Congrats to all of you that have made the big step! I am still in the research/planning stage. I do not have insurance, money or very good credit so my parents are looing into co-signing with me. Im real interested in Dr Joya or Dr Sanchez. Still undecided. I am from Monroe area and also checking into post op care/fills. Glad I found yall!

bluefishlover- I am going to Dr. Sanchez. He charges $8500.00 and has done over 5000 procedures of this type. PM me if you have any other questions. I'll be happy to answer any.

Good news! I have financing! I will find out details tomorrow but I got an email saying I was approved! I have continued my researching this subject, the doctor I chose. etc. I called Inamed to verify my doctor does use their product. I was told he does. I inquired about a local docotr in town who does fills. I was told she wasnt trained through Inamed so I question her integrity and the Mexican doctors she has been filling for. I will find out more about her. I need an Inamed trained physician to do my fills before I wander off and do this. The person I talked to at Inamed said patients of US and Mexican doctors all fair well except about 3% who have complications just as with any surgery but that those who do not have post-op care tend to have a liitle more trouble only because they do not get thier fills in a timely manner or seek help when problems arise as those who have insurance. I cant wait to set my date!

LilBoPink - have you talked to James Rasberry? He takes a group from Monroe almost every month to Obesity Goodbye in Tijuana. I've had 3 friends go with him and they had good experiences.

Just a tho't.

rhlane..yes i a,m familair with the rasberrys. i dont want to pay for the escort service though. I appreciate what they do, though. thanks!

I have seen where different ones have used Dr. Merriman.......have any of you have just medicaid........and how did you get started.....I have a primary dr. lookng into alot of this, I am researching too, I have lots of health risks due to my weight, and also obese too, HELP. TY Much....Donna......I want to be on te losing side too!!!!!!!!

Hi LilBoPink! I am from Jonesboro, Louisiana. You are the first one I have seen on here that lives this close to me. I am new to this site and this is my first post. I haven't had surgery yet either, but I knew Monroe was out because it is 20,500 there. The cheapest I have found that is reasonably close to here is in Dallas TX (Dr. Richard Benavides). I hear nothing but good things about him and his cost is 15,000. I wanted to go to MX because they are cheaper, but my mom is totally against it and since I don't have the money to have this done (selfpay) and have to borrow it from my mom, I guess I will stay in the US. I am hoping to have my surgery at the end of July and am very pumped up about it. Great to know there are other people close by having this done too. GOOD LUCK!

:) I saw your message about the prices you have found in Louisiana. I am going (at the end of May) to Surgical Specialists in Covington their fee is $13,000. I have been impressed so far with what I have experianced with them. A number of people who went there for their surgeries also wrote to say that they were very happy with the out come and treatment. You can find them on the web at www.whyweight.com

Good luck
Bluefishlover

Do you know how many of the lap band prodedures that the dr's in Covington have done. $13,000 is very tempting, but I don't want to pick someone that is not very experienced. Thanks for the tip...I need all the help I can get. I am very anxious. Good luck with your surgery and hope all goes well.

I sure hope you can answer this question...
Just wondering, are the surgeons in this group the ones that TEACH the banding technique to other MD's?
Im in Lake Charles. The word here is, "New Orleans is where surgeons are trained in Adjustable Gastric Banding. Go to New Orleans for Premium pre and post surgery care."

IF the Surgical Specialists in Covington is the same place I mentioned - AND they are doing cash prices for 13G...
Then Im gonna start referring people there, INSTEAD of Houston.

To answer the recent questions regarding Surgical Specialists of Louisiana, yes, they (or at least, Dr. Thomas Lavin) are the surgeons that teach the technique to other surgeons. Dr. Lavin is one of the first 4 proctors for Inamed and is highly skilled in bariatric laparoscopic surgery. Please visit his surgeon profile on obesityhelp.com - http://www.obesityhelp.com/morbidobe...Lavin+fnp.html - for more information regarding his experience. Please note that the information listed on this site is sorely out of date because he's done far more surgeries than what is listed there. He also has more years' of experience.

They have offices in Covington and Metairie (suburb of New Orleans) and perform surgeries at several hospitals in the area, including Slidell.

Dr. Lavin did my surgery on September 16, 2005 and I couldn't be happier. He has WONDERFUL bedside manner and will answer any and all questions you may have. Not only is he wonderful, everyone in his office is as well.

I highly recommend Surgical Specialists of Louisiana to anyone!!

Tricia K.
Where in Louisiana are you from? I am from Jonesboro and am wondering how far Covington is from here and about how much travel time I will have. I live about 1.5 hours north of Alexandria. Thank you so much for the info on your Dr. in Covington. I will surely be checking this one out. It will be 2k cheaper than the Dr. in Dallas that I was considering. Thanks again and I hope that you have a great day. By the way...you are doing so well on your journey. To see this is an inspiration.

Hi again Tricia! After receiving your private message, I decided to look at tihs thread and realized that you had written to me here as well.

I live in Hammond, which is about 20-30 minutes West of Covington. From Yahoo Maps, it looks as though Covington is approximately 276 miles from Jonesboro. They estimate an approximate travel time of 5 1/2 hours.

Thanks again for the kind words and you're quite welcome for the information. I'm happy to help.

My uncle used to live in Frost which I think is very close to Hammond. This will be quite a drive, but from what I have read, it will be worth every minute. My cousin is suppopsed to try and have it done on the same day as I am, so both of our mothers are going to come with us. My husband will stay at home with my kids. My little man is 2 years old and has nevery stayed with anyone but us except for an hour or two on a couple of occasions, so he has to stay at home. Well, off to get ready for church...hope you have a glorious day today.

Fellow Louisianians....I have a date !!!!:clap2:

June 5th.....it can't come fast enough!!!