To say 2011 was an eventful year is an understatement. It has been a very trying on too. But one thing thing I am glad I did was having my surgery. Its been almost a month and I am down 35 pounds. I have very little discomfort and I am already feeling more energetic.
The 2nd-6th week I believe are suppose to be the hardest for Lap Band patients. Since the first fill is not done until the 6th week. Usually weigh loss plateaus. I am very happy I am still losing weight, even through the holidays.
I am able to eat pretty much anything, but I am sticking to what the doctor advised. I don't really get hunger pains so that is good. But I have noticed that if I do not portion my meals, I am able to eat A LOT more then I am suppose to. So much for hoping not to have a fill.
Knowing I can eat larger portions and things I am not suppose to be able to eat, I need to have a fill because I do not want to "fall off the wagon". But with the diet restrictions I am also exercising a lot more. Actually using the elliptical and stationary bike we bought over a year ago. Having my Kindle Fire helps though, I can watch videos while exercising...hmmm season one of Buffy? I think so.
Tomorrow is the start of 2012 as well as the first 5k of 2012 that I will be in. Granted I will be walking and I am so lucky to have awesome friends who have also registered for the 5k.
Good-bye 2011 & Hello 2012 and my new life!
Taking it off!!
Him
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
One Week Post Op
One week since the procedure. Had some good and bad days, but I am getting better each day. I still have no desire to eat so pretty much have to force myself to drink my protein drink (takes about 2 hrs to drink it) and some cream of wheat and chicken broth. I am glad I don't have the nausea some patients get.
I am also down 20 pounds since leaving the hospital. This is taking into account the 11 or so pounds in fluid that I grain in my stay. According to the doctor's office I have lost only 5 since my last appointment. But I am happy to think I lost 20.
Now for my visit to the doctor, I had to go in sooner then my 10 day check-up. I am having extreme pain in the area a few inches away from the incision of where they placed my port. So much pain that I had to call yesterday and ask for more pain medication. Medication its seems that I am allergic to. Lovely rash all over my body. As if I was not feeling attractive enough lets add in some hives. Yep my life is a party. So the doctor told me to stop taking he medication and I could take liquid Benadryl, it knocked me out. At least I slept good.
The pain was a little less today but I had swelling. so I still went to the doctor.
It seems that by helping that patient last week get back in her bed, I strained the staples attached the muscle wall. So when ever I stand or sit the port pulls. Sounds fun huh? Well luckily nothing is torn and this is something that happens to some patients. I had to laugh when he told me to wear tighter cloths. Here I am wearing loose cloths thinking it would help things heal, nope tighter cloths to minimize movement...ooops.
So 20 pounds in a week, not so bad. I doubt the weight will still come off at this rat. But at least its coming off.
I am also down 20 pounds since leaving the hospital. This is taking into account the 11 or so pounds in fluid that I grain in my stay. According to the doctor's office I have lost only 5 since my last appointment. But I am happy to think I lost 20.
Now for my visit to the doctor, I had to go in sooner then my 10 day check-up. I am having extreme pain in the area a few inches away from the incision of where they placed my port. So much pain that I had to call yesterday and ask for more pain medication. Medication its seems that I am allergic to. Lovely rash all over my body. As if I was not feeling attractive enough lets add in some hives. Yep my life is a party. So the doctor told me to stop taking he medication and I could take liquid Benadryl, it knocked me out. At least I slept good.
The pain was a little less today but I had swelling. so I still went to the doctor.
It seems that by helping that patient last week get back in her bed, I strained the staples attached the muscle wall. So when ever I stand or sit the port pulls. Sounds fun huh? Well luckily nothing is torn and this is something that happens to some patients. I had to laugh when he told me to wear tighter cloths. Here I am wearing loose cloths thinking it would help things heal, nope tighter cloths to minimize movement...ooops.
So 20 pounds in a week, not so bad. I doubt the weight will still come off at this rat. But at least its coming off.
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Good days and bad, this one not so good
Honestly felt better yesterday. Today has been rough. In a lot of pain and running out of medication. I am trying to go longer time between doses so I have it when it in order to sleep through the night. I am actually feeling hunger pains. Yeah me! Ugh.
So my daily diet has increased from having a protein shake mixed with Silk, 1/4 cup of cream of wheat mixed with 2 tablespoons of yogurt to now I am able to have a 1/2 cup of tomato soup. I need to talk to my doctor tomorrow about vitamins because I am sure my lack of energy is not only from the surgery but my serious lack of caloric intake.
