Jump to content
×
Are you looking for the BariatricPal Store? Go now!
$99 Yearly Supply Alert! 🌈 "1 per Day!" Bariatric Multivitamins

Blogs

roseyposey's Blog
 

MY LAPBAND JOURNEY - DAY 6 POST OP

JAN. 23, 2011 - SUNDAY - DAY 6 POST OP - WELL I GOT UP EARLY THIS AM AT 6:30 AM. COULDN'T SLEEP! SO I CAME DOWNSTAIRS AND GOT ON MY LAPTOP AND STARTED READING OTHERS' BLOGS. VERY INTERESTING!!! AND ENJOYABLE - I MIGHT ADD!!! BEFORE I KNEW IT - MY LIL GRANDSON WAS AWAKE - SO THAT MEANS - OK GRANDMA - YOU'RE GONNA HAVE A BUSY DAY! HA HA. LUV HIM TO DEATH. LOL. - ANYWAYS, TODAY IS THE STEELERS/JETS CHAMPIONSHIP PLAYOFF GAME AT 4:30 PM - SO I WILL BE CONCENTRATING ON THAT. I AM SO LOOKING FORWARD TO IT. VERY ANXIOUS!!! IT IS GOOD TO GET YOUR MIND OFF OF YOUR PROBLEMS FOR A WHILE! TODAY WILL BE A GOOD DAY AND SO WILL TOMORROW. I GO SEE THE DOC TOMORROW FOR MY FIRST POST OP FOLLOW UP. I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE IF I LOST ANY MORE WT. I DID NOT WEIGH MYSELF SINCE SURGERY LAST MONDAY. I WAS VERY TEMPTED - BUT DID NOT! I ALSO CAN'T WAIT TO ADVANCE TO PUREED FOODS TOMORROW, HOPEFULLY! I AM SOOOOO SICK OF LIQUID DIET! YUK! WILL LET YA ALL KNOW HOW I DID TOMORROW. AND HEY - WISH THEM STEELERS "LUCK"!!!!!!
roseyposey

roseyposey

0
roseyposey's Blog
 

MY LAPBAND JOURNEY - DAY 5 POST OP

JAN. 22, 2011 - SATURDAY - DAY 5 POST OP - WELL THE DAYS ARE GOING FAST IT SEEMS! MONDAY IS ALMOST HERE! MY FIRST POST OP VISIT WITH THE DOC! CAN'T WAIT TO SEE IF I LOST ANY MORE WT.? GEEZ - IT SEEMS LIKE THAT IS ALL THAT IS ON MY MIND ANY MORE! LOL. WELL - THAT CERTAINLY IS BETTER THAN THINKING ABOUT FOOD ALL THE TIME INSTEAD!!! MY PANTS DO SEEM TO FIT LOOSER EACH MORNING. YEH! I HAVE NOT WEIGHED MYSELF SINCE SURGERY DAY LAST MONDAY! I HAVE BEEN FAITHFUL TO MY LIQUID DIET. STILL HAVING THINNED CREAM OF WHEAT MADE WITH WATER, AND THINNED TOMATOE SOUP MADE WITH WATER ALSO. AND OF COURSE THE DREADED - CHOCOLATE PROTEIN SHAKES IN BETWEEN! ALSO HAD SOME CHICKEN BROTH AND SUGAR FREE POPSICLES. ALL IN ALL I SEEM TO FILL SATISFIED. I ALSO HAD MY FIRST B.M. YEH! DIDN'T THINK THAT WAS EVER GONNA HAPPEN! GEEZ! HA HA. I HAVE NOT BEEN WALKING - I KNOW VERY BAD - BUT MY GRANDSON HAS BEEN HERE WITH ME THIS WEEKEND (HE'S ONLY 5) AND HE HAS BEEN KEEPING ME VERY BUSY TO SAY THE LEAST, SO I AM SURE I HAVE BEEN GETTING ALOT OF EXERCISE! LOL. I DO SO WANT TO START WALIKING OUTSIDE AGAIN - JUST AS SOON AS THIS WINTER WEATHER IS OVER! SPRING PLEASE GET HERE VERY SOOOOOON!!!! THANK YOU!
roseyposey

roseyposey

0
Jen's Jabbers
 

Integrating back into anywhere outside of home: Day 4 and 5.

