Deacon Blues

Back in Statesville after another week helping Mom. The pile is shrinking, but it's still big. Adding to it now, real estate. Swell. A little over a week, now, post-op, and I went way off the reservation yesterday and this morning. I had to have food. I bought me some Angus flank strips and some shredded cheddar and made me a couple of steak and cheese omelettes. The shame. At least it was high-protein. I doffed off a couple more pounds this week. I'm healed up enough, now, I guess, to add a little exercise to the routine. I'll be becoming more familiar with my neighborhood beginning this week. On with the show...

...post-op I feel pretty lucky. I've not experienced a great deal of discomfort. I was able to sleep on my port side (which, oddly enough, is my left side. I get that most are probably on the left, but as an old sailor, the whole port side/left thing...ok - it was a lame stretch) after a couple nights. I'm still sort of hungry at times but less so. My biggest concern is not getting enough calories and stuff. Too long doing that will stop weight loss - at least that's what the Fitness Pal thing says (a handy little tool, by the way). My sugar is a little wacky, too. I'll get it figured out. I see having to get hold of Protein supplements pretty soon. There are lots of choices. I suspect I'll land on one that suits me sooner or later. Appreciate the thoughts over the week - here and at the blog. This'll be the last progress post, but I foresee tons of questions in the time coming. Thank y'all

Somewhat better tonight but still worn to the screws. Many thanks for the thoughts on last evenings near-diatribe. Not much to say about me and mom's meeting with the lawyer. Nice lady, but I think I know less now than before we talked. I ate grits this evening. Not proper grits, but not a Glucerna shake either. Nary a hiccup with it. Tasted good. Didn't mess me up, and I was full for the first time in 6 weeks - a real plus in my book. We took the boys swimming over at my cousin's place. A break from the business...as it were. They had a good time and got good and wore out. I learned that my staples can get very hot in the sun. An interesting sensation, although I don't particularly recommend it. Thanks, y'all.

Although I think she's a bit, well, batty from time to time, my nutritionist recommended getting some canned, white meat chicken (or good canned tuna, if you're into it) and flake it all out (I mean, it's already pretty flaky anyway) and mash it up some more with a fork or whatever. You can season it to some degree, and it might have a little more agreeable texture than the meat slurry (if you will) a food processor or blender might yield. That is the direction I'm headed. Personally, if I only had the choice of puréed meat, I'd just buy deviled ham or potted meat (as we call it in the south). It'd provide some meat Protein, but the source is, at best, questionable providence.

A little drained this evening....hell, I'm beat. The drive up to my mom's had a little more in it than I was expecting. After two days sans pain killers, I was back on that horse this evening. The boys were all jacked, too, so tending them has been...challenging. My dad's being gone is real this trip. I guess I was so in the event a couple weeks back, I didn't have a chance to miss him. Well...it's real. Not a lot more can be said. Tomorrow is lawyer and legal crap day. I've killed myself getting dad's estate stuff rolling, but I'll bet the ranch some lawyer will want three bills an hour to tell me I did it wrong and use all the work I did anyway. I guess I'm a little jaded tonight. My midsection looks like a poor-man's Frankenstein's monster (and, tonight, feels like it looks). Five days after the fact, and I'm feeling a little set back. Only had a little over 800 calories today. Not for lack of desire - just plumb didn't have time. Can't keep that up. That'll really screw the pooch. Could uses few props tonight. Have a good thought if you have a minute.

It is my intent to ask my surgeon and my primary about this, but I'm curious as to the rank and file's opinion. My surgeon told me to stop my insulin the night before surgery. My sugar numbers were bubbling under 100 pre-op. I was told to expect my sugar to spike wildly 12-18 hours post-op. That, indeed happened with numbers in the 210s (making it necessary for two insulin injections during my overnight stay in the hospital). This past weekend through two days ago, my sugar ranged from the 110s to the 130s. The past two days, I've pushed through to the mid-150s. I've taken in less than 1200 calories per day (less than 900 yesterday) on a largely liquid diet (Glucerna shakes, sugar free Jello, yogurt, and the like). I feel, generally, lousy - like my sugar is on the low end of out of whack - but the numbers don't bear that out. I'd appreciate a little enlightenment. Thanks.

Here's the blog. Hooray. It ain't all about me, the language could be a little more colorful, and the forums aren't the place for literary pursuits. So, there you go. Off we go...

Packing to travel and a full schedule the rest of the day, so I'd better bang this out now. ...and a new thing - a blog. You can follow the continuing saga in blog form. Swell. Available via my profile, I assume. 350 this morning. Net -5.2 pounds in 24 hours (-33 since May 9). Don't know whether to be thrilled or freaked. It sorta sucks being hungry all the time. Something I am a little perplexed by is my sugar numbers. I was taken off insulin on surgery day and was told to expect scary numbers 12 - 18 hours post-op (they went from mid-90s to 210s). Since then, all over the place (120s-150s). I was advised not to even think about returning to insulin until, at least, my 10-day post-op check up. Anybody got a more enlightened viewpoint (other than my clueless spitballing)? Off to the home town. As always, thanks.

