2 wks post op. Today! Doctor's check in tomorrow.

Today marks 2 wks since surgery. Its been a bumpy, but smooth road I guess you can say. Can you even say its bump and smooth?? Well I am getting the rest I need with a bump here and there. A week ago I had to have Isaac take me to the doctors office because I was having the worst pains in my abdomen on the right side below my incision sight, so I knew it wasn't from the surgery or a complication of the incision, but I didn't know what it was. When I got there they kept enforcing the idea that it was just constipation... Constipation?? I had no idea what this felt like because I had never experienced it before, had I known I surely wouldn't have gone all the way into Cleveland for it. Well Dr. Ben Meir prescribed Colace in liquid or tablet form so I could crush it, good luck finding either, had to get Peri- Colace with a mild laxative in it which came in a tablet form. And Miralax. He said we should be getting about 17 grams of fiber in our diet and on a liquid diet we aren't getting in any. That plus the pain pills is a nice combo for constipation. Nice huh!! Well Two Peri-Colace tablets and some Fiber later did the trick!  I know make sure I had the 17g of fiber to my juice in the am and haven't had any problems.

                        


Enough about poop!

So that was Wed last Week. Thursday Turkey-day was the first day I was feeling up to doing my hair and make up. Dinner was at my moms house and I was looking forward to going over there and spending the day with everyone, I had no idea how hard it was going to be to see all the food and not be able to have any of it. I had to pack my own dinner for Thanksgiving this year. Sad I know, but it's my own choices that brought me here and I am happy with them. So for dinner I brought 1% milk, diet cranberry juice and creamy potato soup. I ate with everyone else, but all I wanted to do was dig into the veggie tray hehe.

Thanksgiving Day 2012

This Monday I was really sore, so I took it easy and laid on the couch with the heating pad and my book most of the day! I have been giving myself the Lovenox shots in my abdomen and they have given me some pretty big bruises, so I think those might be contributing to my soreness. 

I am still on liquids until tomorrow I can start eating one cup of pureed foods a day along with my liquid diet to see how my body handles it. I think I will do just fine with it honestly. I am so ready to start eating other foods than soup. I have mainly been eating Cream of soups, Tomato soups, 1% milk, diet cranberry juice, water, Poweraid Zero, Propel Zero, Crystal Light and Chicken Broth. I did find some diet hot chocolate that is pretty good. Oh and Hot Tea. Yes it gets boring and FAST!

So for my weight in I have decided to make Wed. my weight in days since surgery was on a Wed and what better day than Hump day to do it? So here goes. 

• April 2012 Heaviest weight: 309 LOSS of 51.4 lbs
• Last Dietitian Appt. before insurance approval for surgery weight: 286.5 LOSS of 28.9 lbs
• Surgery Date Nov 14th 2012 weight: 272.6 LOSS of 15 lbs 
• Post-op Wk 1 weight: 265.8 LOSS of 8.2 lbs
• Post-op Wk 2 weight: 257.6

So I have hit a MAJOR Goal!! of 50+ lbs lost since my heaviest I am still in shock and cant believe it. When will it hit me that I am losing weight?

Until next week... Have a good week everyone!

Tomorrow is 1 wk Post-Op.

I can not believe it has been almost a full week since surgery! I went in to the hospital on Wednesday November 14th, 2012 at 6 am got checking in to admissions, and then we headed to the elevators to head upstairs to the third floor. The elevator doors closed and then.... Nothing happened we (me and 14 other people) were stuck in the elevator for 35 mins. One guy called the fire department to let them know what was going on and they showed up and were very rude and wouldn't let us know what was going on. Eventually they got the doors open.

I couldn't help but think if this was they way the rest of the day was going to go, I wanted to walk right back out the front doors and not look back. But I have great support there with me Isaac drove me there, My mom, dad, little sister and baby Niece were all there before I went into surgery and were there waiting for me after. 

I went in to surgery at 7:45 am only 15 mins later than what they scheduled it for. I remember them saying they were going to give me some oxygen and to just breathe in and that was all. I woke up in my hospital suite and there was my family waiting for me. I took one walk with Isaac that night, and when my parents and sis and aunt came back to visit that night I took another walk. I was told Dr. Ben Meir fixed my hiatial hernia that was lot bigger that the upper gi showed. Which made surgery a little bit longer. But Im not quite sure how long the whole thing lasted or took. I remember being in me room and it was like 3 ish.

