Peggy P.

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Well its Done!!! I am now a newly banded person.  Wow - this long journey final came to its thrilling climax Monday morning when we arrived at the hospital at 7:30 - we checked in at admitting - I was surprisingly calm - they took me up to a room to change into a gown and around 9:00 they took me to the operating room where I met with the anesthesiologist and we discussed my asthma etc and what he would need to do.  Pretty soon things started moving quickly - I kept answering various questions that various nurses were asking me  and then they gave me a sedative. Put an oxygen mask on me - ( i didn't like much ) but before I could remember I heard someone telling me to wake up  and it was the anasthesiologist and I was in recovery. I was there for an hour - I guess - I slept mostly - then I was transferred to my room - I saw Chauncey and sometime thereafter people came in to check my blood pressure etc and I woke up. My nurse practioner Madeline came in and showed me my incisions - amazingly small and not scary  and before I knew it I was sent to x ray for them to see if I could swallow.... they gave me some nasty sweet liquid which I drank and since  I passed the swallow test I was sent back to my room. 

As I woke up more during the day  I was allowed to drink very small amounts of apple juice and broth. Chauncey and I hung out in my room and watched tv.  Later that evening we watched 24  while the nurse took my vital signs. At one point on the show the bad guys nuked Valencia ( which is close to where we live) and it all seemed so odd and surreal. The nurse had no idea what we were watching .   Chauncey went back to the hotel to sleep and I sort of drifted in and out of sleep  all night with various people coming in to take my vitals.  By morning - I was drinking more, I saw the doctor - who told me everything had gone well  but that there had been spots on my liver indicating some damage from obesity and some of my statin drugs - another good reason that I had gone ahead and done this now.  Several hours later I was released - Chauncey drove me home and it was great to see Chris and baby Jillian!!!

Today - is Wed. night - I  got home yesterday afternoon.  Today we went to the mall and walked and I did some shopping for various things I needed at Trader joes and CVS - I also did some light excercises this morning. All to help move the gas. 
I have felt very bloated today and some pain around my incisions but mostly the port site.  I also feel like a truck hit me. Just aches and pains in all my muscles.  I have been taking liquid tylenol - but it is so nasty the pain is almost better than the tylenol.  I bought some chewable tylenol but it is also bad tasting.  I had a slimfast, a protein tomato soup, a protein veg soup, some juice and lots of water  and frankly don't care a bit about eating.  Taking my daily medications may take a bit of work - since I am cutting them up  - I hope ultimately I wont' have to cut them 
My feelings at this point are - that this surgery is NOT an easy way out - and certainly not for someone who just wants to look better. I think eating less might be a better choice if at all possible. But with my age and co morbidities I really have felt this was what I needed to do. I sincerely hope it will do the trick. 
Oh - on the down side.  The day I went in I weighed in at 304  - when I weighed at the hospital AFTER the surgery I weighed 320 - when I got home I weighed 318 - and this morning I weighed 316 -  In checking with the boards - apparently the iv fluids can really cause you to retain water  - and all that should normalize  in the next few days - especially since I haven't eaten more than 7-800 cals a day for about a week.  So we will see how that shakes out. 
I am feeling pretty good - if a bit gaseous.  And hope I get a better nights sleep tonight. Last night my first night home i spent half the time in bed but got up at about 3 am and came out and slept sitting up on the couch. So hoping for a better evening tonight! 
More later!!

Packed and Chaunce and I are getting ready to go to the hotel. We will be going to the hospital tomorrow morning!  I am at peace about this. Linda called and prayed with me this afternoon and its been great to get all the support from this message board. 
 I plan to get right back on  when I come home on Tuesday!!!

Thank you God for this opportunity to get my life and health back. I am in awe of your power and Love!!!

i sailed through my preop appts. with Dr. Dicterow and Dr. Liu.  - I have lost nearly 20 pounds  My scale this morning said 304 - which is 20 lbs. down from my top of 324.  In talking with the nutritionist on Wed., she said that if I kept to high protein - that would be ok. I asked if I could do my birthday dinner which I had missed on Monday and she winked and said ok - but not to overdo. Oddly she was stunned that I had lost so much weight - she said most people never follow the pre op diet and in fact come in gaining weight!!!  So Wed. we went to Tam for a prime rib dinner  and thursday I had a chicken breast at lunch instead of a shake.  Then today (friday) I did protein shake for breakfast,  protein soup for lunch, I had some meat from a taco salad in the afternoon. And this evening - since it was essentially my final solid meal - I had meatloaf, spinach and some mac and cheese....
Tomorrow and Sunday I am doing clear liquids only and have to do the bowel prep, (yikes) and the antibiotics.  So that should really clean me out for the surgery on Monday. 
Thus far - I feel surprisingly calm and ready for this. Every now and then I get a little nervous and wonder if I have underestimated how painful/hard//overwhelming/etc. this surgery might be - but I am placing my life and health in God's hands and know He will take care of me and guide me through this. 
Tomorrow - I still have a few items left to get at the store and then I am ready! I hope to check in one more time before the surgery!

