I guess I never really posted how the whole thing happened. I know I'll want this information later and it might be helpful to others that are considering this procedure so I'm going to go over it now.
April 27
We met up at the San Diego Jet Blue terminal at 8am with Terry, Leslie, Darlene and Jason who were also getting the sleeve the same day as me. Our transport arrived on time in a VW van to take us to Tijuana. The trip over the border was uneventful. I think we stopped for about 2 seconds... didn't have to talk to anyone, nothing. Vehicle just got its pictures taken, that's it and then we were off.
We arrived at the Jerusalem Clinic about 9am and sat around upstairs for quite awhile. Blood was drawn, EKGs were done, met Dr Almanza and he discussed the procedure a little, consulted with Juan Betancourt (patient coordinator/admin) and Dr. Betancourt (his brother and VP of the place) were done and then we were taken down to the room to be put in a gown, IV put in and weighed.
Not too much longer later you're walked into the surgical suite. Within moments you talk to the anesthiesiologist and you're out like a light. You awake in the recovery room beside the surgical suite and are then walked to a waiting bed. From then on, its basically pass out, pain meds/saline by IV, walk a little to get rid of gas pains, pass out, ad nauseaum until the next morning.
April 28
By 9am they put some more meds in your IV and you're transferred to the recovery house/hotel (whichever you've chosen). They dropped us off at the hotel, made sure we were situated and then we didn't see anyone again until around 8pm that night when we were picked up again for transport back to the clinic for more pain meds and antibiotics and then transported back to the hotel.
April 29
They picked us up around 10 am and they took us to radiology to have our leak test. They give you this nasty blue water that you're supposed to drink down while they drive you. Once you are called in for your test, you're done with the nasty blue stuff and instead, you get even nastier clear stuff. You have to drink it while standing in front of the xray so they can take pictures while it goes down and make sure you're ok to go home. After the test, we were driven back to the clinic to have the xrays reviewed. We were there not even 10 minutes before we were released and headed back to the hotel again. Yay no leaks! That night we were picked up again around 10pm and brought to the clinic for 1 last pain med and they took the IV out as well as the drain. It doesn't hurt. It feels really weird, but it doesn't hurt to have it removed. They don't sew up the spot where the drain was so you're left with a 1" slit that has to heal without the stitches.
April 30
They picked us up at 11 am and off we headed to the USA border to go back into San Diego. The drive was very quick. They had warned us originally that it could be up to 3 hours waiting to get through but it was an hour total from the time we left the hotel until we were back in the states!
We flew home May 1 :)
Showing posts with label Hotel Ticuan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hotel Ticuan. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Friday, April 29, 2011
2 days out
I am not gonna lie. It hurts. There's been pain and a fair bit of it. The gas pain is horrible and took a good 24-36 hours to clear up. Feeling alot better today than last night. I can now fall asleep at the drop of a hat..anywhere. They're not too free with the pain meds it seems. And what they do give is not very strong. Granted, I can't take morphine so that may be why I'm hurting so much. The drain they put in is very uncomfortable and is frankly a PITA.
Had the leak test today. That was just so much fun. They make you drink this nasty purple water that turns your whole mouth dark purple and then when you get to the radiologist, you get to drink even more foul tasting stuff while they xray your newly created stomach so that they can check to make sure you have no leaks. Its absolutely disgusting. I puked on the floor. LOL. but good news, no leak! Yay!
Freezies are the best invention ever. If anyone reading this blog is getting this surgery, get as many freezies as they will give you. Freezies make me happy. :)
Its been a rough few days. I have MAYBE ingested 1 cup of water in 2 days. Its good that you get the IV the first day because I would be super dehydrated otherwise. I'm trying to get my water/juice into me but its hard. It hurts if you drink too fast and you either retch or burp. So drinking liquids has been slow going that's why the freezies are so awesome. They're easy to get down, taste good, give you a little bit of calories and liquids.
