Well, I'm one week after surgery and doing just fine. The worst part of the surgery was staying in the recovery room for over 7 hours because there was no inpatient bed for me. Luckily, I work in a hospital and was not shocked by everything going on around me. The pain wasn't as bad as I expected it to be and I wasn't even as bruised as I thought I would be. I am supposed to be on lliquids only for the next week and then progress to pureed foods, but the protein drinks gave me horrible diarrhea so I am now doing pureed foods. It's interesting how I sense being full now and stop eating. This is not something I would ever do before surgery. The other thing that amazes me is how tired I am - but then I realize that this was major surgery and my body needs time to heal. My first follow up appointment is next week.
I've never blogged before so bear with me. I am scheduled to be banded tomorrow. I am nervous but ready. The liquid diet was hard for me because I don't eat a lot of sweets and this was nonstop milkshake type liquids. I ended up making some savory liquids with protein powder and organic soups and plenty of herbs. That helped get me through but I can't wait to have some chicken or tuna.
I went for my follow up on 5/8/08. I did not get weighed right before surgery so I don't know how much I've lost since surgery. I do know that I've lost 19.5 lbs since starting the liquid diet. It's so nice to have clothes that were gradually getting tighter actually feel loose. The only discomfort I have is when I try to stretch too much. I went back to work 15 days after surgery and, while I was a little tired, work was not that big a deal (I have a moderately physical job). The biggest problem I've had so far is that I tried to eat some chicken and it was a little too dry - it came right back up after some pain. I won't do that again - it was too uncomfortable. My surgeon will be on vacation so my first fill will be 7/3/08.
It's been almost 4 months since my banding. I've had 2 fills - the most recent one last Thursday. I didn't really notice any difference after my first fill but I am definitely feeling more constricted after the second fill. My nurse practitioner told me that it takes an average of 5 fills to notice a good rate of weight loss so I'm keeping a positive attitude about all this. I get pain about 6 inches below my port for about 2 hours after each fill - I think it is a nerve irritation.
Here are the positives since my surgery: I have more energy and can increase the amount of time that I exercise, I just bought clothing in misses sizes, I no longer get heartburn; and my cholesterol has dropped 10 points. I'm feeling great about myself and have developed a much more realistic idea of what hunger is and how much food it takes to not feel hungry.
