mrsdworden

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Has it only been 2 weeks? It feels much longer, maybe because I’m excited about the lbs lost. So far I’m 17 down and the hubs is about 25 down. I am shocked, excited, tired, motivated! So many emotions all at the same time. I have really seen a change in my body...my face has really thinned out and I’m beginning to recognize myself again. My protruding stomach has taken quite a step back and i’m Already back in my old uniform pants which are about a 10/12 US size. Not just fitting....but comfortable. They are not cutting into my stomach causing digestion pains and needing to be unbuttoned after i eat. I can move, I can relax, I have no problems at all. 

My scars are healing nicely. Now that my steri-strips have fallen off, I’m using Mederma every day after my shower. 

Currently eating a pretty wide range of foods. Cottage Cheese (very small bites), hummus (even smaller bites), Oikos yogurt, apple sauce, jello, Premier Protien shakes (takes me about 1hr for 1 bottle), cream of wheat (about 1/4 of a serving), soups of all kinds, sips of milk here and there. I’m using MyFitnessPal for logs. 

I think the only thing I’m struggling with is energy. I know it will eventually return but good grief. I am tired all the time. I nap almost every break at work so I can make it through the night and yet I have trouble sleeping during the day. I never had problems sleeping before. I can just hope to get my normal patterns soon. 

*yaaawn* thats about all for now. Have a great day everyone!!! 

Dont worry, you havent missed much....other than my sleeping. Man, this is my biggest issue right now; I cant seem to get more than 4 hours in a row now. I need to get back on track for work. Sigh. 

We are still on clear liquids. Jell-O is my best friend. I slacked a little on my water on Sunday and i could feel it immediately. I grabbed some pedialite and focused on that for like an hour and felt better again. Please dont stop drinking water between meals. The dehydration headache sucks....dont be me! 

My energy is coming back! On day 7 I actually felt good enough to do some errands. It may seem silly, but I actually feel accomplished to say I completed, laundry (washing AND putting away.....who does that on the same day, really??), going to GNC and Sally Beauty, running into the mall for a quick purchase, cleaning the kitchen, all without feeling winded or needing a rest. So I’m looking forward to getting back to work (ew did i really say that?) and see if I can last all night. Ive already promised myself that I’m not going to push it. If i need to go home, so be it. 

SO other than that you haven’t missed much. I sip soup all day and nibble on jello, play lots of video games, rest and rest some more, shower and change my drain-hole bandage(still wigging me out). Please dont hesitate to ask any questions. I’ll call this a wrap until maybe I experience some new feelings when we make it to the next couple phases.

Much love to you all. For those considering the surgery, I hope i have offered you some clarity or calmed some fears. I’m here if you have any questions, I’ll do my best. This website has been a huge help to me and I hope for you too.

Have a great day! 

Here I am again with your faithful update. 

Wednesday morning we were still in hosptial, recovering. My husband was in a lot of pain but I was doing rather well! I was able to get up and move with no real trouble, he seemed to have gas stuck in his chest. We think we figured out why...he had misunderstood the breathing exercises and was only doing 1 breath while I was doing 10 per hour. So please make sure you do the breathing!! 

At around 8am they came and whisked us off to X-ray where we drank the contrast for the barium X-ray. Don’t be afraid...it tastes like flavorless chalky water. No big deal. Now knowing what it does, i would drink it all day. We were able to see our brand new stomach on the X-ray (its less than 10cm wide but the way) and NO LEAKS! YIPPEEE!!! 

Later on, one of the surgeons came and removed our drains. Ok that ish is just flat out weird. (No, i didnt look because I’m a chicken). It is quick and painless, and just ....weird. Ya gotta do it...just embrace it; its over before you know it. 

BEST PART: they told us we could go home early. We jumped on that train! We packed up and headed out at about 1:30pm. They gave us a departing packet with instructions on how to shower, care for our drain incision, some nexium (which we crack and drink the little balls with a shot of water), some pain meds, and copies of all our medical records which we can copy and give to our Primary Doctor in the States (how cool is that?). 

