Medical Care - Ajijic Style

O.K., we've been here three weeks and Matt really hasn't been up to snuff since we arrived.

I think the drive down here was emotionally draining for him.  Although it WAS a long drive, I was amazed at the quality of the roads and that, for the most part, the other drivers were cautious and respectful of the speed limits - very UNLIKE the Dominican Republic.  But for him, since we'd never made a trip like this before, he was just on edge.

Then when we arrived in Ajijic.  Since we've been here he's had little energy and been unable to sleep.  He says at some times he has trouble catching his breath.  We're at an altitude of 5,000 feet and although that isn't terribly high some folks do have a problem adjusting.

He tried playing golf the first week we arrived and that really kicked his butt.  The course was extremely hilly and he tried to walk with his pull cart and the course just isn't designed for a pull cart.  He was playing with three other men.....all much older than Matt....yet he was the one that barely limped off the course.

We have been talking for a week about making an appointment with a doctor and Friday we finally did it.  After some research, I decided the Integrity Clinic was the best choice.  They have a dental clinic in that space as well as several specialist that come in from Guadalajara one or two days a week.  Their General Practice doctor is there daily and has appointment hours from 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.  We tried calling for an appointment but the call wouldn't go through.  So instead we made the short drive up to the clinic on Friday afternoon.  The clinic is very modern and extremely clean and the receptionist spoke excellent English.  She called the doctor to make sure she was coming in that afternoon and then booked us an appointment for 5:30.

At 5:30, no doctor.  The receptionist told us she would be there in five or ten minutes.  From previous experiences in the US with doctors running late, I thought I had time to take a little walk outside.  Well....when I returned from my five minute walk, both the doctor and Matt were waiting for me in the reception area.  The doctor, a young woman barely 30 years old, apologized repeatedly for keeping us waiting.

We had filled out no medical history while we were waiting....instead the doctor takes your history.  As she asked Matt questions about his medical history, any answer he gave here that she thought might be out of the ordinarly, she pursued with additional questions.   She put an oxygen monitor on his finger and then started to listen to his heart and chest.  The entire time she kept an eye on the oxygen monitor.  She probably spent two or three minutes just listening to his breathing.

After the exam she pointed out to Matt that his oxygen level was a bit low, but that when she asked him to breath deeply it went into normal range.  She talked to him about consciously controlling his breathing as he adapted to the altitude.   She also gave him a prescription for something that would relax him and help him sleep better.  She wants him to have a complete blood work done.  We told her we had an appointment to see our doctor in the US in September and he could have it done there.....then she told us that this lab did an excellent job, that she'd like the opportunity to review his results to make sure there were no other problems,  and that the lab  charged $550 pesos (about $45 USD).  We're sold, we'll get the blood work done here and take the results back to the US with us.

The total cost for this 40 minute exam by this professional and very caring young doctor was $300 pesos ($25 USD).  After that visit, it jogged my memory that I had seen an ENT in Ft. Lauderdale before we came down here.  I didn't make payment at the office as I was waiting to see what the adjusted charge would be.  We have high deductible health insurance and haven't met our deductible yet this year so I knew I would be footing the entire bill.  However, he was a preferred doctor with our insurance so it would be an adjusted rate.  I pulled up the statement of benefits and here's what I found:  total charge for my visit was $505 dollars.  The doctor initially charged $250 for the office visit.  He injected steroids directly into my nose to hopefully shrink the polyps.  The charge for him to do these two injections was $240.  The cost of the steroids was $15.  The entire claim was pending as Aetna was waiting further clarification from the doctor regarding this treatment.  I'm thinking that next time I need to visit an ENT, I'll find one in Mexico!
< I think a lot of it was just seeing the doctor and knowing he was OK and being more aware that he needed to breath deeply.  He actually played 18 holes of golf Saturday afternoon!  And he walked to the Plaza with Herm and me Friday night.