Anyone Getting Sleeved By Dr. Almanza On Sept 1St?

[Cheryl Lawler Phillips 5]

Hi, I am not being sleeved on Sept 17th but just got back on Sunday night from Tijuana. My husband was sleeved with Dr. Almanza on 8/23/2012. If you are interested in some insider information, let me know. I will give you the straight poop. Good luck to you.

[Megie1107 11]

Of course I would

Like the inside scoop from your experience! Please do tell! :-)

[Cheryl Lawler Phillips 5]

Hi, I'm Cheryl. My husband was sleeved on August 23rd. I plan on getting sleeved as soon as we can come up with another $4500. And I plan on getting sleeved at Dr. Almanza's clinic.

Let me preface the information on the clinic with this...Hospital Jeruselum is probably the cleanest place you will ever find. They have a staff of about 5 that absolutely never stop cleaning. It is not a "clean it at 7:00 and not again till the next shift" kind of clean. I mean they have a routine, they go from room to room cleaning everything from floor to walls, then come back and do it again, 24 hours a day. They do an average of 10-14 surgeries per day, 6 days a week, every week, Their rate of infection is less than 1% and that is saying something. Much better than the hospitals in the United States.

Now, Hospital Jeruselum is a clinic, not a hospital. By that, I mean that this clinic is literally located in a strip center. Along with a mattress store, commercial cleaning supply store, a paint store, and a lingerie store. Next door is an Office Depot and behind the strip center is a Home Depot and a costco. A LOT of people were shocked to see that it is located in a strip center. Do not let this put you off. They are professional and like I said, it is clean. I am only telling you this so that you are prepared.

There were no hidden fees or charges. Not once did they come to ask us for additional money for anything. The price we were quoted is the price we paid.

My husband is hypoglycemic so I asked if he could be one of the first ones to be sleeved that day because I didn't believe he could sit around until 2:00 or more without eating anything since midnight the previous night. They accommodated us so that when we were to arrive in San Diego at 3:00 last Wednesday we were going to be picked up at the airport and taken directly to the clinic to have the pre-op testing done so he could have his surgery first thing Thursday morning. We missed our flight so we didn't get into San Diego until 8:00. The van was there to pick us up and we went directly to the clinic where he got his pre-op testing done. I would have never thought in a million years that they would have bent over backwards to do that for him. They even had to call the cardiologist in just to give him his EKG. If we were in the U.S., there would have been no way that a cardiologist would have made a special trip just to accommodate my husband. And if they did, the charges would have been astronomical. Anyway, after the pre-op testing they took us to the Hotel Ticuan (I will tell you about that in a minute). By the way, my husband's best friend lives in San Diego and I asked them if he could accompany us. They allowed him to ride the transport van and to do everything I was allowed to do as his spouse.

Thursday morning, they came to pick us up at the hotel at 6:00am. We went to the clinic and they prepped my husband for surgery. They gave him a hospital gown, a bag to put his clothes in, and then inserted the IV catheter. They hung a bag of saline and muscle relaxer and had my husband sit in a waiting area with a TV and started his IV fluids. He was feeling mighty good when I made it up to see him. There was one other lady that was to have surgery before him. She had some other stomach issues that Dr. Almanza was taking care of so he did her surgery first. My husband went in at 9:30 after a consultation with Dr. Almanza. Dr. Almanza has had the VSG. His english is not perfect but he is very engaging and will explain every detail to you and they have a translator there to help the language barrier. The surgery takes approximately 1 to 1 1/2 hours to perform. They do not allow you to sit in recovery too long. They wake you up because they want you up and moving around as soon as possible. They fill your stomach cavity with air because of the laparoscopic surgery procedure. You have to move to get rid of the gas. Most people just give a "blanket" excuse me and then burp, belch, or otherwise release gas without worry. When my husband woke up from the anesthesia, he was in a world of pain. He was convinced that he was having a heart attack because the pressure of the gas was so severe. Please know that the first two days after surgery are a complete and total miserable experience. (at least for my husband they were) In fact, on day two when they were going to the clinic for testing and IV fluids, not one person said they were happy they did the surgery. They all said it is not worth the pain and discomfort you go through. Remember, that is day two! Day three is a completely different story. Every one is bouncing around and wanting to do it again.

Also, there is a drain attached to the inside of your stomach. It is a tube the is attached to a little bottle that actually fills up with stomach fluids. (A little gross, I gotta tell you, but everyone has them)

Some of the tricks that we used to help him are GasX strips (which I gave him even though they told me no) and Riopan. I bought this at a pharmacy in Tijuana. It is similar to Pepcid, but a gel pouch. It's only like a tablespoon or so worth of medicine but it really helped my husband with the indigestion he experienced. The physical pain from the surgical wounds was nil compared to the gas and indigestion pain he experienced. I didn't give him the Riopan in the hospital but in the hotel after he was released. They give you pain meds and antacids and nausea medicine via the IV port in the hospital and the hotel. They also give you something to make you sleep. Thursday night my husband stayed at the hospital. They would not allow anyone other than patients stay in the hospital overnight. Don't even try, they won't let anyone stay no matter what. As soon as you are able you need to walk. I cannot stress this enough. WALK, WALK, WALK! Most of the men that were feeling pretty good were up walking the women looked like zombies because they wouldn't get up and walk.

We stayed at Hotel Ticuan in downtown Tijuana. All I can say about that hotel is 4 or 5 star hotel, no doubt. Very, very, very nice. food was awesome, even though you aren't going to eat it. And there is a nurse on staff 24/7.

All in all it was a good experience. We definitely agree that when I get my sleeve done with will do it the same way. I can endure a couple of days of misery to have guaranteed Portion Control for the rest of my life.

