Day 10 post op . . .

Good morning everyone! 

First, I wanted to post again about Shelly's give away. This time she is giving away an ice cream maker. I would love it to make some protein ice cream. Here's the link, today's the last day to enter.

http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/2011/06/eggfaces-5-year-anniversary-giveaway_23.html

My last blog I was at day 3 post op. Day four I was feeling really gassy. I was only able to burp it out and that wasn't getting it good enough. I walked a lot. I went on four walks outside that day. It was nice to get out and dispel some of the air in my abdomen. 

That day I received flowers and a balloon from my mom, sister, and nephews.

I wanted to share some pics from my surgery experience:

 This is a pic of me in the waiting room of the surgical area on surgery day.









This is a pic of me about to go under for surgery.

This is a pic of me after surgery in the hospital. This was day two. They took my IV out for a min so that I could get dressed. They also took me off the pain med pump and started giving me liquid pain meds.

This is me waiting to leave the hospital on day 3.








I feel so much better now. I'm on day 10. I am able to keep down more and more fluids and protein. I can still only eat about 1.5 oz of food. The last few days I have been able to drink 43 oz of water. I still need to get to my minimum of 64 oz. My protein has been about 48g. I need at least 60g of protein. I started my vitamins today. I got the go ahead from my surgeon. The gas I had from surgery is almost gone completely. I only feel it a little bit now and I hardly ever need to burp. I don't feel really bloated any more. I little swollen still, but not a lot. My abdomen is still sore, but not painful. I can do more and more everyday. I've been walking a lot. I've been walking about 2.5 miles a day. But that is broken up in little 0.4 mile excursions. I can get up out of bed by myself now. I can reach down, carefully, to pick something off the ground. I can get on my knees and help my daughter with her bath and get up on my own. My back is sore a lot though because I can't sleep comfortably yet. I can sleep, but I still have to be slightly elevated and I always wake up early because my back is uncomfortable. I can't wait until I can eventually sleep on my side. I hate sleeping on my back. I've tried to sleep on me side or stomach, but it hurts. I can't last more than a few seconds like that.

Yesterday was my one week post-op appointment. It went well. The surgeon said I'm doing really well. He cautioned me to take it easy. He took the stitches out of the incision that originally had the drain tube. My incisions are healing nicely. I have an area that is kind of numb near one of my incisions, but not totally numb. He says that sometimes a nerve gets cut and it will re-grow the connection. I believe it because it used to be totally numb and every day I can feel a little more there. I am down to 205. My weight on surgery day was 210. Only 5 pounds lost, but I'll blame a lot on my water retention and bloating. I've been losing the water. Now I can start losing fat.

I go back to work next week and I'm a excited and nervous. I know that by next week the small amount I can eat will take it's toll on me and I'll be tired and a little weak for a few weeks. I hope they are understanding that I have to get up to walk often and that I'll be a bit tired. I'm excited to have something to do, but know that it will be crazy getting caught back up with my work. I also know that I will be asked all the time "how much have you lost?".

Well, I think that's enough of my prattle. :)

-Gastric Kitty

Just had my surgery . . .

 I just had my surgery on Monday. I just got home from the hospital this afternoon. I have Gastric Bypass Surgery Roux en Y and I had it laparoscopically. My surgeon was Dr. Robert Chastanet and my surgery took place in Chesapeake Regional Hospital in Virginia.

My surgery went really well. I have 6 incisions on my abdomen. They removed my drain tube today. They did an xray exam where I drank a barium drink while they checked for leaks. That went well.

Monday and tuesday I was on clear liquids. I just drank water until this morning. This morning I had my first meal (since Friday). I had cottage cheese. It was delicious. I had around 2 tbsp of it before I was full. I'm on soft/pureed foods for 6 weeks. When I got home, I made a pureed crab bake. Basically I put (on my mini food processor) 1 can of crab meat, 1 tsp of light mayo, 1 wedge of laughing cow light swiss cheese, a sprinkle of old bay, and 1 tsp of shredded low fat cheddar. I pureed it, put 2 oz in each of my little casserole dishes. Then I baked it for about 15 min. It was great! High protein too. Crab has a lot of protein. It wasn't too heavy on my pouch. I couldn't eat the full 2 oz though. I ate slowly and used a baby spoon (that helped me to eat tiny bites).

I just took my pain meds (I'm not really in much pain, more sore than anything). I don't think I'll need them for much longer. I've already walked a lot since I ate. I have been burping like crazy, but it helps me not feel so bloated with gas. The meds are kicking in, so I'm off to take a nap.

