So, I was having a conversation with a friend the other day about what got me to the point that I needed weight loss surgery. And honestly, it's EMBARASSING! But, I need to be honest about it. I don't think that I'd say I have a food addiction. I was able to literally stop carbs and sweets cold turkey when I started the pre-op diet, so, food addiction, not so much. It's more of a lack of caring/control about what I was eating. So, here are some of the more embarassing things that I would eat pre the new me... in one sitting.
-An entire box of garlic bread, or an entire loaf of bread (mainly french baguettes, with Greek vinaigrette dressing).
-An entire tube of biscuits and a TON of butter on them.
-A tub of frosting. No, seriously, a tub of frosting.
-Half a cake.
-An entire tub of ice cream (not a pint... think like a Breyer's tub), or, an entire tub of sherbet.
-An entire bag of chocolate chips.
-When I was in high school, I used to eat a whole large Pan Meat Lover's pizza by myself.
-A whole chocolate chip cookie from Pizza Hut.
-Also in high school, I used to order two XXL Grilled Stuffed Burritos from taco bell... and several tacos.
-A double quarter pounder and a large fry, and a hot fudge sundae or two apple pies.
-A half pound of spaghetti noodles, a half pound of ground beef/half jar of spaghetti sauce, and a half a box of garlic bread.
-An entire box of Shells and Cheese, and sides along with it.
The list could really go on and on. I ate like crap. I really did. Which is how I got to be 393# before I knew it. But now, I'm sitting here post-op... 97# down since April... 12# down since surgery, and I'm wondering how I did it. How could I eat all that? And honestly, I'm never going back. I really don't miss carbs. I don't. At all. The only substitute I haven't been able to come up with for the carbs I used to eat so far is a baked potato. I really don't think there's any substitute for a baked potato. So, I'm not going to lie. I might have a baked sweet potato in the future. Maybe once a year. And that's it. Or not. I might not even let myself go down that road. We'll see. But those 97#? They're gone. Forever.
~♥~
Lady D
Thursday, November 30, 2017
Wednesday, November 29, 2017
A few follow-up things
Sorry I haven't been blogging in a few days. I honestly was busy dealing with my almost two year old, and when not with her, trying to spend some time with my husband, heal from surgery, decorate the house for Christmas, and get ready to go back to work today. So, yes, I've been busy. Heh.
So, post-op has been ok. I'm working on upping my fluids, and my protein. It's really hard. I'm not hungry. I'm trying to eat my three meals a day, but I'm never hungry. I have eaten my full two ounces of Jell-O twice. Other than that, I've been getting an ounce when I've been eating. Otherwise, I've been so focused on my liquids and protein, I haven't had the desire to eat.
I had my follow-up appointment yesterday. I met with the dietitian first, one of the post-op dietitians I had never met before. She was very impressed that I was at half my fluids and protein, and I had already bought my vitamins. She said that I can start my full fluids diet on Friday. I'm so excited. I do not want any more Jell-O. :(
Doc walked in, looked at my incisions, said I looked good, I asked if I could go back to work, and she said ok. I have an appointment with her PA in six weeks. :)
I'm having trouble with protein shakes. Premier protein, which I loved pre-op, now tastes like rotten milk. :( Well, I bought some Nectar packets pre-op to try once I was post-op. I was having trouble with the flavors. The dietitian suggested mixing them with some thing else. I've found this helps. Nectar Roadside Lemonade mixed with Great Value Blackberry Lemonade "Crystal Light" is good. Also, Nectar Roadside Lemonade mixed with Diet Meijer Cranberry Lemonade and a little water is also very good. The Crystal Sky mixed with a Meijer lemonade "Crystal Light" is also very good! Kind of tastes like the Kool-Aid blue raspberry lemonade.
Today was my first day back at work. I had planned on taking it very easy, but I ended up walking over to the hospital, and moving the printer/copier in my office... the thing is a beast, but it's on wheels, so, it's not bad. But I'm not going to lie, it was an exhausting day. And then I got to go be super mommy. Now I'm sitting here in my recliner, talking to you guys, and watching reruns of Grey's... because it's Grey's. Also, it's only 8pm, and I can't get myself to go to bed yet. xD
How's everyone else's week going?
~♥~
Lady D
So, post-op has been ok. I'm working on upping my fluids, and my protein. It's really hard. I'm not hungry. I'm trying to eat my three meals a day, but I'm never hungry. I have eaten my full two ounces of Jell-O twice. Other than that, I've been getting an ounce when I've been eating. Otherwise, I've been so focused on my liquids and protein, I haven't had the desire to eat.
I had my follow-up appointment yesterday. I met with the dietitian first, one of the post-op dietitians I had never met before. She was very impressed that I was at half my fluids and protein, and I had already bought my vitamins. She said that I can start my full fluids diet on Friday. I'm so excited. I do not want any more Jell-O. :(
Doc walked in, looked at my incisions, said I looked good, I asked if I could go back to work, and she said ok. I have an appointment with her PA in six weeks. :)
I'm having trouble with protein shakes. Premier protein, which I loved pre-op, now tastes like rotten milk. :( Well, I bought some Nectar packets pre-op to try once I was post-op. I was having trouble with the flavors. The dietitian suggested mixing them with some thing else. I've found this helps. Nectar Roadside Lemonade mixed with Great Value Blackberry Lemonade "Crystal Light" is good. Also, Nectar Roadside Lemonade mixed with Diet Meijer Cranberry Lemonade and a little water is also very good. The Crystal Sky mixed with a Meijer lemonade "Crystal Light" is also very good! Kind of tastes like the Kool-Aid blue raspberry lemonade.
