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Blog 85448

A blog by RavenClaw779 in General

  • Entries

    111

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    200

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    22,069

About this blog

A weight loss surgery blog by RavenClaw779 on BariatricPal. 111 entries on surgery, recovery and progress.

Entries in this blog

Exactly One Week Out

Down to 246, so I've lost six pounds since my surgery. Having a hard time getting in 1,000 calories, but doing better with the protein - about 60g a day. Over did it a bit yesterday with chores and by 6pm was down for the count. Off the Loratab and finish the muscle relaxer today - good thing as it makes me dizzy and I can't focus to read. Positive side effect to all the protein - my nails look amazing! Working at my desk on the ongoing sage of the "Psycho PsyD". Despite numerous calls from BCB

Bad Case of The Mondays

WTF! got up in the middle of the night(as usual) to use the bathroom. Without thinking, got a drink of water and drank it as I did before I had the surgery. Guess what - no restriction, no back wash??!   Healing fairly quickly and enough swelling has gone down to be able to tell that my port appears to be in the center of my abdomen? Since my surgeon uses both the Lap-Band and the Realize Band I left the decision as to which to use to her - she's the expert.   Apparently I have a 11cc Reali

Out & About - OUCH!

Feeling pretty good five days out and down to 1 tbsp of Loratab a day, so I agreed to go to Best Buy with my husband. Let's just say regular jeans in lieu of sweatpants was a big painful mistake.   This is the first day I've felt remotely hungry but a cup of soup took care of it.   Blood glucose number are normal so I'll have to call the doctor tomorrow to see if I need to keep on with the metformin.

I See No Difference

I see no difference when I look in the mirror despite 35 pounds lost. What I do see already looks saggy and I'm wondering if I can afford the plastic surgery I'll need to look normal or if I'll spend the rest of my life never wearing shorts or a swimsuit. I guess I should just be thankful for 3/4 length sleeves and capris - my go to since reach 3X!

Full Liquids Start Today

Not hungry, but had to start on full liquids today, so I made a yogurt shake w/protein powder and skim milk; managed to down 1 cup. Still not hungry. Largely off the Loratab but the other drugs are a must and they make me quite dizzy. Unfortunately, the nutritionist neglected to tell me how often to eat(every 2, 3, 4 hours? When hungry?) and how much? All I got was, "take in 1000 calories and 65 grams protein a day". Still trying to figure out how I'm going to manage to get the right balance

Day II - Post Surgery

Got through most of yesterday with minimal pain, but by about 8pm I was feeling nausea and pain in my neck and shoulders from the gas. My mouth was dry all day - tongue stuck to the roof dry - possible side effect to the muscle relaxer and not being able to drink in more than little sips. I can hear/feeling the liquid move from my pouch to my stomach - strange, but not painful or distressing. Was up off and on all last night - finally ended up on the couch with my CPAP, heating pad and pillows -

It's a New Dawn, a New Day & a new Me...but not just yet

Getting up and moving around. Folded some laundry and emptied the dish washer, but I'm very light headed and the surgical area is very sore; difficult to bend over. Ellis gave me scripts for Loratab(Liquid), Prilosec and Flexirel(sp) - all of which are sleep inducing. Having a hard time even typing today - I'm signing off and going back to bed!

Surgery Day

Left the house at 5am to get to Ellis by 6am. Within 15 minutes I was in my gown and slippers give yet another blood sample. The anesthesiologist, the surgeon and all the nurses attending came in and introduced themselves. I was wheeled in to the operating room at 7:50am and awoke in recovery at 9:30am. The surgeon advised my husband that everything went fine and that she'd repaired a haital(sp) hernia. Left the hospital around noon and slept all the way home. Then I slept off and on for th

Winding down and some helpful day before hints

All the chores are done, suitcase packed and I'm winding down with a delicious mug of Sirloin Beef Stock - actually quite good or perhaps I really am losing my mind.   btreiger reminded me to bring a pillow to pad my stomach on the ride home - great idea and one not even mentioned by the hospital staff.   Here are some prep tips: * If you have to do a "cleansing" do a test run on the weekend. If I hadn't and had following the timing per the nurse, I'd still be on the toilet at the time of m

Day Before Surgery

Began the pre-surgery prep yesterday with my last(yea!) Medifast shake and a shower using Dial(anti-bacterial - required). Boy does that soap make my skin itch. Also had to take MOM but was smart and took it in the AM so I wasn't up until the wee hours going. My husband cooked me a steak for dinner last night - probably the last I'll have for quite some time.   Today it's clear liquid only. Exciting breakfast of coffee and orange sugar free jello and an ice pop - Mmm..Chewing gum helps keep me

Wow - Am I surprised!

Last night was the second night I wore the BiPap. I managed to wear it for about five hours and I vaguely remember taking it off to get up to use the bathroom so I must've just left it off. NTL I am surprisingly rested and clear-head. Thinking of this machine as a "spa treatment" i.e., my "beauty" sleep has helped.

