My Mexico Surgery Review PART TWO - Dr. Carlos Altamirano through Bariatric Pal

This post is continued from Part One... Part Two focuses on the Hospital and Surgical Experience.

The Day of Surgery

I was incredibly nervous the day of surgery, even though I was fully committed to the process and had done a lot of research about the procedure. I think part of it was I had never had major surgery before! It would be my first time under general anesthesia and it was happening in Mexico with a new healthcare team! Oh, I was also really really THIRSTY! They have you fast for at least 8-10 hours before surgery. It was also HOT and I felt quickly dehydrated. This was further exacerbated by the waiting.

We were told to be up and ready to go by 10AM, which we were but this turned out to be unnecessary because we ended up waiting for almost a hour to be transported to the hospital. This only made my nerves worse and by the time Roberto picked us up, I was feeling slightly nauseated. We enjoy a 15-20 minute drive to Oasis of Hope Hospital, which is a very small hospital, tucked right off a busy road. This was unexpected but once we passed the historical exterior (the hospital is over 50 years old) we saw a beautiful sight!

I immediately felt reassured and was greeted by english speaking staff at the front desk. I would soon discover that everyone speaks english! I had read about it but still expected there to be some people who didn't speak english. During my time at Oasis of Hope, I didn't meet a single person who couldn't have a nice conversation in english. Not that it is my primary expectation or concern outside of the medical staff themselves but it did make it feel much more familiar and less anxious.

We were bustled in and I changed into a gown and compression stockings. Then the tests began. Before surgery they do a battery of tests including blood work and an EKG. Did I mention everyone at the hospital is eeriely GORGEOUS looking?! I mean, models everywhere, haha! :) I was asked my medical history several times and signed documents in Spanish as required by law but provided a copy of the english translation of the papers I signed.

Then they came to the IV. Here is where things got tricky because I hadn't had anything to drink in HOURS and my veins are TERRIBLE. This is a problem for me everywhere I go and the IV quickly became a point of concern. My veins were so shriveled and small and thirsty that the nurses were concerned about poking me needlessly. A group of four nurses surrounded my bed and began investigating my veins with such close attention I felt so grateful they were working so hard to keep from poking me blindly! Now, in the states, I have had nurses and doctors carelessly keep stabbing at me until they get lucky. Here that was not the case. They busted out a cool light thing that helped them map the veins and see them. But eventually they had to try. First poke in my arm was a fail. Then the second poke in my hand was a fail. Each time the four nurses squirmed apologetically, rubbing my shoulder and speaking to me gently and compassionately. I was really touched by their attention. Then they left and a different nurse, only one, returned. Seems she was the "veteran" on the unit and she proceeded to do the same investigation until finding one maybe-vein. She filled a glove with very hot water and pressed it to the vein for a while. And... SUCCESS! Didn't even hurt! Once the IV was in I felt a lot better and began the wait for actual surgery.

My nerves continued to ramp up as I waited and again, by the time they came to get me I was feeling on the verge of an anxiety attack. They wheeled me down the hall into a kind of corral where the unit nurse relays all my information to the surgical nurse who then wheels me into the operating room.

The room was a bustle of activity, with people doing their jobs and readying equipment. I felt ready to cry. Then this gorgeous angel appeared -- oh yes, the anesthesiologist is freaking gorgeous with beautiful doe eyes and long cascading hair (though it was tied up in a bun for surgery of course). She puts a mask over my mouth and for a moment I can't breathe. She tells me to breathe through the mask but it feels like nothing is coming through. I know it's gas but I start to feel a terrible suffocating feeling and all I can think is "OH GOD PUT ME OUT, PUT ME OUT, PUT ME --" Then I was.

Waking Up, OH MY GOD

Now, waking up from anesthesia is a weird experience. One moment you're in the operating room, the next people are talking to you and calling your name. Dr. A was there and I must have been talking about pain because he immediately began, very apologetically, explaining he could not give me more pain meds because they had given me a lot of morphine already. Turns out in the operating room my blood pressure had become very high - 220/96 I was told, and they had applied suppressive measures including morphine and nitroglycerin patches.

