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So, I weighed Friday, but since I was switching my schedule from nights to days, I got only about 4.5 hours of sleep, so I didn't count Friday's number (197.2 I think it was, which I'd seen for almost a week).  Instead, after getting a broken, but full, night's sleep Friday night, Saturday morning I weighed and lo and behold, I was down to 196.4, a loss of 2.2 lbs.  Actually, as of this morning, I'm even down to 194.4 (or .6, can't remember now), but I won't count that til Friday, as usual :)  Weighing myself between weigh in days is for fun, not for permanent tracking.

I still feel great, though this past week a couple more naps were in order, but overall, I'm sleeping much better than before surgery (though I think that's just the quitting-smoking-wreaking-havoc-on-my-sleep symptom finally fading, not my sleep apnea gone), and longer too.  I'm enjoying the mushie stage, and I'm looking forward to making some egg/chicken/ham salads (with the bullet, so much chopped) this week.

Funny, as soon as I had "solid" (well, not liquid, but not really solid) food last weekend - yes, I started mushies early, sue me - I have been CONSTIPATED.  Like I don't think I ever have been in my life.  Actually, come to think of it, it started last Sunday, so it was before mushies.  But anyway, I thought last Sunday (OW!!!!) was a 1 time thing, as I'm usually very regular, even have loose to liquid stools on a regular basis - before surgery.  So I popped 2 stool softeners before leaving camp, did the 1.5 hour drive home and pretty much ran to the bathroom.  I think it was a coincidence, but at least I was relieved!  Then Monday night I had 5 minutes straight of liquid poop.  That doesn't sound that long, but next time you go, time yourself, you'll see, 5 mins straight is a LOT.  Since then, nothing til last night, after about 20 minutes on the toilet, not much joy, but at least a little came out. 

I apolgize for the TMI, but this is to say - be proactive.  2 days no pooping?  Take some benefibre or stool softener - don't let it get as bad as me.  REALLY.  I said last Sunday night, I'm going to start taking benefibre every day and I didn't.  I will tomorrow, that's for damn sure! 

On a happier note - I'd like to wish my new friends, Charliegirlten and Idgett both uneventful surgeries and recoveries, their surgeries are Tuesday and Thursday respectfully.  Ladies, we're making room for ya on the bench, walk walk walk, sip sip sip!

T :)

So this week I'm down (only) 2.4 lbs.  Kind of disappointing from 12lbs last week, but I know it's awesome - I don't think I've ever lost 2.4 lbs in a week otherwise.  So both good and bad :)  But I'll take any loss - as long as I'm losing!!

Other than that - I still have a bit of incision pain, like when Schumy, my super heavy cat walks on my tummy or after I've been picking at scabs (can't help it!).  Could be worse - Princess, much lighter than Schumy still has all her claws and uses them when she's happy (the in/out motion that starts when they're nursing as kittens).  Thankfully the dogs are under 5 lbs and 12 lbs and the 12 lber likes to cuddle BESIDE you, not ON you like the little one (he's my avi). 

I'm tolerating everything I put in my mouth well, I just seem to have days where I don't LIKE anything I put in though.  Alot of it is fairly new things, so it could be tastes changing or it could be just sick of the same old Crystal Light flavours or soups or whatever.  But I had some clam chowdah (just so fun to say it that way) that I didn't strain on the weekend (it was self serve hot from the supermarket so we took mostly "broth" for me) and had a couple chunks of potato and it was GOOOOOOOD.  Both the taste and the potato chewing.  I know it was naughty.  Not as bad as the crab cakes (one Sat night, one Sun aft) I had though.  That would truly be a mushie and I'm a week away from those yet.  Other than finally feeling some restriction (seriously, the chowder and crab cake were the 1st restriction I've felt, I can have 8 oz of soup in a few mins, no problem) and getting F.U.L.L. (like Xmas dinner full!) I did great.  I'm going back to full liquids for a few more days at least but I think I might head into mushies a few days early.  I'm having a really hard time keeping my carbs as low as I want them so I think mushies/solids (in another week) are in order.  It seems week 2's loss is a little low and I'm sure that's the carbs.

