Hi guys,

New to the board I am scheduled April 11, 2013 for Gastric Sleeve at Mi Hospital in Tijuana with Dr. Cabrerra and team.  I am a revision from VBG in 2001.  I am traveling with a good friend and am very excited. Never been to Mexico before.  If anyone has any input of advice I would be very interested to hear from you.  

 

Counting the days!!!

 

Stephanie

 

HI there, I had Dr.  Cabrerra and DR. Venezuela at the Mi Doctor hospital little over two weeks ago, you will not be disappointed. It was my first time to mexico and you will meet Daniel who is wonderful the Dr.'s are wonderful and every one has good engli**** is very clean and your stay at the hotel will be great I know mine was. I have not taken anything for pain what so ever and I can tell you it was a great experience. If you have any questions feel free to contact me !!!  

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Drs. Cabrerra and Valenzuela

 

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Drs. Cabrerra and Valenzuela

 

I am currently resting at the Marriott in Tijuana. I had my surgery with Cabrera/Valenzuela at MiDoctor. Here is my advice:

 

Bring earplugs. The traffic outside of Mi Doctor can be loud and it's hard to get your rest with the sound of horns resonating through your head.

Read up on preventing DVT after surgery and ask your friend to make sure you get up a lot and take frequent brief walks both at the hospital and in the hotel.

If you find Omeprazole on sale anywhere buy it before you go. Daniel will go get it for you but the cost is $20.00 I've found it cheaper when it was on sale at Rite Aid

Bring GasX strips. I got them at walgreens and they've been very helpful. Doctor Cabrera said I could start taking them after the second day post up.

Don't plan on doing a lot of sight seeing. YOU are there to rest. You may be able to arrange to make a quick trip to visit a few trinket shops, but even if you are feeling very fit and well, you JUST HAD MAJOR SURGERY and you really do need your rest.

You don't need to bring bandages and tape. You will be given a little bag with those when you are discharged.

Don't worry which doctor does your procedure. BOTH doctors will be in the room and they are both very qualified and competent. I had Dr Valenzuela.

Expect some follow up from your surgeons, but there is now another doctor on their team who will do a lot of the follow up with you.

If you want anything you have to ASK FOR IT. They won't just bring it to you. When you are cleared to drink, you have to ASK for drinks

They also don't check your IV that often so I made it a point to check my IV frequently to make sure it was still dripping... and it almost never was working. They tried four different sites for my IV and none seemed to work for longer than a few hours. I was starting to get dehydrated. Finally I was cleared to drink around noon on the day after surgery and the doctor who checked on me saw that I was drinking easily and he gave me the option o f trying to take my fluids orally rather than getting yet another poke for the IV. He came back and counted my ounces to make sure that I was getting properly hydrated. And he even came back in the middle of the night to count my ounces.

Pack light and wear your johnny while you're at the hospital saving your clean clothes for the hotel. Bring very comfortable clothes for after your procedure.

Bring some packets of your favorite water flavoring.. I don't like aspartame so I brought some with stevia. Also herbal tea felt soooo nice on my new sleeve I have gotten about half of my hydration from warm drinks while at the hotel (I just run tap water through the coffee pot. the tap water at the marriott is fine)

At the Marriott you can have three bowls of broth and two bottles of water a day. Room service will bring the broth when you dial zero and ask for it but housekeeping brings the water when they make up the room. You may have to remind them that you need two bottles of water.  If it takes you a long time to eat your broth, you can pour some of it in the coffee carafe to keep it warm. You just need to make sure that you press the on button frequently since the coffee maker has an auto turn off function.

Bring small bills for tipping.

I have been having an excellent recovery and I really credit that to the fact that I had an excellent surgical team.

If you have any questions at all please let me know.

I had a different experience.  My hospital room was very quiet and my room faced the street.  My problem at the hospital was boredom.  I can only read for so long, and the hospital floor is very small so you have to do like 100 laps to get in your walking.  Didn't need gas-ex or simethicone.  Did sightseeing both days I was at the hotel.  Took a cab to the beach.  Went shopping on Revolution Ave.  Very touristy, but what a lot of fun.  You can walk to the grocery store and to Walmart, only about 1/2 mile from the Marriott. There is a lovely little plaza at the Walmart.  I sure didn't need rest, I needed some distraction!  Everywhere I went took American dollars at 1 to 10 pesos, less than the official exchange but no fees and very convenient.  All your change will be in Pesos.  I agree with making sure you have lots of ones or keep a handful of Pesos ready for tipping.  I did the broth in the coffee carafe trick also.  I had no problems with my IV.  Had the same one the whole time.  $20 for 60 Omeprazole is less expensive than any I have found in the US. I went by myself and never felt unsafe.  I am three plus weeks out and doing great.