The Switch: Part 2

Today I finally got to switch to pureed foods. I never in my life thought I would be happy to eat pureed food, of all things. Really though, it's pretty great. Some things don't have to be pureed, like scrambled eggs and cottage cheese. They are also full of protein so they are good choices. I also made a huge pot of chili to puree and eat as I go. The chili is great because the meat and beans have tons of protein and it tastes great. Looks disgusting when it's pureed but still tastes really great. Not a big fan of the texture of pureed food, seeing as I already have an issue with texture, but I can deal with it. I really do love chili so I thought that was a good idea. I can't wait to try some chicken salad or something like that. I think it would be really great. I'm looking to try new things and see how they go down.

I think I figured it out...and unexpected visitors.

I think I have figured out the reason why I haven't been sleeping very well. Usually, when I'm working and going to school, I'm a fairly active person. I lift clients, take clients on walks, walk to class. Nothing too strenuous or anything, but still active. Since surgery I have been doing nothing. School is out for summer, I'm on medical leave from work, and I just sit around the house on my computer or watching TV. I haven't been doing anything. Well, Wednesday when I had my post op appointment we went shopping and did a lot of walking around. That night, I slept like a baby. I didn't wake up once during the night, I was just out like a light for a good 10 hours or so. Thursday I, once again, didn't do much of anything and I slept for shit. I tossed and turned and got maybe a total of 4 hours of sleep. I think my body needs some activity to sleep. I don't know if it's a mindset or if I need to burn energy or what...but I really think that's what the problem is. So, today I got up (notice I didn't say woke up because I DIDN'T SLEEP) and went to the gym. I didn't want to go too crazy, it being my first time doing formal exercise in a long time, so I just did 15 minutes on the bike and 10 minutes on the treadmill. Then, I sat in the sauna for about 20 minutes or so. I felt so good about myself for exercising and really felt great afterward. I came home, showered, logged on to lapbandtalk.com and promptly fell asleep. I don't know if that's a sign that I was right or if I was just so exhausted that sleep was the only real option left. We'll see if I sleep tonight.

Also, really nice, my niece came to visit me yesterday. She called out of nowhere and said that she missed me and wanted to come see me. It was really nice because I always go to her, she never comes to me. It was really nice to have her think of me and then drive all the way here to see me. We sat and talked for several hours, just the two of us, and it was really nice. She told me she is proud of me for having the surgery and she can't wait to see the results. She really has grown up into an amazing young lady. I'm pretty proud of her too :D

First post op appointment

I had my first post op appointment today and it went really well. I lost 16.7 pounds in just one week since I've been banded. I couldn't be happier! I was so nervous, despite the liquid diet and the addition of the band, that I had gained. But I had a HUGE loss! I was totally psyched! Then, as we were leaving the clinic some guy in the hall whistled at me. I was totally shocked! Stuff like that doesn't happen to me. Ever! It made me feel really good. Overall really good day.

Okay, I'm gonna go put some benedryl cream on my stomach before I scratch these incisions open because the ITCH SO BAD!!! Hope you all had a good day too.

Lack of sleep is not making me very ladylike...or pleasant for that matter.

So, since I've had surgery, a little over a week now, I haven't been sleeping. Not just like I wake up early but I literally toss and turn all night and then get frustrated and just get up because tossing and turning does not equal sleep and what's the point of laying in bed and not sleeping. I've even tried taking my Ambien, to no avail. I don't know what to do. I'm tired. I'm bitchy. I'm not fun to be around. All I want is a solid 8 hours of sleep. Is that really so much to ask for? I have my first post-op appointment today and I thoroughly intend on harassing her until she prescribes something that will knock my ass out. I don't know how much longer I can take this. The only saving grace is that I'm still not working, because of the surgery, so I don't have to function at work. Still, I have to function at life. This lack of sleep thing is a total FAIL!

The Switch

So, today I got to switch from clear liquids to full liquids. That means I get to eat oatmeal, yogurt, cream soups (after straining out the chunks), and a few other things. I was really excited to eat something besides jello but man was I nervous too. I was so worried that I would eat something and get sick. I asked the good people over at lapbandtalk.com what to do and they suggested making the oatmeal runny so that it doesn't get stuck. So, I made a little bit of oatmeal and mixed it with vanilla yogurt to thin it out a little. Then I added some cinnamon just for flavor.

The first bite was fabulous, I was just so happy to have something the chew. It's weird how you miss chewing when you haven't done it in so long. Then I swallowed and waited for the urge to be sick....but it never came. I ate really slowly. Taking a bite and then waiting a few minutes before taking another. It took a while to eat, and I only ate about 1/2 of what I made, but it was really good and it feels good to know that I can eat a little something now.

I really don't think I'll ever eat jello again. EVER!

A recount of surgery day...June 1, 2010

So I figured I would recount my surgery day, for my own memory and for anyone who is just starting this process who may stumble across this blog.

First off, I had my surgery at the U of M Fairview University Campus with Dr. Sayeed Ikrmuddin. The hospital was amazing. The surgeon was amazing. The nurses were AMAZING!!! I cannot recommend this hospital or surgeon strongly enough.

