In Mexicali!

[Lynn Byard 0]

Thanks Lynn, for sharing this with us. I feel so bad for Renee but am glad she had you there with her!!

You could not be more right about Drs. Aceves and Campos. Just outstanding. Was that Dr. Campos that helped her after her fall?

How long was she off of her meds? I just wondered why she couldn't take them after surgery? Or are the kind you cannot crush/dissolve? Maybe a liquid version? So sorry she had the withdrawal symptoms.

Disney, yes it was Dr. Campos that was there and got down on the floor with her. She took the last Lyrica and Effexor the morning of surgery. The last Loritab the night before. Because she could not have any ice chips or Water the day of surgery it was the following morning before we were able to put the Lyrica and Effexor into juice to dissolve them so she could sip them down. She did not get any of the Loritab until we got her home. We didn't think about giving her the Loritab because she was getting pain meds in the hospital. We didn't realize that Mexico does not use narcotics like they do in the US. Dr. Aceves and Campos tried to explain it to us, but I am still confused about it. So she had gone 3 1/2 days without it. That was where the problem was as she was actually going through the withdrawal symptoms.

[ybnormal 21]

On a lighter note, I was dubbed the "crash test dummy" LOL I crash tested the sleeve and even after a header off the bed the staple line held! WOOT!

Renee`

[meggiep 57]

Sorry, I see it a bit differently. Wile this account in a sense makes Renee the problem I believe there was a problem way before her surgery in the doctor's practice.

I understand that you are adamant that Dr. Aceves and his staff give the highest standard of health care and I believe you! I totally am supportive of those who go to Mexico for surgery and as my sister lives near San Dego and routinely goes to Tijuana for healthcare and dentistry I harbor no American superiority ideas that there is anything deficient there. However I feel that in this situation it failed to support Renee in her needs and I wonder if the way it is routinely done is not the culprit.

Renee's medications should have been part of a routine pre-surgery discovery. Listing the medication you are on is standard here and most certainly her use of lortab should have been documented and totally dealt with in terms of her post surgery pain management. People with fibromyalgia often take opioids for pain, that is well known. That she might need more pain management than someone who does not should not have been a shocking surprise requiring a sudden summons of a doctor. I had the same medication I take for my fibro as well as my debilitating nerve back pain and knee pain in my IV in the same amount as I take daily and had only to push a button to have more flow in- why on earth was withdrawal even an issue? Renee should have had all her medications known before she arrived and dealt with in Mexico. Withdrawal should NOT have happened for her. ALL my medications (thyroid, lexapro) were crushed and given to me on schedule. My pain for the surgery was managed skillfully and fluidly and I had no gap without. The effexor and lyrica can have a days gap, the lortab most certainly should not.

I always have wondered about the pre-op differences between the U.S. and Mexico as so many of us here go through so many preop hurdles and have so many different aspects of our health examined. Yet I also know that much of what is done occurs because of the ever present fear of lawsuits so I could ascribe many of the differences to the fact that whole sue happy thing does not exist in Mexico. However I think not taking her full medical history as far as her medications, and the gap in her healthcare that happened accordingly in this instance shows what is for me a serious lacking in one aspect of the Mexican surgery experience. I would hope in the future perhaps this is something Dr. Aceves might think about changing.

[Lynn Byard 0]

Sorry, I see it a bit differently. Wile this account in a sense makes Renee the problem I believe there was a problem way before her surgery in the doctor's practice.

I understand that you are adamant that Dr. Aceves and his staff give the highest standard of health care and I believe you! I totally am supportive of those who go to Mexico for surgery and as my sister lives near San Dego and routinely goes to Tijuana for healthcare and dentistry I harbor no American superiority ideas that there is anything deficient there. However I feel that in this situation it failed to support Renee in her needs and I wonder if the way it is routinely done is not the culprit.

Renee's medications should have been part of a routine pre-surgery discovery. Listing the medication you are on is standard here and most certainly her use of lortab should have been documented and totally dealt with in terms of her post surgery pain management. People with fibromyalgia often take opioids for pain, that is well known. That she might need more pain management than someone who does not should not have been a shocking surprise requiring a sudden summons of a doctor. I had the same medication I take for my fibro as well as my debilitating nerve back pain and knee pain in my IV in the same amount as I take daily and had only to push a button to have more flow in- why on earth was withdrawal even an issue? Renee should have had all her medications known before she arrived and dealt with in Mexico. Withdrawal should NOT have happened for her. ALL my medications (thyroid, lexapro) were crushed and given to me on schedule. My pain for the surgery was managed skillfully and fluidly and I had no gap without. The effexor and lyrica can have a days gap, the lortab most certainly should not.