Ok - still hanging in.   I have been good for the most part - had some black bean soup on my birthday but kept the calories down.  It feels like there is a long distance still to the surgery.  Tomorrow I am having my preop appt with the surgeon at 10 - that is exciting and then the final four days. I am going to have coffee with Linda on Thursday or Friday.  I will go to church on Sunday. So that leaves Friday and Saturday unstructured - but I do have a few things I need to do. 
I feel sort of paralyzed waitng for this. But its the best I can do. 
I thought today I would make a list of all the things that will be great about my future self.

I can sit in the little antique chairs in the dining room
I won't get charlie horseals when I lean over to wipe. 
I will be able to wear cute shoes with heels!
I will fit into booths at restaurants
I won't need the extender seat belt on air planes
I will be able to wear rings on all my fingers
I'll be able to wear an ankle bracelet
I won't hate how I look in pictures
I will be able to sleep more comfortably.
I'll be able to sleep on my stomach
I'll be able to lean over and pick stuff off the floor
My blood sugars will go down
My blood pressure should normalize
I might even stop having asthma problems
I'l be able to wear pants that don't have stretchy waists
I will tuck in my shirt
i can wear sleeveless shirts

Sludging my way through.  Actually the good news is that when i got on the scales today I weighed 311.  That's seven pounds down! Yikes - I hope it keeps going like this - but it just feels like forever until the surgery.   I am trying to keep myself busy. Tomorrow - church and then my doctors appts. next Mon and then my pre op surgery appt on Wed. I am just keeping those ahead in my mind - I want to be at least 10 pounds down for my pre op appt.  Unfortunately my birthday is Mon. And I need to do something special for myself for that day. - Since I won't be eating......  I am a little worried about that. But I am deciding that getting this surgery is the best present I can give to myself!! Its the gift of life, wellness, my body back.... my life back. So many things I haven't been able to do with this extra weight - so I am looking forward to that all changing!! 

Just a little more of today left and then I will be at day FOUR!

Ok - got back last night. And today - the liquids are ok. I am going to have to do this just one day at a time.  feels like a long time..... but I am doing it. 
I left for Hawaii weighing 314 and came back weighing 318 - that is also giving me incentive - don't want to have gained back the weight I have already lost -  So hopefully those four pounds will dissapear quickly. 
I am still feeling fairly positive but a little nervous. But I feel this is just what I HAVE to do. My only other real options are to stay on the diet merry go round and continue to get fatter and ultimately sicker.  I have gone round this block dozens of times - no - this is the way it has to be. 
 I still have to do a few things to get ready - I am just sort of getting back to normal today.  I am sure I will be checking in again soon.

I somehow made it through Christmas.  Lots of food - it was a struggle to not just eat for days. But I stayed away from sweets and though we had a big dinner at the Smokehouse, I only had a protein shake for supper.  Today I did ok - had a protein soup for dinner tonight. Although I wanted to eat other stuff. But the protein does fill me up. 
I am also liking the Crystal light  lemonade individual servings. 

Tomorrow we get ready for Hawaii. I have to wash a million clothes and figure out what I am taking.  Thursday we pack and at 2:30 a.m.
we are picked up to be taken to the airport. 
I am looking foward to Hawaii - but I dread the plane trip - fitting into the seat, the long walk at the airport and so on. But we will get through it. 
We also won't have a king bed at the house where we are staying so our sleeping will be not comfortable and through it all I am thinking about my upcoming surgery..... I don't want to say I am nervous... I am a little... I really just want to get it over with.  I do have some fear.  Things can go wrong.  But the truth is things can go wrong at any second of any day.  Not just with surgery.  The risk is minimal as it can be. I know my life will uttlerly changed and I can't even conceive of that. I just know that I am ready for it to be changed.  I need to get my body back, my health back, my energy back.  I want to live like a normal person. Fitting behind the steering wheel, in restaurant seats, in airplane seats, in desks at school. In most chairs in general... I want to wear cute shoes, and cute clothes.  And feel good about myself.
I don't want to be the fattest person in every room any more.  
Please God - help me as we go to Hawaii and then my preparations for the surgery. I know the next week will go by fast with the trip and all the stuff we will be doing in Hawaii. And once we are home. I will only have about four days before my dr appts. start. 
It will all go smoothly - Thank you God for walking with me through all this!
I will try to check in again when we get back from Hawaii.

