DizneyMom
Hurry up and wait....5 days post op
Jul 12, 2009
Welp…as you all might have already read, my first day post op was awesome. I had energy I hadn’t felt in forever and I was on a great positive high. Not only did I walk around Wal-Mart that day, but that night I went for a 10 minute walk at my neighborhood park, then sat and visited with my best friend for over an hour (at the park in the AZ heat…which wasn’t too too bad in the night).
Anyyyyyway, as you’re probably guessing….the days following haven’t been as productive. My second day post op, I made the mistake of weighing myself first thing in the morning. Ummm….did I have a loose screw? Did I not realize that there would be some post surgical weight gain? Well…the non-thinker in me stepped on that scale and froze in misery….I had gain 2 pounds. Ok ok….yeah…it’s just 2 lbs…but for Cloud 9 me…after all that walking and energy the previous day…I didn’t expect to see that. And how did the fatty in me handle that? Well of course….sadness. I was crushed. My husband did remind me of the post surgery ups and downs of my body changes. He reminded me that this too shall pass. So I swallowed my negativity and tried to bury it deep in very back of my mind and listen to his positive encouragement.
The pain that day was also stronger and I was moving a lot slower. I needed to shower and get ready for a doctor’s appt. to have the cast removed from my left ankle. Oh yes….cast removal….how exciting. I’ll be able to walk freer and life will get moving. Positive thinking….yes….I’m positive that I’ll get moving.
At the orthopedic office, my adorable Disney’fied cast is removed and it felt sooooo good to move my foot around and feel the fresh air on my leg. From the cast it was now time for a walking boot. No problem. I can handle that….I mean….after all…it can come off and on….cool. But the news of how little weight I could put on my foot hindered my happy thoughts. Only 20 percent at first, then gradually add more. Ummm…only 20 percent? Can’t I just ease into the boot and try this walking thing out without crutches? I really want to be walking. BUT…in the words of Jim Carey….”wrongo”!!! I stepped down into that boot with almost all my weight and OUCH!!!! I thought the pain would shoot me through the roof!!!! I couldn’t even put my foot completely flat. I was sooooo ready to cry.
On our way home from the doc’s my husband asked where I wanted to go to next (you see I thought I’d be able to walk around the mall or something after the cast came off), but I told him home. I was in too much pain and I just wanted to get off this foot.
Since that day, I have done my best to get that foot and its muscles moving. Doing the stretches and flexes I was told to do. I can tolerate the 20 percent of weight now but I am not walking. Well not in the way that I should be to help myself lose weight. It’s driving me NUTS!!!! I had promised myself that I would not weigh myself until my next WLS doctor’s appt…..but….I did. And joyfully…I have lost 10 lbs. I know this isn’t the time to lose weight but to focus on healing, but I could feel it in my clothes that I had lost, so I felt ok to weigh myself. So today…I feel a bit better about things, but I’m still stuck in super slow-mo. I wish I could be up and about, but it’s just not going to happen. My orthopedic doctor is giving me 4 weeks to give my foot/ankle the ability to tolerate up to 40 percent weight on it. I have to accept the fact that moving will have to be slow. I need to train myself not to focus on the scale. This is just the first month in the rest of my life. My health is important and I need to listen to all doctors at this point.
Positive note to self….slow and steady wins the race!
Home from Surgery! First day post-op.
Jul 08, 2009
It’s funny….but a million things went through my mind the night before surgery. I had done well on my pre-op diet and was so proud of myself, but I found my mind wandering back to the dreaded diets of fatness past. I thought…am I going to fail again…will this all be for naught? Will I survive the struggles of post-op? I am I doomed to be fat forever? And then when I woke up in the morning of my surgery….as I showered all I could think of is how wonderful life is going to be when I can do the things I’ve always dreamt of doing….and amazingly I felt all that negativity leave me. And again, my mentors of positive thinking reminded me how easily one positive thought changes the scheme of things.
Arriving at the hospital (6:30 am) I was nervous...don't get me wrong….who isn’t scared and or nervous before a surgery? But then I was greeted and tended to by the most wonderful staff and life was indeed moving toward that positive direction. I have a cast on my left foot from ankle surgery I just had 6 wks ago and it seemed to be the attention getter of entire staff. Its bright purple wrapped and loaded over with bright green paintings of hidden Mickey’s (mouse) and Disney stickers (I’m a Disney fan if you haven’t noticed already?). So it was like a fun conversation for us all as we meandered through the mundane tasks of vitals, IV’s, and the wait for me to be carted to the surgery room. I felt good and so ready now for my new life.
