Amber'sJourney

I didn’t think it would take me so long to sit down and write out my experience/review, but here it is finally! I am currently 4 weeks out. I began my pre op at 216 and on the day of surgery weighed 206. I am now 188. So at 4 weeks I have lost a total of 28 lbs. I think I would have lost more if not for my complications. Yes, I said the “C” word! After researching Dr. Lopez and Dr. Osuna, I decided to go with them. I could not find any negative reviews. I confirmed that they were both Mexico Board Certified Surgeons. I reviewed multiple forums for complaints, complications and results. I was confident in my choice. I scheduled with A lighter Me, they were having a ‘special’ and I paid 4500. I spoke with Ronda and then later after booking, Janese. I’ve always received a timely reply. I chose to go to Mi Doctor Hospital as it was the main hospital Dr. Lopez does surgery at in Tijiuana. The other option was INT which was also 500 dollars more. Mi Doctor is a Bariatric Hospital, but it has a lab, blood bank and 2 OR’s and a small ICU. They have a cardiologist as well. Mi Doctor hospital is about 2 years old. The 3rd floor is where all the patient rooms are and the OR. The morning of my flight, I received a phone call from Abraham (Driver and host with a lighterme.) He confirmed my flight information, asked me to save his phone number and gave me a description of the van and asked me to call him after landing. It was comforting to not have to worry about pick up! I flew out with my sister and we arrived late in San Diego, Abraham was there to pick us up and he was pleasant and friendly. The drive was less than 30 minutes to cross the border (no stopping), and to get to the Hotel. We got checked in and were given instructions for pick up in the morning to go to the Hospital. The morning of the surgery I was nervous... Abraham picked up my sister and I at the Hotel and off to Mi Doctor we went. Abraham stayed with us until I was all checked in. Upon checking in at the Hospital, they took blood work for labs, I received an EKG and met with 4 different Drs. The hospitalist, the anesthesiologist, Dr. Lopez, and the assistant surgeon Dr. Ortiz. Each Doctor went over my personal history and the procedure. I found Dr. Lopez to be intelligent and sincere. His english may not be completely fluent, but he did have a translator present to help with any language issues. I felt very comfortable going through with the surgery. NOTE: I do have lots of medication allergies and they did not give me any type of allergy bracelet like they do here. I would like to point out that Dr. Osuna was not there. Another surgeon Dr. Ortiz was there to be Dr. Lopez’s assistant for my procedure. I did not fully research Dr. Ortiz as Aligherme had told me clearly that Dr. Osuna was going to be my surgeon along side Dr. Lopez. Dr. Ortiz’s name was never mentioned to me. I was the ONLY surgery of the day and was very pleased about that. I was rolled back to OR, sat on the table and I remember lying down and then its gets hazy... next thing I knew I was waking up in recovery. Yes, I was in pain, but the good news is that by the time I was in my room I was no longer in pain, but I could remember having been in pain. I almost immediately got up for a walk to help with the gas pains. I would describe the gas pain as severe discomfort and pressure on my chest. But I wouldn’t really say that it is true PAIN. My sister was there with me to walk the hall alongside me and I was still groggy from the OR so that was a good thing. Throughout the time in the hospital I never had to call for a nurse. They were often in my room injecting my IV with meds. I can’t tell you what they were because of the translation of meds etc. They would just tell me its for pain and nausea. Btw I never felt any nausea. They would offer something ‘to help you sleep’ which I was hesitant about because I didn’t want any sleeping medication. But after some effort I realized it was a liquid muscle relaxer, which I had no problem taking. I mentioned earlier having allergies. They are all to antibiotics. No life threatening side affects though. I was given one of the meds I was allergic to. I mentioned several times my allergies. Of course the name of the med was in spanish but on the second day I looked at it and realized the name was very similar to one of my allergies. They unhooked it immediately. (IV antibiotics.) At discharge I was given oral antibiotics as well. And yes the same med that I am allergic to. I brought it to Eduardo’s attention and he made some calls. Dr. Ortiz brought me the correct medication before I left. I was also given a ‘goodie bag’. Chapstick, Maalox, Antibiotics, chest xray CD, gatorade, water etc. On the table they do a leak test before you ever leave the OR. It’s a purple dye and I hear that some people throw it up in recovery, but I did not. Later, I was given blue barium to drink, this is another leak test. I drank it, no it wasn’t yummy but it could have been worse. If the blue dye goes into your drain, then its a sign of a leak. No blue in my drain Next I was given a chest xray. They wheeled me to the testing area and then I stood up between the xray machine and was given a clear liquid to drink which I found extremely gross. I could see on the xray my new stomach- it was tiny! No leaks. My sister was a trooper during the 2 days in the hospital. She brought books, but there was of course a TV in our room and wifi. I was able to Skype with my family back home! My husband called several times a day on the 1-800 number. No, my cell did not work there. I was glad I did not go alone, but if you do, you’ll be just fine. We visited with other patients and never felt really alone. After 2 nights in the Hospital we went back to the Hotel (Marriot), which was lovely, clean and I can’t say enough about how comfy the bed and pillows were! Of course there was wifi and a 1-800 number so that my husband could continue to call me and I skyped there as well. You are given 2 bottled waters, 3 bowls of chicken broth and 2 popsicles per day which is plenty. They had watermelon popsicles when I was there... and they were... gross. I don’t recommend those! My sister ate at the hotel some very yummy looking food! I loved the chicken broth, it was flavorful. Once we were at the hotel Eduardo took us shopping with some other patients to local souvenir areas. Had fun but definitely overpaid on some things. I just didn’t have quite enough energy to worry about