I always have wondered about the pre-op differences between the U.S. and Mexico as so many of us here go through so many preop hurdles and have so many different aspects of our health examined. Yet I also know that much of what is done occurs because of the ever present fear of lawsuits so I could ascribe many of the differences to the fact that whole sue happy thing does not exist in Mexico. However I think not taking her full medical history as far as her medications, and the gap in her healthcare that happened accordingly in this instance shows what is for me a serious lacking in one aspect of the Mexican surgery experience. I would hope in the future perhaps this is something Dr. Aceves might think about changing.

Meggie,

By no means did I mean to infer that this was Renee's fault/problem. Nor did I mean to infer that US hospitals were superior. In fact, the hospital in Mexicali was far superior in cleanliness, etc. than any hospital I have ever been admitted to, and that includes US, European and Asian hospitals. Renee's medications were fully disclosed prior to her surgery, as was her full medical history. I am truly not faulting anyone. I just wanted to describe what happened in case someone else with fibromyalgia undergoes this surgery. I appreciate you comments! :-)

[meggiep 57]

Oh I did not mean you at all Lynn! I wated to be clear that MY feelings were not based on that AMerican superiority I sometimes see.

However, I think the system there failed her.

If her full history was known why on earth would she be sent into withdrawal? That seems absolutely wrong.

Edited to add it essentially seemed as if her possible dependence on pain medication was the problem rather than the fact her care did not take that into account. She suffered because of that and I am really upset about that.

[Lynn Byard 0]

Oh I did not mean you at all Lynn! I wated to be clear that MY feelings were not based on that AMerican superiority I sometimes see.

However, I think the system there failed her.

If her full history was known why on earth would she be sent into withdrawal? That seems absolutely wrong.

Edited to add it essentially seemed as if her possible dependence on pain medication was the problem rather than the fact her care did not take that into account. She suffered because of that and I am really upset about that.

Because we were focused on how the surgery would affect the fibro and whether or not she would come out of it in a full blown flare, it really hit us hard coming out of left field realizing that the issue was her pain levels were not adequately controlled because she had such a high tolerance to pain medications. It never even crossed our minds that she would go into withdrawals because we assured beforehand that pain management would not be a problem.

[swizzly 901]

I don't take any pain meds at all, pre-op or post-op (they only gave me non-narcotics like paracetamol), and I also had the nausea and massive dry heaving for nearly three days. It sucked, but it was not related to anything med-related.

[Nancy Rivers 24]

Renee, I'm glad you are home and feeling better. I'd like to thank both you and Lynn for sharing the your experience. Thankfully, I don't have the same conditions that Renee has, but I do know that I don't react to medications the same way that many others do and this reminds me that I need to tell that to my surgeon. So, thank you again.

[ybnormal 21]

Nancy, YES! Make sure they know how medications react with you. INSIST on a one on one meeting about the medications you're on now and demand to know how your pain will be dealt with once you wake up. What medications do they use to control pain, etc. Seriously, it matters a great deal. I was by no means the only one in pain and vomiting during the night.

Also, I was so out of it from the anesthesia that I couldn't communicate how much pain I was in. I also noticed when I got home that my paperwork said I weighed in at 250 when I got there. This isn't true. I was 287 on that day and I think 281 2 days later. How much more pain meds would I have received had they gotten my weight right? I don't know, I just know this is something I wish I'd known the truth about.

When Lynn told Dr. Aceves "I thought Renee was going to have an epidural?" he looked at her like she was bonkers and said he doesn't know why she thought that because it's not something he routinely does. Well, she thought that because this is what we were told lol

At any rate, ask those questions! Hope this helps you

XOXO Renee`

[ybnormal 21]

I don't take any pain meds at all, pre-op or post-op (they only gave me non-narcotics like paracetamol), and I also had the nausea and massive dry heaving for nearly three days. It sucked, but it was not related to anything med-related.