Surgery was Tuesday. I got home from hospital Wednesday. By Friday I was drove nutty. My lady friends MamaG and Bestie were available Friday night. MamaG was home alone with hubby away at work and Bestie had gone over to the GTeam Headquarters to help get the 2 babes to bed so that the three of us gals could have a movie night. It sounded wonderful! This was the first time I had a chance to recount the whole surgery experience with my ladies and let me tell you, NO conversation EVER has ANY holds barred! We didnt even get to the movie. The ladies made me laugh way too much and way too hard but it was great to be out and catching up and feeling normal! I shared all the gritty details of my surgery, my worries about the surgery, thier worries about it and EVERYTHING else. I got home at MIDNIGHT and snuggled in to bed, sore but in fantastic spirits. Thank Goodness for friends!   Today was my Grandfather's 90th Birthday party. We drove the 2 hours each way to my hometown to be there. There was about 90 people present including all of my Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, Siblings, Nieces and Nephews. Without ANY intention, I fessed up to most of the very important people in my life. I couldn't stay all day, it was a little too much for me 4 days after surgery but I did my best to soak up every minute with them all. I felt badly for not being able to stay the whole day and it just came out, naturally.   I had been so nervous about telling anyone really except for the 5 most important people in my life. I was determined not to tell them and open myself up to judgement and feedback of anyone. EVERY response was positive. Everyone had noticed how much hard work I had done in the last year to get to where I was before surgery and EVERYONE congratulated me on my past success and my future success. I left feeling tired, but so much stronger without the weight of keeping something so huge in my life from these people who were such a huge part of my life!   All in all, a great day 4 and 5. I'm still experiencing gas pains in my shoulders, my incisions are tender from all of the ghing over the last few days and I am having a super hard time getting my protein quota in daily BUT it will only get better!   Take care all! Celebrate all successes BIG AND SMALL!
EdmontonGal

EdmontonGal

2
The Journey of a Lifetime
 

Baby girl turns 25

It is so hard to believe that my baby girl is turning 25 years old. It just seems like yesterday she was running around kissing everyone before she left the room at the age of 2. She has turned into a beautiful, independent, funny, woman. I am very proud of her.   We took her out to Japanese Village to celebrate. Ugh! I ate WAY to much. I did have to go visit the little girls room and I weighed myself "naked" to see exactly how much I gained tonight, and it was only 1.4 pounds, so it isn't TOO bad. Luckily, there are no celebrations coming up that will require me to eat to much.   I know Valentines Day is c oming, but we will have a subdued one here at home.   I started a new topic on General Sleeve Surgery Discussion called Offical weigh in - Saturday Mornings. I am using this topic to be my accountibility to myself and everyone on the forum with my weight. I just started today. I have officially lost 25 pounds, yay for me. After my Endoscope on the 14th, I had went more than 24 hours without eating anything, and my weight reflected 266, but it was a false reading. But today was a true reading because I have been eating, but I have lost down to 266 and lost a total of 25 pounds. I am so happy and proud of myself. My surgeon has to be happy with me too.   I want to lose down to 250 prior to my surgery and if I keep going the way I am, hopfully I will make it. I have started my belly dancing class, so cool and fun, and on Tuesday I will hopefully be receiving my Zumba DVD's, and I will be learning those 2 days or more a week. I am going to work at losing as much weight as I can before my surgery date.   I have my pyshc eval on March 2 and my next follow up on March 8, Hopefully my eval report will be ready and I will learn my surgery date. My fingers are crossed,   Until time next,   S
Sheila

Sheila

0
Ready for a Big Change
 

Welcome Home

What a night! My first night back on the job and I lilterally walked into a mad house. OMG! 6 months and I never ever had a night like last night. It kinda made the time go by a lil faster but then I also felt so behind the rest of the night. But other than my diet changing on Wed to pureed foods, nothing new to report on that. I am walking like I am supposed to and I am following the diet like I am supposed to. I am trying not to become obsessive about weighing on a daily basis. Thats a bad idea for me, as I get discouraged pretty quickly. So I will weigh again next Wed and see if I have lost anymore. I am calling my doc's nurse on Monday and asking her a few more questions. Like just making sure its okay for me to advance my diet. And when I need to come in for a fill. At my last appt with him he put on the paper that I use to check out of the office that I am to come back as needed. Well how do I know when I need my first fill? Oiy doctors can be so vague sometimes. I also work with the doctor that did my surgery so I see him pretty much every weekend I work. Joy. Although he disses the unit I work on like crazy. I don't get that at all. Men are so confusing. Yesterday my husband ate McDonalds in front of me. He felt bad but he was hungry and I don't blame him, I mean the stuff is fast and cheap. I had a yogurt. I don't crave the food. I have such a rebelious personality that I only want it because I can't have it. Am I going to ruin all the hard work I have put into this diet for a double cheeseburger? H-E-L-L NO! But anyway better get back to work, lol
nurse_b11

