I had the surgery on Wed. April 8th. I went in at 5:15am and my surgery took place around 7:30. EVERYONE I encountered at Careplex Hospital was amazing. They were so nice and helpful. The hospital itself was easy to get around in, organized, and clean. I was VERY impressed with my care there and would have no problems going back again for another procedure.
Okay moving on. Everything went like clockwork until it was time for me to have my upper GI before discharge. They were a bit backed up so it prolonged my stay by about an hour. Honestly though, I didnt mind. I kept falling back to sleep so it wasnt a huge deal to me :D :D :D
The wheeled me down where a valet driver brought our car around for us and helped me in. I came home and stayed awake for an hour or so then layed down and slept it off most of that day. I was up around 7pm until about 11pm. I wasnt in a lot of pain, although movement was very slow. I had a hard time taking in any liquids also. They gave me 4 medicine cups (2 tbs each) and said to try and drink one every 15 minutes. That didnt happen! I think I got 2 or 3 cups over about 2-3 hours.
The next day I felt considerably better. I was able to drink a whole lot more than I could the night before. I was able to go to Walmart and walk around for about an hour and only took 1 pain pill. I was pretty happy. Toward the evening though is when I started to really get hungry. Liquids can only fill you up so much---which isnt very much at all to be honest. No matter how much protein shake I drank, jello I ate, or flavored water I was still hungry. It wa strange though. I can tell where the band is because when I drink something it feels full. I mean I can tell where the "constriction area" is even though the band is empty right now. So part of me feels full while the bottom part of my tummy is growling in extreme hunger. Its not a very good feeling :(
2nd day post op I decided to go to Busch Gardens for the day. I didn't get to ride anything and I certainly wasnt in a position to walk. I rented one of the motorized wheel chairs and motored around while Greg and my friend went on all the rides. Thankfully I took a book with me :) I was able to drink my shakes and pudding while there so that was good.
When we went by the Smokehouse though I thought I was going to DIE! My stomach started growling and rumbling like mad. The smell was enough to completely overwhelm me. Of course thats where everyone decided they wanted to eat so I had to sit there and smell it for about 45 minutes. It was enough to make me regret the surgery for about a split second. I mean how could I have done this when I would have to give up eating such yummy smelling foods??? Then I thought about the fact that this is only temporary and eventually I WILL be able to eat them again although not HUGE mammoth sized portions. It was sucky and hard, but I just sat there keeping that little nugget of information in my head and the pain/hunger did pass.
Last night was no different. My friend made yummy stir fry and it was enough to send my sensors into overdrive again. Anyone that says your sense or smell has nothing to do with appetite or eating is a moron! I could have killed to actually chew something and feel it settled in my stomach. I'll admit I broke down and took a bite of their dinner and chewed it into oblivion before spitting it out into a napkin. I couldnt bring myself to swallow it because I knew there was a chance it would cause the band to slip, or make me sick, or even cause worse damage inside me. It just wasnt worth it to swallow it, but it was TOTALLY worth it to chew it!
My body has been progressively getting better. I can sleep on my side again which was a major thing for me. I can sit up now without assistance and its getting easier and easier to stand up from a chair or couch. I took my dressings off yesterday and actually took a shower today by myself. I could have taken them off Friday but didnt want to push it while otu and about and worry about them starting to bleed again on my clothes. Thankfully that hasnt happened at all.
I think so far the only thing causing any major trouble for me aside from the hunger have been the gas/air pains. This was something that wasn't mentioned and will be brought up to the surgeon at my post op appointment. I didnt realize with this surgery they have to inflate your abdomen with air/gas so they can do their stuff. After the surgery is over its up to you to expel the excess air from your body. I have been burping and pooting up a storm which is very embarassing let me tell you! It is also causing quite a bit of pain in my neck and shoulder area, which I have been told now from other people who have had the surgery is to be expected.
All in all I am heeling quickly and am happy with the progress so far. I refuse to get on a scale until my post op appointment but Im hoping for about 10lbs lost by then. Keep your fingers crossed for me :)
Hopefully you have kept up with me through this entire novel and it has provided some good information for those of you considering this type of surgery. I'll make sure to keep you guys updated as I progress and hopefully it wont take so many words next time :)
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Just who do you think you are missy!?!?!?
About me:
I have been heavy for as long as I can remember. No, thats not true. I started getting heavy once I hit about second or third grade. I was in Catholic school at the time so you can imagine just how unflattering those uniforms were (not to mention uncomfortable!). I steadily began gaining weight despite an active childhood. I didn't just sit around eating and watching TV. I lived in a neighborhood full of boys so I was outside everyday playing army, baseball, GI Joes, hide and seek and many other games. I was the kid that came home with dirt from head to toe, a skinned knee and a rip in her jeans. Yeah, I was that kid! Anyway, like I said, despite all that activity I steadily gained weight. I was also the kid that swam competetively from the time she was in fifth grade until her senior year of high school. I also threw shot put in junior high and first year of high school until a shoulder injury put that on the shelf.
