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on June 18, 2008 6:59 pm
My whole experience in Puerto Vallarta was fantastic! It has taken me a while to post, my stepdaughter and her family got in town two days after we got home and the grandkids are keeping us busy! But, I know how much I appreciated reading others' surgery experiences, so here goes:
We flew from Kansas City to Phoenix, Arizona on Sunday, June 1. We had a 2-hour layover and I was still on my liquid diet. We found a sports bar at the airport. I had packed some protein powders, so I asked the bartender to blend one of my powders with water and ice. It filled two glasses, but it filled me well and I tipped her $3 for taking care of it for me. (I also had a shaker bottle from bariatriceating.com that I used on the way home when the airport restaurant we went to didn't have a blender.)
Then, we flew on to Puerto Vallarta. We were at the very back of the airplane and thinking that it would be a long time for us. Then, the back of the airplane opens up and we start unloading down some stairs to the asphalt pavement below. We got through customs and my husband saw the person holding the sign with my name on it. He took us to a cab and a driver and he took us to the NH Krystal hotel, which was about a 5- or 10-minute drive. We got checked into the hotel at the front desk and received a letter and 40 pesos from Nathalie, telling us to use the money to get a cab to the hospital tomorrow morning and she would meet us there at 11:30 am. She also instructed me not to drink anything past midnight. We got a golf cart ride with our luggage to our room and a mini-tour of the resort from the driver.
After settling in our room (garden view) we explored the lovely grounds of the resort. Cobblestone streets, little villas with private swimming pools, a baby pool, all so charming and we felt very safe. We went to the restaurant by the pool that has the grass hut top on it. It is an open restaurant that overlooks the beach and the pool and we ended up eating all of our meals there. My husband got grilled tacos and I got clear chicken broth that was actually very good. I had to ask them to only give me the broth and no rice and no chicken, but they see a lot of Dr. Joya’s patients there, so it is not a big deal. We also got bottled water to drink.
Around 4:00 p.m. the lobby area of our hotel building had free soft drinks, wine, pretzels, peanuts and potato chips. I had my last Fresca and my husband, of course, tried out everything else. (Note: There is also a computer terminal in the lobby of the hotel that only occasionally had someone using it.) We walked around some more, explored the beach, took pictures and enjoyed the sunset from the restaurant (more clear broth for me) and went to bed early, since we had gotten up at 4:00 am.
Monday – surgery day! In the morning, my husband went downstairs to the lobby of the building and had some sweet rolls and juice that they provide free to guests. I stayed upstairs and got ready to go to the hospital and leave the hotel. We walked around the grounds again and were approached by a vendor selling silver jewelry. I got some silver earrings that I just love. Many of the beach vendors also know about Dr. Joya and why many people are visiting. In talking to people, I learned that Dr. Joya is well respected in Puerto Vallarta, not just as a baratric surgeon, but also as a skilled surgeon for other ailments.
We were done packing and anxious to go, so we went to the hospital (and took all of our luggage) and arrived an hour early. I filled out some forms and signed some papers. Nathalie arrived at 11:30 and took us to her office where she weighed me and talked to me about what would happen in the next few days and I signed a few more papers. Then, she took us to my hospital room. We were unpacking and getting settled and Nathalie brought by two women who had had surgery on Friday. Cynthia had a VSG and Christina had an RNY and they both looked great. They both had traveled alone for their surgery and explained that the first 24 hours are the worst, but after that, they got so much better.
A nurse came to do an EKG, get blood and put in my IV. They had quite a time with my IV. I thought it was because I was dehydrated, but later found out that the many medications I routinely take were working against me, too. After three failed tries, they finally got it in the back of my right hand. A couple of days later, when that one had issues, they tried three more places on my arms and finally got it in the back of my left hand. I was left with 6 large gnarly looking bruises on my arms. Sixteen days out today and I still have one on my left arm that warrants a long-sleeved shirt.
After the blood tests and EKG were done, Dr. Curiel (internist who works with Dr. Joya) came into my room to talk to me. It was obvious he had read my medical chart and asked relevant questions about my chronic pain issues. I told him that we aren’t really sure what it is, but that we are hoping that if I get some weight off, it would help the pain. He smiled, patted my arm and assured me that it would. He asked if I would like something for anxiety and I said that I would before surgery and again he smiled and said he would get me something. Almost immediately, a nurse came in with a clear syringe and added it to my IV. So, I took a little nap. Around 4:00, Dr. Joya appeared, introduced himself and said that we were just about ready to go. He asked to see my stomach, felt it and said to me: “You’ve lost weight. It is soft. Thank you!! It will be easy to do your surgery.”
I was taking my contacts out of my eyes when the wheelchair came for me. I hate not being able to see and going into the blurry operating room was a little overwhelming for me. I had to go from the chair to the surgical table and had my arms out away from my body. I know my eyes were starting to fill with tears and then the next thing I knew, I was moaning in recovery. They gave me a shot in the arm for pain, which helped quite a bit. I threw up a little bit of blood, but someone was right there with the spit pan and comforting sounds. I don’t know how long I was there, but after a while, they asked me if I wanted to go to my room or stay in recovery. I chose my room. My husband said that it was about 9:30 pm when I got back to the room. I put my heating pad on my back and kept it there the rest of my time in the hospital. It kept shutting off; so I had to keep turning it back on again.
My husband slept (somewhat) in the little loveseat in the hospital room. At about 3:00 am, I decided that I wanted to get up and walk. My husband helped me out of bed and we went down the hall by the nurses’ station. One of the nurses even cheered me when she saw me walking! It was so sweet. I slept off and on and just felt very uncomfortable. I took some gas-x strips and I guess I burped out all of the CO2, because the gas never left me any other way. I don’t know if that means the gas-x worked or not, but I would sure take it again. I enjoyed getting up to walk, at the end of the hall there is a little covered outside patio that has a table, chairs, plants and a nice fountain. It was so relaxing there (although sometimes a tad warm) and as the days went on, I would sit longer on the chairs for a break from the hospital room.