that, I just wanted to get a few souvenirs for my family. I sipped on Gatorade through the day and water. He also took us to a restaurant and I had some beef broth and my sister had yummy cheesy looking enchiladas. On the second day at the hotel my sister and I went to the local shopping plaza (this time it was Abraham’s turn to take the patients shopping but we didn’t want to go to the same place a second day. He dropped us off at the Plaza.) And again I watched the sister eat. LOL. I wasn’t hungry but the food did look good. We also went to Walmart and there was a Casino next to WalMart and we went in for about five minutes and I won thirty bucks! We took a cab back to the Hotel. (4$) Later that evening my sister wanted to go to a pharmacy. Eduardo or Abraham made a special trip to take her there. (I can’t remember which one of them it was that time- lol). The day before we left Dr. Ortiz came to take out my drainage tube and I will be honest- it hurt! It took about 10-15 seconds. Once it was out there was a great relief! Whew. He answered all my questions etc. BTW, Dr. Ortiz is completely fluent. The morning we left for the airport, Abraham helped me with my bags. We crossed the border in good time. There is opportunity as you cross the border to do some last minute shopping as peddlers will approach the vehicles etc. I had some lime sorbet- which I ate less than 1/6 of a scoop and felt quite ‘full’. My sister had some tacos, which later came to haunt her! Warning folks, bring some pepto tablets for your guests and have them eat one before eating from the street vendors. I was told that I didn’t really need a passport to cross the border. I brought all my documents, DL, BC, expired passport, marriage certificate, and my receipt for my passport card that I recently applied for. I realized that morning we left that my birth certificate was missing. I have no idea when it disappeared or how. I had all my documents together and it was the only one missing. I knew I had not left it at home because I had showed it to my sister sometime during our trip. So I presented my DL and expired passport that was in my maiden name. The border agent asked me which name was mine? I answered that one was my maiden name the other my married name and offered my marriage certificate to him, but he shrugged and didn’t really look at it. He handed me back my documents and that was it. We were waved over the border. NOTE: About a week and half after I got home I received my birth certificate in the mail with no notes or letter from: the state department. I can only assume it was turned in etc.) So once at home, things were going just fine. I started to have a pain two days after I got home. Its low to the right, near that incision. (The only incision on the right side.) I’d rest a couple of days and the pain would get better. Then I would get up and pick up around the house and the pain would come back just as strong. I searched the forums and google and found an accurate description of what I was feeling. A burning, tearing pain in my abdominal muscle. Ok... likely caused from a pulled stitch. The only fix: rest. I emailed Janese and she contacted Dr. Lopez who said for me to take some pain medication like tylenol or tordol (that they sent home with us.) I used all the tordol already and so I took some percacet I had at home. But I only had a few and let me tell you they didn’t really touch the pain. A couple of days of rest and I felt I was getting better. However it went back and forth. Get out of bed for a day pain would return. On October 17 the pain was so extreme I thought I might pass out. I could not get out of bed. Eventually I had to (bathroom) and it took my husband ten minutes helping me for me to get off the bed. Two days later I went to the ER because the pain was so extreme and I felt like it wasn’t getting better and I was afraid that I could have a hernia. On arrival my HR was 144 (result of pain), they gave me a CT told me it showed inflammation likely from a slight tear to my muscle. They also gave me a shot of morphine which finally helped with the pain, my HR returned to normal. I also got one bag of IV fluids. And yes I was extremely dehydrated on top of everything else... I mean you try to sip anything while lying flat in bed... it’s not happening. (It was only in the past few days I realize: chew ice.) They prescribed rest. Sigh. Also gave me liquid pain med and zofran for nausea that often accompanies pain med. Two days later I was finally feeling a little improvement- meaning I didn’t feel like passing out! Then I threw up. Yep. The liquid pain meds finally caught up with my tummy, made me nausea and yes I was taking the zofran. I took a couple of steps back in recovery from that. Today is day 11 of being in bed. You would be amazed at what your abdominals do.... I’m tired of bed. I have a five, four and three year old and they miss their mommy. My husband has been doing everything on his own, while I lie here in bed. Yes, its getting a little depressing. My weight loss has been slower of course since I am basically inactive. BUT I am still losing, slowly. So I take comfort in that... Also, I was not given any instructions post op to take an ant-acid from Dr. Lopez. I was having terrible acid and wrote to Janese who advised me that she had been on one since her surgery and that I might try it. I did and it made an amazing difference. Why didn’t Dr. Lopez suggest that? I don’t know. I wish he had as a part of post op instructions. Overall would I do it again? Yes. I haven’t weighed 188 in 6 years. I’m still obese but I have a taste of being a healthy me again! I had complete confidence in the surgeon, Dr. Lopez. If I had had any misgivings or lack of peace, I was determined to walk away, even losing my deposit and airfare etc. I’m not healed from surgery yet. I am still dealing with a torn muscle. Sigh. I know this will heal. It just takes time, I have read anywhere from 3 weeks to 3 months. I do think that my discharge instructions could have been more detailed. I was told explicitly DO NOT lift more than 20 pounds and take it easy, rest. I think I should have been told NO bending, stooping or twisting. If I had... I don’t think I would have pulled and then tore an abdominal muscle. I was not prepared for this complication. I’m younger and I have young children, I think more often patients tend to be older with grown kids or younger with no kids. So ‘rest’ means something different to each of those groups.