I am suppose to go to work tomorrow, not sure if that is going to happen. Maybe getting out of the house is what I need.
I have finally lost the weight I put on during my stay at the hospital. I was up to 278 pounds, not too happy when I saw that on the scales. As of today I am down to 262. I just hope it keeps coming off this. Enough of the pity party. As my husband reminds me, I am the one who decided to go through with the surgery. I don't regret it. Guess its a little like childbirth. You need to have the pain before the joy, and I went through all those births with no pain medication so I think I can survive these minor discomforts.
On a subject change, the hubby, youngest child and I are officially registered for the Resolution 5k on Jan 1 2012. Yeah I know I am crazy but my mental state has never really been up for debate. Like I said this one I will be walking.
If I am going to change my life, there are more then just one thing that needs to change. This is a step in the right direction.
So my daily diet has increased from having a protein shake mixed with Silk, 1/4 cup of cream of wheat mixed with 2 tablespoons of yogurt to now I am able to have a 1/2 cup of tomato soup. I need to talk to my doctor tomorrow about vitamins because I am sure my lack of energy is not only from the surgery but my serious lack of caloric intake.
I am suppose to go to work tomorrow, not sure if that is going to happen. Maybe getting out of the house is what I need.
I have finally lost the weight I put on during my stay at the hospital. I was up to 278 pounds, not too happy when I saw that on the scales. As of today I am down to 262. I just hope it keeps coming off this. Enough of the pity party. As my husband reminds me, I am the one who decided to go through with the surgery. I don't regret it. Guess its a little like childbirth. You need to have the pain before the joy, and I went through all those births with no pain medication so I think I can survive these minor discomforts.
On a subject change, the hubby, youngest child and I are officially registered for the Resolution 5k on Jan 1 2012. Yeah I know I am crazy but my mental state has never really been up for debate. Like I said this one I will be walking.
If I am going to change my life, there are more then just one thing that needs to change. This is a step in the right direction.
Friday, December 09, 2011
Day 3...or is it 4?
Well I am not up running marathons yet...OK that wont be for a while. I have my good hours and bad ones. Thankfully I have a medication induced "coma" every 4 hours. I try and stay up a few hours in between. Sometimes it works other times my body demands to go back into my nice warm blankets.
I guess I should consider myself lucky. I don't have all the bloating and gas pains others have complained about. Though I do have a horrible headache today. Which may be due to not drinking enough water.
Just thought I would be more mobile by now. Getting around OK, just not a lot of energy. Without a doubt I am catching up on sleep. But I just hope I am up to going back to work on Monday.
Hard to believe my surgery was only a few days ago. I am not hungry..at all. Have to force myself to eat, with my big meal being a 1/4 of Cream of Wheat mixed with yogurt. Woohoo. Takes about a half hour for me to eat it. And the protein shake? Well it takes a good hour or two to get that down. But I reach my quota for protein a day by drinking it.
It could be a lot worse I know. I feel like a baby complaining about the pain since others have gone through so much more. I had a friend ask me why I went through with the surgery. Really? I just couldn't say anything more then it was the right choice for me now.
I just want to be more mobile so I can focus on getting into shape and not focus on the pain or discomfort I am in.
On a positive note I am down 6 pounds from surgery so I am almost to my pre-surgery weight. I know most if not all of it was due to swelling from surgery and all the fluids from the IVs. But it was still heart wrenching to go from losing 16 pounds to gaining 11 pounds in less than 24 hrs.
Still no regrets on the decision to have surgery.
I guess I should consider myself lucky. I don't have all the bloating and gas pains others have complained about. Though I do have a horrible headache today. Which may be due to not drinking enough water.
Just thought I would be more mobile by now. Getting around OK, just not a lot of energy. Without a doubt I am catching up on sleep. But I just hope I am up to going back to work on Monday.
Hard to believe my surgery was only a few days ago. I am not hungry..at all. Have to force myself to eat, with my big meal being a 1/4 of Cream of Wheat mixed with yogurt. Woohoo. Takes about a half hour for me to eat it. And the protein shake? Well it takes a good hour or two to get that down. But I reach my quota for protein a day by drinking it.
