I just need to vent a little...
I have this rash (still) the itching is driving me CRAZY! My arms, my legs. I'm taking benadryl and applying cream... Not helping!!
My husband is asleep on the couch SNORING LOUDLY while I'm trying to watch tv. I turn it up, he snores louder!! He will not go to bed! I want to smother him with a pillow! But I won't I promise!
My cat, omg... I can't even go to the bathroom without having her under my feet! What is with her!
I've been on my cycle for a week despite being on birth control. It never lasts this long, and when the Docs said "break through bleeding" I didn't expect full on Flo!
I'm so anxious to get to the regular foods part of this whole thing! I knew this would be hard, and I am a fighter, but damn! I wanna eat!
Every couple of days I'll be up late and I just watch hours of food shows. Man vs Food is in a sense disgusting to me but sometimes I want it! I think I'm dealing with the loss of food by watching food. Is that strange?
Today I went to my cousin's daughters birthday party. All the food smelled so good! I could smell everything! Before surgery I feel like I couldn't smell anything! Sometimes this heightened sense isn't so great!
Btw: it's true what they say about vivid dreams after anastecea (sp?) I have had some very real dreams, and I can actually remember details! And yes several have been about food!
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Almost 2 week update
Today is day 12.
This has definitely become the hardest thing I've ever done in my life.
My energy is low.
Sense of smell is heightened beyond measure.
I'm emotional and testy.
Earlier this week I had talked to my boss about coming back to work and taking it slow, maybe a few hours here and there... the next day I told her forget it just put back on full force with a break after each of my clients. I think part of my exhaustion is related to lack of human connection... I have been home alone for most of my recovery and that's a drastic change from being in direct contact with people on a daily basis! (remember I'm a massage therapist)
I've cheated this week also. desperate for something to actually eat rather than drink... I 've had sugar free frozen yogurt (yesterday), refried beans (last night), fried egg (2 days ago) a scrambled egg (3 days ago). the first egg I spent an hour eating. the second egg went down easier and i ate it in about 30 minutes. the beans were so satisfying and i only had about a 1/4 cup. Oh and the frozen yogurt about 5 bites but I have more in the freezer just in case... So far everything has gone down pretty easy. nothing has made me sick...
another note, and this may be TMI, but I've had breakthrough bleeding on my cycle.. I had chosen to bypass my off week on my birth control b/c I didn't want my cycle during my surgery week. Well instead I've had my cycle for a week along with mild cramping every day. It's hard to tell if I'm drained from this or the surgery, probably both!
Last night I got a little social interaction with our neighbors across the street. They all know about my surgery and had plenty of questions. It was good to get out of the house though even if it was only across the street!
Today I'm spending time at hubby's work tooling around on the computer while he works on stuff in the warehouse. Again, feels good to be out of the house but I'm still tired.
The rash... I've had this horribly itchy rash on both arms since about 3 days post op... the pharmacist told me to take Benadryl FOUR times a day!! I was like you're crazy! I'll never be awake!! so I take one before bed, one in the morning, and one in the afternoon when I feel ready for a nap anyway... I explained to her about my surgery b/c I was concerned about the meds hurting my stomach, but so far I don't feel anything there. She asked all kinds of questions about my surgery after that. I love that people are interested!
on a good note: My husband noticed the shirt I was wearing yesterday... he said how long since you've worn that shirt? So that was cool b/c I have definitely noticed my clothes NOT fitting and some of the older/smaller things fitting better! Feels great!
Anyway, guess that''s all for this update...
Later! ~Sus
This has definitely become the hardest thing I've ever done in my life.
My energy is low.
Sense of smell is heightened beyond measure.
I'm emotional and testy.
Earlier this week I had talked to my boss about coming back to work and taking it slow, maybe a few hours here and there... the next day I told her forget it just put back on full force with a break after each of my clients. I think part of my exhaustion is related to lack of human connection... I have been home alone for most of my recovery and that's a drastic change from being in direct contact with people on a daily basis! (remember I'm a massage therapist)
I've cheated this week also. desperate for something to actually eat rather than drink... I 've had sugar free frozen yogurt (yesterday), refried beans (last night), fried egg (2 days ago) a scrambled egg (3 days ago). the first egg I spent an hour eating. the second egg went down easier and i ate it in about 30 minutes. the beans were so satisfying and i only had about a 1/4 cup. Oh and the frozen yogurt about 5 bites but I have more in the freezer just in case... So far everything has gone down pretty easy. nothing has made me sick...
another note, and this may be TMI, but I've had breakthrough bleeding on my cycle.. I had chosen to bypass my off week on my birth control b/c I didn't want my cycle during my surgery week. Well instead I've had my cycle for a week along with mild cramping every day. It's hard to tell if I'm drained from this or the surgery, probably both!