The first day after surgery (Tuesday) was a long one. Dr. Joya visited me and I was sitting up on the loveseat (looking at the computer!) and he said that I looked great and that my surgery was perfect. The rest of the day, I kept walking the halls when I could, rinsed my mouth out with a water bottle, watched CNN and a "Waves" DVD on my computer and waited to get through the day. The nurses came in periodically to give me nausea medication, pain medication and take my blood pressure, temperature (under the arm) and oxygen levels. Around evening time (24 hours from surgery) I felt like I turned a corner and started feeling remarkably better. I still had one more night to get through before I could do the leak test, get some ice, etc. I just kept reminding myself that my IV was keeping me from getting too thirsty and tried not to obsess about it.
Wednesday morning, Dr. Espinoza asked me if I was ready for my leak test and I went down and drank that pretty blue stuff. It was so interesting to see it in the monitor at the same time I was doing it. I passed the leak test and I was so happy!! I got my drain out and my IV out and got some ice. Then, Nathalie came and gave me post-op instructions, medication, prescriptions and cab fare for the ride back to the hotel. We were ready to go!!
We had three more nights at the hotel and this time we upgraded to the oceanfront room. It was $20 a night more, and soooo worth it. The bed was softer, the room was bigger and the ocean was right there!! We spent so much time on our balcony, it was so relaxing and healing to enjoy the waves and watch all the activities. We also spent more time walking around the complex. There were cruise ships that docked in PV and many of the people came to eat at the restaurant and use the swimming pools at the hotel. They brought a great energy to the place and it was a fun environment. It really did feel like we were on vacation, too (except for the bruises on my arms!). I was hardly sore, just relaxed, walked, sipped and then relaxed, walked and sipped some more. We spent some time with Cynthia and Christina and then later, met Mark, who had his VSG the day after I did.
On Thursday morning at 9:00, my husband had gone downstairs for free breakfast and Dr. Olivares knocked on my hotel door and said he was from the hospital. He looked at my stomach and checked where the drain had been and said that I was doing very well and he would see me not the next day, but the day after that. The next morning (Friday) my husband and I walked to the grocery store to try to find some watermelon juice (it is in the refrigerated section with the sodas and in a tall, red, Arizona can - right next to the Arizona teas.) As we were returning from the grocery store, I saw Dr. Olivares and Christina walking out of the complex. Christina (RNY) had dumped on a large swallow of water and so Dr. Olivares checked on her and was taking her back to the hospital for some additional tests. Christina later reported that they did another leak test and told her that she was fine, but dehydrated from being scared to drink too much for fear of dumping again. Saturday morning, I saw Dr. Olivares again and he said that I was doing great. We packed to leave, checked out of the hotel and began the trek back to Kansas. I suggest that everyone get to the airport early (like 3 hours) because they hand inspect all checked and carried on luggage and the lines are LONG. After checking in, a long walk to the terminal past a lot of shops to the gate. There is a Starbucks near the gate that was a quieter place to wait than in the main terminal.
Since I have been home, I have been doing well. I haven’t had any nausea issues and no pain. My pcp took my stitches out on the 10th day after surgery and my stepdaughter and son-in-law don’t even know that I had surgery in Mexico! They know that we went to Mexico (we told them that it was for conference for my work) and that I got sick there and “my stomach just isn’t 100% yet.” (LOL!) SD did see my remaining bruise today, so I confessed that I was dehydrated and they had a problem getting the IV. She was surprised that I had gone to a hospital in Mexico, but I didn’t offer any additional info and she didn’t ask. Although, I think it helped her understand why I’m still not eating normally. They will be here another week and then I will return to work on June 30 (I took the whole month off from work!).
Anyway, that is the end of my long story. I just wanted to put it out here for those interested in how it went for one person with a VSG in PV. I was so impressed with Dr. Joya and his whole team. Everyone worked together to make sure that I was doing well and feeling well. I would recommend him to anyone who is considering surgery in Mexico.
I lost 14 pounds on the two-week pre-op liquid diet and then just two pounds the week of surgery. Then, I lost 9 pounds the next week, for a total loss of 25 pounds in one month!
Things that I recommend bringing with you to Mexico:
Heating pad
Gauze and tape for post-op drain hole (at hotel)
Protein bullets - can google or find at: http://www.bariatriceating.com/conewwhlipr.html
Powdered protein mix samples
Shaker cup for protein mix
Crystal light
Lip balm
Gas-x strips
Slippers and robe and/or pajama pants
Flip flops
Sun screen
$50 in $1 bills and $50 in $5 bills
Long sleeved shirt or light jacket (to cover any bruises)
Small portable hairdryer for hospital - there is a hairdryer in the hotel rooms, but not in the hospital.
A word about how I made my decision: Once it became clear that I was going to have to do this self-pay, Dr. Alvarez and Dr. Joya were on my short-list. I spoke to both coordinators for each doctor and Gerald with Dr. Joya was very helpful and helped me to understand that Dr. Joya was more than just a lap-band or vsg doctor, he is a surgeon with lots of experience with many different kinds of surgeries as well as many VSGs and RNYs, too. Then, I contacted people on OH who had used Dr. Joya and heard back from many happy customers. I told my husband we were going to PV and he was sooo relieved we weren’t going to the Texas border town and because he would not have to endure the 3 hour drive from and then back to San Antonio through the desert. I have to admit that the beach was much more appealing to me, too!
