Post Surgery, Day 9

Well, I'm feeling pretty good these days. I did not anticipate that the most painful part of this surgery was going to be shoulder pain from gas! My stomach is still sore and stiff but not too bad now. I do have some mild back pain too but that could be from lounging around for a week! All in all, I think I'm recovering well. I spoke to the Nurse at Maples in regards to the shoulder pain and not only is it completely normal, it can last up to a month! Oh man! I really hope it doesn't last that long! The intensity of the pain is still there but the frequency is getting less and less, which is fantastic! I can't wait to not have it anymore. I'm still taking the T3s, but its down to only about twice a day. I took the rest of this week off work to be able to fully recover before going back. I'm sure I will be good to go by Monday. I've attached a picture of my bruising and scars. I have some pretty significant swelling around them but it seems to be going down a little each day.

Now, on to the eating. I really haven't been hungry since the surgery. This past weekend was a little tough as I prepared ALL the food for my sister's big 30th bash. All the stuff I would want to see and eat at a party: Hotdogs, hamburgers, chili cheese dip, taco dip, crab dip, corn chip salad, kolbassa, cheese, pickles, crackers, chips and dip.......everything that is oh so bad for you.....but oh so good. Also, instead of cake, we got Pumpkin pie (thank goodness it's basically pureed pumpkin cuz you better believe I had 2 pieces of that!).

At first, things were fine. I prepared all the food Friday with no thought of even having any of it. Then, as the night went on, I couldn't stop looking at it and everyone else enjoying it. I had to try some. Not cuz I was hungry, cuz I really wasn't, just cuz it was there. Up until this point, I had only eaten apple sauce, yogurt, and boost. So, first thing I tried was the pumpkin pie. I figured it is basically pureed pumpkin and I didn't eat the crust. It tasted super yummy and went down so easily. I followed all the guidelines and ate it in real small portions and ate it super slow. Success! It stayed down without a problem. So, a couple hours later, I pushed it and tried a spoonful of chili cheese dip. That also stayed down without problem. That was all I ate that night and I felt good that it all stayed down.

Then came Saturday night. There was more people, and a little bit more food, and I over did it and tried a lot. I made sure to chew everything up real good to make sure it would go down. But I tried a spoonful of each of the chili cheese dip, the taco dip, the crab dip, some cheese pieces and had another piece of pie. I again ate it all real slow and chewed to make it mush. It tasted good going in for sure! But I felt guilty afterward. I thought, hmmm...this isn't how I'm supposed to be eating. Especially right now, post surgery. I originally thought that the eating guidelines were there and you were to move on at your own pace. Well, I just skipped 2 of the 3 steps. That's probably not good. When I got home, I was able to access the Lap Band Connect Website (a website only accessible to "Banders") and I read a bit more about why you go through the stages. They are to let the band heal in the right place and re-introduce foods to your body without complication. I also had a ton of shoulder pain Monday morning and thought that was my warning to STOP IT! I know it probably had nothing to do with it, or maybe it did, but it made me say, Ok Shannon, stop being dumb. You have to remember that you are changing the way you eat forever. That is the old you. Eating when you don't need too, when your not hungry, just because it's there. I will be tempted with parties and such all the time and will need to be able to handle myself better and choose things more appropriately. Not saying I can never have those foods again, but maybe I won't want them, or will be able to make better choices. I laid a guilt trip onto myself and was mad at myself. Sure, I didn't over eat by any means, but I shouldn't have eaten those foods. My body needs to heal properly in order for this to work. So, I told myself I was getting back onto the "prescribed" diet.

So, here I am, day 9 post surgery, still on pureed type foods: soups, yogurts, apple sauce, and I tried mashed potatoes yesterday. I got more information on the website and they actually have meal plans for this stage. I'm slowly going to introduce more foods and start on the next stage, but I'm doing so slowly. I'm following the guidelines of roughly 0.5c of liquid per meal and can move up to 1c per meal. Again, I'm not even all that hungry to be honest. Sometimes I'm just eating cuz I know I have to in order to keep myself hydrated. I'm trying to drink lots of fluids for this reason too. I also found on the website that I shouldn't be using a straw to drink as it causes more gas! HELLO!! That's ALL I've been using!! A water bottle with a straw! No wonder I still have so much gas! Geez! All these things I'm finding out. I spent 2 hours exploring the website and reading up on different recipes (some of which I can't wait to try!), information and reading other people's stories. It really helped to get me back on track. :)

I weighed myself yesterday morning, 8 days post surgery, and I'm down to 276.4lbs. A total loss of 16lbs from the start of the Boost diet. I was super happy about that! I'm sure as I introduce more and more foods back into my diet, I will go up a bit (which I was warned about) but I'm happy with the progress so far.

That's it for now. Another party at the cabin this weekend. Wish me luck!