I did it! Yes I completed a 5K. It was tougher than I expected, but that's partly because I have another infection in my belly around my port ( more on that on a future post). I decided that with my belly swollen I should take it slow and walked the whole thing. My wife was sweet enough to walk with me. She has been incredibly supportive through everything. It was her first 5K and we enjoyed walking it together. The race started and finished in downtown Tampa on 10/12. It also took us along scenic Bayshore Blvd, which is one of the nicest streets in America as it hugs the water in Tampa. It is very exhilarating to participate in a 5K. There are all types of folks competing from the seasoned runners to those just wanting to give it a try and get some exercise. You see parents running with their children and strollers; you see seniors impressing with their fortitude. I dare say sprinkled in among the rest are the Banded, myself included. Thanks to the Lap Band I was there and I finished! Thank you to all that made that possible.
We completed the course in exactly 58 minutes; certainly not record time, but prior to surgery walking even half that distance would have been unthinkable. I feel like I've come along way, but I'm just getting started! As I get in better shape, I plan on improving my times in future races. Thanks to my Lap Band surgery, I'm able to participate in activities that were previously impossible. Completing a 5K just got checked off on my list of goals after surgery and I have a not so lousy t-shirt to prove it.
Thanks,
me :-)
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
Sunday, September 29, 2013
How Sweet It Is, Not To Be So Sweet!
I had my first follow up with my regular physician since my surgery. I was very anxious to get the results of my bloodwork. I'm happy to say that my glucose has gone down 67 points and my A1C has gone down nearly 2 full points! Although I'm still considered diabetic, these numbers represent a tremendous reduction in my sugar and gives me high hopes for a future free of diabetes. None of this would be possible without the generosity and support of the wonderful folks at Suncoast Bariatrics and the Palms of Pasadena with their life changing gift of free Lap Band surgery. Thank you!
me
me
Monday, August 12, 2013
Swelling, Shorts, and Milk too!
Seems like a while since I've made an update to my blog, so I apologize for the delay. I was waiting for a more significant event, but in a way I'm pleased that things have begun to seem normal. I decided to throw a few odds and ends together instead of waiting for a significant event. Normal life is more subdued; seromas and surgeries don't happen every day after all.
First I did run into a minor issue in the area of my port. I began experiencing some soreness or discomfort around the port followed by some swelling. After a few days of no improvement and it began feeling warm to the touch, I called the doctor and they had me come in. Dr. Ache examined me and probed me with a needle to see if we could drain any fluid. Fluid was minimal and we took advantage of having the needle already in to give me my second fill. She indicated that swelling around the port can be a common occurrence when your activity level increases. I certainly have been trying to up my exercise a notch, so this made sense. She also told me to keep an eye on it just in case it could be something else. I could call in and she could write a script for an antibiotic if needed. Over the weekend the swelling seemed to increase and the area became very red and warm. Also, I began to have a fever. I called on Monday and got the script and within a few days of taking the antibiotic, the swelling and redness began to subside. All told I would say it lasted about a week, so it was no big deal, but still noteworthy.
A small note on milk. On an earlier post I mentioned Skim Plus, which is a fortified skim milk with extra protein and vitamins and the taste more like whole milk. This is a great option, but there are others. If you visit the dairy section of your local grocery store, you will find many products with similar attributes. There are varieties of these fortified low fat milks, but also some complete substitutes as well. My friend Ilene made the suggestion of trying almond milk. I found a coupon and tried Almond Breeze, which came in many varieties itself including an unsweetened original and unsweetened vanilla, both of which are only 30 calories per serving. That was even less than the Skim Plus milk, yet still had the extra protein and vitamins, even more so in some instances than the Skim Plus. I've been using it ever since. Thanks Ilene. There are of course other alternatives as well including lactose free as well as many varieties of soy milk. My suggestion is to explore and find one that works for your tastes and needs. I primarily use it for the shakes and cereals and the almond milk works great for both.
