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im pretty sure my surgeon is nuts.

when i asked him how many calories a day im supposed to be eating (when i had a tight fill), he said 1200-1500. eating healthy food choices in the recommended amounts, im only getting in between 600-800 calories a day.   and he tells me that tuna salad, fat free cottage cheese and eggs are 'bad choices' and 'should be avoided'. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? theyre high in protein in low in fat and sugar which is what he told me to look for.   there is just NO pleasing the man! then again, he also tells me that theres no way my band could be tighter during 'that time of the month' and i KNOW thats complete BS.

harliquinn

harliquinn

 

5 days post-op

i think the swelling is starting to go down a bit since i can eat applesauce without a problem. it just feels weird. can the rest of you feel food sitting in your chest/your pouch? im still staying away from jello.   my incisions itch like crazy and the steri-strips still havent fallen off. im not allowed to pull them off so i guess i just have to play the waiting game.   i meet with my surgeon in 9 days to see how things are going. i was 291 pounds before the 2 week pre-op diet, 275 pounds on surgery day and today im 271 pounds. :rolleyes2:   my husband has been the most amazing, supportive and helpful person in the world. im so thankful for him.:thumbup:

harliquinn

harliquinn

 

not a good day. :(

i had to stop taking the Oxycodone that was given to me by my surgeon because im itching like crazy and breaking out in red rashes. this is an allergic side effect of the drug but thankfully not a severe one.   and since i went all night and morning without pain meds, im in a lot of pain. my port area hurts the most but a couple other parts of my abdomen are sore as well. sitting up on my own and laying down on my own need to be done VERY slowly or else BAM! pain city.   feeling very down. depressed. upset. hating my life.   my dog just slammed her paw into my side. she hit an incision, causing a sharp jab of pain. shes not a small dog, shes a boxer. thanks, dog. :closedeyes:   im going back to bed until tomorrow.:tt1:

harliquinn

harliquinn

 

so very thirsty!

dinner took 37 minutes to eat. it was 2 scrambled eggs. definitely feeling some restriction. i think ill hit my sweet spot at my next fill....which is next month.     it is REALLY hard not to drink while eating and waiting an hour for a drink is HELL!   so thirsty...

harliquinn

harliquinn

 

eating too much? not taking enough time? a question for you all!

my utensils from Portion Control Concepts (http://www.portioncontrolconcepts.vpweb.com/Products.html) arrived today. hubby bought them for me. :wub: i chose the sleek set. theyre beautiful, very well made and an absolute joy to use! shipping was also very cheap (less than $3) and quick (arrived in just 3 business days!). what more can you ask for? i highly recommend them. normally im not a fan of advertising for companies but im really impressed with these folks.   im eating slowly and eating smaller portions and for the most part, making smart choices but i think im still overeating. ive got 4ccs in a 10cc band and ive got a fair amount of restriction. i could probably do with an additional 1cc.   im eating roughly 3/4 of a cup to 1 cup of food per meal and stopping when i feel full but a few minutes after i stop, i feel even fuller. i dont like the sensation at all. im going to cut my meals down to a half cup or so and see how that goes.   my surgeon asked me how long im taking to eat each meal. i told him about 30 minutes and he told me i should be taking an hour. try as i might, i cant drag a meal out for that long. its difficult to make a meal last 30-40 minutes. an hour seems way too long! at that point, my pouch would be emptying, wouldnt it?   im curious to know how many ccs you guys have in your bands! also, about how much food do you eat? and how long are you taking to eat your meals?   i welcome any and all input!:scared2:

harliquinn

harliquinn

 

2 days post-op

i felt a little better after getting a shower today. back, shoulders, neck and upper arms are all sore as hell. i got to take the gauze and plastic stuff off of my incisions. theres just steri-strips holding everything together now. 5 incisions. my port is located just to the left of my belly button.   ive discovered that laughing SUCKS. it really hurts to laugh or chuckle at all. hiccups hurt too.   besides that, im alright. doing a little walking here and there. last night i slept on the couch...sitting upright because getting into bed was just NOT possible.

harliquinn

harliquinn

 

AUGH! why am i getting stuck!?

