4 days post op
Well, today is day four post op and I am feeling pretty good. I had my surgery wit Dr. Aceves on 9-28-11. His team and the hospital in Mexicali were great. This will be a quick run down of my experience. I am a Nurse Practitioner and will try to give some details that others may not have understood during their surgical and recovery process.
We headed to San Diego a few days before our scheduled pick up at the airport to celbrate our 25th anniversary. Had a blast in San Diego, and then met Ernesto, our driver at the airport on Tuesday. He drove us to the hospital in Mexicali. It was spotless. We had our lab work done, EKG and CXR. Then Ernesto drove us to the Crowne Plaza Hotel. It was VERY nice. Staff there were great and got us a taxi so we could go do a little shopping. Had a late lunch at the mall, did some shopping and then headed back to the hotel. We squeezed 4 of us into a little tiny taxi, but it worked and the drivers of both taxi's were great. We never once felt unsafe in any way. In fact, while in the mall, a little girl of about 2 years was separated from her mother and was crying. One of the shop owners came out and took her to a near by shop (with women attendants) to have them find her mom..(he was the only worker at his shop and couldn't leave). He also helped us call a taxi, since we Americans didn't know who to call. Headed back to the hotel and had a very nice dinner at the hotel restaurant. We were waited on like we were at a gourmet restaurant in the states that would cost 100.00 a plate. Prices were reasonable and the food was fabulous.
While doing our pre op work up at the hospital we were given a sleeping pill (Ativan: actually anti anxiety, but helps folks sleep too) and an antibiotic pill to take at bedtime.
Ernesto arrived at 7am sharp to pick us up and take us to the hospital. Dr. Aceves and Dr. Campos came in and talked with the three of us having surgery that day. He discussed the procedure, the aftercare, nutrition, answered our numerous questions, and never made us feel rushed. My friend was the first to have her surgery. I was taken to surgery 2nd. About an hour before my surgery I was given Versed. Versed is used for what is called 'conscious sedation' . Many procedures can be done without a general anesthesia with this drug....really, you just don't remember what is happening. It really decreases anxiety prior to going to the operating room. I was glad to have received it. I was taken to the OR and remember looking around and thinking...hey, this is just like our O.R. back home. Same surgical lights, much of the same equipment, sparkling clean! Friendly faces that explained how I would be put to sleep and wake in the recovery room. I was given a spinal with 'Morphine'. This was the equivalent of Duramorph which is a long acting morphine that helps control pain for 24 hours. A few people will have problems with urinary retention, but that is temporary and pain control is great, so if offered the long acting morphine....my advice is to take it!
I remember getting sleepy, the spinal was placed after I was asleep, so I didn't feel a thing (very nice since I remember getting my epidural with my pregnancies and it hurts a bit). Next thing I know I was waking up in the recovery room. Apparently I spent several hours in the recovery room, but I only remember about 30 minutes of it. I woke up and my friend was still in the recovery room next to me. We chatted off and on, and then she went to her room and I was taken to mine shortly after. I was not in a lot of pain. The nurses were very good about asking if I was in pain or wanted pain medicine. They only use Toradol for pain...no narcotics. Before surgery I was a bit nervous about this, but the Toradol controlled my pain very nicely. I was up and moving several hours later. I was one of the few who did have problems with urinary retention. I could not urinate 8 hours post surgery. I asked, well I told the nurse I needed a catheter. I had been up to the bathroom many times, ran water to see if that would help and even tried a shower. None of this worked. so 8hours post surgery I had a catheter placed, drained over 1000 cc from my bladder and felt soo much better. The doctor said that they have never had a patient need to be catheterized twice before and not to worry. 7 hours later, I still could not urinate. I was getting uncomfortable and had to be catheterized again for another 1000cc. 8 hours later (now 24 hours post op) I still could not urinate. Dr. Aceves came in and assured me he did not do anything near my bladder. I told him that I knew this and that I knew it was a side effect of the morphine. I also reminded him that I had previously had a surgery called a TVT (tension free vaginal tape) that is a sling under the urethra to stop incontinence and I thought that may be playing a role. He suggested I get in indwelling foley catheter and that we do bladder re-training. I agreed that this was appropriate. They put in a catheter and clamped it off. I drained it every 2-3 hours...even during the night.