It could be a lot worse I know. I feel like a baby complaining about the pain since others have gone through so much more. I had a friend ask me why I went through with the surgery. Really? I just couldn't say anything more then it was the right choice for me now.
I just want to be more mobile so I can focus on getting into shape and not focus on the pain or discomfort I am in.
On a positive note I am down 6 pounds from surgery so I am almost to my pre-surgery weight. I know most if not all of it was due to swelling from surgery and all the fluids from the IVs. But it was still heart wrenching to go from losing 16 pounds to gaining 11 pounds in less than 24 hrs.
Still no regrets on the decision to have surgery.
Wednesday, December 07, 2011
The Day After......Did Anyone See That Bus?
First things first I am alive or this blog would be really creepy to explain. Second, what I am about to say is just stating events as they happened. Not sugar coating, I don't regret the surgery.
Made it to registration with no problems and the pre-op staff was wonderful. The last thing I remember was being strapped, yes strapped, to the operating table. The next thing I know I am waking up in recovery. Where I stayed for the next 5 hours! It should have only been an hour. But due to my information being incorrectly entered into the computer system as an out patent, I could not be transferred to my room.
Why not? Well apparently if they had tried to transfer me they could not have administered any medication. Sure that is what I wanted right after surgery no pain meds or anything. But here lies another problem. The recovery staff is only allowed to administer a certain amount. So when they finally got me transferred to my room I was 2 hour behind on getting medication, and it was another hour before they were able to finally administer it. By then I was pretty much overwhelmed with pain and nausea.
Now that I was in my room I got to enjoy my husband's side of the story. An hour after he sees me go in for surgery the surgeon came out and informed him that the surgery went well and I was in recovery for a short time before going up to my room. That was the last thing my husband was told. No one came out to update him on my progress or what the delay was.
Yes this issue was addressed since I was third patient on the bariatric ward that this happened too. You would think nothing could top that right? I wish.
So as I said I was almost 3 hour behind on my pain meds. I actually tried to get up to walk around and got very nauseated and told the nurse I was still in a lot of pain. So she dosed me up and it was the most comfortable I had been all day. I woke a few hours later went a fellow bariatric patient came by my room. She was having issues with the current shift (which was soon leaving) of nurses and techs but I wont go into details about them.
I woke up and walked every few hours through the night, my nurse kept me pretty balanced with medication so it was not a very painful night. So I figured I would get my upper GI checked by 9 and and be home by noon. At least that is what the nurses and the doctors were telling me.
Of course I would not be that lucky. Apparently Radiology got really busy today. They were able to see a few of the bariatric patients before 9 am. I was not one of the, and I was also the only one that was due to leave the hospital today so why I got picked for last who knows. Finally at 11:40 am I was transported via wheel chair down to Radiology where I sat in the hallway for an hour and a half! Apparently when I got down there the tech had to go attend someone in the ER. Which I understand, really I do. My upper GI took maybe 15 minutes. They called transportation to take me back to my room. They finally came to get me and wheeled me back to my room after I sat in the hall for yet another hour!
So recap I sat in a wheel chair in a very uncomfortable position after having surgery on my gut, for almost 3 hours. Saying I was in pain is just a mild understatement. Needless to say my nurse and doctor were not too happy. Once again another issue to have addressed. Thankfully my nurse hooked me up with meds and told me to order some thing from the kitchen. f I kept it down I got to go home. So I enjoyed my first meal in what has been at least 48 hours. Cream of Wheat and plain yogurt. Yep kept it down.
Left the hospital by 5 and got home by 630pm thanks to the wonderful rain induced stop and go traffic. Yep felt great. But we made it home. I am alive and even though there was chaos after my surgery at least my surgery itself went well. Thank you for all the well wishes and thank you to all of those who were texting me and keeping me sane.
Never said this was going to be easy, but after the hell I have been through in the last 48 hours I have no desire to fail.
I have gained 10 pounds from all the swelling and fluids they have been pumping into me. I just hope it comes off as quickly as it went back on.
With that being said, I going to take my meds and say good night. By the way where did that bus come from?
Made it to registration with no problems and the pre-op staff was wonderful. The last thing I remember was being strapped, yes strapped, to the operating table. The next thing I know I am waking up in recovery. Where I stayed for the next 5 hours! It should have only been an hour. But due to my information being incorrectly entered into the computer system as an out patent, I could not be transferred to my room.
