Post-Op Update

I am now 12 days post-op, and I'm feeling pretty good.  As of today, I have lost...

35 lbs

This pic was taken 5 days after surgery.

I am excited about the weight loss, but I will admit that eating is VERY difficult.  This was my Christmas dinner:

That is 2 ounces of watered down mashed potatoes and 1/2 slice of cranberry sauce. Doesn't that look delicious! 

2 week post-op doctor appointment is tomorrow.  I will have more pics and updates later.  Just wanted to give a quick update.  Thanks for following along.



Recovery

I am in recovery mode, but wanted to at least post about my progress. The surgery was difficult and the recovery is even worse. I have 5 incisions in my abdomen; one of them is bigger than the others (where they pulled my stomach out). They are all extremely sore and moving is very difficult.  They pumped loads of air in me during surgery so I am bloated and swollen from the trauma. I had a local anesthetic in my abdomen until yesterday. My mom had to pull 8 inches of tubing out of my stomach...it was down near my stomach where I am stapled together. This was not pleasant. The pics are a little gross, but as I said from the beginning, I will show and tell as much as I can. I will be able to post more pics from the actual hospital and will give a full rundown of what happened while I was there. For now it's time for me to rest. Thanks again for all your thoughts and prayers.

Tomorrow is the BIG day!!

"When one approach is not working to reach the desired goal, that's not a reason to abandon the goal. Instead, it is time to devise another approach." - Ralph Marston

It has finally arrived!  TOMORROW IS THE BIG DAY!  Gastric Sleeve here I come!!!

 As of this morning, 12/16, my total pre-op weight loss is:

21.2 lbs

I am extremely happy with that number for the pre-op portion.  Now the big weight loss will begin! 

Thank you to Ashley May for drawing this fabulous cartoon for me today!  Your talent cannot be described in words my friend!

This will be my last post until next week.  Wish me luck!  Ashley will text everyone who has requested an update on Saturday!  Hugs to everyone for the well wishes and prayers!

Update - 4 Days Away!

I am officially 4 days away from surgery!  For so long, it felt like it would never get here, now the time is flying by!  I have been on all liquids since last Wednesday (7 days), and it is miserable.  No sugar coating that! 

My total pre-op weight loss is:

16.6 lbs

I will give an updated total on Friday before surgery.  I'm sure with 4 more days of liquids, there will be more weight loss!

Here is the before picture that I promised I would post.  YIKES!!!!!!!!

As I start to lose more weight, I will do a monthly before/after post so we can all see the progress.  This is super exciting.  I am so ready!

Is weight loss surgery the easy way out??

I have heard people say that weight loss surgery is the easy way out.  I have one thing to say to that...BULLSHIT!  Speaking strictly for myself, if I could lose weight any other way, then I would do it.  I am not choosing to undergo surgery and lose the majority of my stomach for funsies!  I also would not subject myself to the following diet:

This pre-op diet is a complete suckfest!  What you see above is all I can have.  My last morsel of normal food was on Tuesday, 12/6, at 7:30pm.  Since that time, I have only had clear liquids.  I will say that as of day 3, my body is starting to adjust a little.  The first 2 days were absolute hell.

Here is the post-op meal plan:

At this stage, I can have 3-4 ounces.  This will be the limit for the rest of my life. 

Stage 3 is a normal diet which will begin on February 5th.  So now you have detailed insight into my diet for the next few months.  Sounds like fun, huh?  I just have to keep my #1 goal in mind...HEALTH!



Liquid Diet

Today began the ALL LIQUID DIET!  I truly hope I can make it through these 10 days leading up to surgery.  This is totally my stomach right now...

I told it earlier if it didn't stop crying, I was just gonna take it out!  Hahaha...just a little gastric sleeve humor!

Anyway, not much else to say today.  Hope I don't gnaw my arm off while I'm sleeping.

The Pre-Op Cluster!

On Friday, 12/2/11, I went through the entire pre-op process that I have now appropriately named the CLUSTERF***!  I left my house at 6:45am on Friday morning and didn't get home until 5:40pm. 

My first appointment was with the Dietitian at 8:00am.  She went over the pre-op liquid diet which begins on Wednesday, 12/7/11.  It is a little piece of hell.  I was told that the purpose of this diet is to basically starve myself and shrink my organs for surgery.  Sounds fun, right?  Here is how it goes:

Meal 1:  Slim Fast Shake
Meal 2:  Slim Fast Shake
Meal 3:  Slim Fast Shake
Meal 4:  Slim Fast Shake

Meal 5:  Slim Fast Shake                               

I can have as much water, diet juice, sugar free jello and sugar free Popsicles as I want!  WOOHOO!  Can you sense my sarcasm?

The post-op diet sucks even more so, but the Dietitian said I will not have an appetite so I will have to force myself to drink!  Basically it is the same as the above, however weeks 1-3 I can only have 2 oz per meal.  Yep you read that right...2 ounces!!

Weeks 4-6 I move on to soft foods (bananas, oatmeal, etc) and I can have 3 ounces.  Weeks 7-the rest of my life I can have any foods but my tummy will only hold 4 ounces. 

Next stop was the ultrasound of my legs and abdomen.  That part went well and the tech said I have fantastic muscle tone in my legs so they will look great when I lose weight!  Score!

I packed up and headed to Baylor hospital in Dallas.  Went through the paperwork process first then went to visit the nurse.  She took all of the pertinent info and I made her make a huge note on my chart:  PATIENT HAS VENEERS...DO NOT EFF THEM UP!!  Hahaha, ok so it didn't really say that, but trust me it is noted! 

From there I went to have my EKG, Chest X-Ray and blood work.  This took HOURS!!!!!!!!!!!



So now everything is done, and the next step is showing up on the day of surgery.  I have to be there at 6:30am and my surgery will start at 7:30am.  Ashley will have access to my account and will post once I am in recovery.  Get ready for some exciting pics from the hospital.  I'm sure I will be a sight to behold!!