16 Days After Surgery - Surgery Day Story

I am feeling much better and can even sit upright for nearly 30 minutes before my incisions start bothering me.

I thought I'd share the surgery day story.

We had to be at the office by 6AM. I could hardly sleep the entire night before. We left the house about 5:30AM and made it to the office early. My sister took me so my husband did not have to take another day off work.

The nurse came in and said it was time... I couldn't help myself but had to make her wait a few minutes for me to go to the restroom one last time. All I could think was that I would need to go during surgery and afterwards it would probably hurt to move. I wore cotton undies with no under wire hoping to get spared having to go without anything under my hospital gown---but no, she would not allow it.

She resumed surgery preparations by assuring me that only my stomach would be exposed during the surgery. She started injecting something in my IV and said to let her know when I start to feel it. "1, 2, 3," I thought and then said, "What should it feel like?" She replied, "It should be like floating..." And that is the last I remember.

Next thing I knew I was waking up in post op. I was sick at my stomach and the nurse gave me some medicine that helped with the sickness and made me sleep. I moved back and forth between being asleep and awake. I saw blips of the the doctor showing pictures of the band to my sister. I saw blips of the nurse checking on me and connecting me to oxygen. Then it was time to go. I had to get dressed and into the wheel chair. It was about 12:30PM.

My sister drove us by the pharmacy to get my prescriptions filled. Then on to home. My stomach felt like a blob attached to the top of my body. The curves in the road seemed to accentuate the feeling. Once home, I went to sleep on the couch in a semi-upright position. With the pain medicine, I pretty much remained in that position for days. Everything was OK!

4 Days after Surgery - Wow!!!

So I finally felt up to sitting up and typing today and thought I would get a good update posted. As I have sat here making my way through mail, I have started to get nauseous - so I will share the surgery day story later.

As I understand it, it is my pain medicine that is making me nauseous. I need to eat something more substantial before taking it.

1 Day to Surgery - Cold Feet

Vacation was wonderful! Now back to life...

I guess a lifelong commitment to the band is similar to a lifelong commitment to a spouse - hence the "cold feet" reference. Similar to the day before my wedding, I am nervous.

Throughout the day of busy tasks to prepare for surgery, my mind has been absorbed with "What if's?" about tomorrow.

I went for lab work this morning. I was told to arrive 1 & 1/2 hours before surgery. The procedure will only take 1-2 hours, but I will likely stay at the outpatient center for 6 hours. Tonight, I cannot have anything to eat or drink after midnight. I can hardly sleep due to jitters but need to get rest to be at the location tomorrow morning at 6AM!

I dropped the kids off at the grandparents. I love them so much and miss them already. But this way I know they will be tended to while I recover.

I did my last minute shopping ... Gas-X and Jell-o!

I also went to eat Mexican tortilla chips and hot sauce since it will be several weeks before I get to have those again!!!

I pray all goes well. I will post again as soon as I am able...

11 Days to Surgery - Vacation

I am excited about surgery.

But I am more excited about vacation. We leave for Disney tomorrow morning. It is going to be so much fun.

I am looking forward to this being my LAST fat vacation!!!
Here's to my last fat bathing suit (size 22)!!!
Here's to my last flight where I dread using the bathroom because they are SO small!!!

15 Days to Surgery - My Husband, Children, & God

When I first started considering this surgery, I began to worry about my husband & children. I worked through that several months ago and I believe this is the best option for the healthiest future for me and my family. But every now and again (like today) I worry about what can go wrong during surgery.

I pray that no matter what happens, my children know that I love them very much. I want to make them proud to have me for Mom. I want to be able to have energy to run and play. I want to be healthy enough to see them graduate from High School & College and get married one day!


I pray that my husband is proud to have me as his wife. I am sure he knows I love him. I want to cook healthier so he & the kids live longer. I don't want to be embarrassed of how obese I've gotten. I never wanted to be the fat Mom/Wife...I thought I would be the cute Mom/Wife. Sometimes I think.. how did this happen?


I wondered if God would approve of the surgery. I know that if the procedure were cosmetic, insurance would not pay for it. There is a huge health risk - a silent and long term killer. I know God wants me to move forward with this or the path would not have been cleared. I pray he protects me and my family and guides the surgeons hands.

16 Days to Surgery - Sunday

I went shopping today for all the "after surgery" liquid diet requirements.

I truly am impressed with the Atkins protein shakes. They appear to be WAY better for you - they only have a few grams of carbs as opposed to 20+. The after surgery diet consists of clear liquids, broths and protein water. Then you can start protein shakes.

I am getting very excited about my surgery.

18 Days to Surgery - Freaky Friday

So today is the first day I have been mistaken as a pregnant lady!

Well, I am just fat. I saw someone today that I hadn't seen in several years. They said "Well, look at you!" and kept staring at my stomach. They were about to say "Congratulations" when I interrupted with other small talk. You know the styles now...the baby doll tops with maternity waists! They are not slimming even on a tiny person.

For the remainder of the conversation I kept thinking about how I could work in that I had gained a ton of weight. But, I didn't make it work. So here's to one more reason to lose weight!