No, it did not include airfare That was the cost of all tests, the surgery, hospital and hotel stay and on ground transportation. As for the language, I did go to another country It was something I was willing to do. And Dr. Lopez had, (at least with me during our consults) had the interpreter present but he never actually used the interpreter. He spoke to me in english. If he faltered on an english word I think the interpreter would have piped in. I speak spanish but I didn't tell anyone that... sometimes you learn more by being quiet and just listening :ph34r:

I looked at the website and the highest rating that site gives is a 4 out of 5 stars. Dr. Lopez had 3.5 stars and his wife had 4 stars... I wouldn't say that is low compared to the other ratings. BUT that being said it depends who runs the website and who they are trying to promote. I tried to gather my information from reviews on forums and not promotional websites. Also, as I was the ONLY patient of the day I cannot agree with the statement that he does too many per day! The day before he had a full day with 4 patients. The day after mine, I believe he had 3.

The Marriot and Mi Doctor Hospital, both have 1800 numbers that your family can call you on, free of charge. My husband called me several times a day and I also skyped with my family daily. Good luck!

Thank you for your well wishes and good luck to you on your surgery! Yay!

I would write to confirm that Dr. Osuna will be there. Also, I would recommend researching Dr. Ortiz in the event that Osuna is not present. I had no problems with Ortiz and liked him. That being said I would have preferred to be able to research him as well! This was something that could have influenced me to walk away but I felt peace about it so I went through with the surgery. Immediately after surgery while walking the halls, I did think to myself, Oh my, maybe I could have tried a little longer (to lose) before doing this... (It was the discomfort speaking!) Now as I watch the fat melt away, even with the complications, I'm so glad I did it! I can totally identify with the 200 mark you mentioned. I had lost and gained the same stupid fifteen pounds for the past 4 years! Now, I'm down 28- woohoo! Good luck to you! Amber

Thank you Confused on the BC. I know I had it with me because I showed it to my sister and she saw it when we were in MX. *Shrugs* That's the only reason I know I wasn't crazy... but who knows!

Muffintop, I'm so sorry you had such a poor experience! I wrote out my experience last night and am about to post it. I used alighterme also. Yes, I got some generic responses back from them but for the most part they replied to my emails promptly. On the ground I had a different experience with Abraham and Eduardo. I used a different Dr. than you did... when I was getting my surgery there was another patient there using Dr. Garcia and we noted that he and Lopez did do some things differently as well as we received different meds and her drain was pulled out in the hospital whereas mine was removed the day before I left at the Hotel. I had no real pain after surgery... maybe you had more pain because of the difference in Dr's and their orders? I'm just so sorry your experience wasn't better! It's interesting that you mentioned that people had money go missing... my birth certificate ended up missing but I have no idea where or when it happened. I really thought it happened at the Hotel OR that I was absent-minded and left it somewhere (however unlikely).

