My band story

[chickenfarmer]

I got banded in TJ 11/2. Thought I would tell my story quickly....

Flew into San Diego....the airline lost our luggage...had to wait for an hour at the airport for it to arrive. Grateful it made it there. The driver Manuel was waiting there are promised...he spoke no English...but, we figured it out as we went along and he was kind enough to wait!

Went straight to the Drs. office for pre-op testing. Dumb me...I didn't realize I was supposed to be fasting....had a protein shake and a handful of wheat thins on the plane. UGH. They worked around that. Everyone was so nice once I got there. I was concerned about that because things had been a little weird in the days leading up to my going.....but, only some miscommunications with my patient coordinator Natalie. I was afraid of how it would be when I got there....those fears were quickly allayed.

I met with Dr. Miranda.....very knowledgeable and kind....then on to Dr. Jimenez...he cracked me up....super nice. Mrs. Ortiz picked us up from the office and delivered us to the Lucerna. I was pleasantly surprised again. The people at the Lucerna were great....the ones who weren't bi-lingual were very patient with me and my PATHETIC attempts at spanish. The grounds are gorgeous...saw hummingbirds and enjoyed all the beautiful flora and fauna!!!

Went to bed exhausted from the trip and knowing I was going to be picked up at 8am for surgery. I hadn't realized that my surgery was scheduled on a holiday...The Day of the Dead!!!!! That was kinda funny to me! I was the only patient at the clinic.....which was kinda weird.........they took me right back to my room to put on my robe and compression hose. Then the IV...which was virtually painless. The only problem was the nurses weren't bilingual...so again they had to be patient while I attempted to communicate...they were very kind. We managed beautifully.

They gave me something to "relax" me.....I met Dr. Martinez....what a sweet, cute man....he was incredibly nice. It is unfortunate that by the time Dr. Ortiz arrived the pill had kicked in and I was in la-la land and said NOTHING coherent....I vaguely remember him coming in the room. I never saw him after either...I am certain he thinks I am an escaped psychiatric patient!!!! I do recall thinking he was more handsome than his picture.

The surgery was over very quickly and I was awake in recovery.....shocked that it all went so quickly. Dozed off and on all day and night. My sweet DH stayed with me. It was VERY quiet there......that was odd. Nothing was bad.....just different than here.......that was kinda good actually. No one woke me in the middle of the night to ask me if I was sleeping okay! Got very thirsty..wasn't sure why I couldn't have water.....Dr. Martinez had said I could...but, the nurse said no....we couldn't communicate well enough to get past it.

Woke up the next morning and Dr. Martinez gave me a talk about how to behave post banding and discharged me. Mrs. Ortiz took us to the hotel. We showered, got dressed and went shopping. I had some pain in my port area but nothing that required pain meds they sent with me. Shopping was a great time. Got tired and headed back to the hotel...slept off and on the rest of the day. They are familiar with Dr. Ortiz and his patients so I got broth and jello just fine. They even corrected my husband when he went down to order my food...made additional suggestions that husband wasn't aware of as food options.

Got a good nights sleep. Picked up at 8am and delivered to the airport by Junior. Took full 9 hours to get home. I was very happy to get here. Yet a little afraid knowing my drs were across the continent!!!!

I will say that all in all a great experience. I can't think of anything that I would complain about. I felt very well taken care of. It was so different that the differences were a little shocking.....not a lot of bells and whistles....just got straight to business in a very friendly manner.....I really enjoyed that.

I would recommend Dr. Ortiz to anyone!!! I have done remarkably well post-surgery. I know that I had top of the line care all the way around. Everyone involved in my experience at the OCC were fabulous. I am from a small town in Alabama.....not the most open minded of people around these parts.....everyone was convinced that I would never return alive! I am thrilled to show them all the narrow-mindedness of their thinking. I not only lived...but have come thru it all with very little pain and discomfort. You never hear the good stories about medical care in MX...only the horror stories!

I am a little nervous about going back for my fill......as they do not make all those arrangements and I will be more on my own. To say I am pathetic at communicating in Spanish is a gross understatement!!! I will work that out closer to time to go!! Might even call and beg them to at least send someone to pick me up at the airport and drop me back off when I leave.....hmm, wonder if they would go for such a thing????

The only sad part to me was that no one else was there when I was. I would have liked to have met a fellow bandster while there.

I will stop droning on and on now! Good luck to any of you heading south for banding!!!!

Dana

[JennaR]

Great to hear of your experience. I am glad you are safe and home resting comfortably. You could always meet up with any of us, just post your fill date and see if anyone will be there. I have met some very cool people through this site! You might meet some other people on www.lapbandtalk.com too that don't come here to this forum but are Dr. Ortiz patients and are lurking around in there. It is also a good site for searching common questions.

(kee kee you haven't called me in over a month, now call soon )

Anyways, I am a complete non spanish speaking person and I go down for my fills just fine. I take the bus to the trolley to the border, then a taxi to the Lucerna, then walk over to the office. No problems. They will send a driver for you but the cost is $65 each way which is quite different than the $6.00 I pay for my way. I usually use that money as an excuse to upgrade my hotel in San Diego.

WELCOME TO BANDLAND!!!

[chickenfarmer]

Thanks Jenna, looks like I will be going for my first fill 12/28. Fly in the 27th...stay in San Diego and then set out on the adventure across the border!

I am thrilled to be done with the initial phase of this. Can't wait to get to the "full liquid" phase Wednesday....I am sick of broth!!!

Thanks for responding!

Dana