PSA for Stool Softener

I'm going to start by telling you this is gross, so stop reading now if you don't want to hear about it.

I have had the most horrible couple of days. Tuesday, I was really nauseous and had a hard time eating (drinking) my protein shake and soup. I had to leave work early. Wednesday, the moment that I got in the car to leave for work I knew that I should just stay home. After dropping of my son and my husband, I headed to work like normal and the moment I got to work it happened (or didn't). I dropped my stuff off at my desk and headed to the bathroom and I was there for an hour straining and trying to get the poop out and it just wouldn't come out. I was so uncomfortable that I was unable to sit and I was clammy and sweating, so I went home. I spent the next 4 hours trying to make it happen. I was screaming my head off (good thing the neighbors didn't call the police), straining,  pleading with god, and thinking that this was like natural birth. So I did what any savvy person does and Googled "stuck poop" and came back with impacted bowl and instruction on how to fix my problem. I'm not going to get into how to de-impact a bowl, you can Google that for yourself, but I can tell you that if I had be instructed to take a stool softener after surgery I wouldn't have been in this mess to start with.  I did try to speak with a nurse at the Surgeons office, I didn't get a call back from a nurse just a receptionist relaying a not helpful message and it was 3 hours later and I had already determined how to fix my problem at that point.

Just get some Miralax or the store brand and start taking it after surgery.

I'm going to take some extra time off work and rest up.

5 Days Post-Op and Back to Work

I'm starting to think that I should have taken another day off. I'm more nauseous today then I have been this entire time and I'm suppose to start "Stage 2" today. Stage 1 is all clear liquids and and Stage 2 is all liquid and pureed fruits. I was really excited to eat the soup that I made last night, but now I'm not so sure that it's going to happen. I might be a tad dehydrated, so I'm sipping some G2 Gatorade to see if that helps. It also hurts to bend over and I have a weird pain in my neck on the left side towards the back, feels like a sore muscle. The waist band of my jeans is making my stomach hurt (where the holes from surgery are) when I sit and I sit at a desk all day. So I rigged the button on my jeans with a hair tie to keep them closed but kind of loose.

So last night I accidently ate a piece of raw broccoli..... How did that happen??? My child is in this horrible screeching phase and we were trying to ignore him. I was also trying to make broccoli cheddar soup and the screeching child is quite a distraction..... After I finished cutting up the broccoli, I reached down and grabbed a small piece of the bushy top and ate it..... and then waited and it went down.... It didn't get stuck!  After the broccoli, I had a few spoonfuls of yogurt.

I'm thinking that I might leave work early today and go home and take a nap.

3 Days Post Op

I'm not too bad, I'm sore enough in the stomach area that I still need my prescription pain med every 4-6 hours, which is making my skin itch. I have not been very nauseous and I have been real gassy.  I have been pretty sleepy, which may be a combo of the pain med and just having surgery. I'm really not sleeping very well at night. I'm waking up every few hours and I'm not really sure why.

One day post-op, my 14 month old child started vomiting, not spitting up, but projectile vomiting and running a small fever. So being sore and trying to help clean my child, the couch, the floor, myself, and my husband up was interesting and we had to repeat this 3 times. I'm glad no one else came down with his bug.

Anyway, I'm on clear liquids until Tuesday and then it's full liquids and I'm planning on making some soup, split pea, broccoli cheddar, and maybe pumpkin.

I'm Alive and a Bandster!

I had my surgery yesterday and I'm doing ok. My ribs feel like they were ran over by a car. Apparently I had a hiatal hernia that Dr Malley fixed while he was in there and that they had to "blow me up a little more to fix it."  I really haven't had a lot of shoulder pain, but I have had a few random hiccups and man those hurt. My surgery nurse Rena was funny she had me laughing my head off before surgery. 

Surgery Day went like this.......

My surgery was moved up to 10:30 and I found that Wednesday, so I had to check in at 8:00.

My husband and I took our child to my parents and left him with my Dad, my husband went to work and my mom and I drove to the surgery center. We made good time and got there a few minutes early.

My surgery nurse Rena came and got me from the lobby and my mom had to hang out in the lobby until I was prepped.

I weighed in at 263.4, so a loss of 8.6 lbs in 2 weeks.

