Adjusting To This New Life

I'll be 3 months out this week and I feel great! I've really started adjusting to this new life of mine and it feels wonderful!! I am down 48 pounds since surgery and I plan to hit that 50 lb mark by the end of the week. It is amazing how easy this has been. My last attempt at losing weight was on Weight Watchers. It took me 9 months to lose 30 lbs. and I struggled with hunger most of the time. Now, I'm almost never hungry. I don't really have an appetite at all right now. Food just doesn't have the same pull it used to. If I think I want ice cream or pizza or whatever the junk is, I just have it. Usually it's just a few bites and I'm full or just plain done. I've had plenty of junk in the last three months and even some Pina Coladas on vacation and I've still managed to lose 50 lbs. I lost 5 lbs on vacation! I don't feel deprived at all. It really is wonderful. I can eat anything I want without getting sick, usually. Of course, if I eat too fast or too much I get sick. Sometimes, if something tastes really good, I forget to eat slowly and end up vomiting. It happens less and less now. Occasionally I've noticed that sweets will make my tummy unhappy too, but not all the time. I try to track my food intake every day. I try to follow the protein first rule, but I do still eat carbs. Fruit tastes wonderful to me and I'm really loving applesauce and canned peaches right now. I stay under 800 cals 95% of the time. Many days I don't even hit 800. I seem to have a hungry week the week before my period starts. During this week I crave sweets and seem to be able to eat more than usual. I am learning to enjoy this week, but I try to still make good protein choices. Speaking of protein, I'm not hitting my 60-70 gram target. I do not drink my protein shakes. They just aren't appetizing. I seem to be able to get 30-50 grams a day from food. I need to work on getting it higher. I do take my vitamins every day. I have not lost any hair yet and I'm hoping I never do, but we'll see. I am so happy I had this surgery and would do it again in a heart beat. It was well worth the $18000 I spent. Heck, honestly, knowing what I know know I would have spent twice that much. The new sense of freedom from food I have is so amazing. Before the thoughts of what to eat next, how much to eat, what food to buy, what I'm craving, how I'm gonna lose weight, how much I've gained, how fat and ugly I look/felt... all these thoughts consumed me, depressed me, and held me back. Now I am free of all of it!

One Month Out! Down 20lbs!

Well, It's hard to believe I'm one month out now.. I'm not having any trouble. I was down 21 1/2 lbs Wednesday at my doctor visit and I've lost 3 more since :) . I now weight 226.5. I'm not ever physicaly hungry and I have plenty of restriction, but not too much. I've tried grilled salmon and yesterday I had 2 small meatballs. No problems :). We are going to Disney World the first week of October so I am relieved to be able to eat comfortably. I can eat about 2 oz of protein before I'm full. Some days 3 oz. I feel great.. I do get a little dizzy every now and then. Not sure what that's about. I'm anxious to get my blood work back... I'm hoping it all looks good as I haven't missed a single day of my vitamins. I couldn't be happier!

Three Weeks Out and Feeling Good!

Yesterday was three weeks since surgery. I'm down 19lbs!! Yay!! Plus I lost 18lbs pre-op. My pre-op highest weight was 268. My surgery starting weight was 250. Today I was 231. I'm 5'5". People are noticing my weight loss already! I feel great and I'm starting to adjust to my new life. I definitely feel restriction, however I am able to eat more than most at this point. It doesn't bother me anymore because I'm really not hungry and I do get satisfied and 1/4 to 1/2 cup of food. The restriction is greatest in the morning before 11am and in the evenings after 7pm. As for new foods, I have recently tried tuna salad. I was able to eat 5 ounces, a whole can, but I didn't feel good afterward. No pain, just too full, nauseous and uncomfortable. The next time I ate tuna salad I had only 2 ounces and about ten Special K crackers and felt good, satisfied. The best part is, I really have to make myself eat most days. I'm just not too interested in food. Sometimes I'll think something sounds good, but by the time I make it and get ready to eat, I'm over it. I'm starting to have trouble getting in my protein. I'm not interested in food or drink and that makes it hard to get motivated to drink the shakes. I have made it to at least 50 grams most days. My surgeon would like me at 70 grams. I'm hoping as I add more meat it will get easier. I have started a food journal on livestrong.com.. this link should take you to it http://www.livestrong.com/thedailyplate/diary/who/ . It's not perfect. I do a lot of tracking from my iPhone and I have noticed duplicate posts several times and one or two inaccurate protein counts on things. All in all, it is very useful to me and helps me know that I'm on track. I'm eating between 400 and 800 cals a day. I usually get closer to 800 on weekends and stay pretty low during the week. I have noticed my energy level in the evening is a little low, but I've been very busy lately and doing a lot of running around. As far as pain goes, if I do much twisting or bending I get sore in my right side where my largest incision is. Other than that I feel good. I'm able to sleep in any position now. I really missed sleeping on my tummy. Now, I'm looking forward to my 1 month check up next week and hopefully seeing the 220s in a few days.

