My story is somewhat different than most…starts out similar, ends similar, but the middle…not so much.
I struggled with my weight most of my life and in 2008 I attended a consultation at St. Vincent’s for bariatric surgery. I was ecstatic thinking my life was about to change. I carried Anthem Blue Cross/Blue Shield Ins and I had been told there should be no problem getting an approval. I was wrong. My husband’s employer had an exemption on any bariatric. I was devastated…felt like there was no hope for me…and to no surprise I continued to gain even more weight. My best friend who grew up in Texas mentioned to me that I should consider going to Mexico….I thought there is NO WAY. She said that was a way of life growing up for her family…they always crossed the border for healthcare. Even though my first reaction was NO…I started doing the research….and what I found was people have been doing this for a long time and with great results.
The more I read, the more comfortable I felt. I went ahead and made the first phone call to a Mexican hospital and an American girl who lives in Florida answered….she was a US based patient coordinator. She answered all my questions, sent me an abundance of information and guided me through the process. So I stepped out in faith and scheduled my surgery for March 9th 2011. The surgery I chose was the gastric sleeve. This procedure removes 80% of your stomach…my stomach is now in the shape of a tube/sleeve. My intestines are not touched so I absorb all vitamins.
The cost was $4500. I did have to purchase my plane ticket which was $263. I flew into San Diego. The staff was at the airport waiting on me along with 3 other patients from different parts of the US. We left the airport and arrived at the hospital within 25 minutes. After I arrived they did blood work on all 4 patients along with an EKG. There was one patient that did not pass the EKG and was therefore sent home with a full refund. Most of the staff there speaks decent English but they also had a full time translator.
My friend who suggested MX went with me. She is bilingual and it gave me peace having her come with me, but I will say now that I experienced what I did I would not hesitate to go on my own. I stayed at the hospital one night and the 2 nights at a recovery house that houses 2 full time nurses. They provided all meals for my guest. The people there truly went out of their way for us. Mexico is a poor country and elective surgery is not something they are lining up for there, therefore they are relying on US patients. They treat us WONDERFUL! I have every intention going back for tummy tuck.
I will say this…I had thoroughly talked with my family doctor and she was completely on board with me. Once you leave Mexico it’s up to you for your after care. My doctor has done all my blood work and checkups and I have passed with flying colors. As of today I have lost 96 pounds. The only problem I have encountered is I may have to have my gall bladder removed which is normal after wls.
So this is my story….no regrets!

My RNY surgery was on 2/7/11.

All went well.. I had a hard time walking afterwards (could barely walk before) but was still okay. I did get an infection in one of my incisions. I can’t remember the name of it but one of my incisions BURST about two weeks after surgery.. all this goop came out and I had to pack it for over 4 weeks till it finally healed. It was pretty painful.

But that was nothing compared to the stuff I was about to go through. About 3.5 weeks after surgery I developed my first stricture.. which is what happens when the hole that goes from the new pouch to the small intestine narrows or completely closes up (usually from scar tissue). I had an Endoscopy done and my hole was made larger. This continued to happen.. 5 times. Each time I would start throwing up pretty much everything.. even water at times. So that’s how I knew I had another stricture. Well, about $150k, two hospital stays and five Endoscopys later, I think I am finally stricture-free. But it didn’t come without a price.

My 5th Endoscopy was supposed to be routine (5/4/11). But MY surgeon wasn’t available so I had to use one of his partners. Well, she dilated me too much and TORE me. They tried to fix it with antibiotics (all while in the hospital overnight) but that didn’t work so the next day my surgeon had to go in and do another SURGERY to repair what she had done. I went into renal failure and ended up in the ICU for 3 days. I was finally released from the hospital on 5/11/11.

Well, during that stay it turns out they overloaded me with too much fluid and it built up on my lungs and feet and would not come off .. even with diuretics. So I had to go back into the hospital the following Monday and was there through Wednesday. Then the following week, I was still in a lot of pain in my lower back/chest. My PCP did an x-ray and found out I had Pneumonia pretty bad. Two rounds of antibiotics later, I was finally okay.

So here I am two months after that ordeal and I’m okay. My protein and potassium levels are low and my gorgeous (naturally) blonde hair is falling out. While my protein level isn’t TOO low that they are super worried, my potassium level is and they don’t know why because my other electrolytes are fine.. I’m not dehydrated. Just praying everything from here on out goes well. No more strictures, PLEASE GOD!!

Oh yeah… 133 lbs gone in 5 months. Pretty great!

So there you have it. My story is not picture perfect. There are many that are but I feel like you should know the good AND the bad of this surgery. I am still alive and okay and I’ve lost a heck of a lot of weight. Would I do it again even though I almost died? YES!