LAETJENNIFER
My First Post Op Update - 4/3/07
Apr 03, 2007
I had my VSG surgery on 3/26/2007. Dr. Alvarez performed the surgery. My experience with him was wonderful. He is an amazing man and has qualities that you will have difficulty finding in a US doctor.
I arrived in San Antonio on Saturday, 3/24. My flights were good and more importantly they were on-time. I met my sister at the air port. She and I went to the Natural Bridge Caverns. It was a beautiful experience. That evening we checked into our hotel room. We stayed at the Hilton Airport Hotel. It was decently priced and the beds were quite comfortable. My sister and I took a shuttle to the North Star Mall and had dinner. We scurried accross the street trying to walk back to our hotel. Unfortunately, construction and I-410 prevented us from continuing our walk. Instead, we called a cab and had drinks while waiting. ;-) We had a great time.
The next day we were picked up by Dr. Alvarez's cousin, Rosie. That is when I met Joyce, who was also having the VSG surgery! We drove to Eagle Pass, Tx. In total the drive took about 2.5 hours. We stayed at the Holiday Inn Express. No complaints about the hotel. It was nice, but nothing spectacular. My sister and I decided that we'd have Chinese food because I love it so much. I ordered the Chicken Chow Mein - thinking how can they mess that up? Thankfully, it was mostly vegetable. I swear that the chicken was transparent. I have never seen chicken look like that before... and it tasted like rubber. VERY weird. My sister couldn't even eat her meal. Those of you having your surgery with Dr. A, beware about the chinese resturant in Eagle Pass that is near the hotel!!!
We met Rosie at 11 am the next morning (10 am Mexico time). We drove to Mexico. The drive to the hospital took minutes. When we arrived, Dr. Alvarez's office looked just as it does in his website. Very nice and very clean. We met and he was dressed in a very nice suit - he smelled great too. He immediately hugged Joyce, me, and my sister. He met with Joyce and discussed some things with her then met with me. At that time we went over some of the risks of surgery and he told me what he was going to do during surgery. I immediately felt comfortable with him. Dr. Alvarez weighed me - my home scale was off by only 1/5 of a pound... 225.2.
His office is directly infront of the hospital. We then took a short walk to the second floor of the hospital. Dr. Alvarez was nice enough to carry my suitcase. (I have such a crush on him.) I was given a room and a gown and told to change. A few minutes later a lab tech came to my room to take a blood sample. Once my results came back, I'd be ready for surgery! I was so excited. About 30 minutes later, a nurse came into my room with a gurney. I plopped myself on and was off to the OR. We went into a room where I was passed through a window type thing and onto another gurney. I was then taken into the actual OR where I was placed onto the table. The anesthesiologist (sp?) inserted the IV. I believe his name was Dr. P. Andrew Bocelli playing in the OR. It was very relaxing. We talked for a few minutes as the IV was being inserted. I was then told that Dr. P was going to place a mask over my face. He did and I remember fighting to keep my eyes open.
The next thing I remember is that I was being moved back to my room. My sister said I was gone for over two hours so I must have been in a recovery room for a few minutes - I have no clue because I was out of it.
When I entered my room I remember being in agony. I saw my sister and Joyce standing up near the couch inside the room. They both had smiles on their faces. I was in so much pain and couldn't take in deep breaths. It hurt to breathe. Thankfully, the pain to breathe continuted for a few minutes. When I was back on the bed I began to retch. Nothing came out except a bit of saliva with a speck of blood in it. I retched so hard I peed the bed. After the retching episode, I fell asleep on my right side. The first night it was always most comfortable to stay on my rightside. I was awake most of the night because of my sister's snoring. The nurses came in every two hours and pumped me with pain meds. I never had to ask or tell them I was in pain. They were great. Dr. Alvarez came in three times after the surgery.
