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My Journey and battles

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Post Op, Week 5 1/2, March 26th

Wow.. has it really been that long since I have written here... DOH..   Yeah, some of it I was "busy", but to be completely honest, I was hiding.. I had plateaued and didn't want to post that fact.. Well, there, I've gone and done it..   Okay, so what's been up... Well, I'm feeling good. -0- discomfort now, scars look great. (I need to post some pics). Got my first fill even, but I'll talk about that in a sec..   Let's talk about my plateau.. Well, it has been 100% my fault. Of course the swelling has gone and I've been able to get more down.. BUT, I also am still cheating by not stopping water with my meal. I knew this was going to be the hardest part, and it is. I have at least been good about avoiding liquid calories, for the most part.. I have had a glass of wine, or two.. and a beer or two, but those are special occasions and I try to allocate those empty calories by cutting back at other times on things. I have to just keep working on the complete chewing and limiting liquid at meal time..   This can and will work, I'm just still cheating a bit..   Okay, one more not so pleasant thing to talk more about.. PBs... Still having a few of them, but like I posted before, they are 100% self induced and they don't bother me. I am still learning what works and doesn't. Again, if you follow the directions (not my strength) you should not have these issues. But if you do, it's not the end of the world.   Okay, on to the good stuff.. The scale is moving again (in the correct direction) and I am seeing some better fit in clothes. I was right at the upper edge of my pants being too tight, but now I'm almost ready to go down a size. Five more lbs should get me over that hump. I would like to bust 270 by mid-April.   Ah, my fill.. lol.. man o man.. So check this out, Amy, my wife, gets the royal treatment when she goes in for fills.. Staff fawns over her, Dr. Clark is as nice as ever. (I know all this because a fill for her was my pre-op final exam, so we were there at the same time..) She gets the topical, then the local lidocain, then careful application of the bic pen sized needle for the fill. I was in awe and couldn't look away.. kind of like a bad car wreck.. Anyway, so this is her life.. All giggles and smiles..   So I go for my first check up and first fill on Friday, March 23rd. Staff is nice, but pretty matter of fact.. of course this is the general surgery office and not the bariatric office he goes to on Monday, so they don't know me, but I digress. I go back, weigh in (I do NOT like their scale.. evil vile thing), and then wait for Dr Clark. He shows, is great as usual, but it's pretty routine stuff... I lay back on the table thinking, oh yeah, piece of cake, I know what's coming. I feel the swabbing.. cool.. next should be the tiny lidocain needle for a little topical action.. Doc grabs a nice roll of fat over the port and says "okay, little stick here"... now I'm not new to this game.. right here I know... "uh oh, something's not right", and then WHAM... he pops me directly with the bic pen looking needle.. This isn't at all the peaches and cream I was expecting.. this in fact hurts.. I try to "man up" as we say and just inquire "uh, is that the lidocain or the fill?"..   Doc's like, "oh, that hurts? usually in the scar it is numb so I just went for the fill"... of course he says this while at the same time groping around trying to find the center of the port where the needle actually does some good. "No doc, I feel it, and it isn't pleasant!" He apologizes and opts for the lidocain now, but I'm already amped up on adrenaline and none to cool. In pretty short order I'm now numbed up well enough he can continue to rooting around in my fat roll / scar tissue without my whinning. He opts to put in my first full CC of fill, which is a very odd feeling. It doesn't "hurt", but you can certainly tell something is going on deep in your gut.   I get up and drink some water for him to make sure I can swallow okay. After some more chit chat and a reminder to back down to liquids for day or two to make sure I can tolerate things, I'm off. An interesting experience, certainly not up to Amy's high standards, but hey, she's a lot better looking and arguably nicer... such is my life..   I hope I can do a better job of keeping up here, and if anyone has any questions or suggestions, feel free to PM me. I'm pretty much an open book.   Good luck all!   Mike
CP-Mike

CP-Mike

1
 

Post op Day 9 (Saturday, Feb 24)

A pretty good couple of days. I are back 100% at my desk jockey job so that's good, I suppose.   Moving around now with no regular pain, just a little at the port site, but that is very minor and not even worth medicating.   I am still unable to sleep on my left side, but no problems on my right.   I've been experimenting with different types of more solid foods, but have had a few PBs (productive burps), which is not as bad as barfing in that it’s not deep and gut wrenching.. It’s still too early, but I’m bored with soup, and want to explore my range of tolerance. I did manage to accidentally slow my loss with too many carbs one day, but that was easily fixed.
CP-Mike

CP-Mike

1
 

Post op Day 6 (Wednesday, Feb 21)