Today was my first day back at work. I had planned on taking it very easy, but I ended up walking over to the hospital, and moving the printer/copier in my office... the thing is a beast, but it's on wheels, so, it's not bad. But I'm not going to lie, it was an exhausting day. And then I got to go be super mommy. Now I'm sitting here in my recliner, talking to you guys, and watching reruns of Grey's... because it's Grey's. Also, it's only 8pm, and I can't get myself to go to bed yet. xD
How's everyone else's week going?
~♥~
Lady D
Saturday, November 25, 2017
Some Post-op Observations and a Thank you!!!
So, as you saw in my previous post, I came through surgery ok. I do have some post-op observations that I think will help anyone who is still pre-op...
Sip, sip sip. You will hear this from your nurses, from your surgeon, from your dietitians, and it's true. Keep some form of fluid with you at all times. Our idea fluid intake is 64+ oz. Yesterday was my highest so far post-op at 30 oz.
Try and get that protein. Make sure that one of those fluids you constantly have with you is a protein drink. I know a lot of people say they can't do the milk-based protein drinks after surgery, and that's fine. They make lots of clear protein drinks now. I'm able, luckily, to have the milk-based RTD shakes. I sip those puppies all day long. Again, with protein, we're supposed to get 60-80g per day. Yesterday, I got 30. I'm working on it.
Listen to your body. Listen to what your body is telling you. If you are feeling super full, don't try to put anything else in your pouch at just that second. You WILL end up regretting it.
Walk, walk, walk. If you do feel uncomfortable, try walking. I know that that seems a bit counterintuitive, but, trust me, it helps. Gas pain, being overly full, walking will help. Plus, it will keep that fluid out of your lungs. :)
Do your breathing treatments! When your respiratory therapist comes in with the weird breathing thingy, do them! And whatever you do, don't do what I did and forget the machine at the hospital. I've got crap in my chest now, and coughing hurts. :(
Take your medications! Don't be a hero. If you're uncomfortable, or in pain, take your medications. That's what they're there for. Yes, they taste like crap (Mine are a nasty lemon-lime), but I promise, they do help. Also, if you are sent home with carafate, take it. Again, yes, it tastes nasty, but nasty tasting medicine is better than ending up with an ulcer in your new pouch, yes? Finally, if you're sent home with Lovenox shots, I know that no one likes giving themselves shots, but, once again, would you rather endure a little pain in the belly, or a blood clot that could potentially kill you? So, yes, please take your medication.
Do not overdo it. I know that we all want to be super men and women, and be able to do everything, but, honestly, it's not going to happen. Remember me telling you to listen to your body? This is another place that that fits. If you're doing laps, or a lot of walking, or standing, or sitting in a new position, if your body starts to protest, please listen to it. Yes your surgery wasn't very long, but don't forget that you've recently had MAJOR surgery. I call rerouting one's insides major surgery. Just saying.
Finally, call your healthcare professionals. If you have questions, or you think something you're experiencing isn't right, or normal, call your surgeon's office. Someone will always be on call. It's what they're there for... to help you. Do not wait. Something that you think is minor could end up being a major issue that could have been prevented if you had just called your office sooner.
I'm going to end this post with a big THANK YOU to my mother-in-law, who sent me the other of the two books that I said that I wanted for post op! I've already started reading it, and it's in my nightly rotation along with the other book that my husband's cousin bought me. So, THANK YOU Mother-in-Law!!!!! ♥
~♥~
Lady D
Sip, sip sip. You will hear this from your nurses, from your surgeon, from your dietitians, and it's true. Keep some form of fluid with you at all times. Our idea fluid intake is 64+ oz. Yesterday was my highest so far post-op at 30 oz.
Try and get that protein. Make sure that one of those fluids you constantly have with you is a protein drink. I know a lot of people say they can't do the milk-based protein drinks after surgery, and that's fine. They make lots of clear protein drinks now. I'm able, luckily, to have the milk-based RTD shakes. I sip those puppies all day long. Again, with protein, we're supposed to get 60-80g per day. Yesterday, I got 30. I'm working on it.
Listen to your body. Listen to what your body is telling you. If you are feeling super full, don't try to put anything else in your pouch at just that second. You WILL end up regretting it.
Walk, walk, walk. If you do feel uncomfortable, try walking. I know that that seems a bit counterintuitive, but, trust me, it helps. Gas pain, being overly full, walking will help. Plus, it will keep that fluid out of your lungs. :)
Do your breathing treatments! When your respiratory therapist comes in with the weird breathing thingy, do them! And whatever you do, don't do what I did and forget the machine at the hospital. I've got crap in my chest now, and coughing hurts. :(
Take your medications! Don't be a hero. If you're uncomfortable, or in pain, take your medications. That's what they're there for. Yes, they taste like crap (Mine are a nasty lemon-lime), but I promise, they do help. Also, if you are sent home with carafate, take it. Again, yes, it tastes nasty, but nasty tasting medicine is better than ending up with an ulcer in your new pouch, yes? Finally, if you're sent home with Lovenox shots, I know that no one likes giving themselves shots, but, once again, would you rather endure a little pain in the belly, or a blood clot that could potentially kill you? So, yes, please take your medication.
Do not overdo it. I know that we all want to be super men and women, and be able to do everything, but, honestly, it's not going to happen. Remember me telling you to listen to your body? This is another place that that fits. If you're doing laps, or a lot of walking, or standing, or sitting in a new position, if your body starts to protest, please listen to it. Yes your surgery wasn't very long, but don't forget that you've recently had MAJOR surgery. I call rerouting one's insides major surgery. Just saying.
