Well I am finally post-op! I opted for Dr Almanza in Tijuana Mexico. Was picked up with about 6 other patients at San Diego airport and driven to the hospital which is in a strip mall. It was relatively small but very clean. They had us register (passports, green cards etc.) then did our blood work. The nurse (Lupita) was pretty darn good. I have never in all of my annual exams had blood drawn at the first try and certainly not after having zero liquids in 12 hours. Lupita got it in a single shot; needless to say to was impressed. I was anticipating a minimum of 3-4 tries.

We then went through an intake process; personal history (illnesses, alcohol and drug usage; family history, pregnancies etc.). We were then prepped (i.e. got into hospital gowns, got IV drips attached for hydration and then waited). The cardiologist Dr. Diego came by and did his tests to ensure no redflags with the heart. Dr. Almanza dropped by to introduce himself and took a pre-op pic with me. They operate in order of BMI, with the lowest going first. I was 4th, which meant I waited for approximately 4-5 hours; however I was comfortable and slept for a good portion of it.

They came by to get me and all I can remember is getting on the table, stretching my arms out and then the next thing I know I was being taken into my room. The night nurse was kind, came by with little bowls to spit up into thanks to the nausea; rubbed our backs (I had a roommate) when we had too much gas pain and kept up the meds for pain, antibiotics and nausea.

I spent most of the night making trips to the bathroom - too hydrated - which given the intake restriction post op isn't a bad idea. The next morning, we received medicine packs to take home with us. Naproxen, Cipro, Maalox and antibacterial spray for the incision sites.

The issue at this point was gas!! It hurt my chest and the center of my back. There was little pain related to the incisions except when getting up or switching positions. I can tolerate popsicles, but drinking liquids no matter how slowly just hurts going down. We did our leakage test yesterday and had to drink some of the most vile tasting liquids to ever cross my lips!! But thankfully no leaks. I opted to come back stateside once the drainage tube was removed (ouch!) and good decision because it took 3.5hrs to get back into the US vs the 30 minutes it took to get into Mexico. I fly back to the East Coast today. My only concern now is getting enough liquids and Protein in.

The hospital, doctors, and nurses were competent and kind and I'm so far glad I did this.

Will you be following up with any doctors in the states? I've heard lots of people going to Mexico and being very happy they went there for the surgery. Best of luck to you on your new journey!

Welcome to the loser's bench! It sounds like you had a good experience. You know the drill, walk, walk, walk, sip, sip, sip. Rinse and repeat!

CONGRATS! You are having a happy journey and I'm so happy for you. Now, let's get to Rocking that Sleeve!

Thx guys! @Atkinsoncl: I am going to look up a bariatric doctor once I get home. I gather they are not too elated about taking on patients who've gone to other countries but I hope to find a kind enough one.

Sipping hurts...it seems to create gas regardless of how slowly I do it

Congratulations and thank you so much for giving us the details!!

Question: "They operate in order of BMI, with the lowest going first." I've been wondering whether they weigh and take your height to calculate BMI during the intake? I've lost a bit of weight and turns out when I measured, I'm actually an inch taller than I said in my booking form, so my BMI is a bit lower than it would originally have appeared

HI!!! Hope you got my text the other night! I am so excited for you! Try your hardest to sip....try room temperature....I tried ice cold and no luck. I finally found that warm decaf tea works for me right now....after like 2 weeks of trying everything under the sun. Once I have the warm decaf tea in the morning, it seems like everything else goes down a little better! Be careful coming back to the East; take your time....

Time2Lose "I spent most of the night making trips to the bathroom - too hydrated - which given the intake restriction post op isn't a bad idea. The next morning, we received medicine packs to take home with us. Naproxen, Cipro, Maalox and antibacterial spray for the incision sites."

Naproxen???

I didn't think they wanted us to take NSAIDs because of the possibly of ulcers, but I guess all doctors are different and I know it helps with the swelling.

2BThinAlways: they do not take your height and weight a second time unfortunately; they go based on your intake form.

Jaime: I just sent you a text a few minutes ago. The flight back was soooo long, ugh! I was able to sip on some hot Water though. I've discovered swallow and quick breathing helps with that choking/chest pain. I am taking today off just to have a day back to get use to things before getting back to work.

Ref meds: it's actually called Novaxen (Naproxeno). Funny thing is I have not needed pain meds since my final injection at the recovery house around noon on Saturday. The pain I feel from gas is way more than the incision sites...but then I have extremely painful periods so this is a walk in the park.

Good luck today Liberated. Please keep us posted!

Ok, I have a sore throat and a horrid cough that is becoming quite annoying. I cough up phlegm and it's all just becoming to bit much. I am sucking on some Sugarfee Halls but the cough is not going away

I was just thinking about you today and wondering how you were doing! I am sorry you are not feeling well. I hope you start feeling better soon! I am still struggling with liquids and protein 3 weeks out...just hoping and praying it gets better, because my spirits are starting to take a beating

Oh...sorry to hear I still can't handle cold ones, so I go hot. Just got a Venti Skinny coffee Drink from Starbucks for "dinner". It goes down well if I sip sip sip, but every now and then I forget and gulp and then it feels like my chest is about to explode! I popped out to CVS and got some Delsum 12-hour, so the coughing is minimal now. Have you tried anything soft? I can manage Fage 0% Fat Greek Yogurt just fine; it has 18g of Protein, I mix in some vanilla essence and Splenda and it's pretty good.

I hope you start tolerating your liquids soon #Hugs

Throat Coat tea by Traditional Medicinals is great for a sore throat. Get well soon!

Thanks jswilbur! Of course when it rains it pours, in the past two hours I have being sneezing my head off! I am thinking allergies since it was like 70 degrees today and the flowers probably don't know what to do with themselves! Contemplating taking allergy meds now, because I feel like I may sneeze my stitches out! SMH!