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Yes we can!

today was a fantastic day! ive finally got a date for my surgery! February 25th! i am ecstatic. :thumbup:   i have to meet with Dr. Bui on the 16th (10 am) for the pre-op consult, signing of papers, taking of vitals, weigh in, etc.   ill be meeting with the anesthesiologist on the 17th (7 am) to have blood drawn, consult, signing of papers, etc.   and then on the 25th...i am FINALLY getting my band! ive been working toward this goal since Nov 2008. im so happy. a little nervous since it seems its coming up so quickly but i am ready!   as of right now, im on the pre-op diet for 2 weeks. itll be a rough 2 weeks but well worth it!!:confused:

harliquinn

harliquinn

 

why staying off the scale might be best for my sanity and motivation...

ive gotten into the bad habit of hoping on the scale every morning. after losing 11 pounds between monday and wednesday, i was thrilled. on thursday i hopped on the scale only to have it tell me that i GAINED a pound! and that little bit of news resulted in a terrible day and a terrible mood. since then, despite counting calories and exercising, the scale wont budge from that cursed number!   ...i think the scale may have sentience. and it may be trying to drive me mad.

harliquinn

harliquinn

 

WHAT!? youve GOTTA be kidding....

i called my bariatric coordinator and told her that i cant eat solid protein. even now, i can only sometimes get down tuna salad and cottage cheese. thats the most solid protein i can eat. vegetables are a HUGE no-no. they wont go down. no matter how long they are steamed. and today, even pureed chili wasnt going down.   long story short, my band is too tight and i need a partial unfill. she passed the message to my surgeon and then called me back. they REFUSE to take anything out of my band. they refuse to see me until May 13th. they want me to go back on liquids for a week and then see how im doing.   *cries* this is SO frustrating! they also had the nerve to tell me that im making poor food choices. HOW am i supposed to eat solid protein if solid protein gets stuck every time i eat it!? the best i can do is tuna salad and cottage cheese! nothing else will go down! i could understand getting lectured if i was eating chocolate and gummy bears...but this? how ridiculous!   i called the patient advocate on base (military) and theyre going to try and get me a second opinion.   arent overly tight bands more prone to slippage? im scared.

harliquinn

harliquinn

 

what the HELL

jello is on my doctors list of suggested foods for this whole post-op liquid stage. and even eating pea sized bites and squishing it around in my mouth until its in several hundred tiny pieces....doesnt cut it. it gets stuck. it hurts. and then after several minutes, it goes down. you know what? JELLO AINT WORTH IT. this is absolutely ridiculous. and painful.   im really starting to think that the swelling will never go down. i feel like ill be stuck with a super tight band forever and ill only ever be able to have liquids for the rest of my life. my doctor wants me to start mushies in 4 days. YEAH I DONT THINK THATS GONNA WORK OUT REAL WELL.     sorry. i just need to rant. im upset. and right now, i hate my life and especially my surgeon.

harliquinn

harliquinn

 

what is your bands name?

ive heard some people say that they named their band. my band is my good friend and all good friends should have names, i think.   have any of you named your bands? if so, what did you name it and why?

harliquinn

harliquinn

 

this day is going all wrong...

this has been a rough day. the surgery clinic called, not to ask me if i wanted or needed a fill this month but to TELL me that i have a fill appointment this month that i need to attend. nevermind the fact that my last fill was less than 2 weeks ago and that im STILL not technically allowed back on solids yet! why my surgeon insists on being such a bully and insists on a week of liquids and a week of mushies after every fill, ill never know. :bored: but im tired of being bullied and pushed around by him! ive been eating right, counting calories, and exercising DAILY and he still gives me hell. :smile2:   and then our last pet rat (who was 3 years old) had to be euthanized tonight due to having a large mass on her belly and her quality of life was going downhill.:wink:   since i had so few calories all day (65 for breakfast and about 100 for lunch), i had half a cheese steak for dinner. and the stupid cheese steak place managed to completely muck up my order and it tasted awful.   i might take a walk later tonight, i dont really know. this has been a really upsetting day and i just want to crawl into bed.:eek:

harliquinn

harliquinn

 

thank you

thank you so much to the people who comment here in my blog. i really appreciate your insight and soothing words as well as recipes. :thumbdown: im so glad that there are so many wonderful, friendly, supportive people here.:closedeyes:   you are all fantastic. we can kick butt on this journey together!:tt1:

harliquinn

harliquinn

 

surgery tomorrow...scared to death!

