zenoosh

Thanks muffintop...i AM awesome, but I did get the idea from you.....so I think that makes you even "awesomer"!!!
I figured id open it up to all the Mexico Octosleevers, cuz otherwise it'd just be a couple of us with Dr Garcia. Im sure there'll be others scheduled that aren't on this site yet, but at least we can connect with the peeps that are!
I am totally having a few freakouts, but I know this is the right thing for me.
Muffintop: one month to go for you! Counting the days :-)

Hey there! I want to start a thread of sleevers who are going to Mexico in October. I have found a couple people who have their surgeries scheduled and it's really nice to be in contact with others who may be there around the same time. I'm going to Tijuana for surgery with Dr Garcia October 27. I'll be staying at the Marriott for 3 nights total with 2 days at Mi Doctor Hospital for the actual surgery and recovery. If there are others going to Mexico , but not in October, feel free to post also: I've found it so helpful to find others in the same boat as myself...
I'll make a list if there are enough people to generate one. Good luck! We're gonna rock this thing

Jem...that's it...OMG, you just brought me back to Pre-K, my friend.
LOVE it...good luck. Will you keep us posted on your recovery? Im sending outrageously healing vibes in your direction :-)

You know your body...if its not red and hot to the touch around the incision, its most likely not infected. Call first thing tomorrow, unless symptoms change..
Hmmm, btw, is that GEM on your Avatar? I am dating myself my saying that...

Typical, you say? You wouldn't file for bankruptcy to save a loved ones life? I smell a Republican...

I didn't have any stitches or staples. Just open incisions. that had gauze pads on them. One stitch on the drain incision but she cut it when she took out the drain before I left the hospital. That was in April of this year.

It is my pleasure...i must have re-read people's posts 50 times just to make myself feel more confident and calm in my decision. I was very nervous, but kept a positive attitude throughout the entire process..I do believe that has helped a LOT. Im going home today...cant wait to get back. I was not thinking of this trip as a vacation and I did travel alone, so I was not interested in sightseeing or shopping. Although my coordinators at Ready4Achange offered for Samuel to take me on a tour of TJ, I was cool with a quickie trip to Walmart for more Miso Soup, Jello, and a big tube of Retin-A!! Btw, Wal-Mart is pretty close to the Marriott: I read that some people walked there...i took a cab, asked him to wait for me while I shopped, and he picked me up. The taxi ride there and back was $10 TOTAL...I was pleased with that deal! I found the bellman at the Marriott to be very helpful. One in particular, Cesar, helped me into the cab, and worked out the trip with the cabbie. Oh, another hint: WalMart takes dollars, but only gives change in pesos, so you can ask the front desk to make change for you and use that to buy stuff at Walmart, pay the cabbie, tip people, etc...i think the conversion is something like, for every dollar = 12.5 pesos? I could be a little off but its close. I tipped my bellman, my cabbie, and my driver, Samuel...I was impressed at the service, and Im a tipper, so I felt comfortable with that. If i think of any other helpful tips, I'll share them. Ooh, one more, bring some Halls sugarfree breezers or Halls SF Vit c drops...they were very soothing while I was first trying to drink tiny sips. They keep your mouth moist, too...:-)

I am glad all is well Zenoosh!

