The depths of hell...well, maybe not THAT bad.

This is an old update...but, one I didn't get around to posting....yeah, I am SO not good at this blogging thing!  But, I still felt it was important to share as - after all - you wanna know what the depths of hell were like, right???? The following was written on April 5, 2011:


Here goes....

Back from death.  Back from the depths of hell.  Eh, I'm just back to feeling a bit more normal!

I am 3 weeks and 2 days post-op from my VSG.  And, things are starting to turn the corner.  All in all, my recovery has been fairly easy...honestly...there hasn't been much to it for me.  Within the first week, I was out shopping with my family...walking at the local track...feeling really good.  Then, the two and a half week mark hit.  And, that was it.  I *thought* I was doing so well.  I *thought* I was on the road to recovery.  And then, pain.  Not inside.  But, instead, my incisions - well, only a couple of them.

I had my 3-week post op appointment this week with my surgeon, nurse and nutritionist.  Nutrition informed me that I was doing really well...for the most part.  I still need to work on my fluids.  I'm not getting enough fluid in with my 36 or so ounces daily...I should really double that.  Interesting that, prior to surgery, I loved water...I could chug it by the gallon.  Now?  Not so much...water just doesn't do it for me anymore.  I hope it does again...eventually.  Right now, my beverage of choice is Crystal Light Iced Tea...watered down.

My nurse also felt I'm doing well...followed up with me on all my meds and asked about how I was feeling in general.  Mind you, I walked in gripping my stomach and needed to do so when sitting and standing in their office as well.  The incision pain is just so awful for me.  I also had an instance or two (at home) where my ribs felt painful and I was nearly gasping for air.  I was almost afraid to mention this to my nurse but I did - as all good patients should! ;)  Her words "yep, pretty normal!" - Whew!  She had to remind me about the fact that this is major surgery.  Muscles are cut, nerves are damaged, things are going to hurt and not feel right for weeks.  And, she's right!  I just needed to be reminded of all this.

My surgeon took a look at my chart and said, "Wow! Almost 30 pounds!" Me: "Yeah, not exactly, I started the program, over a year ago, at xxxx, lost 13 on my preop diet...so, that means only 13 since surgery."  "But, I'm not complaining...I can't remember the last time I lost 13 pounds in 3 weeks."  Needless to say, my surgeon seemed a bit puzzled after that.  Almost like he was wondering why I hadn't lost more.  I'm not upset about it though.  He checked my incisions and informed me that they pain-from-hell was being caused by incisions that weren't healing.  As he described it to me..."imagine wire slicing through raw beef" - he's right on with that one because it really does hurt that bad.  He went on to tell me to give it a few more weeks and I should have some relief...if not sooner.  Please let it be sooner!

So...what you are dying to know - what did I lose in those first three weeks?  Well, let me preface this with the fact that I believe I am one of the slower losers.  I have over  100 pounds to lose and, while it's not coming off as fast as I'd like, it IS coming off.  And, that's what I wanted.

I started the program in the fall of 2009 at 309 lbs.  You may, or may not know, I was hung up due to insurance issues.  I was required to lose 10 lbs in order to have surgery and got down to 299 by the spring of 2010.  When I started my preop diet, on March 1, 2011, I weighed in at 306.  I lost 13 lbs on my preop diet, bringing me to 293.  At three weeks post-op, I weighed in at 280.  So, let's make it easy for everyone and say, between March 1 and  April 5, I've lost 26 lbs.  Not bad. Not bad at all.

Until we meet again, dear blog world...look for an update within the next few days.  And, my giveaway...I need to get that done!  Hope all of you are well!  xxoo