This was the view from my hospital room suite. Downtown Cleveland.

My second day there I thought I hurt my left shoulder lifting myself into the bed, so they took me to get an x-ray when they did my leak test, and everything looked fine. So I had to deal with the shoulder pain for another day, On Friday they came to removed my drain and Brook the PA said that sometimes the drain can get stuck on the diaphragm and can cause shoulder pain. and she said it would only take 3 seconds and she would be done removing the drain, it was going to feel like I was going down a roller coaster. I counted 1-2-3 and it was out and the shoulder pain was gone! Weird I know, but true.

I was in the hospital for an extra day due to my heart rate being a little high, funny how it went down as soon as they said I could go home. I came home Saturday, Nov 17th. Sunday was rough I was tired and didn't want to do anything I couldn't get my fluids down and I just wanted to sleep. The past two days have been getting better. I can shower on my own, but I still get extremely exhausted from it. 

Here are a couple pictures of my incisions:

This is my ugly belly, it has a told of 5 incisions I believe. The one on the very top is where the drain was place underneath the gauze is a open hole that will lose on its own. I have to keep it covered until it scabs over.
Second one with gauze and green wrap  is where they removed the round curvature  of my stomach, this is the most painful of sites, because it has the most traumatic things done to it. The other three are sealed up with internal stitches and glue on the outside. Now the lower dark spots you see are where I give myself Lovenox injections those are small bruises.

This is an up close shot of the incision where they removed the round curvature  of my stomach. I was able to removed the gauze on Monday. Its all closed and healed.

I weighted myself a day early this week I was planning on doing it every Wed. But I got on the scale this am just for giggles. And I weighed in at 267 lbs. My heaviest was in April at 309, surgery day I was 272, when I came home from hospital I was still 272. Today 1 week from surgery well 1 day away from 1 week from surgery I am at 267 lbs. a loss of 5lbs and  42 lb loss from my heaviest! I still am so happy I made this decision! 

6am... 7:30am!!!

SO this is it!! I got my Magnesium Citrate down and lets just say its doing it job. LOL I have been keeping up with my fluids so I dont get dehydrated. Dinner tonight is Chicken stock mmm yumm-o! Ive called the hospital and they have me as the 1st surgery of the day! I gotta be there at 6am and surgery is at 7:30 am. 

I have prepared for this moment for the last 9 months I could have had a baby in the time is took be to get to this point lol. Well lets get this over with first and then we can start to talk about that baby! :)

I want to Thank my wonderful supportive and amazing boyfriend Isaac Welch, who has done nothing but been the best not only for the past 9 months, but for the past 3 years. With out him I'm not sure Id be able to be this strong. He reminds me daily of how strong I truly can be and it amazes me how much someone can truly love me.

I want to say Thank you to my wonderful family for being so supportive and being there for me to listen to me vent and talk about all that is going on. and My mom and Dad and sister for being willing to be at the hospital for my support at 6am tomorrow morning.

I want to say Thank you to Isaac's family for taking me in and making me feel like one of the family from the first day you all met me, and for supporting me in the life changing decision I have chosen to make. You all make me feel so loved and cared about!

And Thank you to all my friends and Facebook friends and VST friends who have made these past few months go by so quickly. And thank you Facebook friends for welcoming my many many posts of this journey I am on and for being willing to lend me your words that mean so much.

Thank you Stephanie, Robyn and my sleeve bff Sannah for talking to me and listening to me and answering my questions whenever possible. Sannah I know you will get your call soon and I will continue to be here for you through your surgery and after; you have become an awesome part of this journey for me and a wonderful addition to my life so thank you thank you thank you!

And last but not least Thank you for all who so kind heartily donated/helped me raise the money I needed to have for surgery with out you this truly wouldn't have been possible your kind hearts touched me beyond my wildest dream and I cant say thank you enough!

It is time to let the good times roll. 

3 Days left...

I have 3 days left of being the "FAT" me. I cant not believe how time has a way of sneaking up on us. I have been waiting and waiting for the past 2 months for Nov 14th to get here and here it is just 3 days away!