Five Days to Go

All the pre-approvals, testing and clearances are done. I've been running around getting the pantry stocked, bills paid, post-surgical dietary needs stocked, laundry done - etc. Still trying to get my mind around the no lift/push/pull over 10lbs for 4 weeks. I have two large dogs - if one of them even bumps me, I'm a goner:ohmy:! Everyone keeps asking me if I'm scared or excited. Actually - neither. I'm so busy and it's moving so fast that I don't have time to really dwell - and when I have po

Cardio/Pulmonary/Sleep Worries

Having anxiety has led to a number of "cardiac" incidents over the years i.e., palpatations. Coupled with a family history of heart disease, I've had echocardiograms, stress tests, Holter monitering and other than some trivial valve issues and a slightly irregular heartbeat, every cardiologist I've seen has told me I have nothing to worry about. Last Friday's pre-surgical clearance with my doc had my BP at 110/74. Today - after the BiPap fitting, I drove an hour to meet with the pulmonlogist -

BiPap Update

I have to admit that I was wrong - while my "Sleep Apnea" quiz indicated I wasn't likely to have SA, the actual test yielded some surprising results. I probably would've grasped the reality better if my pulmonologist had called me with the results of the initial test(2/18). Instead, I got the full picture today(plus copies of both test results) from the Lincare respitory therapist. I only had one incident of obstructive apnea, but 161 hypopneas(shallow breathing) resulting in a drop in my blood

More CPAP Thoughts

Drowsydad makes a good point about possible positives. Following the last adventure at the (No) Sleep Lab I did some research on CPAP and found out a number of interesting points:   1) Your nose and face are supposed to be measured...nostril type/width, nasal depth, length, eye to nose ratio. Masks come in different sizes based on gender and even age - there's even equipment for kids. No one at Jurassic Sleep Lab measured me for fit.   2) Feelings of confinement are quite common even for p

Anxiety Attack

I make no secret about being claustrophobic and it's no secret that many people with claustrophobia have other anxiety issues. My first ever anxiety attack was five years ago when I was juggling a 70 hr a week job, and coordinating a 1,000 mile move for my husband and I. It happened at night - my husband was away on business. I was sitting on the couch and suddenly felt my heart pounding and like I just wanted to run...out of the house and into the dark. It passed but several days later I was w

From the Rooter to the Tooter

Instructions from the surgeon's office, "Take 2 Tablespoons of Milk of Magnesia and a Fleet Enema at 7pm the day before surgery". Beyond the concept of giving myself an enema:crying:, isn't the MOM suppose to send it out the door and the Fleet to sweep the remnants away? Figuring that these two events weren't going to happen immediately and knowing my body, I did a test run this weekend - of the MOM not the Fleet. It took 4 hours for the MOM to kick in and then I was in the bathroom 11 times ove

The Ongoing CPAP Saga

Today I got a phone call at work from "Lincare" calling to set up an appt to fit me with a "BiPap". The first opening was 3/17! I explained that I'm only doing this as a condition for surgery which is scheduled for 3/9. Magically, they're able to see me on 3/4 and even more incredible - they already have my insurance info and plan # - excuse me, isn't that my private info to disclose? Hopefully I can lease rather than buy something I doubt I'll use beyond my surgery date.

Surgical Clearance w/My Primary

Got the once over from my primary doctor; review of vitals, meds, allergies, urine screening. Together we reviewed the reports from the cardiologist(no concerns), the abdominal ultrasound, upper GI, chest x-ray - all normal. In fact after Friday's appt. with the surgeon and the diagnosis of "fatty liver" I was researching on WebMD and Mayo Clinic and getting worried, so I asked my doctor about it. He said that it's commen in obese patients, but that according to the ultrasound, and the radiologi

Pre-Surgical Visit w/Surgeon + PAT's

Took my husband with me for the last meeting with my surgeon. She is pleased with my weight loss(21-25 lbs depending on time of day and level of dress:ohmy:), told me that all my tests came out clear but advised that I have a "fatty liver":sad:. My husband's concerns were addressed - still can't believe he thought the port was going to hang out of my body!?! What - like the tag on a stuffed animal!?   PAT's were a repeat of tests done several weeks ago plus a pregnancy test. Strange to have t

CPAP Crap

Drove 45 minutes through a driving rain/snow mix to my mandatory CPAP fitting/sleep study. Dutifully put on my PJ's at 7pm and had wires attached to my scalp with what looked like balls of lard. Add to this 2 EKG moniters, an elastic sensor belt around my chest and another on my waist, moniters on each leg and a pulse-ox moniter on my finger. Gee - don't I feel snoozy? Then put me in a too warm room(again) where the hospital's over head central heat system sounds like the runway at JFK and hook

Insurance and the Psycho PsyD

Still no adjustment to my claims re; the PsyD I had to pay out-of-pocket, so I called BCBS for a status report. Oops - It was "bumped back" for lack of a service date. "That's odd?", I said - "It's right there in the invoice...". After sending me an email telling me their going to give me full credit toward my deductible for this out-of-pocket payment, now they're telling me that since claims have already been posted and attributed toward my deductible, the PsyD has to submit the claim, reimbur

Thoughts on Insurance

There was a forum question re; doctors "scamming" patients which got me thinking. I have a commercial insurance background and stay on top of my medical insurance claims as I've had a number of denials over the years which were actually mistakes on the part of the carrier's claims adjustor.   Sadly, turnover in insurance companies is high. Burnout especially in the claims area is understandable due to the stress. Often the people hired have minimal experience in the field and no medical backg

On the diet, sleep lab and other updates

Was hoping to avoid that second trip to the sleep lab tonight - using my unplowed 90' driveway of snow as an excuse...sadly, must go or the surgeon will cancel the surgery. Guess the hubs better get home early and get to work shoveling:laugh:   Was so hungry yesterday I ate a couple of whole grain waffles and a bagel. Was prepared for the worst when I stepped on the scale. DOWN - to within a pound and a half of my pre-surgery goal weight. My nutritionist said that when you're on an extremely

Not Hungry

(Must be boring everyone to death - no one has any comments...)   Two weeks from surgery. I found I was allergic to the MediFast shakes with the soy so I changed to the MediFast "cold drinks" (per the nurse - "no soy"). I'm to have five shakes a day plus add'l protein as needed. I've now had "the runs" for two days and just the thought of eating anything makes me feel sick. Still 3 pounds from pre-surgery goal weight.

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