My VSG trip

Oct 23, 2010

Well, I left on Sunday morning for the airport to fly from Minnesota to San Antonio, Texas.  Once I got to SAT, I hopped on the LaQuinta shuttle and they drove me to the hotel where Rosie, the driver for Endobariatrics picked me up.  We then drove about 2 1/4 hours to Eagle Pass, Texas where I stayed in a hotel for the night.  Rosie told me my pickup would be at 8:15 the next morning.  BORING.  Not alot to do in Eagle Pass, plus I was alone, so I stayed in the hotel, drank my broth and watched television.  Slept ok, not great, mostly because I was so excited to get this done.

Rosie picked me up and we drove 10 minutes across the Mexico border through the very quaint town of Piedras Negras, MX.  I met Dr. Alvarez, and can I say, what a nice man.  He was very down to earth, talked to me like I was a good friend and was there to answer any and all questions I had.  Very different from US surgeons, who are focused on time.  Once we had gone through my health history, the procedure and what I should plan on happening, I went with Christina, one of Dr. Alvarez' nurses (who speaks wonderful English).  We went to get my bloodwork and chest xray done.  When I stepped out of Dr. Alvarez office into the hospital, I was at first taken aback.  The hospital is very old and the nursing staff wear the nurse hats that they used to wear in the US in the 60's and 70's.  They don't have computers and still type on typewriters, but it was clean and run well. 

I met Dr. Salinas, the anesthesiologist, and he was also so friendly and nice.  He grabbed my hand and gave me a hug and said "this is going to be so good".  I went back to my suite, and a nurse came in and started my IV.  In 10 minutes, I was out and in surgery.  I woke up a little groggy from the anesthesia and my eyes were blurry with distance vision, but I had absolutely no pain or nausea.  AMAZING!!!!!  This has never happened to me before and I'm a veteran at abdominal surgery.  Never has a doctor in the states been able to control my nausea and vomiting, much less pain.  I felt fantastic.  The nurses were in and out of my room constantly, making sure to keep up on the pain and nausea meds (which obviously worked wonders).I was up walking 6 hours after my surgery and getting out of bed and to the bathroom all by myself, because I felt so good.  Dr. Alvarez was in numerous times to check on me and he told me that he repaired my hiatal hernia (which I knew I had) and he said it was 'very large', and also that my stomach was 'very large'.  He said he used a 32f bougie, which we discussed before the surgery, and he oversewed it, which is his norm. 

The second day, they removed my IV and put a hep-lock in for a few hours to make sure I was still having my nausea controlled.  It was, so they removed it and took me for the leak test.  It went great and didn't taste bad at all.  I went back to the hospital and walked my little tushie off all day.  I had a sleeping pill that night, which worked for a whopping 5 hours, and yep, I was up in the middle of the night walking my little tushie off again.  The gas pains were there, but nothing that wasn't tolerable.

Day three, I did my discharge with Dr. Alvarez where he gave me a two week supply of medication for pain, acid and a 3 day antibiotic.  He didn't make me have to go to a pharmacy and pay for meds like some MX surgeons do, it was part of the package deal.   We discussed my post-op diet of clear liquids for one week, full liquids for two weeks, mushies for two weeks then solids.  He told me that I could lift no more than 5 pounds for one week, then I could add 5 pounds every week after that.  I did a little video about my experience with Endobariatrics (because I'm a nurse) and Rosie brought me back to San Antonio to the LaQuinta Inn.  I took a stroll to the Walmart which was about 3 blocks away from the hotel to get some broth and something to drink.  I had planned on taking the shuttle to the RiverWalk and the Alamo etc. to do a little 'site seeing' but after the 3 block walk to and from the Walmart, my body told me otherwise.  I was exhausted.  So, I stayed in the hotel. 

Day four postop, I was shuttled to the SAT airport.  I walked the airport to my gate, instead of using the skycap or wheelchair and waited for my flight.  Thank heavens that this plane was larger than the one I flew to TX on.  I actually had some room to sit in my seat.  Once in MN, I hoofed it to the parking ramp, got my car and paid a ridiculous parking fee to get out of the parking ramp.  $158 for 5 days.  UGH!  I drove an hour home.  I am now on the morning of my 7th day post-op (awake at 4am, because I'm an insomniac) and doing pretty much everything I want.  Even made a big Turkey dinner for my family yesterday.  I'm gravitating toward the Food Network, watching them cook healthy meals, and not the boxed garbage that has gotten me to where I am.  I'm so looking forward to enjoying making meals and being creative in the kitchen.

I would not hesitate to encourage others who don't have insurance, or whose insurance don't cover the VSG to go to Dr. Alvarez.  His fees are $8999 for everything and he is a great surgeon and very nice man.  I've seen some hospital bills in the US for this procedure to be $32000.00, which is insane.  I never once felt worried about being in MX and was in very qualified hands.  Dr. Alvarez has done nearly 1500 VSG's.  I'd rather go to the surgeon with the experience and credentials and Dr. Alvarez has both!!

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About Me
Becker, MN
Location
25.5
BMI
VSG
Surgery
10/18/2010
Surgery Date
Aug 08, 2010
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