The next day my abdomen was incredibly sore so it hurt to lift myself out of the bed. That problem was relieved by lowering the bed. I spent most of the day walking with Joyce and taking breaks. I had horrible gas pain and I think the excess gas actually prevented me from breathing deeply. By the end of the night, the gas pain subsided a tad. Joyce and I also had the pleasure of meeting Dr. A's father. He is a very nice man. He also hugged us and wished us well. That evening Joyce and I were given ice to chew on - yummy! Neither of us had any problems. Our IVs were taken out that evening as well. Walking was much easier without the IV cart. If I remember correctly, Dr. Alvarez came in to check on us three or four times that day.
The next morning we were given jello and herbal tea. I could not eat the Jello. We met with Dr. Alvarez one last time that morning (he already came to check on us at about 7 am). We were discharged. Dr. Alvarez again carried my suitcase to the van. We hugged goodbye and were off to San Antonio. I hadn't needed any pain meds during the night, but I thinking sitting so long began to hurt my sore abdomen. It didn't help that I wore jeans (I recommend sweat pants with an elastic waist). I took a pain pill and I was fine.
We checked into the Drury Hotel. It was very nice. They had a great buffett and free drinks available to the guests. My sister had a feast. I stayed in the room and took a nap because my head started to hurt. Around 7:00 p.m. I took my temperature and it was 100.0 degrees. I took some more pain pills and figured that I'd contact Dr. A. in the morning if it did not break. Upon waking for my flight my temperature was back to normal.
During my flight, I unbuttoned my pants and that helped to relieve my jeans from digging into my abs (they weren't tight, but jeans probably were not the best choice to wear). All of my flights were on-time, thank goodness. Upon returning to Fort Lauderdale, I met my mother (an RN). She was impressed with my incisions as they were tiny and had no redness.
As of the date of writing this I am 8 days post-op. I have lost 13 pounds! I finally finished my week of clear liquids and am now on the full liquid week. I am also finally able to drink all of my required water. My incisions are now beginning to itch me like crazy. But, that is a sign of healing, so I can't complain.
Overall, I was very happy with my experience. Dr. A., Rosie, and the nurses were all fabulous. Although the hospital itself is a bit "old school" I always felt safe and well cared for.
I arrived in San Antonio on Saturday, 3/24. My flights were good and more importantly they were on-time. I met my sister at the air port. She and I went to the Natural Bridge Caverns. It was a beautiful experience. That evening we checked into our hotel room. We stayed at the Hilton Airport Hotel. It was decently priced and the beds were quite comfortable. My sister and I took a shuttle to the North Star Mall and had dinner. We scurried accross the street trying to walk back to our hotel. Unfortunately, construction and I-410 prevented us from continuing our walk. Instead, we called a cab and had drinks while waiting. ;-) We had a great time.
The next day we were picked up by Dr. Alvarez's cousin, Rosie. That is when I met Joyce, who was also having the VSG surgery! We drove to Eagle Pass, Tx. In total the drive took about 2.5 hours. We stayed at the Holiday Inn Express. No complaints about the hotel. It was nice, but nothing spectacular. My sister and I decided that we'd have Chinese food because I love it so much. I ordered the Chicken Chow Mein - thinking how can they mess that up? Thankfully, it was mostly vegetable. I swear that the chicken was transparent. I have never seen chicken look like that before... and it tasted like rubber. VERY weird. My sister couldn't even eat her meal. Those of you having your surgery with Dr. A, beware about the chinese resturant in Eagle Pass that is near the hotel!!!
We met Rosie at 11 am the next morning (10 am Mexico time). We drove to Mexico. The drive to the hospital took minutes. When we arrived, Dr. Alvarez's office looked just as it does in his website. Very nice and very clean. We met and he was dressed in a very nice suit - he smelled great too. He immediately hugged Joyce, me, and my sister. He met with Joyce and discussed some things with her then met with me. At that time we went over some of the risks of surgery and he told me what he was going to do during surgery. I immediately felt comfortable with him. Dr. Alvarez weighed me - my home scale was off by only 1/5 of a pound... 225.2.