Well its Thursday - and getting close to Christmas. I am still nicking away at my preop - two meals and one shake a day. Still down about 10 pounds. For a minute there it looked like I was down 12 but bounced back up. Tomorrow I have my treadmill and ekg tests.  Not particularly worried - although I certainly want everything to be ok. 
 I am actually more worried about fighting the traffic into LA than I am the test. lol!  I am sort of ready for Christmas - but not in a very Christmasy mood.  We are getting together with friends tomorrow night and they will get to see our new grandchild! That should be fun.  But with everything I have to watch what i eat.....  hard at this time of year. 
I guess I am really trying to pass the time until we get to Hawaii. And in truth I am trying to pass the time until the SURGERY.  
I have been reading various posts and sometimes it feels like there are a lot of things to worry about - the pbing, port flipping, reflux,  pain etc. 
One womans heart stopped during surgery and they restarted her and she is ok. but that is freaky! 
One day at a time.. That is all I can really do.... just take this one day at a time. enjoy my grand daughter, Christmas, my time in Hawaii etc.   I am just so bad at waiting.  I guess I feel really impatient today. 
Its dark and cold right now.  I can't spend money, eat or do anything much fun. So I am blogging instead.  
I do have a book to read and i can enjoy that - I can also watch a funny movie or something.

I bet I will be absolutely nuts that last week before sugery!!! Yikes. If this is bad.... what will that be like? I will really have to find things to keep my mind on then!!!! I will be checking back in again soon.

 Its a week before Christmas and I am continuing to do a protein shake one meal a day - but with holiday parties etc. its been hard not to over eat on my dinner meal. 

But I am keeping up the fight.  Have been reading the boards and feeling a little trepidation about some of the problems that will undoubtedly be part of this experience. 
1. Getting stuck - sounds awful - know it will happen at least once - want to be prepared.
2. Pain after the surgery at the port site... Also the gas pains. I am such a  wimp when it comes to pain.... but others seem to have survived.
3. The week of liquids before the band, the clear liquids two days before the band and the two weeks of liquids post band.....
Sounds really hard - I am trying to psych myself up to it.  I figure the preband will be the hardest  but the post band --- I am thinking I won't be feeling that great anyway. 
Oh well.... I am putting this all down because it will interesting to see later - how founded or unfounded my fears were. 

I also can see that weight loss is slow at least initially after the band - and that concerns me - but ultimately it seems like it is a process that I just need to go through - knowing its not all easy.
I have to keep reminding myself - that my weight didn't show up over night - nor did my bad eating habits just start - and it will take time and determination to turn the titanic around.  
I am DETERMINED TO THIS. I MUST DO THIS.  its too easy to sit on my couch and do nothing until my entire body turns into jello and stops moving altogether. 
Well so much for now.  Hopefully the next four weeks will pass quickly - I am getting ready for Christmas this next week. Then Christmas with my daughters at my house. Then I will be getting ready for Hawaii and leaving for Hawaii on the 29th. 
Hawaii will be fun with my mother and sister - we get back on the 3rd I amsure the 4th will be spent sleeping and starting the 5th I am on all liquids prior to my first dr. appt. on the 8th, then my preop on the 10th. So that is a lot that is happening - the last week may be a little bit of a nail biter - but for now
one day at a time!!.

Two weeks ago I had my consultation and the date has been set for Jan. 15th - It could have been sooner - but my husband wanted me to wait until after Christmas and after we got back from Hawaii - so that if there were any problems I wouldn't be far away.....
Part of me wanted it now! But now, two weeks later - I am glad I waited. I have a lot to do to get ready. I have been losing on the pre op diet. Which is basically a light breakfast and a meal replacement for either lunch or dinner and a sensible dinner. 

This has given me an opportunity to try out various protein shakes and get ready. So far I am down about 13 pounds! Wow.  I feel confident I can continue this regimen even while we are traveling and not feel like I missed my vacation with my family.  When I get back, I go on all liquids and then the clear liquids. I am a little freaked out about that - but I am really committed to this. The way I look at it - if I am willing to be cut open and have an implant put inside me - a little liquid diet should be the least of my problems. 

Although I think about this surgery constantly - I am not afraid at this point. I feel like it is in God's hands  and this is what He would want me to do to take better care of my body.

I also am starting to walk a few times each week - to get my excercise unde way.   I have a long way to go but they say 
a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step!