Hello Everyone!

I had plication surgery this past Friday, in Juarez, Mx, with Dr. Rodriguez. I wanted to post as soon as I was out of surgery but, Lord knows on this day five post surgery, I can barely muster up the strength to post now. For those interested or considering going to Mexico, I would like to outline my experience in this topic. I want to give the kind of info I was looking for before going to Mexico:

THE TRIP:

I had extreme reservations about traveling to Mexico by myself. Most people I asked said I should be fine alone and only a couple said take someone with you. I also was worried about transport to and from El Paso into Mexico. Well, the driver called me on my cell just as we were landing to tell me he was outside baggage claim. He told me what he was wearing and everything. It was a 35 minute trip across the border to the hospital with no problems at the border patrol. The van was older and needed shocks because I felt every bump in the road. No problem with this going to the hospital but sure didnt appreciate it coming back after surgery. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND TAKING SOMEONE WITH YOU IF FOR NO OTHER REASON YOU WILL HAVE THE SUPPORT OF SOMEONE TO HOLD YOUR HAND,RUB YOUR BACK, PRAY WITH YOU, COMFORT YOU, HELP YOU WITH YOUR BAG (even a bag on wheels is too much to deal with coming back)AND JUST SPEAK ENGLISH TO YOU.. TAKE SOMEONE..THE HOSPITAL HAS ACCOMODATIONS IN YOUR ROOM FOR A GUEST. Oh, I felt very safe with the travel and my hosptial stay.

THE HOSPITAL:

Star Medical hospital was absolutely gorgeous; very modern, neat and VERY CLEAN. Most of the nurses were male nurses.. Though their English wasnt perfect, they certainly were able to understand me and communicate with me. For some reason the day time nurses seemed more accomodating then night nurses. The night nurses seemed like they were bothered if i rang for them. For the most part, I give the nurses an 7.5 out of 10.

THE DOCTORS:

Dr. Calderon met me in admitting. In fact, he did most of the paperwork with me... He was always accessible and explained everything and answered all my questions. He has a warm and sincere spirit. He came to my room to check on me..I saw him when I was walking the halls.. he met me in Xray.. man he was everywhere I was. Dr. Solis, the anesthesiologist, was not only beautiful, but she spoke great English, answered all my questions and asked me several questions.. I felt at ease with her. I was able to barely say my prayer before I was out like a light. Dr. Rodriguez was very personable .. came to my room before surgery, spoke with me and answered all my questions. He made me tell him the kind of surgery I was getting because he didnt want me to be confused about anything. He was a great doc.. Only saw him that one time prior to surgery though. The docs get a 9 out of 10 in my book.

THE MEDICINE:

i dont care what anyone says.. the medicine in Mexico is NOT THE SAME AS IN THE USA. Any pain meds they gave me did not ease pain. The medicine for nausea did not ease the nausea and the meds for gas were and absolute joke. The sent me home with something for reflux that was supposed to be similar to Prilosec...yeah right... took it 3 times and had to send for some Previcid which gave almost immediate relief. They sent me home with a couple boxes of "pain medicine" which i put straight in the trash can. Thank God for my hypocondriac (sp?) family members that had plenty of Darvocet for me. The meds in Mexico I rate a 0 out of 10.

THE GAS:

I dont know wth kinda of gas or CO2 comes out of Mexico but I have never, and I mean NEVER, in my life experienced anything like it.. Gas everywhere in my body! all over my back, my shoulders, under my breast.. Man. I really thought I was gonna die the first 12 hours after suregery! AND I AM NO STRAGER TO PAIN..HAD THREE BABIES, NATURAL WITH NOTHING... I could not get any relief from the meds they gave me, from walking nothing.,, Oh and that GAS X save your money.. This "mexican gas" laughs at Gas X and does the Marcarena in your body while it is laughing at you and those strips. Day two was not much better.. I could not get comfortable for nothing and even though I was so weak, I forced myself to walk but nothing..aboslutely nothing as far as relief.. this is day 5 and I still have severe gas pain right now, as Im typing. Honestly, this gas pain had me to the point that I regretted surgery.. THATS HOW BAD THE GAS IS!

If you cant tolerate excrutiating gas pain, you might want to think twice about surgery, or at least surgery in Mexico, maybe it is better in the US. I dont know.. I fear NOTHING IN THIS LIFE DUE TO MY SPIRITUALITY. But even the thought of the gas pains I experienced while in Mexico brings shivers to my body.. I DONT EVER WANT TO GO THRU THAT AGAIN!

POST SURGERY:

I have mixed emotions. Though I am close to GOD, this surgery has brought me closer. I swear I have had moments that all I can do is fall on my knees and beg for his mercy to give me relief. The gas, the irritability. the inability to sleep more than 2 hours at a time.. Just second guessing myself and overall misery. Im weak, cant even walk around my house without getting winded. I have a pain in my chest, between my breast , that I assume is gas, but I dont know.. Learning to sip is still new to me.. my throat wants to be quenched so bad but i accidentally gulped a lil bit of Water and had chest pains that made me almost call 911, not to mention I threw up profusely.. Oh didnt mention it THAT THE FIRST TWELVE HOURS AFTER SURGERY, I THREW UP EVERY HOUR.. I have to stay on Clear Liquids until this Friday but my granma has convinced me that I need to start the protien drinks now for energy or the lethargia will continue.. Im trying to do what the doctor said and wait till Friday but something tells me that tomorrow, Thursday, I will be on these shakes. sometimes you have to just use common sense and listen to your body.

WOULD I DO IT AGAIN:

Cant objectively say so right now because I am in too much pain from gas but i will say this: DAY OF SURGERY (five days ago) I WEIGHED 222.4LBS. this morning i weighed 210.0! SO 12.4 LBS GONE IN 5 DAYS MAKES ME WANT TO STOP WHINING ABOUT THE GAS PAIN!

I hope this info helps someone. Like I said.. it is the info I was looking for before my surgery.. I want to report back on Friday which will be 1 week post op. If you are a BELIEVER, PLEASE PRAY FOR ME!

Thanks for listening to me!

Texas Diva

Congrats on your surgery. I hope you are doing well!

Hi there,

I wanted to say good luck on your surgery, and I also had surgery with Dr Rod, its been 5 months since surgery and I have no complaints at all. I have lost 70 pounds and I feels fantastic!

Good luck to you!

I will pray for you for a speedy recovery and safe trip...

Lisa~

Thank you Misti...i am getting so nervous...lol i think i havnt felt this feeling in a long long time. not this exact feeling but the excited jitterz...thanks girl and i will let you know how i do and good job on your weight loss..thats awesome and i hope to have good results as well...i do have a question...do you feel like you have good amounts of energy yet...like to work out or go to the gym maybe Zumba which is my fav...lol

i really do enjoy working out and sweating and feeling better and im hearing alot that people just cant yet.. i thought id ask you being your at 6 weeks

HONESTLY, KERRY..I didnt feel my normal amount of energy until about week 4 post op.. Im a big shopper and I would try to shop on saturdays of weeks 1,2 and 3 and I couldnt.. I would just go back to my car. Thats when it hit me that I had a major surgery and I was still weak. Week 4 all things changed. I was still drinking Protein shakes which gave me loads of energy.. remember to get your rest in. That is really important. I would get winded walking around my house. I had to learn to sit my arse down and let my body heal. But between 21 and 28 days post op, I got my energy back.

We're happy to announce the launch of www.SleevePlicationTalk.com ! A new community for pre or post Gastric Sleeve Plication surgery support