Banning the Scale

Today.... I am banning the scale. From this day forward I will NOT step foot on a scale unless my doctor requests it. It is soooo fustrating to see inches come off but the needle on the scale not budge at all. So to save myself the time and heartache...the scale is banned!!!!!

S/P Lap Band Surgery Tips and Tricks

My Lap Band Journey Tips- Post Surgical

-A pillow will be your best friend for at least 2 weeks after surgery. Hold it tight when sneezing, getting up, coughing, laughing etc

-Fart often- there is no way around it sometimes. Gas-x only works for so long

- Chicken dance baby!!- For stuck episodes or feelings of stuck place your left hand in your arm pit and flap like a chicken about 10 times. You look funny but it definitely makes a difference.

-Heating pad-helps relax things- it is wonderful!!!

-Left side- Lay on it!!! It helps move the food along and the gas!!!

- You will be lucky if you have a BM the first or second day. Third day seems to be the day. You are not constipated you just had surgery and haven’t eaten anything of substance.

-Expect diarrhea until you are a few days into your solid phase. Wet wipes will be your best friend.

-Anything with carbonation will blow you up- very uncomfortable

-Things that give you gas now will still give you gas then- but 10x worse

-Stress, emotions, anger, menstrual cycles and in the Morning your band may be tighter due to stomach swelling. Eat slower.

- Walk walk walk walk….It helps move things along

-Try not to drink when you eat- It really does push the food through, Defeats the purpose of the band.

-Chewable Tylenol tastes better then liquid. Children’s liquid Tylenol is also nice.

-Crockpot…greatest item ever, makes almost any meat very tender and easy to eat

-Blender- Great for blending anything

- Don’t expect dramatic weight loss after the band. You will be lucky if you loose at all until your first or second fill. That is just how it works.

-Burping is hard with the band- although it is a wonderful release of pressure. If you are sitting try standing and take a small walk. Helps moves things around and allows air to escape.

Trouble down under

So the other morning I realized I had a lump located above my port. It hurts to touch and my port feels flipped. I called the surgeon and they didnt get back to me till a day later. This morning I went in and saw the nurse and she had another surgeon take a feel. He thinks its fluid and wants me to wait out the weekend... If by monday there is not change I need to go back in and see Dr. Monk..

So I was doing some research today and I read that 1-5 people who have the band develop a port leak. It is like a defective device. My surgeon didn’t do a barium or anything afterwards to look for a leak so it would be hard to notice before or during surgery or even right after surgery. If I go back on Monday he will likely do a injection under fluoroscopy. If the fluid has built up enough and my port has flipped and he can not access it then I will need to go in for surgery regardless. If there is a leak found under fluro then back into surgery for a new port. There is a possibility of a leak they can’t see. So if that is the case they will do a fill and see if I have any restriction in a week or two. Then go back and see how much fluid is in the band. If it is less then they put in and I have no restriction then I have a leak and into surgery I will go… Either way if it is a leak I will need to have surgery again…If it is neither of those then he may do an ultrasound or CT scan to see if something else is in there. I can tell you this.. my port does not feel the same as it did two weeks ago. Two weeks ago I could feel a flat surface…now it feels like the edge of something. A flipped port can be caused by two things… not enough stitching to keep it in place or I did too much too soon and ripped the stitching.

11 days post op

Ok everyone so today is 11 days post op. Since 7/30/2010 I have lost a total of 17 pounds which is 10% of my goal. Things are going okay. I still have slight pain when I breath deep breaths, cough, sneeze and laugh but it is almost 1000x better then a few days ago. I am current on a purree diet which has been okay. I think personally I am more on a mushie/soft food diet. Everything so far goes down easily. I can tell when I am getting full because the food tends to go down a lot slower and I get this tightness right behind my breast bone. It almost feels like you have take too big of a bite.So then I stop eating when I feel that. I can feel I need a fill because it is just to easy to eat foods. I do get fuller quicker but it doesnt stop me from eating more then I think I should with the bad. This is often a shared complaint amoungs the banded community.  I am finding is VERY hard not to drink 30 min before and after as well as during the eating process. I am not sure I can even break that habit but I will try. I also found out that pasta of any kind is a No-No. It makes me very gasy and BLOATED. Which in turn leads to me being very uncomfortable. I also found that my underwire bra is also hurting me too. My band is located just under the end of my breast bone and my underwire sits right there. Of course a 46D is going to add a lot of unwanted weight there. Another thing I am truely happy about is that I can now sleep and lay on both of my sides. After surgery I could only lay sitting up on my back. Now I can lay down with two pillows on my sides! YES! That is how I like to sleep! LOL..On the sad hand the other day as I was tending to my wounds I saw that the three smaller ones did not look that great. Red around the edge. One of them was not closing like I though it was. So yesterday evening I hit those things with anitbiotic cream and antibiotic band aids. I hope this works and they start closing up. I have a surgeons appt tomorrow in the AM. I will post after that to let you all know how things are going!

- Much Love,
T

Surgery is tomorrow!

So I had a really hard time falling asleep last night. I had some nasty nightmares and a slight headache this AM. This morning I got up and had to drink 2oz of castor oil- I am on clear liquids for the rest of the day today till midnight.  I think right now I am ready for tomorrow. Just to get this done and start my new life. I am ready to loose some weight. I am not 100% sure of how much I have lost already. I will get a official weight tomorrow. My heaviest is 254. So now the 24 hour count down till my band begins!!!!!

Almost Time....

Two more days of this stupid vanilla diet... Im so sick of vanilla right now. Three days till surgery. Im ready.....that is all..........

Food

Its evil, its lovely, its great, it was my best friend....It comforted me and never turned its back on me...Now I turn my back on it...

I hate you food...

The few days before my liquid diet started I was obsessed with eating everything I would miss after surgery. Pizza, fried chicken, soda, ice cream, pie...etc..etc...About two days before I started which would of been Wednesday I was done...I was so tired of obsessing over food. I almost started my diet one day early but I didn't.

This is my first day of my diet- honestly I am not hungry...I have the shakes a little and I can feel a headache starting up. Which I was told to expect.

I can smell the lunch the office is having...smells good but none of it is calling to me right now. I think I will chew a piece of gum- trick my brain...

For right now things a smooth.... lets see how tomorrow is....