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Yep, that’s right! A whole 50 lbs in 12 weeks!!!

I never could of done this without my surgery. I am so thrilled I just want to shout it from the roof top, but at the same time I’m completely embarrassed that with such an accomplishment I still have a lot more than 50lbs left to lose… 88 to be exact.

If I can lose another 50 lbs in another 12 weeks I’ll be down 100 lbs in just 6 months. I’m not sure that’s a realistic expectation however. According to my research the more I lose & the closer I get to my ideal body weight the slower it will start to come off. So I guess we’ll just have to see how it goes. So far so good though!

I feel so much better & can fit into pretty much all of my old clothes once again. Some of them (like certain night gowns) are even starting to fall right off my shoulders now. It’s great!

I haven’t done my progress pictures yet but have my calendar marked to take them on January 3rd.

On January 4th I have my next post op appointment with my surgeons office to follow up on how everything is going. I went in to have my blood work done last Monday so they’ll go over that with me and let me know if there’s any vitamin deficiencies & whatnot.

I’ve also switched to decaf coffee & converted my hubby (after 5.5 years) from a MT Dew to Coffee drinker too, although he’s drinking the fully caffeinated kind. I do have it on occassion, especially when I can stop for a Starbucks Skinny Vanilla Late (sugar free & fat free with 12 grams of protein!). I suppose I could ask for decaf but it wouldn’t be nearly as enjoyable. It’s a rare treat for me to go to Starbucks anymore however, so I’ll stick to my decaf at home & enjoy the real stuff on the odd occassion.

The good news is that with this switch I haven’t felt any heart palpitations. I’ve also scheduled myself an appointment with a Psychologist for a consult on January 8th.

There’s just something pretty scary about your main ticker not ticking properly!

The ER doctor ran a series of tests (EKG, X-Ray, Labs) & also monitored my heart while I rested on a stretcher in my own private room with a flat screen TV watching Law & Order.

Seriously!

This is the nicest ER I’ve ever been to, but with all the R&R not much palpitation was happening & the doctor could find nothing wrong so he sent me home advising me to follow up with my regular doctor who might want to refer me to a Cardiologist or have me wear a halter style heart monitor that could monitor it over an extended period of time during my normal activities rather than just a few hours while I’m lounging & watching TV.

The palpitations continued consistently throughout the weekend & into Monday, but Tuesday I started feeling less of them & today I was finally able to go in for an appointment with my regular doctor… now that the palpitations have completely stopped.

My regular doctor feels it’s not due to any sort of underlying heart problem & if it was anything serious it would of showed up during the testing done at the ER. He told me to cut out caffeine & if I must have the taste of coffee in the morning to drink decaf. I’m also bordering on dehydration because I’m struggling to get in enough fluids each day (they’re really hard to consume after surgery). So he gave me a long lecture about those two things, congratulated me on the 45lbs I’ve lost so far & reminded me again that he can persuade my insurance to do all the necessary plastic surgery (besides a boob lift) after I get down to my ideal weight and maintain it for a while. Which will be sometime in the next 12-18 months I guess.

This is good news as I thought my insurance would only cover the tummy tuck & I’m pretty certain I’m going to have some major wings under my arms & a lot of extra skin on my inner thighs. I don’t know for certain, but we’ll see how it goes. Reconstructive surgery is seriously expensive so I’m glad to know I may have hope for everything but my boobs (which haven’t really shrunk yet so I still hold out hope that they won’t get too bad).

I also discussed with him about getting a referral for some counselling to work through whatever issues there are that caused me to over eat so much & become so obese to begin with & because apparently these heart palpitations can also be caused by anxiety which I’d like to believe I don’t have a problem with (I mean there’s nothing stressful at all about raising 2 two year old’s!)… but maybe I do?

So I’m supposed to get 8 visits covered to begin with & if the therapist/counsellor/psychologist feels I could benefit from continued therapy then they’ll extend it as needed. I’m just trying to do what’s best to help me have the greatest success in my new healthier, skinnier lifestyle. I don’t want to self sabotage somehow & of gone through this all for nothing so I think getting some help in figuring out the issues will be beneficial.

