Cecilia

The benefits of weight loss.

How cool is that! Welcome to the hang-out! Do you prefer not to chat on these forums or are you just offering another way to be in touch? I'm just saying because, as you know, support groups are soo healthy, and I'd hate to deprive the group of your insights by taking them off to a private chat... Where do you work? Inpatient or out? Cecilia

Awww... I'm sending you a big (((hug!))) Just curious... what time of the day was this at? I ask, because at least at our house it is a well-known fact that if things are going to get emotional, it's going to be between dinner and bedtime, especially if someone has been stressed to begin with. Be kind to yourself. I'll bet by the time you're reading this in the morning you'll be feeling much better already. Give your boy a hug and tell him that although he did break a rule, it wasn't what made you cry. Remember, you just got your digestive tract rerouted! Even though it's easy to forget, because at least for me, the 5 little bandaid incisions are already mostly healed up, your body is still working really hard to sort out the new way things work inside, you're calorie deprived (and we know how much the brain needs food!), etc. God forgive me for that run-on sentence. Hey, if it makes you feel better, for the last two days I've had legit, wake up in a wet-spot, have to turn over the pillow night sweats. What's that all about?

Monday night update: I overdid it yesterday, this is true, but when I got a good sleep I woke up and was rested but still wretchedly nauseated. I called my surgeon's service and was told to go get some Milk of Magnesia. See, unlike some other people's experiences, they let me go home on day 3 with toots alone. When I mentioned that I hadn't had a BM in 6 days they told me that could be contributing to the nausea. So. Got my MoM, took a big swig, and have been rockin' that poop all day long - LOL! Nausea is also is nearly gone. Who knew? On another topic, I am SICK TO DEATH of the Clear liquids diet. Can't wait to advance to puree on Wednesday! Good evening y'all! Thanks for keeping me sane!

Hey! That's cool! Nice to meet you! At least we'll make sure the information stays safe for everyone involved. My mom was on a board where people were sharing tips on how to eat all your favorite sweets without getting sick and that sort of thing. Groan!

The book is "Life Without Ed." It's more about people with bulimia (and if you had bulimia, you probably would not have been approved for this surgery), but even though it hasn't arrived yet, I suspect it will be a good read anyway. I could write a five-page essay about my thoughts on eating disorders, but I'll try to summarize. It's like many other things: a sliding scale. You make a bad choice, you do it enough times that it becomes a habit, then you forget how to deal with whatever it was you made the bad choice about without your habit. Then the habit no longer satisfies, and you need more and more of it to feel like yourself. We could be talking about nicotine, drugs, surfing the web, gambling, skipping meals, eating when we're not hungry... it's all the same as far as I'm concerned. Once the habit becomes strongly entrenched, the brain begins to make changes to conform. Hence, when you withdraw the action that was part of maintaining the status quo, we suffer. REALLY and literally suffer. But it's temporary. Just like we made old habits, we can make new ones. Anyway, I'll give you a book report in a week or so and let you know if I think it's worth buying or checking out at the library.

Come join the discussion at Fabulous February Post-ops!

My sympathies, Kat! Just think--by getting healthier yourself, you'll be in a better position to take care of your dad in years ahead. Also, you'll be healthier when you reach the age he is now, and you won't give your kids the scare he gave you! ((hugs!)) Cecilia

By the way, I don't know if I ever introduced myself formally here. My name is Cecilia. I'm a registered nurse, working in a psychiatric hospital in the midwest. I may not be able to help with questions about the medical side of things, but I probably can help with the emotional side of things. I was diagnosed with Graves Disease a few months before the surgery, so there was a last minute push to get my thyroid killed off so that it would be safe to do surgery. The upshot was that the whole year that I was going through the program and waiting for a surgery date and whatnot, I was losing about a pound a week without trying. Well... I chalked it up to mindful eating, better food choices, smaller portions, etc, (what we had been taught in the 3-month class I had to take) but in fact it was just my metabolism chewing through the calories I consumed and then some. Toward the end, the dietitian told me in confidence, not to lose any more weight because if I did, the insurance company would no longer pay for the surgery. So it was an odd balancing act of trying to eat healthy, but not lose weight. Long story short, I get a lot of those You don't look big enough to need surgery! and Why get the surgery? You were losing weight just fine! (yah, thanks to my overactive thyroid). I didn't tell anyone at work before leaving, and only my mom (supportive), my brother and his wife (not approving but grudgingly supportive), and my best friend (believes I'm beautiful the way I am--which I am, but that's not the point--and that all I needed was a little more exercise.) It's nice to have this supportive forum. It got me through a rough night last night! Cecilia