nurse_b11

3
eldivo's Blog
 

one week post op

First week after surgery which was 1/14/11. I finally weighed my self.. preop weight was 252 lb. I weighed 240 lb today. WOW.. I am excited as my journey begins. I am tolerating pureed I am allowed 3oz 3x's a day and then the rest of the time liquids. I have to admitt.. I feel hungery with actual stomach growling hunger which suprised me. I thought that this would disappear after the VSG. I am learning to increase liquid protien so I hope that this will help with the hunger. I am excited to be able to blog in a community of individuals who are taking steps to become healthy. Keep the Faith....
eldivo

eldivo

1
Carmy's Blog
 

First Time Getting Sick

Who knew it would be so bad - I don't know if i ate too much or if the Salmon didn't agree with me. I had more pain being sick then i did having the surgery - is that normal. I finally got it out and felt a little better after an hour or so but OMG i will never do that again.
Carmy

Carmy

1
ThinSIstaSoon's Blog
 

Day 5 of Pre-Op Liquid Diet

So, it's 7:26 p.m. and today has been a great day as far as food goes, but HORRIBLE as far as my life! I have sciatic pain that would kill a horse and I am so afraid that I will have to delay my surgery if this pain doesn't calm down! I REFUSE to allow that to happen though. My doctor said the first 3-4 days of my liquid diet would be the worst, so I'm not going backwards! I have made it successfully to day 5!!!   I have had a protein shake (28 g), chicken and stars soup (3 g), 1/2 of a protein bar (12 g), lite yogurt (8 g) and will have another protein shake before bed (28 g). Total protein for today 79 grams!   I am NOT hungry, and feel VERY confident in my ability to do this once I am banded because let's face it, my stomach is still HUGE right now and I'm not even starving!   I worked out for 20 minutes on my elliptical and did 30 minutes of stretching to help ease my sciatic nerve pain...it worked some!   My boyfriend is in the hospital right now struggling to keep any food down and has pneumonia...so today has NOT been a good emotional day, but I didn't feed my feelings and can just admit that I'm SAD....not hungry about it!
ThinSIstaSoon

ThinSIstaSoon

4
LUCYCAT's Blog
 

Moving Forward

I talked to my boyfriend about the surgery. I told him about the seminar that will happen on the 25th. I had dreaded this for weeks. And I did not expect a happy reception. I was shocked. Not only was he supportive- but I hadn't even had the chance to explain- before he volunteered to go with me to the seminar.   The doctor's office is 2 hours away so we plan to stay overnight rather than driving home in the snow late at night.   He has been very nice to me this week. I wish this surgery were behind me.            
LUCYCAT

LUCYCAT

0
onedivanms' Blog
 

Post-op week 3 day2

So far so good. Today is my second offical day back to work. I went to see Dr. Jenkins on thursday. He said that I was doing very well. He said most people lose 20lbs the first month and I had already lost 16 three weeks after surgery. I don't have to go back to see him again until May.!!!!!! I think I have officially become obessed with my scale. Every morning when I get up I go to the scale. Usually at least 3 times a day. I asked Dr. Jenkins about it..he said he hops on the scale every day as well.. He said that I am ok as long as its not more than 3 times a day. Anything over that he said is excessive-copulsive.   Well last night I tried to eat some tuna. I ate about 3 bites and I was stuffed. I am still trying to teach my self that I can not eat and drink at the same time. I had skipped my protein drink on wednesday. I about freaked out when I remembered if I don't drink it my hair WILL fall out. So yes I am faithfully drinking my protein. I need some ideas of cooking with fish. Since this is protein...it will elimate so of the drinking of protein.   I have been full of energy all day....I guess it all of the vitamins. My nails are growing....That's a plus. I didn't hop on the scale this morning.....I am wondering where I am today.....One thing I have realized that your weight changes throughout the day. So I go by my first weigh in.........
onedivanms

onedivanms

0
The Fat Rant
 

Where to begin...