Staying at the hotel definitely has its advantages and disadvantages. We get the quiet and peace to ourselves. We have our own schedule. But... there's no nurse checking on us like they have at the recovery house, there's no meds. Its a PITA to get meds because they have to pick you up at the hotel, bring you to the hospital for the meds. We at the hotel are definitely not getting the same level of aftercare that those in the house are, that's for damn sure.
I'm sucking back my isopure protein drink as best I can today. My goal is to get the whole thing down ( a whole 237 ml) before bed :)
Had the leak test today. That was just so much fun. They make you drink this nasty purple water that turns your whole mouth dark purple and then when you get to the radiologist, you get to drink even more foul tasting stuff while they xray your newly created stomach so that they can check to make sure you have no leaks. Its absolutely disgusting. I puked on the floor. LOL. but good news, no leak! Yay!
Freezies are the best invention ever. If anyone reading this blog is getting this surgery, get as many freezies as they will give you. Freezies make me happy. :)
Its been a rough few days. I have MAYBE ingested 1 cup of water in 2 days. Its good that you get the IV the first day because I would be super dehydrated otherwise. I'm trying to get my water/juice into me but its hard. It hurts if you drink too fast and you either retch or burp. So drinking liquids has been slow going that's why the freezies are so awesome. They're easy to get down, taste good, give you a little bit of calories and liquids.
Staying at the hotel definitely has its advantages and disadvantages. We get the quiet and peace to ourselves. We have our own schedule. But... there's no nurse checking on us like they have at the recovery house, there's no meds. Its a PITA to get meds because they have to pick you up at the hotel, bring you to the hospital for the meds. We at the hotel are definitely not getting the same level of aftercare that those in the house are, that's for damn sure.
I'm sucking back my isopure protein drink as best I can today. My goal is to get the whole thing down ( a whole 237 ml) before bed :)
Monday, April 18, 2011
Counting down and trip deets..
1 week away.
Trying to get all my last minute information handled. Hubby thinks we should bring 2 suitcases. I think he's insane. We're going to be gone for 5 days and I'll be in jammies/yoga pants pretty much the entire time. No reason we need 2 suitcases! Besides, I'll be in a wheelchair the entire trip back so he would have to push me AND transport luggage. That would suck donkeyballs.
I start liquids/softs diet on Easter Sunday which should be great fun. After the surgery, we're still trying to get a handle on what kind of things I can eat. There's alot of differing opinions out there that's for sure. I'm going to be strict so that I can get the max use of the benefits of the "golden shot" of the VSG.
We fly in to San Diego on Apr 26 and we're staying at a Hilton for the night. Then the next morning, we head back to the airport for our medical transport to Tijuana, MX. They will bring us to the Jerusalem Hospital there and I will have my tests all done and the surgery same day.
Standard hospital stay is 2 days and thankfully Hubby will get to stay there with me. After 2 days, they release me to (normally) the recovery house. We've chosen instead to stay in a nearby hotel (Hotel Ticuan) for a little measure of privacy. Also there was comments that if the house was full, Hubby could end up sleeping on a couch or sent to a hotel by himself. We didn't want that chance so we're paying for the 2 nights at the hotel. Apparently its VERY nice and we've rented the best room in the place (a suite) for only $80! They advised me that they will leave my IV port in and when I need to see the nurse for pain meds, tests, etc, they will come and pick me up. They'll bring me back to the hospital to do it and then bring me back to the hotel.
On Saturday April 30, I will have the swallow test to check for leaks. I was already advised to ask for a red popsicle instead of trying to drink the nasty barium solution. I have a hell of a gag reflex and there's no way I'd be able to get that crap in me. Once I pass that, I'm released and they bring us back to San Diego where we're overnighting again at the Hilton. We fly home (with a layover in Seattle) on May 1. Unfortunately we couldn't find a better flight so we're coming home at something like 11pm. I am going to see how I feel for work on the Monday. My intention is to go to work but I'll see how it goes.
My employer does not know I am getting this surgery. They only know that I'm having surgery. My boss asked me if the surgery was "necessary". Yes. Yes it is. I will die from obesity related illnesses and I'll be off work more for them than this time off for surgery. I have a pretty technical job. I hope that I won't have any issues with concentration or tiredness afterwards that would affect my job.