They took my height, which there is no way could be correct. There measuring stick thing said 5'4" and I'm been measured a lot in the last few years and I'm almost 5'7" not sure what's going on there.

We got to my room and I was handed a cup to pee in. Once I got back to the room I was given instructions to change into a gown and awesome socks. I didn't realize that blinds were open and I gave the highway a show until after I was changed....

Rena came back in and started my IV and gave me some Pepcid through my IV to help my stomach and than gave me a shot to help prevent blood clots. They (another nurse came in to help Rena) took my temp, blood pressure, heart rate, and placed these monitor pads on me. Rena gave me the remote to watch some TV and I looked at it and it had 1 button with a red plus sign on it, so I tell her that this remote looks like a nurse call button and she said haha your right and handed me the TV remote.

Around 9:00 Rena popped her head back in and I asked about going to the bathroom, so she got me set up to walk down the hall to take care of business.

Once I got back in the Anesthesiologist popped in to ask me a few questions and than Dr Malley, popped in to see if I had any questions and to tell me that we were going to get started soon.

They came and got me around 9:45. Once we got into the surgery room they had me move over to a different bed and started strapping down my arms.... I don't remember anything after that.

About 11:15 I opened my eyes for a sec and caught the time, then I remember lifting my oxygen mask and saying that I think I'm going to vomit and someone handed me a sucky thing to put in my mouth, but it was just a burp and I giggled and put the mask back down. I also remember having a lot of phlegm in my throat.

After that I started to wake up enough that my mom got to come back to my room. I had a sore throat from the tube that they put down your throat while you are in surgery. I also had horrible cotton mouth. Rena wouldn't let me have any water or ice chips until I had my barium swallow and had seen Dr Malley. I did get to have a pink swab to wet my mouth with. I basically slept on and off for a few hours. At some point Rena asked me if I felt that I could go to the bathroom and I said "let do it!" So I walked down the hall with some help from my nurse. My husband popped back in over his lunch to make sure that I was doing OK (he just started a new job and couldn't take the whole day off).

Around 1:30 Some one came and got me for my barium swallow, which was exciting (closer to going home). I took a picture of my band.

Shortly after that the Anesthesiologist came in and asked how I was feeling and if I remember anything, I was like you mean during surgery? No (weird, right?). I did tell him that my throat was sore and he acted like that was weird.

Rena pushed the rest of the drugs into my IV before taking it out and letting me change.

After I was changed, Dr Malley came in and went over my surgery and my post op instructions again and I was finally given some Apple Juice to sip.

Shortly after, I was given my prescriptions for pain med and anti nausea med and we were off. I was wheeled to the car and we were headed home. We did stop by the drug store to fill my prescriptions, but made it home around 3:00pm.

I have been sleeping with a heating pad under my back and a heated throw on top of me to help with the pain.

T - 2 Days Until I'm Banded

I'm on the last day before my all clear liquid day starts and then Thursday I'm having my Lap Band surgery at Noon.  Right now I feel like I need to vomit..... kind of funny, cause there really would only be liquids to vomit up. I'm kind of nervous about my surgery and I keep on pushing away my irrational fears about surgery (surgery in general). I've been put under 2 other times, and I have had a C-Section, so I'm not a newbie. I now have a small child to add to the mix. I just keep reminding myself that the path I was on was leading me to an untimely death and that I'm doing this for myself first, but for my child/family too.

Warning the following involves Aunt Flow...... 

It also occurred to me that I'm suppose to start my period tomorrow.... perfect timing, right? I could have figured this out by looking at the app on my phone or my birth control pack, but I didn't really consider Aunt Flow when scheduling my surgery. This is only an issue because I'm not really a fan of tampons and since I will not be able to use my normal method of protection during my surgery, I have to go get a sample pack. I still have a few of the Instead Soft Cups, which is a cup that you insert into your hoohaa and push up inside, maybe I'll use one of those, I like them better.

T - 6 Days Until I'm Banded!!

I'm getting excited about my surgery. I go to the surgery center Monday to have some blood work done and pee in a cup. They are suppose to go over my post-op diet with me too. 

I'm not really felling horrible on the pre-op diet. I did have a moment on day 3, I was really hungry and had been taking care of my child and kind of put aside eating for longer than I should have. I blew up at my husband and there was crying AND I was using a big knife to chop up my fruit...... and that is when I decided that now was not the time to discuss anything important or have any type of argument with my husband. Being hungry could make me a tad irrational (putting it nicely).