I guess I can begin with the basics. After all, I have no idea who will be reading this blog, or if anyone will even notice. I think this is more a place to get the thoughts out of my head, where they can fester and be poisonous. And you never know, I may even amuse someone.   I'm Carlene, 41 years old, married, no kids. I live in Denver and currently work in residential property management. I've been fat all my life. I have photos of my 2 year old rosy, chubby self on the back of an evil-looking pony, taken somewhere back on the grandparents farm. Sure, I was cute then. All blonde hair and green eyes, how adorable. Blech.   My mom was fat as a kid. When she hit her junior year of high school, she morphed over a summer into this gorgeous, slim, blonde bombshell that every guy suddenly lusted after. Pooh on all those untested young men - she chose my father, after dating his brother and finding my dad 10 years older, gorgeous with jet black hair, snapping brown eyes, and already doing the thing she wished for most - getting the hell out of Kentucky. They married, settled in Southern California, and began the American Dream.   But that fat gene was lurking, and it passed to us - myself and 2 younger sisters. Horrors.   My mom dieted all her life. Yo-yo should have been her middle name. The cabbage diet, the egg diet, the fish diet - you name it, she did it. And at around 13, I started getting dragged into it as well. My mom was a hairdresser, which was extremely profitable and glamorous to her backwards relations in Kentucky, and you paid the price with image, you see. Hairdressers had to look the part, be thin, perfect makeup, gorgeous hair, natch...or who would come to be made pretty by them? How often do you see a fat hairdresser? Not too often.   I think my mom was also tramatized by her own experiences as a fat child and tween, and she didn't want me to go through it. I wish I hadn't. But gawd, one of the worst memories I have are of my mother promising me as many pairs of Jordache as I wanted if I could just fit into them. I couldn't, and by 13 I couldn't even fit into her clothes. So on the diets I went. I think I managed to get enough weight off to get a pair of Jordache at one point, but within weeks had burst out of them again.   I have two sisters, much younger than I am. I think this weight issue must be harder for my middle sister, Jayne - she was really skinny (took after Dad) up until she hit junior high, and then gained weight. Lacy, the youngest, was always chubby like I was. I imagine it was hell for her that she had a sister only 2 years older that was tanned, skinny and gorgeous. By then I was out of the house and living with my husband. Both of my sisters have a weight problem, but I'm the worst.   It was during a screaming match during a very hard time in my life, when I had left my husband of 7 years and moved back home while trying to find a job that a lot of baggage came out. I was 27, still overweight, and thought I'd get a job at a local salon as a receptionist until I went back to school or figured out what to do with myself as a single woman. In front of my Dad, who was sitting and doing his best to studiously ignore the entire conversation by watching TV, my mom told me I'd never find anyone to hire me because I didn't project the image a salon needed, being so overweight.   I snapped.   I told her that I was sick and tired of hearing about my weight. That is was her fault I was overweight, by stressing me out since I was a child with yo-yo dieting and that there were people out there that liked me just fine. I'd managed to find a husband, have a good job, and wasn't shunned like a leper. I believe that my face was red, the veins were standing out in my neck and forehead, and I was screaming this at the top of my lungs. Jayne and Lacy were standing there, mouths dropped open, my dad cringed, and then my mom said something that just about imploded my entire family.   My mom screamed back at me that she had always had to struggle with her weight, and she dieted all her life because my dad told her when they got married that if she ever got fat he'd divorce her.   Oh boy. Mom burst into tears, collapsed on the sofa, and my dad looked thunderstruck. "I can't believe you have held that in all these years," he says. "I was young and didn't realize you took that so seriously, I would never..." I was frozen at the bottom of the stairs, Jayne had rushed to my mom and Lacy literally sat down where she stood. It was beyond momentous.   So from that moment on, I swore to myself I would never diet again. Never-never-never-ever again. If people didn't like me for me, then screw em. If I was fat, so be it. I was going to be happy, and love myself no matter what.   But of course, I didn't. I am not happy. I don't love myself like I should. It's been 14 years since that scene went down, and my mother died from lung cancer 6 years ago. God, I miss her. Don't get the idea that I hated my mom - she was fantastic, and my best friend, and things changed after that screaming match. She accepted me for me, and always gave me great advice and was there through thick and thin, always my champion. Watching her die from that horrible disease was the worst thing I have ever been through in my life, and I still talk to her in my head. I still cry for her too.   About 10 years ago I found the Atkins diet and thought it was the answer to my prayers. I lost 60 lbs, went to a convention feeling great and full of confidence and sass, and met my husband. Within 18 months I had gained it all back and more, but still had my husband.   I've had to compensate for my weight. I've become funny, smart, respected (for the most part) by my employees and my supervisors, I have good common sense and I'm good at what I do. I've been successful at work and for the most part have been happy with what I've accomplished.   Except the weight. It keeps getting worse, and I now realize that I have issues. The biggest issue I have is a skewed body image of myself. It's like those bulimic people who look in a mirror and think they are fat, when they are a walking skeleton - mine is the opposite. I think I developed it when my mom was putting me on diet after diet - I can look in the mirror and I don't see anything wrong. Somehow I have spent years ignoring what I see and telling myself I look great. Sure, I keep going up in sizes. Yeah, the upper arms are starting to look like half hams, and the belly actually hangs over to the point that there's a permanent crease underneath there. My ankles swell when I stand or sit for too long of a time, or fly in an airplane. But I was still strong, I was active, I could walk through a farmer's market and not pass out, or go to a concert and boogie all night.   But age is now starting to creep in. I broke two bones in my right ankle four years ago and a year after that, broke all the cartilage in my right knee when I twisted it coming down the stairs. Neither has come back full force, and now they ache with all the weight on them. My face has no definition anymore, and recent photos horrified me - I have chins. As in multiple, not looking down or anything, but looking straight ahead. I don't let anyone take photos of me, because then it blows my lovely skewed self image and I see how large I am, especially when standing next to a normal sized person.   And I hear my mom in my head, urging me to do something, anything, just do it before I die young like she did (at age 56) and I haven't even really lived yet.   Two years ago I was with a group of my co-workers and we went on a tour of some apartment communities in Philadelphia and Harlem. We flew from Denver to Philly, stayed in a hotel, had to walk miles and miles in both cities. I would come back to the hotel at night and literally cry with the pain of my legs and feet. When you are supporting 350 lbs on your feet, they just can't take this much abuse. The cramps at night would keep me awake, pain sizzling in my calves and feet like someone was holding sparklers to the skin. That was it - that was when I hit rock bottom.   Halfway through the trip, I called my husband and just sobbed. I told him it didn't matter what it took, if I had to borrow, beg or steal, I had to have surgery and had to get my weight down. I hated getting on an airplane and asking for the seatbelt extender, and having the seat arms dig into my thighs, cutting off circulation until I could barely walk when the flight was over. I hated the way I was being looked at by my co-workers when I would fall behind, huffing and puffing, legs screaming, praying to myself that it would all end soon. I couldn't continue this way, it was time to act.   Insurance won't cover my surgery. I have to pay for it out of pocket. It's taken me two years to save up, but I finally have my date - April 5, 2011. I've just purchased a weight set, a treadmill, and arranged for time off of work. It's finally going to happen....and I can see my mom, clapping her hands, cheering me on, smiling at me.    
Woodslass