I want to end with a great note and a first for me. I have begun noticing a difference in some of my clothes. They are hanging loose and some are even making me look awkward. One particular pair of jean shorts, I even turned in to Suncoast Bariatrics for their clothes room. To keep them from falling I had to tighten my belt to the point it would even create a pleat in the front. Luckily I covered it up with a shirt. This was a significant break through for me. Traditionally I would get rid of clothes because they would rip or become unwearable for being too tight or unbuttonable. Over the years I've given away bags and bags of clothes to Goodwill or the Salvation Army; all way too small as my midsection would grow and grow. Now for the first time I got rid of something because it was too big! It was only one piece, but it was a start and I'm happy to be moving in the right direction! Thank you Suncoast Bariatrics and Palms of Pasadena! This is an awesome feeling and it's all thanks to you.
me
First I did run into a minor issue in the area of my port. I began experiencing some soreness or discomfort around the port followed by some swelling. After a few days of no improvement and it began feeling warm to the touch, I called the doctor and they had me come in. Dr. Ache examined me and probed me with a needle to see if we could drain any fluid. Fluid was minimal and we took advantage of having the needle already in to give me my second fill. She indicated that swelling around the port can be a common occurrence when your activity level increases. I certainly have been trying to up my exercise a notch, so this made sense. She also told me to keep an eye on it just in case it could be something else. I could call in and she could write a script for an antibiotic if needed. Over the weekend the swelling seemed to increase and the area became very red and warm. Also, I began to have a fever. I called on Monday and got the script and within a few days of taking the antibiotic, the swelling and redness began to subside. All told I would say it lasted about a week, so it was no big deal, but still noteworthy.
A small note on milk. On an earlier post I mentioned Skim Plus, which is a fortified skim milk with extra protein and vitamins and the taste more like whole milk. This is a great option, but there are others. If you visit the dairy section of your local grocery store, you will find many products with similar attributes. There are varieties of these fortified low fat milks, but also some complete substitutes as well. My friend Ilene made the suggestion of trying almond milk. I found a coupon and tried Almond Breeze, which came in many varieties itself including an unsweetened original and unsweetened vanilla, both of which are only 30 calories per serving. That was even less than the Skim Plus milk, yet still had the extra protein and vitamins, even more so in some instances than the Skim Plus. I've been using it ever since. Thanks Ilene. There are of course other alternatives as well including lactose free as well as many varieties of soy milk. My suggestion is to explore and find one that works for your tastes and needs. I primarily use it for the shakes and cereals and the almond milk works great for both.
I want to end with a great note and a first for me. I have begun noticing a difference in some of my clothes. They are hanging loose and some are even making me look awkward. One particular pair of jean shorts, I even turned in to Suncoast Bariatrics for their clothes room. To keep them from falling I had to tighten my belt to the point it would even create a pleat in the front. Luckily I covered it up with a shirt. This was a significant break through for me. Traditionally I would get rid of clothes because they would rip or become unwearable for being too tight or unbuttonable. Over the years I've given away bags and bags of clothes to Goodwill or the Salvation Army; all way too small as my midsection would grow and grow. Now for the first time I got rid of something because it was too big! It was only one piece, but it was a start and I'm happy to be moving in the right direction! Thank you Suncoast Bariatrics and Palms of Pasadena! This is an awesome feeling and it's all thanks to you.
me
Sunday, July 21, 2013
Holiday, Vacation, and Anniversary; Oh My!
I'm sure anyone who's struggled with weight loss knows exactly what this post's title is all about, Temptation! Any of these, or quite frankly a number of other situations like birthday parties, graduations, celebrations of all kinds, social situations galore...in other words life! can jump up and bite you in your weight loss goals. During Independence Day week I faced the triple threat all at once. My wife and I decided to enjoy a little time away to enjoy our first anniversary together. We didn't want to go too far as I was still less than two months out from surgery and had recently had my first fill. Luckily we live in the Sunshine State, so we headed for the wonderful beach at Siesta Key. We thought we could do a lot of outside activities and enjoy some of the local cuisine guilt free. Well, it rained 90% of the time, so much for the Sunshine State!
We did manage one limited trip to the beach where we got a nice long walk along the water and some mini golf, both led to good sweats in the Summer's heat and humidity. Unfortunately the weather left more time for the local cuisine. We did get to enjoy a couple Food Network visited eateries in Yoder's, home cooking Amish style, and Jose's Real Cuban Food. If you ever get the chance, you have to try some pie at Yoder's; it is worth the trip and the 30 minute line to get in. When I mean pie, any will do, we ended up trying a few varieties while we were in the area, and all were incredible. Enjoy! Jose's had an excellent array of Cuban food. They start you off with a sample of their pork if you are a newbie. We tried a couple items on special and everything we had was delicious. Again, don't see where you can go wrong here.
