Armywife29

The hospital provided a spirometer for me right away. dr. velasco will bring it to you before surgery.

I didn't need to do much at the hospital because the nurses did a great job on wound care. The morning after surgery they will ask you to take a shower. I brought two bars of dial antibacterial soap with me (one for hospital and one for other afterwards). You will get in the shower with all your bandages on and take off the incision ones while you are in there. You leave you drain wound covered the whole time you are in the shower. They want you to use soap and Water to clean your incision sites while in the shower. Once out you just let the nurse know and she will come in and take care of cleaning them with antiseptic and rebandaging. She will also take off the drain bandage and change it at that time. You want to keep your drain site covered in the shower until it is all closed (7 days out and mine is still covered in the shower....but probably only for another day). After my shower I take off the bandage and let it air dry then apply antiseptic and neosporin and re cover. My incision sites have been uncovered since Dr. Luna took my staples out at the hotel. Hope this helps!

Sorry it took me so long to get back to you! I wasn't made aware of an 800# at the Marriott. But you could definitely ask at the desk. We used FaceTime the entire time to communicate through the Wifi and it worked great. We also used the phone at the hospital.

Just wanted to give everyone a quick update! We are in San Diego awaiting our flight hme now (flying first class! Yippee!). My recovery has gone SO smoothly! I feel very blessed to have had such an easy time of. I'm not sure if it's because I have had two previous abdominal surgeries or not (appendectomy and c-section) but I seem to have rebounded pretty quickly. My drain site is almost all the way healed! They said it could take two weeks, but looks like it will only be about 6-7 days for me. I credit my very careful wound care once released from the hospital for this! I brought neosporin, a small bottle of antiseptic spray, and the extra large antibiotic band aids. I cleaned my wounds each day with dial antibacterial soap in the shower and then let them air dry. I kept my drain site covered in the shower because you don't want any Water eating in there and then uncovered immediately after getting out. Once the sites were dry I treated with neosporin and the spray. I also made sure to bring a small bottle of hand sanitizer. If nothing else PLEASE pack these items! They are very small, but can make a world of difference. Wound infection is Dr. garcias most common complication. They send you to the hotel with gauze and tape which is helpful, but no cleaning stuff. As far as packing list, I packed VERY light...but still felt I overpacked. The items I used and brought were: Clean underwear for each day 2 lounge sets (the loose pants and zip up jacket style) with clean tank top to wear underneath each day One pair pajama pants, 2 pajama tops Tennis shoes Flip flops Slippers Gas X strips Hygiene items (you don't meet much unless you are particular, they provide shampoo and conditioner at both hotel and hospital). Definitely bring deodorant! The stuff at the hotel is all bath and body works! iPad and charger (FaceTime worked great, no need for cell phone really!) 3 soft bras, two sport style and one sleep bra Small bag of makeup...just used foundation and mascara most days. Ponytail holders! I didn't "do" my hair at all while I was there And the wound care items I mentioned earlier Also my PCP prescribed Nexium and that stuff has been a god send! Light cotton robe (a must for the hospital!) I wish I had brought a couple packets of crystal light (but only like 2 because you really won't be able to drink much at all) I also brought a larger 24 oz tervis cup which I used a lot for sipping, the kind with travel lid. Hope this helps! This really was all I needed and used. I only wore the hospital gown, robe and slippers while I was at MiDoctor.

Good luck LuLu! And man Dr. Luna is SO good looking, OMG! He just left my hotel room after taking out my staples...I'm feeling awesome today. Went to Walmart, and doing well with fluids. Wishing you a speedy recovery!

You're not coming to the Marriott right? Aren't you doing same day surgery?

Yes, my mom is in the hospital room with me. She has her own bed, and has had no problems at all sleeping. I do recommend ear plugs and a sleeping mask if you are a light sleeper. The hospital isn't noisy, but the traffic outside in the morning is, lots of honking horns and such. There is a window above the room door which lets in a good bit of light, I had no trouble sleeping but I can see how it would bother someone who likes it very dark to sleep.

She has been having some AMAZING meals at the cafe downstairs in the hospital. Yesterday she had a grilled chicken sandwich, potato salad, chips and a soda for $8.75. This morning she had scrambled eggs, ham, has browns, coffee and orange juice. And this evening she got stir fry chicken and vegetables over rice and a side salad. She said it was delicious, and she is a picky eater!

This might sound gross but I have a photo of my removed stomach that Dr. Garcia took for me...if anyone is interested PM me you email address and I will forward it to you . It's not really disgusting...more shocking really!

