I wanted to share my experience as well , I am recently new here! (Sorry this is long)

I just came back home from my surgery with Dr.Garcia in tijuana, I was also in between those 2 companies , but finally decided to go with Ready 4 A change because of Alma, she is one of the coordinators for that company. I felt safe talking about the process of going into Tijuana for surgery, everything that she explained to me and my expectations were 100% meet.

First day that I arrive to the airport- I received a phone call from Samuel when i was barely getting out of the airplane, He told me that once i was out side he was going to be there in a white van waiting for me, and he did. Immediately after I got in the van I felt safe, all of my worries just went away since he seemed as a very trust able person. ( And he was) He took me to the marriott in tijuana, and went with me to check me into the hotel , and he told me that Rosie(Patient coordinator) was coming to meet me in my room . FYI the marriott was absolutely comfortable! Rosie was there on time and she answered all of my questions and told me at what time i needed to be ready for my surgery next morning. At this time I was surprise by the customer service I was getting . not even back home, so all of my worries went away. I new i had made the right decision for me.

Day of surgery.- I was taken to Mi doctor hospital in the morning by the hotel Shuttle, very professional and clean! I was escorted to the 3rd floor by Melissa ( Patient coordinator) and explained the different paperwork that I needed to fill up to enter the hospital floor. After that she explained what was happening during that day , all of the doctors that were going to be in my room to check on me before surgery and that ease my mind. she stood with me until I had no more questions and i was more relax. I meet with a lot of doctors like melissa told me, dr.velasco, dr.garfia, dr.cabrera and dr.garccia sorry if i mis spelled your names! they were all just great! even the nurses, they all took really good care of me, since I was coming by my self. I meet other patients that were also getting sleeved by Dr.Garcia.

After surgery- I was still nauseated but feeling a lot better that the night before, and like one of the coordinators told me , it only gets better, and it was true. I followed my instructions of walking ALOT and it help with the pain and the nausea. Dr's were there to check me through my stay. and of course i did a lot of sleeping that day.lol

Discharge- Dr.velasco came in the morning to check on me, and discharged me out of the hospital, she went over the diet with me, explained how to take my medicine, and gave me a goody bags as they call it , with my medicine , gatorades and water along with a copy of all of my medical records. Melissa then took my to the 1st floor to wait for our shuttle (me and other patients) and explained to us that anything that we needed to call her or Rosie, and she put her business cards in the bag as well as a phone list of all of the doctors. That ease my mind once again because I felt that I could get in touch with any of them if I needed them. she took a picture of us. and we were taken back to the Marriott.

Marriott- I check in with out any trouble, order my chicken broth ( on the house) and stayed at my room , Rosie called me to check on me and told me she was going to visit me at my room , she got there and we just talked for about an hour about my experience, and how amazed I was with the customer service I was receiving from the company. She left, and Melissa called me later that day to check on me. At no point I felt like they left me all by myself I even needed some medicine for one of my family members back home and they were kind enough to take me to buy it.

Next day- yeiii, Samuel pick me up at the marriott to take me to the airport. I arrived home feeling like I didnt have any surgery.

Overall - I can recommend enough READY 4A CHANGE company to anyone getting it done in Tijuana, it was a fantastic experience! from Alma, to the dr's and coordinators , to Samuel (Transportation). You feel like you are in a family environment.

So sorry if this is too long! but It would probably help those who are nervous like I was.

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' date=' 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 all the syringes of stuff, i would feel a little bit if discomfort in my chest--more like pressure-- then it goes away and the pain meds 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. The last steps were taking out the drain, IV, and staples. Dr Garcias team only just started using the staples on the incisions. Muffintop explained it perfectly 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, they'll be almost invisible. The drain felt a but strange coning out, not painful at all, but I was glad to have it out, ad well as the IV. So i guess i got lucky: i had only one IV since after surgery. My arm and hand was a bit swollen,although i think that's normal considering how many fluids they pump in, but my IV wasn't painful. I have REALLY bad veins, i was SOOOO nervous about that aspect, but once again, their work was impressive from my experience. I know this is really ling, 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. Ill 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 their having surgery and who to go with. :-)[/quote']

 

zenoosh thanks for the detailed post of your experience with Dr Garcia. My date is 11/14 and I'm praying to have a very similar experience. I keep reading your post to help with calming my nerves.....thanks sooooo much

I am glad all is well Zenoosh!

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!).

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!

zenoosh thanks for the detailed post of your experience with Dr Garcia. My date is 11/14 and I'm praying to have a very similar experience. I keep reading your post to help with calming my nerves.....thanks sooooo much

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...:-)

Why do so many people buy Retin A while in Mexico? And is it true that I will lose my hair 3-4 months after surgery!!!!?????

 

Why do so many people buy Retin A while in Mexico? And is it true that I will lose my hair 3-4 months after surgery!!!!?????

 

Because its stronger than the states version and cheaper

Do you need a script for the Retin-A??

Do you need a script for the Retin-A??

 

Not in Mexico.

 

Why do so many people buy Retin A while in Mexico? And is it true that I will lose my hair 3-4 months after surgery!!!!?????

 

Retin-A is expensive here, and you have to get a scrip for it. I mix a tiny dab in with my face lotion. I also have a sunspot that has all but disappeared from using the Retin-A religiously. Some people who use it find that it irritates, dries out , or makes the skin slough off...ive been using it at a very small dose for years, and It's really evened out my skin, and erased a lot of sun damage. Just as a reference: my mom got me a tube 2 years ago, and im not finished with it yet! Some use it full strength all over 1-2x a week for a deep exfoliation...you must wear a sunscreen though..it does slough off the dead skin, but the brand new, pink baby skin underneath is VERY sensitive--especially to the sun. It comes in 2 strengths: .05 and .1 :-) . I love the stuff!

Hair loss: not everyone experiences hair loss, but it is common with WLS. The best way to keep it at a minimum is to make sure you get your recommended protein EVERYDAY and take a Biotin supplement. Biotin is cheap and comes in really teeny tiny little softgel. I started taking it 2 months before surgery, and OMG, my hair has been growing like a friggin weed!! There are several threads on hairloss--you'll find a wealth of info :-)

Why do so many people buy Retin A while in Mexico? And is it true that I will lose my hair 3-4 months after surgery!!!!?????

 

It's a fabulous anti-wrinkle cream. it was originally started as an acne cream/treatment.

 

Most people do lose some of their hair. The time frame can vary with the individual.

 

Awesome! I am an Esthetician, so I know the wonderful power of Retin-A!! Thanks for the tip!!