Recovering!

I am sorry I am just now getting to my post-op post but I have been in quite a bit of pain since surgery. I was not prescribed any pain killers so I have just been winging it since I was discharged. I am starting to feel good today except for this nagging pain where my port is. Luckily I am feeling better because tomorrow my husband goes back to work and I am on my own!

So, I was admitted on Wednesday morning where they took some blood, and went ahead and put in a catheter (is that what it is called?) in my hand. I had an interview with one of the doctors and then with one of the anestesioligists. I then had to have an Endoscopy. I guess this is why I had to stay overnight because they knocked me out for this procedure. Boy, did they knock me out! When I woke up I didn't know what floor I was on in the hospital or my room! I had to ask my roommate where I was!

The next morning was my surgery. I think my doctor had like 5 surgeries that day so he is very busy! Luckily I was the first one in at 8:45 and I was back in my room by 11. My roommate had gastric bypass and she had to stay in the ICU overnight. I guess that is protocal. She also did not get discharged until 5 days later! I was discharged Saturday morning, not a moment too soon! I was so ready to come home.

I have been eatting pureed soup, protein shakes, yogurt, and orange sherbert. My body must have needed that sherbert last night because this morning I had dropped another 2.5 lbs! I am now down 13 pounds since the start of my pre-op diet. I am trying to get atleast 1000 calories a day so my body doesn't think it is starving.

My next appointment is in 1 month but I will probably not be getting a fill. My doctor does fills differently here. I will explain that in more detail in a future post.

2 More Days!

I can't beleive I only have 2 more days until I am admitted into the hospital! I don't think it has quite sunk in yet because I have so much to do and I have not even thought about trying to get it done.

I am not doing the best that I can do on my pre-op diet. I have not been drinking enough water so I have only lost 7 lbs. I guess that is pretty good for a weeks work though :) I don't think I would have lost 7 lbs in one week with regular dieting. I hope I can make it to 10 lbs lost by my surgery.

My son has been SUPER cranky this morning. I am about to pull my hair out! He is napping now so hopefully he will sleep for a while and wake up a ray of sunshine. I am not holding my breath though. We are meeting a friend at the zoo this afternoon. I just met her in January but she has turned into a really great friend. I am not telling her about the band though, and she likes to go out to lunch a lot so I am going to have to get really creative next week when I am on liquids. My surgery is Thursday and we usually go to a playgroup on Thursday and then have lunch after. I already have my excuse for not going to the playgroup all lined up, hehe.

New purchases!

I am a shopaholic and my husband is a tight ass. Somehow we make it work. Lol! I really fear how our bank account will take me being thin. I have managed to buy a lot of clothes while I have been fat. I can only imagine how much I will lust after when I am thin. Everything will fit! And don't even get me started on shoes! I have a wide foot so a lot of shoes that are TO DIE FOR are too narrow for my foot. I am thinking my treat for when I get to goal will have to be a pair Christian Louboutin shoes. I wonder how my hubby will take the news?

I did make some purchases today but they are band related. I bought 2 Blender Bottles and some Click Protein Drink in Mocha flavor. Thanks for the recommendation Kelly! I am also in the market for a good blender and an immersion blender. I figure I can get them used. Military folks are always selling used German appliances.

I can't believe I will be having surgery in 1 week! Time has really flown by. It is so weird how the German medical system is so different from the US. My hospital stay is supposed to be 4-5 days (this includes 1 day for pre-op testing). Most people in the states don't even stay for 24 hours! I already asked if I could leave the day after surgery and they said it was up to me. I don't know about you, but I would much rather be in my comfortable bed at home than be in a hospital bed.

Slip-ups

The pre-op diet is getting a little easier for me...well, until today. I went to the BX on base to get a few things and there is a food court with the typical mall food, aka junk. I was not even tempted at first, I even fed my son at one of the tables and then went on about my business. After I was done shoping around I had to walk through the food court to get to the parking lot and thats where it started. The smell of fried fish from Captain D's hit my nose and I was on my to the line to order. I got my food and I sat down to eat and you know what, it wasn't very good. I only ate half of it and threw the rest away.


I am now drinking a yummy protein shake (insert sarcasm here). Actually, it isn't half bad. I mix it with organic soy milk so it isn't as sweet. I hate when they are too sweet. With 1 week to go I am sure I will not want to drink another protein shake for the rest of my life. But then, there is post-op...

Pre-Op Day 1

My surgery day is scheduled for August 12th. Today starts my lovely pre-op diet of full liquids. It seems that every doctor prescribes a different diet and since my doctor is German it seems everything he does is different...hopefully in a good way :) I have had 2 protein shakes, some drinkable yogurt, and some pureed soup. He really didn't specify what to drink, he just said "Anything you can drink." I don't think I am going to go that far because technically you can drink ice cream but I want to lose some weight with this pre-op diet so I will stick to the protein shakes. And guess what...I am hungry!!! Hopefully this gets easier because I don't know how I am going to make it another 10 days!

I am getting really anxious about surgery. I am more nervous about leaving my son for a few days. His dad will be taking care of him but I am still worried. I usually make all of my sons meals so I hope my husband can do it right. Why can't I trust that my husband can make food for a 1 year old?

Another part of me is feeling like something will happen and I will not be able to get the surgery. I guess I am still in disbelief that this surgery could very well be the end to my weight struggles that I have had all of my life. It is still very hard to grasp that this time next year I will not be overweight.

On to pre-op diet day 2...

Me

This is me and my son Hayden from last October. I am the same weight now...some how I managed to stay the same weight since I had him a year ago. Hayden is the light of my life. He turned 1 on the 16th and I love him more and more every day. I am definately getting this band for myself and so I can look at myself with more than disgust. I am also doing this for him. I don't want to be that mom who is fat and all of the kids say mean and hurtful things to my son because of me. I don't think I could ever let that happen. I also want to have more children and I am not at a healthy weight right now for that to happen. I had gestational diabetes when I was pregnant and I hated the way it made me feel, not to mention the risk I put on the baby.

Consultation Day!

Today I had my first appointment with Dr. Weiner. I have to drive an hour away to see him which isn't too bad. I know he is really good and has performed over 2000 procedures since 1994 so I think the drive is definately worth it. He said he has hundreds of patients in my area which makes me think, where are they and I want to meet them?!

Anyway, now to the good part. After a 1 1/2 hour wait in the waiting room I saw him and we went over everything. He tried to talk me into RNY because my BMI is 47 and my response was...Uh, no! Well maybe not that rude but I wanted to. :P The best news is that I scheduled my sergery for August 12th! I have to go in for testing the day before and I think I have to stay a few nights. Things are very different over here as opposed to the US.

Now for the not so good news...I have gall stones and I have to have my gall bladder removed! What the hell! It was funny because he used an ultrasound machine to check my gall blader and he said "I am sorry, you have gall stones" in a very low, somber voice, and I was like, "I do!" I was so loud they could probably hear me in the waiting room. Ha ha...so American of me!

I am 2 weeks away from my 10 day liquid diet. Bleck! He said I can have anything as long as it is liquid. I think I will just do slimfast. What is everyone's thoughts on the Isopure drinks?

Thanks for reading! Until next time.