well, its official!   im being banded tomorrow morning. ill be excited once its over im sure, but right now im a huge bundle of nerves and im scared to death! what if i have some sort of undiagnosed heart problem and something happens during anesthesia?:cursing:   is it normal to feel like this? i definitely dont have doubts about getting my band but the surgery itself scares me. :rolleyes2:

harliquinn

harliquinn

 

so very thirsty!

dinner took 37 minutes to eat. it was 2 scrambled eggs. definitely feeling some restriction. i think ill hit my sweet spot at my next fill....which is next month.     it is REALLY hard not to drink while eating and waiting an hour for a drink is HELL!   so thirsty...

harliquinn

harliquinn

 

scale victory and non-scale victory!

when i had my fill on tuesday i was 277. im down to 265! woohoo!   AND when i put on my jeans today, they were slipping off my hips! i actually need to buy a belt! this is an AWESOME problem to have!!!   :thumbup::smile::thumbup:

harliquinn

harliquinn

 

rice is evil.

i had shrimp and rice for dinner. the shrimp went down fine., the rice did too. until the last bite, which promptly got stuck. :thumbup:   an hour of extreme discomfort later, im finally unstuck.   good lord. ill be avoiding rice forever i think.

harliquinn

harliquinn

 

randomness...2 weeks post-op

i will be meeting with my surgeon on friday. looking forward to that. maybe he will pull off these steri-strips!   tuna, turkey and gravy, and mashed potatoes are all that ive been eating his week. yummy tho! im going to try scrambled eggs for lunch tomorrow!   my husband says he can definitely tell im losing weight from the belly region. it makes me happy to hear but i wish i could see it.   anyway, im off to bed. just wanted to update so people know im still alive.

harliquinn

harliquinn

 

questions about mushies!

my doc cleared me for mushies and im having difficulties!   super finely mashed tuna salad is tough to get down, i have to eat it in pea sized bites. mashed potatoes go down alright for the most part. im scared to try pudding. pureed turkey got stuck. that was awful! after several minutes it went down but that was scary.   is this normal? am i doing something wrong? im scared to try scrambled eggs. and im supposed to be eating solids in less than a week!:thumbup:

harliquinn

harliquinn

 

one week to go!

i know its only a few pounds but i swear i can see a difference. ive easily lost a couple inches off my stomach. this makes me ridiculously happy.   also, apparently my stomach was making grumbly noises for an hour before i realized i was hungry. i was like, "what the hell is that sound? ooh that doesnt sound good. OH, im hungry!" LOL! time for another protein shake i guess.

harliquinn

harliquinn

 

One month!

it has officially been one month since i got my band. <3 already its my best friend. even tho i dont have restriction yet, its teaching me how to eat properly. tiny bites, chewing well, eating slowly.   i hope my band will be with me for years to come.

harliquinn

harliquinn

 

Omg is this restriction?!

i had a fill on the 2nd. total of 4ccs in a 10 cc band.   i was just eating mashed potatoes, nice and slow. was about to take another bite when i realize that i could eat it...or i could leave it because i actually feel FULL.   i left it. :thumbup:   this is a first! im so happy!!!

harliquinn

harliquinn

 

oh...by the way....

im 7 days post op. i lost 16 pounds on the 2 week pre-op diet and lost another 7 pounds in the week since surgery. im down 23 pounds total. gas pains are gone, only slightly sore when bending or being active.   i feel great! :tt1:

harliquinn

harliquinn

 

oh how i love those mushies!