Well tomorrow is one week... WOOT!   So today I felt pretty good. 2nd day back at work and I wasn't as wiped out by 5pm. Yesterday I left about 4, I was "done" and sore.   In general things are still progressing well. Sleeping on my right side now and uninterrupted. Still get some stomach spasms, but most are short and not too painful. I did go to a work lunch today. Ordered the Baked Potato Soup and even eating slow I didn't get much down before feeling very very full.. It was nice to see the band working. (I even used water to help make sure the soup was thin enough)   I did start feeling more pronounced pain on my port site incision.. Not sure what all that is about.. I'll give it a could of days, I might have tweaked it off by twisting funny or bending over..   Oh, and Steri-Strips... arghh.. I want a numeric answer someone.. I want to know the "minimum" length of time recommended to leave them on, and then a "maximum" when more time gets you no more benefit.. I don't like these "leave em until they fall off"... that varies too much...
CP-Mike

CP-Mike

2
 

Post op Day 4 (Monday, Feb 19)

I started back work today and was able to work from home, so that helped a lot. Working from the couch (TV OFF) all day in a comfy position sure helps... Tomorrow will be back in the office and at the cube.. weeeee   I "ate" almost exclusively Atkins Shakes today and that worked fine. I did have some more very odd feelings in my gut... I think my body is still adjusting to the band and of course I am sure I still have inflamed tissues. It still ranges from just a general feeling of a big lump in my throat to real pain (4-5) that passes in about 20-30 seconds. I know some of it is me pushing some boundries too.   I ended up taking some more liquid advil (kids grape) to help with some of the inflamation I was suspecting and it seemed to help a bit.   Amy just made me a banana protein smoothy and it seems to be going down just fine in small sips. mmmmmmmm Once I'm fully healed and ready to start on proper foods I'll of course miss these liquid calories, but hey, enjoying them now...   If you are pre-op, just know that you can get through it.. I've certainly done my fair share of "what did I do" in my mind, but they are fleeting and each day gets a bit better.. It's the journey, not the moment.
CP-Mike

CP-Mike

2
 

Post Op Day 16 (March 3rd)

Wow how time flies! It's been a pretty good week. I think I'm at about 98% now. I can sleep on both sides and I only have pain a tiny bit, and usually just at the port site, and usually only when I bend over at the waist.. So basically nothing to think about.   I have had a fair # of PBs this past week, but they are 100% my fault for trying to eat a wide variety of things.. Right now I am using water and LOTS of chewing to take "regular" food and make it conform to the "mushy" stage I should be at. From time to time I catch myself not doing it right, and then it's PB time. Honestly that just highlights the bad eating habits that got me here in the first place (eating fast and not paying attention). I see it as part of the re-education process.   Still haven't tested out beer yet, but that is coming too.   All of the scars, except for the port site, are going to just fade away nicely. The port site has scared a bit, but it looks like it's going to settle down and maybe just take longer to fade. But honestly, if I get to lose 80-100 lbs, I can suffer through one small scar on the belly!!   I continue to slowly lose, but it certainly has slowed recently, but that is fine. 1-2/wk is the target, and I am still without a fill.   Cheers!
CP-Mike

CP-Mike

1
 

Oh how time flies!

Time has really gotten away on me. I suppose that is a good thing though. I've been more active and keeping busy... Let's get right to the juicy details..   Adjustments: I think I've had two since my last posting. I believe I am at 2 or 2.5cc now and I think it is about right. If I do things correctly (as in no liquid), I can't eat squat. But I usually use a little liquid, sometimes too much, but I am losing weight..   Weight: As of this morning I was at 264.5. It's progress, and I do see real differences, but it's not what it could be. I am not being as exact as I should be..   Exercise: I found something I can stick with. I started taking Karate with my son. We go twice per week and it's a pretty decent work out. It's not as much as I should do, but it's 100% more than I was doing.. And I enjoy it. I actually should maybe go 3-4 times per week, but the normal schedule is 2. Who knows, maybe I'll kick it up a notch.   Work: About the same. Enjoying it, mostly routine 9-6, M-F stuff, but occasionally hectic.   Other stuff: Not a lot to report there.. Just keeping on and watching the scale slowly more in the correct direction. I have managed to now move down a size in pants, so that's good. I also ran across some pictures of my from Thanksgiving '06.. oh CRAP I was a tubbo!!!! Good grief... These 39 lbs have really helped. I can't wait for the next 40 lbs!   That's about it for now.. I'll try to write more frequently. I am always happy to answer PMs too..   Cheers!   Mik
CP-Mike

CP-Mike

2
 

My spouse, a angel and devil all in one...

Oh man.. So Amy went out and found me some more Advil (they only make kids strength in liquid...), so I really appreciate that!   However, the devil inside of her decided tonight was the night she was going to make a fantastic dinner for her and my son..   Oh the smells!!! I was reduced to sucking on the juice of the meat dish.. lol...   She promises to remake it in a couple of weeks.
CP-Mike

CP-Mike

1
 

It's ON NOW!

Got my date, Feb 15th, 2007 at 11:00 am Central Time.   Excited now, but no doubt will be very nervous as the date nears. There is no question I am going to do it, but damn, it's still surgery... guess that's better than open heart by-pass or something in 15 years!
CP-Mike

CP-Mike

2
 

It's in!