There is little new to discuss, really, in my brave new world this morning. I made a bold (read: idiotic) decision to mash up a hard boiled egg last evening and eat it. This misguided effort came after watching three hours of Extra Virgin on The Cooking Channel - a behavior that will have to stop, no doubt. I'm not sure if Dr. Gary squoze me up a little or not during surgery, but he may as well have. I felt every bit of said egg extrude through every millimeter of my innards. Not painful, but not pleasant. Lesson learned: stick to the plan. Kristina went back to work this morning leaving me at the mercy of my two youngest (8 and 6). So far, so good, but don't be surprised if you never hear from me again. I'll begin to pivot toward my July 29 return to work in a couple of weeks. Me and the boys will leave tomorrow morning for my home town. We'll be hanging out with my mom for the balance of the week. Although the task list following my dad's dying on the 7th isn't as intimidating, it is still large. Mom has to transition to a bit more self-sufficiency as well as deal with a 54-year void that opened the first week of June. I have to take on a role as the head of two households. Stay tuned. I still think there's some grieving to be done for both of us. I fear the meltdown that is probably coming when I run out of the stuff that has to be done (estate AND post-op). Pain meds are history, and it's back to the conservative diet. 355.2 this morning. Time to get the boys' lunch.

Dressings are off (I'll spare you the staples and stitches photos). Showered and polished this morning. No liquid gold, yet, today, but with the aggressiveness that I manage pain, that may haunt me a little over the next 12 to 18 hours. Added a little over 8 oz tomato Soup to the menu today. It tasted good, but landed a little heavy. Took me a couple of minutes to decide whether I'd do that again. I'll be headed back home mid-week with my two youngest to continue to help my mom out and get my dad's estate stuff settled. Catch up in a couple days. Thanks, again.

I'm not feeling nearly as bad as I had expected. I'm getting up and down from sitting and lying, albeit somewhat gingerly, with some pretty aggressive pain management. I'll liable start rolling out of the prescription stuff tomorrow midday. Had some Jello, a couple Glucerna shakes, some Gatorade, and lots of Water today. All the body functions seem to be behaving. My dressings come off tomorrow, and I'll Celebrate with a shower, some cocktails, and a little knosh...well, maybe not the latter two. Not too shabby, so far, I'd say. Thanks for the props, y'all.

Home tomorrow morning they say. A couple minor complications, otherwise in good shape with a hiatal hernia fix up, to. If this is the worst I feel, I,m doing great. Missing my Dad.

This thread should have been titled "Post-op" by the way. I guess I'm on my way home. I've already had my swallow study, Dr. Gary is pencil whipping my orders, and my beloved bride is on her way. On step 5 of gazillions.

I've been experiencing a similar sensation in the middle of my chest. I've been advised that it's gas.

Post-op. feeling better than couple hours ago.

On May 9th, I started at 383 pounds. This morning, I am 360.4 pounds. Off we go.

I've got less than 24 hours, and the nerves are really getting going now.

Today was pre-op day for Friday's big deal. Everything got pushed back a week when Dad died on the 7th. I'm not aiming to sound crass, but it's easy to maintain the ol' pre-op diet when you don't feel like eating. It's been a surreal ten days. Three days...

I'm a little less than two weeks out, now, and my eagerness and optimism are beginning to evolve into a deep concern. I know three individuals who have gone through Lap Band procedures. By all accounts, their choices have been highly effective and free of complications. Taking this anecdotally, I should feel pretty good about my decision. However, since I've been reading the many helpful posts here, I have found myself keeping score between problem-free and problematic outcomes. I am rapidly finding the comparison to be troubling. I get that the law of big numbers is, perhaps, skewing my point of view (I.e. my three examples versus the whole of this community's participants), but this is very quickly becoming a personal difficulty.

I'm Scott. I'm from Statesville, NC, and my surgery is June 14th. I'm 52-and-a-half and started out at 383 pounds. My diabetes had become largely uncontrolled, and weight loss surgery was strongly recommended by my internist. I, truthfully, didn't think much beyond the Lap Band because I've got some hang-ups about having my anatomy rearranged. My supporting cast includes my folks, my wife, four kids, and two grand kids. My oldest has concerns about a foreign object being implanted into my body. Given the poisons I've crammed into my system over the course of 35 years, I figure a little surgical composite and silicone would probably be a couple of the tamer things I've ever taken on. I started my pre-op diet back on the 20th. I did ok, I reckon, for the first three days. Since then, I've been, pretty much, off the rails. I have a very physically and mentally taxing job and being sick-hungry is not only unpleasant, but a distraction I cannot afford. I have, however, managed to keep it together enough to lose ten pounds. That, one could say, is the good news. I've one more day for any solid food. Friday is the beginning of a 100% liquid diet. Frankly, a good, old-fashioned apocalypse could be very timely right now. My beloved bride has been very supportive and very patient. My two youngest have been quite patient also. They're in better shape than me. Two weeks and counting... I don't suppose bourbon is part of a liquid diet.

Many thanks to all y'all for the kind sentiments.