- Name: Deborah Symonds
- Age: 55
- Surgery: Gastric Sleeve
- Surgery date: September 30th, 2016
- Testimonial date: October 5th, 2016
- Surgeon: Dr. Marcelo Hernandez
I have been trying for over a year to get this surgery approved by my insurance due to the fact that I have degenerative bones in both hips. I was able to walk without pain up until about 6mos ago. My husband and I were using the Fit Bit watch and was able to be somewhat successful. I was able to lose about 10 lbs with diet and walking. Then the unfortunate happened and that was that my hips started hurting so badly because of the extra weight I was carrying around. After about a month of Fit Bit diet and exercise I was no longer able to walk and not only that but my hip pain became so intense that I no longer even tried to walk or exercise at all.
And this is the main reason that my husband and I made the decision to self pay for this very necessary procedure. After researching self pay options I was contacted by weightlossagents. They gave me information on self pay options that included surgery being preformed in Miami and Mexico. I considered Miami and realized that self pay fees for Miami were going to be out of my range of funds to be able to afford. My other option was going to Mexico for this very same procedure that was half the price.
I know you might be thinking, "oh no is it safe"? The answer is yes, we were in a small portion of Tis Juana and the safest part of town. We had a driver from the airport to clinic to hotel and any other place we wanted to go at no extra cost to us. Their main concern was for their patients to feel safe and completely comfortable and that's exactly how we all felt. I had my procedure on 9/30/16, stayed in clinic over night and was released the next day to convalesce in hotel. The nurses stay in the hotel as well and come to your room to care for you just as if you were in the hospital. Their staff was so professional and truly concerned for your comfort. The recovery is so easy, you're up and walking pretty much as soon as you wake from surgery. This helps with passing gas and believe me you're gonna want to do that. As far as the pain goes I would say it is the easiest surgery I've had to recover from and I've had several surgeries done that were very painful to recover from. You leave the surgery center with an iv port in your hand and this is how you'll receive all your meds at hotel. They recommend that you walk as much as possible and so my husband had already been out and about the little part of town we were in so pretty much knew what to expect. We walked about 18 blocks around the city just to site see and then around the hotel as well. We went down to the avenues where all the shopping and souvenirs are and walked for about an hour. Everyone was very respectful and truly interested in why we were there and if we were enjoying their country. My husband and I left on Monday morning to come back home. Now the flying time was very trying but once we got into bed that night I felt so comfortable and just relieved to be done and healthy.
I have been able to recover without incident so far and am looking forward to be able to add some creamy soup back into my diet. Even though I can only eat a few bites at a time that warmth and taste will be very welcome.
So in closing, if you really have to have this surgery done and you can't afford a huge out of pocket cost, I would recommend going to Mexico to have this done. It's a little scary at first but once you get there they make you feel completely at ease. I'll keep you posted on my success but I started out at 237 and on Tuesday just out of curiosity I weighed my self and was already down to 226. Probably not a good idea to weigh so soon after surgery but I was just curious.
I hope this helps for anyone who may be curious about how easy this procedure is.
* This is an actual testimonial, however, your results may vary. For more information, please read our Testimonial Disclaimer and Risks of Surgery.