Ouch

I'm still alive.

The surgery got started a lot later in the day than I was originally scheduled for. Then it took longer than he thought it would due to a lot of scar tissue. Due to both issues, they just admitted me and kept me overnight.

Then since I was already there they kept me for a barium swallow test. Can you say yummy? Blech. Nastiest stuff I have EVER tasted.

Then they kept me some more just to make sure I was able to drink enough to stay hydrated. It was tough, because the surgery has made me feel all bloated and full, but I finally managed enough for them to declare me dischargeable. I got home late Wednesday afternoon.

I spent the rest of Wednesday and most of Thursday in a fog of pain and nausea. Headache pain. Not surgery pain. It wasn't until late Thursday when I was sitting on the couch, rocking back and forth, crying and moaning and holding my head to keep it from splitting open and having my brains run down my neck, that I happen to notice the bottle of nausea medicine. "May Cause Headaches".

I was so mad I threw it across the room.

The source of all my misery, and I was doing it to myself. I was religiously taking the nausea medicine because throwing up with a lap band is bad. Throwing up with a brand new lap band is worse.

Once that last dose finally wore off, I woke up from a nap and actually felt decent. I just lay there not moving, afraid if I moved I would spoil the feeling. Then I figured I better take advantage of it while it lasted and got some soup and some liquid protein in me.

I took my pain medicine around 11 and went to bed and slept through until 9 am this morning!

This morning is the first time I feel fairly normal. The surgery pain isn't too bad, but it is a lot worse than the first time. I don't know if that is due to the hiatal hernia repair part of it, or because of all the scar tissue he had to cut through or what, but OUCH.

Surgery Day

Finally.

I will be leaving shortly. The surgery isn't until 1 pm. I've never been scheduled in the afternoon before. It kind of sucks. No eating or drinking after midnight, but then your procedure isn't until the afternoon.

Makes a person parched.

I hope they don't expect a urine sample.

Keeping Busy

My latest obsessions, to keep me from eating:

1000 pieces

Evony

(a Facebook game)

One of four kingdoms in my empire.

You know you are hungry when...

...your mouth starts watering while you are stirring a container of yogurt.

Day ONE

I don't think I've mentioned this yet, but I got approved for the surgery. I got the happy, about to go on vacation, just got a raise, insurance person when my request went through.

Juyly 27. Hiatal hernia repair, brand new band.

That makes today - DAY ONE - of the required 2 week liquid diet.

What is the purpose of this, you may ask. It is to shrink the liver. The liver is partially over the upper part of the stomach. It has to be retracted to perform this surgery. It is easier to retract, less fatty, less chance of accidental bleeding, if it has been pre-shrunk. This all helps the surgery go easier and faster.

And I am all for the easier, faster surgery.

I did something this morning that I have not done in the last 2 months. I got on the scale. It was not pretty. I knew I was gaining. My pants were starting to get tight again. Not a pleasant experience.

If nothing else it has proven to me that I am not able to maintain my weight without the lap band. I am just too hungry ALL THE TIME. I had gotten used to not having the feeling, and then feeling it again was overwhelming. And even though I would tell myself that nothing had really changed and I didn't need to eat that much, I couldn't stand feeling hungry ALL THE TIME. No matter how far I have come, how much I have lost, how much progress I have made - inside my head is still FAT and it looks like it always will be.

That makes me sad. I had always hoped that losing the weight, I would eventually think like a thin person.

So anyway, I gained. 21 pounds.

But I know I can do a liquid diet, because I did it before. And I did not cheat one single time. I was too scared too. I was convinced that my surgeon would be able to tell. That he would peek inside and see my fatty, not shrunk enough liver, and just say, no lap band for her! I know that is not the case. But just knowing I was able to do it before, makes me know that I can do it again.

I'll just be a little extra grumpy for a few days.

Thats Just Not Funny

I don't like working off hours at my job. It is a big building, and when it is not packed full of people it is just creepy.

Especially at night. The lights are on a timer. So if you happen to stay past 7pm, the lights go out. It's not too horrible during the summer because it is still light out, but during the winter - creepy.

And on the weekends. Creepy.

I worked for a few hours this morning. All by my lonesome.

I had the lights on in the area I work in, but the other parts were intermittently and dimly lit.

I was walking back from the bathroom and walked past the bank of 6 elevators. This was in one of the dim sections.

All of sudden - DING - all 6 elevators open at once. And they were empty.

I jumped. I screamed. It was a good thing I had just been to the bathroom.

It scared me to death.

Much to the enjoyment of the giggling maintenance men on the first floor.

Not Done - But Progress

Bed was found on Craigslist. It is sturdy as hell. It is handmade out of really nice plywood. All it needed was a new coat of paint. A steal for $50.

The bedding is courtesy of Wal-Mart. The picture doesn't do it justice. It is a gorgeous plum color and looks absolutely divine with the wall color, Distant Valley.

It's not done. We need curtains. A rug. A bedside table. A lamp. The shelves hung. A mirror. And this and that.

But it is done enough for Borrowed Daughter and Revlis to not have to sleep on the couch any more.

In Progress

BEFORE THE UNSTUFFING:

DURING THE TRANSITION:

You weren't expecting an AFTER yet were you? We're still working on it.