Hi, I was at Mi Doctor in TJ. A nurse put in my iv and it was great- as in I didn't feel a thing! I've had quite a few iv's and it was a really good one. It also healed up much faster than others I've had after it was removed. I never had to call for a nurse, they were in my room every couple of hours injecting meds into my IV. Other than the gas pains, I wasn't really in any pain. When I woke up in recovery there was pain but that was dealt with quickly- when I called out and looked up there was a nurse prepping a syringe to inject in my IV. Language was not really a problem. Most of the nurses spoke some english and if they didn't and I had a question they would go get a nurse that spoke better english. The Dr. checked on me everyday. There was also a night shift Dr. that came to check in on me. I am posting a review tonight. Please read it It's much longer than this. Good luck!

I went to TJ for surgery in September. I did not have a current passport. I used my DL and I had an expired passport. I had intended to use my BC with DL -but I lost it in Mexico (received it in the mail from the state department a week and half later, thank goodness). My coordinators told me I didn't really need it (passport). But you won't find that advertised anywhere. They suggested that I only needed a receipt that I had applied for a passport book or card. I also had my receipt but they (border patrol) didn't ask for anything else after I supplied my DL and expired passport. Good luck!

Dr. Ortiz told me that they might appear and I could simply trim them. It's all normal.

I flew southwest to San Diego, also. They do not have assigned seating so you would have to explain to the flight attendants on each plane ride about your 3rd ticket.

He does three leak tests. One while you are still in the OR. Then the blue barium drink/drain test, and last the chest xray.

This is the first time I have heard mention of massaging. How are you to massage the area? When you massage does it hurt also? Thanks! Amber

I had surgery with Dr Lopez on 9/27, in TJ. Great experience and would do it again! I haven't posted my 'story' yet, but I will in the next week or so. My sister went with me and she will be returning in November to get a sleeve with Dr. Lopez.

Wondering what your Dr. said when you saw him/her? How long did your pain last? Did you try the spanx with any results? I am experiencing the same pain and it's extreme at times. Thanks for your input!

I just had surgery with Dr. Lopez on the 27th of September. I am 8 days out and doing great. I am very happy with my surgeon. I haven't written in full about my experience yet, but I will. (Recovering and taking care of the family is a juggle.) I went to TJ and if you go there you will need to check before hand if Dr. Osuna is assisting him or if he is using Dr. Ortiz. Otherwise in their other locations she always assists. Dr. Ortiz was the general surgeon (assistant surgeon) with Dr. Lopez during my surgery. I was Mi Doctor Hospital and although it is a small bariatric hospital with 2 OR's, full labs, blood bank etc it IS a hospital. The nurses were excellent and there was always someone that spoke english. I have had no complications. The others that I am keeping in touch with that had surgery the same week as I did are also doing well, with no complications. My sister is going back to use him later this fall. She accompanied me and felt really good about her choice to use him as well.

I am leaving tomorrow for TJ. I fly into San Deigo in the evening and I will get to the hotel late. I know there are lots of people that would like more feedback on Dr. Lopez, so when I get back I will post a detailed account of my surgery with Dr. Lopez. I would have liked more feedback when I was doing my research. (But I didn't find any negative). I also confirmed that he was a Lic. Surgeon in Mexico. I'm on day two of his required pre op fast and doing well. Yesterday was challenging. I think tomorrow I will be too busy and nervous to care about food! I also did 10 days of a pre op diet and so far I am down 9 pounds! Yay! I'm excited, I'm nervous, I'm second guessing myself but I am sure I need to do this!

Hi! Surgery went very well and I got back to my hometown a couple of hours ago. I'm going to write a much more detailed account of my experience in TJ with Dr. Lopez, but right now, I'm headed to bed! It was good!

I leave tomorrow, and my surgery is scheduled for Sept 27! Going to Tj for sleeve with Dr. Lopez!

I fly out on the 26th! I will be at Mi Doctor Hospital with Dr. Lopez.

Thank you all for your encouragement!!!

Some Dr's do it without the extra charge. I think that its more of the low cost Mexican Dr's that have an extra charge. I notice that you are in the Lopez/Osuna Sleevers social group. I am going to TJ at the end of next week for VSG with Lopez. Email me if you like.

Which hospital did you use? Int or Mi hospital? Thanks!

Which hospital did you use? Int or Mi hospital? Thanks!