The anesthesiologist was the first to come visit me before surgery and he was soooo kind and very happy to answer questions. I told him of my concerns about being sedated again so soon after a previous surgery. He was very reassuring that all would be ok since the lap-band surgery wouldn’t keep me under (anesthesia) very long. Then my doctor, Dr. Simpson came in and chatted with me for a bit, again reassuring all would go smoothly. As I awaited my turn to go have surgery, my wonderful hubby at my side, it was nice to hear the nurse tell me more about Dr. Simpson and what a great doctor he is. How he teaches other doctors the lap-band procedure, that he’s always there for his patience, and so much more. I was now more then ever excited to get this done.
All went well during surgery. I was told it took only 20 minutes to complete. Coming out of anesthesia in the recovery room was a blast (if you can believe that). My nurse was also a HUGE Disney fan. We talked about our family trips to Disneyland and lots of other Disney stuff. It was an awesome way to get out of my groggy fog of the operation. He gave me Demerol for the immediate pain of feeling like I had been socked in the stomach. He assured me that after that the only pain I’d probably have most was that from the gas (C02) that they have to fill the tummy up with during the surgery. *Side note; I have since learned that C02 is used to expand the stomach to make easier for the doctor to access the tummy). They had me sip on mint tea before I was to leave the recovery room (not sure why). Both nurses in the recovery room told me I looked great for someone just having had surgery and I took their compliments with a thank you and a happy smile, storing their words in the back of my mind for struggles that would come later through my night of recovery. I knew it would be happy thoughts to pull me through.
When I was rolled into my hospital room I was greeted by yet another awesomely friendly nurse. She was wonderful and was kind enough to explain (as like with all the other nurses) of what I was to expect as I laid there recovering. Of course the happiness of this day was dampened by the non-stop coverage of Michael Jackson’s Memorial service. I was dumb enough to watch it, and cried several times...which doesn’t really help with the gas in the tummy. The emotions became added pressure which I tried dearly to control.
I was given Jell-O and chicken broth for breakfast with some Crystal Light Raspberry Lemonade and water. I could only eat half of each at first and sipped on my CL most of the morning. I did manage to finish breakfast a short time later. This was something I should’ve recorded in my mind. Because at lunch, I sipped both broth and jell-o at one sitting and became terribly uncomfortable not even 5 mins after that. But, I was hungry LOL!! So I got up for my walk and that got me burping (who ever thought belching could feel so good and be so acceptable….ha ha). My first walk I was stiff and a miserable with bloat. I thought it would never end. And being in a cast wasn’t much fun as I went for this walk But I did it…I knew if I didn’t I’d be just awful the rest of the day. Each walk got better, but I still didn’t catch on to the 'sip half now save the rest for a little later', because I ended up sipping up dinner all at once too. Sooooo…you know the rest…I was up walking to get it moving around.
Dinner was early, like 5 pm or so, and I am used to later dinners (like around 7 pm). I found myself extremely hungry by 7 and I wasn’t sure what to do. I asked the nurse for a protein drink only to find out that it’s to thick and I’m not on that phase yet. Only clear liquids. Ugggg….what to do??? I knew having more jello or broth wouldn't sustain me. The one thing that I have learned about myself since the pre-op diet is that protein goes a looooong way with me. My husband was determined to get me some protein. So he was awesome enough to head out to Wal-Mart where he found Super Whey protein shots in a clear liquid form. It’s fruit punch and I only sipped a quarter of it (the drink has 26 grams of protein) and found myself feeling satiated. I even had energy…enough where my family stayed and visited til almost 10pm. Even the night time nurse came in and joined us.
I can’t say that I slept well that night. I don’t do well in hospital beds and I couldn’t sleep on my tummy (which is my favorite way to sleep). I had asked the night nurse for an extra pillow which was useful because I hugged onto it as I slept on my side. I was up by 7 am the next morning. My tummy was a little achy at the surgical spots. But nothing really bad. I went for my morning walk around the hospital and then awaited breakfast and the arrival of my hubby to take me home. I’d like to say that I did a little better eating…or rather sipping breakfast…but ummm…yeah….I still haven’t learned. I guess I’m a glutton for punishment. But when my hubby came to pick me up, I was all ready to get out, get home, and get on with my new life (I know I keep saying that...but that's what it is). He wanted to stop and get me more of that clear protein, so we went to WalMart. And amazingly, I strolled around like I wasn’t someone who just had surgery. We were in there over an hour and the only thing that bothered me was that I had become really thirsty and I couldn’t gulp down my Power-Aide Zero like I really wanted to. Hmmm….maybe I AM learning…he he.