The Melt Down...

Ok.... So I had a little freak out the other day. At my one week check up I got the ok to start softs early, when and if I felt ready. I'd had the pureed soup with no problem and I felt ready to move onto something else. So, I ate a string cheese, with no problem, and I felt no restriction. I had a melt down. I cried. I felt like before surgery. I felt like I could have eaten more with no problem. I didn't, of course, because I don't want to put pressure on my new sleeve. I also ate a banana with no problem that same day. I was fully prepared to not be able to eat or drink, but to be able to eat so much so soon... I was not prepared for this. I had 80 grams of protein and 800 calories that day and it just felt like too much. I felt like I was getting too many carbs with soft foods and too many calories already. I made a synth -6 protein shake for breakfast the other morning that had 33g of protein and 300 cals! I couldn't bring myself to drink that many calories. I poured it out. It just seems like too much.

Since that melt down, I have calmed down. I realize that I do feel restriction and I'm not eating nearly as much as I did pre-op. The good people on the Obesity Help VSG Forum helped me through it. They reassured me that I am feeling restriction now, I will get better restriction when I'm able to eat more solid food, and that I will be successful. I realized that I'm so used to failing at diets, that deep down, I still believe that I will fail at this too. It is just a tool and I will have to make good choices. The Sleeve is going to keep me from eating the quantities I used too. I can do this.

I'm only down 2 more pounds this week for just over 12 lbs for 2 weeks. Not bad. I wish it was more. For as few calories as I'm eating I felt like it should have been more. However, I am eating more solid food now and most people do lose less the week they make the switch to soft foods. I'm hoping this is the case with me. I do feel really good. My energy level is almost 100%. I'm not taking any pain meds, but do still have soreness on the right side with my large incision. All in all. I'm pleased with my progress.

Yummy Pureed Soup

I was doing so well at my one week check up yesterday, I got approval to start pureed early. So, I made this soup and it was so yummy I had to share!
Creamy Tomato Bean Soup
add 1 can bean with bacon soup
add 1 can tomato soup
fill one empty can with skim milk- add
fill one empty can with water - add
Puree ALL
Heat.

153 Cal., 6.5g Protein, 2.5g Fat - Per 1/2 Cup (approximately)
Yummy.. I ate 1/2 cup no problem. I added a little extra skim milk to thin it even more.

One Week Post-Op - Almost :)

Tomorrow I'll be one week post op. Its hard to believe. Time flies when your having fun! I'm so happy right now. I was sitting here thinking about how miserable I was before surgery. I felt like there was no hope. I was stuck. I couldn't loose weight and keep it off and I was for whatever reason, I was not moving forward with surgery. That reason will have to be another post, another day. But now? Now? Now, I already feel like I'm shrinking! I've lost 9.5 lbs as of this morning and I feel great. Besides the occasional twinge of pain or rumble in the tummy that is. Definitely not anything I can't handle. I even tried a yogurt today with no problem. It's doesn't appear that I'm lactose intolerant! I'm so excited about that because I love milk. I've also been drinking a lot of ISOPURE this week. You get it at GNC. Its a clear liquid drink in fruit flavors. It resembles Gatorade, but not as strong. I don't like Gatorade, but I like this. It has, I think it's 40g protein. Tomorrow is my one week check up with Dr. Weiss. I can't wait. I don't know why. I'm sure it'll be short and sweet and, it's such a drive.

I'm Sleeved!!!

