Going Where No Man Has Gone Before

 One of the things gringos in Mexico want to know about, as well as those considering a move to Mexico is Health and Medical care and treatment.

I have blogged several medical instances in both Tom's and my experience here in Merida. 

Here's another Medical experience post:

Tom, being 60, has been having a  colonoscopy every 5 years since he turned 50.  This being his 60th birthday year means colonoscopy time.

We checked with several people we  know who have had colonoscopies and garnered enough info to make a decision.
First, some Doctor needs to recommend you to have a colonoscopy, you just get essentially a prescription or note, done on your Doctors letterhead notepad and take that in.  In Tom's case he asked for the note from his heart doctor as that was his last  most recent other medical appointment.

We selected Dr. Luis Fernando Peniche Gallareta to do Tom's procedure, even though the Heart Doctor listed another Doctor on his note for the procedure.  Dr Peniche has his own clinic, and does procedures at several hospitals around town.

We opted for the Dr Peniche Gallareta's center, called Centro de Endoscopia del Sureste,  here's a link -

Centro de Endoscopia webpage

The Centre itself  is lovely, clean, peaceful, well staffed, etc.  The walls are a lovely soft lavender, landscape art on the walls, lots of chairs in the waiting area, coffee service, waterbottle, reception staff, some of whom speak English, all of whom speak Spanish.  When we made the appointment, the receptionist was Spanish only, but was able to understand my spanglish, and made the appointment for us, gave and explained the prep instructions, and provided us with pricing options.

As with most things medical here, no medical history was asked for nor required.  At Tom's appointment this morning we were asked Tom's age, if he had any drug allergies, and was he experiencing any problems at this time.

Once Tom was in his open robe and ready for his procedure a Technician came and put in the IV needle and hung the drip bag, then the Anesthiasisasalaogicalist came in, introduced himself, and unfortunately I have already forotten his name.  A very nice man, no English, but he followed up with the same info questions we had already given at the front desk, age, allergies, drug reactions, issues, etc...  He explained the procedure; first a light sedative to relax, then a stronger drug to ensure he (Tom) felt no discomfort, and would remember very little of the procedure.  Then in came the Doctor himself, to introduce himself and ask the same questions; age, allergies, drug reactions, issues, how long since last colonoscopy, and problems, polyps, etc.

At this point Tom was wheeled in to the exam/procedure room, I went along to translate if needed.  I fully expected to be told to return to the resting room, but was directed to a seat with a view of Tom's head, and a large monitor.  The room itself was large,  clean, lots of equipment and monitors, etc.  

So, once the Doctor has spoken with Tom, in English, asked questions, explained procedure etc, the Anesthsialogolocicalismst starts administering drugs in to Tom's IV drip line.  He puts Tom on oxygen, and the little finger clamp that tracks oxygen.  He talks to Tom until he is satisfied and then tells the Doctor to proceed.

The Doctor starts with a visual and digital exam, the starts the scope, after which  the  Technician takes over the feeding of the tube while the Doctor himself directs the camera angle, clicks the still shots, and directs the wash and flush.

  Oh don't even ask about more details,  this was way to much info for me.

During the procedure the Doctor looks over to me and explains what different things are on the monitor.  I was trying to focus on Tom, to ensure he was breathing and not experiencing pain or discomfort, but that monitor is like passing an accident, you just have to look.

OK, procedure over, once Tom is responding to the Doctors he is wheeled back to the resting room; gentle music, a/c, soft lighting...

Someone comes every 7 - 10 minutes to check on us.  the Technician, the Anesthisialaderlader, the Doctor.  The Technician comes in and asks Tom questions, watches his responses and then removes the IV and tells us we can go whwenever Tom is feeling up to it.  I suggested a bit longer but Tom wanted to be in his own bed.  Plus he knew I'd make him potato soup as soon as we got home, which is his favorite comfort food for when he's not feeling well.

I paid the bill, we were given the written report and 8 color photos, and we were out of there.

So costs for this extravaganza:

200mxp for the 2 bottles of Fleet Fosfosoda used to flush the system (of course this cost depends on where you purchase your product) There were 3 pre-prep options; one involved 2 enemas, one required mixing the laxative in 4 liters of liquid...

1500mxp for the anesthesiast

2200mxp for the procedure, we selected the option of no video, if you want a video reminder of your procedure just add an extra 300mxp.

As best I understand from the receptionist, IF any polyps need to be removed they will cost an additional 800mxp, I'm not clear if that was total, or per polyp.


You'll all be glad to know that Tom had no polyps, no cancers, a few diverticuli, common in someone 60, and a hemorroid. 

We all knew he was a pain in the ass now there is photographic proof.