His office is directly infront of the hospital. We then took a short walk to the second floor of the hospital. Dr. Alvarez was nice enough to carry my suitcase. (I have such a crush on him.) I was given a room and a gown and told to change. A few minutes later a lab tech came to my room to take a blood sample. Once my results came back, I'd be ready for surgery! I was so excited. About 30 minutes later, a nurse came into my room with a gurney. I plopped myself on and was off to the OR. We went into a room where I was passed through a window type thing and onto another gurney. I was then taken into the actual OR where I was placed onto the table. The anesthesiologist (sp?) inserted the IV. I believe his name was Dr. P. Andrew Bocelli playing in the OR. It was very relaxing. We talked for a few minutes as the IV was being inserted. I was then told that Dr. P was going to place a mask over my face. He did and I remember fighting to keep my eyes open.
The next thing I remember is that I was being moved back to my room. My sister said I was gone for over two hours so I must have been in a recovery room for a few minutes - I have no clue because I was out of it.
When I entered my room I remember being in agony. I saw my sister and Joyce standing up near the couch inside the room. They both had smiles on their faces. I was in so much pain and couldn't take in deep breaths. It hurt to breathe. Thankfully, the pain to breathe continuted for a few minutes. When I was back on the bed I began to retch. Nothing came out except a bit of saliva with a speck of blood in it. I retched so hard I peed the bed. After the retching episode, I fell asleep on my right side. The first night it was always most comfortable to stay on my rightside. I was awake most of the night because of my sister's snoring. The nurses came in every two hours and pumped me with pain meds. I never had to ask or tell them I was in pain. They were great. Dr. Alvarez came in three times after the surgery.
The next day my abdomen was incredibly sore so it hurt to lift myself out of the bed. That problem was relieved by lowering the bed. I spent most of the day walking with Joyce and taking breaks. I had horrible gas pain and I think the excess gas actually prevented me from breathing deeply. By the end of the night, the gas pain subsided a tad. Joyce and I also had the pleasure of meeting Dr. A's father. He is a very nice man. He also hugged us and wished us well. That evening Joyce and I were given ice to chew on - yummy! Neither of us had any problems. Our IVs were taken out that evening as well. Walking was much easier without the IV cart. If I remember correctly, Dr. Alvarez came in to check on us three or four times that day.
The next morning we were given jello and herbal tea. I could not eat the Jello. We met with Dr. Alvarez one last time that morning (he already came to check on us at about 7 am). We were discharged. Dr. Alvarez again carried my suitcase to the van. We hugged goodbye and were off to San Antonio. I hadn't needed any pain meds during the night, but I thinking sitting so long began to hurt my sore abdomen. It didn't help that I wore jeans (I recommend sweat pants with an elastic waist). I took a pain pill and I was fine.
We checked into the Drury Hotel. It was very nice. They had a great buffett and free drinks available to the guests. My sister had a feast. I stayed in the room and took a nap because my head started to hurt. Around 7:00 p.m. I took my temperature and it was 100.0 degrees. I took some more pain pills and figured that I'd contact Dr. A. in the morning if it did not break. Upon waking for my flight my temperature was back to normal.
During my flight, I unbuttoned my pants and that helped to relieve my jeans from digging into my abs (they weren't tight, but jeans probably were not the best choice to wear). All of my flights were on-time, thank goodness. Upon returning to Fort Lauderdale, I met my mother (an RN). She was impressed with my incisions as they were tiny and had no redness.
As of the date of writing this I am 8 days post-op. I have lost 13 pounds! I finally finished my week of clear liquids and am now on the full liquid week. I am also finally able to drink all of my required water. My incisions are now beginning to itch me like crazy. But, that is a sign of healing, so I can't complain.
Overall, I was very happy with my experience. Dr. A., Rosie, and the nurses were all fabulous. Although the hospital itself is a bit "old school" I always felt safe and well cared for.
About Me
Location
36.0
BMI
Surgery
03/26/2007
Surgery Date
Surgeon
Feb 28, 2007
Member Since
