Christina C.

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I had my 3 week followup with the surgeon today. All went well! Seems as if I am not so bad off as I thought. The tiredness and weakness is normal. He told me to make sure that I am just walking a little bit more. The nausea could be normal at this point but if it continues I need to let him know at my next appt 2 weeks from today. I complained to him about my heartburn, but he said that is not possible. Because the stomach that does not get used anymore houses all the acids now, its not heartburn I am feeling. He said I need to try and eat slower. SLOWER?!?! I already eat with a damn baby spoon out of a shot glass! HAHA

So- my NUT said I need to work on getting more fluids. I guess being lightheaded can be caused from lack of fluids. I try! My grouchy pouchy does not seem to like many. I am now addicted to the decaf tea my mom buys for me, and I drink it warm. I have about 6 coffee-cups of that a day and then a little bit of water. I know I need to get more in, but geez I think thats what makes me get that psudo heartburn feeling.

As for the recent insomnia- Nurse said when I feel like sleeping- SLEEP. If my body wants to stay up- STAY UP. Its just my body going through its healing process and eventually everything will be back to normal. I got up this morning and got to see Dave for a few short minutes, then I had to get ready for the appt- then my parents drug me to the mall. I was so exhausted by the time I got home. I actually slept about 30 mins in the car on the way home. But I did my best to not nap the rest of the day to see if I can get a decent night sleep.

I am -30 pounds in 20 days. I am happy with that. Dr said that is fantastic. I asked him about this back pain I have been having and he said its my boobs!!! LOL. He actually told me that I might be a good canidate for a lift/reduction when this is all over. So, I guess I will keep complaining about the pain- that way when its time hopefully I get new boobs paid for!! (wishful thinking, right?)  Whats funny is my boobs are shrinking. I am losing the most of my weight in my face, neck, tummy and boobs. Sometimes I will look at myself, like at a specific body part and think- "weird. that looks different" I noticed my feet are shrinking! My rings are not fitting as well. And my hair tie on my wrist was baggy. Thats when I looked at my arms- and I can see it in my arms. Only 30 pounds! Well I know thats a lot- plus the other weight I lost pre-op.

When I went to the original Pre-op in 2008- I believe I was at like 290. As of today I am at 234.6. We had a fun little competition at work before surgery so I will have to ask my friend Amber if she has the original weight I started at for that. Amber- help me out if you can. LOL

I am still on my soft foods. Mostly cottage cheese. But I have eggs, refried beans and tiny bits of yogurt. All of that I eat 2 tablespoons at a time. My mom made chili the other night- and blended it for me and that was fantastic. Because thats liquid I eat about 4 tablespoons of that. And the last couple of days I have been nibbling on some fresh thin sliced deli turkey. That is fantastic- especially with a dash of mustard. In a week I can begin eating meat in normal consistancy, just have to remember to chew REALLY good- and only eat the portions I should be eating. I think that is why I was so sick last week. I cannot feel when I am full. So, I was eating more then I should have. I just have to remember to measure everything I eat and I think me and Grouchy Pouchy should start to get along better. Oh ya, and I have a sugar free popcicle at night. Those are super fantastic. Edy's brand by FAR is the best. Crystal Light brand is HORRIBLE!

As for the vitamins- I am getting all of them in when I should. Except for the B-Complex. Because that does not come in chewable, I was to crush it and put it in food. Excuse me, but that is just foul. The odor is enough to knock out a small child. So my NUT told me today I can cut it in 1/4ths and swallow at different parts of the day. I will start doing that tomorrow.

My hair is falling out- I am shedding like a long haired cat at this point. But the Dr said as I start to get more protien in, that should ease up. I hope so! I wanna be skinny but not skinny AND bald!!!!!

Well- thats my update for now. Peace out homies.

I guess it gets easier each day. I really was not suffering from nausea before, but all the sudden its setting in. I am getting frustrated reading other stories of everyone feeling back to normal way before me. I am still so tired, still sore, and still just don't feel good.

I am staying at my parents still. More so now just because my boyfriend has my car parked over by jail for him to use for job interviews and such. I will be getting that back soon, and then I will transfer back to my own place.

Looking forward to it, but not. Its going to be so lonely there without him and its going to be hard on me. I wish he was around this would be so much easier. Its great having such wonderful parents, but I just need that other part of companionship. I get to talk to him every night for 15 minutes which is what I look forward to everyday. Sad, isnt it?

I am beginning to wonder if my lack of recovery is because I have some depression that has set in. I have my 3 week followup next Monday, so I will ask my Dr if its normal for me to feel so blah and tired. I did run some errands with my mom yesterday and it felt good to get out and about but I was just flat out exhausted when I came home.

I am having problems sleeping now. Cant sleep at night and really cant nap for long during the day. I think I might be eating too much, too? I dunno. Its hard. Maybe things will just fall into place for me when I go home. I miss my friends from work terribly. Just any social experience, really. This really has not been as smooth as I was expecting. I thought for sure I was prepared to take on the world with this surgery, but now I just feel like I could lay around and do nothing forever. I understand its only 2 weeks postop and I should probably give it a little more time, but I am just so anxious to get on with my life. Surgery and boyfriend.  I feel like I am trapped for the next 9 months in emotional hell because Dave will be gone and I will be giong thru so many changes. I know I just have to stay strong and before I know it things will get better. I just have to try and remind myself of that numerous times a day.

