Going to Mexico

[Apatterson1991b 9]

I am having my surgery in april with dr Iilan and my husband is very concerned about the healthy factor I guess you could say and if it is safe to travel to Mexico. Any suggestions or ways to ease his fears and to let him know I'll be ok

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Edited October 25, 2016 by Apatterson1991b

[OKCPirate 5,323]

Well if it is of any help, my mom went with me to Mexico. She is a retired RN. She made some interesting observations:

• The big private rooms. She thought they were great, and hadn't seen them since nursing school.
• Lack of equipment everywhere so fewer surfaces for germs to hang out.
• They mopped four times a day, again great infection control
• The constant staff monitoring, she thought it was great to see old school care again instead of people doing endless "CYA" paperwork.

In short, we do a bunch of crap in the states because of lawsuits and managed care that are not necessary and in someways bad. My experience was great. I also saw some numbers which showed that the rate of post op infection was lower there for the reasons I mentioned above. I hope your experience was as good as mine.

[Apatterson1991b 9]

Thank you hopefully I can ease his mind with the more positive things people are saying

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[Apatterson1991b 9]

I will definitely be doing that

[tired mommy0231 52]

I go November 7th to have surgery with Dr Illan. I believe that I have called Bill 10x already and not once has him, Stacey or Henry not answered my call not any machine. I fill like so far they have set my mind at ease. Good luck with your surgery.

[Apatterson1991b 9]

Thank you they have all been very helpful so far and the next 6 months can't come fast enough

[Apatterson1991b 9]

What about the safety of being in Mexico

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[OKCPirate 5,323]

What about the safety of being in Mexico

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Well I guess there is always parts of Chicago or DC...oh wait. Come on, I'm not suggesting Mogadishu most of the drug war in the border has ended. It is like being in any other city of several millions.

[JamieLogical 8,708]

I never once feared for my safety in Mexico on my two trips there. The part of Tijuana where these clinics and hotels are located is the more "upscale" part of town. You are shuttled around by a professional driver who is familiar with the area and traffic. Are there sketchy areas if you stray too far off the beaten path? Sure. But we have those in the city where I live in the US too.

Tijuana is literally directly across the border. If you look at a satellite image of San Diego and Tijuana, it's hard to even see where one ends and the other begins. You won't be traveling down any deserted highways. You won't be out of areas that are patrolled by police. You will be in a highly populated area that pretty much, in every way, looks and feels exactly like being in a US city, except with more signs in Spanish.

[shedo82773 1,236]

I'm glad you are going thru this site. My hubby and I went to JUAREZ, Mexico. We went thru BeLiteWeight. My hubby chose them over TIJUNA, MEXICO. Not a great experience for sure. The SURGEON DR. JOSE RODRIGUEZ seemed to be alright. The Hospital STARMED left something to be desired. Their customs are so different than ours: not washing their hands, no hand sanitizer, no gloves no discharge papers. The language barrier was very hard, no one hardly spoke English. The paper that we were given to translate was a joke. They hardly checked on him at all. We were told we would have a suite not...I slept in a window seat. Which was very hard. The TV didn't work. LOL I spent a long time on Facebook to entertain myself. Lol The coordinator who helped us kept forgetting our information and talked about other clients by name. We paid for the RNY and he ended up with the SLEEVE. They had told us that if they didn't do the RNY which they did. They did give us a refund but....because his right side was solid scar tissue and because of that they charged us more for his surgery. Which wasn't right in its self. We were told because we didn't have the paperwork for the Sleeve we were told that both surgeries are pretty much the same. I had a RNY and they are different. I know this is a rant and I'm sorry but people need to made aware.

[Hammer_Down 631]

We just returned from Tijuana yesterday.

As a truck driver, I have frequented some of the seediest areas in large metropolitan areas all over the USA. On 2 occasions I have been sleeping in my bunk in the trunk and awoken to ringing gunshots (once in Baltimore, parked curbside outside of a barbed wire fence with a trailer full of beer) and once in Chicago (parked in an alleyway beside my customer's locked up facility with a trailer load of car tires). The Chicago Tribune has an online violent crime map that details all sorts of crimes, like homicides, rapes and violent robberies. That week alone there had been 5 shooting deaths in a 1 square mile radius of Parklawn, where I was parked. My truck and trailer has Canadian plates, from which anyone could figure out means I am unarmed.

What I'm trying to show is that I have to laugh a little when I see people making claims about how unsafe it is in Mexico. At no point did I see homeless encampments or feel unsafe walking the streets of Mexico. The same cannot be said for many neighbourhoods I have visited in Houston, Birmingham, Miami, Charlotte, Baltimore, Newark, New York City and Boston. My friend was robbed at gunpoint after using an ATM in a service plaza in Connecticut when someone followed him out to the truck parking lot.

The principles are the same: I don't flash money around, I mind my own business and I stay aware of my surroundings at all times when I visit the USA. I followed those same principles in Mexico and at no point did I feel unsafe.

[fancypants67 162]

I am 2 months post op from surgery with Dr. Illan. Was the BEST decision I have ever made in my life. I'm like a different person now. I'm so happy and yesterday I actually FIT into a pair of my old jeans. I literally cried as I haven't worn jeans in over 5 years. The care was amazing and the surgery and recovery has been a breeze!! Back to work 1 week post op (desk job) and now I'm getting back into the gym. I HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend looking into Bariatric Pal MX to anyone who has been repeatedly denied by their insurance...just DO it!