Planning & Possible Insurance Issues

[DSRIGGS]

I'm so sorry you have been through all that, Scott. My father has an MBA from Rutgers. I'm familiar with what you are describing regarding work.

Many schools closer to Chicago will actually hire you with just a masters and no publications. Check private universities to see if they will hire you. Lewis University and Aurora University are two. They are far from you, but they also hire for online classes so you could live where you do and not have to worry about driving. One class isn't too bad to teach. I don't have a PhD and I still have teaching opportunities. There are probably a lot where you are too. They just do not advertise they are available, sometimes.

My youngest actually went to Elmhurst where he played football and ran track. He didn't go back after his freshman year but I loved Elmhurst.

Thanks for the suggestion. If I can get my health sorted out will certainly look into it. I taught in grad Scholls and enjoyed it I spoke to the Dean of the MBA program about teaching at a Community college as he had been President of Parkland College in Champaign prior to taking the Dean of the Illinois MBA job. I graduated in 94 and he told me some instructors were making upwards of $90K (not huge MBA money but not bad ) and that was just a 3 class load for spring and fall. He said anything else like a minimester or summer was extra pay. I really wish I had gone into teaching. I would have had a secure pension waiting, so much less stress, a lot of time to do things besides working, and would feel like I was making a difference .

 

[Amy Anderson]

If Mexico is at all an option that might work for you economically, ask us questions. I had Diabetes (blood sugar was 300 when I went under) and some others comorbidites. It was all fine.

Also, remember, you do get COBRA for 18 months, so you can keep your insurance for some time.

I wrote a lot about Mexico on this page of this thread. - http://bariatricfacts.org/threads/march-2017-target-date.4858/page-3 if you want to read it.

Can I ask, where in Mexico you went? I'm currently researching surgeons.

 

[Larra]

@Amy Anderson many people on this website have gone to Dr. Esquerra in Mexico, and their experiences have been great. And you don't need to use the services of any medical tourism "agency", let alone the one you wrote about in your other post, who does indeed seem not on the level. You can contact the surgeon's office and they will help you with all arrangements at no additional charge. Good for you for doing your due diligence, but sadly, these people take advantage of folks who don't know enough to do so.

Your into indicates you are interested in VSG. Have you researched the DS?? While anyone is welcome here, most of us have had or are hoping to have the DS because of it's superior results and the failure rates of other operations.

 

[Amy Anderson]

@Amy Anderson many people on this website have gone to Dr. Esquerra in Mexico, and their experiences have been great. And you don't need to use the services of any medical tourism "agency", let alone the one you wrote about in your other post, who does indeed seem not on the level. You can contact the surgeon's office and they will help you with all arrangements at no additional charge. Good for you for doing your due diligence, but sadly, these people take advantage of folks who don't know enough to do so.

Your into indicates you are interested in VSG. Have you researched the DS?? While anyone is welcome here, most of us have had or are hoping to have the DS because of it's superior results and the failure rates of other operations.

I just spent so time looking at Dr. Esquerra's website, I'm quite impressed! I am looking at VSG because re-routing surgery may not be a great option for me due to Crohn's, so I'm going to try VSG first and see if it yields the results I'm hoping for. Thankfully, VSG can be a first stage for another surgery in the event that I don't get great results, but I plan on really busting my tush with quality eating and working out to help my "tool" do well for me.


I'm going to call Dr. Esquerra's office tomorrow. Do any of you have experience or insights as to the other surgeons at that practice? Are they all bariatric certified? I didn't even realize until two nights ago that some of these coordinators will lie to get you to their surgeons. I've done so much research, but I realized I can't trust them at their word...so now I'm a tad skeptical and not sure if I can believe what websites say about number of surgeries performed, and complication rates, etc. I'm not sure if there is any legal requirement for these places to put the truth on their websites, and working with coordinators has been an "interesting" experience to say the least.

When you mentioned the one I wrote about in my other post, were you referring to OCC or ALM? I've heard things...and I'm just not sure what to believe. It's hard to know when a coordinator is telling the truth when talking about other surgeons, or just trying to manipulate.

 

[Larra]

@Amy Anderson when I asked you on another thread whether or not you had considered the DS, I didn't realize you had Crohn's. Given how unpredictable that disease is, the VSG is your best choice, because you never know what part of your small intestine you might need someday. Good decision! I hope it works out for you.

