Hey all, Got a nice little nap in and decided to just type this up and post it. Sorry if its a little long winded

Hey all just wanted to post my sleeve experience. I was sleeved March 11^th with Dr. Garcia at MiDoctor through Ready 4 a Change. I have lost 13lbs in the first week

I know a great deal have had wonderful experiences and mine for the most part was ok, but far from wonderful.

The majority of my issues with the experience were with the coordinators and the nurses on staff at MiDoctor, and well the hospital building itself.

Instead of going into a play by play of things I will just organize things into subjects.

Coordinators:

The coordinators at r4ac started out being wonderful but as surgery day approached and I needed more concrete information it was hard to get. I was told I would receive a call from the driver prior to driving into San Diego, but never did and called him myself (no biggy, BUT when I am told I can expect a call I kind of expect it LOL)

I was under the assumption that the day prior to surgery I was to do the liquid fast because I would be going to the hospital that day for pre op testing (as I have seen many other sleevers do)

Once I made it to the Marriott I was told another coordinator would come to my room to explain things to me. I waited in my room for several hours with nothing, I saw I had a blinking message light on my phone, asked a hotel attendant how to receive messages and was told that messages are not a service the hotel provides. After asking several other hotel staff I figured out I had a message and a folder downstairs for me. The folder had a note about who to contact and when to be picked up and said “no, nothing after 10pm”

I then tried contacting the coordinator to see why I wasn’t doing pre-op testing that day. With no success for a few hours I emailed another coordinator my same question-who’s email response was less then polite and basically said had I read the info packet I was emailed 3 months prior I would have known that pre op testing is ALWAYS done the day of surgery. Well this seemed inconsistent with what I had heard from other sleevers but oh well and while I was in the hospital saw a couple of patients come in the day prior to surgery for testing…. I’m not a big fan of inconsistency so this was irksome.

Anywho, when I read the packet again I saw it said:

You may have nothing to eat or drink after the midnight preceding surgery or 8

hours prior to your surgery. If you are a Same Day Surgery arrive with an empty

stomach. If you are coming in a day prior you may have dinner but nothing after

midnight.

That along with the “no, nothing after 10pm” letter I ordered myself some room service around 4pm.

When I finally did hear from the onsite coordinator that night, she informed me it was her day off and that I wasn’t supposed to eat at all. Oops! A little too late, thanks! Thankfully another VST (lexysdad) was in the hotel and kindly gave me a bottle of magnesium citrate to clear my system. At this point I’m beginning to realize communication between coordinators and I wasn’t very clear and was inconsistent.

Aside from this day I had no issues with the coordinators and contacting them the rest of my stay.

Day of surgery was fine, met the doctors no biggy, nurse got the IV in one try.

A few things I hadn’t been expecting:

Something I’ve never seen mentioned is peeing oneself in the recovery room. LOL embarrassing? Yes. But truth. I woke up in a puddle of my own pee and I’ve heard others say the hospital doesn’t have washrags which may be true because when I asked for one I didn’t get one and when I had my first shower they gave me a big gauze pad to wash with.

Another thing I hadn’t known was they make you crawl from the recovery bed back into your own after surgery. A little odd to me considering I just had stomach surgery and lifting a patient with a blanket is fairly simple…but ok. When they asked me to crawl from one bed to the other right I asked them “seriously?” LOL

And I’m not sure if it was due to the gas or the IV fluids but for several days after surgery my breast felt huge and numb. Not painful just really odd heh.

Nurses and hospital:

Being in the hospital IN MY OPINION was horrible. The nurses, though nice, weren’t as on things as I had hoped. The first night the nurse spoke very little English when I gestured to her that I was going to vomit she said “ok, medicine” and never came back. I ended up going to pee and while sitting on the toilet vomited some black stuff on the bathroom floor. Once I got her to follow me back to my room and showed her the throw up she threw toilet paper on it, I later ended up swiping it up with my foot so I could use the toilet. She did eventually give me nausea meds.

I know someone said there’s a paper in the rooms that helps translate but I didn’t have one in my room.

The majority of the hospital stay I was in excruciating pain, which made getting up and walking unbearable (which really the halls were so small I could never really get walking before I had to make a turn, and with 3 of us up walking at a time it was even harder to walk the pain out). The pain meds they gave work but they weren’t giving them often enough. Bottom line, my pain was not managed AT ALL. In the two days there I maybe had a handful of hours of pain relief and spent the rest of the time miserable.

Getting a nurse was difficult, when I was in pain rolling myself out of bed to go waddling out to talk to a nurse was difficult. They have no nurse call buttons and I yelled NURSE a lot but that never worked. (NOTE: I did go with my mom but she stayed at the Marriott at night so I was on my own at nights)

I ran out of IV fluids more times than I could count, my blood would often flow back into the IV and my hand and arm were very swollen and numb.

