Just curious if any of you have gone to Mexico to get your sleeve done? I'm scheduled for nov and I am so excited!

Planning to go in December. Using Dr.Altamarino. Congrats on your journey.

I went last month to Mexico. I had an amazing experience and would definitely recommend to anyone and everyone

I'm planning on seeing Dr Joya in puerto Vallarta. Anyone seen him?

I am trying to go to Mexico. I live within driving distance of Tijuana. Even though my insurance here will cover the surgery, the hoops I have to jump through, length of supervised diet, copays, testing, and deductible, it will be cheaper, quicker, and less hassle to go to Mexico.

There is an entire subforum here dedicated to sleevers going to Mexico: http://www.bariatricpal.com/forum/486-mexico-self-pay-gastric-sleeve-surgery/

I was sleeved on June 15th in Tijuana by Dr Jesus Martin Lopez Dominguez using BariatricPal. It was a great experience and would recommend it to anyone.

I was sleeved july 11 by dr. Hidalgo in Puerto Vallarta. It has been an amazing journey.

I've heard good things about dr. Joya.

I was sleeved in 7/31 by Dr Jesus Lopez at the Santa Fe Clinic in Mexico. Everything went great there for me

I was sleeved a week ago in Piedras Negras, Mexico by Dr. Guillermo Alvarez. I could not praise him and his staff enough. They were all super and very accommodating to myself and my guest.

I used Ariel Ortiz at Obesity Control Center in December 2013. Great experience, great care. Absolutely no complaints or regrets. Talented group of surgeons and good pre/post op follow-up. I lost 113 lbs total - maintaining 18 months later. Attached are my year photos - haven't taken any recently. I do Zumba 3-4 days a week and just did my first 5K this past Saturday. December to December.pdf

I went in June and used Dr Altamirano. It was one of the best decisions I ever made!

I used Ariel Ortiz at Obesity Control Center in December 2013. Great experience, great care. Absolutely no complaints or regrets. Talented group of surgeons and good pre/post op follow-up. I lost 113 lbs total - maintaining 18 months later. Attached are my year photos - haven't taken any recently. I do Zumba 3-4 days a week and just did my first 5K this past Saturday. December to December.pdf

Can you tell me more about the OCC? I'm set for surgery with Dr. Ortiz on November 16th. Any issues with getting down there? How was the hotel? Are the recovery rooms private at the clinic? Do they give you any kind of pre-surgery med for people with anxiety? Did you buy the post-op meds? Did they provide compression stockings? Any advice is appreciated! Thanks!

I used Ariel Ortiz at Obesity Control Center in December 2013. Great experience, great care. Absolutely no complaints or regrets. Talented group of surgeons and good pre/post op follow-up. I lost 113 lbs total - maintaining 18 months later. Attached are my year photos - haven't taken any recently. I do Zumba 3-4 days a week and just did my first 5K this past Saturday. December to December.pdf

Love the pictures! You look great!

I chose to go to Mexico for surgery. I'm an RN for 28 years started with 3 Los Angeles surgeons in June 2015, all Centers of Excellence. Wanted to have surgery mid Sept because it was the only break I would have from work. By August 2015 I realized none of the LA surgeons were going to work out. Poor follow up, wanting me to undergo unnecessary preop studies, ie. sleep apnea, endoscopy, etc, wanting me to get co-morbidities from other doctors, i.e. high blood pressure, etc. I knew I would have to do a lot of legwork and probably still fight with my insurance. By the way, my anthem blue cross had a $5000 deductible plus another $3000, so it would have cost me $8000 here anyway. I did a lot of research online and drove down to Tijuana, went to 3 places. Liked Obesity Control Center the best. I met Dr Ortiz that day. Scheduled my surgery for Sept 21(wanted Sept 18 but not available).

Let me tell you, being a nurse, I was terrified! Plus I have anxiety issues so I did not want to have surgery, ever! But I just put it in my mind I was going and that was it, plus I took some Xanax along the way. The morning of surgery I got to the clinic at 6:30 am and after 2 hours I was finally in my bed, they drew labs, did an ekg, placed an IV. The waiting was the worst part! Well out of 5 patients, guess who was last? Me! I couldn't believe it, the worst possible scenario, I just wanted to be knocked out in the beginning and wake up in recovery. So by about 3pm they took me to surgery, the anesthesia doctor started blabbing on and on and I said please just knock me out, already! He gave me something and I got drowsy and the next thing I knew I was awake in recovery room feeling great!

No pain! A little discomfort. No nausea! No vomiting! Nothing! I asked to get out of bed to walk and they said wait 10 minutes. Within the next hour I was walking around, feeling amazing. I couldn't believe it. Why was I worried. This was so easy! Whatever the mix of anesthesia it was perfect. I couldn't ask for a better surgery. Also, no drains, no catheters, just 5 abdominal incisions that were glued shut.

