Week 4 Post-Op - One month since banding!

Wow, what a week.  As my last post showed - the country was consumed with the tragedy of the Christchurch Earthquake.  Today almost a week later, there are still over 200 missing, 148 confirmed dead.  Many have fled the city either for a break or to start a new life some where safer.  The first funeral was today and tomorrow exactly a week after the quake, the country will stop and observe 2 minutes silence.  Help from the rest of the country and all around the world has been outstanding.  People can be amazing in a crisis.


On other things to happen during week 4 post-op.

I was back onto real food.  Wow, more flavours.  I had another sticking - when I grabbed a piece of chicken on the way to the gym (bit of protein) didn't chew it properly and of course it got stuck.  It was worse than the apricot - quite unpleasant and eventually threw it up.  I have been so much more vigilant since then with chewing....lots!  As the dietician said to me, you will learn the hard way.

I went in for my first fill - only got 0.5ml but feel a bit more restricted now and less hungry.  The surgeon was really pleased with my progress, and explained the whole accessory left hepatic artery to me.  Apparently this causes issues as it crosses where the band is.  Only 20% have this accessory artery while most others have the artery in the middle.  I may go back for a further fill in a couple of weeks.  I've now lost 29.6 kilos (65.3 pounds).  So excited to be only 400g away from 30 kilos! The dietician was also chuffed, and emphasised the learning curve in terms of eating.  Now have the post-op food guide to help me along.  It now also means that I have lost more than what my other dog Honey weighs at 29.4 kilos. 

Honey - am sure she was a fish in a past life ;)

At the clinic, I was shown the clothes rack which has clothes donated from other patients that no longer fit them.  You can help yourself on the condition that you also contribute as you lose weight and get new clothes.  Coolest idea!  It's like free clothes!  I found four pieces including an awesome long coat for Winter.  I have to say I have spent a lot of money on new clothes lately (not many new ones, but the trade me specials do build up over time!)  It is something I need to curb.  Funnily enough, I have noticed this is common amongst many lap bandits.  I guess I am swapping my food addiction for clothing.

Phyiscal activity increased over the last week aswell. Still two more weeks before I can return to weight training but was doing some decent walks.  Feels good, but certainly need to increase my fitness!  Looks like my new personal training programme will be like a boot camp (maybe not so military like though) so increasing fitness will be achieved!

I'm feeling a lot better, a lot more energy.  Stopped having naps, so good.  Went for a trip up the coast at the weekend, and enjoyed it immensely.  Felt like it was a good reward for making it through the first month recovery process.  Sun, sand, a great holiday house and company (and my dogs!) May have had a bit more wine than supposed to, but it was good! Especially playing Cranium  :)

View from the holiday home

Wine and cranium = fun!!

Me and Anthony :)

When weight issues are insignificant - Earthquake strikes Christchurch again.

At 12.51pm on Tuesday 22nd February a 6.3 earthquake with a depth of 5 km hit Christchurch New Zealand.  It was the second in less than 6 months. 

At this point there are 75 dead, many missing and even more homeless.  The CBD is in ruins.  News coverage continues, less rescues, more recoveries.

It just breaks your heart that people who suffered in September last year are back to before square one.  I have finally heard from friends and their families in Christchurch, and although shaken with no power, sewerage or water - they are safe.  My thoughts are with them all.

Events like this really puts things into perspective.

Christchurch Cathedral Before and After

Week 3 Post Op

Onto soft foods this week - anything (within reason) that you could cut with a side of a fork.  So nice to eat something with substance!  Food served on a bread plate with special sections for protein, carbs, veges and sauces.  Its cool but so small.  However, I can't eat more than what is on that size plate, and with all the chewing and small portions I have to take in - it takes longer than everyone else to eat!  So different to before this all started.

Went to the surgeon on Thursday, and fortunately there was nothing wrong with the port or the nerves/muscles.  The pain was in the wrong place (which has got less everyday :) ).  Apparently it is one of two things - My digestive system getting used to more food or my ovaries started to work again (maybe ovulating).  Either way while I hope for the latter, I breathed a huge sigh of relief there was nothing wrong with my band etc.

Also weighed myself - no weight loss!!!  No weight gain either but I was not happy.  Asked the surgeon about it and said it happens and my body might be just catching up and getting used to having some nutrients.  He said I was looking smaller since surgery (apparently my tummy was flatter).  Hope this non weight loss doesn't last too long though, was quite gutting!