Last night I got a little social interaction with our neighbors across the street. They all know about my surgery and had plenty of questions. It was good to get out of the house though even if it was only across the street!
Today I'm spending time at hubby's work tooling around on the computer while he works on stuff in the warehouse. Again, feels good to be out of the house but I'm still tired.
The rash... I've had this horribly itchy rash on both arms since about 3 days post op... the pharmacist told me to take Benadryl FOUR times a day!! I was like you're crazy! I'll never be awake!! so I take one before bed, one in the morning, and one in the afternoon when I feel ready for a nap anyway... I explained to her about my surgery b/c I was concerned about the meds hurting my stomach, but so far I don't feel anything there. She asked all kinds of questions about my surgery after that. I love that people are interested!
on a good note: My husband noticed the shirt I was wearing yesterday... he said how long since you've worn that shirt? So that was cool b/c I have definitely noticed my clothes NOT fitting and some of the older/smaller things fitting better! Feels great!
Anyway, guess that''s all for this update...
Later! ~Sus
First Week Reflections
So today rounds up my first week post-op and I have to say over all I feel great!
Some notes or 'reflections' on the last 7 days...
Day 1: the last thing I remember before going under was asking the operating room crew if Dr. B would take pics of my insides cuz I really wanted to see how I look in there. The answer was no. Then I have vague memory of being wheeled into my room where my hubby was waiting... They asked him to leave the room for a minute while they got me situated. Someone was 'bird feeding me pink stuff, 4 squirts and coaching me to swallow it. Couldn't keep my eyes open really... Then was in and out of it for the next couple hours. I'd wake up to my hubby spoon feeding me ice chips and asking how I was.
Finally I was asked to get out of bed and try walking around. Upon standing I got nauseated and sat in a chair for a while. More meds and fluids administered and finally I needed to pee... The first time I realized my ROM was limited, could hardly reach to wipe! Lol! Anyhow, took a slow stroll around the hospital with hubby and iv pump in tow... By 11pm I was doing two laps and had one more bottle of water to consume.
Day 2: (wednesday) discharged by 10am! All stats were great! Did not get a good nights sleep, but knew I'd get more rest at home. We had a 3.5 hour drive home and still made good time considering we stopped twice so I could walk. I was sore, but it was tolerable!
Days 3-5: pretty much all the same... Each day the pain decreases, swelling goes down, and less meds are needed. The challenge of course is getting the fluids in! I've had a lot of burping especially with water and broths.
Thursday had some mild depression, mourning food etc...
On Saturday I braved a trip to Walmart with hubby. It was a little too much activity even though I clung to the cart. But the visual overload being in the food dept was way overwhelming!
Day 6: got up for church armed with my protein shake and water bottle. Felt pretty good! Heard a great message! Love when He speaks so clearly to me that way. Oh, side note about church... The announcer guy had us greet our neighbor and ask how we could pray for them. The lady in front of me had turned to me and after introductions she said well I had Surgery on Monday... I said wow! I had surgery Tuesday! Hers was something for her colon, but we briefly compared stories and such... So neat to have such divine intervention like that!
After church, we came home and enjoyed some time together being lazy waiting for the Cowboy game to start! Which they won in overtime! Go Cowboys!!
Today: I had a nice leisurely 20 minute walk in my neighborhood. Trying to drink my fluids! And I plan to get some things (chores) done around the house.
The last two days I have been able to consume about 3oz of cream of potato soup thinned with chicken broth. I blended it so it's smooth. I also have about half a protein shake each day. Decaf tea and sf Popsicles seem to go down pretty easy as well as diet v8 splash.
I hit a wall about 4pm each day where I just feel fatigued. The first couple of days had a low grade (99.1) fever but went away with a half dose pain meds.
I switched to liquid Tylenol before bed last night. Trying to get off the pain meds all together. Also, I noticed that I hate the taste of my multi vits, currently using centrum chewables. Might try the gummies later, just don't want to waste the ones I have!
