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Nibblers Anonymous

Today marks week 1 Banded. This time last week I was going down for the count, so to speak, and being wheeled in for the surgery.   I would like to say it's been a great week and I've not had any problems, but since I was back to work on MONDAY that would be a lie. I've been worn out, no energy by the time I get home and sleep through most of the evening, so walking has been at a minimum other than around my office and house, BUT I think the not walking was more because of all of the soreness, which I had in abundance - there was a good bit of scar tissue to go through from some previous surgeries, so....   Anyway, no more whining.   The bloating is finally starting to dissipate - the gas is finally going away. YAY!   I have managed to have only one "cheat" through this whole week. Well, sort of. I was craving something meaty to chew. It was driving me crazy. So (DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME, KIDS) I chopped up a Slim Jim and chewed each piece just enough to get the flavor out of it, then discarded it instead of swallowing. IT WAS AWESOME. OK. I know that was bad, but it made the craving go away, and I was much better after.   Here are some things I learned this week.   I absolutely hate watermelon jello. But I like strawberry. I'll be glad when jello is not the big item on my food list.   Canned chicken broth makes me queasy. Bouillon cubes are ok but not much better.   Wonton soup broth tastes like I think dirty dishwater would taste.   A bowl of strained hot & sour soup is the most awesome thing on the planet right now. I have always said that hot & sour soup was the nectar of the gods - the cureall for what ails you. It even cured my craving for chewing beef, strangely enough. I think it was the salt. Who knows.   The BIG NEGATIVE I learned about myself. I am a Nibbler. Not like, at my desk, 24/7 sort of thing. Even worse. I'm a Cooking Nibbler.   I haven't been in the kitchen much this week, but I did cook one evening, and made cornbread. Once it was out of the oven and had cooled enough to handle, I sliced it and buttered every slice, as I always do, so the butter melts instead of just sitting there.   So... the next thing I know my brain is on high alert. I hear Nuclear Meltdown sirens blaring in my head. My brain and my body are having a conversation something like this:   Brain: Was that cornbread?   Mouth: Yep, and it was goooooooooood.   Brain: No. Bad. Very bad. Sips not chewing! What did she just do to us!?   Mouth: Shut up. It was good. And Teeth chewed it really, really small. Really.   Brain: You imbecile. Stomach is in recovery! She can't handle cornbread! We're doomed! What if she sends it back?   Mouth: I'm not taking it back. She'd better hold on to it.   Brain: Stomach! Stomach! Red alert. Cornbread coming your way!   Stomach: MMMMMmmm CORNBREAD.   Brain: I am surrounded by morons.   Anyway, I didn't even realize I had put the small crumb into my mouth, until I actually swallowed it, and then I was in panic mode. I have managed not to throw up, or anything, and I really didn't want to start now.   Soo... now I'm putting together a jar of "goods" to keep on the counter while I'm cooking that I can stick in my mouth that will deter me from "tasting" and "nibbling".   I realize that later, it won't be such a bad thing about swallowing the cornbread... but just imagine how many calories I've ingested unwittingly, sabotaging myself, all for a nibble.
bama_belle

bama_belle

1
 

First Consultation

So I finally met Dr. Stahl. The folks in his office were all very nice. They weighed me (266.5 - down 2.5 from April 1 - YAY!:thumbup:), got my height 5' 1 3/4", took my picture and side profile :thumbs_up: and then I waited....   He examined, asked me some questions about my health history (started with the PCOS at 16 and ended with me in his office), then asked me what I was expecting from the surgery. I was honest with him, point blank, that my biggest concern is my health. I don't want to be 115. I don't even want to be 120. If I could get to 140 pounds, I'd be a happy woman. Really!   He said I'm a prime candidate for the surgery, though he did try to convince me that gastric bypass would be more successful for me. I told him I appreciated his advice and opinion, but it was the band or nothing, that I was not willing to live the next 40 years the way my step-mother is living hers after having had the gastric bypass. I know, not everyone has the same problems she's had, but... I'm just not willing to take the chance.   So... they said their report to the insurance company would go out by Friday, and they said Tricare is usually pretty quick to send an answer back, and I should know something in less than 3 weeks if there are no snags.   Can't we just get it over with tomorrow??????
bama_belle

