Sleeved late yesterday - miserable with many others - Tijuana Misery

[kansasmomwithxtra]

I made what I thought was a wise and well researched decision to do the medical tourism route thru Dr. Alamanza. He is great, and I feel no issues with my actual surgery site. The surgery went fine even though I didn't get in until after 6pm - that's right. No liquids... not even a sip since last night I.e. 24 plus hours ago. Waiting all day in a loud hospital was mental and physical torture. No one knew a damn thing. And, out of the 16, yes, 16 surgeries he did - I was # 15. No one has communicated with me about anything since I arrived.
Here it is 3:15 am and me, two other ladies and another girl are wide awake because you get glorified ibuprofen and that's it. No sleeping meds, no relaxing meds...just a little baby dose of OTC meds. I have been literally crying, shaking and begging for relief from the people that are supposed to be nurses. One has been asleep since midnight and the other has been MIA since 11. They keep telling me to go to sleep when they are available and I'm like YO - I would love nothing more. There is one poor girl who has dry heaved all night. What are the "nurses" doing? Not a damn thing. I have literally walked three friggin miles because they say that will make my back pain go away. Wrong. I have been on my feet all night because sitting hurts. If you run out of IV fluid - tough shit. You got to get up, wake up the one person here and ask for more. They don't check on you. You could die and no one would know or care. Poor girl just dry heaved again. God help her. That can't be easy on her wounds. There is no call button. You are hooked up to no monitor. You are on your own. At least at the hotel, they will come if you ask and by they I don't mean the nonexistent nurses. I mean the hotel staff. The nurse that was MIA just told a lady who is a nurse in the states that there was nothing they could do for her dry heaving grand daughter. Earlier when I was literally dying of pain - a 9 on a scale of 1-10. and, yes, I was married to a nurse and I know that being melodramatic with that is a severe no no...I asked if I could please go to the ER - I said I would pay whatever it cost to get relief. They were like NOPE. It is now 3:30, and no one is sleeping well or at all. I want to go home now...but guess what...I am sure I will not get that chance since they call the shots. Stay in the states. This is bullshit.

[Rerun4u2]

You poor dear! I feel so sorry for you. Hate that you r going through all that pain. Please keep us posted!

[Shaneece28]

I pray you feel better.. omG.. 16 surgeries in one day...does not sound safe or good patient care!

[bikrchk]

Hang in there Kansas! You're on the road to recovery, (sucky as it may be) and you'll be home before you know it! Which part? I'm in the KC Metro. If you're close, I know some decent support groups. They can help a lot particularly if you have limited local medical support.

[Ann2]

KC mom,

I'm sorry to hear you are having such a tough time. Sixteen surgeries in one day is not optimum (seems to me). Sounds like you got the short end of the straw on the lineup.

One thing is sure, however ... you WILL feel better.

Best wishes for you.

[tinman]

I had my procedure done by Dr. Almanza almost two years ago. I was number two of fourteen that day for him. I too was miserable and ready to kick someone's ass by the next day. I'm betting most on here would say the same thing. But, you need to remember that this too shall pass. I'm sorry you are feeling neglected. I am not trying to marginalize your pain or experience. But, each of us who has this surgery in TJ or other places abroad, need to ditch our preconceived notions about how our after care should be provided. You are in Mexico. Now, I am not trying to say you are over reacting. Far from it. But, the level of your care you expect and the level of care that is normal may never be the same. That's not on you for feeling like you do. It's also not on Dr. Almanza either.

I know that up to 6 weeks post op I would have told anyone listening that going to TJ is the worst idea ever. But, you will surely get over your current situation quickly and you will be better off for it. I count the minimalist care ethos of Dr. Almanza as a huge factor in my determination to be self reliant and to not count on anyone to take any better care of me than I would.

You will start getting regular iv liquids twice a day. You will get your leak test done and the drain taken out in a day or so. By the weekend, you'll be resting very comfortably at home and then you'll start to obsess over the scale.

Welcome to the club. Pretty soon, you're going to wonder what took you so long to join.

[Terps]

I'm so sorry!!! Nurses at hotel are great. You'll be there soon and it will be a different experience.

[Babs4531]

I know I am a stranger but please allow me to be blunt for just a second...

I had my surgery here in Colorado. I did have wonderful care for days but I am allergic to narcotics. All. I had no pain killers at all. I had tylenol only. All the care and nurses in the world were not going to do a thing for me. They couldn't.

I just wanted to tell you this because while admittedly it was nasty pain, it was only for a few days. In the big picture, it was all worth it. I can't stress that enough.
I would give you details of the pain as I circled the nurses station for the 50th time, on day three but I really can't remember. That is the good news here. This will all be a distant memory for you, so for now, ride the wave. It is just part of your journey.