The hospital was freezing the entire time. I was on the 4^th floor and two rooms away from mine was a room under construction that had no ceiling. Construction workers would work until midnight and one morning I was up around 5 to walk and could smell cigarette smoke on the floor-yuck.

In the end:

This may all seem minor, but while I was in pain the little things did make me feel worse. I don’t have any major issues with the doctors other then I saw Dr. Garcia for less than 10 minutes my entire stay (briefly before surgery and even more briefly the day after) I’m guessing he was really busy but it would’ve been nice to have more time to discuss things with him.

Also the other doctors on staff saw me more often but would often say they would go get something (pain meds, spirometer) and be right back and then never come back. That kinda sucked. And asking to see a doctor was useless, I did ask to see a doctor about my pain meds but never did.

I have asthma and actually never got a spirometer until I was being discharged. AND they made me do some breathing treatments for my asthma, and I noticed after the 2^nd one that my lungs were raspy; I was coughing and could feel mucus in my lungs. I am a week out, still coughing and can feel the mucus

Anyone taking a support person and worrying about their comfort? Don’t my mom was so nervous about her safety/comfort but ended up having a blast and lovvveeeeddd it. LOL, Wish I could share her sentiment. She wants to go back and well I’d like to visit TJ again, this time without the surgery

Would I recommend this doctor and coordinator? Yes BECAUSE I think my experience was the exception to the rule, and the things I found unpleasant may not be a big deal to another.

Would I recommend this hospital? That’s a resounding no, while it is better than a strip mall or some other places I’ve heard about in MX it really, in my honest opinion, is not good enough. While I wouldn’t recommend it I would say to anyone going, you can tough it out for a few days because once you’re out of the hospital you will feel a 100x better.

Would I do this again? Now that’s hard to answer, because to say yes would mean I would be willing to go back through the two days of hospital stay and I am not far enough out to say I’d do that again LOL. BUT now that I am home and can rely on myself for care I feel COMPLETELY better. I’m sure as I progress along and lose the weight and feel more and more better I will come to a point where I can whole heartedly say I would do this again. But at this moment, truthfully, I’m not so sure

And finally, please remember, this was MY experience. MY feelings and MY opinion on things. What was horrible for me might be a breeze to another if you have any questions feel free to PM me.

I also am glad you posted, the "everything was wonderful" experiances are great too, but lets be realistic... I am a nurse and I know that even in the BEST hospitals not everyone has a great experiance, it all depends on the people you are stuck with. It sounds like you got the crap crew, lol. I am going there in 3 weeks, and I BETTER be taken care of, cuz I am not shy and WILL cause a scene if I am not... lol, being a nurse I know what kind of care I should and will receive. I am sorry you went through that!

EXACTLY! It can happen anywhere.. Even in the states, you just don't always hear about it. I used to be a medic with a ambulance company and affiliated with a big city hospital .. Trust me, people don't have a clue what isn't talked about in the states.

Fletcherette I hope you r feeling better now that your home. I hope all ur skinny dreams come true. Tell ur mom hello she was such a sweet lady! Good luck

Thanks, yeah the day i met you in the lobby was great I was so happy to be getting out of the hospital lol. I'll tell my mom hi, she made friends with everyone there. When I was in recovery I opened my eyes and saw her hugging dr Luna, I thought "why is she hugging the cute dr?" Lol

I also am glad you posted' date=' the "everything was wonderful" experiances are great too, but lets be realistic... I am a nurse and I know that even in the BEST hospitals not everyone has a great experiance, it all depends on the people you are stuck with. It sounds like you got the crap crew, lol. I am going there in 3 weeks, and I BETTER be taken care of, cuz I am not shy and WILL cause a scene if I am not... lol, being a nurse I know what kind of care I should and will receive. I am sorry you went through that![/quote']

Lol yes that's how i felt, like I just got a less then stellar group of nurses because most people said their nurses were great. For both days there it was the same rotation of nurses.

I don't think my experience should concern anyone going. I've read more positive experiences then negative, I feel my hospital stay was just the exception to the rule. And as soon as I walked out of the hospital and had my own care solidly in my hands things quickly improved. The meds they sent me home with have worked wonderfully. Even if the hospital stay isn't that pleasant you can endure two days of anything and come out on the other side alright. I just kept telling myself it may suck now but it wouldn't last forever

Your post was fantastic with good detail and examples. This is exactly the kind of information I was searching for before I had surgery in Mexcio. I think knowing what to expect is half the battle. I'm kind of with Laura-ven, you might share your experience with the doctor and coordinators. Then maybe they can address the issues so they aren't issues in the future?