Am finding am getting hungrier.  Have got my first fill on Friday - can't wait!  As I get more hungry I feel a little powerless.  Im scared of falling back into old habits.  So Im hoping the fill will curb these hunger pangs somewhat.

Not long ago...minutes,  I was eating an apricot and didn't chew it properly, and I got my first blockage.  What a horrible feeling!!!  Makes you want to throw up and tried but eventually it went down.  Dont think was a major but very uncomfortable!  Live and learn and maybe skip apricots for a little while.  Kind of put me off!

Has been extremely hot the last couple of days.  For the first time in a while Im not struggling as much due to losing some weight.  Pretty nice :)

3 more weeks until I can return to the gym - craving some weight/resistance training!  Cardio is just a little boring.

A New Oufit - Smaller Size!!!

My husband and I went to a wedding of some friends at the weekend.  I'm going to blow my own trumpet here - the dress I'm wearing in the photo below is a size smaller and from a shop I never used to be able to get clothes at!  Size XL which is equivalent to a 24 (NZ & AUS sizes) from City Chic.  Stoked - and it even fit better than when I tried it on a couple of weeks ago :)

Me and Hubby

All dressed up (excuse the mess!)

YAY!!!

Thanks for the feedback on the pain.  Still hasn't gone away and stopped me from going to work the last couple of days as too sore when upright.  I called the clinic, and am booked in on Thursday to get some steroids and local anaestetic to ease the pain.  This was part of the reply:

"Unfortunately some times there is nerve entrapment where the trocars go through into the abdominal muscle, and this can cause pain. It happens in about 1% of people. It will generally go away with time, but if it is causing you some distress, one option we have is injecting some steroid (Kenacort) and Local anaesthetic into the area, which softens the tissue around the entrapped nerve and this releases it and lessens the pain you feel. It hurts more on standing because the abdominal muscle is stretched tightening where the entrapped nerve is, and releases somewhat when sitting down and the muscle is more relaxed."

I'm not surprised Im one of those 1%.  I mean after the op, the surgeon said that my hepatic artery was in the opposite direction (20% of people have that), and my anaphylatic reaction to the muscle relaxant happens to 1 in 2000-2500 people.  Maybe I'm one for breaking the odds.  Now if I could just win lotto....:)

Yay also to see more people from the Hutt Valley commenting on the blog - be nice to meet you both in person sometime :)

Post Op week 2 - I lost a Layla!

For those of you who don't know, Layla is our youngest dog (20 months).  My weight loss this week was 1.2 kilos - I was slightly gutted....why?  I thought I would lose more.  Too used to the 2 kilo a week, now back to reality and actually having some food of the pureed description.  On the more positive side, Layla weighs 28 kilos, so I lost her weight plus 500g (so a block of butter).  Yay!

16 days since surgery.  I'm doing alright.  In the last week I made it to work the whole working week!  That was my big goal after being slightly too ambitious the week before.  I have been made aware though just how much I do move around at school/teaching.  I tried to force myself to sit down and make students come to me - didn't work.  I like to be more interactive and talk to them.  Sitting up the front just made me feel isolated from the class.  And...you can keep a better eye on what is going on amongst the masses and that they are actually doing their work....it is high school after all.

A bit of a come down this week from the op.  Felt a bit bleh.  Got sick of the pureed foods after about three days.  Tired of being just plain exhausted.  Only managed a couple of walks and a PT session this week (more walking) - frustrating as I got fit before the op. 

For foods - hubby did make me lovely combos, having little cottage pies in a ramekin dish (minced up chicken/vege) and vege topping (not potato).  I advanced onto hummus and cruskits for lunch - 2-3 of them.  Sometimes having lite yoghurt and 1/2 banana too.  That was about it.  I was satisfied.  While I say that - I did start to get physically hungry at times this week (rumbles in the tum, and feeling hungry sick), so knew I had to eat.  Routine of school makes it hard - something I have to work at.

Consequences of the new regime - being blocked up - that so sucks - Benefiber and alpine tea to the rescue.  Apparently according to the dietitician - normal and should ease when back on real food.

Next week - soft foods.  This means food you can cut with the side of a fork.  Veges have to be cooked well.  Still nothing too high in carbs (Potatoes etc), no bread, and no fibrous veges (corn, asparagus, celery).  Chicken breast and steak are off the list as too dry. Also any fruit or vege with peel or a coat.  Avoid or remove peel.

