The Mexican Medical System

Be gentle, please!

We had our first interaction with the Mexican medical system today. Last Friday as I mentioned I was feeling a little down. The next day I awoke with severe stomach cramps. I was going to the bathroom and feeling like I was going to throw up. I slept a lot and it got better, but I had no energy and felt dizzy at times. Tuesday, I called the doctor and asked for an appointment for Wednesday morning. They took my information and said they would call me back. They called and said come in today at 1:30.

I got there early and at precisely at 1:30 they came and askede me to come to the Doc''s office. He introduced himself and asked me what was wrong. Then he had me lie down an he checked my abdomen, listened to my heart and took my blood pressure. Without some tests he didn't know if I had an infection or parasites. I immediately thought of Alien with some life form inside of me trying to get out.

He wanted stool samples, and told me where the lab was, about a block from our casa. Bill for the doctor was 450 pesos, then the farmacia wanted 207 pesos for some probiotics the Doctor prescribed. On to the lab for a blood test and a sample; another 710 pesos. I didn't have it on me so he just nodded no problemo, bring it in when you can, Total 1367 pesos or about $90.

Everyone was very nice. My lack of hablo espanol didn't get in the way. The doctor explained he was board certified, GP and general surgeon for almost anything gastro-wise. He told that anything major had to be done in the future there were fine facilities in Quretaro.

No one asked if I had insurance. They treated me like a human, took plenty of time to answer questions, and even let me joke with them about being gentle when they were drawing blood. My next appointment is Friday at 2:00.