6 days out from surgery by Dr. Aceves (long post)

[1MP4Life 2]

Hi everyone,

I am six days out from surgery with Dr. Aceves in Mexicalli, and finally have a few free minutes so I thought I would tell about my experience for the people that have surgeries coming up.

I arrived on Friday in San Diego and was planning to take the van that Dr. Aceves provides, but my husband wanted to visit his daughter in So Cal while I was recovering, so we decided to rent a car. The car rental place required extra insurance for the days the vehicle was in Mexico ($25.00 for 24 hours), or we could park the car at a lot on the California side of the border and either take a cab, walk, or see if the van was available to pick us up. We decided to drive and the hospital was easy to find and had a small parking lot in the back with a security guard.

When we arrived at the hospital, I told the front desk clerk I was a patient of Dr. Aceves and they had us wait in a waiting area for a few minutes until Dr. Aceves' nurse arrived. She drew labs, urine sample, ekg, and x-rays within a half hour of us being there and we waited a few more minutes then Dr. Aceves arrived. We (my husband and I) talked with him for about a half hour to forty five minutes where he explained the surgery, and how to be sucessful after surgery. Next the anthestologist came and explained what would happen during the surgery, how long I would be unconsious and about the spinal block. After that, the internist came and talked to us a little more about the surgery. Ms. Yolanda showed up after that and gave us a packet to read through, and she completed the paperwork and took the money order for the surgery. Oh, all of this was in english, so we had no issues understanding anything.

After that, she told us to forget about the preop diet that night, and go have a nice dinner. I was scheduled for an early morning (0700) surgery, which they don't usually do, so she ask if we were willing to stay at the hospital that night instead of going to the motel. I was wanting to get the surgery done as soon as possible, so we stayed at the hospital. We ate at an italian resturant a couple of blocks from the hospital, and despite the things you hear about safety in Mexico, we did not feel uncomfortable at all walking to the resturant or sitting and eating the meal. It cost about $35 dollars for the two of us to eat and the food was fantastic. They gave the bill in both pecos and american dollars, so there was no confusion.

Back at the hospital, I met Jennifer (momof3girls) from this forum who was walking the hallways after having surgery that day. She was very sweet and was moving around well for having just had surgery that day. At about 9PM, Dr. Aceves arrived at the hospital to check on his patients and his nurse gave me a shot in my stomach which was an anticoagulant (spelling).

The next morning, they gave me a pill to take to relax and then rolled me back to the room for surgery. They put an IV in and turned me on my side for the spinal block I was VERY nervous about the spinal, but I barely felt it. After that I don't remember anything until I was back in my room, and my husband was kissing me goodbye so that he could go visit the grandkids while I recovered the next couple of days.

The next couple of days was just walking, resting and sipping on Water. To me the worst part was removal of the drain tube. It did not hurt, and only took a few seconds, but it felt VERY strange. I did feel better and had less pain in my side after it was taken out, but it felt wierd when it was pulled out.

Anyway, that is about it, it was pretty uneventful (thankfully), the hospital was nice, and very clean. I had a cleaning lady in my room at least two times a day cleaning up. If anyone that is going to Dr. Aceves has any questions about the experience, please let me know. I am very happy with the procedure and the experience at the hospital so I am glad to talk about it.

Of course not the hard part is not eating anything for 10 days. This clear liquid thing is tough. I never realized how much I thought about food, or how easy it was for me to go get what ever food I was craving anytime I wanted it.

Anyway, sorry about the long post, I just wanted to share my experience and pay forward all the advice I recieved before my surgery.

Cheers everyone!

Kelly

[Tiffykins 673]

So very happy to hear of a wonderful experience ! ! ! Congrats on your sleeve, and best wishes for a smooth and uneventful recovery.

Keep us posted on your progress. We're here for you, and welcome to the loser's bench.

[Dansha 16]

Congrats Kelly on your uneventful surgery. Seems like everthing went very good for you. Please keep us updated and good luck on your journey.

Deb

[Maddie 9]

Great post, thanks for the detailed info. I think a lot of people will really appreciate it. Glad to hear everything went well. Best of luck.

[mommaof4yoopers 3]

congrats and hope you're feeling well! the first days go so quickly!

[BlackBerryJuice 349]

Thanks for the post. I'm a month away from my surgery, and always eager to read updates from people who just had the operation - especially those who also used Dr. Aceves.