BUT MY GOD IT HURT.

I knew it was going to hurt. You research the pain, you know they blow up your cavity with gas so they can see and work more efficiently but... the knowing did not prepare me. I thought I had a high pain tolerance but turns out I DON'T. Some people report little to no pain and upon reflection I think the morphine wasn't working for me. Just a week ago I spoke to my aunt who told me that she has to specially request other painkillers because morphine doesn't work for her either. I think this is what happened because I was IN SO MUCH PAIN.

The pain was centered in my upper left side and I thought it was related to the drain. Turns out it was just a giant mother fucker pocket of gas. Oh goodness, it hurts a lot. Then began the walking, the weeping, the shuffling, the boyfriend rubbing my head, the nurse checking on me, my blood pressure going back up, more meds for blood pressure, etc etc etc.

It's kind of a blur.

All I know is the next day I felt somewhat better. I was still in a lot of pain but there was nothing to do except keep walking. Then they did the leak test where you drink a cup of weird tasteless stuff and have them take xrays of it traveling through you. Once I passed that, they brought me...

LIQUIDS! APPLE JUICE! GATORADE!

You do not know how fucking delicious gatorade and apple juice are until you've fasted for as long as I did. It was like nirvana in my shriveled, parched mouth. I drank it all quickly and was ecstatic that I didn't feel nauseous or sick, it went down smooth and I felt renewed energy. I kept drinking and they kept bringing me more. It was wonderful.

They also brought me a spirometer:

They make you breathe in, trying to lift the balls with the force of your breath. It HURTS at first, especially with all the gas still moving around, but it's very important so you don't develop pneumonia from shallow breathing. I got to take it home with me :)

The next day, the day of release, I felt way way better than the previous day. I had been able to sleep somewhat and the pain had lessened to bearable levels. Roberto picked us up and took us back to the Recovery House.

Recovering Happily

My recovery at the Recovery House was great. My boyfriend and I watched movies, played video games, and generally relaxed. Juanito did make me walk a little and we went and had meals (mine were delicious delicious BROTH.) Otherwise it was quiet and comfortable. I met a couple other ladies at the Recovery House but the majority of the time it felt as though we had the place to ourselves! I did have one day of nausea and gnawing pain in my stomach that felt like hunger. Turns out I needed to start on omeprazeole! Dr. A came to the recovery house to check on me and we taped a little testimonial too!

Here it is:

Once I started on the omeprazeole, I felt better and was able to walk quite a lot over the next couple days. I was also able to consume a lot of fluid comfortably and I think that contributed a lot to my recovery.

Flying to Home Sweet Home

Roberto took us across the border the next day but a word of caution! Mexico can often be unpredictable and the "Medical Fast Lane" was actually closed down for a while. And there was a LOT of traffic. We thought we would miss our flight but fortunately we made it through and Roberto explained what I needed to do. Once we got to the airport, I informed them I had just had surgery and a lovely employee got me a wheelchair and wheeled me all the way ahead of the lines, through security, and right to the gate. Though I *could* have walked, I was still in pain and grateful for the good service. As a result we arrived early and had time to kill before boarding began. Other than the initial stress, it went very smoothly!

We had a four hour layover in LAX and it actually gave me a good chance to walk around because I still had gas pains at this point, and even find some soup! But by the time we arrived home, I was TIRED. Traveling is hard work and I was very thankful to make it home to my sweet sweet bed! Oh, and my air conditioning :)

Overall Score and Review

Overall I would rate my experience as a solid A. Dr. A and his team were AMAZING and though there were some small hiccups, having an open mind and being flexible made the whole process smooth and easy. I would definitely do it again in a heartbeat and recommend Dr. A to everyone I know who is thinking of going to Mexico!

#mexicosurgery #hospital #oasisofhope #DrAltamirano #BariatricPal #nausea #pain