awchili

This is my first entry on my first blog ever. I was just banded yesterday, and so far am feeling very good. Just some soreness on the left side of my abdomen and some discomfort by my shoulder where I think some gas got trapped. Drinking liquids and doing all the stuff I am supposed to do. Why did I get the band? I got the band to hopefully start to undo the damage done by 7 years of overeating that I couldn't undo through dieting. I did it because I couldn't do it by myself anymore. I did it because I am tired of hiding from mirrors and photographs. I did it so I could have some pride in myself again. And, so far, I am glad I've done it and grateful to be on the journey back to myself.

My Day One was yesterday Have had much less pain and the whole thing was much less of an ordeal than I expected. I was really scared. We had to drive an hour to the surgery center and I was grinding my teeth the whole way. We got to the surgery center. They asked for a urine sample to do a pregnancy test, which was negative (bonus!) I gowned up, they got an IV started, and I said goodbye to my husband and they wheeled me into the O.R. They injected an anesthesia cocktail into my IV port, I was asked to breathe through an oxygen mask and I was out. I woke up in recovery with no nausea and the only pain I had, or have continued to have, was on my left side where the incision for the port was located. I rested in the recovery room for about an hour. The nurse was great and gave me sips of cold bottled water. I finished almost an entire bottle of water before I left. I was given a dose of Lortab for the ride home (liquid Vicodin and acetominophen). I was a bit apprehensive about taking a narcotic, but so far it has just helped my pain and not made me feel goofy. I rested upright in a chair and watched TV for a little bit when I got home, but decided to try to go to bed. It was only about 6 p.m., so I lay awake for a while. I was a bit uncomfortable during the night, and awoke once to take more pain medicine. I had to sleep on my back to avoid the pain from the residual gas in my upper body, and I usually sleep on my left. I wear a CPAP for sleep apnea and I just hope I didn't wake my husband too much, as I am better off with the snoring if I sleep on my side. Today I have had the following: diluted juice, chicken broth, herbal tea and water. I never realized how many cooking shows and commercials with food they show on TV. It is something I will just have to avoid. I am looking forward to tomorrow (Day 3) and having some protein shakes and pureed soups. And a shower. If you're reading this, and wondering if you should do it, don't let the fear of surgery stop you from getting the life that you want. I fully intend to make this a new start for me. I look forward to being a happy, healthy thin woman again.