POSTED UNDER Gastric Sleeve Surgery REVIEWS
27, No Kids, Low Bmi, Self Pay - Mexico
ORIGINAL POST
Hi everyone. I'm currently about 205 lbs...
Rorschach88February 24, 2016
WORTH IT$2,999
Hi everyone. I'm currently about 205 lbs 5'3" and just applied for gastric sleeve surgery in Tijuana. After searching surgery reviews for something unrelated, I found this website and stumbled onto the WLS reviews. Thank goodness I did. Fast foward about a year later and here I am folks.
So, I've been overweight all of my life. However, with slimfast shakes replacing one or two meals a day, I stabilized my weight throughout high school at 165 lbs. One summer in my teens, a daily strenuous exercise regimen and calorie restriction I was able to lose 20 lbs and get down to my lowest (at the time) for 145 lbs. Once school started I didn't keep up with my heathy habits and slowly my weight crept up again. When I was 24 and had climbed to 215 lbs (my highest weight ever to this day), I began a paleo diet combined with zero exercise and through this carb restriction/Atkins style of eating I lost a whopping 70 lbs --to be my lowest I've ever been at 135, and also the most depressed/anxious I've ever been. Looking back I realize that exercising would've helped out with my anxiety, but alas. That [exercise] never happened and the for the last two years I've gained a total of 70 lbs. That's 35 lbs per year. Wow.
So, I know I can lose the weight, but would rather do it again with this sleeve being the tool. For if I fall off the wagon along the way I won't be able to cheat at the degree that I'd be able to otherwise and it'll be much harder to sustain an overconsumption way of life and diet. I currently work in the healthcare field but in the next year or so I plan to start nursing school and I'd rather begin that after my sleeve because I'll be much more comfortable and energetic in my own skin.
This time around I very much will embrace exercise + portion control + healthy choices.
I chose Dr. Maytorena at Long Term VSG because he's a trauma surgeon at $2,999. I put in the required $300 deposit to secure my surgery date; shooting for around May. Feels like forever to go, but I know it'll be here soon enough, and reading/watching reviews on Real Self, Bariatric Pal, and YouTube fill the time.
Oh, and the Dr. only wants me to do a one week no carb high protein diet prior to sx which I can easily do. Even still, to maximize my sleeve power I plan to begin a moderate in carbs, high protein, high fiber diet in these next 3 months.
So, I've been overweight all of my life. However, with slimfast shakes replacing one or two meals a day, I stabilized my weight throughout high school at 165 lbs. One summer in my teens, a daily strenuous exercise regimen and calorie restriction I was able to lose 20 lbs and get down to my lowest (at the time) for 145 lbs. Once school started I didn't keep up with my heathy habits and slowly my weight crept up again. When I was 24 and had climbed to 215 lbs (my highest weight ever to this day), I began a paleo diet combined with zero exercise and through this carb restriction/Atkins style of eating I lost a whopping 70 lbs --to be my lowest I've ever been at 135, and also the most depressed/anxious I've ever been. Looking back I realize that exercising would've helped out with my anxiety, but alas. That [exercise] never happened and the for the last two years I've gained a total of 70 lbs. That's 35 lbs per year. Wow.
So, I know I can lose the weight, but would rather do it again with this sleeve being the tool. For if I fall off the wagon along the way I won't be able to cheat at the degree that I'd be able to otherwise and it'll be much harder to sustain an overconsumption way of life and diet. I currently work in the healthcare field but in the next year or so I plan to start nursing school and I'd rather begin that after my sleeve because I'll be much more comfortable and energetic in my own skin.
This time around I very much will embrace exercise + portion control + healthy choices.
I chose Dr. Maytorena at Long Term VSG because he's a trauma surgeon at $2,999. I put in the required $300 deposit to secure my surgery date; shooting for around May. Feels like forever to go, but I know it'll be here soon enough, and reading/watching reviews on Real Self, Bariatric Pal, and YouTube fill the time.
Oh, and the Dr. only wants me to do a one week no carb high protein diet prior to sx which I can easily do. Even still, to maximize my sleeve power I plan to begin a moderate in carbs, high protein, high fiber diet in these next 3 months.
Rorschach88's provider
Replies (22)
April 6, 2016
Keep us posted
April 7, 2016
Hi! I don't know how much the sleeve generally costs, however have you considered getting it done here in the USA thru your insurance company? There are requirements with each company, but you don't have to travel & there are MANY surgeons here in the states who specialize in these things. BESIDES that, if you have a need for follow up care, you don't have to travel outside the country again.... I hope all goes well!
