Reconsidering Mexico: questions for those who did it in Mexico

...the sleeve, not sex!  Get your minds out of the gutter.  

I've said in other posts I don't want Mexico because I'm worried about follow up care.  But thinking about it more, since we travel full time in our rv, there is no such thing as "local" care for us--and we'll probably spend a few months every winter down close to the Mexican border anyway.  Mexico could be as low as 1/3 the cost, and some of the Mexican doctors have done more sleeves than many of the US doctors.  I have enough money to do a Mexican surgery right now, but if I go with an American doctor, it could be many months.  

So...

Questions for those who've gone south for their cut...

1.  I don't hear people talk much about after care, from the blogs/vlogs I've read/seen.  Is there any?  Can you easily call your Mexican doc and get the same personal attention you got from him when you were in hospital?  Is after care included for two years, like with most US docs? (Assuming you're willing to go back to Mexico, or be satisfied with phone consults.)

2.  Have they called to check up on you later? Or do you have to chase them down?  How hard is it to understand them on the phone?  I've seen videos of patients with their Mexican docs, and while the docs speak English fine, their accent makes it hard to understand (maybe I'm just not good at "listening" through the accent).  I know Dr. Alvarez barely has an accent, but he also has near-American prices.  

3.  I don't really have a PCP right now, because we're traveling.  I had an old one, before we went on the road, but we aren't going back to that area again, so we just use convenience care clinics for medical needs.  Will not having a regular PCP prevent us from being accepted by Mexican docs?  This will not be any different if we do it in America--if we're forced to get a PCP, we will be waving goodbye to him a month or so after surgery, never to see him/her again.

4.  What are the hospitals like, and what do you recommend as far as good hospitals?  I'd prefer one that is a full service hospital that can handle major emergencies, in case things go south.  I don't really want a clinic posing as a hospital.

5.  Which cities are best/safest?   I was leaning toward Tijuana, but I'm open to other cities.  We're already down south, so Tijuana, Nogales, and Mexicali are all within a reasonable drive.  (Family would stay in the US while I crossed the border for surgery.)  I'm concerned about safety, having seen all the bad press about drug wars and decapitated bodies.  I know those are probably isolated incidents, but I'm wondering if some cities are safer than others?  My gut feeling is that TJ is safe, but I have no idea if that's valid.  And the other cities, I just have no idea.  Maybe some of you have heard the low down on which cities are the safest bets?

If anyone would prefer to respond via private message, feel free.  I appreciate any feedback!  Thanks!

BTW:  I don't want anyone to think I'm rushing into this--I researched WLS in great detail for years, but gave up on it because none of them seemed right for me at the time (VSG was touted as less effective a few years back, and I didn't want to deal with malabsorption).  I only recently discovered the latest data on VSG, it seems like exactly what I'm looking for, and we just happen to have a better financial situation.  So this decision was a long time in the making.  

Hi There,

I went to Mexico I am 7 weeks out. I will answer your questions best I can :) My surgeon was Dr. Joya in PV Mexico

1. Aftercare is really minimal. If I have a question I email and they get back to me the same day. I follow up with my family dr (PCP) every so often for blood work. I also did a weight management program before hand here in my city but was denied surgery for doing to well on the program. I got physc evaul and nutrition info from that but honestly most of my knowledge has come from my mentor which I have met on this site. 

2. No they have never called me, see answer for question one. The coordinators and drs all speak really good English though I have never talked to any of them on the phone. I have never needed to. 

3. No not at all although it would be helpful for follow up blood labs.

4. I am from Canada, healthcare is free here. The care I received in Mexico was AMAZING. 100 times better than I would get from a Canadian hospital. THe rooms were like suites, they even fed my husband for the 3 days I was there. Beautiful beach front too!

5. Not sure, I choose Puerto Vallarta for the modern hospital, beach recovery, and surgeon. 

Good luck on your journey, I am 7 weeks out today and down 60lbs best decision I have ever made. Feel free to msg me for any more info

Thanks, Merc!  I was just looking at Dr. Joya.  I'll definitely message you.

I also just found the Mexico forum.  Guess I'm better off asking there!  LOL

OMG, I just saw that in that last post, it attached my old signature, from back in 2006, when I first started researching WLS:

5'4"
250:  Current weight
280:  Highest pregnant weight
253:  Highest non-pregnant weight
126:  Lowest adult weight,, 1990
145:  Goal weight

OMG, if that was only still true.  Why did I wait so long?????  

Real current weight, 282.  Highest non-pregnant weight, somewhere in the high 290s, highest pregnant weight, probably 302.  Might as well be honest on here.  It was a complete shock to see that.  It's way too easy to bury your head in the sand...until the truth smacks you in the face.

Where the heck will I be in the year 2022, if I don't do something?  320?  340?  Uh uh.  NO WAY!!!  I need this frickin surgery. 

I had surgery with Dr. Alvarez.  As you've already noted, he has virtually no accent.  My cost was $8700.  For the nearest surgeon to me, which is still over an hour and a half away, it would have been 22k.  I live too far away to see him for aftercare, but my understanding is he does do follow up for his local patients.  I got an e-mail from his coordinator making sure I made it home ok, and follow up e-mails reminding me when to change food stages.  Other than that, I'm seeing my PCP.  I could e-mail Dr. Alvarez if I had questions, but I haven't had any that weren't answered by all the info I got pre-op.

I was not required to have a PCP to get my surgery.  I know some people say US doctors won't do follow up, but I'm pretty sure most walk in clinics don't care.  They also probably don't know enough about the surgery to be helpful.  Dr. Alvarez does his surgery at a full service hospital.  I had no problems with my care, and I recommend Dr. Alvarez if you're going to go to Mexico.

$8700 isn't horribly bad.  I'm willing to pay that much, if it means being in a much better hospital.  I really want one that has an ICU, trauma center, and preferably a cardiac surgeon on staff.  Just in case any emergencies crop up.  I've got medical issues, and I want all my bases covered, even if it's unlikely that my issues would cause any problems in surgery.  I'm liking what I see so far with Alvarez, and I hear great things about Dr. Aceves too, but I think his prices are probably going to be too high.  

Dr. Aceves was $8750

From what I've researched, Alvarez and Aceves are comparable in price, have great results, and both practice in full hospitals.  I went with Dr. Alvarez because he gives much more pre and post op information.  I've seen several people who used Dr. Aceves say that their post op instructions were hard to understand and/or they didn't get a post op diet plan beyond the initial recovery stage. 

i did mines in Mexico with Dr. Almanza. I get my info from here, my Nurse Practioner provides me with follow up and i do a lot of research. If anything, I need more nutrition and mental health, which i'm in the process of getting. If i had to do it, in a heart beat, I would, the care in mexico with the jerusalem hospital is wicket awesome.

and i paid, 4,500 and no bs.