Finally, call your healthcare professionals. If you have questions, or you think something you're experiencing isn't right, or normal, call your surgeon's office. Someone will always be on call. It's what they're there for... to help you. Do not wait. Something that you think is minor could end up being a major issue that could have been prevented if you had just called your office sooner.
I'm going to end this post with a big THANK YOU to my mother-in-law, who sent me the other of the two books that I said that I wanted for post op! I've already started reading it, and it's in my nightly rotation along with the other book that my husband's cousin bought me. So, THANK YOU Mother-in-Law!!!!! ♥
~♥~
Lady D
Thursday, November 23, 2017
Surgery and Home
Good afternoon blog stalkers! ;)
I am home from surgery! So, about surgery. We got to the hospital yesterday, I registered, and then they took me back to pre-op waiting. I got my IV put in, I got into a gown, and waited until my surgeon was ready for me.
After they started taking me back, they moved me over to the surgery table. I had warned the anesthesiologist not to put the "relxant" in my IV until I was on the operating table. I am EXTREMELY susceptible to anesthesia. I could tell the second that he put the medicine in my IV, because I got REALLY REALLY tired. They put the oxygen mask on me, and that's all she wrote until I woke up in recovery.
The hospitalist that I saw in my pre-op clinic stopped by to check on me, and I was doing ok. I was really nauseous, and they gave me some meds for that, but the next thing I knew, I was in my hospital room.
My husband was unable to accompany me to the hospital since our daughter was sick, but my friend drove me. She poked her head in before she had to go to work, and then I was alone. I was so tired, I could barely keep my eyes open. I dozed off and on all night, and I ended up doing 27 laps of the unit last night and this morning.
My husband said the surgery only lasted about 45 mins, and then I was in recovery for over an hour.
Last night I was only allowed to have ice chips, and I didn't really care since it was wetting my mouth. Yesterday about 3:30, I was given dilaudid, and then this morning, I got Hycet (liquid Vicodin). Other than that and some Tylenol, I haven't had any pain meds.
The hospital stay wasn't bad, other than being woken up every few hours for vitals. This morning they brought me Crystal Light and Isopure, and I was allowed to sip each. Honestly, I am surprised by how little pain I'm actually having. When I first woke up from surgery, I was in a LOT of pain, but now, it's not really that bad. I have 6 incisions, with my largest about 2.5". I am able to sip my liquids, and my husband just brought me home my hycet so that I won't be in too much pain. I'm very sleepy still, but, all in all, I'm good. And I'm glad to be home.
The conversation with my surgeon went like this: "Well, you're a ROCKSTAR! Your nurse says you're a rockstar too! I'm sending you home today! An hour later, and a different friend drove me home. Now I'm sitting on the couch, sipping my isopure and my Crystal Light, and watching Iron Man with my husband. We might try to go out later depending on how I'm feeling. I will need to walk in a while anyways. If you have any questions about the surgery, or my experience, I'll be happy to answer them. :)
~♥~
Lady D
I am home from surgery! So, about surgery. We got to the hospital yesterday, I registered, and then they took me back to pre-op waiting. I got my IV put in, I got into a gown, and waited until my surgeon was ready for me.
After they started taking me back, they moved me over to the surgery table. I had warned the anesthesiologist not to put the "relxant" in my IV until I was on the operating table. I am EXTREMELY susceptible to anesthesia. I could tell the second that he put the medicine in my IV, because I got REALLY REALLY tired. They put the oxygen mask on me, and that's all she wrote until I woke up in recovery.
The hospitalist that I saw in my pre-op clinic stopped by to check on me, and I was doing ok. I was really nauseous, and they gave me some meds for that, but the next thing I knew, I was in my hospital room.
My husband was unable to accompany me to the hospital since our daughter was sick, but my friend drove me. She poked her head in before she had to go to work, and then I was alone. I was so tired, I could barely keep my eyes open. I dozed off and on all night, and I ended up doing 27 laps of the unit last night and this morning.
My husband said the surgery only lasted about 45 mins, and then I was in recovery for over an hour.
Last night I was only allowed to have ice chips, and I didn't really care since it was wetting my mouth. Yesterday about 3:30, I was given dilaudid, and then this morning, I got Hycet (liquid Vicodin). Other than that and some Tylenol, I haven't had any pain meds.
The hospital stay wasn't bad, other than being woken up every few hours for vitals. This morning they brought me Crystal Light and Isopure, and I was allowed to sip each. Honestly, I am surprised by how little pain I'm actually having. When I first woke up from surgery, I was in a LOT of pain, but now, it's not really that bad. I have 6 incisions, with my largest about 2.5". I am able to sip my liquids, and my husband just brought me home my hycet so that I won't be in too much pain. I'm very sleepy still, but, all in all, I'm good. And I'm glad to be home.
The conversation with my surgeon went like this: "Well, you're a ROCKSTAR! Your nurse says you're a rockstar too! I'm sending you home today! An hour later, and a different friend drove me home. Now I'm sitting on the couch, sipping my isopure and my Crystal Light, and watching Iron Man with my husband. We might try to go out later depending on how I'm feeling. I will need to walk in a while anyways. If you have any questions about the surgery, or my experience, I'll be happy to answer them. :)
~♥~
Lady D
Monday, November 20, 2017
Final pre-op progress photos, a Thank You!!!, and more!
These two pics will be my final pre-op progress photos. I'm sure I'll take pics the day of surgery, but not for progress shots. Those will more just be silly pictures. So, what are the final pre-op numbers?
HW (heaviest weight)= 393# (2009)
StW (Starting Weight)= 363#
SuW (Surgery Weight)= ?