My hubby started eating around me yesterday... Not fun but okay. Some (not all) of his food smelled incredible!! My mind is swirling with ideas on new foods for when I get there! I'm anxious to try shiratake noodles and experiment with some recipes!
My rings are already spinning on my fingers!
Hoping to be ready to work by the end of this liquid phase (1 more week, thank God!)
So far so good!
Heaviest known weight: 285. Start of Pre-op diet: 273. Day of surgery: 253. Day after surgery: 261. Today's weight: 241.
Guess that's it!
Some notes or 'reflections' on the last 7 days...
Day 1: the last thing I remember before going under was asking the operating room crew if Dr. B would take pics of my insides cuz I really wanted to see how I look in there. The answer was no. Then I have vague memory of being wheeled into my room where my hubby was waiting... They asked him to leave the room for a minute while they got me situated. Someone was 'bird feeding me pink stuff, 4 squirts and coaching me to swallow it. Couldn't keep my eyes open really... Then was in and out of it for the next couple hours. I'd wake up to my hubby spoon feeding me ice chips and asking how I was.
Finally I was asked to get out of bed and try walking around. Upon standing I got nauseated and sat in a chair for a while. More meds and fluids administered and finally I needed to pee... The first time I realized my ROM was limited, could hardly reach to wipe! Lol! Anyhow, took a slow stroll around the hospital with hubby and iv pump in tow... By 11pm I was doing two laps and had one more bottle of water to consume.
Day 2: (wednesday) discharged by 10am! All stats were great! Did not get a good nights sleep, but knew I'd get more rest at home. We had a 3.5 hour drive home and still made good time considering we stopped twice so I could walk. I was sore, but it was tolerable!
Days 3-5: pretty much all the same... Each day the pain decreases, swelling goes down, and less meds are needed. The challenge of course is getting the fluids in! I've had a lot of burping especially with water and broths.
Thursday had some mild depression, mourning food etc...
On Saturday I braved a trip to Walmart with hubby. It was a little too much activity even though I clung to the cart. But the visual overload being in the food dept was way overwhelming!
Day 6: got up for church armed with my protein shake and water bottle. Felt pretty good! Heard a great message! Love when He speaks so clearly to me that way. Oh, side note about church... The announcer guy had us greet our neighbor and ask how we could pray for them. The lady in front of me had turned to me and after introductions she said well I had Surgery on Monday... I said wow! I had surgery Tuesday! Hers was something for her colon, but we briefly compared stories and such... So neat to have such divine intervention like that!
After church, we came home and enjoyed some time together being lazy waiting for the Cowboy game to start! Which they won in overtime! Go Cowboys!!
Today: I had a nice leisurely 20 minute walk in my neighborhood. Trying to drink my fluids! And I plan to get some things (chores) done around the house.
The last two days I have been able to consume about 3oz of cream of potato soup thinned with chicken broth. I blended it so it's smooth. I also have about half a protein shake each day. Decaf tea and sf Popsicles seem to go down pretty easy as well as diet v8 splash.
I hit a wall about 4pm each day where I just feel fatigued. The first couple of days had a low grade (99.1) fever but went away with a half dose pain meds.
I switched to liquid Tylenol before bed last night. Trying to get off the pain meds all together. Also, I noticed that I hate the taste of my multi vits, currently using centrum chewables. Might try the gummies later, just don't want to waste the ones I have!
My hubby started eating around me yesterday... Not fun but okay. Some (not all) of his food smelled incredible!! My mind is swirling with ideas on new foods for when I get there! I'm anxious to try shiratake noodles and experiment with some recipes!
My rings are already spinning on my fingers!
Hoping to be ready to work by the end of this liquid phase (1 more week, thank God!)
So far so good!
Heaviest known weight: 285. Start of Pre-op diet: 273. Day of surgery: 253. Day after surgery: 261. Today's weight: 241.
Guess that's it!
My journey through weight loss surgery... so far!
Forward: I'm at the Library to type this all out and give my profile a little flare... I have the worst Laptop EVer...and NO internet connection at home(except thru my awesome iPhone). So hopefully I won't lose the connection before I finish typing b/c it will be the biggest pain in the ass to start over!!