Oh, to anyone reading this - it's true about the constipation.  I'd say as of 1 week after surgery, if your diarrhea has stopped, start on the benefiber NOW.  Trust me :)  I'm starting 1st thing in the morning! 'Nuff said ;)

A small NSV I noticed at about the 1 week mark post op - particularly my engagement ring, but also my wedding band are loose.  Like almost way too loose.  I suspect by the 1 month mark I'll either have to tape them (how chic) or buy a chain to put them on.  I'll feel SO naked but I guess it's only for a few months!  Not much choice though, with a few shakes my engagement ring comes right off.

So that's what 2 weeks post op is like!

T :)

So I've decided that while I may weigh myself several times a week, hell, several times a day - only when I first get up Friday mornings will count as the official weigh in day.  This is to prevent insanity and tons of extra work updating everywhere. lol  So while this week I had seen as low as 194.6 (surgery date was 213), this morning's weigh in gave me 201 even, for a total weight loss of 12 pounds - exactly!  Not too damn shabby for a light weight!  I know it won't keep up at this rate (I WISH) but I really like the jumpstart - though onederland might have been nice!  No complaining though - the scale is going down and that's ALL that matters!

T :)

So after waking up, I knew I was up for the day, so I turned on the tube, repacked my bags, did tons of walking and just basically killed time.  I hung out chatting with Shabre and her hubby for a while too, that was fun.  About 6:30 we got our jello and juice (neither tasted great) which we had been instructed the night before to just take a few bites and sips - no need to try and eat/drink it all.  As I didn't terribly enjoy either, I didn't have too much, plus I was worried about overdoing it.  We also didn't have a ton of time.

Around 7 Dr. A gave us our post op info (meds, how to take them, basic post op eating info, how to reach him, etc) and then Rosy arrived.  I said my goodbyes to Shabre and her twin, grabbed my stuff and out we went.  The ride went quickly again even though we weren't chatting quite as much.  J wasn't feeling fantastic and I was a little tired.  We saw a really cool procession of cowboys (had to be at least a hundred of 'em!) but no tumbleweed :(  I asked Rosy to stop so I could pick up some water and she did.  I also did on the way down.  Don't hesitate to ask her, she doesn't mind :)

We got to the La Quinta, Rosy checked us in, I grabbed a shower (since my only one at the hospital was in the dark and fast in J's room) and then we went to Walmart to pick up some Jello.  And a new purse since I decided I was checking my duffel bag.  Then we went back to the hotel to unload what we bought and headed to the shuttle.  We had the driver take us to the mall (you pass it on the way to the hotel, it's the one with the big boots outside - you'll see what I mean) and then hopped a city bus (the #4) to the riverwalk.  We walked the river walk for a while, stopped in a Rainforest Cafe (never heard of them but they had a yummy soup, even without all the good stuff added to it) for J's daughter to eat and then we took the river cruise, which was fun.  After that we headed back to the hotel.  I was really tired (gee, maybe only eating soup and being up since 4:30 did it) but stopped to talk to hubby first online, rinse out some clothing and so on, at which point it became too late to nap as I had to get up at 6 am for my flight home.  So I stayed up til about 9:30 before passing out, while watching the Food Network.

The next morning I grabbed the shuttle with a bunch of pilots and flight attendants (none from my flight) to the airport and got my wheelchair assistance.  I HIGHLY recommend that, especially if you're lugging anything heavier than a purse around.  Also, if you're not a super lightweight, it's handy.  Let's face it - walking around huge airports isn't fun when we're healthy.  I took the service before my 1st flight, for my connection but ended up refusing it at my home airport.  Big mistake - there were 500 people in line at customs and it was a longer walk than I thought it would be.  But I hadn't walked at all that day so I suppose it wasn't THAT bad... just hot and sweaty.

Thus concludes my thrilling adventure of going to Mexico for VSG surgery.  I hope you found it interesting or learned something :)  Should I have not covered something you would like to know, feel free to ask, PM is better than the comments as I don't get advised by email about the comments.