Once we were home.....the sleep came HARD! I didnt want to get out of my wonderful bed. Wednesday was sleep day 100%. When i woke on Thursday, I wanted a shower so bad I could scream. It was fully awkward knowing that i have an open wound but I still enjoyed every second of it, even though it took all my energy. I laid down for a while afterwards...I’m giving myself a full pass on being lazy and healing at my own pace. Soon i felt good enough to get up and head to the living room (btw the hubby has much more energy now and is fully without pain), I took a sublingual shot of B vitamins hoping for a pick-me-up and I did pretty good all day! My energy really ebbs and flows but Im not worrying just yet.  

Overall day 4 was just resting on the couch....minus the dramatic event of our neighbors dog falling in the community lake while they are away on vacation and we were the only people home to rescue it......sigh...can you imagine if we were both at work!!!!??? Poor thing would have been there for hours until their housesitter arrived home. 

I confess, i am starting to dream of soft foods and I’m counting the days until i can drink milk again. The nice part is, I’m not freaking out over it. My stomach is no longer my driving force behind what I eat. It’s amazing to recognize how much it was in control of me. Telling me i “needed” that 4th taco to feel better. *to feel better*!! What the hell is that? Now it’s me saying, You need your protein and your waters to stay healthy and theres no argument from King Tummy. 

I know this is only temporary and before I know it I will be able to chew again and I will be able to live on a healthy, serving-size-appropriate meal and no longer stuffing myself because there is still food on the plate that i “need” or “should” finish. I am so eager to break free from those made up rules that only left me feeling full of guilt instead of nourishment. I’m ready to savor the flavor of a food instead of shoving as much into me as a can until i feel “better”.

Whew....pretty early for all this revelation. I think i’ll close with that. Hopefully, I’ll be back tonight to finish out our Day 5 details. I imagine it will get more boring from here but who knows! 

Thanks for dropping by and have a great day!

Well, obviously yesterday did not allow me to blog. I believe i texted my best friend that i was “very gloggy”.....yeah...SO I’ll do my best to recall everything. We checked in with no problems. We each weighed in and, had the X-ray missing from the day before, we had our own room next door to each other, they gave us our fancy robes to change into, got our IVs started, and then it was time to wait. Each of the DRs came and spent time with us, walking us through everything. They were very sweet and patient, eager to answer every question. 

Dr Wilhelmy chose for my husband to go first, so me and the family waited in my room and chatted. Time went by very quickly and then it was my turn!! I can honestly say, i dont remember much. I know I slid over onto the operating table and got situated.....aaaaand thats about it hahaha. I guess I’m a light weight when it comes to anesthesia.  

When i came to, everything felt fine. Just a soreness in my belly which has remained. I wont say actual pain...its just more annoying than anything. Like i had completed a million sit ups. 

I slept and slept and slept....in between my IV machine yelling for some got-dang reason every 30mins it seemed. I dont know what was wrong with it but staff was quick to respond. So basically i slept and when i woke, i walked, when i walked, I pumped my arms and tried to get the gas moving as much as possible. The first couple walks were very short, and took every ounce of energy i had. By the time i made it to my bed again, i was half asleep. But as the night dragged on, thanks to my IV machines whining sessions, I was up a lot walking and pumping my arms. 

Staff came in frequently to check my drain and my IV placement, temperature and blood pressure. 

Day 2 Jan 22: we got juice today!!!!! Nom nom nom. Mango,Apple and a hot tea. Breakfast lunch and dinner. I didnt actually complete anything until dinner. Learning to take small sips is key...i made the error of taking a big “normal” sip and my stomach punched me for it. Ow ow ow ow. Much more walking today and more sleeping. 

So theres this weird part...i feel hungry but i dont actually want anything. My mother in law put it this way “tummy is saying ‘I is empty!’ But brain is sayin ‘naaahh you is fine’”. ....makes sense to me. I like it.  

So pretty much the same, sleep, walk, sip as they say. 

Today I actually showered and i feel muuuuch better and no longer smell like a farm animal. 

Dr Campos just came in and said I look much better today. Tomorrow we will get our X-ray where we can see our new stomach and actually watch it work! So cool!! He also said we can go home tomorrow too if we want. Thats a full day early! I think we will go, it would be wonderful to be in the same bed with the hubby and watch English TV. 

