Mexico

[snogueda 43]

Has anybody had gastric sleeve in Tijuana Mexico? If so how was your experience? My surgery is in March.

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Hello, im having surgery in tj with dr Illan March 1st so i will post once i go through my experience. Who are you going with?

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[entrophykitten 14]

Keep us posted! I'll be there one week later. Good luck on your journey!

Hey there!! Back with an update!

Yay!!

I just got back to my hotel and my surgery was done yesterday (2/10/17).

I was a little surprised by how quickly everything went. I mean super duper quickly! But I did have a few complications as I have been cursed with hard to locate and even harder to hit veins. The anesthesiologist had to put my iv lines in.

The shuttle take you in at 6:15am and you're in the waiting room with final paperwork stuff and final payment.

They call you in to finalize your dietary plan and also do the EKG...then you wait until your room is ready.

When you go to your suite, you quickly change in your gown and then the phlebotomist comes in to give you a little Xanax and does your IV.

The surgeon comes in and chats with you for a moment and then it's show time.

The procedure took less than 45 minutes and he not only staples but he also does a reenforced suture over the staple line to prevent additional complications.

Past that, walking around after surgery went pretty smoothly and I still have "rolling" gas bubbles which are annoying beyond belief!

Before they release you from the hospital, they have you do a tiny barium swallow to make sure your tract is completely clear and then you're released to go back to the hotel!!

You have to keep walking...the more you walk, the faster the rolling bubbles will be relieved.

I've got a final follow up on Monday and head back over the border by about noon that same day.

Feeling pretty good (past those bubbles) and have no regrets whatsoever.

The only major things I will also add:

If you buy your meds that are prescribed there at [/url] OCC , it's about $190 with a credit card. If you ask the hotel shuttle driver, he can take you to a local pharmacy that will sell you all the drugs for about $70 bucks.

Bring or buy a pill crusher. (There's a Walmart near the hotel or if you go to an offsite pharmacy...or pack one with you.

I have the vitaleph  shakes , but I also bought powders?utm_source=BariatricPal&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_campaign=CommentLink" target="_ad" data-id="1" >unjury  Protein   powder  (online only) the  chicken   broth  and the unflavored variety...to break up the chocolate/vanilla shakes...you will get tired of those flavors quick. The unflavored powder can be mixed with juices or just water!

That's it!!

Sorry for the novel!! But you're going to do great!!

[entrophykitten 14]

Edit....I have no idea why this app is providing inaccurate links!!

Every time I put in my surgeons name doctor a-r-i-e-l O-r-t-i-z, a link would come up with another  Dr. Ortiz that is not with the  Obesity Control Center and actually had a news article about a patient dying...this is not the doctor I went with. My doctor actually teaches his procedure to other Bariatric surgeons. BariatricPal has a link bug!!

Edit: the link for Obesity Control Center is NOT The Oasis of Hope!!

Wow, this app has major bugs!!

[1poundatatime 174]

On 2/5/2017 at 8:35 AM, puppyloverls3 said:

Keep us posted! I'll be there one week later. Good luck on your journey!

Nice to see several people who will be seeing Dr. Ortiz at the OCC! I'll be there in March and will look forward to reading about your experiences!

[puppyloverls3 17]

19 hours ago, entrophykitten said:

Hey there!! Back with an update!

Yay!!

I just got back to my hotel and my surgery was done yesterday (2/10/17).

I was a little surprised by how quickly everything went. I mean super duper quickly! But I did have a few complications as I have been cursed with hard to locate and even harder to hit veins. The anesthesiologist had to put my iv lines in.

The shuttle take you in at 6:15am and you're in the waiting room with final paperwork stuff and final payment.

They call you in to finalize your dietary plan and also do the EKG...then you wait until your room is ready.

When you go to your suite, you quickly change in your gown and then the phlebotomist comes in to give you a little Xanax and does your IV.

The surgeon comes in and chats with you for a moment and then it's show time.

The procedure took less than 45 minutes and he not only staples but he also does a reenforced suture over the staple line to prevent additional complications.

Past that, walking around after surgery went pretty smoothly and I still have "rolling" gas bubbles which are annoying beyond belief!

Before they release you from the hospital, they have you do a tiny barium swallow to make sure your tract is completely clear and then you're released to go back to the hotel!!

You have to keep walking...the more you walk, the faster the rolling bubbles will be relieved.

I've got a final follow up on Monday and head back over the border by about noon that same day.

Feeling pretty good (past those bubbles) and have no regrets whatsoever.