I never wanted for anything growing up---well except a horse but I can let that slide. My parents both worked their butts off to provide for my sister and me. I was a latch key kid that only ate breakfast during the winter when dad was home to make it for me (dad's job is seasonal), depended on school lunch in the afternoon, and was served a home cooked meal each night. I wasn't big on veggies but I did eat them, except salad--blah! I usually went back for seconds and had a big glass of milk to go with it. We were a meat and potatos with veggies on the side family through and through, BUT before you start shaking your head like you've got it all figured out keep reading!
Along with living in a neighborhood where I could go outside and play from sunup to sun down, I had an active family as well. We were always out fishing, swimming at the beach, tubing behind the boat, or whatever! We had this great rule in place for the weekends. Cleaning always seemed to take up a large chunk of our playtime on the weekend so we decided that we would clean up until noon on Saturdays. At noon, however, we would stop whatever we were doing and just go play! It was great. We were always on the lookout for new things to do, but mostly settled for the short list of favorites. The one thing they had in common though was that they always included food. Chips, soda, or other conveince foods. I can remember stopping in with my dad at B&M Bait and Tackle in Mayport FL to get bait before heading to the jetties for our fishing trips. Whenever we'd stop in there it was a ritual that I got a packet of $.25 Wriggley's gum and a blue Ne-Hi soda.
All of my favorite memories growing up include fabulous adventures and events, however, they also included whatever I was eating at the time as well. My third birthday was the great upside down cake that ended in my lap! Scalloping with my family on the gulf coast included eating fresh scallops and steaks for dinner. Heading to the Keys? Dont forget the yummy lobster and conch fritters! Don't get me wrong, I understand that no matter what you do, you need to eat. I just think that its a bit strange that not only do I associate the activity I was doing, I always associate the foods that were eaten as well.
Okay, Im getting a bit side tracked here. Lets boil this down to the nitty gritty--I was a middle class kid growing up who was active and adventerous. Even staying active wasnt enough to stop me from gaining weight which eventually made me overweight, then obese, then eventually morbidly obese....which brings me to yesterday.
Going under the knife!
Im not going to lie. At first it felt like defeat. Like many, I have tried anything and everything under the sun. Diets, fads, starvation, pills, etc. which either didn't work at all, or caused the weight to come back soon after, and often more than what I started with! When it got to the point that I was winded walking up a flight of stairs, I knew it was time to get real and figure out something fast. My answer was to look into weight loss surgery. I had toyed with it before but never done much about it. It is a HUGE step and one that shouldn't be taken lightly.
Like many, I did a TON of research. I joined discussion groups to pick the brains of people that had had the surgery done. I knew a couple of people who had this type of surgery as well as the Ruen Y Gastric Bypass. After doing my research I settled on having the Banding procedure done. Everyone has their own reasons for choosing the different surgery option and mine were pretty simple.
1) I wanted something I could recover from rather quickly
2) I wanted something that could be reversed if needed
3) I wanted something that if I decided to have another child could be altered to accomodate a pregnancy
4) I wanted something less invasive then full GB surgery.
So now you know a little bit about me and where I am coming from with my decision for the whole weight loss surgery thing.
Just some parting words though.....
This is NOT cheating
This is NOT an easy way out
This is NOT an instanct success
This is NOT the be all end all to weight loss
I will have to WORK to make this happen
I will undergo invasive surgery to make this happen
I will have to work out and exercise just like everyone else
I will have to watch what I eat more carefully than before to make sure I get enough nutrients
THIS IS ONLY A TOOL!!!!
I have been heavy for as long as I can remember. No, thats not true. I started getting heavy once I hit about second or third grade. I was in Catholic school at the time so you can imagine just how unflattering those uniforms were (not to mention uncomfortable!). I steadily began gaining weight despite an active childhood. I didn't just sit around eating and watching TV. I lived in a neighborhood full of boys so I was outside everyday playing army, baseball, GI Joes, hide and seek and many other games. I was the kid that came home with dirt from head to toe, a skinned knee and a rip in her jeans. Yeah, I was that kid! Anyway, like I said, despite all that activity I steadily gained weight. I was also the kid that swam competetively from the time she was in fifth grade until her senior year of high school. I also threw shot put in junior high and first year of high school until a shoulder injury put that on the shelf.
