Almost 4 weeks out! What changes!!

Dear Blog...sorry I have ignored you so long!

I am amazed how crazy things have been since I have gone back to work.

So loosing weight has been slower than I thought it would be, but I am loosing inches. Q and I are going to measure me again tonight. It's been 2 weeks since I did it and I was down 12 1/2 inches over all since surgery. That was quite exciting.

Had quite the weekend! For the first time in a very long time I had a wonderful, positive shopping trip with K and S. Q and I have a wedding to go to next weekend and I needed a dress. I was able to finally see the weight I have lost during this trip. S made me try on dresses that I would have NEVER tried on pre-op. It was such an uplifting experience to put things on 2-3 sizes smaller than I am used to!

Then J came down and me, S, J & K went to see Bridesmaids. We laughed so hard my incisions were sore! But it felt great to have some girl time with all of them. They are my constant EGO boost and I love them so....

Drinking and getting food in is getting easier. I am using an app on my iPhone to log all my food and protein drinks and liquids so I know where I am during the day and can calculate everything. Tonight Q and I are going to look through my WLS cook books and pick out some recipes to try :)

Q has been amazing. I couldn't ask for a better support person to be in my life. Everyday he makes a point to tell me I look good, and points out things that look different on my when he see's them. He is a good man and I am so lucky to have him.

Things are good right now. I am happy :)

Small Victories

7 days post op and today has been one of the best days I have had. Pain was not so fun the first few days I was home. I could not sleep in bed, I had to commadeer the couch. Our family room has become "my room".

Today I realized just how important all the small victories are. And...I'm not just talking about the weight loss, that is just an added bonus.

Up until this am, my poor Q has had to help me shower. Bending to reach pieces and parts was just not an option. Not this morning! I woke up at 6 am, and showered myself. Not only that...I shaved my legs!  AHHHHH. So liberating!

Then I got dressed on my own and guess what? I'm wearing a bra!

Then I promptly passed out for 2 hours! lol

Doesn't matter...all small victories...yay me!

Hello from Hospital!

Look at me! I am a pre-opper now!

Still at Winchester Hospital in Mass. Everyone here is wonderful.

Surgery went very well. The surgeon said I was classic textbook case and it went smooth. He could tell that I had not eaten anything during my 2 week liquid pre op because my liver was nice and shrunk! lol I also had no bleeding in my stomach.

Pain after the surgery was well...different. Found out I have many new allergies to pain meds and nausea meds. So while I was in recovery it took them a long time to figure out what I could take. Once we got that under control I felt better.

Surgery was at 1:30, I was up to my room by 6. Q stayed until a little after ten pm so he could help me get up and walk. Let me tell you...walking is the key to feeling better! I was given small amounts of water. That went smooth so I graduated to sf jello.

Carmex and Burt's bee's lip stuff has been a godsend. With the oxygen and other crap they do to you...you get so freeking dry!

Super glad I brought big comfy pj bottoms. My legs were freezing. Morphine button equals your best friend!
I have been walking a lot. Nurses and staff are so friendly here. They all come in and clap after the first time you pee without your catheter. It was a momentous event!

Throat not sure from tubing. Never felt it go in, never felt it come out. I could not feel catheter going in or out either.

My parents and my sister came to visit yesterday. My sister was so grossed by the drain. Oh, you can't feel that either lol.

All in all it has been a really good experience here.
I am excited now to get home!

Thank you so much to everyone for the support notes and texting me...even if  send back texts that make so sense because I am hopped up on Morphinem.
xoxo
Dragonfly

Old Friends...New Friends

OHHHH...the countdown begins!

I am excited...I am nervous. I am so many emotions going on right now.

Bags are packed, and I think I am ready to go. Saying bye to the kiddos tomorrow is going to be difficult when I drop them off at their dad's, but he said to call them whenever I needed to talk to them.

What I am really excited about is the friends I am making through this. I know it may sound silly to those of you who are not going through it...but the people on the boards and the forums are amazing! It's another form of support and I am so grateful to them.

I am addicted to the forums. I love them because I know everyone on there is going through the same thing. Different surgery? Maybe. Same type of emotions? Definitely!

By reading the posts on the forums I feel more secure in my decisions. I know I can asked honest to goodness dumb questions and I will get answers.

I am also greatful for the friends and family who have given me so much love. My very best childhood friend is now back in my life...and it makes me so happy. He has been such a big part of life growing up that I can't imagine life without him. S & J....can't live without you or Q either. Thank you so much everyone.

So wish me luck! Not sure if I will be able to post before I go in. I will try to keep you updated when I am in there.

xoxo
Dragonfly

Hairy Meatball?

The Power of Laughter

Day 9 of pre op diet is going better than the rest.