CW (Current Weight)= 280#
To math that out for you... 113# since 2009, 83# since April. Not bad, overall, I'd say. We'll see where I end up. I'm shooting for 150-175#. I give a broad range because I'm not sure how 150# would look on my 5'8" frame. I guess we'll see. So, there's that.
The second part of this blog is dedicated as a THANK YOU to my husband's cousin, his wife, and their boys. They've been following my journey, and sent me one of the books that I wanted but was going to have to wait on for budgeting reasons (I mentioned in one of my last blog posts). I started reading it on Saturday (the day I received it in the mail), and I can tell it's definitely going to help me on my journey. Life is Hard, Food is Easy is Definitely going to be a good read for me. THANK YOU guys!!!!! :D
So, I got my bracelet and vitamins in the mail today. My bracelet is beautiful! Sadly, there's a slight problem with the medical symbol... it's damaged, but I contacted the company (they sent me an e-mail as soon as I ordered, asking me to contact them in case anything was wrong, so, I'll let you know how their customer service is). The good news is that if they can't do anything for me, the medical symbol is engraved into the charm below the pink symbol, so the bracelet will still be useable.
I'm kind of mad, I forgot to put "No NSAIDs" on it. (EDIT: I got another bracelet, same style, but put 'No NSAIDs" on it). But it comes with a wallet card, and the thing that's blocked out in the pic? That's my husband's phone #, so, he knows to tell them that I can't have NSAID's if they call him.
So, I also as I said, got my vitamins int he mail today. It was awesome, because Celebrate sent me some freebies too. :D
I can't sadly, try the protein bars... they have LOTS of carbs, and rice in them, but they sound amazing. A friend of mine is going to try them. :) The small green things are Celebrate Calcium soft chews. They're mocha flavored. They have them in lots of different flavors though. I also got a 10% coupon off my next order too! :)
This is what three months of my vitamins looks like. The bottles are HUGE. I can't wait to try them. Orange Pineapple sounds awesome. :)
Finally, since I've come to the realization that I will literally be skipping Thanksgiving this year (with surgery on Wednesday, not a whole lot will be happening on Thursday), I gave in today and started listening to Christmas music at work... I'm also thinking about putting up the Christmas stuff tonight or tomorrow night, if I can convince my husband to let me. ;)
~♥~
Lady D
HW (heaviest weight)= 393# (2009)
StW (Starting Weight)= 363#
SuW (Surgery Weight)= ?
CW (Current Weight)= 280#
To math that out for you... 113# since 2009, 83# since April. Not bad, overall, I'd say. We'll see where I end up. I'm shooting for 150-175#. I give a broad range because I'm not sure how 150# would look on my 5'8" frame. I guess we'll see. So, there's that.
The second part of this blog is dedicated as a THANK YOU to my husband's cousin, his wife, and their boys. They've been following my journey, and sent me one of the books that I wanted but was going to have to wait on for budgeting reasons (I mentioned in one of my last blog posts). I started reading it on Saturday (the day I received it in the mail), and I can tell it's definitely going to help me on my journey. Life is Hard, Food is Easy is Definitely going to be a good read for me. THANK YOU guys!!!!! :D
So, I got my bracelet and vitamins in the mail today. My bracelet is beautiful! Sadly, there's a slight problem with the medical symbol... it's damaged, but I contacted the company (they sent me an e-mail as soon as I ordered, asking me to contact them in case anything was wrong, so, I'll let you know how their customer service is). The good news is that if they can't do anything for me, the medical symbol is engraved into the charm below the pink symbol, so the bracelet will still be useable.
I'm kind of mad, I forgot to put "No NSAIDs" on it. (EDIT: I got another bracelet, same style, but put 'No NSAIDs" on it). But it comes with a wallet card, and the thing that's blocked out in the pic? That's my husband's phone #, so, he knows to tell them that I can't have NSAID's if they call him.
So, I also as I said, got my vitamins int he mail today. It was awesome, because Celebrate sent me some freebies too. :D
I can't sadly, try the protein bars... they have LOTS of carbs, and rice in them, but they sound amazing. A friend of mine is going to try them. :) The small green things are Celebrate Calcium soft chews. They're mocha flavored. They have them in lots of different flavors though. I also got a 10% coupon off my next order too! :)
This is what three months of my vitamins looks like. The bottles are HUGE. I can't wait to try them. Orange Pineapple sounds awesome. :)
Finally, since I've come to the realization that I will literally be skipping Thanksgiving this year (with surgery on Wednesday, not a whole lot will be happening on Thursday), I gave in today and started listening to Christmas music at work... I'm also thinking about putting up the Christmas stuff tonight or tomorrow night, if I can convince my husband to let me. ;)
~♥~
Lady D
Friday, November 17, 2017
The Nerves are Real
Just as the title of this post says, the nerves are real. Like, really really real. I have FIVE. Count them, FIVE DAYS until surgery. That's not much time. O.O Not much time at all. I think I'm mostly ready. I need to pack my hospital bag, and hopefully my medical bracelet comes in the mail in the next few days.
I'm kind of bummed, because I totally left something off of my medical bracelet. I wanted it to say: ICE [Insert my Husband's phone number here], No Blind NG Tube, No Sugars, No NSAIDS. Well, I'm the idiot who left off No NSAIDS. However, it does have my husband's phone number on it, so, I told him if he gets an emergency call, the words: NO NSAIDS better be some of the first out of his mouth. Plus, I'm pretty sure that my bracelet comes with a wallet card, so, I might put it on there as well. The company had really great reviews, I'm tempted to see if I can pay to send it back to them and just have them engrave it at the bottom, or see if I can find a local engraver just to add it. It would really give me peace of mind. The bracelet itself is really pretty. Once it comes, I'll take a picture of it. It only ended up being $35 roughly, which isn't bad at all. :)
My vitamins have a few extra days to come in, since I don't get to start those until my post-op appointment the Tuesday after my surgery. I'll take pictures of those when they come too.