Woodslass

0
shell-bell's Blog
 

Dr. R. Kelly

Hi.. I have been doing reserch on Dr. Kelly in Tijuana, Mexico, From what I have read about him he seems to be a great sleeve doctor. I was wanting to talk to others about there experience with this doctor. Good or bad!!!! I just want to feel 100% possitive about my surgion!!!!! I am looking into febuary for my surgery.. Thanks so much!!!!!!!
shell-bell

shell-bell

3
luvmylapband's Blog
 

55lbs down and more to go!!!

I am just getting started ! Had my surgery on dec 29th 2010 ! I'm doing really well so far I've lost 55lbs and I get my first fill is in a week and a half! I've struggled with my weight my whole life and I let it take control of me and I had reached my highest weight at 440 lbs and now I'm down to 385lbs still more to go but I know I'm on the road to success! I'm taking control of my weight! I've done a a lot of praying to help get me through and a lot of support! I'm not quiting I'm going to beat my weight! I've had health problems and my gosh enough is enough ! I'm starting to get happiness back about myself that I hadn't had in along time and it feels good! =) ><>
mandyMO

mandyMO

7
PPPBand's Blog
 

The Long & Winding Road

Well here goes...My first entry...Im about a week away from my banding and I am jumping out of my skin...Mostly excited...have been reading all the different experiences on the forums and blogs..My sister had a stomach bypass 7 years ago.She lost a huge amount of weight but its starting to creep back in.I remember her saying that she never took advantage of the support systems that are available-Webinars-forums such as this. I love her so much and I kept telling her not to disregard the support...Still proud oh her anyway...I am making it a point to see a therapist on a bi-weekly basis in order to start digging into the reasons why I have this unhealthy relationship with food. I also think that blogging will help me work through the tough days and allow me to celebrate the good days.. I also have a loving and wonderful wife and 2 terrific daughters as well as my sister and some very good friends that will also be there for me for support. I also know that at the end of the day..It is me who has to do the heavy lifting (no pun intended) in order to truely change my life...So jump in and strap on your seatbelts as I go for the ride of my life...   Peace..
PPPBand