April 7, 2016
Thank you, I'm confident everything will go well, I hope. I suppose one can never truly be 100% of their surgery's sucess, regardless of where in the world you have it. Having said that, I also asked myself the question of why he's so cheap when compared to other Tijuana surgeons which I will answer here because I was privately messaged. What I found was that cost of surgery boils down to the facility. Maytorena does surgery in a facility that's not fully equipped as a hospital. Reduced facility costs means less money out of the doctor's pocket and a discounted surgery price for you. I work at a clinic where I see surgeries happen on the regular and your standard knee replacement, meniscus repair, rotator cuff tear repair, carpal tunnel repair, etc are all done in similar situations called "out patient facilities". Ok, back to my sleeve, basically, if something goes horribly wrong, I would have to be transferred to another center. The likelihood of this happening is very unlikely when looking into the statistics of this surgery, regardless of taking into account the area of the demographics of these statistics. However, I feel like I'm in safe hands should something out of the ordinary should happen because he's an ER trauma surgeon! I was also worried about anesthesia but the statistics for something going wrong with that is also incredibly low. I believe it's 0.00... % and only increases to 0.01.. % for people that are put under when they're 60+ in age, but moving along to answer your questions, the sleeve in California generally costs about $15-20,000 without insurance. However, I am eligible to purchase insurance through my employer so I should just do it that way, right? Well, my premium would cost me approx $300 a month which is $3600 a year [i was penalized this year for not having health insurance which cost me $300 out of my tax return! Something is horribly wrong with the system when it's people that pay $0 for healthcare that get to have the best insurance and where people like me making a mid level wage have to pay an absurd amount.] Add in the loops and hoops insurance companies make you go through: psych evals, diets, etc and you're still looking at about a 6 month wait. Nah, too much trouble, I'll pass! And you know, a majority of my family still reside in the Mexico/Tijuana/Ensenada area so I speak Spanish fluently and I'm comfortable having this done somewhere "foreign" because really Mexico isn't really that foreign to me. So I do have a bit of a bias, I suppose. But I also have had dental work previously in Tijuana, specifically braces, fillings and a root canal, and all with success. It's truly a no brainer for me at this point. I won't sing its praises further than that until I come out of this from the other end, successfully!
April 7, 2016
Wow!!! Thank you for addressing that so thoroughly. Good to have your insight. Makes sense. Good luck with your journey!
April 8, 2016
Thank you for all the kind words :) I'm all about getting the most information I can and sharing it with everyone who's interested :) I think the more people are informed the better their decision process.
April 11, 2016
Understood! So sorry but the older I get I just always worry about the medical procedures being performed & patients being lost during these "simple" procedures out of the country! Best of luck to you!! Keep us up to date!!
April 12, 2016
Thanks! I'd also like to add something that I forgot to include earlier: that the insurance premiums offered at my job have like at least a $2500 deductible on top of my monthly $300+ premium, so that also played a part in my decision. If surgeries out of the US were a deal breaker for me I probably would've tried harder in getting it done here in California. Surgery can definitely be done here for those that try hard enough if surgery in a foreign country isn't an option for you. But, being that I'm only 2.5 hours away from the US/Mexico border makes my choice that much easier. I will definitely keep everyone updated, especially when I'm at the hospital and as soon as I wake up to let all of you RealSelfer's know I made it ;)
April 12, 2016
I was shooting for May 5, but realized that might be a holiday so my next available date was memorial weekend but I know there'll be awful traffic at the border so I will be scheduling it for the 31st of May to be able to go home by Thursday and taking the weekend to rest.
April 12, 2016
Makes sense... Thankfully going home you will have access to the medical lane through the border so it is much quicker than the usual wait.
April 8, 2016
I am going to the same doctor. Look forward to following your journey
February 6, 2017
Hi , how long you stated in Mexico? Which hotel you stayed?
February 8, 2017
Like about 3 days? Checked into the clinic Wednesday morning and had surgery that night, and Thursday morning checked into the recovery house, and checked out of the recovery house Friday morning. I did not stay in a hotel.
UPDATED FROM Rorschach88
3 months pre
5:2, isopure, scale, gym.