I don’t really remember much from the hospital. I just know we got there at 5:45am on Tuesday morning and I got signed in, they took some blood work & a urine sample then took me off to a small private room along with hubby & the girls where I changed into their provided gown & booties and layed down on the waiting stretcher. Within no time they were suddenly hooking me up to an IV, giving me a Heprin shot in the back of my arm (which I now have big purple bruises from the many that they gave to me) & wrapping blood pressure type cuffs around my lower legs that would squeeze them randomly to keep blood circulating and minimize any chances of a blood clot. Hubby sat there finding the whole ordeal humerous while the girls watched in fascination and after I was hooked up to everything they suggested we say our goodbyes because they were about to give me a sedative to help me relax prior to the surgery (scheduled for 8am) which was more than likely going to knock me out & cause me not to remember anything so we did & that was that.

The next thing I do remember is waking up in recovery with my belly in excruciating pain. The nurses were yelling at me to “breath deeply & cough” over & over again. I could barely take a deep breath for the life of me because it was just too painful. The tube down my nose was very aggravating & my throat & mouth were desert dry. One nurse did give me a mini sponge on a stick to moisten my mouth with but it really didn’t help. I did what they asked to the best of my ability focusing more on trying to cough and I guess I did well because I don’t think I was in recovery for very long. A group of staff came to get me saying I was doing really well & then I vaguely remember being pushed through the halls to my private room on the Bariatric Ward.

Hubby said both the doctor & a nurse from recovery called him when I was out of surgery to let him know I made it through & was doing well so he came with the girls to visit for a bit once I was in my room. I remember seeing him roll the stroller in with the girls & I remember the girls being pretty whinny & annoying. I really couln’t deal with it at all unfortunately and just wanted him to take them back out so I could rest which he did a short while later.

The nurses came & went repeatedly doing various different things to me while I faded in and out of consciousness & watching the clock on the wall in front of me counting down till the tube down my nose & the catheter could come out which wasn’t set to happen until 6am the next morning. The nurses did bring me ice chips but they weren’t helping & I was mostly too out of it to even eat them. Around 6pm one of the nurses managed to get me up to try and walk. I just remember my entire body shaking like a leaf and making it just a few feet down the hall before the nurse brought me back & set me up in a recliner that was next to the bed & then hubby showed up with the girls again who were just as fussy as before & not happy to be confined to their stroller in the room. I was in a great deal of pain and discomfort, especially with the tube down my nose. My throat & nose were very upset & I could barely talk. I just remember pointing at them and waving goodbye so that hubby would take them out because I couldn’t handle it at all.

The night seemed to go on forever as I continued fading in and out of consciousness & the nurses continued to come in and out of me room for their various different reasons. I was never so thrilled as when 5:30am finally rolled around and one of the nurses decided to be an angel and take the tubes out early. Once they were gone everything began feeling much better and I was extremely happy.

About 8am a nurse came in with a cup of cold water dyed blue that I had to sip 3/4 of over the course of 30 minutes & if no blue drainage came out of my right drainage tube from my stomach then all was well & it was. The blue water at first felt great going down, but it didn’t take long before the disgusting taste of the dye became noticeable making it hard to drink, but I just kept sipping knowing it had to be done.

Shortly after that test they removed the right drain & hubby who had showed up just prior to it’s removal took some pictures for me. Unfortunately my skin had some sort of reaction to the plastic tape they had used to tape down all the gauze & such after surgery so my belly ended up covered in a number of blisters (which as of now look worse than the actual incisions).

After the right drain was removed we had to go to a class to go over the details on using & caring for the g-tube that’s still hanging out the left side of my belly. After that we all went back to my room to wait & I was able to have some juice from one of the 2 trays that had been left in my room containing things such as juice, sugar free jello, decaf tea, & broth. Then about 2pm I was finally discharged & we headed on our big drive back home stopping once so I could walk around for a bit.