T :)

I got to meet Shabre fairly early in the morning after she arrived as I didn't sleep super well (all me, nothing to do with surgery).  That was nice - she's a great gal!  I had started walking already the night before (see the not sleeping well part) but continued to do a LOT of walking while my IV was out, as much as possible.  Saw Dr. A around 9ish (I think) and he came in apologizing about the IV issues.  Like it was his fault!  lol  I apologized that they had to call him twice in the middle of the night.  He said that even though I felt fine I would have to get the IV back but that he would send in the anesthesiologist Dr. Salinas to do the new line.  He also said to Cristina (not Cynthia lol - someone got it wrong in a testimonial and she was a little annoyed) to make sure to double up on the speed so I would have it only for 2 hours instead of 4.  It was set up like that until it got dislodged again and then someone goofed and set it low so I was stuck with it about 3 hours.  Oh well.  And Dr. Salinas did a great job - the 1st (unsuccessful) stick I barely felt, then 2nd (successful) one I felt a bit more but was still pretty good.  At that point he also switched our rooms so we got the fancier newer ones (my twin and her daughter got the suite) and we got ICE CHIPS - WOO HOOO!  I thought they were for after the leak test but he said the test goes better when we're lubricated ;)

Before my IV was done, around noonish, we (J and I) went for our leak tests.  Dr. Gabe actually performed them but Dr. A was there too.  We also got our Medic alert bracelets then too.  The barium actually wasn't that bad - it had kind of a sweet, albeit chalky, taste.  As you can guess, NO LEAK! Woot Woot!  And it was really cool to watch and I got Dr. A to take some pics with my camera.  At that point he also sent me the pic of my stomach I had requested, he took it with his Blackberry. lol  I LURVE Dr. A :)

After that, it was mainly a matter of walking, sleeping, killing time surfing OH, playing a game or 2 on my laptop, reading, watching tv... Really nothing else exciting.  At one point to push the painkillers they hooked me back up to the IV as pushing them into the catheter (the tube that goes into your vein is called a catheter - I didn't know that!) actually burned.  Honestly, if you can deal with the burn, do so, because it took about an hour for 10-12 ml to drip.  I learned my lesson - suck it up :)  Mainly because the successful stick was halfway between my wrist and elbow on the inside.  Made it hard to do much without knocking the tube out, so that was a very boring hour.

Dr. Gabe and Dr. A both popped back in to check on us (and our sleeve sistas from the day after) and told me I could ask for a sleeping pill.  Which I did... I asked for it around 10 as I decided to watch Tootsie, which I'd never seen.  I took it around 9:50 and slept til about 4 am.  Par for the course since quitting smoking, grrrr.  Which takes me to day 4....

Rosy was right on time at 6:45, so we packed up the van and headed over.  Dr. A met us at the door and took our luggage in.  He spoke to us briefly and J had mentioned earlier that she was quite nervous, so I said to take Joyce in first and to do her surgery first, as I wasn't at all nervous.  (It was true!)  When it was my turn we briefly spoke about my health history, (nothing interesting really in mine), what to expect, that I can't cheat after surgery like I did before and then weighed me.  After that, off to my room, which was right next door to J and C.

We went together to get our chest xrays (I got to go first on that one!) which was of course quick and painless.  Then came the blood draw, ewwwww, yuck, ick, and eek - I'm needle phobic, pretty severe actually - the patient nurse actually held my arm down for the phlebotomist.  But even that wasn't too bad.  Then I just had to wait my turn for J's surgery to be done.

Once it was my turn, I scooted on to the gurney and they wheeled me to the window.  I'll post pics of that later!  But you slide through the window onto another gurney, then they start your IV and prep you for surgery.  Next thing I remember is waking up to scoot back onto my bed.

I mostly slept for the rest of the day on and off.  In between I surfed OH :)  Around 1am I disloged my IV and had to be restuck.  After the 2nd time, they called Dr. A to get permission to wait til morning, he said no.  After the 4th try they called again and he agreed to wait.  I slept pretty well the rest of the night without the IV.

