First day post op

Wow what a rough first day. I remember laying on the operating table and them putting the mask on and saying take deep breathes, well after like 10 deep breathes I'm like is it suppose to take this long lol?? Then I heard the guy saying your meds Are going in right now and a few burning injections later I'm out cold. I wake up in recovery and I'm totally out of it, then the nurse gives me some dilaudid IV and that really had me whacked out. I spent the rest of the morning and afternoon in and out of cat naps. I was in a incredible amount of pain the first day mostly from the port and gas pain. Now on day two I feel SOOO much better. I started my journey at pre op weight of 447lbs my goal is to get as close to 200 as I can. Today is the first day I had some protein drinks and yesterday I only had 2 sugar free jello. But now I most have pain from the port location and still slightly bloated but finally started passing gas which is a huge plus. Will update more later time for more relaxation

Day 1 of meal replacement diet

man am i hungry right now

Breakfast -  some eggs and kielbasa
Snack 2oz trail mix
Lunch - 1 30g protein shake, side order of string beans and about half a cup of pasta with broccoli and ham
Dinner - 3 very small crab cakes, and some sauteed onions and mushrooms
snacks -  just been having pickles, some gum and few slices of pepperoni

i am so hungry right now, that might seem like alot of food but i usually eat way more than that and im really starting to get hungry..im probably going to bed soon so i dont get tempted to eat something i dont need

DATES of my journey are as follows

Some of these dates have already passed, but i will put down the entire process, some may change:

February 14, 2012  First consultation with Dr. Sowemimo  ( weight 450 BMI 61 )
March 8, 2012 Consult with Gastro to arrange Endoscopy
March 9, 2012 First meeting with dietitian ( weight 452.5 )
March 14, 2012 First group support meeting / separate meeting with the Dr himself
March 16, 2012 Cardiac / Pulmonary clearance
April 10, 2012 Second meeting with dietitian to discuss progress , get weighed etc
May 4, 2012 Endoscopy procedure
May 23, 2012 Lap band procedure
( letters from PCP and Psychologist obtained in early/late February )

Pre-op diet started

Well today starts a interesting new two months.  I'm not required to loose a certain amount of weight prior to surgery but my doctor would like me to get off anything extra that i can.  So today i start a meal replacement diet using a protein shake once a day for the first week and then i will be switching to 2 shakes / day during week 2.  This is going to really suck, but i figure when it comes to week 2 ill just substitute my breakfast and lunch because i would like to have a good dinner at the end of the day.  I will blog later during the week to discuss progress, not looking forward to lunch..hopefully these shakes taste good

Psych consult

So today I had my psych consult and hopefully my surgeon will have a letter from him within a week or so that way I can begin the insurance game of getting approved. As of now 2 months and 2 days until my life changes in a way I never thought possible. As the time passes, quite quickly I might add, I am eagerly waiting for this to happen because I have so much to look forward to! More to follow !

Beginning the process...

So after years and YEARS of tossing around the idea of getting the Lap Band surgery, i finally decided to go through with it.  On February 14, 2012 i had my consultation with my surgeon Dr. Sowemimo.  It went really well, aside from the fact he was late as every doctor is.  I have already started the process needed to get this done which includes:

1) Physician letter of necessity
2) Psychologist letter of necessity
3)Clearance from Gastro including a upper Endoscopy
4) Clearance from my Cardiologist
5) Clearance from Pulmonary DR

Obviously the other step i left out is insurance approval which gets done once my surgeon obtains both letters from my PCP & Psychologist.  All my other clearances will be taking place in March hopefully that will include my endoscopy.  As of now my surgery is scheduled for May 23, 2012.

I believe i am meeting with the nutritionist within the next 2 weeks where i will then begin my pre-surgery meal replacement diet IE one meal a day is replaced with a protein drink of some kind, not 100% sure what they have you do that is just what i assume.  I am not looking forward to that because i know i will be hungrier then often but i guess i mine as well suck it up and deal with it what choice do i have.

During my journey through surgery and after i will give as much of a detailed experiance as possible and be honest on everything that is going on.

This is going to be such a huge change i don't think it will truly hit me until after i have the procedure and no longer will be able to binge eat, but its what i need to accomplish my goals and be healthier!  There are so many things in life being over weight has prevented me from doing or made me afraid to do, i look forward to being thin or as close as possible to it and finally being able to accomplish those things id never thought id ever be able to do.

Some of my fears during this process are as follows( in no particular order )
1) being put under ( never had surgery before)
2) having a insane amount of excess skin
3) overcoming my inner food demons
4) any surgery complications you can dream of
5) adapting to the new forever changed life style

well more thoughts and progress on this another day!