Lapband Week 3

I woke up yesterday and it was the amazing, I had NO pain. No pinching, no fireballs, no nothing. I was a little worried because I thought that not having any pain meant that the band had slipped or broken off. I found out later that it is for sure still there.
The pain in my chest from the hernia operation has completely gone away, Except for the slight scar on my abdomen, you would never even know I had surgery.

So I drank my water fast like I used to. I love water! No problems. I then cooked me a piece of fish and sat down to eat, I was really looking forward to eating with no pain. I started to eat without really thinking about it and I took my first bite, it was a big one. It was yummy so I took my second bite and then a third, oh yes I could EAT!! So happy! Then it hit me, PAIN, nausea, I pushed my plate away in disgust and ran to the sink. Oh NO it was stuck, I could FEEL it. I had eaten too fast, too much, something. I never threw up but I felt like it was seconds away. Finally when it passed the band I felt better but I ate no more the rest of the day.

Now, I know. I will never do that again.

I still have no pain, except when I eat too much/fast. I am thankful for the band and its reminder to slow down and chew and eat with purpose.

L.

P.s. In my last post I said that my doctor said that most people have hernias. He said that as we get older, the opening in the diaphram that allows the esophagus and stomach to go through, it gets bigger. It can happen when we sneeze, lifting heavy objects, the bigger we get ect... only in extreme cases do they cause issues, most cause indigestion, heartburn and general discomfort.
FYI...L.

Lapband Post op visit.

ok yall, I went to see Dr. Marsden (I love him) today for my post op visit. I had some questions and he answered them all.

First off, I am a little ahead of the average weight loss for less that two full weeks out of surgery. I have lost 7 lbs since I was banded and the average is 6 lbs.

I asked him about my pinching pain, the reason I can't sneeze or yawn without pain. It is a pinching in the middle of my chest. It is very painful. He said that is from my hernia repair. He said that my hernia was not a monster, nor was it life threatening. He explained that almost everybody has one but why not close it up while you are in there. He also said that the pain will go away in about a month or so. It has to heal up first and then I won't have that pain anymore.

I was very relieved to hear that. I mean, that right there alone will make everything better. Including my fireball bubbles. I think those hurt so badly because I can't catch my breath.

Now, about the fireball bubbles, he said those will also go away to some extent, but that will always be there in some form because that is the restriction factor of the band. I need that little reminder to keep me from eating the wrong things or too much in any one bite. When I get filled (water added to inflate the band and squeeze it tighter around my stomach, in order to make me feel fuller) the fireball bubble sensation will come back for a little while. I honestly think I can deal with those as long as I can breathe, stretch, yawn or sneeze without pain. I am excited for that day to get here.

7lbs since banding. Yay. 25.4 overall, bigger YAY!

Thank you all for your support and prayers, this is going to be a long road, but I am on it.
Lisa xoxoxo

Lapband Adventures Day # 10

Things are going well, I am eating Taco Bueno's pintos and cheese! Yay, just a few bites and I am full.
I wake up and start drinking water. I like to get my water intake in because I can't drink while I eat and for sometime after I eat. But today I am going to try to eat some scrabbled eggs for breakfast. I have lost 25.4 lbs so far. I see the doctor tomorrow, which is good because I have a few questions.
#1. Why does it hurt when I yawn/stretch, is that the hernia repair?
#2. Will I always have discomfort when I eat? Digest?(fireball)
and a couple others...

So far it has been really good, I will keep you updated.
Lisa

Kaos the Zedonk

Hey all Kaos is 1 year old now. I just thought I would give you all an update.

Lapband adventures Day #7

So, today I am supposed to able to begin introducing thicker foods to my diet. For the first week all I could have is stuff that would go through a straw. Because the stomach is still a little swollen from the procedure, thick or solid foods will or can get stuck. That could cause the new little stomach to stretch and have some really bad side effects, one being throwing up/band slippage (not good) and another could be not losing as much weight because the new pouch holds too much.
I called the doctors office about this pain that I was having about 5-20 minutes after I drank something. It feels like an air bubble that is potentially on fire that rises from my gut but never completely surfaces...it just comes up part of the way and then dissipates, until the next time.