The next morning I started taking sips of Water, no problem. Soon I was sipping more than enough liquids to stay hydrated. Before surgery I was worried I'd need IV fluids for a few days. I was transferred to the Tijuana Marriott where the service was amazing. Free water, broth, popsicles 24/7. Excellent service. Still no nausea, vomiting, pain. Before surgery I had terrible heartburn but I've had no heartburn.

So today, 9/28 is one week later. I'm down 6 lbs. Day of surgery I was 246 lbs. I've had no problems, not even constipation. I'm supposed to be only taking liquids but to be honest I've eaten soft foods. My only disappointment is the surgery did not take away my appetite(I think that's an emotional issue) but it does restrict the amount of food I can eat and I'm VERY careful not to overeat! Also, I don't eat any sugary products, i.e. soda, juice, pastries, etc.

I really believe my success is because of Dr Ortiz at the OCC (Obesity Control Center). He has fine tuned and perfected this surgery and I would recommend him highly.

I chose to go to Mexico for surgery. I'm an RN for 28 years started with 3 Los Angeles surgeons in June 2015, all Centers of Excellence. Wanted to have surgery mid Sept because it was the only break I would have from work. By August 2015 I realized none of the LA surgeons were going to work out. Poor follow up, wanting me to undergo unnecessary preop studies, ie. sleep apnea, endoscopy, etc, wanting me to get co-morbidities from other doctors, i.e. high blood pressure, etc. I knew I would have to do a lot of legwork and probably still fight with my insurance. By the way, my anthem blue cross had a $5000 deductible plus another $3000, so it would have cost me $8000 here anyway. I did a lot of research online and drove down to Tijuana, went to 3 places. Liked Obesity Control Center the best. I met Dr Ortiz that day. Scheduled my surgery for Sept 21(wanted Sept 18 but not available).

Let me tell you, being a nurse, I was terrified! Plus I have anxiety issues so I did not want to have surgery, ever! But I just put it in my mind I was going and that was it, plus I took some Xanax along the way. The morning of surgery I got to the clinic at 6:30 am and after 2 hours I was finally in my bed, they drew labs, did an ekg, placed an IV. The waiting was the worst part! Well out of 5 patients, guess who was last? Me! I couldn't believe it, the worst possible scenario, I just wanted to be knocked out in the beginning and wake up in recovery. So by about 3pm they took me to surgery, the anesthesia doctor started blabbing on and on and I said please just knock me out, already! He gave me something and I got drowsy and the next thing I knew I was awake in recovery room feeling great!

No pain! A little discomfort. No nausea! No vomiting! Nothing! I asked to get out of bed to walk and they said wait 10 minutes. Within the next hour I was walking around, feeling amazing. I couldn't believe it. Why was I worried. This was so easy! Whatever the mix of anesthesia it was perfect. I couldn't ask for a better surgery. Also, no drains, no catheters, just 5 abdominal incisions that were glued shut.

The next morning I started taking sips of Water, no problem. Soon I was sipping more than enough liquids to stay hydrated. Before surgery I was worried I'd need IV fluids for a few days. I was transferred to the Tijuana Marriott where the service was amazing. Free water, broth, popsicles 24/7. Excellent service. Still no nausea, vomiting, pain. Before surgery I had terrible heartburn but I've had no heartburn.

So today, 9/28 is one week later. I'm down 6 lbs. Day of surgery I was 246 lbs. I've had no problems, not even constipation. I'm supposed to be only taking liquids but to be honest I've eaten soft foods. My only disappointment is the surgery did not take away my appetite(I think that's an emotional issue) but it does restrict the amount of food I can eat and I'm VERY careful not to overeat! Also, I don't eat any sugary products, i.e. soda, juice, pastries, etc.

I really believe my success is because of Dr Ortiz at the OCC (Obesity Control Center). He has fine tuned and perfected this surgery and I would recommend him highly.

Thank you so much for posting your story! I'm going to be getting sleeved with Dr. Ortiz on November 16th and I'm really excited. I have a couple of questions for you if you don't mind. I think you mentioned that they did not place a drain after surgery? I thought someone else had said that they usually do. Fine by me either way. Did you buy the pre-op shake kit from the company they recommended? I can't remember the name of the company off the top of my head. I just remember that their products seemed quite expensive. Also, did you buy the post-surgery medication package? I wasn't sure if it was worth it or not since the clinic charges extra for them and it sounded like pretty basic stuff. Any other tips or advice? That's great that you had such a wonderful experience down there!! I can't wait to go! ????