bama_belle

1
 

Banded

It's finally done.   As of 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, May 29, 2008, I joined the many who have been banded. They woke me at around 3:00 p.m. when they took me to a room. I was made to stay overnight since I have sleep apnea, but I had my CPAP with me at the hospital and all went well.   I was up and going to the bathroom by about 4:00, and by 10:00 on Friday I was on my way home.   I'm sore today, but I think it's more from the gas from the surgery than anything, and if I could finally get rid of all of that I'd be great.   I've been up and down all day, and every time I go to the bathroom I make myself take a lap all the way around the interior of the house before I sit down again.   I'm on liquid Loritab for the pain, but I'm only taking it about every 6 hours, and at the lowest possible dose. I hate taking anything that knocks me out, and this stuff definitely does the trick.   I've taken in plenty of liquids, mostly cold stuff, and some jell-o. I also had a sugar free fudgesicle this afternoon. That's not exactly on my list, but my throat was super sore and that's the only thing that even sounded good. I ate about half of it, so as not to push things, and didn't have any problems, so that's a good thing.   I tried drinking a little chicken broth, but that seemed to upset my tummy a bit, so I don't think I'm going to try that again just yet. I'm not doing anything that's going to make me throw up. Heck, burping hurts bad enough. I can't even imagine vomiting!   I'm so relieved this is finally over. I'm on my way.   Pre-op weight was 267.2.   My first mini goal - 250.   I'm going to stick with mini goals. The big picture will come along soon enough.
bama_belle

bama_belle

1
 

Driving Miss Crazy

I was told no driving for a week.   BAH! I have been chauffered by my daughter this whole week. I love her, but I think I will be glad when I can drive myself again, and I know she'll be glad. LOL   This morning I actually felt good when I got up. The bloating seems to be going away, and there's very little pain... mostly around my port area.   But tonight, after work, I'm crawling in another car someone else is driving and heading north to Tennessee for a family reunion with a branch of my grandmother's family that I've never even met before.   I've been doing genealogical research for over a year now on my family, and discovered a part of her family she's never met. She's 83, so we are all determined that she's going to this annual reunion because who knows when this may be the last time she can go, right? So.... mother, granny, step-dad and I are taking the 2.5 hr trek to Jasper, Tennessee to visit kin. I am excited. REALLY. Honest. I just hate riding with my mother. She's a maniac behind the wheel, and step-dad is pretty close behind her. :thumbup:   The big thing I'm wondering about is what the heck I'm going to do about food - or the lack of it. I've bought some Boost shakes to throw in the cooler, so I'll have something to sustain me, but there's going to be so much food... food... BAH!   Those folks are going to think I'm crazy when I get up and walk around the park every time I look at the food table! :crying: Luckily, I have this wierd obsession about eating food when I don't know who cooked it (restaurants don't count - just regular folk) so maybe that will help that I don't know ANY of them.   Today is Friday. The sun is shining. (OK so it's going to be blistering hot, but this is my fantasy, OK?) And today, I am thinner. You can't see it yet, but I am. I can feel it.   Happy Friday, all.
bama_belle

bama_belle

1
 

Unidentified pureed objects....

So today was my first post-op visit. I'm down 12 pounds. I know that's not as much as some have lost their first two weeks, but for me - THAT'S AWESOME. I've dropped from 267 to 255.   I've learned a few things:   1. One really can get tired of the taste of chocolate. I would never have figured it, but it has happened. 2. I don't like puree. It doesn't matter what it is. I don't like it. So... I'll have mashed taters, and the like, but ah... puree is just not going to happen and I will have to deal and find other ways to feed myself. 3. Jealous coworkers suck. I mean, it's not my fault that she'd rather remain where she's at and just whine about it rather than get off her ample rear end and do something about her problems like I have begun to do. 4. Walking helps. Last night, for instance, I wanted food so badly. Real food. Like the family was eating. I got mad. Then I put my shoes on and walked until I was no longer craving and hungry, and too tired to be mad. It felt good. It felt so good I took the steps up to the doctor's office this moring. 5. I need new walking shoes. Mine are apparently worn out.   I was released by the dr. today to start running calls again (volunteer ff/first responder), and I can start swimming again. :biggrin:   Now, if I could just figure out how to puree a ribeye without ruining the taste........
bama_belle

bama_belle

1
 

Crying in the Doctor's Office

Well, let's see. Yeah, I did. I bawled like a baby. No matter how hard I tried to keep the calories down and do what I was supposed to do, I still gained weight. I don't see how. But I did.   On Friday, October 27, I found out I weigh 280 pounds. That's the heaviest I've ever been in my life. I don't want it to become 290 or 300 or... more.     I am also diabetic, have sleep apnea, bad knees, bad ankles, bursitis in both shoulders, chronic bronchitis, depression, absolutely NO energy for exercise.. shall I go on????   Dr. S., my endocrinologist, has referred me to who she thinks is the best to do the surgery.   I've printed out the paperwork so I can fill it out and send it in. I've called the insurance companies (I actually have two, strangely enough) to find out their take on this.   :angry UHC, of course, states that my policy does not cover WLS. Period. WHATever. I will fight it, of course.   My second insurance, which is from my DH being retired military, will cover at least 80% of the cost, if not more.:clap2: We'll see.   So at least I know I have one hurdle partially done.   Funny thing, when I finally decided I wanted to do this, I want it over NOW. Is that normal? I guess it is for me. I'm not a patient soul.
bama_belle

bama_belle

3
 

Does it never end???

