Support

Today is the first day that I feel normal again! (Post Op day 6) I woke up, sleeping on my stomach without aches and pains! I've had an entire day without pain meds, which is always a good feeling. Today I was able to have 1 protein shake, half for breakfast, and half for dinner. I also had some soup, Gatorade, and Italian ice. 

Tonight I went to a support group in Randolph, that my surgeon's office has organized for our are. Bryan wasn't able to leave work to go so it was just me. I wasn't sure what to expect. This was the first time this group was meeting down here. When I walked in I was totally pumped to see my Dr. sitting there! I had no expectations of him coming down from Buffalo for this, but it was so comforting! He really REALLY cares about his patients. He will do the liver reduction diet now and then, to be reminded of what his patients go through, he even eats like his banded patients, chewing everything 30 times etc.. Tonight there were three of us, the other two were both gastric bypass patients. I was a little bummed out because I really was hoping there were some banded people there. There is a difference between myself and someone who has had the sleeve, or bypass. I want to know what it's like to have their band filled, how full they have it, what it feels like to get something stuck in your band.. stuff like that. 

What I took away from tonight was hope. These people were in their 60's and have had their surgeries within the past year, and were down 100lbs. You would never have know they were over weight. The woman said "One day, I could cross my legs! It just happened! I haven't been able to do that in years".. neither have I. The man said " I can now bend down and touch the ground" as he demonstrated. It seems so basic, and it IS.. but those are the little things that as a fat person you can't do, and they drain your spirit daily. I can't wait for those little things. 

This is a pic of my incisions. After much thought I decided to just post it. It's not pretty, but neither is me in a bathing suit and everyone at Warren Pool sees that so what's the difference? One thing I will say is, to newly expecting mothers.. use the Palmers Cocoa Butter.. I ignored it and you can see what you get when you do that.  Anyway, I guess he typically makes 5 incisions because everyone who checked me in the hospital was shocked that there were only 4. On the upper left, you can see a little mark where I think he started to make a cut and then changed his mind. Anyway, the far lower right is where my port is implanted, just under the skin. That is where he will use a syringe to inject saline into the band (when I'm hungry and not losing weight as I should) or take saline out (when I'm too full to eat and can't keep food down). The goal is to find a perfect amount in your band, but that takes time. I'll go to him once a month and get my fills.. or not.. depending on how it goes. 


I took this from "The Lapband Gal's" Blog. It's a good one, you should follow her! I'm somewhere in between a bald eagle and 10 dozen large eggs.




It's all about perspective! (stole this idea from the lapband forum at obesityhelp.com)
Your weight loss =

1 pound = a Guinea Pig
1.5 pounds = a dozen Krispy Kreme glazed donuts
2 pounds = a rack of baby back ribs
3 pounds = an average human brain
4 pounds = an ostrich egg
5 pounds = a Chihuahua
6 pounds = a human skin
7.5 pounds = an average newborn
8 pounds = a human head
10 pounds= chemical additives an American consumes each year
11 pounds = an average housecat
12 pounds = a Bald Eagle
15 pounds = 10 dozen large eggs
16 pounds = a sperm whale’s brain
20 pounds = an automobile tire
23 pounds = amount of pizza an average American eats in a year
24 pounds = a 3-gallon tub of super premium ice cream
25 pounds = an average 2 year old
30 pounds = amount of cheese an average American eats in a year
33 pounds = a cinder block
36 pounds = a mid-size microwave
40 pounds = a 5-gallon bottle of water or an average human leg
44 pounds = an elephant’s heart
50 pounds = a small bale of hay
55 pounds = a 5000 BTU air conditioner
60 pounds = an elephant’s penis
66 pounds = fats and oils an average American eats in a year
70 pounds = an Irish Setter
77 pounds = a gold brick
80 pounds = the World’s Largest Ball of Tape
90 pounds = a newborn calf
100 pounds = a 2 month old horse
111 pounds = red meat an average American eats in a year
117 pounds = an average fashion model (and she’s 5’11½!)
118 pounds = the complete Encyclopedia Britannica
120 pounds = amount of trash you throw away in a month
130 pounds = a newborn giraffe
138 pounds = potatoes an average American eats in a year
140 pounds = refined sugar an average American eats in a year
144 pounds = an average adult woman (and she’s 5’ 4½!)
150 pounds = the complete Oxford English Dictionary
187 pounds = an average adult man
200 pounds = 2 Bloodhounds
235 pounds = Arnold Schwarzenegger
300 pounds = an average football lineman
400 pounds = a Welsh pony

For example, a loss of 128 pounds means you’ve lost almost a newborn giraffe, or:
(10) dozen large eggs
(4) dozen Krispy Kreme glazed donuts
(2) Chihuahuas
(2) Guinea pigs
(1) elephant penis
(1) average 2-year-old
(1) human head
(1) rack baby back ribs