My Story with Dr. Garcia

[mommy2six 2]

Hi! This is my experience with Dr. Garcia. I decided to share because I couldn't find a lot of information about him on this forum before I had my surgery. I was sleeved on Oct 24, 2011. I had a great experience! I really was impressed with the nurses, Dr. Garcia & the hospital. I have to say that I was a little nervous before because I had so many people telling me that it was a HUGE mistake to go to Mexico. I mean people are pretty opininated about this, which actually surprised me a little. I guess we think America has such higher standards and we don't expect the same from other countries. We (my parents came with me so my hubby could stay with our kids) got to our hotel on Sunday Oct 23rd & stayed the night. Then the next morning Oct 24th we were taken to the hospital at 8 am. Then from there it went very fast. The hospital (Mi Hospital) was just as nice as any in the US, well maybe not as fancy as some newer US hospitals but very clean & modern. I went in and immediately got dressed in my hospital gown & the nurses were there to take my blood and start IV. I was impressed, anytime I have ever been to the hospital in the US I have had to wait for ever for everything to be done. Everything was done very quickly and for the first time in my life they only had to poke me twice--I have been poked up to six times trying to get an IV started. That to me was impressive. The nurses didn't speak a lot of english but understood everything I said--my dad spoke a little spanish so a couple of times he had to tell me what the nurse was trying to say (really only twice my whole stay that is how well we communicated). Dr. Garcia came and introduced himself & we spoke for a minute. Then anestisia guy came and talked to me for a little bit and explained how I was going to be put under and he spoke great English--really I could of been in a US hospital (at least that is how I felt). The next thing I know is they wheel me down the hall to the surgery room and I climb on the table look up at the lights & boom I was out. I woke up in recovery & was in and out of sleep for a few hours. Woke up next in my room & I have to be honest the pain was HORRIBLE. It is the worst pain I have ever felt--even having six kids. Of course I knew going into this that I had a low pain tolerence & told my parents to expect this. The nurses were great that first 24 hrs. Really they checked on me all the time & kept asking if I needed anything to help me be more comfortable. They were my best friends as they brought me pain meds! I pretty much was a baby that 24 hrs--I think at one point I begged my Dad to take it back that I didn't want this surgery...he answered in his normal farm boy self & said, "Too bad--you can't take it back--you better suck it up!" I finally was able to relax and make it through the night after I put my ipod on and listened to some of my childrens church songs. After the 24 hrs things were great! Really I quit puking--oh yeah I was puking too. Things were just way more comfortable and better. My dad finally told me how the surgery went...well apparently I had a really large stomach. Dr Garcia said it was one of the largest he had ever seen (I thought this was amazing considering the amount of surgeries of this type he does). He actually called my dad in to look at it because it was so large & round. He told my dad that its no wonder I had been having such a hard time losing weight because I must of felt hungery all the time (which is true). I just thought this was interesting. I don't remember if I did the dye test on Wed or Tues evening but they wheeled me to the x-ray room and that actually wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I thought it would be terrible because of things I have read on the forums. The last dye test was later & that did taste bad but Dr. Garcia came to talk to me and saw I had half of it down & told me I didn't have to drink anymore--I was also feeling very stuffed. We talked awhile about the surgery and my stomach. He thinks I will do very well on this because of my stomach size before. After two days in the hospital we went back to the Lucerna Hotel (which was very nice) & stayed in the hotel for two more nights. I started walking with my dad around TJ & that really helped me feel better. Too much lying around isnt good for me--makes me feel depressed I guess. Anyway Dr Romero came and saw me on Thursday & he answered any of our questions. We talked to him for awhile--we didn't feel rushed or anything. Then on Friday our driver took us to a hotel in San Diego (our flight wasn't until the next morning) & that was pretty much it. I would recommend Dr Garcia to my family & friends if they chose to have this surgery done. (Oh, if my ticker doesn't work or show how much I have lost so far...I can't seem to figure it out...I have lost 27 lbs since the two week pre op diet)

[Was a humpty dumpty 35]

Sounds like you had a great experience.

[PhatGurl80 26]

Awesome post! So glad everthing turned out well! I was dying when you wrote that your dad was called in to view your stomach! My fiance actually took a picture of mine...and it was gross! lol.

[Lissa 2,631]

mommy2six, I feel you on the stomach thing! That was one of the comments my surgeon made about mine. I look at the amount of food other people eat now and I almost gag at how much they can eat!

It does sound like you're doing great post-op! Keep up the good work and you'll be at goal in no time!