I spent most of this Saturday shopping for things I am going to need post-op. And I went food shopping, liquids for me and solids for Isaac lol. I ordered 3 of my fav protein powders off line yesterday, 2 Syntrax Nectars: Lemon Tea, and Twisted Cherry, also ordered Unjury Strawberry Sorbet. So I am stocked up on protein for a little while. I went to Sam's club and got a huge case of water, propel zero packets to put in the water and crystal light packets, Oh and some milk and a case of Poweraid Zero and diet cranberry juice.

I got all of this at CVS pharmacy minus my prescriptions. I got some travel sized shampoo, conditioner, lotion and face soap to take to the hospital with me. Some gas relief similar to gas x chewables for at the hospital and at home. My Lovenox injections down in the right lower corner are for preventing blood clots. I injection a day for 14 days. Prilosec is to reduced the acid that will be in my new stomach and I have to take that everyday for 3 months. I also found multivitamin chewables and in liquid form to try. They are similar to Centrum, but the CVS brand.

As for the Gauze and Window bandages those are for my incision sites that will need to be cared for and covered while I shower. Like the drain site and where they pull out the portion of my stomach that is removed.

I went to Dollar General and found the Magnesium Citrate that I will need to drink on Tuesday for my bowel prep. 3 bottles total they were only 1.25 a bottle compared to 2.25 at CVS, I got the grape flavor, but from what I hear it doesn't matter what flavor you get just get it nice and cold and drink it as fast as possible. I have to do 1 1/2 bottles at 10 am and the other 1 1/2 bottles at 1 pm. NOT looking forward to this at all. 

Last stop of the a day was Walmart, I stocked up on some creamed soups and chicken and beef broth. I picked up two wire strainers in different sizes. Some tea bags for hot tea. Also got a tape measure so I can take my measurements as the days, weeks and months go by. Along with recording my weights I will also keep track of inches lost.

I feel like I am as prepared as I can get right now I will have the next 3 days to make sure the house is clean and organized, so I don't have to worry about doing it while I recover. I'm gonna be getting my hospital bag together here soon. It's almost time.

                                                                                             Days to go!

8 days and 12 hrs to go!

A week has gone by since my last update. What have I been up to??

Well surgery is scheduled for next Wed. Hoping it is the first one of the day and that I don't have to wait all day to get it done. I have been making lists and trying to prepare as best as I can, so I am comfortable when I come home from the hospital. Its going to be hard to stay in the hospital and be away from home and my animals. Zoey with not know what to do with out me home.

To try and prepare I have been trying different protein shakes and drinks to see what I can stomach. Some have been good and others not so good hehe. Right now as I type I am trying Twisted Cherry Syntrax Nectar. It is pretty good, I mixed it with 8oz of water this time to see if it was a little sweeter than with 16oz and Duh it is!

I also got a some more chocolate protein from Walmart again, in a 1.0lb bag. it was decently priced for the amount of servings you get out of the bag, So gonna try that this week,

Also this week I am going to start my pre-op diet on Wed for 1 week. I will be doing two protein shakes a day, and a salad with some protein in it for dinner. Along with clear liquids if needed and  of course my drinking my water!! But also sugar free jello, broth, and zero cal/sugar free drinks like propel zero and vitamin water zero. Most surgeons have u do a diet like this for 2 wks before surgery however mine doesn't make you, so I am doing it myself to prepare myself for how life with be 2 wks post-op. I hope I don't get to crazy and get any bad headaches with this pre op diet its only for 1 wk so it shouldn't be to bad. We will see.

This weekend I will be making a trip to Sam's club to stock up on clear liquids and protein, And be getting the house cleaned so I don't have to worry about it after surgery. I cant relax in a dirty house or feel comfortable.

I am still in shock that its finally here. Back in Feb I never thought Nov would get here and its here.Time flew by and I cant wait to be on the losers bench with my friends. I know I have done well with losing what the doctor wanted. I believe it has prepared me for life after being sleeved! I am the only person who can make me succeed and I am only person who can make me fail. It is my time to succeed! It is my time to start living life they way I was supposed to live it. The things that are going to come from this make it so worth it.

To the losers bench I go! Forever!