So here are some more details...and I had to laugh at loud at all my typos in the first post, haha! I forgot to add that last night they brought me some sleeping medicine by request, I think you have to ask for it, they don't just bring it. It knocked me out...but it also gave me my first experience of the foamies. I guess I had to learn what a sip really is...when people say sip they literally mean like a tiny baby kitten. Was didn't vomit, but sure felt like I could. I had the same experience when I brushed my teeth this morning, even tough I didn't swallow anything. Started foaming really badly and then got some strong hiccups. I did the upper GI earlier this morning which wasn't bad at all. You drink this clear sweet stuff. Don't be worried about it. If you can't finish the whole cup that's okay! Came back upstairs and have been doing laps in the wing ever 90 minutes. Come back to my rom and do breathing exercise and then take a nap . Quite the life, haha! They gave me ice chips around 1:30 which felt so Good on my dry tounge. And the heparin shot, which you barely feel, the needle is very tiny! They also give you levaquin through your IV to stave off any chance of infection. A few minutes ago they brought me three medicine cups of liquid (yeah!). One blue Gatorade, one iced tea, and one apple juice. I've only made it through about half of the Gatorade and I feel full. The nurse says that good, and just take my time with them. At this rate I will probably drink them all night! I really can't say enough about how pleased I am with the care here. Everyone is SO nice. And if you need anything they come right in. I will be honest though, I am very friendly and polite too, so that might be helping as well. There hasn't been too much of a language barrier so far with any of the nurses, although some do speak much better English that others (my day nurse and I just finished a lengthy chat about our love of the show Glee if that gives you any indication ) My mom was also telling my dad how impressed she is with the care...she was very nervous initially. Speaking of phone calls...ach nurse station has a phone you can use anytime to make international calls. There is also an 800 number for the hospital that your friends and family can call and will be transferred to your room. Wifi is working great and I have been face timing multiple times a day with my husband and son back home. I'll be doing the blue dye test at 6 pm tonight and then drain comes out shortly there after. I will continue adding details as time goes on! Glad this helping everyone. Also user MikeRoss is here with me and he is doing great! He is on the 4th floor and I am n the 3rd, but they took me upstairs to check n m since he is traveling alone. He said "this whole surgery wasn't nearly as bad as he expected" and he to is very pleased with his care so far.

Is en route to San Diego! I cannot believe this is actually happening! Had to be up at 0330 EST for our 5am flight. My mom is with me since TJ is restricted for military personnel right now, but that's okay. Looking forward to meetin my sleeve brother MikeRoss when we get picked up by Samuel at the airport! Will keep everyone updated as I am able . Send me lots of good healing dust for post op!

You just pay for items that you use out of the fridge, 2 bottles of Water a day are free and sodas are $2. So not terrible...the alcohol is pricey, but we don't drink . When I get released from the hospital we are going to go to Walmart to get stuff so it will be cheaper. I plan on picking up a few extra gatorades and my mom will get Snacks and drinks. We could have walked there today...but we were EXHAUSTED and practically collapsed in the hotel beds for 3 hour naps.

I checked in this morning and so far so good. I did have to pay an extra $8 for WiFi log on for my mom, the included code you get is only good for one iPad/computer to log on. It wasn't a big deal for me, but can see how the misrepresentation of "wifi included" would definitely annoy others. The room service has been very attentive, we had them stock the in room refrigerator with waters and soda (for my mom). Haven't tried the Popsicles since Rosie told me not to have one tonight, I will definitely be trying some post op though! The broth downstairs was pretty good too. Guess we will see how things go when it is time to check out . Checking in to the hospital tomorrow! The hotel is very nice though, incredibly clean and the beds are very comfortable! The bathroom is super nice

Hey Kari! You posted in a great place . This particular thread is all of he people who have gone or are going to MiDoctor Hospital this year. You may want to use he "search" feature at the top of this page and also at ObesityHelp.com to search for Dr. Almanza. Select "forums" for search location and you should pull up lots of info. I chose Dr. Garcia because of his incredibly low complication rates (much lower than my even my local. Surgeon). I admittedly had a very had time choosing between him, Dr. Aceves and Dr. G Alvarez, who are all VERY good. The only info I can offer on Dr. Almanza is that the original coordinating company I was using (Successfully Slimmer) said that they were no longer using him/recommending him because he is trying to do too many surgeries per day (5+) and that is 7 days a week. However, I know there are also a lot of positive stories about him as well. Just DO YOUR RESEARCH. This is crucial when planning ANY surgery either domestic or abroad. You can check back here around 1/23 for my own personal account which I fully intend on posting . Hope this helps!

Great news JoJo! Glad all is well! I'm right behind you...starting my pre-op diet next Wednesday

Lulu we should totally try and link up at the hotel when you arrive on the 24th! I will still be at the Marriott on the 25th too

Thanks Kim! I really appreciate your feedback and reassurance! Do you mind telling me who your coordinator company was? Was your experience with them also good?

I'm doing an extra night in San Diego before flying home too. I'm an east coaster and had a VERY hard time finding flights that didn't leave until after 11am, so my mom and I decided to take our time and just fly back the following morning. We are staying at the Hampton Inn and using Ready 4 A Change's corporate ID for a special rate there is a free shuttle to the airport for us the morning!

I'm going to MiDoctor. I am SO excited! Just a little backstory (I am mainly on the ObesityHelp VSG forum) but I am a military dependent on Tricare Prime and was accepted and completed the entire bariatric pathway...went in for my surgeon consult and was told by the guy that I wasnt sick enough for surgery (BMI of 38, pre diabetic, hypertension-not medicated yet, extremely high cholesterol). It was devastating, so I told him I wasn't going to wait around to get "sick enough.". And here I am . I feel 150% confident in my decision and honestly believe that I will have a better surgery and hospital experience than I would have at the military treatment facility. The surgeon I met had only done about 100 sleeves and uses a larger size boughie too.

I'm on January 22 with Dr. Garcia in TJ

Has anyone used the company to schedule their surgery? Christi has been VERY attentive in responding to my initial email inquiry about possible scheduling surgery through them with Dr. Fernando Garcia. So far I am strongly leaning towards using them but was hoping to find someone who had used them before. Through reading threads on this forum I do know there was at leat one person who did, which is what had the, contacting them in the first place. Any thoughts? Thanks n advance for your help!