I know that it's been a VERY LONG time since I've written one of these. Life kind of got in the way. I got sick, gained all of my weight back and went through a year of doctors and tests. After being poked and prodded for a year and being diagnosed with several different things, I finally made a tough decision. Weight loss surgery. Eek. It's something that I have tossed around for about 11 years now! I have met with doctors, researched and even gone to seminars for all of the different options. I have met people who've had RNY, gastric sleeve, lap band, and liposuction. I've met people who lost all of their weight and kept it off. I've also met with people who lost weight and gained it back. The stories all start out the same as mine.
After I got sick and had to quit doing the shakes I kept the weight off for a few months and then it slowly started coming back. Ugh! After all of the hard work. I tried to do the shakes again but my heart just wasn't in it. One of my friends mentioned her success on weight watchers so I figured I would give it a try. I did it for a month and only lost 2lbs!! Discouraging. One night I was feeling especially bad about myself when a nutrisystem commercial came on. I did nutrisystem for a few months about 5 years ago. I decided to go ahead and give it a shot again. I placed my order and the food was pretty good. They have definitely improved on their menu since I ordered. I did it for a month and didn't order anything. I was hungry and pretty pissy the entire time. On top of that I got some really unfortunate news which really depressed me. I decided to give Nutrisystem another month but I started researching weight loss surgery, again.
I decided a long time ago that I didn't want to do the gastric bypass surgery. Liposuction isn't really an option for me because I have too much weight to lose. I checked into the gastric sleeve but it seemed more invasive than I was really wanting to do. The lap band seemed like my best option. I researched it again for another week or so and then I made my appointment. I met with a patient advocate, did bloodwork, my EKG, and everything on February 19, 2013. I suddenly became extremely excited. I felt like I might finally get the weight off and keep it off. I received a call on March 1 to tell me that the medical board had approved my surgery. I scheduled my surgery for March 19! OMG! I finally had a date and this was real!
I started my pre-op diet on March 5. The diet consists of a protein drink for breakfast and lunch and then a regular dinner. The protein shake should be high in protein, low in sugar, and around 200 calories. I chose GNC Total Lean. They have vanilla bean, chocolate, and strawberry. The chocolate was a little thick for me, I don't do strawberry but I loved the vanilla bean. You also have to give up sodas and bread. That is not just for the diet but for life. Some people are able to tolerate a little bread after the surgery but most can't. Sodas are not good because it's difficult to burp with the band and it makes it really uncomfortable and sometimes painful.
The day of my surgery, I had to be at the surgery facility at 7 a.m. I was extremely nervous but super excited! I had to get down to my socks and a hospital gown! So uncomfortable! They weighed me and I had lost 4lbs! Woo hoo!! They started my IV and I don't even remember the operating room! I came to at about 2 in the afternoon. My mouth was super dry from the Scopolamine patch and my chest felt like a pound of elephants were standing on it. It was literally the worst pain I have ever felt in my life. I had a panic attack. The nurse gave me some meds in my IV to calm me down and then she got me up and dressed immediately. I was then escorted to the XRay room, I took a drink of some nasty junk and they took a picture of the band to make sure it was good. Then she gave me a bottle of room temperature water to drink. The procedure is a day surgery. As long as there are no complications, you drink a certain amount of water, and urinate. Then they send you home. I got super nauseous and started dry heaving. NOT FUN! The nurse told me that I had a hiatal hernia that they removed. I had 6 incisions on my stomach. All of them were small except one that was about an inch and a half long. The chest pain came from the gas that they used to expand my stomach while they were doing the procedure. The nurse gave me some nausea meds. I was finally able to urinate a little and then I was off. My mom was driving me to Crockett from Houston.
The first few days after surgery I was in a lot of pain from the gas. I could only have clear liquids. I was still really drowsy and very nauseous. I started regretting having the procedure done! My surgery was on a Tuesday and I really just laid around until Sunday. Then I drove back to Houston and started back to work on Monday. The first week of work had it's ups and downs. For the most part, the gas pains were gone but sleeping was difficult. I noticed I was tired all of the time. I was allowed to eat yogurt, pureed soups, and stuff. Nothing lumpy! I had a hard time determining whether I was hungry or not. I realized that some of my pain was coming from hunger! The second week of work was a lot better. I seemed to have a better handle of eating. You can only eat 1/4 cup of food at a time which is about 2 ounces! It doesn't seem like a lot of food at all but it fills me up! Insanity!
I went for my post op appointment on March 28, 9 days after surgery! I was actually excited to get on the scale!! I had already dropped a pants size so I knew I had to have lost a little weight!! BAM!! 28lbs in 9 days bringing my total to 32! Suddenly all of the pain from the procedure was worth it!! I was so happy I couldn't stop smiling! I advanced to a different diet. Now I can eat soft cheeses, canned chicken, canned fish, steamed veggies, overcooked pastas, etc. Really soft solids. I can't drink 30 minutes before or after a meal. I have to make sure I get a lot of protein.
I'm learning how to eat right for the first time in my life. I am switching over to a mostly organic diet. A typical day for me now is a protein shake at breakfast, a bottle of water, greek yogurt, another bottle of water, the little tuna or chicken salad with crackers lunch kit, another bottle of water, 3 babybel light mini cheeses, another bottle of water, and then 2 ounces of pasta with cheese. I look at my entire day of food and that's how much I would eat for like a meal and a half! It's crazy! I'm never really hungry. I have to set a timer on my phone to tell me to eat because I will completely forget!
How amazing! I have dealt with this hunger my entire life and suddenly I'm not hungry anymore! It's amazing! I have way more energy than I ever have and I'm just happy! My anxiety has gotten better just in such a short time! I feel like a different person! My face looks different. I get compliments all the time about my weight loss. I am walking every day. I just ordered an exercise ball chair for my office and a small treadmill for my travel trailer! The funny thing is that I don't even miss the sodas or the bad food. I haven't really had a craving for anything either.
Next week my diet will advance even more and then on the 17th I will have my first band fill and I can go back to a regular diet. I am so incredibly excited to go get my fill just so I can see how much weight I've lost! Haha! I have another medical thing I have to address this month that should also help with my weight loss. I've had thyroid issues my entire life and the endocrinologist discovered the problem. I am going to have it corrected and hopefully it will further aide me in my weight loss journey.
A lot of people look at weight loss surgery as an easy way out. I can assure you that the lap band is not easy! It's not a magic bullet. You don't get it done and just lose all of the weight. You have to completely change the way you eat, the food you eat, the amount, and you have to exercise. On top of only being able to eat 1/4 cup of food at a time, I have to make that amount last over 20 minutes! I have to chew each bite of food 20 times!! If you eat too fast or don't chew properly it can make the food come up or cause your stomach to hurt. Most people lose about a pound or 2 a week. Some lose more. It really depends on how you diet. There are a lot of sacrifices that have to be made. You have to really be committed to changing your life to do something like this and I am. It took me a long time to get to this point but I am so happy that I am!! I am ready to do the work and ready to see the results!!
I'm going to try to blog more often. Hopefully, I can stick to it so that anyone considering the lap band can see my progress. Even if you don't have a lap band but are trying to lose weight, I hope that I can help inspire and encourage you on your journey!! Thanks for reading!
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