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Marimaru · September 4, 2004

Dr. Rumbaut is a really great guy. I don't know how close you are to surgery, but I scheduled mine, and a couple days later he called me to make sure I didn't have any questions or concerns or anything. His staff is all super fantastic also. He's got 2 assistant surgeons that help him with the surgery, and they are also great. I'm a little cloudy from when I wake up, but at least one of the surgeons was there when I woke up to make sure I was ok. I'm 8 weeks out, so it's still pretty fresh in my head, I'll go through my experience for you;

I got to the hospital and filled out a little bit of paperwork. Mostly just emergency contact type stuff since the payment stuff is taken care of by Dr. Rumbaut since we pay him directly. Then they take you into a little room to change into your hospital gown and slippers, then you walk to the prep room (whoever goes with you can be with you for all of this). You lay on a bed and either Mario or Raphael (his assistants) will come talk to you. Then the anesthesiologist comes and explains what he is going to do while the nurse puts in your IV. Then Mario or Raphael come in (whoever it wasn't before) and explain about the gas they put in your stomach and whatnot (my boyfriend told me about this last part, I don't actually remember anything after the anesthesiologist ^^;. Then, you wake up. I think they've already loaded pain medication into you at the time, but the pain is still surprising. At least it was to me, I've never had a surgery like this before. Sitting up a little helped me. Then they wheel you into your recovery room (which is SUPER nice). The nurses check up on you every 2 hours (ish), take your temp and check your pain medication. There was never a time I wanted to ask for pain meds, if I even begun to think about wanting to ask, a nurse was in putting them in my IV already. After they wheeled me into my room, I was able to walk to the bathroom and back to bed. They encourage you to walk as much as you can, but doing so made me a little sick the first day. I slept alot. I would sleep, and then wake up feeling super refreshed and wide awake... for about 15 minutes ... and then I would sleep again. I was able to lay on both of my sides, with a little scootching to get comfortable. The next day all of your surgeons come to see me. They looked at my belly and took the tape with the gause off (they had fun with this for some reason, lol). I didn't have any stitches, just tapes to hold me together. The incisions were pretty small for the most part. One was less than a quarter of an inch. Then three that were about an inch long, and then the one near the port was 2 or 3 inches. Your belly will be yellow for like a week. Whatever it is they use to clean you up with stains pretty bad and doesn't like to come off. lol. I was discharged about 1pm from the hospital. I was walking around alright, but slowly. When you get back to the hotel, Doralisa has a basket of new-bander-friendly foods waiting for you. V8's and broth and all sorts of liquidy stuff.

And that's about it. I had my surgery on a Friday, flew home on Monday, and was back at work on Tuesday. I know lots of people take time off of work, but I have the benefit of a cushy computer job, and my boss is my mom, who was adament about me telling her if I felt I needed to go home to nap or anything at all.

Oh, also, the pain meds they give you don't make you all woosy or whatever, so if you feel like you want to drive somewhere or something after taking one, you can, which is nice.

I hope this helps you. I got super nervous a couple days before my surgery too. I cried like a baby the night before. I'm not even sure why, I just burst into tears all of a sudden. The band takes some getting used to (obviously), but I'm really happy that I got mine, and I'd do it all over again if I had to.

If you have any questions, you can email me (mari@mysticmari.com), or I'm almost always on AIM, MysticTaeza.

Good luck

Chris S. - L.I. · September 4, 2004

I'm just curious. When you have surgery done in Mexico, do you have any pre surgical testing to get done? I had to have a lot of tests before my surgery, cardio strees test and echo, sleep apnea testing (but I already knew I had sleep apnea), upper GI, abdominal sonogram and a pscyh consult.

hagerteresa · September 4, 2004

When I had my surgery in Mexico they ran all kinds of tests the afternoon before surgery. I got an echocardiogram, x-rays, saw a nutricianist, got blood tests, etc.

leatha_g · September 5, 2004

I've kind of wondered about that too. I've heard they do bloodwork etc immediately before, but what happens if it ain't so good? Or, if you have undiagnosed sleep apnea that everyone claims to be a danger under anesthesia? I've often wondered how they handle this type of situation.

Dr. Rumbaut certainly has a great record, so whatever he's doing must be working for him.

Does he do any sort of questioning concerning prior historys before you arrive?

hagerteresa · September 5, 2004

I didn't use Dr. Rumbuat though I certainly have heard good things about him. Before I scheduled a date for surgery I had to fill out a few pages of questions including questions concerning sleep apnea. I found everything to be professional. Best of luck and wishes, Teresa

Zoe · September 5, 2004

My experience was very similar to Sarah's.

Chris and Leatha, as I recall, I filled out a general health questionnaire and e-mailed it to Dr. Rumbaut's team weeks before I made my appointment; it included questions about the usual morbidities (sleep apnea, diabetes, high blood pressure, etc.). When I spoke with Dr. R on the phone two weeks before surgery, I asked him about other tests, and he said they were not necessary. The day before the surgery, I got some basic tests (blood work, EKG, blood pressure, upper torso x-ray) from Dr. Gonzalez (in a different office), who also asked about my family medical history.

I'm not sure what would have happened if any of my tests came back with questionable results. I think you can ask Dr. Rumbaut about this before surgery; he's very accessible, and great about returning calls. If you have an undiagnosed problem that won't be revealed by the tests -- say, sleep apnea -- it could pose a problem, since you won't be getting a full physical from the Mexico team. So if you have any doubts, you might want to get a more thorough examination before you leave. But I'm middle-aged, with a few of the usual suspects (joint pain, high blood pressure, mild apnea) and felt confident going into the surgery without a complete exam. I was running on nervous energy because I could barely sleep for about four days before I got banded, so the anesthesia was a welcome relief!

Dr. Rumbaut doesn't do, or require, a psych consult. I went to my own US shrink a couple weeks before I got banded just to do a reality check; he wanted to know all about the band because he wants to lose weight himself.

sheeanisland · September 6, 2004

Once again what wonderful info. I am going to be reading this several times im sure. I am getting banded on wednesday. I am flying out Tuesday and scheduled to come back Friday. But if for any reason there is a problem of course I will stay longer. I just dont want to fly on Sept. 11 it brings up to many sad thoughts. I did fill out an evaluation that asked me question related to how I feel about myself. I also filled out a medical History. How do you know if you have sleep apnea? I really hope I dont vomit when I wake up that would be really really bad. I have dont that in the past after surgery. I really apprecite you zoe and Marimaru going through your experiences with me im sure you know how much that helps! I have huge hugs coming your way all of you !!!!

sheeanisland · September 6, 2004

Once again what wonderful info. I am going to be reading this several times im sure. I am getting banded on wednesday. I am flying out Tuesday and scheduled to come back Friday. But if for any reason there is a problem of course I will stay longer. I just dont want to fly on Sept. 11 it brings up to many sad thoughts. I did fill out an evaluation that asked me question related to how I feel about myself. I also filled out a medical History. How do you know if you have sleep apnea? I really hope I dont vomit when I wake up that would be really really bad. I have dont that in the past after surgery. I really apprecite you zoe and Marimaru going through your experiences with me im sure you know how much that helps! I have huge hugs coming your way all of you !!!!

Zoe · September 6, 2004

Hey Andrea, everyone here is such a big help to me, it seems the least I can do is try to pass it on somehow -- but all hugs gratefully received.

I don't blame you for not wanting to fly on Sept. 11. How about Sept. 12 if you think you'd like another day? Here's hoping you're feeling good to go on the 10th.