Rorschach88February 26, 2016
Bought some batteries today for my scale. Dusted it off, poor thing hadn't been touched in years... No idea who took the batteries out. Weighed myself tonight at 198.6 (woo! Thought I was 205. Will have to reweigh myself at the office to confirm.) and so I've decided to begin the ritual of weighing myself again, only one day a week though as I've grown tired in the past of the daily weigh ins. Which one is not encouraged to be doing anyway. I wanted to add a few more reasons as to why I decided on this procedure, and honestly writing my first review really put my weight in perspective. I can't believe I've only managed 3 times in my whole life to get down to a healthy reasonable weight, these other 24 years I've lived life have been under quite a bit of discomfort in myself, not in an immense breaking my spirit kind of way, but rather a constant nit picking thought and view of yourself that continuously chips away at happiness until you're passive, dull, and numb to your fatness. Which leads me to what I was going to say, that at this rate if continued without the sleeve, and once I enter my thirties or forties my metabolism will inevitably slow down, pack on future weight of being pregnant, and having more of a chance of having to deal with excess skin at that point are all very possible and very real scenarios. I'm so grateful the sleeve exists. Thank you science! My current plan is to get down to 185 lbs on surgery day.
Feb 200 to 195
Mar 195 to 190
April 190 to 185 (by end of April/start of May)
And here we go again with the dieting folks,. Looked up something the other day, intermittent fasting possibly, and a diet called 5:2 came up which I thought seemed fairly easy and straightforward. Basically you eat normally 5 days out of the week, and you calorie restrict to 500 calories for the other two. Seeing as with a future sleeve a 500-800 calorie day may be the norm, I decided to embark on this for the next 2 months to maybe lose the bit of weight I've planned and to get into the swing of things. Knowing the elephant of an appetite I will have to deal with on my "normal" days has me considering a gym membership. Nothing too crazy, just like 3 days a week. I will have to shop around and see what kind of deals there are. Until next time!
Feb 200 to 195
Mar 195 to 190
April 190 to 185 (by end of April/start of May)
And here we go again with the dieting folks,. Looked up something the other day, intermittent fasting possibly, and a diet called 5:2 came up which I thought seemed fairly easy and straightforward. Basically you eat normally 5 days out of the week, and you calorie restrict to 500 calories for the other two. Seeing as with a future sleeve a 500-800 calorie day may be the norm, I decided to embark on this for the next 2 months to maybe lose the bit of weight I've planned and to get into the swing of things. Knowing the elephant of an appetite I will have to deal with on my "normal" days has me considering a gym membership. Nothing too crazy, just like 3 days a week. I will have to shop around and see what kind of deals there are. Until next time!
Replies (0)
UPDATED FROM Rorschach88
1 month pre
Closing in!
Rorschach88April 6, 2016
So ive begun keto after attempting calorie restriction (and failing at it) and lost 5 lbs.
Keto feels awesome, so content, so satisfied. I learned that after a while your own body manages the calories you need, rather than with frankenfoods that exceed cals but leave you starving for real nutrients. With my past success on this lifestyle and now with the ease of keto, I calculated that I can afford to lose weight up to the point of being 170 lbs for a bmi of 30 to be allowed to be gastric sleeved. I really do still want the sleeve. My portions are still larger than average for my H&W and I know that's part of my problem [having to overeat by a large margin to feel full and satisfied]. I haven't gotten a gym membership either but I've been going on outdoor hikes and taking advantage of the great beach weather lately. Seriously Laurasvsg on YouTube is great. Vlogs are just awesome in general but I'm way too shy/private to want to do those. I'm getting super excited now that my sx date is on the horizon!
Keto feels awesome, so content, so satisfied. I learned that after a while your own body manages the calories you need, rather than with frankenfoods that exceed cals but leave you starving for real nutrients. With my past success on this lifestyle and now with the ease of keto, I calculated that I can afford to lose weight up to the point of being 170 lbs for a bmi of 30 to be allowed to be gastric sleeved. I really do still want the sleeve. My portions are still larger than average for my H&W and I know that's part of my problem [having to overeat by a large margin to feel full and satisfied]. I haven't gotten a gym membership either but I've been going on outdoor hikes and taking advantage of the great beach weather lately. Seriously Laurasvsg on YouTube is great. Vlogs are just awesome in general but I'm way too shy/private to want to do those. I'm getting super excited now that my sx date is on the horizon!
Replies (3)
April 6, 2016
I do keto as well!! I took a break for a bit but I'm back at it! Worked the best for me! Good luck!! Hoping to lose my last 20 after losing 70lbs!
April 7, 2016
Congrats on all the weight you've shredded! I can't wait to be in your shoes! :) Lauravsg on YouTube also seemed to have lost that amount on her sleeve but dieted with keto to lose the last amount. She's 126 lbs now I believe :) her vlogs are great if you need some inspiration to get rid of that last 20.
Hi there, and welcome to the community! Thanks so much for sharing your story with us. Have you checked out the Sleeve Gastrectomy forum yet? It's a great, supportive place to explore. Here's a link to a very popular discussion. I hope you'll find it useful. Please come back and update us regularly. Good luck :)
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