Trying to get all my last minute information handled. Hubby thinks we should bring 2 suitcases. I think he's insane. We're going to be gone for 5 days and I'll be in jammies/yoga pants pretty much the entire time. No reason we need 2 suitcases! Besides, I'll be in a wheelchair the entire trip back so he would have to push me AND transport luggage. That would suck donkeyballs.
I start liquids/softs diet on Easter Sunday which should be great fun. After the surgery, we're still trying to get a handle on what kind of things I can eat. There's alot of differing opinions out there that's for sure. I'm going to be strict so that I can get the max use of the benefits of the "golden shot" of the VSG.
We fly in to San Diego on Apr 26 and we're staying at a Hilton for the night. Then the next morning, we head back to the airport for our medical transport to Tijuana, MX. They will bring us to the Jerusalem Hospital there and I will have my tests all done and the surgery same day.
Standard hospital stay is 2 days and thankfully Hubby will get to stay there with me. After 2 days, they release me to (normally) the recovery house. We've chosen instead to stay in a nearby hotel (Hotel Ticuan) for a little measure of privacy. Also there was comments that if the house was full, Hubby could end up sleeping on a couch or sent to a hotel by himself. We didn't want that chance so we're paying for the 2 nights at the hotel. Apparently its VERY nice and we've rented the best room in the place (a suite) for only $80! They advised me that they will leave my IV port in and when I need to see the nurse for pain meds, tests, etc, they will come and pick me up. They'll bring me back to the hospital to do it and then bring me back to the hotel.
On Saturday April 30, I will have the swallow test to check for leaks. I was already advised to ask for a red popsicle instead of trying to drink the nasty barium solution. I have a hell of a gag reflex and there's no way I'd be able to get that crap in me. Once I pass that, I'm released and they bring us back to San Diego where we're overnighting again at the Hilton. We fly home (with a layover in Seattle) on May 1. Unfortunately we couldn't find a better flight so we're coming home at something like 11pm. I am going to see how I feel for work on the Monday. My intention is to go to work but I'll see how it goes.
My employer does not know I am getting this surgery. They only know that I'm having surgery. My boss asked me if the surgery was "necessary". Yes. Yes it is. I will die from obesity related illnesses and I'll be off work more for them than this time off for surgery. I have a pretty technical job. I hope that I won't have any issues with concentration or tiredness afterwards that would affect my job.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Feeling better today. I have a feeling I'll be alternating alot between different emotions as my surgery comes closer.
Easter will be my last solid meal. We're having some family come and stay with us for a few days and they leave on Easter Sunday so its perfect timing for me. We will have dinner on the Saturday and then Sunday I start my liquids only. The tuesday after Easter, we fly to San Diego and the next day, we're off to Mexico! I spend one day in the hospital and then move to a hotel. They have a free recovery house with meals and everything but I wanted my privacy and there was a chance that hubby wouldn't be able to stay there with me if the house is full so I'd rather just go to a nearby hotel instead. So we're staying at the Hotel Ticuan in the Suite :D
I have the best husband ever. He's paying 75% of the cost of this from his tax free savings account so I can get this done. He is excited and happy for me and of course only wants me to be happy. I'm a lucky girl.
Easter will be my last solid meal. We're having some family come and stay with us for a few days and they leave on Easter Sunday so its perfect timing for me. We will have dinner on the Saturday and then Sunday I start my liquids only. The tuesday after Easter, we fly to San Diego and the next day, we're off to Mexico! I spend one day in the hospital and then move to a hotel. They have a free recovery house with meals and everything but I wanted my privacy and there was a chance that hubby wouldn't be able to stay there with me if the house is full so I'd rather just go to a nearby hotel instead. So we're staying at the Hotel Ticuan in the Suite :D
I have the best husband ever. He's paying 75% of the cost of this from his tax free savings account so I can get this done. He is excited and happy for me and of course only wants me to be happy. I'm a lucky girl.
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