OK, I'm through torturing you with the food. This is supposed to be a blog about losing weight, not what to eat in the Sarasota/Bradenton area of Florida. The point is I was able to enjoy eating! The Lap Band didn't prevent me from enjoying the food, but it did help me not to over do it. It was a nice change from the vacations and special occasions of the past, where it was always a good excuse to binge myself into oblivion, leaving any diet in waste. Not this time! This time the Lap Band was my ally; it limited my portions and was a constant reminder of my ultimate goals and why I shouldn't lose control.
I was even able to enjoy our one year old wedding cake without too much guilt. It was pretty good too! Great job freezing it babe! With the Lap Band, I guess you can say that I can have my cake and eat it too! Sorry had to say it. ;P Now don't think there wasn't a weight loss cost to this. I certainly had a weight gain for the week, but instead of the usual complete derailment of a diet, I had a minor setback thanks to the Lap Band. The setback was easily reversed and I was back on track the following week. You need to get back to good habits with what you eat and your activity, which is so much easier after Lap Band surgery.
Life happens and it is unrealistic to think you can be on the straight and narrow all the time. The Lap Band allows you to enjoy the finer things in life without letting them sink your weight loss goals. Life with the Lap Band isn't harsh and hungry. Instead the Lap Band allows for a full and flexible lifestyle. You can have your cake, just remember to run with it too!
Thanks,
me
We did manage one limited trip to the beach where we got a nice long walk along the water and some mini golf, both led to good sweats in the Summer's heat and humidity. Unfortunately the weather left more time for the local cuisine. We did get to enjoy a couple Food Network visited eateries in Yoder's, home cooking Amish style, and Jose's Real Cuban Food. If you ever get the chance, you have to try some pie at Yoder's; it is worth the trip and the 30 minute line to get in. When I mean pie, any will do, we ended up trying a few varieties while we were in the area, and all were incredible. Enjoy! Jose's had an excellent array of Cuban food. They start you off with a sample of their pork if you are a newbie. We tried a couple items on special and everything we had was delicious. Again, don't see where you can go wrong here.
OK, I'm through torturing you with the food. This is supposed to be a blog about losing weight, not what to eat in the Sarasota/Bradenton area of Florida. The point is I was able to enjoy eating! The Lap Band didn't prevent me from enjoying the food, but it did help me not to over do it. It was a nice change from the vacations and special occasions of the past, where it was always a good excuse to binge myself into oblivion, leaving any diet in waste. Not this time! This time the Lap Band was my ally; it limited my portions and was a constant reminder of my ultimate goals and why I shouldn't lose control.
I was even able to enjoy our one year old wedding cake without too much guilt. It was pretty good too! Great job freezing it babe! With the Lap Band, I guess you can say that I can have my cake and eat it too! Sorry had to say it. ;P Now don't think there wasn't a weight loss cost to this. I certainly had a weight gain for the week, but instead of the usual complete derailment of a diet, I had a minor setback thanks to the Lap Band. The setback was easily reversed and I was back on track the following week. You need to get back to good habits with what you eat and your activity, which is so much easier after Lap Band surgery.
Life happens and it is unrealistic to think you can be on the straight and narrow all the time. The Lap Band allows you to enjoy the finer things in life without letting them sink your weight loss goals. Life with the Lap Band isn't harsh and hungry. Instead the Lap Band allows for a full and flexible lifestyle. You can have your cake, just remember to run with it too!
Thanks,
me
Monday, July 1, 2013
My First Fill
For those who may not know, getting a fill in the Lap Band world is when you inflate your band with a liquid solution, usually saline. It's certainly not filling up on lots of food as I might have thought in my pre-banded life. When the band is initially placed it is not inflated because there isn't a need for additional restriction while you heal from surgery. Once you heal it is necessary to use your Lap Band tool to make sure you restrict yourself before your body goes back to old eating habits. I will say that my stomach had begun to feel a little frisky, so I was glad Dr. Jessee began the fill process. The Lap Band is a very flexible tool in that you can have adjustments done through adding liquid or even removing liquid if you find yourself too restricted. It can be tailored to the individual's needs.
