- Name: Lynn Martin
- Age: 42
- Surgery: Gastric Sleeve
- Surgery date: May 27th, 2014
- Testimonial date: June 27th, 2014
- Surgeon: Dr. Almanza
I will have to say I have been considering this surgery for some time. I have researched it and the last two companies I worked for, my insurance didn't cover this surgery. I had gotten to the point I had become a diabetic, blood pressure was high, I developed skin rashes, I know my hormones were out of whack and I felt so fatigued all the time and my weight and health was starting to affect my performance on my job. I had never been this weight and seemed to suddenly gain in the last five years and my health deteriorated as the weight piled on. I finally found Dr. Almanza's website and the price was unreal as compared to the out of pocket expense here in the good ole USA! I had to do a liquid diet for 5 days but could eat some Low fat meats at night and I actually stuck with that for 5 days!! I lost 7 lbs doing that. Dr. says that is to shrink your liver so it is easier for them to do the surgery the smaller the liver cause they have to lift it to get to your stomach. I also had a hiatal hernia that I paid an extra $1000 for them to fix as well and it was so well worth it. The hernia had contributed to much of my medical problems as well as my weight. I finally located a girl in GA who had the same procedure by the same Dr. and talked with her as I had never been out of the country and was scared to death to go to another country and have this surgery. After talking with her and once I knew she did well and was still doing great and had a great experience and she let me know what to expect, then I was more on board than ever to do this. I bought my plane tickets, scheduled my surgery date and never looked back!!! Once I flew into San Diego, CA, I called the number they gave me, I was picked up by their driver as well as another guy who flew in for the same surgery and we crossed the border to Mexico and was taken to a beautiful hotel. We were given coupons for free broth that night and were given popsicles/jello/juice if you want. The next day we went to a clinic and blood was taken and we were given EKG and went from there to hospital. We met with the Dr. and anesthesiologist and changed into gowns and was lying on a hospital bed waiting in the hallway and next thing I knew I woke up in my hospital room. I stayed there the 2nd night-oh by the way you have to take all your stuff to the hospital and not leave at hotel cause you are in a different room when you go back to hotel. The staff spoke ok English and were super attentive and sweet. The hospital was super clean. They made sure they were at your beck and call! You dress the next day and go back to hotel --they have nurses on staff there if you need them at all and they check on you a couple of times that day to change bandages and give you pain and nausea and antiboitics in your IV and you mostly rest that day but you want to get up often and walk around to help you heal and get rid of gas. Lots of gas in your upper chest. you belch alot!! You have a drain in your biggest incision you keep in you till you leave and they take it out the last night. You continue to get free broth, water, popsicles, juice and jello. Try to drink, drink drink. You go the next day for an exray at a different clinic to make sure staples are not leaking. You do have to drink aweful purple stuff for that. Then you go back to hotel and get up and go home the next day. It only takes about 20 min to get from San Diego to hotel but about 3 hours to get back because they check everyone and every car at the border to get back in to the USA. That is where you need your passport or drivers lic and birth cert. Also, my phone didnt work in Mexico but they had free wifi and my computer did. If you go alone, which I ended up doing you don't have to pay for your hotel, its included in the 4500. You have to agree to share a room with another patient but I only had to share one night and made a sweet friend out of the experience who I still keep in touch with. I also keep in touch with the guy at the airport who also flew in and out the same day for the same surgery. I could not believe in the 5 days i was there how many people from the USA coming in for the surgery or were leaving who had just had it. It was one of the easiest surgeries I've ever had. Very little pain. On a scale of 1-10 Maybe between a 3-4 and that's only when the pain meds they give you start to wear off. The worse part like I said is belching all the gas. I have lost 30 lbs from May 22 when I started the liquid diet until now. Im able to eat most any thing I want already, but only a few bites and I feel like I've eaten a buffet so you never feel deprived. A couple of things have not stayed down well and have come up but not much. I do have acid reflux and heartburn which i researched and found out most people who have this surgery develop that so I do have to take meds for that. But I'm off my diabetic meds already and my high blood pressure meds have been cut in half. I can't say enough good things about my experience. I have two friends who now that I've been the guinea pig for this whole experience and have done so well are now jealous and want to have it done themselves asap. They are saving their money and plan to use their tax return refund in feb and do this too. Ha, hopefully I will have most my weight off by then!!! I do need to start an exercise routine so skin won't sag as I lose and I plan to do that, my life has just been a whirlwind since I got back. I was able to fly back on Fri and go to work on Monday. You can't lift anything heavy for about 6 weeks though. This has been the best thing I've done for myself!! I'm in clothes I havent been able to wear in quite sometime and they say after the first inital weight loss in the first month, most lose about 10 lbs a month after that. so I'm getting ready for the next 10 lbs!!! Oh also, I'm off my CPAP machine at night to help me breath and sleep and I sleep so good now like I did as a teenager! I feel so refreshed the next day and even with so little food per day I have tons of energy!! I can't believe the things I accomplish on a daily basis now cause I can't eat all the time any more!! If you need to get in touch with me personally to ask any questions, email me at Lynnm2008@yahoo.com. I will be glad to answer any questions. I was so desperate to find someone who had this done by this Dr. and it really helped me to talk to someone who wasn't associated with the clinic other than she had the surgery there too. I can't believe I jumped on a plane, went by myself to another county, had this surgery and survived and now my life has changed for the better forever!! I want to help anyone else I can who is struggling with the same issues! I know God was with me and let me find this clinic online and let everything fall into place. I'm so thankful and blessed I did this and wish the same for others who need this!!
