Diet and exercise

I was a little concerned that I had not lost more weight when I went to get my drain out. I have been experiencing a little problem with feeling "stopped up". The nurse said that I was losing a little on the slow side too but my goal I should be working towards is 30 pounds post-surgery. She said I could take some Milk of Magnesia (YUCK YUCK YUCK!!!!!) to help with the "problem" and that could be why I was losing slowly. I have been so careful to follow the nutritionists diet and have been walking ALOT (enough that my right ankle is killing me!) and for the last 3 days I have been doing a light workout on our Bowflex we bought right before my surgery. Maybe when I go back to work on Monday I will get back on track. Beside that I feel GREAT!

It's time for the drain to come out! (05/30/07)

I was both excited and scared for this day to come. I just KNEW it would really hurt even though a neighbor of mine said the only thing he felt was some weird feelings inside. Anyway, when Katie (the nurse) came in and started taking off the bandage I was asking 20 questions - will it hurt? will you do it slow or pull it out quick? (stuff like that). I felt a little pain when she must have clipped the 2 stitches but that is all and by the time I had asked her if she was going to pull it out slow or all at once she had already pulled it out! WHEW! I didn't feel ANYTHING! My husband was laughing at me!  It looked like there was about 12" inside me (EWW!). I had been having some pain under my ribs above the area where the drain was but now it is pretty much gone. She told me that I would have what looked like another belly button until it healed from the inside-out. It is still draining some but eventually I will be able to graduate to a bandaid. (still no blue coming from the drainage from my daily drink of blue food coloring and water - that's good!)

Phase 2 diet - full liquids (started 05/24/07)

Man! this is a LOT better than the Phase 1 diet! I have graduated to 6  2-3oz meals a day. The first couple days I couldn't get all 6 in plus 60 gms protein plus the 4 Optisource vitamins (with a  min. 48oz of total liquids) in because I was staying full but now it is pretty easy. I can have creamed soups, puddings, cottage chese, yogurts (all low fat and artifically sweetened). I used 1% milk to make some sugar free pudding and it was pretty good. I highly recommend the Optisource vitamins because they are made specifically for post-bariatric surgery (and to me they taste like orange Pez candies!!). I take 2 in the mornings and the other 2 in the afternoon because they make me feel full. I am taking the Orange Cream Matrix 5.0 protein which gives me 23grams per scoop. I add a little bit more to get in 60-65 grams per day. I wasn't too crazy about the Chocolate flavor. I mix it together and put it in the freezer for a little bit to make it like a "milkshake" for me.

Woo Hoo - kissing the 300's goodbye!

I just had my 1 week post-surgery appointments and I am below 300 for the first time in - well, a LONG time. I am SO EXCITED! So, the total weight loss since surgery is 9.4 pounds!

Protein

I have really struggled with getting all 80 grams of protein in. The first 2 days home I only got 40 grams in beacuse every time I would drink something (besides water) I would get nauseated. They told us we would have to be really creative with how we get it all in and boy were they right!! Now I am getting my 80 in with what I call my "super drink"! I have 16 oz of water, 4 scoops (20 grams of protein each) of the Unjury Unflavored (unflavored my foot) and 3 (yes 3) packages of the Crystal Light individuals. That gives me only 16 oz (about) to drink. I tried making a popcicle in a jello cup with a little bit of it and all the protein seemed to concentrate at the top (YUCK!) so I let it melt down and drank it! With only 16 oz of the protein to drink it gives me the opportunity to have broth and also water for a little variety. BTW I would REALLY love to just lick a steak right now! LOL!

Blood clots and pouch leaks - oh my!

I feel very blessed to have a surgeon who takes multiple precautions to prevent blood clots and pouch leaks.

For blood clots: 1) special "booties", hooked to an air pump are put on before you go to surgery 2) heparin shots in the stomach (I only had 1 that hurt) 3) you must get up and walk about 4 hours after surgery. Then you have to walk at least 3 times a day.

For pouch leaks: 1) he adds an extra reinforcement at the surgery site 2) nothing to drink for 24 hours after surgery until an upper GI (this is your first taste of anything liquid) verifies there are no leaks 3) as soon as the doctor gets the results of the test (which was about 2:00pm) he will instruct the nursing staff that you can have 1 oz of ice with blue food coloring every hour. That may sound like a little bit but you won't feel much like having any more. 4)After you go home you still need to eat/drink something with a blue or green color. If you are having any leaks it will show the blue or green in the drainage form your drain.

Surgery Day! (05/15/07)

I  really thought I would be nervous the morning before surgery but I wasn't I guess all the months of preparation paid off! If you attend all the Pre-Surgery support groups you will be WELL informed of everything that you will experiance. After the surgery was over I found out the only part of my "tummy" that ecperienced any pain was where the drain was on my left side and also under my ribs on the same side. Dr. Bour said it was due to them using the instruments in that area. All the other cuts were sealed with glue and I had no pain whatsoever with them. I expected to feel a lot different but I really didn't. The hard part was having to wait until the next day to get the ok to get my blue ice! I pretty much weaned myself off the pain medication the day after surgery.

1 week 'til surgery! (05/15/07)

Today I went for my Pre-Assessment at the hospital which included a LOT of questins about my medical history, a visit with the anesthesiologist and some blood work. The whole thing took about 1 1/2 hours. I found out my surgery is scheduled for 10:20am and I need to be at the hospital by 8:20am. I also had my 4th and last Pre-op Nutrition class. So far I have lost 18.2 pounds on the Optifast. I had set a personal goal of 20 pounds lost before surgery and I am almost there with a week left! Woo hoo!

My EGD - 05/07/07

Dr. Bour requires everyone to have an EGD (commonly known as an Endoscopy) a week before surgery since it will be the last time anyone can look into the "big stomach" since the top part of the stomach will be made into a smaller "pouch" about the size of a golf ball. He also takes a tiny piece of the stomach lining to test for the bacteria that causes ulcers. I was a little nervous about the procedure, afraid I would be awake but that wasn't the case at all! Before the nurse took me to the room where Dr. Bour did the procedure she started an IV. When I got to the procedure room they had me turn on my left side and they placed a wedge behind me. They gave me some kind of meds thru the IV and told me they were going to spray my throat with something to help with my gag reflex. I don't ever remember them doing that and the next thing I know I am being woken up! Boy! was that easy! Dr. Bour told my husband that I had a Hiatal hernia and also irritation in my esophogus from acid reflux. He will probably fix my hernia when he does my by-pass.

Optifast - 1 week down, 3 to go!

Well, my first full week of 5 meals of Optifast and 1 small meal a day has past and I am proud to say I lost 10.2 pounds! Woo Hoo! I figured out after about 2 days on the Optifast that I needed at least 1 of the 5 Optifast drinks to be a soup. I started getting a dull headache from all the sweet tasting drinks. I bought a box of the Tomato soup and found out I didn't like it! yuck! I tried a sample of the Chicken soup and it was ok. Tonight after my Nutrition class they had a sample of Unjury chicken broth and I really liked it so I bought a can of it. I have been amazed that I have not been real hungry - just a little before time to have another drink. I hope this weight loss continues!