ouroborous

Yeah I'm already drinking protein in a smoothie. It'll be a challenge to drink it all down, but I'm not having any nausea or problems with keeping it down. It's going to be challenging to keep up with hydration and protein, but I think I can do it.

Congrats on your recovery, brother! My outcome was a little different -- the pain isn't too bad. My abdomen feels like it's been run over by a truck, but I only really notice it if I cough or when I stand up. The most annoying thing has been this persistent low-grade fever, but that seems to be breaking up. They've got me on "full liquids" now, so I'm drinking a smoothy made out of Protein powder, skim milk, and a half banana blended into a liquid. It tastes pretty good, but it's SUPER foamy so I can only take tiny sips without burping. I'm glad to hear you're out of the woods, and I agree with you -- walking is key.

Hmm, I hadn't thought about the oxygen. Yesterday and Thursday I had a really raspy, sore throat from being intubated. That might be playing a factor as well. Also, this could be post-nasal drip -- I had to stop all my allergy meds for the surgery, and I get wicked bad allergies. Whatever the cause, the cough seems to have died down a bit since I took 20 mg of Omeprazole and a hit of Flonase.

Well I've got you beat -- I've *gained* two pounds since surgery day. I know it's all water retention as my body tries to cope with the "injury" it received, but still -- my weight is not supposed to go in THAT direction!

Yeah I called Dr. Landerholm and he assured me that at 100 degrees, I didn't have anything to worry about. He just said to keep doing deep breathing as much as possible. Now my new hassle is what's probably acid reflux; I wake up with a tickle or cough in my throat. But since I start on "full liquids" today, I can sprinkle my Omeprazole capsules into my smoothy. That will help!

Thanks for all the good wishes. I'm still feverish (it's hovering right around 99-100) and all over achey. My abdomen feels like I've been hit by a bison. And the most bizarre muscles are sore -- my calves, my shoulders, and so on. My girlfriend thinks that some of that may be because I'm using strange muscles to sit down and stand up, since I'm sort of sparing my core muscles. I have a fair amount of congestion in my lungs, but I don't think I'm at risk of pneumonia; I've had pneumonia before and I remember that horrible whistling, wet breathing sound, and I have NOTHING like that -- just some yellowish mucous (sorry, TMI, I know, but hey, we're all family here, right?) I just discovered that my prescription pain med (Roxicet) makes my fever go down a little, makes most of my aches and pains fade away and (probably most important for me!) tamps down my anxiety quite a bit. I know it's addictive (which is why I was avoiding it), but I figure the doc prescribed it for just this reason, so I've been taking half doses, and it really seems to help. I'm HOPING I can get a few restful hours of sleep tonight. I'm really hopeful that people are right when they say that things start getting better around day 4. That means just one more day of miserable, hopefully, and I'll start feeling better. The pain, I can deal with. The fever is really the unpleasant bit. On a plus note, I'm not hungry at ALL, despite having basically 0 calories for two days. Well, maybe 50-60 calories in some watered down apple juice but still, normally I'd be starving by now. At the moment, the thought of food revolts me (which may be tricky when I have to start on the "full liquids" tomorrow). Also apparently my wounds look really good (when the MA changed my dressings today, he commented that a couple of the wounds didn't look like they'd bled at all). And I can walk almost 3/4 of a mile without getting winded or tired. So on some levels my recovery is going really smoothly. If only this darned fever would break!

So far today I've taken in 45 oz of Water (not counting the two 1-liter IV bags they pushed in at the hospital). I'm hoping that this fever is just temporary and not a sign of an infection.

Temp is 100.2 I HATE running a fever. It makes me feel all-over ick.

Unfortunately, it was an outpatient procedure. I went in today for two liters of hydration and I think that helped. Now I'm just focusing on sipping and walking.

It feels like my entire body has been pummeled by a prize fighter. Even weird places like my neck, my thighs, and my calves.

I'll post updates on my next blog entry.

I've been lying here trying (unsuccessfully) to sleep. It's 5am, and I have a 6:30am checkin to the hospital, for a 7:30am procedure. I've just taken an Emend, and I'm wearing a scopolamine patch (both for nausea). They're making me a little dizzy. I'm hoping that the procedure goes swiftly and smoothly. I'll see you on the other side!

Aww geez. You guys should get the doc to buy a round of drinks and invite all your sleeve buddies down! In retrospect, though, I'm glad that I was so compliant with my low carb preop diet. The surgeon said that my liver looked amazingly healthy; "you have the liver of a 20 year old" were his exact words. As a 39 y.o. man, I'll take any comparison to 20 y.o. man, gladly.

Yeah I called the doctor. He didn't seem too concerned. He mostly just told me not to gulp (duh) and take deep breaths. Thanks all. I'm such a hypochondriac. It feels like it's taking hours, literally, for the gulp of Water to go down.