Dee I applaud you for your bravery and high pain tolerance. For me it wasn't enough and it was excruciating. The pain was the worst, but going through withdrawls on top of it was no picnic! lol

I'm absolutely not trying to sound like one of those women "my childbirth was harder than yours!" for the record, LOL this was just my experience

XOXO Renee`

[sarsar 824]

Renee`, thank you for your kind words. I believe any friend would have done the same thing. I felt so bad for you. I do have to say, though, that it was amazing to watch how your turned around pretty quickly once you were able to relax, breathe and get those liquids and then your meds inside of you! I think we were all relieved when you started feeling better, not great, but better!

I wanted to give a shout out to Lynn, too. She is such a neat person. Not only is her love and devotion to Renee` obvious but she is a true friend to all she meets. She was there for all of us with her words of advice from her experiences. It was nice to have someone right there who could answer our questions and share what she has learned along the way.

I am happy this is experience was posted. We all need to hear all sides of what happened especially, when deciding where to have this surgery. It is good to talk about both sides of this. When people are going to Mexico to have surgery they need to keep these things in mind, especially when they have health conditions before hand. There is not a doubt in my mind (I assume Renee` and Lynn feel the same way), that both Dr. Aceves and Dr. Campost will keep their eye out and maybe change the way they do things if they see another patient like this coming their way. I strongly believe this from the things that Dr. Campost talked with me about when I questioned him about the differences between hospitals and doctors in the US and in MX. He and I spent a lot of time talking about things because I had never been out of the country before and had so many questions about Mexico. He is a very humble man and has the best interest of his patients and will do whatever needs to be done and change whatever needs to be changed to give the best care possible!

All of these things need to be taken into consideration if you are deciding to leave the country to have surgery! Things are different in other countries and it needs to be talked about!

[ybnormal 21]

Actually Sarah, I adore Dr. Campos and I wonder if he will ever branch out on his own. He truly does care about his patients and came speeding to the hospital when Lynn insisted the nurse call him. Dr. Aceves does not believe in Fibromyalgia or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. I feel this is important to tell because this is one area where they are a bit behind the times. There are still doctors in America that feel the same way, but for the vast majority they are learning from the new research and information coming in and recognizing that it IS REAL. Dr. Aceves came to my room to have a talk with me about my fibro and let me know at that time, this was after the surgery, that he doesn't believe in it and that it's all in ones head "If you don't wake up with some pain, you are not alive" were his words.

He is a wonderful surgeon, please don't get me wrong, but these words weighed heavily on my shoulders.

XOXO Renee`

[sarsar 824]

Renee` I am glad you wrote that, I know you told me that but I didn't want to be the one to put it on here if you weren't comfortable with it. This is where I think there is a difference in Dr. Aceves as the surgeon and Dr. Campos as the doctor who spent most of the time taking care of us! I love them both and even though Dr. Aceves may not believe in a fibro diagnosis I do believe that he will keep these things in mind! It is sadly true that I have heard of many doctors here who feel the same way!

[swizzly 901]

Dee I applaud you for your bravery and high pain tolerance. For me it wasn't enough and it was excruciating. The pain was the worst, but going through withdrawls on top of it was no picnic! lol

I'm absolutely not trying to sound like one of those women "my childbirth was harder than yours!" for the record, LOL this was just my experience

XOXO Renee`

Oh believe me, hun, I WOULD have taken them if they would have given them to me, they just told me I "didn't need them." Riiiiiiggghhht. I am the biggest wimp EVER, trust me.

ETA: Ah, I just realised I have a major typo in my original post -- should be "I DIDN'T take any pain meds," not "I DON'T take any". LOL. Huge difference.

[Lynn Byard 0]

Oh believe me, hun, I WOULD have taken them if they would have given them to me, they just told me I "didn't need them." Riiiiiiggghhht. I am the biggest wimp EVER, trust me.

ETA: Ah, I just realised I have a major typo in my original post -- should be "I DIDN'T take any pain meds," not "I DON'T take any". LOL. Huge difference.

I'd like to whack whoever said "you didn't need them." Have THEY had the surgery? Did THEY morph inside your body to determine that you weren't in enough pain to justify pain meds? This really aggravates me. I can't imagine having gone through your surgery or mine and not have anything to relieve the pain. Sheesh!