I slept well that first night without significant pain. Day after surgery I was walking the halls. We were given a blue dye in apple juice to drink and then watched the fluid from the drain to make sure there was no leaks from staple line on the stomach. We were given clear liquids to drink. Hot tea, apple juice and a gatorade type drink (but didn't taste like it had as much electrolytes in it like gatorade in the states). We were reminded to take small drinks. I had to burp often, but tolerated the fluids very well. That first day, my friend and I sipped and walked, sipped and walked, sipped and walked some more. Second night I slept better than the first. Had the catheter in for the night so had to get up frequently, but otherwise slept great with minimal pain. They switched us to toradol given under the tongue which lasted a bit longer than the IV form. We continued to sip and walk that next day and had another leak test using fluoroscopy (like a live Xray). I had to drink a nasty contrast dye and they watch it go down the esophagus and fill the stomach and pass through. They look for any tiny leaks and look at the size of the new stomach. I was surprised at how small my stomach was. I was excited at how small my new stomach was. After confirming there were no leaks, I was given chicken broth (this was real broth, not instant....you could see that it wasn't instant and it tasted like home made). It was wonderful. For me, warm fluids felt really good. I had my IV removed, and my foley catheter removed. Several hours later I was urinating on my own and rejoicing that I wasn't going to have to go home with a catheter in place. The abdominal drain was also removed on this day, and let me tell you, the level of pain decreased dramatically once the drain was removed. I was amazed. Pain wasn't bad to begin with, but once the drain was out, it was pretty minimal. I was only requiring pain medicine a few times a day after the drain was removed.
My husband came with me and was a great support. My friend also had surgery the same day as me and her husband came, and we were so glad to have them with us. We were able to walk outside. It was on 97 degrees. Later in the evening it was 84 degrees and Dr. Campos teased that it was cold.
Friday night, the night before we were leaving, Dr. Aceves came in to see us one final time. He asked how my experience was. I told him that overall, I had a GREAT experience. I felt the hospital care I received probably exceeded the care I've seen in many US hospitals. His team is very caring and in spite of communication barriers(Not all the nurses speak english), they do a great job of meeting your needs. The only issues I had were the urinary retention ( i did feel like the nurses should have paid a bit more attention with this, but they had not dealt with it before), and twice, I did not get my chicken broth...and my husband had to ask a couple of times to get it.
Dr. Aceves told me to make sure and tell my American friends that the hospital was clean and there were no chicken in the operating room....with a twinkle in his eye! He is a funny guy!
I loved my experience and can't wait to see where I will be in one year!
We headed to San Diego a few days before our scheduled pick up at the airport to celbrate our 25th anniversary. Had a blast in San Diego, and then met Ernesto, our driver at the airport on Tuesday. He drove us to the hospital in Mexicali. It was spotless. We had our lab work done, EKG and CXR. Then Ernesto drove us to the Crowne Plaza Hotel. It was VERY nice. Staff there were great and got us a taxi so we could go do a little shopping. Had a late lunch at the mall, did some shopping and then headed back to the hotel. We squeezed 4 of us into a little tiny taxi, but it worked and the drivers of both taxi's were great. We never once felt unsafe in any way. In fact, while in the mall, a little girl of about 2 years was separated from her mother and was crying. One of the shop owners came out and took her to a near by shop (with women attendants) to have them find her mom..(he was the only worker at his shop and couldn't leave). He also helped us call a taxi, since we Americans didn't know who to call. Headed back to the hotel and had a very nice dinner at the hotel restaurant. We were waited on like we were at a gourmet restaurant in the states that would cost 100.00 a plate. Prices were reasonable and the food was fabulous.
While doing our pre op work up at the hospital we were given a sleeping pill (Ativan: actually anti anxiety, but helps folks sleep too) and an antibiotic pill to take at bedtime.
Ernesto arrived at 7am sharp to pick us up and take us to the hospital. Dr. Aceves and Dr. Campos came in and talked with the three of us having surgery that day. He discussed the procedure, the aftercare, nutrition, answered our numerous questions, and never made us feel rushed. My friend was the first to have her surgery. I was taken to surgery 2nd. About an hour before my surgery I was given Versed. Versed is used for what is called 'conscious sedation' . Many procedures can be done without a general anesthesia with this drug....really, you just don't remember what is happening. It really decreases anxiety prior to going to the operating room. I was glad to have received it. I was taken to the OR and remember looking around and thinking...hey, this is just like our O.R. back home. Same surgical lights, much of the same equipment, sparkling clean! Friendly faces that explained how I would be put to sleep and wake in the recovery room. I was given a spinal with 'Morphine'. This was the equivalent of Duramorph which is a long acting morphine that helps control pain for 24 hours. A few people will have problems with urinary retention, but that is temporary and pain control is great, so if offered the long acting morphine....my advice is to take it!