I am so thankful that hubby has been able to be here with me and that I have such an awesome bunch of ladies in my MOPS group who have been bringing hubby & the girls meals every couple of days since I got home from the hospital on Wednesday evening. The first couple of days were pretty rough. I was in quite a lot of pain and discomfort, pretty much unable to do anything and barely able to stay awake but each day seems to get better. I feel mostly back to normal now, just feeling some pain & discomfort from the g-tube & feeling a little weak & tired which I’m sure is a combination of my medications that I’m trying to cut back on and the fact that I’ve hardly been able to eat anything.

I’ve been walking around the house periodically to make sure I don’t get blood clots & this also seems to help when I’m feeling particularly uncomfortable. I have also been trying to get in as much fluids as possible to stay hydrated but this is truly proven easier said than done. I’ve only just started being able to drink more than a few sips without feeling like my belly is about to explode. So to compensate I’ve been putting protein shakes, protein bullets, propel water, regular water & medicine through my g-tube various times throughout each day.

I’m supposed to get in 60-80 grams of protein each day, but this early out the only thing I’ve found that can even remotely ensure I get that is these little 2.5 or 3 oz protein bullets from the health store on base which contain about 45 grams each. They taste pretty terrible as they’re thick & syrup like, but I put half of one down the g-tube at a time and so far so good.

For food I was allowed to start full liquids, which is anything without chuncks up to a yogurt consistency, on the 3rd day post-op and have to keep to this for 4 weeks. So far I’ve been really enjoying strained cream soups which are lasting me about 3 meals per can and I made some sugar free jello too which is pretty delicious and way more tasty than those pre-made jello snack pack things. I’ve also had some sugar free snack pack puddings & sugar free fruit popsicle’s & sugar free applesauce so far. I’m definitely not looking forward to 4 weeks of this diet, but right now I’m still too tired to really care & I know I need to focus on healing & hydration. Even an ounce of fluids right now makes me feel like I’ve just gorged on a Thanksgiving dinner!

I also gained all my weight that I’d lost back in water weight & whatnot after the surgery, but finally it’s all gone again & I’m down 12lbs total. My first post-op appointment is scheduled for October 19th and I guess I’ll be having the little staples in my incisions removed at that time.

Anyways, I think I covered just about everything. I think for the most part everything has gone really well. The only “complication” I seem to be experiencing is this allergy to tape on my belly. The nurses gave me some paper tape instead of plastic to take home with me saying people usually do better with the paper tape, but I’m still having problems and have to gauze & tape down the g-tube to myself. Apparently the g-tube resting against my skin caused a major blister too so I have to use the gauze between it and me, but I need the tape to anchor everything down and am quickly running out of “blister free & un-aggravated areas” that I can use to tape down to.

Also, although this may br TMA for some I have not had a bowel movement since the morning of surgery which is apparently fairly normal and nothing to be concerned about, however it’s a little odd. I’m sure I’ll “regulate” soon enough though.

Another thing I’ve had going on is these weird spasms every time I’m falling asleep along with these mini hiccups I get every time I eat or use the g-tube. These are apparently caused by something called myoclonus which is either a reaction to the anesthesia or one of the medications I’m on, but either way they seem to be improving so I’m not too worried.

Every day brings more improvement. I just can’t wait to get this stupid g-tube out because it really is horrible uncomfortable both inside & outside of my body.

Fortunately, I have recently gotten to know some wonderful ladies in the MOPS Group that I’ve started going to out here & was able to arrange for 2 of them (who are also military wives) to each watch the girls for half a day. I was pretty uncomfortable having to do this though since I don’t really know them all that well but it worked out alright. The girls had a blast & I think the ladies each enjoyed having them too. I am just so thankful they were willing to help me like this because I don’t know what we’d of done otherwise. We had to drop the girls off at 6am and weren’t expecting to be back till close to 7pm, but we were lucky and got back at about 5pm. Still it was a very long day.