PPPBand

7
ThinSIstaSoon's Blog
 

Day 4 of Pre-Op Liquid Diet

So, it's 9:19 p.m. and I am not hungry at all! I just enjoyed my last protein shake for the day and am happily finding out that my family likes them too! I was thinking that if my family will trade in the sugary cereals we normally eat for skim milk, banana, protein shakes that would be SO AWESOME! That is definitely a start to my whole family getting healthy with me, and if you compare the cost of cereal to protein powder, I believe we would be saving money AND CALORIES!!! I can just see it now, each person have a hand mixer making their own breakfast! WOO HOO!   I'm actually going to invest in two hand mixers in order to be able to make a shake in the kitchen without disturbing the people that will be asleep in the future. I can DEFINITELY live with having these yummy protein shakes for the rest of my life! They fill me up for 4-5 hours too! I feel so happy knowing they are under 500 calories, good for me, and keep me full for a long time!   I had a protein shake w/ banana and skim milk for breakfast (28 g), tomato soup for lunch (3 g), lite yogurt (8 g) and 1/2 protein bar (12 g) for snack, and a protein shake (28 g) for supper. I also had 64 ounces of water today! Total protein intake for day four...79 grams!   I am going to bed feeling satisfied and like I CAN do this!   ONE PROBLEM! I am having SEVERE sciatic nerve pain and am so scared that if this doesn't get better it could delay my surgery! NO!!! That will NOT happen!!! (I hope!)   Please pray for me that my back/nerve gets better before I have surgery!
ThinSIstaSoon

ThinSIstaSoon

1
Blog 95742
 

Could This Be Gas

I have had this tight dull pain in my left shoulder for the last two days I had this same pain after surgery Oct.18,2010 could this possibily be gas I have taken gas-x and walked 2 miles today but the pain is still here.
lnhardemon

lnhardemon

0
justplaintired's Blog
 

Yippee! I'm APPROVED!

I didn't have to wait as long as others but it sure felt long! I hated thinking that after all the testing (and co-pays) that it would end up that I was rejected by insurance.   I cannot wait to get started with this journey. I even want to start dieting now. I wonder if that makes sense to start dieting beforehand. Will it be a problem if I lose a lot and then I'm under 35 bmi? Does that matter at this point?   I know I will do well with this! I'm so excited to begin my new life. I know I can lose because I have done it before. What will happen this time, with the band, is that I will reach goal and KEEP IT OFF!   So EXCITED!!
justplaintired

justplaintired

1
AmyH33's Blog
 

Day # 22 ROUGH day

Today was not a good day for me. Does anyone else have these kind of days? I just feel drained. Any suggestions? I do take my vitamins, maybe not enough protein? not enough sugar?? UGh I HATE these days but glad they are few and far between. Can anyone help??    
AmyH33

AmyH33

4
Kris' VSG Blog
 

2nd Week Surgiversary

Well, today marks my 2nd week surgiversary. I weighed in today at 210.0 -- loss of 3 lbs. from last week and 14.5 lbs. since surgery. I was stalled for 3 days this week and have to say this week overall was MUCH worse than last week, even considering I had a cold most of last week! A big part of it was going back to work. I think I went back to work too soon. I should have taken two full weeks off. I was only able to work about 5 hours each day until today. Today I worked at home and was able to do nearly a full day -- 7 hours. I was practically ready to have a meltdown the past couple of days. My energy was just so low, and I don't know if it was hormones or what but I was SO emotional, and not wanting to see or be around people. Today I actually have not been around people and that was probably a good thing and probably why I don't feel quite as exhausted today as I have been feeling the past few days. TGIF! -- I have two days off to rest (well, tomorrow will be a little busy, but definitely I am doing nothing on Sunday). I am able to drink more fluids every day. I am thirsty quite often and have upped my crystal light intake. I find I don't care for the taste (non-taste) of water so all my water is being gotten through the other beverages I've been consuming. Today I am sure I will get a full 64+ oz in and that is a good feeling. I am sure part of my stall was I just wasn't drinking enough fluids and/or getting enough protein in. I will be SO GLAD to be through the liquids stage ... a week from today I get to start on mushies. I already have a list of things I want to eat in the mushy stage: Trader Joe's masala lentil dip, mashed up smoked oysters, refried beans, mushed up baked beans, mashed potatoes & gravy, egg drop soup, and pureed thicker soups. Now I just know as appealing as all those things sound right now (when I can't have them), I am sure I will quickly tire of mushies, too. But at least it is more variety, and variety is something I really am lacking at this stage in the process. I am still struggling to get more than 400 calories a day in. At least half of that comes through my daily protein shake. One reason I think I have had such low energy is that I've had such a limited amount of calories overall, and not enough protein. I think I was so keen on having VSG that I really didn't give any thought at all to what it would actually be like after the operation. The first week was no walk in the park but the second week .... oy. In a way maybe it's good I didn't know how rough it would be. I am sure if I had taken the week off from work it would not have been quite as bad. Anyway, I am thankful I haven't had any really bad side effects from the surgery. My incisions seem to be healing up pretty well. The adhesive surgical tapes started falling off my incisions yesterday and the incisions look pink and like they are healing up well. I am not trying to force any of the tapes off, just letting them fall off naturally like the dr. said. I am starting to notice changes in how my clothes and underwear are fitting. I definitely am seeing a bit of looseness in my underwear and my bras. I still think my abdomen is still somewhat distended as the waistbands on my clothes aren't noticeably looser, but the legs and arms of my clothes do feel a bit looser. That is a nice feeling. A few more lbs. down and I think my clothes will definitely be on the loose side. i have a few items in the next size down but am hoping to delay buying any new clothes until I can fit into size 18s ... probably not for another month or two. Speaking of clothes, one thing I really, really am looking forward to is cleaning out my closet and getting rid of clothes I can no longer wear. I had accumulated A LOT of clothes over the years and it will be great fun to get rid of them and have a tidy closet that's not crammed with clothes. I think the big closet cleanout will be sometime in March. I will have a better idea in a few weeks, I'm sure.
Kris