Yesterday I had my HUGE pre op appointment at the hospital. I love my cute little hospital. I got to meet all the staff on that was working on the floor I will be on. I meet with the anesthesiologist as well. Why are all anesthesiologists smoking hot!?!? No matter what the surgery is I have had, they are GORGEOUS. And, these guys always see us with no make up…looking our worst J

They also did an EKG, chest X-Ray, blood pressure and blood work. Let’s talk about how much blood work sucks when you are on a liquid diet! After she took the 8 or 9 little tubes out of me…the world started to spin. And of course, I cannot have a cookie or juice to help feel better. It took me forever before I could leave there.

When I got home, I had to kick back in bed for hours. I just couldn’t stop with the dizzies. I finally called the surgeon’s office. The nurse there said I needed to hydrate myself with as much water as I could get down. Finally felt better around 6pm. Blood was drawn at 10 am! Nice recovery on that one…NOT!

I am getting all my protein down and then some. I still walk around with a little bit of a floaty feeling that no matter what passes. It sucks being so lightheaded.

I finally got the nerve to have Q tell his parents that I am having surgery. That was a tough one on me. Now that his parents know, I felt comfortable telling some of Q’s cousins that did not know. One of his cousins and his girlfriend both had the same surgery I am having and it was so nice to talk to him about it. I am hoping he can help Q through some of the more emotional parts and help him with what to expect.

So off to the funny parts of my day. Thank god for my minion at work. The comic relief that comes from that girl is amazing.  This is TMI so stop reading if you don’t want to hear…The rest of you perverts…continue on lol.

We were talking about the changes that happen to your body when you loose weight and she was like “your thingy (pointing at my crotch) is going to look different! That looses weight too!” I was cracking up at this point. Minion has lost a lot of weight due to an illness she has so she was telling me what looked different on her first. PS she is fine and is getting much healthier. No need to worry about Minion.

She then said to me “My cooch looked like a meatball before I lost weight! I used to call it a meatball smothered in hair!”

Ah god…I just about fell off my chair laughing. Thank goodness for my Minion at work to make me laugh and take my mind off of the fact that I am floating in my chair due to non eating. 

Thank you Q

Friday...Meltdown...Sucked.

But having Q made the difference. After his shirt got done soaking up all my snots and tears he took me to Barnes and Noble.

I'm that geeky kid that needs to absorb everything around me, and especially about the things that are going on with me. I really hadn't done that yet besides reading forums and other blogs.

Q help me find books that had recipes for "life after WLS". Each recipe had a time frame on when you could eat this...example 2-4 weeks after or 6-8.

I would eat 99% of the food prepared. The books also went over lots of tips and tricks. They used lots of descriptive words that helped me visualize portions and bite sizes.

By the time I got home I felt 10 times better. Thank god for that man and his patience with me.

I showed the books to S Saturday night and she read them with me. It was amazing how much it helped her understand what I am going through and what I am going to need when I get home.

So thank you Q for that extra support I really needed Friday. You are my hero. I love you.

Day 6 starts today

I can't believe day 6 of the liquid pre-op diet is here.

Friday was rough. When I got home from work, Q hugged me and I lost it. I just sat there crying. I was SO hungry. I was scared too. The 45 minute ride home from work was not fun while being light headed. I was worried the whole time. Thank goddess I chat with J the whole time I'm driving home on my bluetooth.

Anxiety for the upcoming weekend had really taken hold too. How was I supposed to get through this weekend making food for my family and not go insane? Or cheat?

Also, our middle son "M" had his first ever friend party at Chuck E Cheese Sunday.

Saturday went by easier that I thought it would. While Q took the boys to their swim lessons I cleaned up, and did some errands. That took my mind off things for a while. I made a shake and make them sandwiches and was doing really good. Not hungry. Had some SF Jello. I was doing REALLY GOOD!

Lucky me...S came down for the night. Having her there was great. We chatted, loaded up our nook's and played kinect with Q and the boys. Only tough part of the night was watching all of them chomp down on pizza and bread sticks :( The smell was a little overwhelming and I some how managed to sit at the table with all of them and drink my protein shake.

Sunday and "M"'s bday party came and went. I was so busy trying to keep 7 year olds organized that I really didn't even notice food. Chuck E Cheese smells like dirty feet and sweat to me, so maybe that helped! lol

"J" came down for a much needed visit last night out of the blue. I severely underestimated the power of friendship through this process. Hours slip by while we chat taking my mind off of whats going on. We also ironed out all my "babysitting of me" schedule for the week I come home. Having that set took 20 pounds off my shoulders. She is also going to come help me scrub the crap out of my house on the 23rd so that when I come home from the hospital I have a nice clean house.

I am also down 10 pounds. I have to admit it was scary. From Wednesday to Friday I had lost 6-7 pounds. The rest came off over the weekend. It was shocking to see the scale move.

So after today, only 8 more days to go. I can do this!