The process is simple. As I lay back on the medical table in Dr. Jessee's office, she placed a cylindrical pillow in the small of my back. This allows your port to be pushed up to as close to the surface of your skin as possible. The port is the part of your band that is sewn into your abdominal muscle where the needle can be inserted to either add or remove fluid from your band. This was my first fill, so I confess to be a little nervous, but I had the good fortune to witness a fill at the seminar I had attended, so I remembered it was a pretty straight forward procedure. The needle was fairly large, but it only pinched for a moment. Dr. Jessee asked me to sit up before I even realized that she had already inserted the liquid. That was easy! Now came the hard part. I had to drink water. Yes, it was hard because now I had to judge based on my drinking whether I had too much liquid. It's tough when you don't know what to look for. I had this feeling like I needed to burp, but couldn't. Dr. Jessee realized before I did, that I indeed had a bit too much and the water wasn't going down. She then had to reinsert the needle to remove a bit of the liquid. To be honest it was very confusing on what normal should feel like as I still felt a bit too restricted at that point. I feel it's more a matter of experience and as I get adjustments I imagine that I will get better at reading the signs. For now I was content in relying on Dr. Jessee's experienced and better judgement. She was really good at reading the signs, and she wasn't the one swallowing the water!
For the first day you are back on a liquid only diet followed by one day of mushy foods before getting back to solid food. This wasn't a hardship, as I certainly didn't want to eat anything solid. I kept feeling like I may have had too much of a fill, but later realized this is exactly how it's supposed to feel. I had my liquids and had them sparingly for the first day and a half. Then I cautiously introduced some mushy foods like cream of wheat, soups, and the like. Before I knew it I had the confidence to go back to solid foods probably by day four and haven't looked back since. It's amazing that I thought for sure that I was going to have to go back to have some removed, but felt just fine and back to normal a mere few days later. My advice is trust the process. Your doctor knows more than you do, so rely on their expertise especially at this stage.
I certainly feel restricted on how much I can eat, but that's exactly what the band is designed to do. It keeps you honest and encourages you to stick to the program. It is the tool I always wanted to help me on my journey. I always fell short in my weight loss goals, because at some point I would give in to the cravings. I couldn't stop myself in time before consuming mass quantities. No longer. Now the band will help me not go over the line. It will give me the strength to persist; I can now see it through; I won't falter. Thanks to the band, I have confidence in the journey; I have confidence in myself.
Banded,
me :-)
The process is simple. As I lay back on the medical table in Dr. Jessee's office, she placed a cylindrical pillow in the small of my back. This allows your port to be pushed up to as close to the surface of your skin as possible. The port is the part of your band that is sewn into your abdominal muscle where the needle can be inserted to either add or remove fluid from your band. This was my first fill, so I confess to be a little nervous, but I had the good fortune to witness a fill at the seminar I had attended, so I remembered it was a pretty straight forward procedure. The needle was fairly large, but it only pinched for a moment. Dr. Jessee asked me to sit up before I even realized that she had already inserted the liquid. That was easy! Now came the hard part. I had to drink water. Yes, it was hard because now I had to judge based on my drinking whether I had too much liquid. It's tough when you don't know what to look for. I had this feeling like I needed to burp, but couldn't. Dr. Jessee realized before I did, that I indeed had a bit too much and the water wasn't going down. She then had to reinsert the needle to remove a bit of the liquid. To be honest it was very confusing on what normal should feel like as I still felt a bit too restricted at that point. I feel it's more a matter of experience and as I get adjustments I imagine that I will get better at reading the signs. For now I was content in relying on Dr. Jessee's experienced and better judgement. She was really good at reading the signs, and she wasn't the one swallowing the water!
For the first day you are back on a liquid only diet followed by one day of mushy foods before getting back to solid food. This wasn't a hardship, as I certainly didn't want to eat anything solid. I kept feeling like I may have had too much of a fill, but later realized this is exactly how it's supposed to feel. I had my liquids and had them sparingly for the first day and a half. Then I cautiously introduced some mushy foods like cream of wheat, soups, and the like. Before I knew it I had the confidence to go back to solid foods probably by day four and haven't looked back since. It's amazing that I thought for sure that I was going to have to go back to have some removed, but felt just fine and back to normal a mere few days later. My advice is trust the process. Your doctor knows more than you do, so rely on their expertise especially at this stage.