Kris

1
I'm With The Band
 

Um...Yeah I'll Have The Protein Shake, Please

I don't know a soul on this board. After all...I'm new here. Eleven days ago...I got banded. I put a couple of years into my decision...and even at the last moment...right before my doctor's office was seeking insurance approval...although I THOUGHT I knew what I was doing...I was still waffling on the procedure that I wanted him to perform. Banding or gastric sleeve? All of the super invasive stuff sounded so scary...but a little bit easier. With a deep breath and an emotional eenie meenie minie mo...the band it was!   Why did I choose the band? There were a couple of reasons banding seemed so much better than the others. First of all...there was no re-routing of organs or crazy craziness. The band...is removable...fixable...long term if I want it to be...and it seemed to be the "civil" of all the procedures. So...she put the paperwork in...and within days I was approved based on a hard life of eating like there's no tomorrow to "drown my sorrows" and the high blood pressure and sleep apnea that had been the product of my lifelong romance with food.   After I woke up from the procedure...the first thing that really hit me was..."Oh God...this thing ain't comin' out!"   Yeah.   Suddenly...I had this sort of rush of fear and self-loathing. That was the moment that every diet I have ever been on flashed before my eyes. Just recently the fad diet around our office has been the HCG Hormone thing. Whatever. A lot of people lost weight...but in the back of my mind...I kept thinking about the long term consequences of injecting hormones for weight loss. They had tried to get me to jump on the bandwagon...but I just kept getting the vision of me sprouting a third nipple or growing a tail or some other freakish genetic possibility...that it helped me remain strong enough to skip the hype and let them do their own thing.   Sure enough...as with every office diet fad...wouldn't ya' know...they all lost weight?! Another lady in our office had joined the Jenny Craig thing around the same time...she dropped some weight and then it appeared to creep back slowly.   This same group had gone on a all protein shake diet a couple of years ago. I did that. Yep. I was there. I lived on protein shakes and restricted food intake for 5 months. It was all hearts and stars...I dropped 30-40 pounds...and ended up in the hospital ER with dehyrdration and some sort of stomach bug. Why? Because I was so damn rundown and tired from the lack of anything other than that in my system...save for limited meat and veggies...that it kicked my butt.   I started drinking orange juice...and it was over. Yep. I just couldn't bring myself to starve anymore. I was done with it. Tired. Disgusted. Scared. My blood pressure was STILL kind of high and my snoring was embarrassing. My weight crept back up and THEN some. Wow.   My decision to get banded was so hard...mainly because I love food. There aren't that many things that have brought me as much pleasure as good food. It's just the truth. I knew that I needed some sort of control device. And there you have it. Just like everyone else that's had to go through the insurance approval process...my time was spent at seminars, doctor's appointments...yuck. What a drag. Seriously...I didn't even KNOW my health had become so lame until this process began. And we won't EVEN go into the pre IVC filter stress. OMG.   So there I was...awake from surgery...they handed me a tiny cup of water and I drank every drop like a good girl...and within a couple of hours I was out of there.   Broth, Jello, water....broth...water...jello. You know exactly what it's like. It wasn't as annoying until a couple of days later when I had to be admitted to the hospital for dehydration and a possible infection. Turned out after about 546 units of fluid...1435 needles stuck into me...etc etc...that there had just been too much fluid in my band when it was placed and after they'd removed some of that and made me suffer through what I like to think of as the most painful 36 hours of my hospitalized life...I threatened the male nurse who seemed to not care that my veins were so overworked from all the fluids that they were pushing, that the meds felt like battery acid in my veins...that he either got in touch with my doctor and got me the hell outta there...or I was gonna go total Commando status and leave on my own accord.   I s'pose my actions were persuasive. My doctor discharged me within a couple of hours.   That's been a little over a week ago.   Since the banding...I've lost 20 pounds for a total of 24.8 pounds lost including a very brief pre-diet. So basically...today is the 21st...and my weight has dropped since January 5th.   This has NOT been easy. It has NOT been a walk in the park. Yes...I have been hungry. Yes...it was pretty tough before they removed the extra fluid. Over the first couple of days I was only able to get in about 3-4 cups of fluid. And I am SOOOO missing food.   Two nights ago...I drove to Wendy's...bought a Junior Bacon Cheeseburger...and took two bites...chewed like crazy...and then...spit it out. Of course. There's no place it can go without making me sick. OMG it was so...good...and greasy...and cheesy and bacony...and I had a brief moment of regret...that I spit out with that two bites of food.   I know it's gross. But really...at this point...I don't care.   The people at work have started to notice the weight coming off of me...and I love how they tell me about their diets. (Not really) I have been where they are and none of that stuff ever worked successfully for me. We have one lady that has dropped 60 pounds and looks fantastic. I think I hate her a little bit. (Not really...but in the realm of weight loss...she is like an arch nemesis for the time being. Damn her and her ability to keep eating normally.)   I can tell you a dozen ways to drop weight. I can tell you what to eat...what not to eat...how to prepare the food...etc etc. It does NOT work for me for whatever reason.   I have rinsed my ground beef after browning it since 1988. Mayo? Haven't touched it in forever. So...with all that said...if watching this and watching that had been right for me...it would've worked a long time ago. Am I justifying why I chose to remove steak from my life forever? Yes. Ha!   I noticed that I sat in front of Food Network the other night...like agonizing over an old ex. There it was...looking all good...and there I was on my couch...wearing my pajamas...Durabond glue stuck on my incisions...my belly gnawing itself...a delicious bottle of...water...in my hand. It was like watching your ex-husband win the lottery.   I went to bed feeling a bit defeated. My clothes still fit...they're looser now...and I wonder how I managed to shove so much butt into such a little bit of fabric...and after telling myself that if I just get to sleep...that tomorrow...when I wake up...there's another chance to wake up to a scale that reads a slightly smaller number than the day before.   The weight loss so far has been all that's really kept me sane. And Ativan...but that's another story. : )        
IdaM