[mp8btpc 33]

I am so happy you had a great surgery and are in the recovery stage. I am always confident that when someone is using Dr. Aceves they will come back with great things to report. I am thinking of using him if I decide to give the sleeve a second try.

[BonnieJuneE 5]

Congrats on an Uneventful surgery! :thumbup1: Great post! Thank you for all of the details. I have decided to go with Dr.A for my Sleeve. Hearing you talk about your wonderful experience with him makes me 100% confident with my decision. Thanks again!

[clk 3,519]

Kelly,

Thank you so much for the detailed update on your surgery. It's so nice to know what to expect when I go for my surgery next week.

I'm glad to hear you're doing well, and I hope those 10 days of clears pass quickly for you. I hear they're the tough and I'm not looking forward to the challenge.

Take care, keep everyone posted on your progress!

~Cheri

[Papillon 7]

Glad to hear everything went great!! Hang in there... I am walking proof that the clear liquid thing is rough but actually doable. now I just need to get insurance approval. I am ready for the next part of my life. : )

[SouthernSleever 228]

Thanks for posting. I really want to do Aceves so your post is helpful. How did you feel the day after you got released from the hospital? My aunt lives in Texas and we in TN. My mom wanted to stop over in TX for a couple days to visit my aunt but I wonder if I will be up for it.

[nurse_ally 0]

Kelly, I had surgery with Dr. Aceves on July 1 and my experience was very similar to yours, all the way down to the drain removal...it was WEIRD!! But my experience with Dr. A and his staff was nothing short of stellar. And isn't Jennifer a sweetheart? I met her when I was there, too She got sleeved two days after me, I believe? I also agree with you on the clear liquid thing, it's tough! We had a busy night last night and I had to get McDonald's for my kids' dinner and I was really about to cry when the heavenly scent of chicken mcnuggets hit the air. But it'll all be worth it, and I feel alot better today. Yesterday was just one of those days when I thought about food ALL the time. Anyway, just wanted to second the opinion on Dr. Aceves for anyone considering him and his facility. It was a wonderful experience.

DJackson, I would have been fine to stop and visit family the day after I was released from the hospital. I just hope you're not driving, because every little bump in the road is a tad uncomfortable for a couple days. Just make sure you don't do anything strenuous like spend a whole day shopping or something. As long as you just sit around and visit, you should be ok. Hope your surgery goes as well as mine did, and I can't wait to hear how you're feeling post op

[1MP4Life 2]

The day after I was released from the hospital I was still pretty sore, but I felt good other than that. My husband and I went to a mall (because it's air conditioned) and walked around alot that day. The walking felt better than sitting around, and other than moving slow because of the soreness, I felt fine. The food court was terrible though because everything looked and smelled sooooo good.

Also, the day I was released from the hospital, our flight wasn't until 5PM in the evening, and I was released at 0700 in the morning. There was about a 1.5 hour drive from the hospital to San Diego, and then my husband drove us all over his old stomping grounds in San Diego for about six hours before our flight at 5PM. Looking back, that was a pretty busy day for just being released from the hospital, but other than the soreness I felt fine, and my husband was sensitive to my issues. If I needed to get out of the car and walk we did, and if I needed to sit and rest for a few minutes we did, so I didn't push myself at all, and did well. So, as long as your mom and aunt are sensitive to your needs, you should be fine stopping and visiting.

[LapGyrl 11]

So good to hear everything went well! I hope my experience is just as pleasant as yours. I'm nervous about the spinal but no use in worrying about that now lol. I'll talk to him when I get there about opting out. I know I'll feel more pain post-op but I really don't want it. Keep us posted on your progress!!!

[momof3girls 0]

Aww girls, you are so sweet. Kelly, you couldn't have been more of a dear and I thought your run down of the process was spot on. I, too, had a wonderful experience down there. Ally, you too are sooo sweet. I think I am only a day behind you, my surgery was on 7/2.

Anyway, I think the experience down in Mexico was a piece of cake compared to the 10 days of clears. I am on day 8 right now and I just can't take it anymore! I am not sure full liquids will be any better, but I might just get very creative. Someone told me full liquids count as anything you can get through a straw, right? I am hoping for a lot fits through a straw! ;0

So glad everyone is feeling well!

xoxo

Jennifer