The points you are probably wanting to know;
*Yes I had severe stomach pain coming out of surgery. Demerol took care of that.
*No; that extreme pain never came back.
*Yes there is A LOT of gas. Only you can help with that. Get up and walk. Seriously…walking helps move it.
*Sip…and I do mean SIP your liquids. If you don’t want that overly gassy bloat, please heed my warnings…don’t over drink your meals. Silly as it may sound. You’ll be happy that you did!!!
*Take some deep breaths and blow them out slowly…that helps a lot too.
*Most importantly….STAY POSITIVE!! You’re a new you and these few pains are all a part of the journey to your fabulous goal!!!!
A little worried
Jul 03, 2009
Ok...soooo the Secret says to think positive....
On the positive side, my fridge is stocked with sugar free popsicles and sugar free jello. Do you think a dollop of sugar free cool whip would be bad? Think I'll call my doc on that one.
Another great note...I've lost a half inch in my hips already (I'm not stepping on that devil-scale til Tuesday before surgery). I can even see in my face that the bloating of bad eating is already subsiding. These are things I will think of when a 4th of July cupcake temps me.
Just keep swimming....just keep swimming (as Dory would say).
Blessings,
Sher
Pre-op diet begins
Jun 30, 2009
Over the weekend I celebrated my 5th wedding anniversary with my husband at Disneyland....my all time favorite places to be! And the funny thing was...I kept thinking how next summer, life at Disneyland would be sooooo much better for me!!! My surgery is scheduled for July 7th and I'm happy, over-joyed, every type of exclamation you can think of. And yet, I'm also nervous and sad. Sad for the Sherry that had to live so long with obesity....nervous about having yet ANOTHER surgery (have I told you that I had sinus surgery and ankle surgery within the last month and a half?). But honestly....all this range of emotions and all these surgeries means that I am on my way to a healthier me.
Now I need to bond with my fellow bandsters and be a supporter as well as supported. Sooooo helloooooo....lets be friends k?!
Here's to a great pre-op week of eating and staying hydrated. Hmmm....hydration in Arizona can be difficult....surely I'm up for that task...right??
Cheers,
Sher
It's official!
Jun 15, 2009
The sucky part of all this is that I just had surgery on my left ankle to repair a torn tendon and I'm having to wait to set a date for the lap-band surgery. It's more waiting, but knowing I'm just around the corner to happiness....well this wait is no biggie.
Here's a plea for help....I need friends for support and encouragement. Please please add me as a friend! I know I haven't been on the message boards much, but I know it's all going to change!!!
Oh and send any advise you'd like to share. I'd love to hear it. Or share a story. I am nervous and excited. It's just sooooo hard to believe that my life is changing!!!
Hugs,
Sher
And so it begins.....
Dec 30, 2008
So here I am, excited that my doctor is now PRO wls and has agreed I should start looking into it. She informed me that I was the one to initiate it all. Power to the people is good I say. I feel like I have so much to look forward to in 2009. There are two doctors I have become familiar with and who have been referred to by friends of friends. I am going to go with my 'feelings' (yes folks, I'm one of those people) and whoever I feel the most comfortable with and who I feel has the better reputation (amongst other things) will be the doctor I go with. Robyn Blackstone and Terry Simpson have all the signs leading their way. My first seminar is with Dr. Simpson. I got an email from his staff today and amazingly enough, a small email directly from him. Call me lame....but that is a major PLUS! Personal contact is a GOOD thing.
I still have yet to hear back from Dr. Blackstone's office for confirmation of their seminar, but I'll cut them some slack because it is a holiday week.
Ok....I think that's all the rambling I'll do for now. OH....in case you're wondering, Tri-care Reserve Select is my insurance and I feel very very BLESSED that they don't have all the hoops to jump through to get this show on the road.....but I'm knocking on wood now....and that's because what's in the handbook may not always present itself correctly in the journey....if that makes any sense??!!!
Ok...now I'm done. I'm excited!!! But I don't have anyone to share this with just yet (aside from my hubby and well...you my new friend). I don't want to tell friends and my kids until I have all the i's dotted and the t's crossed.
Until my next entry....happy new year to ya!!!!