I remember getting sleepy, the spinal was placed after I was asleep, so I didn't feel a thing (very nice since I remember getting my epidural with my pregnancies and it hurts a bit). Next thing I know I was waking up in the recovery room. Apparently I spent several hours in the recovery room, but I only remember about 30 minutes of it. I woke up and my friend was still in the recovery room next to me. We chatted off and on, and then she went to her room and I was taken to mine shortly after. I was not in a lot of pain. The nurses were very good about asking if I was in pain or wanted pain medicine. They only use Toradol for pain...no narcotics. Before surgery I was a bit nervous about this, but the Toradol controlled my pain very nicely. I was up and moving several hours later. I was one of the few who did have problems with urinary retention. I could not urinate 8 hours post surgery. I asked, well I told the nurse I needed a catheter. I had been up to the bathroom many times, ran water to see if that would help and even tried a shower. None of this worked. so 8hours post surgery I had a catheter placed, drained over 1000 cc from my bladder and felt soo much better. The doctor said that they have never had a patient need to be catheterized twice before and not to worry. 7 hours later, I still could not urinate. I was getting uncomfortable and had to be catheterized again for another 1000cc. 8 hours later (now 24 hours post op) I still could not urinate. Dr. Aceves came in and assured me he did not do anything near my bladder. I told him that I knew this and that I knew it was a side effect of the morphine. I also reminded him that I had previously had a surgery called a TVT (tension free vaginal tape) that is a sling under the urethra to stop incontinence and I thought that may be playing a role. He suggested I get in indwelling foley catheter and that we do bladder re-training. I agreed that this was appropriate. They put in a catheter and clamped it off. I drained it every 2-3 hours...even during the night.
I slept well that first night without significant pain. Day after surgery I was walking the halls. We were given a blue dye in apple juice to drink and then watched the fluid from the drain to make sure there was no leaks from staple line on the stomach. We were given clear liquids to drink. Hot tea, apple juice and a gatorade type drink (but didn't taste like it had as much electrolytes in it like gatorade in the states). We were reminded to take small drinks. I had to burp often, but tolerated the fluids very well. That first day, my friend and I sipped and walked, sipped and walked, sipped and walked some more. Second night I slept better than the first. Had the catheter in for the night so had to get up frequently, but otherwise slept great with minimal pain. They switched us to toradol given under the tongue which lasted a bit longer than the IV form. We continued to sip and walk that next day and had another leak test using fluoroscopy (like a live Xray). I had to drink a nasty contrast dye and they watch it go down the esophagus and fill the stomach and pass through. They look for any tiny leaks and look at the size of the new stomach. I was surprised at how small my stomach was. I was excited at how small my new stomach was. After confirming there were no leaks, I was given chicken broth (this was real broth, not instant....you could see that it wasn't instant and it tasted like home made). It was wonderful. For me, warm fluids felt really good. I had my IV removed, and my foley catheter removed. Several hours later I was urinating on my own and rejoicing that I wasn't going to have to go home with a catheter in place. The abdominal drain was also removed on this day, and let me tell you, the level of pain decreased dramatically once the drain was removed. I was amazed. Pain wasn't bad to begin with, but once the drain was out, it was pretty minimal. I was only requiring pain medicine a few times a day after the drain was removed.
My husband came with me and was a great support. My friend also had surgery the same day as me and her husband came, and we were so glad to have them with us. We were able to walk outside. It was on 97 degrees. Later in the evening it was 84 degrees and Dr. Campos teased that it was cold.
Friday night, the night before we were leaving, Dr. Aceves came in to see us one final time. He asked how my experience was. I told him that overall, I had a GREAT experience. I felt the hospital care I received probably exceeded the care I've seen in many US hospitals. His team is very caring and in spite of communication barriers(Not all the nurses speak english), they do a great job of meeting your needs. The only issues I had were the urinary retention ( i did feel like the nurses should have paid a bit more attention with this, but they had not dealt with it before), and twice, I did not get my chicken broth...and my husband had to ask a couple of times to get it.
Dr. Aceves told me to make sure and tell my American friends that the hospital was clean and there were no chicken in the operating room....with a twinkle in his eye! He is a funny guy!
I loved my experience and can't wait to see where I will be in one year!
HW 232 SW 218 WT when leaving hospital 219.5
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