littlecatapiller
I have been home from the hospital for 14 days now.
Feb 15, 2010
Hi everyone :)
Sorry it took so long for me to write something on here. It has taken this long to build up the strength to make it up the stairs, lol.
THE HOSPITAL: My experience at the hospital was an interesting one. I was scheduled for surgery on February 2, 2010 at 10am (I didn't actually have surgery until 2pm). I was bumped because there was an emergency patient (scary thing to have happen while you are waiting) I had already been prepped for surgery so it was eerie hearing things about the other person. Apparently, he or she had a leak and the complications were more serious than they had anticipated. I was starting to rethink everything when... I was given the "feel good" injection, lol. The next thing I knew I was in a dark hospital room and both of my parents were sitting in chairs at my bedside. The pain meds must have worn off because the only other thing that I can remember is the pain. It hurt. I did not expect pain because my lap band had been relatively painless. My mom said I kept saying, “I hurt” repeatedly. The nurse moved fast and in no time, she was injecting extra morphine into my pump (the nurses and team at Barix are amazing J ). I woke the next morning feeling fine. After, having a swallow test and walking many laps around the building, I was told that I could go home early if I wanted. So, I went home after spending only one night in the hospital.
HOME AGAIN: The first week back home was the hardest. I had trouble getting my protein and fluids in and my sugar dropped a few times. Before the surgery, I used to love milk. I would drink it straight from the carton. Now, anything with milk in it tastes spoiled. So, I had to improvise. I made a grocery list for my dad. I had him shop for fruit with loads of liquid in them, i.e. watermelon, pineapple, and oranges. I was told by my NUT that anything with natural sugar was fine to have. I started chewing the fruit, making sure to only swallow its juices and spit out the solids. I know that this is probably TMI and a bit unhealthy but it was the only way I was going to get in my fluids (gotta do what cha gotta do to survive , right?). It worked I started to get my energy back. Every morning when I feel weak, I cut up an orange and chew out its juices. I have also been drinking Progresso light vegetable soups and drinking a 100 % percent natural fruit juice protein drink with no added sugar and no milk. I find that drinking cold water makes my pouch unhappy…. By unhappy I mean it makes my stomach spasm, which is quite painful on a partially healed stomach. So, I drink my fluids luke warm. The doctor said that this condition is rare but a small percentage of bypass patients have an issue with cold fluid and that it is temporary. I stopped taking my liquid pain med after the first week. I didn’t like the taste and I didn’t lie feeling so tired after taking it.
WEIGHT LOSS TWO WEEKS OUT: I cannot believe that I am already two weeks out. Here are the stats so far…
JAN 26, 2010- PATS: 261.2
FEB 02, 2010-REVISION LAP-RNY: 253
FEB 16, 2010: 238.4
YES, FOLKS J IN 14 DAYS… I HAVE LOST… 22.8 POUNDS! OH, MY WORD!!!!! YAY! LOL. Thank you, God!
I can’t wait to see what happens next. I have taken pics but I don’t want to post until I have lost 50 pnds. I can’t believe this is happening. I have not been I the 230’s in over a year. And I have not been below that in at least 5 years. My next goal is to be in the teen’s maybe 216 lol and then 200 and then onederland that would be amazing… but I can’t even fathom that right now. I am taking one day at a time. Next up exercise J
Starting over again
Jan 23, 2010
It was really just the beginning of another failed attempt at weight loss. I originally chose the band because I was afraid to go through with the RNY (although in the back of my head I wondered if the band would be enough of a change for me). Everything started off great. Within the first few weeks I had lost just about 30 pounds. I was ecstatic. I hadn't lost that much weight on my own EVER! I exercised and watched what I ate. I was more than ready for a change. I went in for my first fill at my two week check up and the PA said that I was doing an excellent job and to keep up the good work. But it was from that point on that all of the problems started. I started choking on everything "healthy" that I ate (Especially protein) . It would literally get stuck in the top of my throat (and I was chewing everything to mush). So of course I made an appointment to get an adjustment in my band. The PA removed some of the fluid from my band. She said that I had too much. She told me that some people had a harder time finding their "sweet spot". I continued to go for my scheduled fills/ un-fills but continued to have the same problems. Every time I would get a fill it would be too much and I would choke. At one point I had actually aspirated on an extra strength tylenol (that was cut in half BTW) and passed out at work! It is HORRIFYING and embarrassing to wake up on the floor with EMT's, Co-workers, and customers surrounding you. I was absolutely mortified and all I wanted to do was crawl up under something and hide. What made the situation worse was that most of the Co-workers that knew about my surgery were giving me "I told you so" stares when I came back to work the next day (most of them were very opinionated from the start and voiced their "concerns" to me about my choice to have surgery instead of doing it "THE NATURAL WAY") I swear skinny people have no clue, lol. Any who, It has been 2 years and after the work episode and several failed attempts to reach my sweet spot... I finally had all of the fluid removed from my band and with no tool I quickly ran back to food for comfort and gained all of my weight back (give or take a few pounds). It is January 23rd 2010 and it is two days before my 29th b-day. A few month's ago I received a "congrats on my weight loss" letter in the mail from Barix... They wanted to ket me know that they offered Plastic surgery, ha ha. It was like a slap in the face. Actually, It was more like a wake up call. I decided to call and tell them that I was unhappy with the band and I wanted to know if it was unheard of for a patient to want to change to RNY. The representative was very nice and reassured me that I was not alone.
That I would be surprised at how many people had similar experiences with the band. She even congratulated me on figuring it out early, ha. From there she started me on the process to convert to a RNY. That was in August 2009. I was finally approved last week and my conversion date is 2/2/2010. I am more than greatful for my second chance. I am so lucky to get another shot at beating this "thing"... this addiction. I have been reading the blogs on this site and they are all very inspirational. It's so nice to have a place to belong. Where people understand where you are coming from. I need the support very much. I'm ready to be healthy again. No more foot, knee, ankle, and back pain. I'm ready to be able to walk into a regular sized store and not get the stares that remind me that I don't belong. I'm ready to have enough self-confidence to date men who actually treat me the way that I should be treated. I'm ready to get on amusement rides, board airplanes, and sit in my classroom chair with out worrying if I will fit or not. I'm ready for my "second chance".
Beginning my transformation
Jul 29, 2008
I am the heaviest I have ever been. I weigh 260 pnds and I am just over 5 feet tall! Yeah crazy I know! I have not always been this way though, I used to weigh 125 pnds.
Everyone has a story so I'll keep my own short. Within the course of 6 years and after a few car accidents, back issues, lung issues, prednisone prescriptions, steroid injections, depression, "being stood up at the alter" (o.k. at the alter is a bit of an exaggeration... but i say just a couple of months before the paid for wedding is close enough..lol) and several nightly dates with my favorite boy toys "Ben & Jerry" I put on the extra 135 pnds.
So as you can see... I'm really ready to start over.