so i officially started a week of mushy foods today. half cup of oatmeal for breakfast. 1/4 cup Egg Beaters with cheddar cheese and 1/2 cup low fat cottage cheese for lunch. still have no idea what im going to for dinner! could tuna be considered a mushy food? does it have to be mixed with mayo or something or can it be eaten plain and considered a mushy food?   its such a weird feeling to feel full on such a small amount of food! weird but GOOD!:smile:

harliquinn

harliquinn

 

not a good day. :(

i had to stop taking the Oxycodone that was given to me by my surgeon because im itching like crazy and breaking out in red rashes. this is an allergic side effect of the drug but thankfully not a severe one.   and since i went all night and morning without pain meds, im in a lot of pain. my port area hurts the most but a couple other parts of my abdomen are sore as well. sitting up on my own and laying down on my own need to be done VERY slowly or else BAM! pain city.   feeling very down. depressed. upset. hating my life.   my dog just slammed her paw into my side. she hit an incision, causing a sharp jab of pain. shes not a small dog, shes a boxer. thanks, dog. :closedeyes:   im going back to bed until tomorrow.:tt1:

harliquinn

harliquinn

 

my 2 best tools are....

my band (obviously) and my Pokewalker!   yes, im talking about Pokemon. HeartGold and SoulSilver (for my Nintendo DS Lite) came with a Pokewalker....which is a pedometer. you can transfer a pokemon from your game into the Pokewalker and then walk around with it. each step you take gets counted and earns you points, levels for your pokemon and enough points unlocks new areas in the Pokewalker.   never before has walking been so fun! it hardly seems like exercise when you able to level your pokemon at the same time! heheh yeah im kind of a geek!

harliquinn

harliquinn

 

long overdue update (MUCH drama)

shortly after my last blog post, i ended up going in to have some of my fill removed. it helped for a short time. in june when my "girly time" arrived, my band ended up getting so tight that i was forced to go to the ER, was admitted and had my band fully emptied the following morning since i couldnt even swallow water.:thumbup:   my band has been completely empty since then.   i had a small fill yesterday (.6cc) and will be getting very small fills, about once a month, until i am in a good place with my band.   i wish my surgeon listened to me. he really doesnt and it has lead to a lot of frustration and trouble that could otherwise have easily been avoided.   anyway, after a fill, he insists on liquids for a week and then mushies for a week. kind of extreme, in my opinion but im sticking with it.   ive started keeping a food and exercise journal so i can keep track of my calories, eating habits and exercise. so far, so good!:tt2:

harliquinn

harliquinn

 

liver herniation

im a bit concerned that i may have a liver herniation or something similar. one spot an inch or two above an incision, is very tender, swollen (not red), and quite painful. its only painful when i bend, laugh, cough, sneeze, move too quickly or touch it. when it *does* hurt, id rate the pain a 6 or a 7. when i lay down and press on the area, theres no pain.   i called my surgeon to see if i should come in or something and was told it was only the stitches inside healing. um. im not sure i believe that....   so i asked if there was any chance of it being a hernia or something and get this...   ...I GOT LAUGHED AT and told there was NO CHANCE of it being a hernia. well....correct me if im wrong, but after surgery penetrating the muscle wall, a hernia is indeed possible.   im so upset right now. im in a fair amount of pain that my liquid oxycodone isnt even touching. my surgeon had a free slot this afternoon to see me but would rather i wait until our appointment on friday. how hard is it for him to just check this spot and put my mind at ease so im not stressed and worried sick all week?   i just want to curl up in bed and cry.:thumbup:

harliquinn

harliquinn

 

keeping track of fills.

previously i was way too tight and ended up in the ER for a complete unfill.   one month ago, we started my fills all over again and started slowly with .6 cc. yesterday i got an additional 1 cc. so right now i have a grand total of 1.6 ccs in a 10 cc band. and thats fine by me since i need to take things slowly.

harliquinn

harliquinn

 

is this normal???

im 4 and a half weeks post op. i havent lost any weight in at least 3 weeks. i can eat pretty much anything (tomato is problematic.)   is it normal to stop losing weight so early on? will a fill help this?   it seems like once i started mushies and then solids, the weight stopped coming off. :thumbup:

harliquinn

harliquinn

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