 

[Susan in Tennessee]

I just spent so time looking at Dr. Esquerra's website, I'm quite impressed! I am looking at VSG because re-routing surgery may not be a great option for me due to Crohn's, so I'm going to try VSG first and see if it yields the results I'm hoping for. Thankfully, VSG can be a first stage for another surgery in the event that I don't get great results, but I plan on really busting my tush with quality eating and working out to help my "tool" do well for me.


I'm going to call Dr. Esquerra's office tomorrow. Do any of you have experience or insights as to the other surgeons at that practice? Are they all bariatric certified? I didn't even realize until two nights ago that some of these coordinators will lie to get you to their surgeons. I've done so much research, but I realized I can't trust them at their word...so now I'm a tad skeptical and not sure if I can believe what websites say about number of surgeries performed, and complication rates, etc. I'm not sure if there is any legal requirement for these places to put the truth on their websites, and working with coordinators has been an "interesting" experience to say the least.

When you mentioned the one I wrote about in my other post, were you referring to OCC or ALM? I've heard things...and I'm just not sure what to believe. It's hard to know when a coordinator is telling the truth when talking about other surgeons, or just trying to manipulate.

I see now you are talking about getting a sleeve. That will be cheaper than the $11,000 I mentioned in another post, which is for a D S. Have you researched about the Crohn's aspect, please do before taking DS off the table completely.

You do not need a tourism company. Dr Esquerra's assistants help you with everything. All you do is book and pay for your flight and make sure you have a passport. Their driver (who had wls himself) picks you up at San Diego airport and takes you to hospital for pre op tests, then takes you to a nice hotel for the night (included) picks you up in the morning, then on day you are released he drives you to San Diego airport for your flight home. Hospital is called Almater and it's great, extremely clean, staff very attentive. It's right over the border into Mexico.

 

[galaxygrrl]

Oh, you are getting the VSG. So, well, to be honest, Dr. Esquerra is a great option for sure.
Dr. Rodolfo Wilhelmy does most of the sleeves at the Mexicali Baractric Center (MBC) and Dr. Esquerra does the DS there - they are both awesome. I think a sleeve is about 8k,

Here is the thing though, and I might get jumped on for this, but the VGB is a much more simple surgery and Dr. Esquerra's shop is a couple thousand more than other Drs in Mexico. I made the decision I was willing to pay more for care I totally trusted because the DS is so complicated. But if I was just getting the Sleeve, I might think about other options.

Now, I know you are going to ask me who to look at and honestly, I don't know because I really did not consider the VSG, but I did shop around a little and MBC was a bit more. I can tell you places to look for doctors. Look at the reviews on Obesity Help for doctors. Join this facebook group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/1581358728774923/ - they know the Drs in Mexico. And look at the videos on youtube.

I suspect you will save $2000 if you shop around a little. However, if you are freaked out about Mexico and you want the best care you can absolutely get for a reasonable price, I would go to MBC and pay the extra money and call it a day and just feel very comfortable in my choice. I did find Drs that would do the DS for about 2K less than Dr. Esquerra, but I wanted to know I was getting the best of the best and was uncomfortable with Mexico as a concept.

The other thing about going somewhere else, is they might have you in the hospital a night or two and a hotel a night or two. I did not want that, so you make trade offs to save that money. For me it was not worth it. But there are lots of people with great experiences and went somewhere else.

Good luck.

 

[DianaCox]

Dr. Keshishian has a blog about Crohn's and ulcerative colitis, but interestingly doesn't comment on whether the DS is incompatible with either - I'd ask him about that.
https://www.dssurgery.com/category/crohns-disease/

 

[Amy Anderson]

The other thing about going somewhere else, is they might have you in the hospital a night or two and a hotel a night or two. I did not want that, so you make trade offs to save that money. For me it was not worth it. But there are lots of people with great experiences and went somewhere else.

Good luck.

Thank you @galaxygrrl for the facebook link!! I'm pretty set on the gastric sleeve, and one of the reasons I'm researching Mexicali Bariatric is that their surgeons are not just certified in general surgery, but in bariatric surgery as well. I'm willing to pay a bit more for that peace of mind.