I wish I had discovered this website before my surgery. I've been wanting a way to document this process . . .journey if you will, and now I have it. So, here goes.

I had my surgery on february 13th, 2009. I weighed 372 lbs and had a BMI over 50. I'm 5'11 so my height tempers some of my weight. I'm 29 years old and felt that I needed to do something before I turned 30. Weightloss surgery had been on my mind for the last 6 or 7 years.

Though heavy - I've always felt good. It wasn't until I was about 25. I had lost 65 lbs on the low carb diet. Within a year and a half I had gained it all back plus some. After experiencing what it was like to be smaller and have more energy made it very hard to gain the weight and lose the energy. I felt every pound now. Saw how more difficult it was to get around.

I've been miserable for the last 2 years or so as the weight has packed on even more. I knew I had to do something. So, fast forward the whole first visit to the doctor, approval process, preop appointments, etc. etc.

THE SURGERY

Of course I was nervous about the surgery. My biggest fear was that I would fail. The surgery that was to take 1hr ended up taking 3 due to some scar tissue I had. My doctor told me he had to place the band a little deeper than usual due to the scar tissue. I was in recovery for about an hour and whisked home. I live about 2 hrs from the surgery center - I slept all the way home. All I remember was that it had snowed earlier in the day so as we were going through the mountains I would wake up and see how beautiful it all looked but need to immediately close my eyes because I was so nauseous.

POST OP

The first day I slept. All I ate that evening was a popsicle and some water with my meds. I didn't have an appetite. By the second day I was in a little pain but decided to go off of my meds so that I wouldn't be so loopy. Took some alleve instead. My stomach hurt all the time that first 3 days and I couldn't figure out why. Turns out it was gas. One day I let out a big burp and felt relief. That same day I picked up some gas x, and stopped eating the sugar free pudding and popsicles and haven't had a problem since. The first 3-5 days were the hardest simply because I was tired, restless, and sore I'm not used to being at home all the time. I lived off of broth, sug free jello, sug free popsicles and water. On Vday my sis made me jello shaped into a heart - how sweet!

The first 3 days was clear liquids - I tended to be hungry all the time and questioned whether this was working because I thought the point was this would make you feel full - I later realized this was because my band was open and all liquids just went straight through. I was so scared to take a big gulp of water because I thought it would instantly fill and stretch my pouch. I moved on to full liquids for 1 week. I had a protien shake that contains about 35 grams per serving that I drank with milik. I made it through the liquid phase by living on yogurt whick I would slowly eat for 30 mins. I often didn't even get through 1/2 of the 6oz container.

After the first week I moved on to the soft diet phase. Srambled eggs were my saving grace. I could also eat pureed foods - I pureed some chicken soup that had noodles and chicken. I ate a couple of bites but just couldn't do it. I decided to forego the pureed foods and just stuck to yogurt, cream of wheat, and soup.Occasionally I threw in things like cottage cheese, mashed potatoes, and sweet potatoes - which went down very well.

When I got to to 4th week I was ready to do solid foods. For 4 days in a row atleast one of my meals was Broiled Salmon, brussels sprouts, mashed potatoes, and a salad - yummy! Pretty much just a tablesppon or so of each. All together about a cup of food. I ate it all on a small plate and had a lot left on my plate. I was however surprised at how much I could eat. But was happy because they seemed like reasonable portions. I did not feel deprived at all.

Another thing I was surprised about was how consumed with food I was. Every activity in my life revolved around FOOD. "We're going over Mom's house tonight - Let's pick up something to eat", "Let's pick up a movie - And order a pizza too", Let's stay in - grab some snacks". I would open my mouth to say these things and realize I can't do that anymore. I physically can't. It didn't make the experience any less though.

My first real "come to Jesus" moment was when at a work conference I was confronted by a buffet about 5 weeks after being banded. As I stood in line I found it amusing because usually when present with a buffet my thoughts would be "how do I put as much food as possible on my plate without people noticing how high my plate is stacked". I would look at other people's plates to see if anyone else was eating a lot. As I would eat I would think about seconds, or dessert, or thirds, or what I couldn't fit on my plate. This time I had to think about how do I get to enjoy the BEST things in the buffet in the little amount of food I could actually eat. It was a sandwich bar - so I opted for HALF a sandwich instead of a whole. Didn't SAMPLE all the salads there but just took a small spoonful of what I thought I'd enjoy most. For dessest - 1 cookie - not a handful. I ended up splitting the cookie with a friend. It was that moment that I knew the LAP-BAND® and I were gonna be good friends. It wasn't just a physical change - its was changing the way I thought mentally and my approach to food.

The 5th and 6th week I even had sushi (no rice - sashimi). Salmon and Tuna and the inside of a spicy tuna roll. The spice didn't bother me at all. I must admit - I have had a fry here, and a spoonful of ice cream there. All in moderation though. For example - before the surgery I could easily eat a handful of 6 or 7 cookies. I ate a cookie the other day and nibbled on it for over an hour before I threw about 1/2 of it away. I felt so good - before I would have eaten the cookies just to eat them.

WEIGHT LOSS

At my first post op appt 2 wks after my surgery I had lost 10 lbs.

4 weeks - I had lost 20 (Was supposed to get filled but couldn't - see my next post)

6 weeks I had gained 4 (YIKES) (My doctor said it was because my band was still open - got filled this week)

WEIGHT LOSS

At my first post op appt 2 wks after my surgery I had lost 10 lbs. 2 Weeks later, another 10 for a total of 20. YAY!