Officially Banded For One Week, But The Journey Is Far From Over

It’s been one week since my surgery.  Yesterday was the first time I’ve felt well enough to even pull out my lap top.  It has been a HELL of a week..

Other then having a panic attack in the OR, surgery went well.  They wanted to keep me overnight because of the panic attack.  My mom stayed with me which was really nice.  I slept alot, which is typical after surgery.

Once home, recovery started off as well as can be expected.  The biggest pain and discomfort I had was gas pains in my side.  My pillow was my best friend, holding it close to my belly helped minimize the pain.  Mylaanta was another good friend of mine.  Had some trouble sleeping, but I felt like I was getting a little better every day.

Mom left on Friday morning and I was really sad, but I was getting better so I knew I’d be ok.  At least I thought I would.  Unfortunately, Friday I took a turn for the worst.  I had a pounding headache all day and my blood pressure shot up to 152/102.  I called the doctor to let him know what was going on.  He said that it could very well be the pain medication I was on which had codeine in it, so he ordered me to stop taking it and instead take over the counter extra strength liquid tylenol.  Once I was able to switch to that and with the help of my hubby heating up some gelpacks for my head, my headache went away and then my blood pressure was back to normal.

The next two days I felt weak and in pain and not at all as great as I was feeling in the beginning of the week, which sucked.  I spent all weekend mostly in bed sleeping or trying to sleep.  I didn’t even turn the television on much.  My aunt drove from Fort Myers and stayed for the weekend to take care of me.  I knew I wasn’t ready to go back to work yet, so I called my boss and let him know I needed a few more days.  By last night, I was feeling a little better.  Even antsy, so hubby took me out to the store for a little bit.  It was tiring, and I was a little dizzy, but I needed to get out and it was nice.
Yesterday morning I woke up feeling pretty good and half normal.  I slept pretty much all thru the night and woke up and was able to make coffee for hubby and feed the cats. I hung out in the living room all day with my lap top, which is a good sign.

Today my mother in law drove me to my one week follow up appointment with my surgeon.  He says I’m doing great!  After my appointment we went to a few stores and I was able to walk a bit.  I’m exhausted, but I’m not lightheaded, so things are progressing nicely.  I think I’ll be able to go to work tomorrow.

I just realize that I haven’t told you) what my diet has consisted of.  Week one was chicken broth, jello (which got old real fast), and sugar free italian ice.  It is now week 2 and I have added oatmeal, sugar free pudding, and cream soups to the mix.  Cream soups and oatmeal have never tasted this good.  I can’t wait till I can have meat again, I have been missing and craving that.
So, total weight loss so far?  Well, before surgery, I was able to lose about 15 pounds.  Since surgery, I’ve lost 10 pounds.  I’d say I’m doing pretty damn good

Another Scare and Two Days of an All Liquid Diet

This past week has been super crazy and went by a lot faster then I thought it would.
I was just getting used to receiving random calls from my surgeons office and not automatically expecting the worst.  Wednesday they called me with some bad news.  My insurance company had withdrawn their approval for the surgery.

WHAT?

Ughh, I couldn’t believe this was happening and happening 4 days before surgery is scheduled!!!  I am really proud of myself.  Instead of crying and feeling like I couldn’t do anything, I immediately picked up the phone and called my insurance company.  I didn’t know what that would do, if anything, but I just HAD to do SOMETHING.

For the next hour or two I did not know what the hell was going on.  I spent it on hold for the most part.  First the insurance company tried to get in touch with their approval department.  Their approval department didn’t know anything about a withdrawal of approval.  Okkkaayyy….  After tons more on hold music, I recommended to the insurance company that we call the surgeons office and get them on the phone so we could figure this out.

Finally, they figured things out.  I’m glad they did but I still don’t completely understand what happened.  What they told me was that the hospital had made an error when they submitted to the insurance company for approval on my hospital stay.  Not the approval for the actual surgery (there’s a difference?) so that’s why the approval department didn’t know about this.  Anyways, in the end, they approved it and we are still on for Monday.  But at this point.. I guess anything could happen.
In the meantime, mom arrived safely on Friday morning from Jersey.  We drove to Fort Myers that same morning and have been here ever since.  Friday night I had my “last supper”.  The family indulged me and we went to Sonny’s BBQ.  Everyone took my lead and ordered All You Can Eat BBQ Ribs.  Mmmm

Yesterday I did my first day of an all liquid diet.  Mommy really helped me with this.  All I had to do was tell her I was hungry and she got me my next “meal”.  Protein shakes, chicken broth, jello, italian ice, apple juice, water..that’s it!  Meanwhile the family was enjoying some nice smelling pork.. and cuban bread.. and all kinds of yummy looking stuff.  It was hard, but I did it.  I got anxious about not eating real food and my cousin distracted me with some old pictures of us when we were growing up.  It worked because I stopped thinking about food and started posting old pictures on Facebook.
Today is day two.  If I got through yesterday, then I can definitely get through today.  We are leaving today to get back into Orlando and prepare for my week of recovery.  I’ve got to be at the hospital tomorrow at 6 am.  Fun stuff.

So.. today I say goodbye to plus size clothing, squeezing into a booth at a restaurant, praying the bar clicks on rides at the theme parks, uncomfortable flights on airplanes… I could go on and on but you get the point.

Being overweight sucks.  Not only is it generally unhealthy, but it’s damaging to my self esteem and soul.  I know I’m beautiful the way I am, it’s not about that.  It’s about feeling great in my own skin, feeling comfortable in my own skin, feeling healthy in my own skin.  Not just BEING beautiful, but FEELING beautiful.

Just a quick thank you to everyone that has supported me through this journey.  It’s not done yet, and it will be awhile before it’s done, but getting to this point has been hard, and I could NOT have done it without you all.  So thank you. <3

Less Than Two Weeks Away

I saw my surgeon today for the last time before I see him again on surgery day.  He was very happy with my weight loss for these past couple of weeks.  Told me to keep on doing what I’m doing because I’ve already gotten passed the hard part.  I hope he’s right!

Not looking forward to the two days before surgery, tho.  Those two days I will be on a completely liquid diet.  No solid food at all.  Ugh.  Gotta keep my focus tho.. Keep my goals in mind.  It will pay off in the end.

I’ve been experiencing a lot of anxiety these past couple of days.  Am I doing the right thing? Will I be successful?  What happens if I don’t wake up from surgery?  All kinds of scary thoughts creeping into my mind.  Both rational and irrational.  I just keep giving myself pep talks.. So far it’s working

I’m sure my anxiety is only going to get worse tho.. I know myself.  I like to work myself up for things all the time.  I can’t help it.  Wish I could.

Sooo.. a week from this Thursday I go to the hospital for pre-admission testing.  Then Friday mom arrives from Jersey to take care of me.  We’ve decided to take a little road trip that weekend before my surgery.  We’re going to visit family over in Fort Myers.  I’m excited to see everyone again!  But- I will be on my all liquid diet this weekend so it’s going to be hard..

But I will do it.