I just wanted to share this with all of you. :)

Have a great day!

-Gastric Kitty

Twas the night before surgery . . .

So yesterday was interesting. lol. I had to drink a whole bottle of calcium citrate (a laxative) and start a clear liquid diet. I got the grape flavor. It tasted like grape Dimetapp Elixer and alka seltzer and salt. It made me sooooo thirsty! I lived in the bathroom most of the day. lol. It was like clockwork every 20-30 minutes. I was fine by late evening. Me and my boyfriend went to Town Center, Virginia Beach and walked around a little. I wore out quick (my energy has been a little low) and we left before too long.

Today was a busy day getting ready for surgery, doing laundry, etc. Once I was able to settle down I just had a "me" evening. I took a long bath, gave myself a pedicure and manicure, watched a crappy 80's movie, and relaxed all evening. My bag is ready. All I have to do is take a couple "before" pics and shower with the scrub brush the hospital gave me. I can't have anything at all after midnight. I took out all of my piercings until after surgery. Tomorrow I have to wash with that stuff one more time then go to the hospital. I have to be there at 7:30am. My surgery is at 9am.

Ok, well, I would post more but my boyfriend is impatient to go to bed. So a short version of how I feel before surgery: a little nervous, a little scared, a lot excited, and VERY ready.

Bye!

-Cat

Free stuff again . . .

Shelly at The World According to Eggface is giving her second prize (out of 5) this month. It's a 2lb tub of SEI MAX Protein in Vanilla and a 28 oz shaker bottle. I want it!!!! lol. So, I am posting this here to share this with you. Cross your fingers! I know I will.

I forgot to share with you all that I chopped off the rest of my hair last weekend.

I love it! It's short, easy, and cool for the summer.

That's all, just a little FYI.

Bye!

-Gastric Kitty

And so it begins . . .

Tuesday I had my pre-op appointment and began my liquid diet. I have lost a total of 14 pounds so far since my first appointment with the surgeon!!!! Basically, I can have three protein drinks a day (they must have less than 7g of carbs and less than 7g of fat). I can drink water all day. I've been drinking water like crazy. I'm drinking 96oz a day.

I can use sugar-free items to flavor like Crystal Light or my fav: Mio.

I can also have one serving of fruit a day. I verified that I can have a serving of V8 low sodium as my fruit if I want something savory. I can also have a tomato as my fruit. NO GARLIC: it's a blood thinner.
I stop my vitamins after today. I don't start them again until a week after surgery. I have to have at least 60 grams of protein and 64 oz of water everyday. NO CAFFEINE. The reason for the liquid diet is to shrink the liver.

The day before surgery I have to drink a whole bottle of Citrate of Magnesium. Then I will have to drink at least 8 oz of water every hour for 4 hours. After that I can only have clear liquids and nothing after midnight before surgery.

It's day three of the liquid diet. The first day sucked. I was starving! It was hard that day. My stomach was grumbling and all I could think about was food. It was more head hunger than anything. It sucked. Day two wasn't quite as bad. I still was hungry all the time, but not as severely. Now on day three, I'm still hungry throughout the day, but only a little here and there. I'm mostly hungry when I think about food or when people talk about it.

For my three daily protein drinks I have been drinking either my: EAS:AdvantEdge Carb Control, Vanilla which has 17g of protein and 3g of carbs; Bariatric Pantry's Cream of Mushroom Soup which has 15g of protein and 6g of carbs (it is delicious!!!! Especially when you're sick of sweet and want a savory protein powder. This is just like other protein powders except you mix it with hot water and it's yummy); and last, Bariatric Pantry Hot Chocolate (this was really good and tasted like regular hot chocolate to me) which has 15g of protein and 3g of carbs. I know that I'm not getting quite enough protein from those so I ordered powdered nonfat milk (Organic Valley Nonfat Dry Milk Powder) to supplement my protein drinks. I should receive it in a day or two. It has 9g of protein, 0g fat, 0g carbs.

I had a little crying spell yesterday. My boyfriend's working a second job, my mom can't come for my surgery, my best friend being stressed out with finding a place (I wish I could help!) and no one really seeming interested in hearing me talk about the surgery for the millionth time. I guess it got me a little down yesterday. I cried and told him I felt all alone and like nobody cares. I know I'm not alone and I know people care, but I still had those feelings and it felt good to cry it out. I felt much better after that cry.