I never wanted for anything growing up---well except a horse but I can let that slide. My parents both worked their butts off to provide for my sister and me. I was a latch key kid that only ate breakfast during the winter when dad was home to make it for me (dad's job is seasonal), depended on school lunch in the afternoon, and was served a home cooked meal each night. I wasn't big on veggies but I did eat them, except salad--blah! I usually went back for seconds and had a big glass of milk to go with it. We were a meat and potatos with veggies on the side family through and through, BUT before you start shaking your head like you've got it all figured out keep reading!
Along with living in a neighborhood where I could go outside and play from sunup to sun down, I had an active family as well. We were always out fishing, swimming at the beach, tubing behind the boat, or whatever! We had this great rule in place for the weekends. Cleaning always seemed to take up a large chunk of our playtime on the weekend so we decided that we would clean up until noon on Saturdays. At noon, however, we would stop whatever we were doing and just go play! It was great. We were always on the lookout for new things to do, but mostly settled for the short list of favorites. The one thing they had in common though was that they always included food. Chips, soda, or other conveince foods. I can remember stopping in with my dad at B&M Bait and Tackle in Mayport FL to get bait before heading to the jetties for our fishing trips. Whenever we'd stop in there it was a ritual that I got a packet of $.25 Wriggley's gum and a blue Ne-Hi soda.
All of my favorite memories growing up include fabulous adventures and events, however, they also included whatever I was eating at the time as well. My third birthday was the great upside down cake that ended in my lap! Scalloping with my family on the gulf coast included eating fresh scallops and steaks for dinner. Heading to the Keys? Dont forget the yummy lobster and conch fritters! Don't get me wrong, I understand that no matter what you do, you need to eat. I just think that its a bit strange that not only do I associate the activity I was doing, I always associate the foods that were eaten as well.
Okay, Im getting a bit side tracked here. Lets boil this down to the nitty gritty--I was a middle class kid growing up who was active and adventerous. Even staying active wasnt enough to stop me from gaining weight which eventually made me overweight, then obese, then eventually morbidly obese....which brings me to yesterday.
Going under the knife!
After attending a weight loss seminar by Dr. Thomas Clark and the Weight Loss Surgery Center of Hampton Roads, I had made the decision that I was going to have this surgery. It took several months of doctors visits and labwork. I had to see a psychologist and nutritionist as well. Thankfully I had been doing Weight Watchers for several months and was able to take in my food and activity journals to show the nutritionist. That sped things up considerably. I also had to procure 5 years worth of past medical data to show the insurance company in order to be approved for this surgery.
Finally the day came and Cat called to tell me that I was approved and we could go ahead and schedule a surgery date. That date was for April 8, 2009. With the surgery scheduled, I knew that I didnt want to treat this as a "last hoorah" or anything simliar. Anytime Ive done a diet or whatever I always had my last day of debauchery so to speak. I didnt want this to start the same way as all of my failed diets so I made sure to keep following a somewhat healthy eating pattern and tried to stay somewhat active.
As time went by, my nerves began to get more and more unsettled. Thankfully my best friend came to see me and kept me company. We got to do some great things before my surgery date like visit Colonial Williamsburg, play tourist in Washington D.C., and spend some well needed time with my family. The day did arrive though for me to have my surgery.
Im not going to lie. At first it felt like defeat. Like many, I have tried anything and everything under the sun. Diets, fads, starvation, pills, etc. which either didn't work at all, or caused the weight to come back soon after, and often more than what I started with! When it got to the point that I was winded walking up a flight of stairs, I knew it was time to get real and figure out something fast. My answer was to look into weight loss surgery. I had toyed with it before but never done much about it. It is a HUGE step and one that shouldn't be taken lightly.
Like many, I did a TON of research. I joined discussion groups to pick the brains of people that had had the surgery done. I knew a couple of people who had this type of surgery as well as the Ruen Y Gastric Bypass. After doing my research I settled on having the Banding procedure done. Everyone has their own reasons for choosing the different surgery option and mine were pretty simple.
1) I wanted something I could recover from rather quickly
2) I wanted something that could be reversed if needed
3) I wanted something that if I decided to have another child could be altered to accomodate a pregnancy
4) I wanted something less invasive then full GB surgery.
So now you know a little bit about me and where I am coming from with my decision for the whole weight loss surgery thing.
Just some parting words though.....
This is NOT cheating
This is NOT an easy way out
This is NOT an instanct success
This is NOT the be all end all to weight loss
I will have to WORK to make this happen
I will undergo invasive surgery to make this happen
I will have to work out and exercise just like everyone else
I will have to watch what I eat more carefully than before to make sure I get enough nutrients
THIS IS ONLY A TOOL!!!!
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