Oh, how could I forget my really stupid moment?  Somehow I managed to completely forget that a) I get VERY nauseous after surgery and b) I have a SLEEVE not a STOMACH.  I asked for and got a sleeping pill and was given water to take it.  Yeah, that didn't go well.  First gulp to take pill, 2nd because I was enjoying the water.  In less than a minute it all came screaming back up.

I will admit there was some pain after but the pain killers controlled the pain quite well.  So did the nausea meds - the only time I felt nauseous was from the sleeping pill.  I found as time went on the pain meds were less and less effective, but that's to be expected.  The pain also got a lot better too.

That's it for tonight, my bed is calling me.  I'll post about the rest of my stay tomorrow!

T :)

Flying to San Antonio.  Rosy picked us (my sleeve twin J and her daughter C) up at the La Quinta (where we stay the night after surgery) after I took the shuttle there.  It's easy to get the shuttle, just follow the instructions you get from Susan :)

The drive went by quickly with Rosy pointing neat things out, chit chat from all of us and so on.  In case you didn't know, Rosy and Dr. A are cousins.  She dropped us off and checked us in to the hotel in Eagle Pass and told us she'd be back for us at 6:45 a.m.  We freshened up and then went over to Piedras Negras (where the hospital is) to do some shopping at the market and eat at Moderno's.  If you're on the liquid diet, the chicken soup is really good!  Don't forget to barter at the market if you go, the first price is never the last :)

After dinner we hopped the shuttle back to the hotel (Moderno's has a shuttle that will pick you up at the hotel and bring you across the border for dinner and back again - for free).  Just chilled out, watched tv and went to bed.

T :)

And feeling pretty damn good, apart from occasional gas pains from drinking and slight incision pain from one incision.  Also a bit tired (before eating) but that's easily from not sleeping well and flying all day plus a total of 200 calories.  All in all though, feeling pretty awesome considering I had major surgery a few days ago.  I'm going to try and remember enough to give you preops a play by play by day, so it hopefully answers some questions.

T :)

It really hasn't sunk in yet, not 100% that I'll be getting on a plane early Thursday morning, heading to Mexico to pay a doctor around $12000 Canadian, to remove 85% of my stomach.  Apart from that insanity is the fact that if I had one iota of patience I could have it done 100% free here, except maybe pay for the pre op shakes.  Seriously, should I be committed? lol

So day 3 for the liquid diet.  I'll be honest, I've kind of cheated a little.  I have not had a full meal of anything other than liquids, but I used higher fat (but lower carb) soups than I'm supposed to (ran out of the recommended ones that I bought in the U.S. and they don't sell them here ), I had sf/ff chocolate pudding thinking it was ok - whoops, nope, not on the list.  I've also been using 1% instead of skim milk to try and keep the carbs down.  The "real" cheating though?  I've had a couple beef cubes from the stew I made that hubby was having leftovers of all weekend... I bought some cold cuts for after surgery and had 4 today (I was REALLY hungry, after 2 shakes and a cup of jello), and that's about it.  I THINK that's pretty good personally - no full meal cheating.  I'm not perfect, what can I say?  I've justified it by thinking that some docs suggest a high protein/low carb/low fat diet instead of liquid, and I'm basically keeping my cheats within that. 

Yesterday, particularly, I kind of had a massive WTF moment.  Let me be clear, I'm really not at all afraid of the surgery.  I had a breast reduction around 10 years ago and I'm pretty sure the VSG is a walk in the park in comparison pain and recovery wise.  Also, the UPPP (removal of tonsils, uvula and some of my soft palette) was pretty darn painful and has a similar post op diet - and the pain also woke me up at 3am like clockwork when the meds wore off.  I'm expecting (from everything I've read) much smoother sailing for the VSG. 