But the big thing is - I get to chew something finally!!!!  Like a big girl :)

One other thing that has arisen.  Initially I had some pain where the port is (I think).  Is this to do with the muscle growing around it and recovery?  It has pretty much gone for now.  But in the last few days I have had pain to the left of the port and slightly down.  Hasn't gottten any better and I can't link it to anything.  Initially I thought I had pulled a muscle but it goes and comes back.  It hurts more when I am standing.  Today in the supermarket it felt like a stabbing pain and almost doubled over - however the pain went away.  I thought it was due to digesting but it had been hours since I had eaten.  Has anyone who is banded had this?  Is it normal?  HELP!  I have search internet sites and not much has come up.  I guess if it continues, I'll check in with the clinic.

Onto week 3.....

Post-Op Week 1

A week has gone by since banding, how time flies.

Hospital stay was good, nurses awesome.  All concerned there relieved it happened this time.  Got bumped up to a single room of my own (nice).  It was nice to wake up in recovery seeing similar surroundings, lights and the same theatre nurse from the operating room.  Got my own tv in my room with SKY - could only really cope with American Idol which my nurse watched with me while she wrote her notes up.  Next day after the surgeon gave me the ok, and said that in the end they didn't need to use a muscle relaxant I went home to sleep.  I found out later - it was really a 50/50 chance of success for the op after last time, so glad I was on the good 50 side.
Still happy, and improving a bit more everyday.  Turns out I may have been a little ambitious going back to school (work) on Monday (Day 3).  While I felt fine when I got up, after dealing with students, meetings, moving around etc, by 11am I was absolutely shattered!  Being stubborn, I continued through the day, but coming home - I was a physical and mental mess.  Hubby handed me the phone - tell work you aren't going in for a couple of days at least.  For once, I actually did what he said.

So what did I learn from that?  Well apart from my stubborness and pigheadness, Day 3 for me going back to teaching - far too soon!  I spent the next two days at home doing some serious R and R.  Back to work too soon. Taught Thursday being first teaching day, exhausted at the end so off on Friday.  I suppose I made it to work a little this week.

My problem was the guilt, but have to step back and realise it is a job not my life, and this year especially is to FOCUS (word of the year) on ME.  Just taking a bit of practise and changing of old habits.  Just relaxing and doing nothing has being hard, especially when I know there is that lingering school work in the background.  It will get done - when I'm all good.

Im healing nicely.  Being my first op wasn't sure what to expect so on the removal of the dressings, I just needed reassurance everything was ok, and no infection was nigh.  I had heard of horrible stories of the ports getting bacterial infections and spreading to the band - I was not having any of that!  So checked in with the nurse at the clinic, and all was good.  Apparently already have a decent amount of scar tissue under the skin which is good.  Yay!

Can I feel anything in me - no.  I do wonder exactly where the port is - I will probably find it when the swelling has gone done.  I have a lot of gurgling which sounds like a massive rumbling tummy, common apparently.  Embarrassing - yeah especially in a dead quiet staff meeting.  I have to have benefiber to keep me regular if needed.  In my sleep I have rolled on my stomach as well (naturally a tummy sleeper) - damn sore in the morning.  A real tight sensation as well.  Things I have to get used to.

So first week was a diet of liquids only - Approx 6 servings a day of up to 1/2 cup - increasing a little if comfortable.

For me this consisted of:  Protein shakes, Up and go, berocca, water, amazing broth cooked by Hubby (Chicken, Mushroom and a yummy Tomato and Basil), dilute cranberry juice, coffee, tea, and tomato juice.


Have I got hungry? Nope.   I was able to increase the liquids a little towards the end of the first week more for the nutrition rather than wanting it.  It has been weird not really having an interest in eating/drinking food, but apparently all normal.   One thing that has been awesome (in moderation of course) was having a fruju - Ahhhh so good for Summer, and even though it melts, made me think I was having something solid.

About day 5 when I went into the surgery I weighed myself with a pleasant surprise.  Had lost 2.1 kilos totalling 27.3 kilos lost.  Also when updating my ticker - I noticed my BMI has gone below 50.  Wooo hooooo!!!!!

Best part of the week - going back to work after 6 weeks and people immediately noticing I am smaller, and saying my clothes are getting too big for me (first time for that!), and the other was my hubby and how much he looked after me :) 

Week 2 food phase is pureed foods - Im definitely ready to move on to something with more substance.  I can have some banana (mashed and only 1/2) - love bananas!

Thanks to all who read this and wished me well - very much appreciated :)
And finally a couple of pics just before heading to hospital to add to the progress picture journey!