14 days -29 pounds

11 days post op today. I am feeling much better. Side is still a little sore, but nothing serious at all. My only issue at this point is being so tired. I don't know if its the lack of a vitamin or what.  I am taking all the vitamins I should be. I am eating what they have told me- with a few extras, lol!

Things eaten so far;
Cottage Cheese- I eat about 4 ounces, seems to be the only thing I can eat that much of. I use salt & pepper on it.
Egg Beaters- 2 ounces (or less-fills me up FAST), sometimes I put some Fat Free shredded cheese on it.
Refried Beans- 2 ounces(or less-fills me up FAST), same with the cheese
Homemade Cabbage/Veggie Soup w/beef- Blended in the Magic Bullet. This by far is SO delish!
Fit & Active Yogurt. - Its not my fave, after a few bites I am done. Texture issues, lol
Green Olives, minus the pimento. These really help my snack craving, salty.. mmm. But I chew chew chew takes me a few minutes just to eat one.
Cheese Topping off a pizza. Frozen Pizza, it actually was not NEARLY as good as I thought it would be.
Oh ya- and I have had a few bites of fresh avocado with my eggs/cottage cheese- YUMMO!

Thats about it for food at this point. Drinking water (not as much as I should). I drink Diet Snapple and in the mornings I have decaf coffee and sugar free creamer. That is agreeing with me now when before it made me sick. I guess this is all going to be trial and error!

I still have not been able to tell when I am a "good" full. Until I eat too much and I am "bad" full. Wish that was a little easier. I guess in time. I look forward to leaving my mom's and going back home. Kinda. The boyfriend wont be home with me so that is going to be sad- but I just have to suck it up and deal with it.

Last night I needed to get out of bed and I got stuck, LOL. The pain on my left side from my muscles being so sore sometimes can stop me from moving a certain way- and I got stuck. Then got tired of laying there and swung my body off the bed. Big mistake. It hurt so bad I thought I was going to go blind! So, today- that side hurt me all day.

I got to see my boyfriend this morning! Only for like 15 minutes, but it was great. I miss him way too much.

My BFFs from work came to visit me today on thier lunch break. That was so much fun! I have been so bored and lonely lately that was quite a pick me up. Plus they all signed a beautiful card for me and I got a gift certificate to the mall for $115!!  So nice of them! I cant wait to use it!!

Still sat at home today wishing I could go out and take a walk. I wanna start working out so bad! Still stuck to my normal food routine today. The protien drinks are going down now with no pain so thats good. I tried the cheese & meat off a pizza and blended it. BLAH! Dont ever do that!  I will eat the cheese and sauce tomorrow and toss the meat. Blending meat is so disgusting.

Hopefully tomorrow I will feel a little better and I might try taking a walk- even if its only a couple houses away!

So, this morning I woke up- not feeling the greatest again. My back is bothering me, probably because I have been sitting or holding myself weird due to the pain on the left side. I am sleeping ok during the night. I woke up at 3am but went back to sleep.

It seems that my stomach never stops talking to me. Its always making loud gurgles and growls. I get odd pains here and there- no clue what its from, maybe gas?

I made myself 4 tablespoons of egg beaters this morning. I could only eat 2. I sprinkled lowfat cheddar cheese on the top of them. They were very good. I will eat the other 2 tablespoons left over for lunch with maybe a tablespoon of cottage cheese.

I really want to drink my strawberry EAS Advant Edge protien drink, but it seems that it hurts my pouch. Maybe its the dairy? Not sure. I really look forward each day more and more to feeling better. I would really like to get out and walk, its been quite nice outside lately. Plus, with my BF being in jail, it would help take my mind off how much I miss him.

Today is officially 1 week out from surgery. I am feeling better. The gas is gone. I just have a lot of pain now on my left side. Today I was able to start drinking things other then water. I was also told I could have caffeine free coffee and sugar free creamer. WELL- That was a mistake! It made me horribly ill. I could not get away from the toilet for about 3 hours and had terrible cramping. That put a little delay on my cottage cheese celebration this morning.

Around 2 today I ate my 2 tablespoons of lowfat cottage cheese with salt and pepper. It was fantastic! I loved every bite, even licked out my shot glass I eat it from!

At 7 tonight, I added more because I don't think that I got full from the 2 tablespoons earlier. So this time, I had 4 tablespoons. What I do is put 4 tablespoons on a plate, add salt & pepper- and smash! Then add it back to the glass and eat it with my tiny spoon that I love so much. Again, it was delish! No negative effects, so I think the 4 tablespoons is perfect for me.

I still really wanna eat. I see food on tv, in the kitchen, I smelled a pizza today- UGH! But the cottage cheese does satisfy me. I just finished having a sugar free Popsicle for snacky. Tonight for dinner, I think I will have some refried beans and cheese. Hopefully that has no negative effects, either.

