Today we had a big cook out at work. I spent most of the morning help set up for it and then manned the front table to make sure everyone signed in and got their raffle ticket. It was outside, but luckily the Texas heat was kind today, it was in the mid 80's and breezy but it still got warm. It was horrible smelling all that good smelling BBQ and not being able to have any. But I had my faithful water bottle with me. By around 1:30 p.m. a lot of people were asking me if I was okay. I was pale again with flushed cheeks and it was obvious I was exhausted. I felt like I needed to stick it out at work, but I only made it to 3:00 before I threw in the towel and came home.

I made it up the stairs and into my bed. The building could have been on fire or someone could have put a chocolate fountain at the foot of my bed and I wouldn't have moved. I know that I am still only 8 days out of surgery and it takes time to heal, but I really wanted to be able to start walking and exercising. I know moving around all day was exercise, but I just want to feel normal. I took a two hour nap which I also did Sunday and yesterday and it made it difficult to get to sleep before late. However, right now I am exhausted again and will be climbing into bed shortly. Several people were at the cook out today who hadn't seen me in several months and commented on how it looked like the weight had just melted off me. So that is awesome and made me feel really good. I also wore a pair of jeans I haven't been able to wear in a long time!!

Another thing bothering me is trying to decipher my insurance claims on my insurance website. It shows what was billed for and what was covered but its not clear if or what I owe. I also received a bill in the mail from the surgeon's office today, not sure what all this is about considering I paid them $918 for my surgery which was based on my deductible not being met, but this bill I received applies $150 to my deductible, so I am wondering if I didn't over pay them for surgery. So I need to call them probably later this week and see what all my money was allocated for. I said later in the week because they still have a claim pending on my insurance website. I just hate all the guessing and wondering if I am being ripped off by them. Part of what I was charged for was my initial meeting with the surgeon which was a group meeting and nothing special. I could have had the same results by attending one of their FREE seminars. Irritated to say the least.

I managed to have my 2 protein shakes at work today. Oh and I got into it with my dietitian again. I emailed asking for guidance about how often I am supposed to eat, and I was told 2 shakes and 1 serving of soup at night. I fought fire with fire and asked how this was supposed to be feasible since liquid does not make you full, they preach do not drink liquids while you eat or you will wash your food through your band. She did give me credit for pointing that out and recanted with adding broth into my day. So small victory. Tonight I finished off two soups I had already started which amounted to about a cup. Going forward I will be measuring out my soup to make sure my portions are on point.

Anyways, I am going to get some sleep and see if I can make it a whole day at work. Also looked at my incisions tonight and noticed some of my glue is starting to come off and most of them look a lot better. I am going to count my victories with my jeans, compliments, and healing incisions.

Until tomorrow,

Amanda