Hey everyone! I also had surgery with Dr Garcia recently...i was sleeved on Sat Oct 27th. I am back at the Marriott 3 days post op and im feeling really good, actually.
I will admit, the day of surgery was rough for me--I was feeling like :oh crap, what have I done? That next day, however, I felt 75% better, and by yesterday, I was feeling pretty damn good. I was really impressed by the care I received at the hospital. I must admit, I was THE ONLY patient there for 2 days...but all the nurses were very attentive to my minor discomfort and how I was progressing. So, I speak a little spanish--very little, but enough--so I was not feeling a communication barrier at all. There was a framed paper that had any pertinent or useful communication translations that was always available, although I never needed to use it.
That had me walking pretty soon after surgery and Ill admit, I felt like I was a character on the walking dead! I was just tired and a little nauseated but then I lied down and went to sleep. They brought me the phone a few times to call my mom during that first day, and I think she even called and they brought me the phone again. There were doctors and nurses checking on me pretty much every couple hours and I always had a little push button thing to call the nurse.
I only puked twice..not a big deal..i thought I was gonna bust my stitches, but, nope! Everything was fine! Next morning I did the first fluoroscopy test--yuck, but not gross enough to puke on the spot--then shortly after, I had the blue dye test (Gatorade with some bitterness) it was like half a small Dixie cup, and that was ok cuz I could drink it over a few minutes, not all at once.They really want to keep us hydrated,so every few hours, you get a new bag of saline, and a few syringes of pain meds, nausea meds, something to get our bowels going, and something they called gastric protection? Then on the second day, a small bag of antibiotics. I think I got that twice it 3 times. They also give you a little injection in the pooch area (women, you know--the kangaroo pooch, I've called it). I only remember getting that twice and it stings a little but not bad enough to b***h about. After they pushed all the syringes of stuff, i would feel a little bit of discomfort in my chest--more like pressure-- then it would go away and the pain meds would kick in. I tried to walk as much as i could. I did have that darn left shoulder pain. Gas, they say...it was uncomfortable, but more annoying than downright painful. It did get better and by the end of day two, gone. I felt that my pain was managed very well. The last steps were taking out the drain, IV, and staples. Dr Garcia's team only just started using the staples to close the incisions. Muffintop explained it perfectly (above posts) and I did not feel pain as they removed them. Honestly, my incisions look almost healed--that's how great they look. I would bet that after a week or two, they'll be almost invisible. The drain felt a bit strange coming out, not painful at all, but I was glad to have it out, as well as the IV. So i guess i got lucky: i had only one IV during surgery, and recovery. My arm and hand were a bit swollen, although i think that's normal considering how many fluids they pump in, but my IV wasn't painful. I could feel a coldness with the saline, and a slight sting with the pain meds but nothing big. I have REALLY bad veins, and I was SOOOO nervous about that aspect, but once again, their work was impressive from my account. I know this is really long, but these are the posts I found most helpful before i chose to have surgery. This was my experience with Dr Garcia and his team. I saw Dr Garcia 3 times, Dra. Valazco at least 3 times, and 3 other Drs that I cannot recall their names, but all were VERY nice, attentive, and asked me questions and gave instructions for a healthy recovery. I must say, from a healthcare professional's perspective, my care was superb! I have no doubts that this was the best way for me to go. So, as others have mentioned, the care received at Mi Doctor is and should be separate from the coordinators care. I'll post my experience with Ready4Achange on another thread (spoiler alert! : I was really impressed with the service and support I have received from ready4Achange).
Thanks for reading, and good luck to all who are trying to make the choice to have surgery and who to go with. :-)
I forgot to add this:
**Before leaving the hospital, I was given a goodie bag with Gatorade, bottled Water, sublingual pain meds, antibiotics, bottle of antacid, lip balm, gauze pads, tape, and a list of all the doctors and coordinators names, phone numbers, and email addresses. Also a packet that explained the diet information, all my lab results, a surgery report, and the fluoroscopy results: Dra Velazco was the one who went over everything given to me, and all of this stuff was from 'Ready4AChange'. I think the other patients from 'A Lighter Me' received a similar goodie bag with the same stuff, but I'm not sure exactly what was included...
Feel free to PM me if anyone has any ?'s. Good luck!

I was just sleeved with dr Garcia a few days ago. I used Ready4Achange as my coordinators and am very pleased with the service I've received so far.
As for follow-up, I'll have to report on that later, once I'm home and recouping, but so far they've gone above the call of duty. I have no reason to expect nothing less on the follow-up.

Wow only two??? Thats good to hear hope I only have to have two as well or he can go over my old ones.. I love the details I think thats what a lot of us need to hear. I am excited about the revision the band just has not been a friend at all. I understand working your tool but it was stuborn...lol...Thanks again for all the detailed information it really does come across well and makes me a little more anxious to get the show on the road 27 days and I will be on my way!

I was told they just began using the staples...before they were using dissolvables and/or dermabond.
They take the staples out at the 2nd day--easy, painless, with a thin tan tape that stays on for AT LEAST 5 days, then we can peel off the tape.
Im on day 3, and my incisions (I have 2 and a drain spot) appear healed. They aren't swollen, no oozing so far, no pain. I was even able to sleep on my side last night(yay!).

Mine are all thin and recovering well. My bmi was 36, just weighed in and lost 13 pounds since surgery (Friday) . Am incredibly happy. I'm also tall, (5'11) but carry most of my weight on my arms,
Belly and back. Kind of tank like
Isn't is fantastic to be done ? I'm excited for the next chapter. Back to work tomorrow though , this is less exciting ..

I'm now day 3 post sleeve (dr. Kelly). First 12 hours were hell, puking and dry heaving every 10 minutes. Day 2 and today I feel great. No hunger, no pain and just chilling in the hotel. Let the weight loss begin !