I am not trying to take away the extent of your suffering or your need to vent. unfortunately I understand it all too well. I am just trying to tell you that it is worth it. Air inside you from the surgery can cause crazy pain in your back, shoulders, all over, until you get it out. Those who were on painkillers think they know what that pain was from that air in your midsection. They have no idea. It caused me to pass out more than once. Truly, walking does help. Sounds crazy but it kind spreads the air out or something. There was relief from walking. Know that the pain you are feeling right now is temporary. The air rises so your back and shoulders can really feel it next. I promise, it does go away. Get tough for now girlfriend and you will love the reward later.

People will line up on here to tell you to hang tough, it sucks for a minute, but it is totally worth it. Congratulations on making the decision to improve your health, life and future. For now, know that you will have a good story to tell for awhile until skinny you gets sick of thinking about it...

Good luck to you friend.

[Batmanswifeislosing]

I hope you feel better soon but as most of us know this is very common to feel this way right after the surgery. This will pass and you will del better soon.

[connie3]

Reasearching the Dr. Is important. When I was there Dr Alvarez did 22 surgeries. Too many.. Dr Curiel does 3 or 4 a day in a new hospital that's very clean. Drains and such get removed at the hospital not the hotel. Just saying.

[kansasmomwithxtra]

I am on meds to sleep. I can not sleep without them. Did anyone care? Negative. I have not slept yet. They gave me nothing. Also, i have chronic back pain. This is the only thing that hurts. Ibuprofen doesn't cut it. I guess I assumed my pain would be managed. Yes, I am sure it will be "ra-ra" worth it in six months. However, at this time my dilaudid drip from lap band removal is sorely missed.

[cowgirljane]

I would feel miserable in that situation. I was so cared for after my surgery and it was still a bit rough that first day or two. Hang in there - and I am glad you posted the HONEST truth of the situation for others to read. While I have no doubt that the surgeon is technically competent, that is a crapload of surgeries in one day. It is hard to fathom how he does them all himself.

BTW, I am not anti - Mexican or foreign docs but i do want a good level of care and not like I am rolling through an assembly line...

[natalia17]

I also really appreciate you letting others know your experience. Maybe, when you are post-op and feeling better, you can post your discussion in the area for people thinking about gastric surgery abroad. I've heard lots of good and bad reviews and I think you would be doing someone a favor by mentioning the realities so that they are informed to make their decision. I'm so sorry that you are having a terrible experience there. I have to say that my experience, even under one of the umbrella campuses of Johns Hopkins, was awful post-op so I understand your frustration.

My surgeon, the Occ Health rep, and nutritionists were great. But the nurses and CNAs were terrible! And it's not because I'm a nurse myself that I say that. Simple things like having a working call light are appreciated. Mine was broken and no one came in for hours at a time. And they did nothing when I showed them it was broken. It was awful yelling at the broken speaker every time it went off and no one coming in to check why they couldn't hear me. They just said "well, we'll be right out here anyways," but never were. Barely had my drain emptied and help to the bathroom. I started going by myself and putting the abdominal binder on myself and draining my drain myself because they weren't being done. The frustration I was having with how little they cared made me so emotional. I almost felt like I was going to have a panic attack after 4 days of that. The last straw was when I was in pain but got nauseated and my nurse said that it was probably the pain meds making me nauseated, so she stopped my pain meds on day 2 and only gave my Tylenol. And guess what, I was even more nauseated but they never restarted my pain meds. Days after discharge, the nausea finally went away. On discharge day, I had to fake being happy/feeling ok in order to get released home.

So I want you to know that I wish I could be there to help you or do something because I know how frustrating and upsetting that is. And you would think that the nurses and CNAs would be more caring after surgery! Discomfort is expected, but lack of integrity and care is not. What got me through was constantly thinking "this too shall pass" while secretly wanting to punch the people in their faces. Lol I know that sounds terrible, but no human being should be treated the way you are! And this is the first time I talked about it because even thinking about the experience is hard. Good luck to you and please keep in touch!

[Lee6Lee]

I went to Mexico and used Dr. Ariel Ortiz. He does 4-5 a day and my care was excellent. Going to Mexico does not mean you will get sub par care! But that's why I did not use Almanza. I did my homework.

[meme_mayham]

im using dr Curiel, and im glad to see someone posted that he does less surgeries a day, im expecting to be slaughtered, i had a breast reduction, and the night nurse was a super cow, i had to report her for her conduct. but im expecting to be dehydrated, and cranky, and sick feeling, and all that good stuff, after all i am starving for 21 days prior, i can only imagine the day of surgery, how i will be shaking like a leaf and crankier than old hell. im not expecting any special treatment, like we get at home i mean, just to not die or get an infection, and to be sent home to heal. i wonder if a person could bring their own pain meds, and sleep aids?

but with all that, im sorry you were tossed aside and left to fend for urself, at least if the nurses pretended to care, it would make you feel a bit better. did they say why you couldnt have your sleep aid or pain meds?