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Hello. I am concidering a lap-band. I live in Gainesville Ga. (just out-side of Atlanta) I am wondering if anyone can suggest a doctor in my area who will do after care. I need to go to Mexico to get the procedure done ($) I am self-paying. Any help would be great. Any other suggestions about the whole process would also be great.

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Check out Hamilton Weight Management in Dalton GA 1-866-552-7546, or google their website. Dr. Ponce is there and you will find others who have seen him, both for aftercare after going to Mexico and for their surgery.

Also, go to Main Forums and scroll down to Georgia or Tennessee and find some info there.

Also, do a search here for Dr. Ponce, that might turn up some info.

You could also find someone with Dr. Ponce on their signature, pull their profile and see all posts by them. You can dig up info that way. Happy searching! Just spend some time reading, reading, reading these old posts. LOTS of info.

I am from Charlotte, NC. Howdy neighbor! Good luck

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If you're in GA, you really need to check out Ponce. Last I heard, his price is under $14,000. It's worth the time it takes to get the few thousand extra to see a local doctor with that kind of experience. Once you add in the cost of travel, and adjustments and emergencies...there is no difference in the cost.

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Okay, I just called Hamilton Weight and got the prices for Ponce. The whole surgery, nutritionist, psychologist, pre-lab work, anesthesia, all of it is $19,192 and includes follow up and fills for one year. He also offers a $2000 one year follow along- great for Mexican Banded folks. This pays for 4 visits, whether office, fills, whatever, so you could have 1 office visit and 3 fills, or 2 & 2, whatever combination. Within the year, if you need more than 4 visits, they are an additional $560 (baby boy was fussing when she said that price so I'm not certain 560 is exact, she might have said 561 or 568, whatever) So I hope that helps you in your search!

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Dr. Ortiz in Tijuana is $9,500 cash pay. You fly to San Diego and just take the bus down. www.obesitycontrolcenter.com Southwest airlines is the best fares I have seen for booking flights under 60 days.

My suggestion is to do your research on all of the doctors in Mexico first though. And choose the one that is best for you. Do you know that there is surgery financing available? Anyone have that site link handy?

Hope this helps

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Welcome, You can find that link on litenfree.com for a medical credit they offer, and they have prices, Dr.'s, and alot of info you will need before banding... Good luck in your surching.

Tara

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The doctor I used only charged me $6500, and my plane ticket to Mcallen Texas was only about $250, I stayed with my mom so didn't have too many other expenses, so it wasn't bad, I hadn't lined up any after care here which was a big mistake, but I have found someone to do my fills now. As I've said in other treads I was supposed to have my surgery with Dr. del la Garza who was going to travel to Reynosa Mx to do my surgery (my mom lives in McAllen, so it was more convenient for me) and he too was going to charge me only $6500 which included the hospital and anesthisia. I would have only had to pay for lab fees which runs about $100. He originally wanted to charge me $7500 but I told him all I had was $6500 and wouldn't be able to get the extra money for the surgery, and he went for it. (This was last year around Sept. 2004) I wasn't able to use him because of scheduling conflicts.

Good luck in getting your surgery, but make sure you do have someone lined up for aftercare. That was my worst mistake..

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Check out Dr. Alberto Aceves at www.mexicolapband.com. He did my surgery a month ago and I was really pleased with the whole process -- his professionalism and care, his patient coordinator Nina, the hospital and staff. All was great and I have absolutely no regrets. He charges $8200 all inclusive, including transportation from San Diego airport. He is in Mexicali, a 2-hr drive from San Diego.

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LBT is getting really interesting lately with all these new Mexican doctors. Fun to see all the new people here. Good luck with your surgery.

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      Hey everyone. I'm new here so I thought I should introduce myself. I am 53y/o and am scheduled for Gastric Bypass on June 25th, 2025. I'm located in San Antonio, Texas. I will be having my surgery in Tiajuana Mexico. I've wanted this for years, but I always had insurance where bariatric procedures were excluded. Finally I am able to afford to pay out of pocket.  I can't wait to get started, and I hope I'm prepared for the initial period of "hell". I know what I have signed up for, but I'm sure the good to come will out way the temporary period of discomfort and feelings of regret. I'd love to find people to talk to who have been through the same procedure or experience before. So I look forward to meeting you all. Hope you have a great week!
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      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
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    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. summerseeker

        Life as a big person had limited my life to what I knew I could manage to do each day. That was eat. I hadn't anything else to look forward to. So my eating choices were the best I could dream up. I planned the cooking in managable lots in my head and filled my day with and around it.

        Now I have a whole new big, bigger, biggest, best days ever. I am out there with those skinny people doing stuff i could never have dreamt of. Food is now an after thought. It doesn't consume my day. I still enjoy the good home cooked food but I eat smaller portions. I leave food on my plate when I am full. I can no longer hear my mother's voice saying eat it all up, ther are starving children in Africa who would want that!

        I still cook for family feasts, I love cooking. I still do holidays but I have changed from the All inclusive drinking and eating everything everyday kind to Self catering accommodation. This gives me the choice of cooking or eating out as I choose. I rarely drink anymore as I usually travel alone now and I feel I need to keep aware of my surroundings.

        I don't know at what point my life expanded, was it when I lost 100 pounds? Was it when I left my walking stick at home ? Was it when I said yes to an outing instead of finding an excuse to stay home ? i look back at my last five years and wonder how loosing weight has made such a difference. Be ready to amaze yourself.

        BTW, the liquid diet sucks, one more day and you are over the worst. You can do it.

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