The only major things I will also add:

If you buy your meds that are prescribed there at [/url] OCC , it's about $190 with a credit card. If you ask the hotel shuttle driver, he can take you to a local pharmacy that will sell you all the drugs for about $70 bucks.

Bring or buy a pill crusher. (There's a Walmart near the hotel or if you go to an offsite pharmacy...or pack one with you.

I have the vitaleph  shakes , but I also bought unjury  Protein   powder  (online only) the  chicken   broth  and the unflavored variety...to break up the chocolate/vanilla shakes...you will get tired of those flavors quick. The unflavored powder can be mixed with juices or just water!

That's it!!

Sorry for the novel!! But you're going to do great!!

Thank you so much for all of that awesome information!! How did you find out about the pharmacy?? That's the first I've heard that. Also, how did you do with your pre-op diet? I was away this weekend with friends and was starving, especially watching them eat all their junk so I put some chicken on my salad. I know there's nothing in the pre op that says you can do that but i was desperate. How are you feeling today?

[entrophykitten 14]

Thank you so much for all of that awesome information!! How did you find out about the pharmacy?? That's the first I've heard that. Also, how did you do with your pre-op diet? I was away this weekend with friends and was starving, especially watching them eat all their junk so I put some chicken on my salad. I know there's nothing in the pre op that says you can do that but i was desperate. How are you feeling today?

Hey there!

The shuttle driver will highlight the pharmacies along the way to the hospital. I actually live in San Diego county so it's common to cross over for prescriptions (like, if you're looking for Latisse for eyelash lengthening...it's way cheap). After they released me to go back to the hotel, we just asked the driver to stop at the pharmacy in the way back and we tipped him like 200 pesos ($10) for the trouble.

The preop diet straight up sucks. I asked the nutritionist if I could have a hard boiled egg or a small piece of chicken. They told me that as long as the scale goes down, to keep it limited. The three days before surgery, I stuck to the liquid diet religiously. I had lost about 20 pounds on the two week preop. The goal is to shrink your liver so that the surgery will be safer for you. So I'd be more reserved about the cheating....willpower is the key.

I'm still dealing with rolling bubbles...they're ridiculously annoying. Keep moving and go on walks around the hotel to help get them to pass.

Bonus...the hotel will provide you popcicles and broth. When you check into the hotel, be sure to have the bell clerk unlock the minibar so you can empty it and use it for Water or Jello or Protein shakes.

Your companion also gets 15% off the room service menu, restaurant, and deli as long as you charge it to the room.

Tomorrow is check out for me, I will be going back to the hospital for one last barium swallow and as soon as I'm cleared, the shuttle will be taking me back across the border and taking the others to the airport.

Hope that all helps!!

[shawnak911 60]

I'm wondering why people would opt to go to Mexico. Is there a reason for it other than cost? I have Kaiser and I'm lucky the procedure is covered through my insurance. But if it weren't Mexico would really scare me.

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[Berry78 4,261]

Cost is the biggest factor. The reputable surgeons have a system in place that makes travelers feel comfortable.

[Monkeyfulbrighter 73]

How much is the cost difference??

[mbuczkowski 272]

How much is the cost difference??

I just had surgery I booked through BariatricPal Team MX with Dr Illan. Awesome Dr and the service was better than state side. It cost $4400 for the surgery compared to my local Dr at $14,254.

Started pre-op 3 weeks ago, surgery last week and total loss in 3 weeks of 30lbs

[thabenski 14]

I am getting my surgery on 4/10 with Dr. Garcia at Tijauana Bariatrics. I am both nervous and excited!

[edwardsdeb 7]

Surgery with Dr. Garcia March 2nd! Excited!


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[Serenelysinister 2]

I'm from Canada and will getting mine done on Feb 6 by Dr. Lopez at ALO. I done a lot of research. ALO and obesity control centre (dr. Ortiz) has been My top choices. However there are also other great doctors around.


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How was everything? Was your dr Alejandro Lopez?

[mrsdaniel2013 41]

I am getting my surgery on 4/10 with Dr. Garcia at Tijauana Bariatrics. I am both nervous and excited!

Me too!

[Please 188]

On 2017-01-29 at 10:45 AM, Dairymary said:

Had mine in TJ over 6 years ago. Great experience, quality medical care (I'm a retired RN so I know the difference), easy recovery, no complications. However, there are good and bad surgeons/facilities on both sides of the border, so without knowing your surgeon, there's no way to compare my experience to what yours will be. Congrats and good luck!

6 years out! Wow. How are you doing, maintaining ?