Long2beThin
Send Message
Block
Add Friend

Guillermo Alvarez
"My original review below is from April 14, 2008, about a week after having VSG with Dr. Alvarez. It's been almost 4 years and I have to report how happy I am with my amazing results and new life. I am happy, healthy, and living life to the fullest thanks to Dr. Alvarez and my Sleeve. I have no regrets at all and would do it again, only SOONER! I want my mother and my daughter to get sleeved, as well, as soon as we can get it arranged. =) Long2BeThin January 18, 2012 ~~~~~~~~~~~~ My whole experience has been wonderful. I found so much information on weight loss surgery on Obesityhelp.com. That's where I found out about VSG. I checked out the forums and found the VSG group to be happier with their surgery and results as well as reporting fewer side effects and complaints. I decided on the VSG and started looking all over the Internet for the doctor most experienced. Dr. Alvarez was by far the most experienced and the best price I found anywhere. rnrnSusan made the planning go so smoothly and had answers to all of my questions. She did the initial evaluation and sent the information to the doctor. She kept me informed of everything through phone calls and email and provided a ton of emotional support. I feel like I know her although I haven’t met her. rnrnRosie picked me up in San Antonio along with Leigh Ann, another lady going for the surgery. Susan had put is in touch by email and it was great having someone there I felt like I knew. The ride there was actually fun. We laughed and talked silliness, mostly out of nervousness, all the way there.rnrnLeigh Ann and I went out to have a late lunch in Piedras Negras the afternoon before surgery and had a wonderful meal. Just forget the margaritas! They were delicious but caused us both to be dehydrated and made the blood work harder than it needed to be. Of course, we told the doctor. rnrnMeeting Dr Alvarez was almost anticlimactic because I felt like I already knew him. He was exactly like everyone said, polite, calm and professional. He paid 100% personal attention to each of us. Although he must have had a ton to do he never appeared rushed or that he was trying to move us along a conveyor belt. He was also as charming and good-looking as everyone said he was. We each had a weigh in along with our personal interview with the doctor and met his gorgeous assistant Dr. Gabriel Rosales. We got to see the outgoing patients who were headed back to San Antonio. It was reassuring to see them looking well, although walking a bit gingerly.rnrnWe got our room assignments and as we walked toward our rooms we got to see the hospital. It was very old fashioned with nurses in white uniforms and paper caps. I noticed then and every other time I was out of my room that there was ALWAYS someone mopping and cleaning. rnrnThe rooms were really nice and had computers with Internet access. We had blood drawn (remember not to have the alcohol!) and then off to surgery. I was already passed out so didn't get to experience the famous passing through the window from one gurney onto another gurney into the clean surgery room. I'm pretty sure that's a rarity if not unknown in the United States!rnrnSaturday afternoon after surgery wasn't great. The main thing was getting the anesthesia out of our systems. I had some dry heaving which was horrible. I only had them two or three times and they were gone by Saturday night, for sure within 12 hours after surgery. I also had several rounds of nausea but didn’t throw up at all; it just felt like I was going to. I’d just go to the bathroom and spit until the sensation passed. I got nauseous maybe a half dozen times but not past Monday, two days after the surgery and it was mostly after I’d do something slightly more strenuous, like taking a shower. On Sunday, Dr. Alvarez allowed my IV to be removed. I was so glad because my hand was really swollen and the meds burned like the Dickens going into the IV port! We started on the ice chips and he said that pain meds could be taken orally and nausea meds by injection. I didn’t need either one though. rnrnPriscilla, the English speaking nurse, kept getting me up to walk but by Sunday I felt 100% better and was off the meds and walking and resting all on my own. Priscilla was wonderful and sweet. If only she could be cloned and be a night nurse also! The Spanish-speaking night nurses were sweet but the language barrier was apparent. They did, however, understand our grunts and gestures. Good caveman communication crosses every language barrier! rnrnI never had real pain from the surgery. I had stiffness, swelling and discomfort, but not pain. Within three days I could sleep on my left side and within a week I could lay comfortably on my stomach. The internal stitches itched but are healing up wonderfully! rnrnAt the end of our 48-hour hospital stay Dr. Alvarez and Dr. Rosales checked us for leaks and gave us our little boxes of medications and our detailed instructions. He made sure we understood both our meds and our diets. Again, he was relaxed and spent all the time we needed and never once checked his watch. That was pretty amazing. rn rnWe got to see the incoming patient as we were leaving and then Rosie took us back to San Antonio. Since I wasn’t staying in San Antonio they didn’t reserve a room for me but Leigh Ann let me take a nap in her room before I drove home to Houston. The hour nap helped quite a bit but I could really have slept another five. rnrnI had to leave to be at work Tuesday morning. I only took two days off work but one was to get there and the other was to get home. I only really missed one day of work because of the surgery. I have a desk job so could actually have worked that Monday as well, although not comfortably. rnrnThe three-hour drive was fine. I stopped once to stretch and use the restroom. I was really glad to be home and get into my very own bed! I did get nauseous once just as I was leaving San Antonio but I think that trying to read directions and drive added to the stress I’d already gone through. That was about the last time I had any nausea.rnrnI can't say that I did it by myself because I had Leigh Ann, Rosie, Dr. Alvarez, Dr. Rosales, Priscilla and the night nurses all looking after me at various times. I hope I gave some of the comfort back by looking in on Leigh Ann and encouraging her as much as she did me. We are truly sleeve sisters and have a bond for life!rnrnI am hoping to afford to take my daughter and my mother for the surgery. My dream is for us all to be healthy and slim for life. I would recommend Dr. Alvarez and his team to anyone. Don't be deterred by the fact that it's in Mexico. The United States isn't the only place with good health care. I don't think I could have found better anywhere else.rnrn"
About Me
Houston, TX
Location
22.0
BMI
VSG
Surgery
04/05/2008
Surgery Date
Guillermo Alvarez
Surgeon
Feb 13, 2008
Member Since
Friends 82
Latest Blog 36
×