im getting stuck on lean meats. i dont understand! im taking small bites and chewing really well and tho i have 2 ccs in a 10 cc band and not really any restriction, im getting my proteins stuck! how is this possible? i dont even know what to do anymore. lunch consisted of a tiny slice of ham. how am i supposed to get all the protein that i need? im not supposed to be consuming shakes anymore.   if theres one thing the band has done for me, its kill my appetite. i dont even feel like eating anymore. sure, food tastes good but its no longer enjoyable. i dont look forward to meals anymore.   *sigh* this is hard. anyone that says this is easy is wrong. :thumbup:

harliquinn

harliquinn

 

Yes we can!

today was a fantastic day! ive finally got a date for my surgery! February 25th! i am ecstatic. :thumbup:   i have to meet with Dr. Bui on the 16th (10 am) for the pre-op consult, signing of papers, taking of vitals, weigh in, etc.   ill be meeting with the anesthesiologist on the 17th (7 am) to have blood drawn, consult, signing of papers, etc.   and then on the 25th...i am FINALLY getting my band! ive been working toward this goal since Nov 2008. im so happy. a little nervous since it seems its coming up so quickly but i am ready!   as of right now, im on the pre-op diet for 2 weeks. itll be a rough 2 weeks but well worth it!!:confused:

harliquinn

harliquinn

 

belly pic!

3 weeks post op. pic taken just before i removed the last 2 steri-strips. p.s. im not really yellow. its just bad lighting. :mad:   all the steri-strips were removed a week ago and 2 new ones were placed over the port incision. those are now gone. :eek:  

harliquinn

harliquinn

 

bad day

im officially having a bad day. the scale told me i somehow gained a pound, i have a stress induced headache, i attempted to draw something on my digital tablet only to have the damn thing remind me how much i suck and am unworthy of owning hands. i hate everything.   i want to crawl back into bed. and in fact, i might just write today off as a loss and do that because im not sure i can deal with anything today.:confused:   im 29 years old. id love to know when these miserable teenage-style mood swings will END!

harliquinn

harliquinn

 

a bad day

tired. sleeping like shit. cant really get comfortable. easily annoyed by pretty much everything. animals making me crazy. stressed.   i feel like my life has been turned upside down by this whole thing. i didnt realize i was going to be so stressed out by it. i cant focus on anything lately. i can barely think, probably due to the lack of carbohydrates. ive been forgetting protein shakes. i missed one yesterday...and one today but ill play catch-up for todays shake. 5 days left. im nervous and having second thoughts but thats pretty normal before surgery or so im told.   i just feel like crap. also, i want food. *grumps* :redface:

harliquinn

harliquinn

 

questions about mushies!

my doc cleared me for mushies and im having difficulties!   super finely mashed tuna salad is tough to get down, i have to eat it in pea sized bites. mashed potatoes go down alright for the most part. im scared to try pudding. pureed turkey got stuck. that was awful! after several minutes it went down but that was scary.   is this normal? am i doing something wrong? im scared to try scrambled eggs. and im supposed to be eating solids in less than a week!:thumbup:

harliquinn

harliquinn

 

rice is evil.

i had shrimp and rice for dinner. the shrimp went down fine., the rice did too. until the last bite, which promptly got stuck. :thumbup:   an hour of extreme discomfort later, im finally unstuck.   good lord. ill be avoiding rice forever i think.

harliquinn

harliquinn

 

confession

ive done terrible the last few days. cheese steaks, cheeseburgers, Nutella, etc. no exercise. :thumbup:     tomorrow, im back on track. I NEED TO GET ON THE BALL.

harliquinn

harliquinn

 

scale victory and non-scale victory!

when i had my fill on tuesday i was 277. im down to 265! woohoo!   AND when i put on my jeans today, they were slipping off my hips! i actually need to buy a belt! this is an AWESOME problem to have!!!   :thumbup::smile::thumbup:

harliquinn

harliquinn

 

WHAT!? youve GOTTA be kidding....

i called my bariatric coordinator and told her that i cant eat solid protein. even now, i can only sometimes get down tuna salad and cottage cheese. thats the most solid protein i can eat. vegetables are a HUGE no-no. they wont go down. no matter how long they are steamed. and today, even pureed chili wasnt going down.   long story short, my band is too tight and i need a partial unfill. she passed the message to my surgeon and then called me back. they REFUSE to take anything out of my band. they refuse to see me until May 13th. they want me to go back on liquids for a week and then see how im doing.   *cries* this is SO frustrating! they also had the nerve to tell me that im making poor food choices. HOW am i supposed to eat solid protein if solid protein gets stuck every time i eat it!? the best i can do is tuna salad and cottage cheese! nothing else will go down! i could understand getting lectured if i was eating chocolate and gummy bears...but this? how ridiculous!   i called the patient advocate on base (military) and theyre going to try and get me a second opinion.   arent overly tight bands more prone to slippage? im scared.