Alrighty party people. Thanks for dropping by. Hope i’m keeping it interesting. 

Jan 21 2019: wooooooozy. I dont think this sleeping pill likes me very much. Ive been waking up off and of since about 0230. Its 5am now so I’ll just stay up and watch some TV. One of the HBO channels are still in English so, no problem. Bleh. I feel pretty groggy. Its ok...ill be asleep most of the day right?! The hubby is out cold.....guess the pill likes him....figures.   I think i will have a nice hot shower. Be ready to be in the car by 0615am!!!

ALMATER HOSPTIAL HERE WE COME!

Mother Goddess, Father God: bless the surgeons hands this day and protect your son and daughter from harm. Join with us as we send good and powerful energy to the staff and all parties involved. 

CHECKING IN:

Sunday, Jan 20, 2019. We drove down with my in-laws today. Arrived to the Lucerna Hotel near noon, checked into our room (tiny worry....they dont turn the AC on in the winter so there is only heat available in the room...fear not, we are hot bodied and have not been bothered at all. Temps around 74 or less...when the sun set, the temp dropped down to 50 and i just opened the slider all the way. We are now cool and being serenaded by Mexican Birbs...lovely)

Room is plenty big, spotless, adequate lighting, two bottles of water provided, plenty of pillows, medium firmness bed. 

There are 4 restaurants available at the hotel. a Steakhouse, Italian, American style, and a Cafe. ....its Sunday....all thats open is the American style place and the bar. Food was huge servings and flavorful BUT i hope you had your favorite meal before you get here.  

Check into Almater Hospital at 1pm:

Hospital is only about 10 mins away. No problemo. Ample parking. Walk right in to find reception...she spoke limited English but we had no trouble understanding each other and Yolanda promptly met us in the waiting room. 

Step 1: urine test....not preggo....WHEW!

Step 2: blood draw.....this gal is better than any lab tech I’ve had in the US. She changed vials 3 times and i never felt so much as a tremor. Wow. Zero pain, zero trouble.  

Step 3: xrays....hmm...not so much. Machine was on the blink. We will do it tomorrow when we come back to check in for real.

Step 4: EKG. Ie bare chest, bare feet...no metal. A lovely tech applies clamps and suction cups to your body and runs your EKG, prints, and adds it to your file. Funny note: a handsome young tech saw my boobie. Cheers. 

Step 5: Paperwork and Payment. (And you get an anti-biotic and a sleeping pill) Even though I had a note put on my credit card...they still effing denied it and I had to call and get the approval. Took about 15mins....not a big problem....just a thought though, IF YOURE NOT GOING TO HONOR MY TRAVEL NOTES THEN WHY BOTHER GIVING ME THE OPTION TO ADD THE GOT-DANG NOTE??? UUUUUGHHH *deep breaths everyone*...okay....we’re ok. Siiiigh. 

Now back at the hotel for our last meal and cocktail before bed. 

And thats all folks! Theres our Pre Op day laid out for you. Now we are cuddled in bed watching the playoffs. The weather is beautiful. There are no buggies flying about so I’m keeping the slider open, enjoying the cool air, and talking to you. On that note, I bid you goodnight. Hope you enjoyed the read. I’ll be back as soon as I feel better and able to type comfortably.  

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

-today this has so much meaning. After being laughed out of a nutritionist’s office....scoffed at by my PCP....yo-yo diets, crash-diets, unyielding workouts, diet pills, HCG drops, KetoDiet....omg on and on. Today. Today, they approved and scheduled our VSG procedure. My husband and I will start this new journey together. We have selected Mexicali Bariatric Center as our surgeons. We will have to self pay (Happy Christmas Babe!) We have family who have been treated there and have been successful for over 3 years. We are nervous, of course, but I think having this together and at the same time, we will be stronger together and be more able to support one another. I was so nervous they would refuse me, but they didnt and I cant stop smiling!! I want my old body back! It’s been so elusive these past few years, no matter what I have tried. I know at my age thats “normal” but I simply cant accept it. I have steadily gained each year for the past 5 and I’m done. 2019.....here I come and I’m comin for my old...er...i mean young body!!! 

Blessings to all

What a great way to start the new year!!