With that said - my freak out was (of course) about mourning food essentially.  The possibility of hating my favorite foods (mmmm, butter chicken, I love thee), and most of all, missing the quantities of food.  I love to eat!  I love going to a restaurant, ordering an app, main course and dessert, along with some soda, wine and coffee.  No matter what, it's never going to happen again the way it did pre-op.  I know that.  I know logically, from all you nice post ops, that I won't miss it (eventually) and how I'll be satisfied with a taste.   I can't imagine it, and so there's some serious mourning going on.  Because while the logical part of my brain is like - duh, you're never going to get skinny eating out 2-3x per week - my emotional, childish side says - but you'll MISS it!  And I'm not sure that there's any counseling to be had that can fully control emotions relating to the unknown.  Maybe there is, but I'm not really a shrink kinda gal, though like most of us, I probably should visit one.

I do feel better today, after finding a protein shake I just adore, even though so many nice post ops harshed my mellow warning me I'd probably hate it after! LOL (just kidding, I WANT honesty!!)  It doesn't have anything to do with my freak out, but I guess any "good thing" helps.  Though I really DO hope I still love it (or at least like it) after.

BTW - here are my pre op measurements: (all inches though I WISH centimetres!)

Bust 50.75
Chest 44
Waist (or .5 in above belly button, not sure I actually have a waist per se) 50
Hips 49.25
Neck 16.75
Head (around my lower lip) 19
Calf  L 15.75 R 16.5
Thigh L 24.75 R 23.75
Forearm L 10.75 R 10.5
Upper Arm L 13.75 R 14.25

As you can see, I'm not at all symmetrical.  Or my husband SUCKS at measuring me LOL  But I know I'm not symmetrical, though I'd never really noticed before I was measured, as he said "you can tell by looking at your calves" - he's right - once I really looked at them, I saw it.  Not sure how visible it is with the rest of me.  Oh well, I knew I wouldn't come out looking like a mini Barbie doll, much as I wish I would.  I've mostly accepted that and I figure time and plastic surgery will get me the rest of the way to acceptance LOL.

I've had a few people private message me lately, and a few started out (or mentioned somewhere) "I hope you don't mind that I messaged you".  Um HELL no - please, go ahead!  Lots of people have been nice enough to answer my questions, I'm happy to do the same, despite my limited knowledge being a lowly pre-op.  In case you hadn't notice, I kinda like to talk ;)

T :)

So in 13 days, 23 hours and 54 minutes, I will be taking off for San Antonio, via Atlanta.  It's very surreal.  In some ways, I feel SO ready for this, and in others I am SO overwhelmed.  And sometimes hesitant - not so much about the surgery, though I must admit to a few what the FUCK are you thinking having your 80% of your stomach removed, AND paying for the priviledge?!? - but more about the money.  This is a hell of a lot of money for us (and more every day it seems with the damn exchange rate getting worse, grrr) and while it's not money I'd be using to pay bills per se, it's still going to hurt. 

Part of how I'm justifying it to myself is that with the surgery, hopefully my sleep apnea will go away.  And even if it doesn't 100% go away, I know being lighter will give me more energy no matter what.  So I figure more energy = me working more = more money coming in.  That's one of the upsides of my job, I can submit for whatever hours I want (though I don't necessarily get them all) and if there are any hours left after the computer has assigned all of them, or someone doesn't feel like working, I can go pick up even more hours from what we call the "swap" board.  Last winter I worked 40-50 hours per week most weeks.  So far this fall/winter, I'm averaging no more than 30 (and not even that most weeks).  I just have no energy or motivation to do my job(s).  Also, my better paying job has a stupid cow as a supervisor.  Suffice to say I can't stand her and if I want more hours, I'll have to work when she does and read her stupidities in our work chat room. (we are all remote CSR's)  That's what I love about overnights - I don't have to see her AND it's quiet, so I get paid to play video games all night :)  And surf OH of course!

So that's what's on my brain tonight.  I basically want to get this over with so I don't have second guess everything anymore.  Even if I go through the dreaded "what did I do to myself" that most people seem to go through, at least it's DONE then and I can't change it - unless there's a revision where they sew stomachs back in? LOL

T :)