Glad you are home and feeling better now! Welcome to the sleeved side! LOL

I to had an accident on myself while being moved to my room all they did was change my gown I had one nurse take my tv remote control said she be back in five minutes well I never saw that remote again. They were not big on picking things up off the floor that I dropped.

EXACTLY! It can happen anywhere.. Even in the states, you just don't always hear about it. I used to be a medic with a ambulance company and affiliated with a big city hospital .. Trust me, people don't have a clue what isn't talked about in the states.

I will say I had one of the worst experiences of my life in a very popular and well reputed hospital in my city. I had a spinal fusion and the next morning, ran out of pain meds in my pain pump. I hit the call button for assistance, was ignored. I hit it again and when they finally answered, I told them I was out of pain meds. Keep in mind, they had just cut open my spinal column, added rods and screws, did a bone graft from my hip, and closed it back up less than 24 hours prior. The nurse was very impatient with me, said she'd get to me when she could. I started to sob (I'm not a wimp by any stretch of the imagination but was alone and felt it, in that moment). I waited for 15 minutes, no response, and when I hit the nurse call button again, I was told whatever I needed would have to wait since they were doing a shift change. There was NO way I could have gotten out of bed on my own and I had no one to help me or insist on care for me. My brother came in about 30 minutes later and I was near delirious with pain. Shift change was over, but they'd simply forgotten I needed more medication. I was in the hospital for an additional 5 days after that, but insisted the nurse who'd been in charge of my care that morning not be assigned to me again. It was a really traumatizing experience. I've had two surgeries since then, neither on my back, but have learned to be assertive (whatever...I don't care if the nurses think I'm a b***h..I'll never see them again) when I need something. I DO worry about that aspect of being in Mexico, but I know just enough Spanish to be dangerous and I've got no qualms against calling my surgeon, coordinator, boyfriend, whomever in the middle of the night to make sure my needs are met. I think that isn't an aspect of Mexico at all....in happens in the US but I feel like people are often conditioned to minimize what they need in deference to doctors and other healthcare professionals.

~Kat

I am grateful you shared your experience with us, thank you!!! I'm so sorry that you were not treated well in the hospital, but congratulations on making it through and beginning your new life!

Kat, what a terrible experience! I'm sorry! Thank you for sharing - it's true that a good experience, and a bad experience, can happen anywhere.

Hey Fletcherette glad you posted your review it will help many people get ready for their stay and will know what not to expect from the nurses

Sorry you got stuck with the B crew or even the C crew of nurses. Maybe the new patients going in should make a note of requesting the 3rd floor

Glad to hear your doing much better now that your home

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I will say I had one of the worst experiences of my life in a very popular and well reputed hospital in my city. I had a spinal fusion and the next morning' date=' ran out of pain meds in my pain pump. I hit the call button for assistance, was ignored. I hit it again and when they finally answered, I told them I was out of pain meds. Keep in mind, they had just cut open my spinal column, added rods and screws, did a bone graft from my hip, and closed it back up less than 24 hours prior. The nurse was very impatient with me, said she'd get to me when she could. I started to sob (I'm not a wimp by any stretch of the imagination but was alone and felt it, in that moment). I waited for 15 minutes, no response, and when I hit the nurse call button again, I was told whatever I needed would have to wait since they were doing a shift change. There was NO way I could have gotten out of bed on my own and I had no one to help me or insist on care for me. My brother came in about 30 minutes later and I was near delirious with pain. Shift change was over, but they'd simply forgotten I needed more medication. I was in the hospital for an additional 5 days after that, but insisted the nurse who'd been in charge of my care that morning not be assigned to me again. It was a really traumatizing experience. I've had two surgeries since then, neither on my back, but have learned to be assertive (whatever...I don't care if the nurses think I'm a b***h..I'll never see them again) when I need something. I DO worry about that aspect of being in Mexico, but I know just enough Spanish to be dangerous and I've got no qualms against calling my surgeon, coordinator, boyfriend, whomever in the middle of the night to make sure my needs are met. I think that isn't an aspect of Mexico at all....in happens in the US but I feel like people are often conditioned to minimize what they need in deference to doctors and other healthcare professionals.

~Kat[/quote']

WOW that really sucks I'm sorry you had to put up with that, I'm sure your brother set them straight I know I would have.

When I had my surgery my coordinators (Jenese and Eduardo from alighterme ) specifically gave me both their personal cell phones and their work numbers and said if I need anything please don't hesitate to call even if I think it's minimal if I'm in need of their assistance please call even it it was midnight. Thankfully I didn't need to call them. But I liked the fact that they give out the personal cellphone and Jenese always returns my emails even on her day off because they go to her cellphone.

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