I certainly feel restricted on how much I can eat, but that's exactly what the band is designed to do. It keeps you honest and encourages you to stick to the program. It is the tool I always wanted to help me on my journey. I always fell short in my weight loss goals, because at some point I would give in to the cravings. I couldn't stop myself in time before consuming mass quantities. No longer. Now the band will help me not go over the line. It will give me the strength to persist; I can now see it through; I won't falter. Thanks to the band, I have confidence in the journey; I have confidence in myself.
Banded,
me :-)
Thursday, June 20, 2013
My Seroma
My surgery was on May 15th. On Saturday June 1st I was feeling great; I felt like I had really turned a corner on my recovery and it was full speed ahead. I had a real vigor during my morning walk. Things were great....until....My Seroma. Later that night I was having some soup on my recliner while watching some tv. I got up at some point and my belly felt really wet. I looked down and my shirt was soaked through and so were my shorts. Did I spill some of my soup? I lifted my shirt and there was a small waterfall of fluid coming from my belly button incision. A scary sight to be sure, but I didn't feel any real discomfort from it. My wife and I looked at it and decided to give Dr. Jessee's office a call. I felt bad since it was late and a Saturday to boot, but they have a paging service at her office for emergencies. Dr. Jessee called me back herself within a few minutes. I was impressed. I explained the situation and she knew right away what it was; it made me feel better not only to find out that it was common and not that big a deal, but that I had a great surgeon who cared and was there when you needed to get a hold of her even in the middle of the night on a weekend.
This is where I first heard the word seroma. Plainly said a seroma is a pocket of liquid that forms in the body often associated with a surgical procedure, which will leak. The important part was the liquid. It was translucent of a yellowish tint, which is as good as it gets. The real danger is infection, which would be a thicker pus like discharge. Dr. Jessee told me to keep an eye on it and if there were any changes to let her know. If not I would call her office first thing Monday morning to get in to see her on Monday.
Despite a bandage, nine hours later I woke up to wet sheets with reddish yellow stains. After some cleanup we discovered that the fluid was changing to a more reddish tint and certainly wasn't abating. We decided to call Dr. Jessee's office to have her paged again and again she called back within minutes. She still felt I was probably fine, but just to be safe she sent me to the emergency room at the Largo Medical Center. I was told to see Dr. Hewitt who she works with so that he can better assess the situation. If he felt it was more than a seroma, she would come see me there.
We jumped in the car and headed down as it is about an hour away. During the drive, I drenched a couple of kleenexes and began feeling more discomfort from the area. It was a bit frustrating at the ER as even though we wanted to specifically see Dr. Hewitt, they have their procedures. We had to check in and be seen by a couple of nurses to check my vitals and determine my issue; both of which had never heard of Dr. Hewitt..very frustrating. After some impatient waiting on my part, Dr. Hewitt strolled in the door. I was very happy to see him. He took a good look and was able to drain a decent amount with some belly manipulation. He said it looked fine, but prescribed an antibiotic to be safe. They were nice enough to give us some bandages and tape, so that we can regularly change it. He also warned that it would take some time for this to drain and for me to schedule a follow up with Dr. Jessee for the end of this coming week.
We went home with our supplies stopping on the way at Publix to fill the prescription. Unfortunately by that night I started to notice another change in the seroma. It started to pus. By the next day it was certainly infected. I was gross, ooey, gooey, a mess. Luckily I was already on antibiotics and was free of the infection a few days later. I continued to drain consistently all week long. We went through a lot of gauze and tape that's for sure. I had some discomfort, but too be honest I think my skin took more of a hit from the tape and frequent changing of the bandage than from the seroma. I also spent some time trying to imitate Dr. Hewitt by squeezing my belly to speed the drain along. I think this contributed to a general soreness in the area.
At the follow up appointment with Dr. Jessee, she cleaned out the wound further and was very reassuring in that it was quite normal and looked like it was healing really well. Of course it was still leaking, but she said that it may take some time and we scheduled a follow up for a couple weeks later. She also suggested I create some pressure with a weight belt or back brace to help the seroma complete draining and the layer of skin could fuze back with the muscle. The body doesn't like the space and wants to continually fill it with liquid, so we needed to not allow the space. My wife actually came up with using a pregnancy band to create the needed pressure, which Dr. Jessee endorsed. Great idea as it turned out to be much more comfortable than the other options. Thanks babe! Also, thanks Jen for the actual pregnancy band. It wore well and was glad it was in the gender neutral black; it would have been slightly awkward to walk around in pink. Lol! I'm in touch with my feminine side, but I draw the line at going into labor!