Oooh I'll add you guys on MFP too when I start up, hopefully you won't shun me for being a filthy november sleever

Ok, its a done deal...im sleeved.
Im not gonna sugarcoat it--there were some times of discomfort that are NOT fun at all, but I feel soooo much better than I did yesterday.
Both leak tests were good--no leaks here.
I am feeling some left shoulder twinges and drinking is a very slow and steady process!
Just me here at the hospital...chilling and catching up on some Jersey Shore (either that or a Latin channel) ...
Im really looking forward to getting back to the Marriott ...nice big comfy bed, big TV....oh yeah!!

Ok, its a done deal...im sleeved.
Im not gonna sugarcoat it--there were some times of discomfort that are NOT fun at all, but I feel soooo much better than I did yesterday.
Both leak tests were good--no leaks here.
I am feeling some left shoulder twinges and drinking is a very slow and steady process!
Just me here at the hospital...chilling and catching up on some Jersey Shore (either that or a Latin channel) ...
Im really looking forward to getting back to the Marriott ...nice big comfy bed, big TV....oh yeah!!

I seriously tried EVERYTHING, I tried to fly to Chicago, I said I'd take any flight to Los Angeles, to San Francisco, to Las Vegas... anywhere that I could at least get closer, and ALL the flights were full with about 20 people on the waiting list. Newark was not fun today, every single flight was totally full. The counter agent there tried to route me anywhere she could think of, chicago, atlanta, dallas, she even looked on other airlines, there was absolutely nothing available. She could have put me on standby for the next flight to San Diego but it was full and I wasn't the first person on the standby list, so that was a very small chance. (That flight did end up leaving at 3:30pm, the flight after at 5pm was also cancelled).
I've spent the afternoon on hold, on hold 1.5 hours to speak to United, did get the flight refunded (WHOLE flight, woo). I did manage to book a new flight Nov 7th to 12th, very thankful to Dr Ponce who had NO availability those days but agreed to squeeze me in anyways! So this trip is 2 days longer than the one I was supposed to do this week, instead of having surgery on the same day I arrive I'll be having it the next day, so that will help, I'll be able to drink Water on the flight. And I'll have an extra day before I return, so I'll book a hotel in San Diego the night before my flight, so in the end I think it'll work out!

Jessieboo and carolinagurl, I hope you guys had easy surgeries and you'll be on the mend very soon!
Hey guys, I had to repost the list so it would be on a more recent page...
How are all the newly sleeved doing??
Any issues? Everyone okay going back to work??
Oct 5
kiki74, Dr Garcia, TJ
Oct 6
CCCross, Dr Kelly, TJ
Oct 7
weezer, Dr Ponce
Oct 8
auggie Dr Ortiz, TJ
Lilly'sjourney, Dr Garcia, TJ
sherri297, Dr Lopez and Osuna, TJ
shamr0ck, Dr Ortiz, TJ
Oct 9
sacharliem, Dr Garcia, TJ
Oct 10
ready2bskinny, Dr Garcia, TJ
Carpediem2012, Dr Lopez, TJ
Oct 11
gottaloozit, Dr Aceves, Mexicali
Lil'Lo, Dr Alvarez, MX
Oct 13
mango926, Dr Aceves, Mexicali
Oct 15
mybabysansan, Dr Garcia, TJ
chelbroyer, Dr Garcia, TJ
Oct 18
hippychic, Dr Ponce, TJ
Oct 19
Mexico, Dr Garcia, TJ
Oct 20
buffygirl, Dr Lopez, Puerta Vallarta
Oct 22
DebinAZ, Dr Ponce, TJ
Oct 23
Free@last518,Dr Almanza, TJ
FindingMyWay, Dr Almanza, TJ (Hotel Ticuan)
Shanti4758, Dr Lopez, TJ
Oct 24
ellusiw1960, Dr Kelly, TJ
Lollyx3, Dr Lopez, TJ
Oct 25
Muffintop, Dr Garcia, TJ
Robbino, Dr Garcia, TJ
this.time.its.4.me, Dr Lopez, TJ
Oct 26
jessieboo, Dr Kelly, TJ
Carolinagurl, Dr Rodriguez, Ciudad Juarez
Oct 27
zenoosh, Dr Garcia, TJ
Oct 28
Hazelsmrf, Dr Ponce, TJ
Oct 30
theNEWME! , Dr Garcia, TJ
yanik, Dr Alvarez, Piedras negras
dhowell64, Dr Almanza,TJ
* Diamondeyed--surgery moved to Feb 2013!

I'm in the process of transferring movies and tv shows to my laptop and ipad! I have 5 movies and the last few weeks worth of shows that I follow so I should be good!

Good luck zenoosh !! My surgery is in a few hours.... Can't wait !