During the Pre Op appointment we sat through a group session where various different nurses & the doctor himself came out in shifts to talk to us about different things and what we can expect. We were given a bunch of paper work, a DVD to re-watch everything. a giant syringe & instructions on how to clean & eat through a G-Tube that’s going to be hanging out of my belly for about 6 weeks after the surgery.

I have to say I’m not real excited about the fact that I’ll be waking up with 5 different tubes hanging out of my body. I’ll have a tube coming out my nose, a tube coming out the right side of my belly & the G-Tube on the left side, then I’ll have a catheter & an IV too. So yeah, definitely not excited.

After all the group stuff at the surgeons office we were then sent over to the pre admissions section of the hospital where I had to go through a series of paper work, EKG, X-Rays, & Lab work. I was also given a bottle of some kind of special antibacterial soap that I’ll have to to shower with the night before surgery & the morning of as well as prescriptions for some kind of liquid pain medication, which the pharmacy stated was a controlled substance so I’m guessing it’s some good stuff & I hope it doesn’t make me as sick as Vicodin does cause I’ve never done well with Vicodin. I also, received a prescription for some liquid anti nausea medicine which I’m sure will be helpful & a prescription for Nexium capsules that I’m supposed to open and dissolve in fluid before taking. This is supposed to help with the healing of the stomach and is also an awesome anti reflux medication.

Around 2:30pm we were finally given the ok to head back on our 2.5 hour drive home and I’m due back at 5:45am Tuesday morning for my surgery.

Since last Sunday I’ve also been trying to follow this high protein semi-liquid diet they want me on which is substituting 2 meals for a protein shake & then having one normal meal each day & then cutting back on the carb intake for that meal. Trying to stick to this makes me feel like I’m starving and I am an extremely irritable bear when I’m starving! I’ve had days where I’ve done awesome & days that haven’t done quite as well, but I’m doing my best and have lost about 7lbs so far. I’m sure I’d of lost a lot more if I could stick to this better but it’s brutal and this is why I’ve failed at every diet thus far. I absolutely can’t stand feeling like I’m starving and this surgery eliminates that feeling initially so that I’ll be able to tolerate & become used to the small healthy portions without feeling like my stomach is going to eat me from the inside out if I don’t consume more before the feeling of hunger actually begins to work again.

Tonight we’re going for my “Last Supper” so to speak. I really love those Japanese Grill Restaurants that put on a show while cooking the meal on a grill right in front of us and just recently discovered there is one nearby so we’re going to go check in out and enjoy some delicious food for my last big supper before the surgery.

Monday I’m only allowed clear fluids all day long and have to take one of my daughters to her new Neurologist located 2 hours away so we have a 2 hour drive each way plus her appointment time. After we get back I then have to take our dogs to the kennel & make sure everything else is ready to go so shortly after my hubby gets off work we can head on the 2.5 to 3 hour drive to Ocala where we’re going to spend the night at a hotel nearby the hospital.

To add to the unpleasantness that Monday will be, I have to take a Laxative at 6pm which will likely be during the beginning portions of our drive out to Ocala…. Let’s just hope it doesn’t kick in until after we get checked in to the hotel!

At 5:45am Tuesday October 6th I’ll be checking into the hospital & when someone comes to get me to bring me up to the surgical waiting area I’ll say goodbye to hubby & the girls so that they can wait back at the hotel where the girls can run around and enjoy themselves instead of being cooped up in a waiting area for hours. Once I’m out I’m hoping to have someone call the hubby to let him know  how it went and maybe later that afternoon him & the girls can come for a little visit. I’ll probably be pretty out of it though with the anesthetic wearing off & all the pain meds. Then the next morning he & the girls will check out of the hotel probably around 11am and come stay with me in the private hospital room they said I’d have where the kids can run around until I’m seen by everyone that needs to see me before giving me the ok to go home sometime that afternoon.

I’m not sure if I’ll have a chance to update again before the surgery but please keep me in your thoughts & prayers. I will update as soon as I’m able with something brief on Facebook most likely and as soon as I can handle sitting at the computer for more than a few minutes I will get a longer post with the details added here.