Lets See... Sometime around May this year (2011) my husband approached me with the idea of getting a consult for WLS. we talked about our options for financing and could we afford it, etc.. the truth is No, we definitely could spend this money onn home improvements, paying off our pos chevy malibu, or a thousand other things could be done with this money. BUT the truth is, what's te point of all those "other things" if we are both sitting here in our unhealthy Obese states...
So that week I scheduled an appointment with a well known WLS doc here in DFW metro area and had my first consult that Wednesday (May 4). I began the process of 'researching' the different options and went to that consult with the idea that I was going to get the Lap Band. Well the doctor gave me a different perspective and I'm glad he did! He explained to me that being w/out medical insurance it would be more beneficial for me to have the Sleeve over the band due to the risks of complications and future surgeries b/c of those complications being greater with the Band... okay doc, sounds good... what next? well he shoo'd me into the scheduling office to get a surgery date... I became overwhelmed, the reality of ME getting this LIFE CHANGING surgery was hitting me very hard, very fast.... i got emotional right there in the schedulers office. Since at that point we had not secured our finiancing i went ahead and gathered contact info and left their office without a surgery date (which btw, could have been as early as the first week of June).
After what felt like FOREVER we secured partial financing for my surgery. We opted to borrow funds from my husbands 401k. I say borrow loosely b/c you don't return the funds, but technically it's borrowed money. Money which a mere 6 weeks later wasn't worth the same as it was when we got it! something about the stock market crashing a couple weeks ago that I don't understand and wouldn't began to know how to explain. all I know is we got the money while the gettin was good!
Somewhere during that waiting period I began Shopping around for other surgeons, mainly for pricing. I had searched the diff docs in Mexico and when I mentioned it to my husband he said "Absolutely NOT" especially the doc just across the border from Eagle Pass, TX b/c the news had just been reporting that week about drug wars and killings, etc. Scary stuff!! I looked into our surrounding States LA, & OK...called a few offices, and that's when I discovered Dr. Broussard at Weight Wise Bariatrics. I immediately was drawn to the $9995 price ($2500 less the the first I had gone to) for Sleeve listed on the home page. (www.weightwise.com) Then I began reading about the program. I signed up online for the next availible saturday info meeting. Got a confirmation call only to be told that the website had not stopped registering ppl at it's limit and could I come to the next. well I work every other wknd so I had to wait another 2 weeks for the info meeting! At this point I felt like I had been waiting forever! BTW, the meeting is held in Edmond, OK which is 3.5 hour drive from Fort Worth (where I live) and it started at 9AM! I drug my sister out with me before the crack of dawn and we made it with 30 mins to spare!
I felt so good after hearing from Dr. Broussard himself the details of their program and was absolutely sure he was going to be my surgeon! I scheduled my consult before I left that day!
Since then I have endured a laundry list of appointments and todo's!
June 25: Info meeting at Weight Wise
July 7: first WLS support group meeting (required pre-op)
July 11: Consult with Dr Broussard, Diet & Excercise, & EKG
August 1: updated Anual PAP with OBGYNO (required pre-op)
August 2: Sleep Study in OKC (required pre-op)
August 3: initial Labs, Consult with Psych (required pre-op)
August 4: second monthly WLS group meeting (required by Dr. B)
August 10: follow up with D/E, Post op Diet class (required pre-op)
Sept 1: PRE-OP!! and CPAP prep with Respiratory Therapist
Sept 8: monthly support group meeting
Sept 13: Surgery day!
I have been on a Pre-op weight loss diet since my initial visit with D/E on July 11th. I have a goal to lose 27 pounds by Sept 1st. My startig weight was 274 (in their office) and right now, today I'm 253... I keep hovering between 253-256... but I'm sure I'll meet my pre-op goal of 247 by then! I'm hoping not to have to do any of the liquid diet before my surgery date, but we'll see!
My initial consult with the doc here in TX left me feeling rushed and panicky... where as with Dr. B I felt informed and held accountable for my actions! When I told him I wanted to try and have surgery by the end of August, he said well you've got a lot of work to do before then and from a long distance! Are you sure? and I told him I'm determined! so here it is approaching, and yeah we pushed it into the 2nd week of Sept but that was for financial reasons and nothing more!
Witht the sleep study and CPAP requirements, and some of the other testing costs and stuff our final cost is going to be around $12,500. Even the distance is worth driving for the confidence I have in Dr. B and his staff providing me with the tools to succeed!