Okay, since I live two and a half hours from the hospital (my insurance wouldn't cover it closer, but I had great care up there so I can't really complain) we stayed the night in a hotel the night before surgery. My surgery time was set for 10:40am so we were supposed to be there at 8:40am. We got up showered and got ready and headed to the hospital. We didn't know how much time to plan in for traffic so we actually got there a good 30 minutes early...but I'd rather be there early than late. We waited a bit and then they called me back to get admitted and whatnot. They had me put on a rather huge gown that had these ports in that they could hook up to an air hose. That way, if you get hot or cold they can pump air into it that is either warm or cold to keep you comfortable. They asked me about a million questions and did vitals and took blood. They put an IV in and got it on the first try in my hand (though this isn't the end of that drama, haha). The surgeon came in to talk to me, wrote on my stomach in marker saying "LAP BAND", just to make sure they do the right surgery, and made me feel really comfortable. I expected to be really nervous, but it wasn't bad at all. After all this, they let my mom come back and it was just a waiting game until the surgeon was ready.

Once they called me up to the operating room things really got rolling. When I got to the OR they realized, however, that they had pulled my IV out. So, IV #2 went in my wrist. They started oxygen and the gas to put me out and the next thing I knew I was waking up in the recovery room. I wasn't in much pain but my throat felt hoarse from the breathing tube they inserted during surgery. The first things I remember upon waking up was hearing the nurses talking about a 2-year-old in Indonesia who smokes two packs of cigarettes a day and being ridiculously thirsty. When the nurse noticed I was awake and came over (she was a really cute girl and super friendly and bubbly) I asked "Is there really a baby who smokes? And can I have some water?" She felt horrible that I had overheard that but laughed and said I should look it up on Google when I got home (which I did and, depressingly, it is true). She looked up on the computer and found out I was allowed to have ice chips. I much have eaten three cups of ice chips in the recovery room. I was so thirsty. I was still thirsty when they brought me up to my room.

Once I was in my room the nurse introduced himself to me. His name was Emmanuel and he was really pretty awesome. The nurse's assistant was a chick named Toby who I absolutely adored. She was so friendly and nice and she really made me feel comfortable and was very accommodating. If we had met in different circumstances I can almost swear to the fact that we would be good friends. She was just that type of person. The hospital had room service style dining (and I use the term dining loosely as I was on all liquids). I called and ordered a sugar free Popsicle, jello, and some iced tea. The Popsicle was awesome and really helped with the hoarse throat feeling that I was having. I saved the jello for later but enjoyed the tea, a little at a time, right away because I was still so thirsty. The IV machine kept beeping at me because the IV being in my wrist kept getting kinked every time I moved. So, IV #3 went into my lower arm about 1/2 way between my wrist and elbow. I lazed around in bed most of the night, reading a little bit and talking to my mom. The nurses kept me extremely comfortable and even brought me a fan when I was too hot. I tried to get some sleep around 9:30pm but the lady that shared my room had other ideas...

The woman who shared my room was a Hmong woman who spoke little to no English. She was nice enough but she was impossible to communicate with as she spoke little English and I speak no Hmong (?). When her daughter was there I could communicate through her but when she went home all hope was lost. At about 9pm (the time when visiting hours end) she had a guest show up. The commenced talking loudly, in Hmong, until well after 10:30pm. I was irritated because I wanted to sleep but, because of the language barrier, couldn't really say anything. Then, when he finally left, she started talking on her cell phone. I don't think she finally stopped being loud until maybe 11:45pm. I was so tired I just fell right asleep.

Fifteen minutes later Toby came in to tell me goodbye because her shift was over and she didn't know if she would see me the following day. She gave me a big hug and wished me all the best. She really was awesome. I was given some liquid codeine to help with the pain and about an hour later I vomited it up. It just didn't sit right with me so they gave me an injection in my IV instead. I slept through most of the night with little interruption from the nurses and other staff.

When I woke up the next morning they gave me another dose of liquid pain med and this time I knew right away that it wasn't going to sit well. I threw it all up almost instantly. We waited around a while and then the nurse (Emmanuel again) told me that I was being discharged. I was excited to be going home. I signed all the discharge papers and got dressed and got all my stuff together. We went down to the pharmacy to get my prescription and low and behold they prescribed the same medicine that was making me sick. I told the pharmacist that I wasn't paying for medicine that was going to make me sick so he needed to get the doctor on the phone to get a different prescription. We ended up waiting in the pharmacy for about an hour until they could reach someone to prescribe something different but it paid off because that night when I took the vicodine they gave me I didn't throw up. I didn't get sick at all. It was really quite great.

Since being home I haven't taken too much for the pain. Mostly just at night so it's easier to sleep. The biggest pain is really in my shoulder and neck, which is from the gas they put in your stomach to blow it up so they can see around in there. This should go away soon, I hope. Overall, six days out from surgery, I'm doing really well. I get to start a "full liquid" diet tomorrow, which includes milk, carnation instant breakfast, oatmeal (not sure how that's a liquid but I'll take it), yogurt, and strained cream soups. I'm really looking forward to something besides Popsicles and jello.