Gradually my leaking diminished and finally stopped altogether just a few days ago. Today I had my follow up with Dr. Jessee and am happy to say I can close the seroma chapter after nearly three weeks. She even gave me the green light for any activity including swimming as of this weekend. Time for me to turn another corner in the journey and get moving!
Thanks to all for all of their help along the way. It's been very encouraging to have the support of so many along the way.
me
This is where I first heard the word seroma. Plainly said a seroma is a pocket of liquid that forms in the body often associated with a surgical procedure, which will leak. The important part was the liquid. It was translucent of a yellowish tint, which is as good as it gets. The real danger is infection, which would be a thicker pus like discharge. Dr. Jessee told me to keep an eye on it and if there were any changes to let her know. If not I would call her office first thing Monday morning to get in to see her on Monday.
Despite a bandage, nine hours later I woke up to wet sheets with reddish yellow stains. After some cleanup we discovered that the fluid was changing to a more reddish tint and certainly wasn't abating. We decided to call Dr. Jessee's office to have her paged again and again she called back within minutes. She still felt I was probably fine, but just to be safe she sent me to the emergency room at the Largo Medical Center. I was told to see Dr. Hewitt who she works with so that he can better assess the situation. If he felt it was more than a seroma, she would come see me there.
We jumped in the car and headed down as it is about an hour away. During the drive, I drenched a couple of kleenexes and began feeling more discomfort from the area. It was a bit frustrating at the ER as even though we wanted to specifically see Dr. Hewitt, they have their procedures. We had to check in and be seen by a couple of nurses to check my vitals and determine my issue; both of which had never heard of Dr. Hewitt..very frustrating. After some impatient waiting on my part, Dr. Hewitt strolled in the door. I was very happy to see him. He took a good look and was able to drain a decent amount with some belly manipulation. He said it looked fine, but prescribed an antibiotic to be safe. They were nice enough to give us some bandages and tape, so that we can regularly change it. He also warned that it would take some time for this to drain and for me to schedule a follow up with Dr. Jessee for the end of this coming week.
We went home with our supplies stopping on the way at Publix to fill the prescription. Unfortunately by that night I started to notice another change in the seroma. It started to pus. By the next day it was certainly infected. I was gross, ooey, gooey, a mess. Luckily I was already on antibiotics and was free of the infection a few days later. I continued to drain consistently all week long. We went through a lot of gauze and tape that's for sure. I had some discomfort, but too be honest I think my skin took more of a hit from the tape and frequent changing of the bandage than from the seroma. I also spent some time trying to imitate Dr. Hewitt by squeezing my belly to speed the drain along. I think this contributed to a general soreness in the area.
At the follow up appointment with Dr. Jessee, she cleaned out the wound further and was very reassuring in that it was quite normal and looked like it was healing really well. Of course it was still leaking, but she said that it may take some time and we scheduled a follow up for a couple weeks later. She also suggested I create some pressure with a weight belt or back brace to help the seroma complete draining and the layer of skin could fuze back with the muscle. The body doesn't like the space and wants to continually fill it with liquid, so we needed to not allow the space. My wife actually came up with using a pregnancy band to create the needed pressure, which Dr. Jessee endorsed. Great idea as it turned out to be much more comfortable than the other options. Thanks babe! Also, thanks Jen for the actual pregnancy band. It wore well and was glad it was in the gender neutral black; it would have been slightly awkward to walk around in pink. Lol! I'm in touch with my feminine side, but I draw the line at going into labor!
Gradually my leaking diminished and finally stopped altogether just a few days ago. Today I had my follow up with Dr. Jessee and am happy to say I can close the seroma chapter after nearly three weeks. She even gave me the green light for any activity including swimming as of this weekend. Time for me to turn another corner in the journey and get moving!
