Bariatric surgery in Tijuana · Day 3 of 7
Day 3 after bariatric surgery in Tijuana
Usually your first day in the recovery hotel. Walk a little every hour or two. Sip fluids all day: it is the hardest and most important job this week.
Today's rules
Walking
Gentle walking matters. Build up gradually towards 30 minutes a day, at a pace that leaves you slightly out of breath.
Source: North Bristol NHS Trust, Bristol Bariatric Service · NHS
Lifting
Avoid heavy lifting for at least two months after abdominal surgery. Let your companion carry bags.
Food and drink
Liquids only in weeks 1 to 4, then puréed food, then soft food. Food tours and restaurant meals are for your companion.
Source: NHS
Fluids, heat and sun
Keep your fluids up. Stay in the shade at midday, because sun and heat make it harder to stay hydrated on small sips.
Baths, pools and the sea
Showers are fine. Avoid baths and swimming until the wounds have fully healed, about 6 weeks.
Car rides and long waits
On journeys or queues longer than about an hour, get out and move. Long sitting raises the risk of blood clots after surgery.
Source: NHS
Flying home
The CDC advises medical tourists not to fly for at least 10 days after chest or abdominal surgery. Ask your surgeon for written travel clearance.
Source: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · NHS
Confirm with your surgeon. These are general activity limits from published aftercare guidance. Your clinic's written instructions always come first, and they may be stricter or looser for your procedure.
4 things you can do today
Lucha libre night
Masked wrestling at the municipal auditorium. Seated, loud and crowded.
Seated, indoors, about 3 hours
CECUT cultural centre and dome cinema
Tijuana's cultural centre, with the Museum of the Californias and a dome-screen cinema. Indoors and seated.
Gentle walking, indoors, about 2 hours
Playas de Tijuana seafront and the border wall
A flat seafront walk to where the border fence runs into the Pacific, covered in murals.
Gentle walking, some open-air walking, about 1.5 hours
Plaza Río mall
Air-conditioned shops, cafés and a cinema next to the clinics in Zona Río.
Gentle walking, indoors, about 2 hours
Also fine today: Pasaje Rodríguez art alley
2 things to skip today
Valle de Guadalupe wine tour
Why not: It is built around alcohol. About 1.5 hours each way is too long a ride for this stage.
Not during the 7 days this guide covers. Ask your surgeon when it is safe.
Avenida Revolución walk
Why not: Too much walking and effort for this stage.
Usually fine from day 6.
Where to eat
You: liquids only, exactly as your bariatric team planned. Carry your fluids with you and sip all day.
Your companion:
- Caesar salad at its birthplace. The Caesar salad was invented on Avenida Revolución. Ask for it without croutons if you need soft food.
- Fish and shrimp tacos. Baja-style tacos in Zona Río stands, with soft corn tortillas.
- Birria tacos with consomé. Slow-stewed meat in a dipped, griddled tortilla. Rich and often spicy.
Put every day of this guide in your calendar, with your dates