Please let me know if I left anything out. I will be glad to answer any questions you have. By the way, my husband has lost 30.4 pounds since last Monday. So, I would say it's worth it. And I asked him yesterday if he still regretted doing the surgery, his response?... Oh HEEEELLLL NOOOO!

Good Luck,

Cheryl

[Megie1107 11]

Thank you thank you Cheryl!!! I am going to get sleeved there this coming sat, the 1st and am

Sooo nervous! That helps me feel a lot better! My question for you, is what did u eat while you were there? I'm taking my sister with me and want to know what she should expect to be doing and eating while she's there with me :-)

[Cheryl Lawler Phillips 5]

We both, myself and my husband's friend, went back and forth to the clinic with my husband for the first two days. There is a lot of sitting around for sure. Bring a book or something to do. There is free wifi in the hotel and the doctor's clinic. So the internet is available. After that, we stayed at the hotel. We did a little walking around. Pretty safe during the day. I am a chicken baby so I wasn't real comfortable walking around at night so we stayed at the hotel. You absolutely make friends with the other patients and patients companions. The food at the hotel is excellent and CHEAP!!! Once, we had 5 beers, 3 baskets of chips, and 2 bowls of salsa for $8.00 US. Filet mignon is $12.50. Not a lot of street vendors or beggars so she should be fine.

[lvnvmom1 18]

wow I'm begin sleeved by Dr almanza on the 3rd you help alot of my stress go away did your husband say how the stuff u drink for the x ray tasted

[Cheryl Lawler Phillips 5]

NASTY!!!LOL Actually he said that the purple drink that you have to drink the morning of your xray is not that bad but the Barium you drink to take the xray, should have a warning label on it. WARNING: This may cause you to barf!!! Good luck to you. Be patient. There is a lot of waiting. My husband is down 30 pounds already and is eating solid food already. He was sleeved on August 23rd.

[lvnvmom1 18]

what kind of pre op testing do they do before surgery

[Cheryl Lawler Phillips 5]

A complete medical history, EKG and blood work to insure that you do not have blockages in your arteries.

[Capt Derel 287]

NASTY!!!LOL Actually he said that the purple drink that you have to drink the morning of your xray is not that bad but the Barium you drink to take the xray' date=' should have a warning label on it. WARNING: This may cause you to barf!!! Good luck to you. Be patient. There is a lot of waiting. My husband is down 30 pounds already and is eating solid food already. He was sleeved on August 23rd.[/quote']

May...lol its DOES hahaha. I had the trash can in my hand when I took the xray. LoL

[determnd2bthin 1]

Thanks for all of the information, it helps those of us that are waiting for our turn to come. I was just wondering, I will be going by myself, is there someone to watch your things while your are in surgery.

[Capt Derel 287]

Thanks for all of the information' date=' it helps those of us that are waiting for our turn to come. I was just wondering, I will be going by myself, is there someone to watch your things while your are in surgery.[/quote']

No. That was a problem for most people. Maybe try and confide in another persons husband or friend for that aspect of the surgery. I know its hard to do but its a better chance than not taking a chance at all. Jmho

[SweetTee 448]

Capt, I like the new profile pic! OAN, good luck to all of you being sleeved soon! My GF spoke highly of the recovery house, she said she felt like she was in a RealWorld house, meeting new friends and getting the opportunity to bond with people who were all going through the same thing she was. She keeps telling me I will miss out on the experience of a lifetime.

[Cheryl Lawler Phillips 5]

There were several people that were by themselves there and they didn't seem to have any problems with leaving their stuff with the staff. There is a small hallway way away from the waiting room where they put all the luggage while you are in surgery. I can promise you that when I was walking with my husband up and down the hallway the luggage looked like it completely safe. I heard no complaints at all about anything having to do with their belongings. Try and scale down your stuff as much as possible. You won't need your giant purse, etc. You won't need a bunch of cute clothes. You will need the basics. Something extremely comfortable to wear once you are able to take the gown off and comfortable shoes. Also, the clinic is extremely secure. There is an automatic lock on the door. If you are able to walk outside, you can't just come back in. They have to be able to buzz you in. This keeps the average guy from just walking in to the clinic as well.

[mylifeinpink 349]

I am one month out from my sleeve done by Dr Almanza in TJ. I have some mixed feelings about it all but over all I am pleased with what I got for 5k and I am doing very well. It would be nice if you were just put into a room and got to stay there for 3 days and be cared for.. the traveling back and fourth for meds is what really sucked the most but that is what we get for the discount right? The drivers were all very nice' date=' my driver Tony was awesome. I did end up with infected wounds but the doctor said I had a reaction to the material used. It is very clean and it is very safe and everyone there was very kind and caring and compassionate , more so probably than in the US. If there was one thing that worries me it is the fact that they do not use a " bougie " to guide the surgery and size of the sleeve , my understanding is that that is the only problems down the road is being too narrow at the top and lots of acid reflux which can lead to having to have RnY or Bypass. That said, I think I am doing very well, I am down 42 lbs and I feel like I can have pretty much what I want just very small amounts of it.. I do have the acid issue, but I take Prilosec and it is all good .. not sure about the liquid coming up while I am sleeping and I wake up choking on it, pretty much every night .. I am going to the doctor here at home Friday and will try to start a follow up relationship with her. Good luck Megie.. tell them hello from Vicky and Kayla, especially Tony. ( bottom line )

TJ is a safe and clean and afforable option for those of us that can't afford the bigger places.[/quote']

Who said he doesn't use a bougie?

When I went for my surgery- he informed the group that he indeed uses a 32.

Maybe he's changed? I was sleeved May 15 of this year. Down 75 lbs since May 11.