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Post op - 14 days

I am pleasantly surprised to report that I am almost completely back to normal. I go back to work on Monday, and I'm really glad I took two weeks of STD to recover. I mostly slept and walked, but I think my body needed the break from the stress. Driving is still a little uncomfortable, but unfortunately I have a 45 minute commute. Hopefully it's not too bad.   My incisions, with the except of the port one, are almost impossible to find. The port incision is the only one that still tingles occasionally. I'll post pics later this weekend. My boyfriend and I took a weekend trip to Ocean City, MD. I'm still on mushies, but l count crab legs and crab cakes as mushies! This is definitely the hardest phase for me, b/c I can rationalize that everything is a mushie (if I chew it enough). I'm scared of screwing up my surgeon's hard work though, so I'm not taking too much leeway.   Question: Any lunch suggestions? I'm going to end up with mercury poisoning b/c I eat tuna, salmon, shrimp or some kind of seafood almost everyday. It's soft, and easily mushed with light mayo or italian dressing.
Janiece

Janiece

5
 

First post op appt - soft foods!

I had the first post-op appointment this morning and I was moved up to soft foods 5 days early! Thank God. I was SO hungry the last few days. I also received some pics from the surgery that I will post later today. Dr Pinnar reviewed the pictures with me and I'm so hungry b/c there's a large gap between my stomach and the band since it's empty and I don't have much fat around my stomach. He said my first fill in a few weeks will probably be pretty aggressive to help close that gap.   I'm off to search for the best refried beans around to have for lunch! :biggrin:
Janiece

Janiece

2
 

Post op - Day 5

I started writing this 2 days ago. I am suck a slacker!   I can't believe I had LAP-BAND® surgery 5 days ago!   Hospital: I had my surgery at the Reston Hospital. The pre-op staff was great. They kept me mildly entertained and tried to tell jokes to keep my mind off everything. My boyfriend almost fainted when they were trying to find a vein for the IV. It took them 3 tries but they finally found one (Apparently I have small, rolling veins...). After the anesthesiologist and Dr Robert Pinnar came in and left. I had about 10 minutes alone with my boyfriend before they wheeled me out. Those were the worst 10 minutes ever! Tears just started leaking out of my eyes. They wheeled me into the operating room, asked me to move over to the other bed, and I don't remember anything after that.   I am disappointed with the post op nurses b/c no one seemed to know anything! They'd bring me some pills, I'd ask if this pill was too big and she'd be like "hold on, I'll go ask". Then she'd come back an hour later for her rounds, I'd ask if I could take the pill, and she'd just say 'yes' with no further explanation. I don't think any of them were familiar with bariatric surgery. In the morning, I waiting around for 3 hours for some Dr to come and discharge me. Eventually a nurse came in and said I could be discharged. I told her that the Dr never even came in and saw me! She just said to sign the papers, take my prescriptions and I could leave. So basically I was waiting around for nothing.   Pain: From some of the stories here, I was expecting to be in excruciating pain. I guess I am lucky. I really haven't been in any pain. :confused: When I woke up in post-op, my incisions were stinging but that's the most pain I've felt. Since then it's been mostly discomfort and pressure under my diaphragm and gas. I spent the first night in the hospital and asked for the IV pain meds only when I was trying to go to sleep b/c I just couldn't seem to get comfortable. I took the percocets the next two nights when I came home. I probably didn't need them, but get into bed and trying to shove pillows around and get comfortable was a little painful.   Scars: I think my scars are going to completely disappear. They look great already. one weird thing: my port is in the middle above my belly button! I thought everyone had theirs to the right btwn their waist and bust? I'll ask my Dr about this at my post op appt. I'll put pictures in an album.   Overall, I'm mostly just tired. I've slept 10 hour nights for the last few days. I'm a little bored, but I'm glad I took off two weeks from work. There's no way I could make the 45 minute commute and my temper is still a little short b/c I want more than crappy protein shakes!
Janiece

Janiece

2
 

Pre-op Day 3 - a little emotional, but not hungry

Surprisingly, I haven't really been that hungry since starting the high protein, low carb pre-op diet. Don't get me wrong, I would totally kill for a cheeseburger right now, but I'm not hungry. . .I just want a cheeseburger.   My emotions are running wild right now. I'm glad I had the weekend to get used to the diet. I have a short fuse, and I've randomly bust into tears a few times. I went to the Trader Joe's with my boyfriend b/c I wanted to pick up those papaya/pineapple tablets and see what soups they had. They had a few sample carts cooking and it smelled really good in there. I was only mildly disappointed that I couldn't try them. Then some lady next to me on the soup aisle was talking to her son about how good the sweet potato bisque was. (I can't have that one b/c it has like 28g of carbs per serving). I don't know what happened, but all of a sudden my eyes welled up and I almost burst into tears in the middle of the store. I told my boyfriend I had to leave, paid for my stuff, and bawled in the car for 15 minutes until he finished shopping. I've read a few other posts about mourning the loss of food and I think that is definitely a part of it, but I think one of the biggest reasons I'm so emotional is b/c I don't have anyone to talk to about everything I'm feeling regarding the band: the surgery, life afterwards, being embarrassed that I even need a band, etc. My boyfriend is the only person who knows I'm getting the surgery (for now). I love him for trying to stay interested in what I'm doing, but he's never weighed more than 150lbs and has no idea what I'm going through.   Anyway, I only have to make it through 4 more days. I'm really nervous about the actual surgery (I'm just a nervous person. I worry about everything!) so I'm just trying to keep it together and wrap up everything at work over the next 4 days. :smile: No work for two weeks! At least I have that to look forward to!
Janiece