harliquinn

harliquinn

 

what is your bands name?

ive heard some people say that they named their band. my band is my good friend and all good friends should have names, i think.   have any of you named your bands? if so, what did you name it and why?

harliquinn

harliquinn

 

oh how i love those mushies!

so i officially started a week of mushy foods today. half cup of oatmeal for breakfast. 1/4 cup Egg Beaters with cheddar cheese and 1/2 cup low fat cottage cheese for lunch. still have no idea what im going to for dinner! could tuna be considered a mushy food? does it have to be mixed with mayo or something or can it be eaten plain and considered a mushy food?   its such a weird feeling to feel full on such a small amount of food! weird but GOOD!:smile:

harliquinn

harliquinn

 

first fill

my first fill (aside from the 2ccs that were put in during surgery) is april 2nd.   i cant wait. i can eat entirely too much at the moment and im hungry all the time.

harliquinn

harliquinn

 

surgery tomorrow...scared to death!

well, its official!   im being banded tomorrow morning. ill be excited once its over im sure, but right now im a huge bundle of nerves and im scared to death! what if i have some sort of undiagnosed heart problem and something happens during anesthesia?:cursing:   is it normal to feel like this? i definitely dont have doubts about getting my band but the surgery itself scares me. :rolleyes2:

harliquinn

harliquinn

 

keeping track of fills.

previously i was way too tight and ended up in the ER for a complete unfill.   one month ago, we started my fills all over again and started slowly with .6 cc. yesterday i got an additional 1 cc. so right now i have a grand total of 1.6 ccs in a 10 cc band. and thats fine by me since i need to take things slowly.

harliquinn

harliquinn

 

first blog post

so yesterday i met with Dr. Bui and it went well. very nice guy. very detailed answers to my questions.   after looking over my health history and all my paperwork, he feels that i am very proactive about my goal and that i am an excellent surgical candidate. this makes me incredibly happy. he was also very pleased to see that Psyko (DH):wink2: was with me since support is a VERY big deal.   we discussed the Roux-en-Y and the lap band and he wanted to know why i was insistent on the Lap Band rather than the Roux-en-Y so i explained that i dont want my digestive system cut up, theres less serious complications (staples can leak, etc), shorter recovery time, its adjustable, and the weight loss is more gradual. he agrees these are good reasons. so yeah, it all went very well.   he gave me a list of things that he wants me to call around on base and schedule for. ideally i should have this list fully completed by October.   checklist for bariatric work-up:     Nutritional Medicine Consultation   Behavioural Health Consultation   LAB-fasting overnight (blood work)   Radiology *chest x-ray *pulmonary function tests   Pulmonary Medicine *sleep study   General Surgery Clinic *upper endoscopy         thats a lot of stuff to do! we are calling on monday to start scheduling things and im heading to the LAB on Tuesday for the blood work. Tuesday i also have an appointment to have a rash checked out.     oh...Dr. Bui also showed me a working model of the Lap Band. CAN I JUST TELL YOU HOW COOL THAT WAS?? awesome. so freaking cool.:cool2:   im still freaked out at the thought of an endoscopy. *shudders*:ohmy:

harliquinn

harliquinn

 

this day is going all wrong...

this has been a rough day. the surgery clinic called, not to ask me if i wanted or needed a fill this month but to TELL me that i have a fill appointment this month that i need to attend. nevermind the fact that my last fill was less than 2 weeks ago and that im STILL not technically allowed back on solids yet! why my surgeon insists on being such a bully and insists on a week of liquids and a week of mushies after every fill, ill never know. :bored: but im tired of being bullied and pushed around by him! ive been eating right, counting calories, and exercising DAILY and he still gives me hell. :smile2:   and then our last pet rat (who was 3 years old) had to be euthanized tonight due to having a large mass on her belly and her quality of life was going downhill.:wink:   since i had so few calories all day (65 for breakfast and about 100 for lunch), i had half a cheese steak for dinner. and the stupid cheese steak place managed to completely muck up my order and it tasted awful.   i might take a walk later tonight, i dont really know. this has been a really upsetting day and i just want to crawl into bed.:eek:

harliquinn

harliquinn

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