So, I know I have quite a few readers of this blog, from all over the world (Blogger has this great way to see who is reading my blog), but I don't ever really get questions on here. I know that I'm not great at explaining everything, so, honestly, if you have a question for me, just ask. I promise, I'll be open and candid (at least as candid as I'm comfortable being online), and hopefully will answer your question. If not, that's cool too. :)
Ready for me to rock your world? So, I have two pictures in this post... one of me in 2009 at my heaviest... 393#. I know you all have seen this picture before, in the side-by-side shot I posted before... but compare it with this new pic. This is a pic I took in Nassau when we were on our cruise. That is a 110# difference. 110#!!!!
So... mind blown yet? :)
~♥~
Lady D
I'm kind of bummed, because I totally left something off of my medical bracelet. I wanted it to say: ICE [Insert my Husband's phone number here], No Blind NG Tube, No Sugars, No NSAIDS. Well, I'm the idiot who left off No NSAIDS. However, it does have my husband's phone number on it, so, I told him if he gets an emergency call, the words: NO NSAIDS better be some of the first out of his mouth. Plus, I'm pretty sure that my bracelet comes with a wallet card, so, I might put it on there as well. The company had really great reviews, I'm tempted to see if I can pay to send it back to them and just have them engrave it at the bottom, or see if I can find a local engraver just to add it. It would really give me peace of mind. The bracelet itself is really pretty. Once it comes, I'll take a picture of it. It only ended up being $35 roughly, which isn't bad at all. :)
My vitamins have a few extra days to come in, since I don't get to start those until my post-op appointment the Tuesday after my surgery. I'll take pictures of those when they come too.
So, I know I have quite a few readers of this blog, from all over the world (Blogger has this great way to see who is reading my blog), but I don't ever really get questions on here. I know that I'm not great at explaining everything, so, honestly, if you have a question for me, just ask. I promise, I'll be open and candid (at least as candid as I'm comfortable being online), and hopefully will answer your question. If not, that's cool too. :)
Ready for me to rock your world? So, I have two pictures in this post... one of me in 2009 at my heaviest... 393#. I know you all have seen this picture before, in the side-by-side shot I posted before... but compare it with this new pic. This is a pic I took in Nassau when we were on our cruise. That is a 110# difference. 110#!!!!
So... mind blown yet? :)
~♥~
Lady D
Wednesday, November 15, 2017
Pre-Op Testing and Final Class
So, yesterday, I had my final pre-op testing and surgery clearance, followed by my final 4 hour class. Now I'm sitting in the countdown stage... I technically have 7 days until surgery, but since today is all but over, I'm saying 6.
So, I had my pre-op clearance at 7:30 yesterday morning. I had to fast for my blood tests, but, all in all, it wasn't bad. I went to the hospital, they took my blood pressure, weight, and did an EKG. After that, they asked me about my medical history, and made sure that all my medications were correct. After that, I met with the hospitalist, who will also be in charge of my case while I'm in the hospital. He asked me some questions about my medications, and my history, and then said I was cleared for surgery. After that, I did my urine test (to make sure that I don't have nicotine in my urine), and blood draw.
The poor nurse couldn't get my veins to cooperate. She did three sticks, and two search and destroys before deciding that she was going to send me to the lab. The lab got me in one stick. I had to call the office twice this morning though to let them know that I'd be a little late. If I hadn't had to go to the lab, I'd have been fine. They were okay with it, since they knew that I was at my testing. I did end up making it to class though.
Class was... long. It was good though. We went over the diet again, and the vitamins again. It was more of a refresher than anything, but it was good to hear again. I got my "bariatric bible," a white binder that is like 120+ pages of information that will be my life. They also gave us a goody bag of bariatric stuff. Our clinical social worker came in and chatted with us a bit about the mental aspect of surgery, in the fact that we will most likely have a grieving process (I already had mine, since I've been a good girl, and went straight on the post-op diet at class 1) for our affair with food, and maybe some body image issues (again, I've already got those... I'm in a size 20 pants now [started at 26/28], and I'm down 80#, but sometimes I look in the mirror and just see fat), and gave us two books to read to help. The first book is: The Emotional First Aid Kit. The second book is: Life is Hard, Food is Easy. I intend on getting both books, but since I just had to drop almost $200 on things I'll need after surgery, the books are going to have to wait.
What did I need to buy, you ask? Well, firstly, I stopped in the hospital Walgreens after class, and picked up a bunch of different flavors of Nectar powder. A lot of people in my surgeon's support group say that they have trouble finding protein shakes that work for them. I've got several different kinds and flavors at home now that I can play with to see what's going to work. Nectar is nice because they have different fruit flavors, other than just your normal chocolate, vanilla, strawberry. I have several RTD (Ready-to-Drink) Premier chocolate shakes at home, and even a few of the Premier Clear shakes as well. In my aforementioned goody bag, I received a pouch of Unjury chocolate powder. They also had an unflavored pouch of Beneprotein powder in there. In addition to all that, I still have the majority of my jug of vanilla Premier protein powder that I use to cook with. So, I'm set for protein for now, I think. I do still want to get a thing of either Genepro (Sorry, I can't seem to find the actual site for Genepro) unflavored powder that I can add to things to get my protein up as well.
So, the protein powder was around $20 (I got 9 pouches). After that, I ran over to Sam's club to buy 2 oz. portion cups. Portion cups are going to be very important to me post-op in that they're going to help me not get too full, and make myself sick. So, Sam's club, as we found out, sells the most cups for the best price... 2500 cups for around $25, and 2500 lids for around $25. That makes them around $0.02 for a cup and a lid. Not bad. Finally, last night, I had to buy my vitamins that I'll need post-op.
