Woke up very early on Monday morning, September 25th. Everyone else getting surgery on the 26th would be there around 2, but I'm not very good at fasting, so I wanted to get the tests over with so that I could EAT.

Took 3.5 hours to drive down to Mexicali, and of course my radio was busted. Crossing the border was no problem, and we had no problem finding the hospital once we were in Mexicali.

We got there around 9am, and my appointment wasn't until 9:30, so the patient coordinator wasn't there yet. Iliana showed up around 9:30 and I went to have my blood taken (the nurse was excellent, because my veins are hard to find), my EKG (I felt like I was being jumpstarted like a car battery with all the stuff they had me hooked up to), and my chest xrays (which had to be taken twice.)

After the tests Yolonda took me upstairs to go over the final paperwork, and give me an antibiotic. She offered my husband and me a sleeping pill, but we both declined. We followed her to the hotel to get checked in, then decided to head back across the border to grab a new fuse for my car radio (we never did get it in) and to eat.

"Last" lunch was at applebee's, I had the cowboy burger and spinach and artichoke dip. It was wonderful. We headed back to the hotel and relaxed until 7, when we met with Dr. C.

I met the other 4 people getting surgeries with me, and we talked with Dr. C about the band, the rules right after surgery, and the rules later down the road. I'd read all of these things on the internet, but it was neat holding the band and hearing it from a doctor.

Dave and I went to Mezzasole (the restaurant in the hotel) for the "last" dinner -- I had soup and a 4 cheese pizza, it was wonderful.

I slept pretty well that night, the bed was hard, and that was the worst problem. I wasn't really nervous about the surgery.

Met everyone outside at 7am to head over to the hospital. We were immediately ushered into our rooms, changed into hospital gowns, and then... we had to wait.

A nurse came to IV me (ouch, she had to poke around in both hands until she got it), then I met with every doctor who'd be working on me that day, and the attending nurse in the OR. I got a shot in my belly (blood thinner), and then... I waited.

And waited.

I was the last one to get my surgery that day so it was after 1pm before I went in.

When they finally pulled me in... that's when I got scared. I was injected with anesthesia shortly after, so that didn't end up being an issue. I remember moving over to the operating table, the doctor wrapping my legs, and that's it.

I woke up in the recovery room to the woman next to me dry heaving. I was lucky and didn't have any nausea. I was out of recovery in just under an hour.

I spent the rest of the day sleeping and waking. I did a little walking, but my stomach was very sore so I didn't do a lot. I got some water a few hours after surgery, and a sleeping pill that helped me sleep through the night.

I didn't have any gas pains, so I guess I'm pretty lucky. The next morning I got to see my band by floroscopy, and then I got to eat some jello, broth, tea, and more water.

Everyone else stayed at the hospital another night, but I left that evening at around 5pm.

I read your journal and was wondering if you could tell me about how you feel eating nothing but a liquid diet for weeks after the surgery. The thought of pure liquid and nothing to bite into scares me worse than the surgery itself. I'm looking into getting banded right before Christmas. As such, I have been doing extensive research. I would be most grateful if you could share your thoughts on the liquid food preparation, how you manage to incorporate that into a traditional day at the office, and how you feel (hungry or full).

Thank you,

JulieNLA