Lets See... Sometime around May this year (2011) my husband approached me with the idea of getting a consult for WLS. we talked about our options for financing and could we afford it, etc.. the truth is No, we definitely could spend this money onn home improvements, paying off our pos chevy malibu, or a thousand other things could be done with this money. BUT the truth is, what's te point of all those "other things" if we are both sitting here in our unhealthy Obese states...
So that week I scheduled an appointment with a well known WLS doc here in DFW metro area and had my first consult that Wednesday (May 4). I began the process of 'researching' the different options and went to that consult with the idea that I was going to get the Lap Band. Well the doctor gave me a different perspective and I'm glad he did! He explained to me that being w/out medical insurance it would be more beneficial for me to have the Sleeve over the band due to the risks of complications and future surgeries b/c of those complications being greater with the Band... okay doc, sounds good... what next? well he shoo'd me into the scheduling office to get a surgery date... I became overwhelmed, the reality of ME getting this LIFE CHANGING surgery was hitting me very hard, very fast.... i got emotional right there in the schedulers office. Since at that point we had not secured our finiancing i went ahead and gathered contact info and left their office without a surgery date (which btw, could have been as early as the first week of June).
After what felt like FOREVER we secured partial financing for my surgery. We opted to borrow funds from my husbands 401k. I say borrow loosely b/c you don't return the funds, but technically it's borrowed money. Money which a mere 6 weeks later wasn't worth the same as it was when we got it! something about the stock market crashing a couple weeks ago that I don't understand and wouldn't began to know how to explain. all I know is we got the money while the gettin was good!
Somewhere during that waiting period I began Shopping around for other surgeons, mainly for pricing. I had searched the diff docs in Mexico and when I mentioned it to my husband he said "Absolutely NOT" especially the doc just across the border from Eagle Pass, TX b/c the news had just been reporting that week about drug wars and killings, etc. Scary stuff!! I looked into our surrounding States LA, & OK...called a few offices, and that's when I discovered Dr. Broussard at Weight Wise Bariatrics. I immediately was drawn to the $9995 price ($2500 less the the first I had gone to) for Sleeve listed on the home page. (www.weightwise.com) Then I began reading about the program. I signed up online for the next availible saturday info meeting. Got a confirmation call only to be told that the website had not stopped registering ppl at it's limit and could I come to the next. well I work every other wknd so I had to wait another 2 weeks for the info meeting! At this point I felt like I had been waiting forever! BTW, the meeting is held in Edmond, OK which is 3.5 hour drive from Fort Worth (where I live) and it started at 9AM! I drug my sister out with me before the crack of dawn and we made it with 30 mins to spare!
I felt so good after hearing from Dr. Broussard himself the details of their program and was absolutely sure he was going to be my surgeon! I scheduled my consult before I left that day!
Since then I have endured a laundry list of appointments and todo's!
June 25: Info meeting at Weight Wise
July 7: first WLS support group meeting (required pre-op)
July 11: Consult with Dr Broussard, Diet & Excercise, & EKG
August 1: updated Anual PAP with OBGYNO (required pre-op)
August 2: Sleep Study in OKC (required pre-op)
August 3: initial Labs, Consult with Psych (required pre-op)
August 4: second monthly WLS group meeting (required by Dr. B)
August 10: follow up with D/E, Post op Diet class (required pre-op)
Sept 1: PRE-OP!! and CPAP prep with Respiratory Therapist
Sept 8: monthly support group meeting
Sept 13: Surgery day!
I have been on a Pre-op weight loss diet since my initial visit with D/E on July 11th. I have a goal to lose 27 pounds by Sept 1st. My startig weight was 274 (in their office) and right now, today I'm 253... I keep hovering between 253-256... but I'm sure I'll meet my pre-op goal of 247 by then! I'm hoping not to have to do any of the liquid diet before my surgery date, but we'll see!
My initial consult with the doc here in TX left me feeling rushed and panicky... where as with Dr. B I felt informed and held accountable for my actions! When I told him I wanted to try and have surgery by the end of August, he said well you've got a lot of work to do before then and from a long distance! Are you sure? and I told him I'm determined! so here it is approaching, and yeah we pushed it into the 2nd week of Sept but that was for financial reasons and nothing more!
Witht the sleep study and CPAP requirements, and some of the other testing costs and stuff our final cost is going to be around $12,500. Even the distance is worth driving for the confidence I have in Dr. B and his staff providing me with the tools to succeed!
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