I have lost 4 pounds since last Thursday when I started the pre-op diet. I'm not sure how that measures up to everyone else, but my diet is a little different than some of the other diets that I have read about. 

I had my review at work this week and I hope to have some really good news to sure soon :)

Well that's it for now.

Finally!!

I know what my out of pocket expense is going to be, so I'm not freaking out about not being able to have the surgery. The surgery center is helping me out a lot, because I have crappy insurance. I'm going to reach my bariatric surgery life time max the day of the surgery, so after the first 90 days of after care, I'll be self pay at $150 an appointment. Of course if my insurance changes, than the clock is reset. It's a good thing I've been following along with the diet :)

Day 5 of Pre-Op Diet

I have been on this pre-op diet for 5 days (today is the start of day 5) and I think things have been going good. I'm drinking my 2 protein shakes and chicken broth (like a rock star!) until dinner. I'm eating lean meat and veggies for dinner, and I'm snaking on SF Jello. I went to a going away party for work on Friday and had only iced tea. I turned down chips and dip and chicken wings... I noticed that some of my jeans are a little loose, but the scale didn't show a loss..... I'm going to re-way myself tomorrow before the shower (I swear!!) and without the wet towel on my head (I know that stuff is throwing off my weight).

I'm still waiting to hear about my out of pocket expense from the surgery center, but I got the Dr's out about amount after I read the Insurance Coordinator the riot act on Friday.  The surgery center lady didn't get my info until last Tuesday and she was out of the office Thursday and Friday.... So, I'll give her until tomorrow to get back to me.

It amazes me that doctor's offices think they do not have to provide good customer service. If you tell me that you are going to do something, I expect you to do it. I except to know what it's going to cost me before I have this procedure. They except me to pay them, right?  I'm a customer and I will go somewhere else. It's not just this doctor's office, it's all of them. My Chiropractor's billing person is horrible. She sent something to my insurance incorrectly and they denied it, I called the office and told them there was an issue with my bill, she called me back right away. She told me that she was going to call me back after speaking with my insurance. Did she call me back? No. I left 3 messages with the office to have her call me back and I got not response from her. So the next time I was in the office I was talking to the lady at the counter and she told me this sob story about what was going on with the lady that does the billing, how her child was sick. **I feel sorry about her sick kid, but from a customer service prospective, it's not my fault that this lady had a family issue and it shouldn't be used to explain away the lack of service that I'm getting. They should have a back up person taking care of her duties and calling me back.** The last time I left a message, it was for the office manager to call me and guess what happened? The billing lady called me instead and said, I'm not sure what you were calling in regards too, but I was told to call you. I asked about my jacked up charges and she said.... They were fixed and I left you a message. Really? I have voice mail that only I can check and I didn't get a message from her. I really, really, really, love my Chiropractor or I would go somewhere else.  They also have an assistant in there that I have had to explained to that I have a hyphenated last name (like Smith-Weston [not my actual last name] and that my first name is Jane, she keeps calling me Smith, not Mrs. Smith, but Smith. I have explained to her multiple times that when you alphabetize by last name my stuff should be in the S's not the W's. Than she tells me we alphabetize by last name and I always tell her that my first name is Jane and my last name is Smith-Weston and than she calls me Smith again.... (I'm banging my head at this point) and this happens every time I'm in the office.

Per-Op Diet Day one.... So Far

I weighed this morning, but I forgot to do it before my shower.... So I deducted .5 for wet hair. I'm calling this my start weight 272. I'll do some measurements and "before" photos tonight.

So far I had my normal Green Monster Protein Shake see my post about this here, some lower sodium chicken broth, and I'm working on my second protein shake.... just water and protein powder.... I also added a little  sugar free cherry/pomegranate drink mix. I also has a small plum. I'm hungry and my awesome friend is tormenting me with the her awesome smelling Eggplant Parm lunch that she made last night... I might go for a walk to keep my mind on other things.

I still have not heard from the surgery center about my out of pocket expense. I don't understand why it's taking so long to figure out. I feel that if it's too much I'm going to have to postpone or go some where else..