I have plenty of positive things to focus on too. My boyfriend is going to be home with me the two days at the hospital and first day home. My friend April is going to help babysit me during the day the first week. My friend Sarah will visit me in the hospital. My Aunt mentioned she wanted to visit. My dad is taking my daughter for 2 weeks. I'm having weight loss surgery!!! I lost 14 pounds already before the liquid diet. Like I said, plenty of good.

Anyways, enough of my blabber.
Ciao!

-Cat
(Gastric Kitty)

Ooooohhh . . . free stuff!

Sorry, but it's been like FOREVER since I last posted! lol. A lot has been going on. First and foremost: Shelly at The World According to Eggface is giving away 5 free prizes and the first one is a variety pack of Torani Sugar-free Syrups. I want these really bad. They are on my wishlist of things I want post surgery. Of course, *wink*, anything on my wishlist can be bought and shipped right to me. It won't show you my address, but it will ship to me directly and I do accept donations. lol. Anyways, as I was saying - Eggface rocks!!! I love her blog. There is so much useful information and I love her witty humor and attitude. You should check out her blog (if you haven't already - she's kinda a must read for anyone planning on having gastric bypass surgery). Even my surgeon's office lists her in their manual for the surgery and they tell all of us to read her blog. lol

***NEWS UPDATE***
I have a date for my surgery! My surgery will be on June 20. ***jumps up and down screeching and dancing*** I am sooooooo insanely excited. I start my liquid diet on Tuesday. I have my pre-op appointment on  Tuesday at 9am. On Saturday, June 18, I start my clear liquid diet. I will be in the hospital for 2 days. I will be off work for 2 weeks. I go back Tuesday, July 5. I have been having last supper syndrome this week. lol. Naughty, naughty. I had pizza twice this past week. I had super cheesy pasta friday. I had real granola cereal this morning. I had a salmon burger at Fuddruckers today. Okay, that one's not so bad, but I had some fries with it and ice tea with real sugar. lol. I am so hyper now because I'm not used to a lot of real sugar anymore since I went sugar-free. I'm back to my good, healthy eating tomorrow, then liquids after that. I'm not exactly sure what kind of liquids I can have and can't have yet. I do know that I can have 1 serving of fruit a day. I can either eat a piece of fruit or have it in a smoothie. I'm not too worried. I've done a liquid diet for a month before and it wasn't a problem.

Now for the emotional side . . . yay.

I think I'm feeling more emotional than I realize because I have been very snappy lately. I get angry or emotional much quicker than normal. I am very excited, but I am also nervous and a little scared. I guess it's natural to feel that way. I must push that all down pretty deep though because I have to really dig to sort out all the stuff I'm feeling after excitement. I think I am pushing it down to keep my courage high and make it easier to handle this. It reminds me of when I was pregnant with my daughter. Everyone tells you all the horror stories and everything they can to make you freak. I would just push it down and laugh it off and say how excited I was and that I wasn't really nervous or scared. Of course I was nervous and scared. But I realized that if I focus on that then I increased my chance of panicking and freaking out. There's no point in doing that. All that does is stress you out and make things worse.

So instead, I will plaster that brave face and laugh it off and wrap my courage around me like a shield. I am excited. I have been planning and preparing for this for a year now. I have read every article, blog, webpage, etc that I can. I still have a bunch of books I want to read (they're on my wishlist, hint, hint). I have (with the exception of this last week) changed my diet and lifestyle already for the better. I eat sugar-free. I minimized my carbs. I switched to whole grain. I increased my protein. I take all the vitamins that I will need after surgery. I still need to work on the exercising though. After surgery I plan to walk, walk, and walk some more.

I have a support system in place. I know some people will come visit me in the hospital. My dad is taking my daughter for two weeks. A friend of mine is going to "babysit" me during the day my first week home. My boyfriend will take off time to be with me. I'm trying to prepare myself mentally. I know it will be an emotional time. I'm sure I'll have some good cries. But sometimes that just what you need to release some stress and tension. I know that my hormones will be crazy. But I'm ready. I am ready to change my life. I'm ready to take the next big step in taking charge of my life and doing what I need to do for myself for my own happiness and longevity. I am saving my own life here.

This surgery isn't just some "easy way" to lose some weight. It's not easy at all. This is a tool I am using to change my life forever - for the better. I will lose this extra fat. I will become healthy and more fit. I will not let my weight become an obstacle in my life. I will NOT let it stop me from doing what I want to do in my life. I will be able to run around and play more with my daughter. I will be able to do more physical activities. To not be ashamed of the way I look. I will use this to help me be that proud, confident person that is hiding inside of me.

(Is this where I play "I am woman, here me roar"? LOL)

Peace!
Gastric Kitty