JadaCamp

I am 37 years old and I live in Texas.  I am a transplant from Ohio, at least, that is what I am told. I am a yankee. (lol) My first thoughts of getting a lapband started around January of 2009.  I have been heavy all my life and never really had much discipline when it came to food.  During my first marriage, I really didn't care how much I ate or how often.  I never gave a second thought to it.  Throughout my divorce, I guess you could say I went on the Adkins diet except I called it the "Divorce" diet. It was pure water and meats.  I lost 60lbs. and looked really good and felt really good.  Mentally I wasn't excatly the healthiest person.  I moved to Texas in 2004 and from there I gained my weight back slowly.  Over the course of about 4 to 5 years, I went well over what I had lost.  I felt like a feed sack tied in the middle half the time.  Nothing fit right, or looked right and I just kept shoveling the food in.  I finally decided, after watching my dad throughout my life go through heart surgery after heart surgery, and going to the doctor one day and finding out I am now on blood pressure medicine, it was time for me to take control of my life.  I didn't want to die like that.  I wanted to be healthier and be able to do the things that I never could do like work in my garden with my flowers and play with my dog without getting tired, be intimate with my husband and not feel self concious about what I looked like, be able to actually cross my legs when I sat down.  I wanted to feel comfortable in my own skin.Two weeks before the surgery, I was required to go on a liquid diet.  The first week was full liquids, which consisted of Myoplex light (protein drink), Low Carb Slim fast, Crystal light drinks, water, sugar free jello, juices, v-8 juice and chicken broth.  The second week consisted of clear liquids which consisted of water, sugar free jello, popcicles, chicken broth and crystal light.  That was the hardest two weeks I have ever been through in my life.  I thought I was never going to make it.  The day of the surgery, I got depressed because I knew that even after the surgery, I still couldn't eat anything.  I was still on a clear liquid diet for another week or so or at least until the surgeon said I  could do full liquids again. I went in for the seminar with a positive attitude.  I sat and listened to what he had to say.  He gave the pros and cons of both the lapband and the gastric bypass.  The surgeon that I went to does exclusively lapband.  I called my insurance to see what was covered and what the requirements were.  I made the appointment with the surgeon and went in for my consultation.  They gave me a couple business cards to a psychiatrist and a nutrionist.  My insurance required both of these in order to be covered.  I went in to the nutrionist first.  She was helpful in guiding me through the process before and after the surgery.  She helped me realize that this is truly what I wanted to do.  The choice I was making was the right choice for me.  I went to the psychiatrist who basically just wanted to make sure I had the mental capacity to handle the changes that I am about to go through.  I was cleared through both of these people.  I got together a list of all the medications, diets, pills, and anything else I could think of that proved that I had tried and failed at weightloss before.  My surgeon's office submitted the paperwork and 2 weeks later I scheduled my surgery date.  November 23, 2009 at 9am I went in for my lapband surgery.When I came out of surgery, I was coughing and hacking because I am a smoker.  I coughed and hacked and carried on for a bit until I really came out of the anthesthesia.  They then began giving me these very little cups of water.  I had to sip on this water until I had consumed the equivalent of an 8 oz glass of water.  Still groggy from the anethesia, I sipped.  I didn't seem like no time at all, they were asking me if I was ready to go home.  My belly felt sore, but tolerable.  My husbnad helped me with my socks and my britches and made sure I brought my slide on shoes.  I slowly rose from the bed and got into the wheelchair and they wheeled me out to the car.  I don't remember much of the car ride home.  I do remember getting home and getting out of the car and walking up the sidewalk.  My dog was at the door waiting to greet me.  I was never so happy to be home.  I basically slept for the rest of the day.The second day wasn't too bad either.  They gave me liquid pain medicine to take, which actually tasted like straight whiskey.  I poured a little of it into a small glass of Welch's Grape juice and it tasted like grape wine.  So, I was good to go there.  I felt as though I needed to keep my left hand on my side.  Hold it up to walk or something.  The third day, I realized that something was wrong with the largest incision.  It was red and a little too soar for my comfort.  It was warm to the touch also.  I called the surgeon and they told me to come in right away.  When I got there, I was told that there was an infection and they didn't want it to get any worse because that was the incision for my port.  So, they put me on antibiotics and said if it wasn't better in a day, to call right away.  I took the medicine they gave me and sure enough within a day or two, it was clearing right up.  The redness went away and it didn't hurt anymore and the fever was gone out of it.At this point, I am still recovering actually.  I am back to work, but still soar.