WTH Batman?

Through all my pre-op appointments and support group meetings I was told two weeks liquid diet followed by 2 weeks mushy/pureed foods and to come in for my 1st fill 4 to 6 weeks from surgery.

I went in for my 2 week check in with the bariatric nurse. I was all excited because I was supposed to wait to see her before starting mushies. Today she informs me that I'm supposed to be on mush for 4 weeks and I'm to not have my first fill until 6 weeks from TODAY.

How about all of you? Did you have 2 weeks of mushies or 4 weeks?

Anyone else told 8 weeks before the first fill?

Am I wrong to be irritated that I'm getting a different story AFTER I got the band?

Just to add insult to injury, today was my weigh in day. My scale at home said 245.0 for a total loss of 16lbs. The doctor's scale said 249.7 . That's a pretty damn big difference.

Countdowns and Being a Burden

anding minus eleven days and counting...

I have 11 days until my surgery. In the last week I've gone in for my final pre-surgical consult and my pre-admission. I officially have a room reserved for me on the day of surgery. The only thing I have left to do is another trip to the lab for last minute stuff. Other than that I just have to remember to call on the Friday before and find out what time to show up.

They did my official weigh-in. According to their scale, my starting weight is 261. There seems to be between a one and three lb difference between their scale and mine. I'll keep my ticker and counts linked to my scale.

I don't have much of a pre-op diet. My surgeon said that he isn't worried about it because my BMI isn't in the range of super obese and while the other surgeon is a stickler for the diet, he only said not to go out for a "last meal". When I went for pre-admission they told me clear liquids from noon to midnight and nothing after. I can live with that.

My mother-in-law is coming up for the week of surgery. I'm hoping I'll be up and about in less than a week and can send her on back home. I feel bad that she's going to have to use a whole week of vacation time to wrangle the kids while I do this.

I guess that is one of the things I need to work on other than the size of me. I do anything for anyone and will help everyone until I've run out of help to offer, but when it comes to asking for any kind of assistance for myself I don't like to do it and feel guilty when I get it. How do you convince yourself that you are not a burden on others when you spent your formative years being told your existence was just that.

I've Got a Date With a Surgeon!

I got a call just as I was sitting down to dinner tonight. We try to eat before five o'clock here. I didn't recognize the number on the caller ID so I almost didn't answer it. It occurred to me it could be Husband calling from overseas so I took my chances and answered. I am so glad I did.

It was the Bariatric RN. She asked me if I was ready to schedule my surgery. I told her I was ready yesterday!

May 3rd

20 days until banding!

Between now and then I'll have another appointment with my surgeon and a pre-admissions appointment.

And here I was thinking that with my luck it would be the end of July...

Husband is usually the one with all the luck. We joke that he could stick his hand into a pile of poop and pull out diamonds and wet wipes! Here's hoping I've found some luck of my own and am not borrowing any of his. He needs it more than I do right now.

I'm In... Waiting for the Phone to Ring

I went in for my consultation with my Bariatric RN. I don't know what I was expecting of this appointment, but it was fast and painless. Basically she took the forms I brought in and made sure all my specialty appointments were kept and recorded. Then she emailed the surgeon and told me to have a nice day.

The next phone call I will get will be from her with options for surgery dates. I of course was hoping for less than a month away, but she said all of April was already booked up. It looks like I'll be on the slate sometime between the end of May and the end of July.

BAH!

I've been alternating between meticulously following the post-banding rules and stuffing myself silly with whatever I can get my hands on. I really need to get it together because the last thing I want to do is gain before I go back.

When decided to write this blog, I had the idea in my head that I would be able to keep it just about surgery, recovery, and weight-loss. I intended to not talk too much about my family or get caught up in other aspects of my personal life. Clearly I did not think this through.

I realized (while I was feeling sick after eating three portions of dinner and washing it down with too much dessert) that I wasn't even hungry.

I'm miserably lonely. My bio says that I'm married to a soldier. What it doesn't say is that he's recently deployed to a combat zone. It also doesn't say that he is my best friend. You see, I don't have any in-person girlfriends. All of my former "besties" are scattered across the country. I say former because aside from the occasional facebook message, we don't talk. I spend my days shuttling my kids to and from two different schools with three different start and end times and taking one of my children to therapy for Autism. Its hard to make friends in the car or in waiting rooms.

Hi! My name is Cheeseburger Girl and I have an unhealthy relationship with food. It is my replacement best friend, sex substitute, anxiety/anger management tool, and my worst enemy. Food is my abusive extra-marital affair.

Where I Am (in the process) #2

Today I went for my Psychological Evaluation. It went well and the Psychologist said there was no reason to disqualify me at this time. I guess they want to make sure you understand what is going to happen in addition to ensuring you don't have any eating disorders or are suffering from untreated issues. They also want to make sure you understand the level of compliance needed to make the surgery successful.

I have my follow up appointment to turn in my paperwork with the Surgical Clinic the first full week of April. Hopefully everything will be good and I will get a surgery date soon. For now, I just have to keep practicing taking my vitamins, drinking water, and ensuring that I don't gain any more weight. Giving up drinking straws is a hard thing for me to do, but I'm working on it.

Hopefully the next time I post I'll have a date!

Where I Am (in the process)

At the beginning of February I went for an informational seminar on Gastric Weight Loss Surgery. They covered all the options available at our surgical clinic. I decided on the Lap Band. I know I need help to lose this weight. I know that this is the right choice for me at this point in my life. I feel confident that this will be the catalyst for positive change for me. Going to this meeting got me on the list and I was called within a couple of days and told to go have my blood-work and labs done.

Toward the end of February I went to a Lap Band Support Group Meeting. It was great to have people who have been there along with people who are in the planning stages. It was a great opportunity to have all sorts of questions answered and not just rely on the surgeons information.

Three days later I went in for my first surgical consult. Everything looks like it's good to go. All I need to do is fill out a ton of paperwork, have an Upper GI Barium Swallow, attend a four hour training class, and have a Psychological Evaluation done.

I was fortunate enough to get a class date during the first week of March. It was very informative and was basically them giving out all the worst case info so that you would be really prepared if you chose to continue the journey. I'm sticking with it.

Yesterday was my Upper GI at the Radiology Clinic. For those who have never been, well, I can't say it was fun, but it was over quick. The process took about 5 minutes. First you get topless and into a gown. Then you have to try and swallow this fizzing powder dry. You get one tiny shot of water to get it down with and then you are not allowed to burp. This is supposed to expand your esophagus. Next you get on the platform and take a big swallow of the thickest Barium solution whenever the Radiologist says swallow. About three big gulps. Next you lean back on the table while they lay the machine back. Then you roll over on your stomach partly and suck a thinner version of the Barium out of a straw. Inevitably, you get that white chalky stuff all over your face. There is no way to look cool while having this done.

I guess I forgot to mention you can't have food or water after midnight the previous night, so by the time you get in there you're ready to drink just about anything. Haha. Jokes on you, that stuff tastes horrible and is not thirst quenching. I wasn't too bad really. Mostly I'm glad it's done and all I have left is the Psych Eval.

By the way, the Barium is really thick and white. It goes in that way, and it comes out the same. So, don't be surprised and be sure to drink a ton of water afterward.