So, I'm now pos-op. I'm a sleever, yay! Now for the questions. I'm running a mild fever, about 100 deg. The doctor's sheet says to call them if it's over 101. Earlier, I accidentally tried to "gulp" some Water, and my sleeve felt SUPER tight and uncomfortable for about 45 minutes. Could I have sprung a leak? There's not really any pain, just this continuing uncomfortable feeling in my stomach, and the raised temps. Since I'm still in the "use your judgement" phase, temp wise, I was wondering what you all thought.

Well, sleevers, I'm getting sleeved tomorrow morning at 7:30 am. I'll be under the care of Dr. Robert Landerholm in beautiful Edmonds, WA. It's an outpatient procedure -- I don't think I would be comfortable with that if it weren't for the fact that I live literally fifteen minutes from the surgical center in case something goes wrong. I'm anxious about it, but I'm also very ready to get off the weight loss merry go round once and for all. I'm trying to keep myself occupied and not think about it; my girlfriend (who was sleeved in November) tells me that if I can just keep myself busy and not dwell on it, the surgery will be over and I'll be in recovery before I know it. I'm having my last Diet Cokes (ever!) right now and sorta saying goodbye to them. If I wasn't on a low carb diet, I'd probably have a beer for the same reason, but that would blow my carb count for the day all to heck, so it's just Diet Coke in my farewell party. They've been a good friend for nearly 20 years, but now it's time to say goodbye!

Thanks for the well wishes, all. Now, hopefully I can get a few hours of sleep before the big procedure...

You've made a good choice. I went through some of the same deliberations -- I was initially set on the lap band because it seemed "safer" (more reversible, etc.) But it turns out that it's not AS safe as the sleeve, and has WAY more complications. Plus, getting sleeved after getting banded is apparently way more complex than just getting sleeved, since you build up scar tissue with the band. Of course, the fact that my surgery is tomorrow morning at 7:30 am (GULP!) makes me a bit anxious, too! Hopefully, we'll both be very happy with our sleeves.

Nothing stands between me and my Diet Coke! Well, nothing besides a sleeve gastrectomy, that is.

Thanks for all the kind words and positive energy!

Nah, I can live without beer (and besides, I'm kinda a beer snob; I don't think any of the choices for "low carb" beer would be something I'd want). I'm drinking like a gallon of diet coke, though. That tells you where my priorities lie!

Tomorrow is the big day. At 7:30 am they're going to anesthetize me and cut out about 3/4 of the fundus of my stomach, hopefully leading to a safe, healthy, and durable weight loss. I'm anxious, but I'm also fairly convinced that I'm making the right decision. Most of my anxiety isn't really about the procedure (that may change as the hour draws near), it's a sort of self-doubt: am I doing the right thing? This is irreversible. But I AM doing the right thing. I've seen that I just don't do well with the old "diet and exercise" thing. I CAN lose weight, but only ten or fifteen pounds, and I just have a hard time keeping up the willpower necessary to keep dieting. Eventually, my weight yo-yos back to where it was before, or more. This is a PERMANENT solution. It's not risk- or work-free, but it's a tool that will allow me to lose weight for good. I am ready to let go of the few things I will have to let go of. Beer, okay -- I'll miss it, but if I want to have a drink (after my stomach is healed) I can still have non-carbonated drinks like vodka collins (yum!) or whatever. Diet Coke -- harder to let go of, since it's been my caffeine vehicle of choice. I'm going to have to re-learn how to chew, how to sip. I'm going to have to learn to be mindful of how much water I've consumed, how much protein I've had, how my vitamin levels are. But I really think that the benefits are worth it. My girlfriend (who was sleeved in November of last year) has said, several times, that if she had to do it all over again, she would in a heartbeat. I hear that from lots of people on these forums. That's heartening to hear! The next weeks to a month or so may be hard, as I learn how to eat and take care of my stomach. I may have bouts of depression or anxiety -- that's okay, I'm ready for it. In the long run, I think this is the best thing I can do for my health. I'm so ready to be free of the obesity demon! So, think good thoughts for me, and I'll see you on the other side!

I have a new music desk arriving today that I'll need to assemble and then put my recording rig together in the music room downstairs (I compose electronic music). That should help me occupied and not obsess about everything that could "go wrong."

Some people who aren't used to high fiber diets can get a lot of gas and bloating at first. It usually settles down once your body acclimates to the extra fiber. I wish I could take fiber; this pre-op low-carb diet is just killing me in that sense (if you get my drift). meat and cheese, meat and cheese...

Of course, I'd ask your doctor/nutritionist. But just from guessing, make sure you're getting enough protein, make sure that the protein you're getting is good quality (whey isolates are best), and if you're cleared for exercise, try to add some resistance training in.