I'm Sleeved! It took a while to get everything in order. Longer than I expected for self-pay, but I got it done. The pre-op tests I had done were EKG, ECHO, lab work, chest xray, hp pylori, psych eval, and pulmonary function test. Everything was fine and I was sleeved on Wednesday 7-29-09. I woke up from surgery in quite a bit of pain. Mainly from gas that had settled under my sternum and rib cage. As soon as I was out of recovery and in my room I was up and walking trying desperately to get some relief. Relief did finally come, however it took several hours. By the next morning I was feeling like a new woman. I did have a qball to help with pain but it was determined once it was removed that it was not working. I was glad to know that because I had felt like quite a wimp. I took any and all pain meds they would give me that first day and night, but by the next day I was off the Morphine and on liquid Lortab only. As long as I took it every 4 hours I felt fairly good. I stayed 2 nights in the hospital and went home on Friday. I'm very sore still. I feel like I've done a million sit ups and the spot where my drain was is also very tender. It hurts if I move to quickly or try to sleep in any position other than on my back. I have to say I was not prepared for how painful the surgery would be. That first day and night I was really regretting what I had done. I felt way more pain that I had with my c section or previous ectopic pregnancies. Don't let this scare you.. it didn't last too long and I slept through most of the pain. In less than 12 hours I was felling so much better. I have had no trouble drinking. If I drink too many sips too fast it does feel like it gets kind of stuck and sometimes I get foam in my throat and I feel like I need to spit. I vomited once after surgery and it was right after I got to my room. It was a mix of blood and phlem. No other vomiting. I did lots of burping and I still am. I am amazed at the fact I can eat 1/2 a Popsicle and feel full. I have no desire to eat and sticking to a liquid diet is no problem at this point. I've been mostly drinking Syntrax Nectar protein drinks and Crystal Light. I've had a lot less trouble drinking than I expected. It's a nice surprise. I'm feeling fairly good and looking forward to losing this weight! Dr.Weiss was wonderful and so was his staff. Dr. Weiss visited me twice and his PA visited once. Dr. Dink, another doctor in his practice visited me on Friday to let me go home. I was impressed by the number of visits I got from the Dr. Weiss and his staff. Also, Angie, from CBH was in on my surgery and came to visit me twice as well. The best visitor I had by far was Ashley.. She was sleeved 10 months ago and we have been talking back and forth on OH. She is the one who told me about Dr. Weiss and CBH. She looks fabulous and seeing her amazing progress gave me the strength to get through the pain. Thanks Ashley!! You are the best!

Pre-op Qestions for Surgeon

Here is a list of questions I asked at my final pre-op visit with the Surgeon Dr. Weiss.....

1 How close to the pylorus and esophagus do you staple? (at least 5mm)
2 What leak test do you do?
3 Bougie Size? (this is the mold used to make your new stomach)
4 How do you secure the staple line?
- how many rows?
- bio glue?
- sew over? (this means a row of staples then a row of stitches)
- nothing
5 Can I take NASID again? (Alive & Ibuprofen)
6 What kind of follow up will I have?
7 Will I have access to a nutritionist?
8 How long will I be in the hospital.
9 Will I have a drain?
10 Will have a pain pump?

WLS Seminar

I attended a WLS Seminar at Central Baptist Hospital in Lexington on Saturday. It was nice. Dr. Weiss gave a presentation about all the different types of surgeries they offer. Pretty basic. I didn't really learn anything I hadn't already learned in my research. Dr. Weiss was very nice. He is a very confident guy, a little cocky. I like that in a surgeon though. For sure, I want a guy who knows what he is doing. He did show a graph that talks about how people gain weight back after dieting and how they keep most off after WLS. I really liked that. It made me feel good about my decision about surgery. I know if I join Weight Watchers again or do some other program, I'll just gain it back and then some. Just like last time. This surgery is my best chance at long term success. Today I'm feeling confident that I'm making the right choice for me. I'm finally starting to believe that I can do this and I will be successful. It's a good feeling. My husband seems to be more on board now too. He always supported my decision, but I could tell he was a little hesitant. Now, he seems to be excited for me too. He even went up to Dr. Weiss and asked him questions about complications after the seminar. I also asked some questions.. like what size bougie (36) and did he over-sew the staple line (no). He was very friendly and approachable. He even got out his iPhone and tried too show us where his Mayfield, KY office was located. It may be an option for me to go there for follow up care instead of driving to Lexington. All in all - a great experience. Feeling good about things. I turned in my packet and now I just wait for a call.