OMG! Me too! I since I'm off work for a month I've taken to sleeping until I wake up naturally. I've had some CRRRRAZY dreams! Many of them involve eating foods and having terrible remorse at having messed up my diet, LOL! Cecilia

I was feeling pretty awful last night. Just wishing to GOD I could eat some real food, wondering what was so bad about being fat and uncomfortable all the time--at least I could drown my sorrows in a pint of Ben and Jerry's... Then I woke up this morning feeling much better too. Moral of the story: THINGS ALWAYS LOOK BETTER IN THE MORNING.

I've been googling what things mean such as onederland and NSV... I thought there might be a FAQ somewhere here that I could reference, but I can't find it. Any help?

Well, yesterday I did a quick run to the store with the girls (was that really only day 3 postop? What the hell was I thinking?) and it went great. Came home, no tiredness, slept like a baby. Weaning almost off of the pain pills except for Tylenol now and then. So today I feel like a champ and decide to do another little excursion. To JCP to exchange a jacket, then to the library to let my daughter pick up a book. Out and back in 30 minutes, 45 tops. Except it didn't go that way. JCP turned into "Mom, can we just get some jeans for the dance next weekend?" then "They don't have good tees here... can we go to Hot Topic?" By the time we got to Hot Topic I had to sit down on the display areas because I was getting winded. Then the library went from "just that one book" to "do you mind if I quick check out the Manga section?" and "I'm just going to reserve these two books, okay?" with me sitting in one of the chairs. I hobbled back to the car, drove straight home, and flopped down on the couch. Total time out: 2.5 hours. Now I'm behind on my fluids and drinking feels like a real chore. Getting nauseated for the first time. I'm catching up on fluids, but to get them all in I may have to stay up till midnight (not happening). Lesson learned: DON'T OVERDO IT. Cecilia

I will try that. I keep forgetting how very recently I had surgery and what my poor tummy must be going through.

I agree that one thing that still really does not get addressed is our "relationship" with food. It's like being told you have to break up with your best and oldest friend, who has seen you through the roughest times of you life. I had a halfway decent support group for this, but still, we really didn't address this head on. I've ordered a book that may be helpful. I'll let you know if I still think so once it comes.

I'm day 4 post surgery and I have no idea what this pain is that I'm feeling. It comes and goes throughout the day, and goes away after I take painkillers (which makes me think it's surgical pain), but it feels an awful lot like my stomach is gurgling/hungry. But when I take any fluids it also hurts, so I wonder if it's nausea. I'm so confused! What sort of pain/discomfort did you have during your first week? Did anything help? Cecilia

Hi Everyone! I'm new here, had my surgery on the 13th at the Mayo Clinic. They do a TON of work with you to get you ready before, during, and after. I had wonderful pain relief at the hospital with Toradol and Demerol. They weaned me off these on day 3 and I came home on Oxycodone and tylenol. As long as I remember to take them as scheduled, the pain is minimal. I have to be on Clear liquids until next Wednesday, but they do want me to get some carbs in those liquids, so I'm drinking diluted juices, gatorade, that sort of thing. I was allowed to go home on "toots" because they said it's quite normal not to poo for almost a week. Thank God. I'm not really hungry. I think now and then I feel pain and I confuse that with hunger. They want me to get 64 ounces of liquids in per day, no more than 8 ounces per hour, so that's a bit tricky, but I'm getting better at keeping track. I'm also struggling a little with postop depression, but I think I know what's going on. I miss my "friend" the food. My kids are all eating, and I miss doing that with them. I remind myself that in 6 months I'll be eating along with them, and it makes me feel much better. Hugs to you all! Cecilia