Post Op Visit with Surgeon

Friday I had my post op visit with my surgeon.  All was well and he pretty much said I could go back to normal life.  I am still a little tender on my incisions where they rub against the waist of my pants but that is all.  We discussed where we go from here and I will be having the sleeve in December.  My insurance is a little bitch and requires me to do 6 months of dieting before my revision.  Seriously... I couldn't do it before the band... I won't be able to do it now.. but whatever.  However, I shouldn't loose any weight (you know that BS), so I am on the maintenance track.

It is good in the way that I will not have to take time off of work because I already have 3 weeks of vacation.  Since I started at my current place of employment (5 years ago) I have had 4 surgeries.  One of which I was off work for 2.5 months.  I am really pushing my luck here, though they have been very good.  I am also a little relieved that I have time to let my stomach rest a little. 

On the eating from... I can't say I can tell much of a difference on the hunger front.  My band really never did stop my hunger.  I can tell a big difference in volume.  I can eat a lot... without chewing.  I have had a lot of sandwiches in the past couple weeks.  I have also had Chinese food (not as good as I remembered) and a burger and fries (better than I remembered).  I am eating lots of raw fruits and vegetables which I ate very few of during my banding because they gave me trouble.  I am hopeful that the sleeve will allow me to continue eating the raw fruits and veggies because it is great for my body and soul.  :)

Right now I am just focusing on living me life.  Seems there are more folks in blog land talking about sleeve conversions, it is funny how things seem to trend.

Take care all!

Life without a band

Since having my Lap Band out I have been in pain.  My incisions are sore, but mostly, an incision in my belly button (why in the hell would anyone ever poke in there?!) is really uncomfortable.  I feel like everything is falling out my belly button... like my organs aren't attached and are trying to squeeze themselves out.  I can honestly say I turned the corner yesterday and really started to feel better.  My tummy still hurts, but nothing I can't tolerate.

I have no pain while eating and can eat whatever.  I ate a cheeseburger today with a bun.  It was great.  The strange thing with eating is that I have made mostly really good choices and I really only have been eating 2 meals a day because I am staying full for a long time.  I am sure this has something to do with swelling and healing going on but it has been nice.  I have actually dropped a couple pounds.  The is whole experience has been very introspective.  Firstly, the fact that I needed this little contraption to make me stop eating is incredible.  I was willing to sacrifice a lot for that.  I also think the band didn't work well for me since the beginning.  Sure I lost weight, but it never felt like I was eating right or naturally.  It also makes me a little sad that I know my journey is far from over and though I would like to believe this has changed me... I know it probably hasn't.  I am reflecting on what I feel about the future knowing the sleeve is the next stop.

I am ready, but so not ready.  I am not ready for another surgery, recovery, physiological change, and so on.  I am ready to be healthy.  For now I am just working on the healing and work on the future on Friday when I see my surgeon.

I survived, my band was not so lucky

I had my band removed on Monday.  My surgeon said there was so much scar tissue and a pretty serious slip, he would have never been able to reband me even if that was the plan.  I am much much more sore than I was with my original surgery.  I came home yesterday and spent a lot of the day sleeping.  The drugs are keeping me sane at this point. 

I was not put on any post op diet and this has been the best part.  I ate chicken and rice last night and fruit salad.  It was amazing.  I forgot what it was like to eat real healthy food without wondering when I would puke. 

I go back to my surgeon a week from Friday to get started on the plan for part 2: The Sleeve.  He thinks it shouldn't be too hard to get it approved after seeing what a mess my band left.  Here's hoping.  The crappy part is that I will have to have another surgery and another recovery and take more time off of work.  Hopefully this will be my last weight loss surgery!

Happy July 4th all!!  I am feeling some serious independence today... from the satan's trap that was living inside me.  :)