Why not? Well apparently if they had tried to transfer me they could not have administered any medication. Sure that is what I wanted right after surgery no pain meds or anything. But here lies another problem. The recovery staff is only allowed to administer a certain amount. So when they finally got me transferred to my room I was 2 hour behind on getting medication, and it was another hour before they were able to finally administer it. By then I was pretty much overwhelmed with pain and nausea.
Now that I was in my room I got to enjoy my husband's side of the story. An hour after he sees me go in for surgery the surgeon came out and informed him that the surgery went well and I was in recovery for a short time before going up to my room. That was the last thing my husband was told. No one came out to update him on my progress or what the delay was.
Yes this issue was addressed since I was third patient on the bariatric ward that this happened too. You would think nothing could top that right? I wish.
So as I said I was almost 3 hour behind on my pain meds. I actually tried to get up to walk around and got very nauseated and told the nurse I was still in a lot of pain. So she dosed me up and it was the most comfortable I had been all day. I woke a few hours later went a fellow bariatric patient came by my room. She was having issues with the current shift (which was soon leaving) of nurses and techs but I wont go into details about them.
I woke up and walked every few hours through the night, my nurse kept me pretty balanced with medication so it was not a very painful night. So I figured I would get my upper GI checked by 9 and and be home by noon. At least that is what the nurses and the doctors were telling me.
Of course I would not be that lucky. Apparently Radiology got really busy today. They were able to see a few of the bariatric patients before 9 am. I was not one of the, and I was also the only one that was due to leave the hospital today so why I got picked for last who knows. Finally at 11:40 am I was transported via wheel chair down to Radiology where I sat in the hallway for an hour and a half! Apparently when I got down there the tech had to go attend someone in the ER. Which I understand, really I do. My upper GI took maybe 15 minutes. They called transportation to take me back to my room. They finally came to get me and wheeled me back to my room after I sat in the hall for yet another hour!
So recap I sat in a wheel chair in a very uncomfortable position after having surgery on my gut, for almost 3 hours. Saying I was in pain is just a mild understatement. Needless to say my nurse and doctor were not too happy. Once again another issue to have addressed. Thankfully my nurse hooked me up with meds and told me to order some thing from the kitchen. f I kept it down I got to go home. So I enjoyed my first meal in what has been at least 48 hours. Cream of Wheat and plain yogurt. Yep kept it down.
Left the hospital by 5 and got home by 630pm thanks to the wonderful rain induced stop and go traffic. Yep felt great. But we made it home. I am alive and even though there was chaos after my surgery at least my surgery itself went well. Thank you for all the well wishes and thank you to all of those who were texting me and keeping me sane.
Never said this was going to be easy, but after the hell I have been through in the last 48 hours I have no desire to fail.
I have gained 10 pounds from all the swelling and fluids they have been pumping into me. I just hope it comes off as quickly as it went back on.
With that being said, I going to take my meds and say good night. By the way where did that bus come from?
Monday, December 05, 2011
On The Eve Of Surgery
Twelve hours from now will be in a room prepping for my surgery. Its amazing how fast this day has come. I am a mixture of fear and excitement. Its reality, I am am actually going through with it. It may be a surprise to some since it seems I have felt short in the past. Hence why I have opted for this surgery.
So many things are going through my mind. What if I don't lose anything? I will let down not only myself but everyone who is supporting me. Sure it seems like a silly fear, but it' still there. This surgery is just a start, a push in the right direction. The rest is up to me.
I just need to remind my self over the next few weeks that really losing weight will be a bonus. Its a time for healing. I have already lost 16 pounds with the pre-surgery diet so that is a start right? Since I am having a lap band my weight lost will be slower then the to other surgeries.
With the weight loss being slower am hoping it will be healthier. One step at a time, this is the first one.
Thank you to all my wonder friends and family who are supporting me.
So many things are going through my mind. What if I don't lose anything? I will let down not only myself but everyone who is supporting me. Sure it seems like a silly fear, but it' still there. This surgery is just a start, a push in the right direction. The rest is up to me.
I just need to remind my self over the next few weeks that really losing weight will be a bonus. Its a time for healing. I have already lost 16 pounds with the pre-surgery diet so that is a start right? Since I am having a lap band my weight lost will be slower then the to other surgeries.
With the weight loss being slower am hoping it will be healthier. One step at a time, this is the first one.
Thank you to all my wonder friends and family who are supporting me.
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