Thanks to all for all of their help along the way. It's been very encouraging to have the support of so many along the way.
me
Monday, June 17, 2013
First Banded Days
I've had my surgery; now let's see how my first couple weeks went. First I want to emphasize that there is nothing earth shattering in those first few days. I just had surgery and it's more about healing than your new world of eating with the band. For the first night I was only allowed clear liquids and I was thrilled enough with ice chips and some gatorade. From day 2 through the first full 2 weeks post surgery, the diet consists of only liquids. Broth is the name of the game and some light soups that can be strained of anything too clumpy or solid. I continued on the bariatric protein shakes, using milk instead of water. A small note on the milk...my wife found a product called Skim Plus, that is wonderful. It is essentially skim milk fortified with extra protein and vitamins to be of the consistency and taste of near whole milk. I've been using it ever since and feel like I'm getting a good deal of bang for my buck with the shakes as a result. The nutritional value is well worth a little extra cost and I lucked into a nice sale at Publix as well as some coupons at the time. It has a pretty good shelf life before being opened compared to other milk as the expiration dates I found to be a month out. Stock piling it in my fridge whenever I catch a sale!
Cream of Wheat is another good item as long as you make it with a thin enough consistency. Pat the wonderful nutritionist at Dr. Jessee's office went through the suggested menu items and there was a lot of yogurt suggested. I really don't like yogurt, so this was hard. My wife did find me these Fusion yogurt drinks that I was able to stomach. Unfortunately you may want to consider those sparingly as their sugar count was kind of high. I guess it is a tradeoff, but Pat you can see I'm trying. ;-) Juice is a good option, but another spot to watch your sugars. Wal-mart had some nice no sugar added options including a nice apple and a white grape peach. Both I found to be very tasty without too much sugar.
The toughest thing is the more you heal and begin to feel normal, the hungrier you get. Hungry may not be the right word. I felt like a divergence began between my mouth and my stomach. They used to always agree. Now my mouth craved stuff, that my stomach would over rule. Commercials can be rough; My mouth would say oh that looks good only to be quickly followed by my stomach saying I don't think so. I began to feel schizophrenic. Lol! I chose the smart choice and followed my stomach's lead. The cravings would generally be short lived and easily managed, certainly compared to what I used to have to deal with when the stomach and mouth ganged up on me and the next thing you knew I swallowed a pizza or a box of cookies or both! I appreciated that the Lap Band was taking the edge off and allowing me to act responsibly.
Probably the hardest part of this phase is there is only so much variety in what you can manage with a liquid diet. The first week I was fine, but the second started to get old, so I started allowing some substance in the soups and allowing for the normal thickness of the cream of wheat. It's all just a part of the process as you heal. This was a natural progression into the next two weeks which would allow for a mushy diet consistency. The biggest advice I can give is it is perfectly normal to start testing your band some in this phase, just proceed cautiously. Take your time and chew thoroughly. No reason to rush it. I may even be enjoying my food better now than ever before as I no longer feel like I'm in a race where I assume whoever eats the most the fastest wins!
Well enough about food. Lets talk about healing and moving. At the Palms of Pasadena and Dr. Jessee's office they emphasize you start moving as soon as you can to minimize any chance of blood clots forming. A couple days I even got a follow up call from the nurse who worked with me at the hospital at the end to check on my progress. That was a nice thing as it gives you the option for any further questions. Again, the Palms of Pasadena is a great facility. I started the first few days with just wandering around the house at a pretty slow pace, but it felt good to get moving and quickly graduated after a few days of that to an outdoor stroll. Again this was at a comfortable pace and a short distance with gradual increase of speed and distance over the first couple weeks.
There was a certain amount of discomfort in my stomach especially in the area around my belly button. I was prescribed two pain killers, one that was stronger than the other. I quickly weaned myself from the stronger to the weaker over the course of the first couple weeks. By the end of the first week I only needed the stronger stuff at night to help me sleep and by the end of the second week I was down to an occasional weaker or even ibuprofen for at night with nothing during the day. I'm not a big fan of taking pills and wanted to not become dependent on anything. My incisions were covered by Durabond, which is krazy glue for surgeons. They didn't give me much concern except for my belly button where I felt a certain amount of swelling as well as discomfort. Somewhere along the line I also started to notice some small residue marks on my shirts in that area; more to come on a later post with regards to this. Through the end of May I was feeling stronger and stronger and able to do more. Biggest obstacle seemed to be bending over as I felt some pulling in my stomach and I was told not to lift anything over 20 pounds; Good advice as I found groceries to be a bit heavy the first couple of weeks.
