Hello Everyone! I know it has been a minute since I wrote something on my blog. I am doing well and my scars seem like they will heal o.k.  I can't stress enough how important it is to take care of yourself the first two weeks after surgery. I had to find out the hard way what happens if you do too much too soon.  I developed these hematomas underneath two of my incisios. So, needless to say I sat down and took it easy for one whole week.

The other lessons that I am learning is how important it is to follow the BAND rules. I can now eat mushy foods and I am so excited that a few times this week I swallowed too fast and it felt like I was swallowing glass. It was painful for me. I don't know if anyone has this problem, but I have a real problem swallowing food.  I now understand why they say eat with the toddler spoons and forks.  That feeling is so uncomfortable that most times I snack...which is what bandsters warn against because it can stall your weightloss. They are right. I have only lost a pound this past week.  So now I am trying to eat mushy foods but in smaller amounts. I found out that you can still overeat too, which is painful. You can just snack away until you've eaten a meal for two football players....that's not good and it hurts too.

My lesson is I have to learn to eat real food but in small amounts. I am getting there.  I am supposed to have a feel in about another two weeks but I think I might wait 3 to 4 weeks because I want my eating habits to be right before my band shrink me stomach any more.  I will write and give an update soon.

Until next time....

Hello everyone! Yesterday, was a great and painful day. I was able to start eating regular soups blended into cream soups and I know I over ate. I also went on a tasting binge. I would taste the food I really wanted to eat like chips and the sirloin steak that came with the soup and then I would spit it out. I was too scared to swallow the food so the only thing I could do was taste it. Suprisingly, the food did not taste as wonderful as I thought it would. The soup filled me up and then some. I actually ate too much and spent the rest of the night wondering how I affected my precious band. Today I will be conservative because now that I know that there is no satisfaction from overeating and tasting food, there is no reason to push myself. I like the band and how it only allows you to eat until you are full.  I wish I had learned to eat like this alot sooner.

On a brighter note I lost another couple of pounds. I can't believe it. I can't wait to start exercising and lifting weights. I am so ready for my new body, but it is one tiny bite at a time.

Until next time...

Hello everyone!  I am now 6 days post op and I am doing well. I have a little knot under one of my stitches but I believe it is from wearing an underwire bra that I shouldn't have worn.  The pain from my stitches is slowly going away although it still hurts to cough or sit straight up from a position of lying down.  I am slowly losing weight but I know once I can eat and exercise I will lose faster.

This band is amazing. It feels so wonderful to be hungry and to go get a cup of soup and by the time you are half way done you are so full you are almost sick. I still have head hunger though and I am planning out my menu of mushy foods for post op week 3.  I can't wait to be able to eat my half a cup of mashed potatoes. HMMM!

Until next time...

 



I am back from Mexico and doing well. My Aunt, cousin and I went to Eagle Pass, Texas Thursday August 9th and crossed the border to Mexico on the 10th for my lap band surgery.  The night before the surgery I was a basket case but I had the best support system ever. My cousin and my Aunt made sure that I was distracted and preoccupied with how great it is going to be to lose all this weight. I love them to death.

I also met Meta, Kathy and Ronda who were mostly there for WLS too. We were all excited and we took before and after pictures and talked about how nervous we were. I don't think any of us really slept peacefully the night before except for Kathy ( who originally was there to support her sister Meta, but ended up having the gastric sleeve done the day after Meta's surgery).

The one thing that I must not forget is to say how wonderful Mexico's patient care is. I felt like I was getting medical care at home. It is true that the nurses don't speak a lick of English, but they communicate just fine and trust me they will get you to do what needs to be done. They understand facial expressions just fine because if you frown from pain they are there with the medications. I am so happy that I went to Mexico for my surgery and even more happy that I chose Dr. Alvarez for my surgeon. His staff are wonderful and so is he. He is so patient and caring. He really takes his time and does his best to make a person feel at ease at all times. I think he is simply wonderful.

As for the band.  I am 4 days post op and today I forgot to bring my pain meds. Not a good thing to forget. I am back at work and struggling just to sit up right. I feel good usually but today I must have walked too much or something. The other thing I realized is that I have a food addiction. I dream about food...all kinds of food.  I AM NOT HUNGRY!! I am just want to eat. Again, I AM NOT HUNGRY, but boy does the commerical on Popye's chicken look so good.  It is amazing how many commercials are about food. Joe's Crab Shack, Red Lobster, Jack in the Box, Burger King, TGIF, Applebees, Chilis, Ninfa's, Taco Cabana.. I can go on and on. All of these restaurants advertise food all day. I stay mentally, hungry. I can't wait for these commercials to not phase me like the commercials about Previcid (acid reflux) or the herpes commercials. Those are the commercials that I mentally tune away from when they come on. At some point I hope to mentally tune away from food commercials but right now I watch every one of them like a fiend.

Enough of that. I am healing fine and the scars are so small that I know that the scars will go unnoticed in about a year or less. I am sore but I don't feel the effects of it unless I stretch to my right.  I am doing good on the liquid diet but I asked my doctor if it was o.k. to have protein Muscle Milk because I was so weak and I needed energy to come to work. He said it was o.k. but to sip slowly and stop as soon as I felt full. The protein gives you energy and it is really needed if you have to work after the surgery.  I have not lost any weight since I have been back but that is o.k.  I know that the pounds will start falling off as soon as I can get real nutrients into my system and get my body out of shock.

If anyone has any question that I have not hit on here please feel free to email me. I will do my best to help as much as possible. This website has been a blessing for me and I would like to be blessing to someone else.

Until next time...