Planning surgery mid May

[GopherCup 1]

Hello everyone! I'm planning gastric bypass surgery for mid-May 2023. My insurance doesn't cover it so I've been looking at Mexico. Which of course is causing my family to freak out, because "scary Mexico"! I think I have decided on Oasis of Hope. I like that you stay in the hospital the whole time instead of a hotel and my husband can stay right there with me. I'm terrified I won't be able to stick to the diet afterward and I'll lose weight and then gain it all back. I've done so many diets and every year I'm just a little bit bigger. So tired of being tired and uncomfortable. I saw a post of NSV's and about cried when one person said they fit a regular size towel around themself! I can't even remember the last time I could do that! Or fitting behind the steering wheel without it occasionally rubbing on my belly. Anyways, I thought I'd break the ice and post here. Remind myself that many many people do this and it isn't cheating and I'm not alone!

[kcuster83 1,465]

Hello and welcome!

I hear a lot of good and bad things about going out of the country for surgery. Not necessarily because "Scary Mexico" but because a lot of times the after care stops once you are back home.

Another thing I have read/seen a few times on these forums is that local surgeons won't follow up or help once you went to an out of country doctor.

Just be prepared, prep with pros and cons as much as possible.

Good luck to you!

[ShoppGirl 3,220]

Hello and welcome. I have heard of many people on here who have gone to Mexico and been very happy with their results. Like kcuster83 mentioned some people do run into issues with getting follow up care though so I would ask my family Dr about their take on that to make sure they are on board to do your labs and stuff each year at the very least.

Also know if you need a revision or something you may have to go back to Mexico which I assume means you would have to self pay again. You may also consider Las Vegas or one of the others places in the states where it is Not quite as cheap as Mexico but you won’t have the same concerns with follow up. From what I understand if it is an emergency they have to help you here regardless of where you had surgery but I would probably want to hear that from a doctor or maybe the ER just to be sure.

This surgery is by no means cheating. You still have to put in every bit of the work and make the same changes as anyone who is dieting and exercising to lose weight. People act like we get to sit there eating pizza and donuts while the fat just melts off or something. We still have to be disciplined and make all the good choices most of us just get to do it without our body screaming out at us that we are starving for once in our lives. It’s a tool that makes it a little easier and in every other aspect of our lives we pride ourselves In choosing the best tools to get the job done so why not use it.

If someone uses the dishwasher or a drill instead of doing it by hand we don’t say they are cheating? and if someone creates a spreadsheet to complete a task in half the work we literally praise them for their idea. Or what if someone uses patch or a pill to make quitting smoking a little easier? I don’t know about you but I would encourage it, not treat them like a failure because they aren’t suffering as much as going cold Turkey.

I think as a society to many of us believe that obesity is a moral failure and struggling with it is our punishment to which we are sentenced to life without parole or death by preventable medical issues. Don’t get me wrong though. I felt the same way as you pre surgery. I just realized that it couldn’t be further from the truth throughout this process.