Well I'm 27 hours post op and things are going well. Surgery was odd for me, but I made it through it. My pain management is going pretty well with just Tylenol with Codeine. I can certainly feel the band there even with no fill. I am told it can hold up to 10cc's.   It's a very weird feeling drinking a little juice and still being full an hour later, but I think that's the point right..   Well I better rest, but wanted to make a post at least.
CP-Mike

CP-Mike

1
 

Happy New Year, sort of

Well it's 2007. The year has some exciting prospects in it. The one most notable to any readers here would be a Febuary date with the LapBand doc.. Dr Clark! Very excited about that...   The only bummer is that I am sick as I have been in years! This Flu thing should be against the law.. Whadda ya mean it's a virus and can't be killed easily.. shesh man, this is the 21st century, and you want me to suffer for like 5-7 days.... argh! Okay, TamiFlu and Darvocet sound nice, thank you very much...   That was pretty much my day yesterday in the doc's office. Anyway, I am starting to feel human again and looking forward to future bikini seasons... NO, I'm not wearing them, but still..   Okay, some note worthy details..   Me: 39 year old fat white married man (every woman's dream huh) 6'0", about 300lbs (I am enjoying myself before I have to start on the pre-surgery diet)   Goals: LOL, riiight.. So the doc's office has this chart that says a 6' tall dude should be like 167 lbs! Okay first, I'm like 6' and almost 1", but second, I'M BIG BONED! No, really... hey, stop laughing.. I am.. You should see my wrists, they are enormous, and it's not from gout! I think I would look like, well death at 167.. so to heck with the doc.. Anything under 200 is "my goal"...   More importantly, I want to be able to keep up with my wife (who just got a band, and is 7 yrs younger), and my 7 yr old son.   Well that's about it for now.. I need to go take some more darvocet to ward off these darn flu induced body aches! Nasty crap...
CP-Mike

CP-Mike

1
 

Flu, Poker, Ice Storms, and Doc appointments...

Wow.. That Flu was a biotch!!!! I was down hard for 6-7 full days. It's been like a decade since I was hit that hard. Then, still recovering, I went out to Tunica MS to play in the World Series of Poker... Good time, but not something to do when sick...   I get back to Austin ready for my last pre-op doc appointment today, and what do we get, a freaking ICE STORM... thanks mother nature!   Of course the roads are icy and the doc office cancels.. weeeee.. 2 more weeks now....   Damn, where's a DQ Blizzard when you need one.. KIDDING.....   maybe....   Mike
CP-Mike

CP-Mike

2
 

Banding, my first 72 hours

Whew, what a couple of days. So the first day was a little unbelievable as I had a pretty significant surgery at 11am and was able to come home at 6pm (on a Thursday). That was cool.   Friday was a pretty decent day, not too much pain, still taking a mixture of OTC Liquid Tylenol and the prescription tylenol + codeine (half dose of each). Not a fan of codeine. On Friday it was really just a day of "bed rest" and water and apple juice. I did sneak in a little hot coco, but not much. Most of the day I felt like I had a lump in my throat but thankfully, no nausea! yay! I did drink a little too much liquid and have to spit it back up, but it wasn't like a vomit, it was more of a small push from what felt like the lower part of my throat.. odd, but not terrible, and since it was apple juice & water, the taste wasn't gross.   Saturday seems to be my tough day so far... I had decided Friday night that I wanted to go pain med free as I felt all the Tylenol was upsetting my stomach (general yuk). Through out the day on Saturday I had what I would call "muscle spasms" of the stomach/throat. It felt like my body was having to come to grips with this new thing wrapped around my stomach and learn how to work with it instead of against it. When I would be slowly drinking fluids, I could feel my stomach start to do it's work. Then it would begin to hurt (maybe a 4, on a 0-10 scale), but it would pass after say 20 seconds. Very odd feeling, not fun, but not horrible. By the end of the day I decided what might be happening was I was so swollen internally from the new band it was making my stomach mad and fighting it.. yes, not very scientific, but you get the picture. I ended up deciding to take some Liquid Motrin, which is ibuprofin and should help relieve swelling. It was my son's so it was a low dose / ml and I had to drink a lot of that nasty orange goop, but I got it down and went to sleep.   A full night of rest, on my right side part of the time even.. YAY!!!! So today, Sunday, is going pretty well. I still feel the "spasms" but they seem to be fewer and lighter in discomfort. I am trying some very thin cream of chicken soup, just a tiny bit, and very slowly.. (I know it's too soon, but I need some flavor). I've also found that the chocolate Atkins shakes are tolerable and I can survive on them as needed for a while.   Amy should be bringing back some adult strength Liquid Ibuprofin, so that hopefully will bring some more relief.   So far, the experience, while not a walk in the park, is one that I would make again. I am cautiously optimistic that the worst has past. (knocking on wood)
CP-Mike

CP-Mike

1
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