Had my sleeve last Saturday(3/22) with Dr Perez at La Clinica Victoria. So far everything is going great. I'll try and document as much as I remember.....

My mom and I flew in on Friday and there was a guy waiting for us at the airport who took us to the hotel in cancun. We walked across the street to the mall for a while and had an early night.

Saturday morning, the driver picked us up at 6:30. I got to the clinic, did some paperwork, then headed up to a patient room and got into a gown. They started an iv, did bloodwork, a chest xray, and EKG. The anesthesiologists came and talked to me.

After I had my iv, the nurse gave me some antibiotics and something else in it. It made me really sick and I started dry heaving. She gave something like smelling salts to make me feel better. Then the waiting began. I don't think they actually took me into the OR until about 12:30.

Before I knew it, I was in recovery. They kept me medicated around the clock, so I never felt any real pain, just lots of discomfort. The first day was really hard mentally. I kept thinking "what have I done?!? I'm never going to eat yummy food again?" I guess a lot of people go through this.

On Sunday, Dr Perez took me down to do the upper GI and show me my new stomach size. On the way down there, we were in the elevator with a very smiley woman who thanked Dr Perez. I said "did she have the same surgery as me?" He said "yes, but she had it one day earlier." The woman chimed in "don't worry, I felt like you yesterday, tomorrow will be better." I had my doubts.

On Monday, Dr Perez came to take my drain out and I instantly felt a thousand times better!! I chose not to do the dye test, because they do it three times during surgery and I had the upper GI the day before. He gave me juices and Gatorade and the driver came to pick us up for the ferry to Isla Mujeres.

In hind sight, I think I would have rather went straight home. I tire very quickly, so it's hard to enjoy the island, especially with the heat. It is also hard seeing all the yummy Mexican food. I'm not physically hungry, but I want to eat sooo bad.

****side notes*****

None, and I mean none of the nurses speak English, not even the day shift ones. This didn't particularly bother me because I speak enough Spanish to get by. All of the doctors spoke good English.

The first night, my wallet was barely visible in the edge of my bag. When I went to get Chapstick out of it the next morning, all of my cash was gone. I reported it to dr Perez and he reported it to the clinic manager. They say this type of thing is very rare, but that doesn't really matter if it happens to you. Just be vigilant not to be an "easy target", which is good advice whether your surgery is in the US or Mexico.

That's all I can think of for now. I was very pleased with my experience.

Hello. I want to go to cancun for vaca but is it too difficult after surgery?

It's not too bad. You will just get tired easily. I definitely noticed I didn't enjoy it as much as on other trips. It's hard enough to drink enough fluid after surgery without factoring in the heat down there.

Sadly my beverage of choice is mexican beer. What else can you drink as the water causes stomach aches?

That might be another reason not to vacay after. It was so hard seeing and smelling all the food!!! I just stuck with the Gatorade he gave me.

Does Perez or his patients have any sort of online support group, like a Facebook group.  I am deciding between Perez and a doc in TJ.   The other doctor has a very active page where we can all ask questions, see how other individuals are doing, etc.  Cancun would be SO much easier for us, but the lack of info from patients scares me.  I know they are out there....just want to try to connect.

If they have an online group, I'm not aware of it. That wasn't really a factor for me. I have a friend here locally who had the surgery six months ago, so I direct all my questions to her. Also, the local surgeons have support groups that anyone can attend. Plus, there's this community.

Ikleigh, I am worried about .personal belongings. We should bring some cash but how is it secured esp. during anesthesia. I got ripped off in Rocky Point (puerto penesco) and I don't want that again

Ikleigh, I am worried about .personal belongings. We should bring some cash but how is it secured esp. during anesthesia. I got ripped off in Rocky Point (puerto penesco) and I don't want that again

Your belongings aren't secured at all. Are you bringing someone with you? They will be in the room during surgery.

I used to keep cash in my bra. Can't do that now. Lol

Hi

How did u connect w Perez? Price?

Ikleigh how did u connect w Perez and price?

^^ I connected with Perez through Biance @ medicaltourismco 2146461614. $5500. I'm having surgery in April

I can put you in touch w an awesome patient facilitator that can help you through the process. Let me know