Bariatric Vitamins are literally the easiest way to go. I found out yesterday that for the rest of my life, I will only be able to take a pill the size of a tic-tac. Have you ever seen a picture of calcium citrate pills? I have a couple of different kinds at home right now...
The little pill is about the size of the tic-tac that is required... it's my allergy medication. The two large pills are the calcium citrate pills. O.O
The Bariatric Pills that came recommended by my program are called Celebrate. They have lots of different options for bariatric patients, and most are chewable or drinkable. The ones that I chose are chewable. The multi comes in two flavors, mango and pineapple orange. I don't like mango, so, I chose the pineapple orange. 4 chewables contain ALL the vitamins that I'm required to have, OTHER than my iron, which I can do in one separate chewable, which is berry flavored. The iron comes in a bunch of different sizes, but, we're required to have 45-60 mg, so, I chose the berry, which is the 60 mg. The only catch with the bariatric vitamins? If you put the multis on reorder, they're around $67 for 90 days of vitamins. If you put the iron on reorder, it's around $31 for 90 days. So, no. They're not cheap. But, considering if you look at it, it's just over $1/day, it's not all that bad. We'll be saving that alone in food. However, as I said, this is for the rest of my life. But for what I'm gaining, in my opinion, that's a small price to pay.
Sorry that this post was so long. I had a lot to say. I'll probably update again pre-op, but if not, I'll see you on the loser's bench!
~♥~
Lady D
So, I had my pre-op clearance at 7:30 yesterday morning. I had to fast for my blood tests, but, all in all, it wasn't bad. I went to the hospital, they took my blood pressure, weight, and did an EKG. After that, they asked me about my medical history, and made sure that all my medications were correct. After that, I met with the hospitalist, who will also be in charge of my case while I'm in the hospital. He asked me some questions about my medications, and my history, and then said I was cleared for surgery. After that, I did my urine test (to make sure that I don't have nicotine in my urine), and blood draw.
The poor nurse couldn't get my veins to cooperate. She did three sticks, and two search and destroys before deciding that she was going to send me to the lab. The lab got me in one stick. I had to call the office twice this morning though to let them know that I'd be a little late. If I hadn't had to go to the lab, I'd have been fine. They were okay with it, since they knew that I was at my testing. I did end up making it to class though.
Class was... long. It was good though. We went over the diet again, and the vitamins again. It was more of a refresher than anything, but it was good to hear again. I got my "bariatric bible," a white binder that is like 120+ pages of information that will be my life. They also gave us a goody bag of bariatric stuff. Our clinical social worker came in and chatted with us a bit about the mental aspect of surgery, in the fact that we will most likely have a grieving process (I already had mine, since I've been a good girl, and went straight on the post-op diet at class 1) for our affair with food, and maybe some body image issues (again, I've already got those... I'm in a size 20 pants now [started at 26/28], and I'm down 80#, but sometimes I look in the mirror and just see fat), and gave us two books to read to help. The first book is: The Emotional First Aid Kit. The second book is: Life is Hard, Food is Easy. I intend on getting both books, but since I just had to drop almost $200 on things I'll need after surgery, the books are going to have to wait.
What did I need to buy, you ask? Well, firstly, I stopped in the hospital Walgreens after class, and picked up a bunch of different flavors of Nectar powder. A lot of people in my surgeon's support group say that they have trouble finding protein shakes that work for them. I've got several different kinds and flavors at home now that I can play with to see what's going to work. Nectar is nice because they have different fruit flavors, other than just your normal chocolate, vanilla, strawberry. I have several RTD (Ready-to-Drink) Premier chocolate shakes at home, and even a few of the Premier Clear shakes as well. In my aforementioned goody bag, I received a pouch of Unjury chocolate powder. They also had an unflavored pouch of Beneprotein powder in there. In addition to all that, I still have the majority of my jug of vanilla Premier protein powder that I use to cook with. So, I'm set for protein for now, I think. I do still want to get a thing of either Genepro (Sorry, I can't seem to find the actual site for Genepro) unflavored powder that I can add to things to get my protein up as well.
So, the protein powder was around $20 (I got 9 pouches). After that, I ran over to Sam's club to buy 2 oz. portion cups. Portion cups are going to be very important to me post-op in that they're going to help me not get too full, and make myself sick. So, Sam's club, as we found out, sells the most cups for the best price... 2500 cups for around $25, and 2500 lids for around $25. That makes them around $0.02 for a cup and a lid. Not bad. Finally, last night, I had to buy my vitamins that I'll need post-op.
Bariatric Vitamins are literally the easiest way to go. I found out yesterday that for the rest of my life, I will only be able to take a pill the size of a tic-tac. Have you ever seen a picture of calcium citrate pills? I have a couple of different kinds at home right now...
The little pill is about the size of the tic-tac that is required... it's my allergy medication. The two large pills are the calcium citrate pills. O.O
The Bariatric Pills that came recommended by my program are called Celebrate. They have lots of different options for bariatric patients, and most are chewable or drinkable. The ones that I chose are chewable. The multi comes in two flavors, mango and pineapple orange. I don't like mango, so, I chose the pineapple orange. 4 chewables contain ALL the vitamins that I'm required to have, OTHER than my iron, which I can do in one separate chewable, which is berry flavored. The iron comes in a bunch of different sizes, but, we're required to have 45-60 mg, so, I chose the berry, which is the 60 mg. The only catch with the bariatric vitamins? If you put the multis on reorder, they're around $67 for 90 days of vitamins. If you put the iron on reorder, it's around $31 for 90 days. So, no. They're not cheap. But, considering if you look at it, it's just over $1/day, it's not all that bad. We'll be saving that alone in food. However, as I said, this is for the rest of my life. But for what I'm gaining, in my opinion, that's a small price to pay.
