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!

19 Days to Surgery - Group Support Thursday

I attended group support today. The topic was emotional eating and breaking the bonds.

Many of us are overweight because we eat for emotional reasons like sadness, loneliness, boredom. I associate eating with fun & family. Don't get me wrong...after I have stuffed myself I am not happy. But while the eating & socializing is taking place...that is when I am content.

Once you have the band, your emotions can actually prevent you from being able to eat. What? That's right! Your mental state (if anxious, excited, mad) instead of allowing you to gorge on the brownies or pie, may keep you from being able to swallow. Or at least things may get stuck. We may have to remove stressors from mealtime if that becomes a problem. Eat slowly and chew, chew, chew.

With the band, there will be times that we completely forget to eat. I have never missed a meal. I cannot imagine the day that I will forget to eat. But I do imagine the days that my thoughts are not consumed with what to eat, losing weight and eating too much. So here is to that time I imagine in the future when I am thin and content with the body I am in!

February 2009 - "BEFORE" Picture

This is me in February 2009. I took this picture to document the weight loss journey I thought would begin much sooner (before the insurance precertification). I am trying to conserve my dignity by keeping my face off the internet. :)

22 Days to Surgery - Monday Madness

I did not go through with the walking club. Something came up for my husband so I ended up coming home to tend to the kids. I did work out here, though, which is something I haven't done in months. I walked 1600 steps in 20 minutes. Not bad.

I don't think I would have made it on the 3 mile walk. I have one week to get in enough shape to go for the gusto next week.

23 Days to Surgery - Sunday Random Thoughts

I could not think of anything to write today. My husband said to tell you all that I baked and ate a pan of brownies with a tub of cool whip. That is not entirely true. I did bake, but did not eat all of the brownies. I did, however, include some cool whip on top!

I have signed up to join a walking club. It is actually a running club that has been modified to include walkers. Tomorrow is the second event but I did not attend the kick-off, so it is like the first event for me. I am really nervous about it. We are supposed to walk 3 miles (while some run). What if I can't make it?

I can't believe the weekend is over. I am increasingly miserable at my job and truly dread every day. In preparation for time off for surgery, I have stacked my days full of meetings to address all the action items that need to take place while I am out. I must take part even more in life OUTSIDE work to remain sane. I wish I could be one of those people that just worked a "job" and did not take it so seriously. But, the world needs us type A personalities, too!

Social life with lap band?

To be honest, I am not a very social person. I go to work, I run the kids from here to there, and then I come home... But over the past few months on those few occasions when I get together with family and friends (mostly parents of my kids' friends), I wonder, "How will the lap band affect my social life?" I know I'll be losing weight and feeling better. I'll probably be more self-confident and outgoing, but what about any negative impacts? What if I can not enjoy social occasions with a food basis? You're right, our social events should not be centered around food. But when someone comes to visit, we go out to eat. When someone passes a big test or has a dance recital, we go out to eat. When we just want to talk or go on a date, we go out to eat. Do you see a pattern here? I am sure all of the eating out has contributed to my weight problem. I do not want to continue the cycle.

So what good is all this worrying in print? I am having this surgery for my health. I want desperately to be healthy. I want to feel better and look better. I want my family (husband & kids) to be healthier, too! The only way to ensure our health is to work hard at creating more options for us. Good options - like veggies at dinner time. Here's to health!

Surgery is scheduled! 7-7-09

It has finally happened! My lap band surgery is scheduled for July 7, 2009! It has been a long road. I started researching the possibilities with lap band in January 2009. It took me a couple of months to make up my mind I researched problems with the surgery, pros, cons and costs...but finally decided it was the thing for me to do. Then I began the insurance battle - thank God for insurance coverage, but the requirements (OH-my). I have health insurance and the procedure is covered when you meet several criteria including a 3 month surgeon supervised, multi-discipline preparation regiment (Nutritionist, Therapist, Surgeon combined). February started the 3-month routine...so in May I finally "met" the criteria. Unfortunately, I had previously scheduled vacation in June. If I had gone ahead with the surgery in May when insurance approved, I would be going on vacation only two-weeks post surgery. I was advised that I would likely not be feeling "up" to intense walking and could not even swim...so I decided to wait one more month. I have some complicating factors with work and other health concerns, so I cannot wait too long. I figure it is for the best. I must have the luckiest day of all! 7-7!!! Only 100 lbs to go!!!