paying full price here in my hometown, approx 10k. I dont care about the price at this point, I am so excited and so looking forward to this i can barely think straight. Oh i got sidetracked by my excitment but i do want to say that the certified world national board of whatever says you qualify for surgery at a BMI of 30 or higher. In fact the lower the BMI the better the sucess rate and less complications (for sleeve). That is something a lot of people are not realizing when someone like me is getting this done. I have found some negativity from both wls vets and non-wls. All those other requirements are for insurance purposes. My surgeon said that I am the perfect candidate and he wish everyone would spare themselves the misery of waiting until their BMI is morbid. If you are low BMI and you have the means, do it. I am. You are not alone.

You are exactly right! (On a side note, I am going to Tijuana in November.) I think the problem is not the patient, but the insurance companies that make the requirements (instead of the doctors). My impression is that most, if not all, wls patients would say that if insurance were not a factor, they would have gotten the surgery sooner.

I did the research last year, and as far as I can tell, you're not going to find anything in the northern US at all that offers self pay for less than 28k-ish. The only exception I found was Dr. Curry in Cincinatti, OH. I'm not sure if he will operate on less than 35 bmi or not.

If you consider travel to Dallas you will have several good and very reasonably priced options.

It sounds like you have done your due diligence and will have a successful outcome. I am also a low BMI (31ish) with manageable health issues that have been slowly progressing ( sleep apnea, blood pressure, cholesterol, bum hip).

I cannot find a self pay surgeon who operates on sub 35 bmi patients in the northeast US. It seems like the best reasonable options are in Texas or Mexico. My wife says why have surgery in a country we would not vacation in.

I am still arguing about this but the surgeons I am contemplating in Mexico have more experience than any in the US since they have been performing these procedures much longer and taught many of their US colleagues.

Regardless, I agree with you about the risk factors being less with a lower BMI and pretty good health.

Which surgeon did you select? I might be following your lead in the winter.

My surgeon is in Houston, TX, 1st Choice Weightloss, Dr. Elias Darido. I also consulted with Audencio Alanis but it was more expensive. I also considered Dr. Kim in Colleyville, TX whose price was the same as 1st Choice here in Houston.

When researching TJ, I was considering Dr. Fernando Garcia or Ramos-Kelly.

Re: hotel costs, I am pretty sure that Dr. Nicholson includes hotel in his self-pay cost. It's possible (actually probable) that some others do too. You would want to rent a car though for sure.

I just had sleeve w/ Nicholson and only needed one night in the hospital. From surgery time to discharge was roughly 24 hours. I could have stayed longer, I just didn't need to. That was a wonderful surprise, I had expected to for sure stay 2 nights.

Congratulations on your choice to sleeve! You've done great research and I wish you great success!

So much about this surgery is a personal choice. Like you, I was prepared to pay for it myself. After countless hours of research, I knew this surgery was right for me.

I'm only a few months out from surgery, but I can't tell you how glad I am that I made this choice. Wait...yes, I *can* tell you...I LOVE MY SLEEVE! My only regret is that I didn't have this option 20 years ago!

Peace be with you.

Edited September 19, 201411 yr by AlwaysVegas