Janiece

4
 

Pre-preop diet post

I am such a slacker with updating. I'm so busy trying to get everything taken care of before surgery, but I know I'm going to regret not being able to look back on these posts!   My surgery date is 11/6.:smile2: I'm still kind of in shock that I'm getting banded in 10 days! I originally started looking into the band last year, so it's crazy to me that I'm actually going to get one now.   I had my preop appointment yesterday. I told Sue I was a nervous wreck even though the surgery is so far away, but she said that she would be worried if I wasn't worried. That makes me feel a lot better.   I found out that Aetna will pay for an overnight stay. I'm not sure how I feel about that. I understand it's better to be there in case something happens but I would much rather be miserable at home. At least at the Reston Hospital all the rooms are private. I love my boyfriend so much.:boink: He's going to spend the night with me there b/c he knows I'm upset that I have to stay. We only live 5 minutes from the hospital and it's kinda silly for him to stay, but I appreciate it!   I've been buying supplies like a fiend. I've decided that none of the protein shakes are good so I'm going to stop wasting my money. They're all either milky, chalky, smelly, or something. I only have a 7 day preop diet, so I'll just drink what I have and deal with it. The only thing left on my list to buy (for the moment) is pajamas. I am SO not wandering around the hospital with my butt hanging out of that gown!   I'm most confused about the financing part. I called Aetna, and she said my out-of-network out-of-pocket maximum is $2000 + $300 deductible. I don't think insurance covers the $2500 program fee from my doctor's office though. So I took out a Care Credit loan for $5000 and hopefully that will be enough. I have yet to see a bill from anyone but if I show up for surgery and everyone is expecting a check I want to be prepared!   I'm also confused about the short-term disability at work. Does anyone else work for Booz Allen Hamilton? I know they cover it, but the process is a little weird. I plan to take 2 weeks off b/c the environment is very dramatic on client-site and if I'm grumpy, hungry and in pain, I won't be able to grin and bear it as well as I do now!   I start the preop diet on 11/30 which is messed up b/c I can't have any Halloween candy (but my boyfriend and I already ate a couple bags we bought a few weeks ago, so I guess I'll be fine. :wink:). I'm not too concerned about the liquids, I'll do what I have to do to make it easy on my surgeon, but I am worried about the headaches. I've done other diets and the drastic change in calories gives me ridiculous headaches. I think Sue said tylenol was the only pain killer I can take. I'll call and confirm that.   It's lunchtime so I need to figure out what to go get. I know this sounds weird, but it's almost a relief that I'm going to be on liquids. It's so exhausting for me to decide where to go, what to get, what size, etc everyday for lunch and try to eat healthily, then hate myself when I just end up getting a burger and fries.
Janiece

Janiece

3
 

New doc, closer to a date

I switched to the other Dr Pinnar (Robert) in Reston, VA. I have nothing against Dr Eric Pinnar, I just feel more comfortable with Robert Pinnar and his staff. They seem more down to earth and like a family. Anyway, after doing the 3 month pre-surgical program, Sue called and said there was a problem. Aetna said they wanted me to see the doctor every week during the 3 months, not just once a month, which meant I'd have to start all over. Sue said she'd call the Aetna person back and see what was going on. Today she left a message with my insurance approval number! I don't know what happened and I don't care. I called back to set a date but she's out until Monday. That's kinda bogus that no one else can do scheduling. I'm counting down the minutes until I can call and set a date. Very, very exciting!:biggrin:
Janiece

Janiece

2
 

Booo for sleep studies!!!