IdaM

8
shelley65's Blog
 

Suggestions for hunger on pre-op diet?

On day 3 of protein pre-op diet. I am seeing Dr. Deitrick in Tampa. Anyone with suggestions against starving? I'm drinking till I float. Having my 2 protein shakes a day with my meal at lunch and I'm still starving. Shakes don't fill me up at all. I'm esp. starving in the morning and can't wait for lunch. Love to hear from someone. I'm so excited about the surgery, but having a hard time with this.
shelley65

shelley65

4
ready2bconfident's Blog
 

Excited but nervous

Well, I got the surgery date scheduled this morning- FEBRUARY 11! I have to say, I'm very excited but as soon as I got the date my tummy started doing flip flops and hasn't let up yet. I know I'm ready for this, but I'm nervous. Not so much for the actual procedure, more nervous about my mindset afterwards. I worry because with me, being hungry and wanting food are two different things. I know this isn't a magic fix, and I have to do the work. So I started this blog to vent and for advice hopefully... I wonder how long it takes for your mind to click...I will eat to live instead of live to eat.
ready2bconfident

ready2bconfident

0
Jen11's Blog
 

4 days post surgery

Well it's 4 days post surgery and it's my first day home. I was released yesterday afternoon. The surgery went great .. no complications . One thing I wasn't ready for it the amount of air bubbles floating around inside me and the pain that came with that. After my x-ray (day 2) they told me that the opening between my throat and stomach opening was swollen and liquids were pooling there before going into my stomach. That causes a huge stabbing sharp pain. It's better today (day 4) but still there. That makes drinking my 64 ounces of liquids today a little hard knowing I'm going to get a sharp pain. The dr. says it ranges with everyone on how long the swelling takes to go down. Sometimes a few days to a week. My first day home I didn't sleep hardly at all and I'm not sure why because I was totally exhausted. My best sleep was the 2 hours after my husband left for work.   I would like to go on record that I have the greatest mom ever !!! I'm 42 years old and still wanted my mom to stay overnight in the hospital with me. She stayed and was a great help. Having her help me get up in the night and pee or walk around. I didn't have to wait for the nurse. My husband has been great also but we have a 12 year old that had to be taken care of in the evenings.   Last night when we went to bed (I was totally exhausted) I tried to lay on my side and my husband told me he was very proud of me. That meant a lot to me. He doesn't always express his feelings. He has been a great support. He is doing a lot of research about the before/after surgery. He is ready to cook whatever I feel like and is planning for week 2-3 full liquids.   Anyway.. day 4 and doing good.
Jen11

Jen11

3

PatchAid Vitamin Patches

Bariatric Forums

For Patients

Health Professionals

Search Surgeons

Bariatric Surgeons: Want to research a weight loss surgery surgeon? Enter their last name below to start!

×