Sorry that this post was so long. I had a lot to say. I'll probably update again pre-op, but if not, I'll see you on the loser's bench!
~♥~
Lady D
Monday, November 13, 2017
Turkey Chili and Nerves...
So, last night, since it was a cold, wet, November day here in Indiana (where is my Caribbean water and temperatures I had last week? Oh, wait... in the Caribbean...), I made chili. I didn't have any ground beef at home, and since we were out shopping, I bought a thing of ground turkey. Now, I made my chili the way that I always make it, just with ground turkey instead of beef.
Frankly, it was AMAZING. It wasn't as heavy as normal chili, and certainly less greasy. We're going to be using ground turkey for our chili from now on I think... :D
So, yeah. The nerves have hit... my surgery is NEXT. WEEK. Next week! I wasn't feeling exactly right, so, I had my co-worker take my blood pressure today at work... 150/96! And that's ON my blood pressure medication. I know that's why. I'm nervous.
I had these moments where I almost have to talk myself off the ledge. I'm going to have the surgery. It's the best thing for me and my family, but damn. Nerves are a scary thing. And it's totally irrational. I know the surgery is going to go fine. I know that I'm going to be fine after. My daughter might not be happy for a little while since she can't use mommy as a jungle gym like she normally likes, but, she'll get over it.
As I said, the nerves have hit. And it freaking SUCKS. Anyone else here post-op? Anyone else have nerves like these pre-op? O.O
~♥~
Lady D
Frankly, it was AMAZING. It wasn't as heavy as normal chili, and certainly less greasy. We're going to be using ground turkey for our chili from now on I think... :D
So, yeah. The nerves have hit... my surgery is NEXT. WEEK. Next week! I wasn't feeling exactly right, so, I had my co-worker take my blood pressure today at work... 150/96! And that's ON my blood pressure medication. I know that's why. I'm nervous.
I had these moments where I almost have to talk myself off the ledge. I'm going to have the surgery. It's the best thing for me and my family, but damn. Nerves are a scary thing. And it's totally irrational. I know the surgery is going to go fine. I know that I'm going to be fine after. My daughter might not be happy for a little while since she can't use mommy as a jungle gym like she normally likes, but, she'll get over it.
As I said, the nerves have hit. And it freaking SUCKS. Anyone else here post-op? Anyone else have nerves like these pre-op? O.O
~♥~
Lady D
Sunday, November 12, 2017
Cruising and dieting
So, my husband and I just got back from our first cruise. A 4-night Bahamas cruise with Royal Caribbean. I'm not going to lie, I was a little nervous about cruising with such strict dietary needs, but, hey, we did it anyways. I will say that the first thing I had to do was loosen my restrictions a bit. I was not the one making the food, so, if I wanted to enjoy myself, I needed to make smart choices still, but to not worry overmuch about fat content.
I will say that Royal Caribbean does a GREAT job for people who need Sugar Free items, as well as gluten free. They can I guess also accommodate low-fat diets, but you need to let them know in advance. I just asked for no potatoes on my meals in the main dining room, and they brought me extra veggies instead. :)
The menus allowed my diet for the most part, and I have the three days that we ate in the main dining room's menus below. I can go into what I chose if you like, but I won't for now (leave me a comment, and I'll tell you my choices).
The last menu shown, the paper menu, was our meal option for the private island... we reserved a beach bed, and therefore got a different lunch option than the other cruisers. Honestly, if you cruise with Royal, and go to either Labadee or CocoCay, totally spring for the beach bed... but I digress. The buffet was what we did for breakfast every morning, and for three of our four lunches, the other being on the island. The buffet wasn't bad overall, but the lunch choices were very carb heavy (rice, potatoes) for sides. The last night we were on the ship, we went to the buffet for dinner since we had several activities we wanted to do that night, and the hour and a half dinner service wouldn't allow us to get everything done we wanted to do. The dinner selection wasn't bad, and they had the grilled veggies that I came to love in the dining room, so, I was a happy camper. :D
Every single meal, RC provided at least one Sugar Free dessert option, be it in the main dining room or the buffet. The main dining room had Sugar Free ice cream every night, and the buffet varied. The night we went for dinner, they had an amazing chocolate mousse that was SF. For lunch, they had some cakes (which, due to my carb restrictions I couldn't do), or some mousses our cheesecakes. I did try a couple of those, of course not eating the bottom part of the cheesecake. They also had a great selection of fresh fruit at every meal that gave me options, if I couldn't do any of the other items.
The buffet for breakfast was pretty standard fare; eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes, waffles, an omelet station, fresh fruit, yogurt, sausage gravy and biscuits, cereal. But, the cool thing about breakfast? They had chicken sausages every morning. I usually got some scrambled eggs (or one morning I did an omelet), chicken sausages, and some fresh carved ham, and fresh fruit.