In my post yesterday, I was more than a little upset that I had to do a sleep study. I did it last night, and it really wasn't all that bad. The only problem is I never sleep on my back and I was SO uncomfortable. Without meaning to, I kept rolling to my side (luckily not my stomach) in my sleep, and the sleep tech had to keep coming in and waking me up to roll me onto my back and reposition the sensors. I only slept about 4 hours the whole night. Oh, and the goo. There is SO much of that conducting goo in my hair! So don't plan to go to work right after a sleep study!!   In the morning, the sleep doctor came in and we went through the responses. It took WAAAAY too long. I just wanted to know whether or not I was cleared for surgery. He went through the night in 5 minute increments which took forever. . . especially since most of it I was awake and there wasn't much to look at. Anyway, he said that I had very mild sleep apnea and that I could choose to have treatment or move forward without it. I asked him a bunch of questions b/c I didn't want brush this off. Suffocating during your sleep is serious!! Eventually we decided that since I don't sleep on my back and since I have a recliner I can use after surgery in case I can't lay on my side in bed, then it would be okay if I forgo treatment!!! :thumbup: I'm completely cleared for surgery now! I still have to get bloodwork done, but I have no reason to believe anything will be wrong. My date is set for January 16th at 11:30am!!!   I thought I would be happier after getting my date. . .maybe I'm just sleep deprived. I think Jan 16th seems so far away that it doesn't seem real yet. Well, since I'm selfpay, I need to go narrow down my loan list and fill out an applications.
Janiece

Janiece

5
 

Bogus test results

So, on Friday I had the 3 hour psych exam, barium swallow and nutrition class. The worst part was the barium test, but it wasn't that bad. The two liquids I had to chug were pretty gross. I felt kinda nauseous afterwards since you're not allowed to eat breakfast before the exam.   Yesterday, I had the psych consult, the physical activity eval and the sleep discussion. At the psych consult, she reviewed the results of the test, gave me a cool food journal, and we talked about my feelings about the surgery. She set my weightloss goal at 140lbs, so that means I should weight 154lbs. She also went over all the chemical changes that would be happening in my brain during the 2 weeks before and 4 weeks after surgery due to the liquid and mushy diet calorie restriction and my body detoxing off of carbs, sugar, etc. At the end, she said that I was approved for surgery and could go set my date. :thumbup:I was SO excited. I went back to the receptionist, and she reminded me that I had the sleep eval in 5 minutes. I decided to wait to set the date after that meeting.   When I was in the sleep Dr's office, he looked down my throat, listened to me breathe, and showed a powerpoint on why sleep apnea is bad. Since I'm not tired during the day, I don't take naps, and I have no family history, I thought I was good to go. Well, the Dr said he wanted me to do a sleep study before he signed off on my surgery because I'm black and obese. According to him, black people have a higher risk and 90% of obese people have it. So basically, 9 out 10 people that walk in his door (b/c he works at the lapband office) he gets to charge for a sleep study. . . This seems like a conflict of interests to me, but I'm a little biased against him now.:blushing: He explained that during the sleep study, I needed to sleep on my back b/c that's where sleep apnea mostly occurs. I told him that I never sleep on my back because my boobs would suffocate me, so why did I need to take the test to find a problem that won't occur if I don't sleep on my back? I was so upset!!!:thumbup: I was all ready to set my date, and now I have to wait to take a test that is basically a waste of money because it's testing something I don't do?? Oh, and the best part is he's not sure how much my copay will be until he submits it to my insurance company. So it can cost between $250 and $800 for this stupid test. I scheduled it for tonight because I want to get it over with so I can set my date. Hopefully, it'll go fine, but it creeps me out that people will be watching me while I sleep and I'll be forced to sleep on my back. I probably won't be able to sleep . . .then I'm not sure what he'll do.   Well, I'm going to try to go calm down. There's no point in being angry, I just need to get it over with.
Janiece

Janiece

3
 

The beginning of the End. . .(of morbid obesity)

For stat purposes: Current Weight - 292 Height - 5'6" Age - 24   So. . .I had my initial consultation today with Dr Eric Pinnar at Advanced Weight Loss Solutions in Reston, VA. :confused: I love the office staff, they're all friendly and 3 of them have been banded by Dr Pinnar, which is pretty cool. The banded staff members are open and honest about pain, complications, etc, and are very willing to answer any specific questions I have now or after I'm banded. It's one thing to have the doctor and staff tell you what you can expect. It's another to get advice from someone who actually experienced it!!! Now I have a pretty lengthy list of pre-op stuff I need to complete. My schedule so far is as follows:   Dec 5th, 2008: - Barium Swallow - 3 hr paper psych test - Group Nutrition Class   Dec 8th, 2008: - Psych Eval - Sleep discussion (hopefully I won't have to do the overnight sleep exam) - Physical Activity Evaluation   TBD: - Individual Nutrition Class - Blood work and EKG   Whew, I'm going to have a lot of explaining to do at work as to why I'm taking so much PTO. I'm not telling anyone I'm getting it done except my boyfriend and maybe my parents. . .partly because it's no one else's business, partly because I'm afraid I will fail at this too and don't want to have to explain to everyone why I'm still a lardo after getting surgery. :cool: I'm know I'm being a bit dramatic, but after trying and failing at a million different diets, its hard to wrap my mind around this being a permanent tool that will help me achieve my goals.   Since I'm paying for the band with cash money, I'm hoping I can rush through all of the tests and get it done at the end of December or beginning of January. I work for the government, and everything is slow that time of year so I can justify working from home for a week or so until I feel up to commuting to DC.   Alright, that's all for today.
Janiece

Janiece

1
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