So I'm Annoyed

I have been waiting for a week for an email from the surgery center about my out of pocket cost after the insurance pays their part. I was told by the insurance coordinator that she would email it to me last Friday and then yesterday she emails me to tell me someone else is figuring it out for me and it will be a few more days.

Aetna pays only 50% up to 10K and they exclude it from my out of pocket max, so instead of the remaining $800 out of pocket max, I could pay several $1,000 dollars. If it's too ridiculous I'm going to shop around for a better price or try to negotiate a better price. I'm suppose to start the pre-op diet tomorrow and I would like to have this figured out before than.

D - 17 Days

• I have 17 days to go before I'm banded!!
• I have 3 days to go before I start my pre-op diet. Which my dad who is banded said he would do with me (he needs to get back on the "band wagon") and I'm trying to talk my husband into doing it with me too.
• I have 16 days before I'm on the all clear liquid diet and I'm a little scared about that, because I'll be at work...... Watch out people!!
• I should only have to buy socks for a while. I have clothes to a size 10/12. I'm thinking that I should be fine, unless I need more dress clothes. I'm not swearing off shopping, but I will not need to buy complete wardrobes of different sizes while I'm losing.
• It's sooooo hot and humid here (it's been like 87 plus and it's only May) that I may have to forgo swearing off shorts/skirts in public. Cause this girl is hot and not in a good way.

The only thing that I'm kind of worried about is who is going with me to the surgery center. My husband has taken May 24th and 25th off at his current job, but is waiting on an offer from another job (he should here from them today) and if he gives 2 weeks notice today/tomorrow, he will be staring at the new place the week of my surgery. I may have to have either my mom or dad go with me and the other stay with my child (they watch him when we are working) and maybe my friend can come over and hang out with me on Friday. I think that I may sleep a lot the day after, so I don't know if I want to have someone in the house with me or not. Any ideas??

Pre-Op Appointment

Last Friday I had my pre-op appointment at the Surgeon office. I found out that I'm getting a low-profile port, which they give to all of their female patients. There really wasn't anything new at this appointment, the Nurse went over the risks again and asked me for an updated history and meds list. I have to go to the Surgery Center a week before my surgery to pee in a cup and give some blood. Other than that I have 18 days to go.

10 Things Thursday and a few WTF for WTF Wednesday

Alternate title; WTF Thursday!!!

1. I was approved for Lap Band Surgery and have my date 5/24! I don't know what time yet and the insurance coordinator was suppose to email me what my out of pocket was going to be.... WTF I'm still waiting!!

2. WTF!! I have been having some super sexy day dreams for the last few days..... Maybe it's the new birth control.

3. I have my pre-op diet, which I will start in a week.  It's not all liquid until the day before my surgery. Basically it's a protein shakes for breakfast and lunch and lean meat and steamed veggies for dinner and I can have 2 servings of fruit in my shakes or by themselves.

4. I'm getting a big project at work. It should be going strong by July, it could start sooner. I'm finishing up a different project that will drag out for a few weeks/months and I have some advance training coming up. WTF... This all happened after I got an email last Friday stating that they were more or less pulling me from my current project and no conversion about the change. This prompted me to look around for a better option. I got the conversion happened yesterday.

5. I'm organizing a fiesta at work tomorrow over lunch.... WTF.... My pre-op appointment is over lunch, so I may not get any :( There should be some tacos left when I get back.

6. I had to iron my husbands dress shirt this morning on short notice while our child was throwing a fit..... He was getting dressed an realized the blue shirt hanging with his suit was not the shirt that he wanted to wear to his interview. I asked him to make sure that everything was ready to put on today.... and of course he didn't. Men! (kind of a WTF too, right?)

7. I have been noticing that the new protein powder has a slight after taste. Sam's finally has the brand that I like back in stock (after 2 weeks of not having any).

8. Super sexy dreams are co-staring someone that I used to work with..... WTF!

9. It's super humid in Kansas City and it's only May. It's going to be a hot summer.

10. Thank god tomorrow is Friday and payday!!


Bonus - 31 followers!!!! I'm thinking about a give away, once I hit 50 followers!!!

Guess What?

I got my insurance approval today!!!! My banding date is 5/24!! I don't have to do any other pre surgery stuff for my insurance. My pre-op appointment is this Friday and I will start my pre-op diet maybe Monday?