I spoke with my surgeons nurse and she said that is the liquid passing through the band. Which made sense. Apparently that is the feeling I will have when my band is inflated and the opening about the size of a dime. Especially if I don't chew well or try to eat something that is too fiberous and it has a hard time going through. Good to know information.

I am going to have a yogurt today in addition to my V8 juice and my muscle milk. All have lots of vitamins and low fat and low calorie. I may try some pureed chicken tomorrow. The best part is that I am not really hungry. Sure my tummy rumbles and I can feel that it is empty, but the sharp hunger pangs, I don't have those.

I have virtually no pain at all now, except when I stand for a long time or bend over to pick something up. So extreme movements either way are the hardest, but not terrible.

Day 5 , went to work for a few hours and that was tough but Day 6 I worked a little longer and it seemed fine. I also wore some stretchy pants on day 6...it made a big difference.

My big triumph of the day: I took 2 bras and 2 shirts that I never wore back to Lane Bryant and they credited my account $151.00, she was basically begging me to buy something and I just looked at her and said " Honey, I have no idea what size I am going to be next week" ( Huge grin)

I am down 24 lbs and up $151.00

Love Yall L.

Lapband Day #6

Most of the pain is gone or seems to be until I am standing. Then I can still feel the pulling on my left side. I am still on a liquid diet, which is high in protein and low in sugar. I am not really hungry, but my stomach rumbles and seems quite angry with me. So I drink my protein drink and it stays quiet for a while.

Last night was great because I am a stomach sleeper and I was able to roll to my right side partailly. Yay! It was a good night.

So far I have lost 23.2 lbs. since the beginning of this journey. Pre-op diet took care of most of that.

I will keep giving updates as this is the single most exciting thing happening to me, right now.

Thanks for keeping me in your prayers. Muahh...L.

Lapband, hernias, and more....

Ok, so on Friday July 10th Andrea picked me up way before the sun came up. We trekked across town to a surgical center in Richardson. I made up my mind to have the Lapband procedure done. Thats right, I spent the majority of life being a "big girl", and except for the "meth years" that is all I have ever really known. Time for a new normal. Time to be healthy.

Well, I had had enough. I went in and Andrea was with me. The day was a blur, all I remember is being extremely tired and Andrea playing with my Iphone, and complaining because apparently I did not have enough music for her to listen to. I went to stay at her house for the first 24 hours. So thankful that I did. I must say, she is the best nurse ever! She woke me up so sweetly each hour and a half to take my meds, to walk around and to blow on my breathing gauge machine. She was ON IT! (secretly, I loved being so taken care of, but, every now and then I could have beat her over the head with that stupid breathing machine, She was so bossy! She would say..."Time to use the blow machine!" "How many is that?" "Stay in here so I can watch you..."..dang woman!)To her credit and insistance, I did not get pneumonia. It never had a chance... I am just saying.

Today is day # 3 it is not that bad, I am now off all pain meds but still on a little ibuprophen and my antibiotics. I think my surgeon is a genius, I don't think I will have scars at all. He also went in and closed a hernia that I had. His name is Dr. John M. Marsden. I pretty much think he is awesome. He is very meticulous and that is what I wanted. He also cares, which was also of utmost importance to me.

Long story short. This next year is going to be a big one. My plan is to blog about my progress, my ups and downs, post before and after pictures and much more. This was not an easy descision to make for me but I feel it was the best one. It may be something that you would never even consider, or it could be all that you think about. I hope that blogging my journey will be helpful and informative as well as entertaining. Speaking of entertaining, I had Andrea take some "before" pictures that I refuse to post until I have some kind of "after" picture. They are way too humiliating.

My current diet consists of Chicken broth, Myralax, Naked friut juice, V8 low sodium juice, and no hormone yogurt smoothie, 1/2 cup at a time. mmmm. But that is fine since I am not really hungry at all.

One thing is sure, things are going to be changing.

Love you all
Lisa

So no bloggie...STAY TUNED

I have some amazing things about to happen. God willing. So please stay tuned it is going to be a very interesting year! VERY INERESTING!!