I believe it all made for a great start and was looking forward to what was coming, but I feel like it is just a start and I have a long way to go. It's important to remain patient and not to try and get ahead of yourself and do too much, no matter how anxious you feel to do it all. At this stage you really need to allow yourself time to heal. Remember weight loss is a lifestyle journey, not a diet destination! Thanks to all for their support and wonderful advice along the way.
me
Cream of Wheat is another good item as long as you make it with a thin enough consistency. Pat the wonderful nutritionist at Dr. Jessee's office went through the suggested menu items and there was a lot of yogurt suggested. I really don't like yogurt, so this was hard. My wife did find me these Fusion yogurt drinks that I was able to stomach. Unfortunately you may want to consider those sparingly as their sugar count was kind of high. I guess it is a tradeoff, but Pat you can see I'm trying. ;-) Juice is a good option, but another spot to watch your sugars. Wal-mart had some nice no sugar added options including a nice apple and a white grape peach. Both I found to be very tasty without too much sugar.
The toughest thing is the more you heal and begin to feel normal, the hungrier you get. Hungry may not be the right word. I felt like a divergence began between my mouth and my stomach. They used to always agree. Now my mouth craved stuff, that my stomach would over rule. Commercials can be rough; My mouth would say oh that looks good only to be quickly followed by my stomach saying I don't think so. I began to feel schizophrenic. Lol! I chose the smart choice and followed my stomach's lead. The cravings would generally be short lived and easily managed, certainly compared to what I used to have to deal with when the stomach and mouth ganged up on me and the next thing you knew I swallowed a pizza or a box of cookies or both! I appreciated that the Lap Band was taking the edge off and allowing me to act responsibly.
Probably the hardest part of this phase is there is only so much variety in what you can manage with a liquid diet. The first week I was fine, but the second started to get old, so I started allowing some substance in the soups and allowing for the normal thickness of the cream of wheat. It's all just a part of the process as you heal. This was a natural progression into the next two weeks which would allow for a mushy diet consistency. The biggest advice I can give is it is perfectly normal to start testing your band some in this phase, just proceed cautiously. Take your time and chew thoroughly. No reason to rush it. I may even be enjoying my food better now than ever before as I no longer feel like I'm in a race where I assume whoever eats the most the fastest wins!
Well enough about food. Lets talk about healing and moving. At the Palms of Pasadena and Dr. Jessee's office they emphasize you start moving as soon as you can to minimize any chance of blood clots forming. A couple days I even got a follow up call from the nurse who worked with me at the hospital at the end to check on my progress. That was a nice thing as it gives you the option for any further questions. Again, the Palms of Pasadena is a great facility. I started the first few days with just wandering around the house at a pretty slow pace, but it felt good to get moving and quickly graduated after a few days of that to an outdoor stroll. Again this was at a comfortable pace and a short distance with gradual increase of speed and distance over the first couple weeks.
There was a certain amount of discomfort in my stomach especially in the area around my belly button. I was prescribed two pain killers, one that was stronger than the other. I quickly weaned myself from the stronger to the weaker over the course of the first couple weeks. By the end of the first week I only needed the stronger stuff at night to help me sleep and by the end of the second week I was down to an occasional weaker or even ibuprofen for at night with nothing during the day. I'm not a big fan of taking pills and wanted to not become dependent on anything. My incisions were covered by Durabond, which is krazy glue for surgeons. They didn't give me much concern except for my belly button where I felt a certain amount of swelling as well as discomfort. Somewhere along the line I also started to notice some small residue marks on my shirts in that area; more to come on a later post with regards to this. Through the end of May I was feeling stronger and stronger and able to do more. Biggest obstacle seemed to be bending over as I felt some pulling in my stomach and I was told not to lift anything over 20 pounds; Good advice as I found groceries to be a bit heavy the first couple of weeks.
I believe it all made for a great start and was looking forward to what was coming, but I feel like it is just a start and I have a long way to go. It's important to remain patient and not to try and get ahead of yourself and do too much, no matter how anxious you feel to do it all. At this stage you really need to allow yourself time to heal. Remember weight loss is a lifestyle journey, not a diet destination! Thanks to all for their support and wonderful advice along the way.
me
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