Wednesday evening I wound up in the Chiro's office with a compacted C4 vertebrae and pinched nerve in my neck and have NO idea how the hell I managed all that.   Guess it was the sumo wrestling and bungee jumping from the week before? :biggrin1: NOT.   Anyway, fast forward to Friday, I've been through 4 Chiro visits and been flat on my back for the past day and a half... I feel better and finally returned to work this morning, but dang it's been a rough week.   On top of that, yesterday I started new diabetes meds. I've been taken off Avandaryl, which apparently has contributed to some of my weight gain in the past few months. I'm now on a new medication called Byetta, which you have to inject, but the good news is there are very few lows or crashes with this medication, and in the clinical trials, most people lost weight! :clap2: :clap2: :clap2: :clap2: :clap2: :clap2: :clap2:   It would be nice if this were finally the answer to me losing weight and I wound up not having to have the surgery.   Who knows. At least I know I still have the option.
bama_belle

bama_belle

3
 

A light at the end of the tunnel

So, I haven't posted to this blog in a year. I got mad because United Health Care turned me down. I fell into a funk, and pretty much just stopped trying.   And then something wonderful happened. I found out that I am eligible for Tricare Prime due to my husband being retired Army, and guess what. They pay for weight loss surgery! We already had Tricare Standard, but they would only pay a certain percentage and it was harder to get approved, so I bit the bullet, wrote the $115 per quarter check to get it started and enrolled.   It took 30 days to get the insurance started. So that was March 1. I called them and asked exactly what I had to do to get them to pay for the referral visits, etc. to my preferred surgeon, and they gave me all the info. Of course, this means I have to swap primary care physicians, but since I haven't been happy with my current one recently, that was not a big deal.   The PCM I went to see listened to me, asked all the right questions and spent time talking with me about the decision to have the surgery. And he wrote the letter. :w00t: I will be continuing to see Dr M. I think this was a good decision.   So, on April 1 I have an appointment with Dr. E. Stahl, who is my endocrinologist/diabetes specialist. She was not happy that it had been so long since I last saw her, but she was pleased that I had managed to stay the same weight for a whole year. 269. I didn't lose anything, but I didn't GAIN anything. That's the important part.   When she found out that I had jumped through all the hoops and had the OK from the insurance company to go see Dr. R. Stahl, her husband and my chosen surgeon, and had not heard from his office yet, she obviously made a phone call because that afternoon his office called and I have a consultation appointment on Monday! :thumbup:   I'm so excited I can't stand it. I've reread all the LapBand info a dozen times, I've literally memorized the brochure, which is good and not good, but Dr. E S thinks I'm an excellent candidate for the surgery. Hopefully, Dr. R. Stahl will, too!
bama_belle

bama_belle

1
 

Day Two On My Way

So, the right knee is killing me this morning. I don't know why this of all mornings. It's not that cold outside. It's not raining. I haven't done anything out of the ordinary. Even so, it was all I could do to make it up the stairs to my office this morning.:crutch: For those that don't know me, in high school I was running laps around the football field at track practice, stepped in a gopher hole (I live in the sticks!) and managed to all but destroy my knee. Track was no more. Hell, if Freddy Kruger were chasing me right now, I'd just have to turn around and wait for him. :drum:   I told G. this morning about my decision to have the surgery. G. is my boss. He's a butthead but I like him. Anyway, I knew he would be against it for all the obvious reasons, but ultimately, I wasn't asking for his approval, I was simply giving him advance warning that sometime in the near future I was going to be out for a while. He did ask me to wait until after the first of the year since we have an ISO audit coming up and I said I would, but I'm not happy about that decision either, because when I take time off from work after the first of the year, the company is going to force me to use up any vacation and personal time I have before they would pay short-term disability, which I think is unfair and ought to be illegal, but whatever.   I'll deal with that hurdle when the time comes.   Fasting BS this morning was 234. Not good. I know its the stress. Oh well, all of that will be better soon.
bama_belle

bama_belle

1
 

Scheduled

Well, today - just a little while ago - I found out my scheduled surgery date.   May 29. My life will change forever on that date.   Don't get me wrong. I know this is no miracle cure. I know that it is going to take a LOT of hard work on my part to get where I need to be, but.....   This surgery is going to give me the opportunity to live to see my great-grandchildren. Heck, I don't even have grandchildren yet. But I plan to live to be 90 and be one of those eccentric little old ladies you see in the garden in August in long sleeves and a big floppy hat to keep out the sun.   I plan to be one of those little old ladies that people whisper about how many presidents I've lived through.   May 29th. It won't get here fast enough!
bama_belle

bama_belle

1
 

Journaling

One good thing I have done this past week is that I've started writing down everything in one note book.   I am not keeping a separate blood sugar log, etc., etc..... I'll quit before I get started good.   One day - one page so far. Everything that goes in my mouth - food, liquid, medicines, everything, gets written down.   Right now, BMs are even being written down.   This WILL be a good thing, though I hate doing stuff like this. Just have to remember to keep doing it every day. :crying:
bama_belle

bama_belle

1
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