After Surgery

After surgery is that wonderful liquid diet, soft foods, and then progress to regular food! I cannot even begin to tell you how delicious mashed potatoes are after two weeks of a 700 calorie diet and the a liquid diet!!! WOW!!!! And I was so amazed at how fast I got full! I seldom hit that Full Feeling all my fat years! And I ate so little and was Thanksgiving day stuffed!!! I couldn't believe it!

I lost weight pretty fast. That was awesome! But come August I had to have my band emptied. I then had it emptied a couple times after that. When I called in November with problems - they decided I better have it checked so they did the barium swallow to make sure all was well. The band was so tight that just a trickle of fluid was going through. Final decision was made that my female side of life was affecting my band. When my hormones kicked in my stomach would swell. SO - a hysterectomy became my option (not just due to the band issues- I had a lot of problems and I had tried other ways to fix it- a hysterectomy was my last option). I was so relieved to know my band was ok and to know I would finally have relief of the female issues! I had been feeling like a failure- I led so many people into this surgery and now I was having problem. I was feeling bad...hoping others wouldn't worry- I made sure I shared everything with the others. I wanted them to know what caused the problems and not to worry. And it would also help them to watch for problems with their bands. Which turned out to be a good thing because another bander ended up with similar issues- and it was due to female life.

So anyway- not even a year after the lapband I was having surgery again. I had a great idea though- as long as they were cutting me open - why not make it a longer incision and have a tummy tuck! So everyone agreed and that is what I did! Second best surgery I ever had. (although somewhat painful) The surgery went well- I had a lot of staples and the pain was bearable. The part I worried about was having the drains removed. The staples coming out didn't worry me at all! It turned out to be the opposite- the staples hurt like HE** and the drains- I didn't feel a thing!! go figure. The staples coming out was the worst part of the whole surgery!! Seriously! The second worst part was the back ache I had from limited sitting/sleeping positions. The rest wasn't a problem for me. I had surgery on Thursday - came home Saturday (I was kind of miserable and tired by the time we got home -it is a two hour drive) but then Sunday - I went to the store so I could walk around and while I was there I decided I would make fudge for my co-workers. I made fudge that day and wrapped some Christmas presents. Then the next day I went to the hospital to deliver my fudge. Going places like that gives me more space to move and walk and stretch without walking outside on the slippery sidewalks and without the boredom of walking on a treadmill- which I did a lot of that for recovery as well. So the surgery was a success. My recovery was quite easy for the kinds of surgery I had.

A friend of mine asked me if I would do the band again- I told him that if anything happened and my band had to be removed- I would pay to do it again! Even with the problems I have had- I am 100% thankful I made the choice to do it! I am so thankful for this wonderful option- it is truly a safe life saving option!!! I recommend it!!!

I used to worry that people would think "she took the easy way out" I used to think that is what I was doing- REST ASSURED- THIS IS NOT AN EASY WAY OUT!!!! It has been work- it is not easy- It is a tool- a great tool! BUT there is still work involved. You will learn more about yourself and your body then you ever thought you would want or need to know!

That first time I had my band emptied-wow- I really could tell the difference in having my band working for me and not... I told the dr "if anyone ever says they don't think the band is working for them- empty it for them and tell them to come back in two weeks and see what they learned!" It works! It is a tool though- still leaves a lot of work to the patient! But don't let that scare you off! It is definitely a work to be proud of!

Until I blog again....