Tomorrow I plan on having some egg beaters for breakfast, sounds delish right? Wow- what a change this is. I looked down in my almost full shot glass of cottage cheese and thought- there is like 10 more bites there for me. Normally, that would have been ONE BITE!

I really hope I start feeling better because I would like to be walking more and hopefully by week 4 get on track with my workout routine. I guess I am a person that wants immediate results, and I just have to be patient and give my body time to heal.

I got to talk to the boyfriend today, so that made my day all the better. 1 week out!!!!!!! I cant really believe it yet. I guess it really has not sunk in that one day, I too, will have a before and after picture. I still cant even fathom.

Its Monday morning, almost a week since surgery. What a wild ride this has been. Surgery related and personal life. My boyfriend whom I love with all my heart- was recently sentenced to 9 months in county jail. That is not something I am used to because its not the type of life I have been around. We knew his date to turn himself in was May 1st. So that was 1 day after I was released from the hospital. He was by my side every single second thru this whole process. From all the preop tests, to the whole liver scare- then surgery. Slept by be both nights in the hospital and really I could not ask to be treated better.

Day after I came home, he packed me all up- took me to my parents and then he had to leave to turn himself in. I really thought I was going to be able to deal with it well and stay strong, but I really feel like I am falling apart.

I have been in horrible pain from the second I woke up from surgery. I understand I can be a wimp sometimes, but the pain just was not letting up. From the beginning it was just awful gas pain. I have tried everything from walking, lots of water, to sitting on an excersize ball and just rolling to relieve the gas. Nothing was really working. I think today finally the gas is letting up, and now and I left to feel the actual pain from the surgery.

I get to see my surgeon today and hopefully get this drain out. Geez, this thing is nasty. Plus the staples that hold it in are starting to hurt. Thank goodness thats almost over with.

I just want nothing more then to begin this new journey. I wanna get outside and walk. I wanna shower! Most of all, I wanna hear or see my boyfriend. Between not feeling good, not being in my own house, and no boyfriend- I think I may be getting a little depressed. Hopefully when I start to feel better that goes away.

I will update after I get back from the surgeons today.

So I have been reading peoples stories for years on this site. I was not worried really before surgery. I had NO idea just how much pain was ahead of me. I understand I can be a baby, but seriously. Waking up from surgery was the worst thing I have been thru in my life. I actually would not have minded just falling asleep and not waking up.

They got me up 3 hours later to walk and it was just horrible. I could not get comfortable in bed no matter what I did. The gas was so horrible I felt like I could not breathe. Any slight movement was blinding pain. I got no sleep thru the night other then a dozen or so 30-60 seconds naps.

All the staff kept asking me if I had passed gas yet and I never did in the hospital. I took many walks. 2 on surgery day, 6 the next day, and at least 6 the day I was discharged. Even a pretty long horrible walk at home with my boyfriend.

Its now Friday night. Surgery was Tuesday morning. I have yet to pass gas or yet to get rid of these gas pains. I still need help getting off the couch, I cannot stand up straight, and I cannot lay down.

I will just take my meds thru the weekend and hope the Dr can do something when I see him Monday. Hopefully it wont even last thru the weekend.

I am on the other side now! I wanna be happy and feel like there is a new beginning around the corner, yet that feeling is set aside because I literally just dont feel good.

They sent me home with the drain, and that seems to be normal levels. Its gross, but does not cause me any pain. Just the gas. Under my breastbone, on my right side, and today- its made its way up under my collar bone. NOT FUN!!!

The nurses in the hospital were fantastic, I could not have asked for better. Plus my wonderful boyfriend spent all 3 days and 2 nights by my side.


I am just hoping I can get a little gas relief!!!!!!!!!!!!

So, even after an MRI they still could not tell what this lesion is on my liver. They decided to go ahead with surgery and they will try and take a look at it when they are in there.

Tomorrow is surgery. I am nervous, but not. I cleaned my house tonight. Got my back organized. Dropped my dog off at my moms. Now all I have left to do is sit and think. Am I scared of the surgery itself? I dont think so. Maybe just the recovery.

I will update when I am home.

So, my surgery was set for Wednesday April 22nd. I got a call late afternoon on the 21st from a nurse telling me the Dr still did not feel comfortable with what he saw from the Nuclear Medicine Test. So- now I have had an ultrasound, CT Scan, Nuclear Med Test- all on my liver for this lesion.

I must say I am pretty disappointed with this office. The nurse basically told me they dont know what this lesion is, and lets just wait 2 months to see if it grows- its probably not cancer because of my age. Probably?!?!? So- insurance set, leave from work set- then BOOM like 12 hours before surgery- cancelled.

I cried like a boob. Next morning, another nurse calls to setup another CT scan June 15th. Whooptie doo. Then another nurse calls to tell me the Dr talked to the radiologist, and they are almost positive this lesion is "nothing" and they want to proceed with surgery. AFTER A MRI.

So, thats where I was at 7am this morning- Having an MRI. 4 scans must be the lucky number, huh?!?!

No call all day. Is that good or bad? I am worried. Hopefully the lesion is nothing and we can proceed with surgery, and soon! I am starting to go nuts and feel like run down and depressed.