Drink options on board weren't bad either. They had Coke freestyle machines, and they had Minute Maid Light, which I added Raspberry flavoring to. It was tasty. :)
We were able to keep fairly active, climbing up a flight or two of stairs here and there instead of taking the elevator, and just walking a lot period. When we were in Nassau, we ended up climbing the Queen's Staircase roughly twice (we climbed a different way the first time, but the same height), which is 64 narrow stairs, but super cool to see. :)
I did eat slightly more on the cruise than I do at home, and because of that, I was really worried about weight gain. But, honestly, I didn't gain almost anything... 0.3#, which could be water weight from traveling. So, cruising while on a diet is totally doable. One recommendation that I would have, if you cruise with RC is to contact them at least 90 days in advance, and they can further accommodate any special dietary requirements that you may have. :)
And now, a recipe that I made up (with the help of my mother-in-law), inspired by the amazing SF Chocolate Mousse I had while onboard our beautiful ship. :)
Protein Chocolate "Mousse"/Dip
-1 package SF Cool Whip
-1 Scoop Vanilla Protein Powder
-1 package SF Chocolate pudding
-Mix well, and enjoy with a spoon, or use to dip fresh fruit. :)
It may not look super pretty, and the texture comes out slightly grainy (EDIT: I figured out the grainy thing... if you let the Cool Whip thaw all the way, you get a REAL mousse texture), but it tastes amazing. :D
That's all for me for now... sorry for such a long post. :/
~♥~
Lady D
I will say that Royal Caribbean does a GREAT job for people who need Sugar Free items, as well as gluten free. They can I guess also accommodate low-fat diets, but you need to let them know in advance. I just asked for no potatoes on my meals in the main dining room, and they brought me extra veggies instead. :)
The menus allowed my diet for the most part, and I have the three days that we ate in the main dining room's menus below. I can go into what I chose if you like, but I won't for now (leave me a comment, and I'll tell you my choices).
The last menu shown, the paper menu, was our meal option for the private island... we reserved a beach bed, and therefore got a different lunch option than the other cruisers. Honestly, if you cruise with Royal, and go to either Labadee or CocoCay, totally spring for the beach bed... but I digress. The buffet was what we did for breakfast every morning, and for three of our four lunches, the other being on the island. The buffet wasn't bad overall, but the lunch choices were very carb heavy (rice, potatoes) for sides. The last night we were on the ship, we went to the buffet for dinner since we had several activities we wanted to do that night, and the hour and a half dinner service wouldn't allow us to get everything done we wanted to do. The dinner selection wasn't bad, and they had the grilled veggies that I came to love in the dining room, so, I was a happy camper. :D
Every single meal, RC provided at least one Sugar Free dessert option, be it in the main dining room or the buffet. The main dining room had Sugar Free ice cream every night, and the buffet varied. The night we went for dinner, they had an amazing chocolate mousse that was SF. For lunch, they had some cakes (which, due to my carb restrictions I couldn't do), or some mousses our cheesecakes. I did try a couple of those, of course not eating the bottom part of the cheesecake. They also had a great selection of fresh fruit at every meal that gave me options, if I couldn't do any of the other items.
The buffet for breakfast was pretty standard fare; eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes, waffles, an omelet station, fresh fruit, yogurt, sausage gravy and biscuits, cereal. But, the cool thing about breakfast? They had chicken sausages every morning. I usually got some scrambled eggs (or one morning I did an omelet), chicken sausages, and some fresh carved ham, and fresh fruit.
Drink options on board weren't bad either. They had Coke freestyle machines, and they had Minute Maid Light, which I added Raspberry flavoring to. It was tasty. :)
We were able to keep fairly active, climbing up a flight or two of stairs here and there instead of taking the elevator, and just walking a lot period. When we were in Nassau, we ended up climbing the Queen's Staircase roughly twice (we climbed a different way the first time, but the same height), which is 64 narrow stairs, but super cool to see. :)
I did eat slightly more on the cruise than I do at home, and because of that, I was really worried about weight gain. But, honestly, I didn't gain almost anything... 0.3#, which could be water weight from traveling. So, cruising while on a diet is totally doable. One recommendation that I would have, if you cruise with RC is to contact them at least 90 days in advance, and they can further accommodate any special dietary requirements that you may have. :)
And now, a recipe that I made up (with the help of my mother-in-law), inspired by the amazing SF Chocolate Mousse I had while onboard our beautiful ship. :)
Protein Chocolate "Mousse"/Dip
-1 package SF Cool Whip
-1 Scoop Vanilla Protein Powder
-1 package SF Chocolate pudding
-Mix well, and enjoy with a spoon, or use to dip fresh fruit. :)
It may not look super pretty, and the texture comes out slightly grainy (EDIT: I figured out the grainy thing... if you let the Cool Whip thaw all the way, you get a REAL mousse texture), but it tastes amazing. :D
That's all for me for now... sorry for such a long post. :/
~♥~
Lady D
Weight Loss Bench Mark
**NOTE: This post is from Halloween, or just after... I just forgot to post it until now...**
I have once again come to a weight loss benchmark... this actually happened yesterday, but I forgot to post. :( I'm now 80# down since I started my journey in April! My dad asked me the other day how much I'd lost total. I had to sit and think about it for a while, but after I did, I realized that I've lost 110# since I was at my heaviest. Granted, I haven't been at my heaviest since 2009, but, yeah. So, without further ado, here are my newest progress pics. :)
I will say that the sweater I'm wearing in the pics might have been a mistake, but, meh. I felt good in it, and frankly, I don't think I'll ever feel comfortable in form-fitting clothes. :/
~♥~
Lady D
I have once again come to a weight loss benchmark... this actually happened yesterday, but I forgot to post. :( I'm now 80# down since I started my journey in April! My dad asked me the other day how much I'd lost total. I had to sit and think about it for a while, but after I did, I realized that I've lost 110# since I was at my heaviest. Granted, I haven't been at my heaviest since 2009, but, yeah. So, without further ado, here are my newest progress pics. :)
I will say that the sweater I'm wearing in the pics might have been a mistake, but, meh. I felt good in it, and frankly, I don't think I'll ever feel comfortable in form-fitting clothes. :/
~♥~
Lady D
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