Day 3 after bariatric surgery

Special Heavyweight Scale

Last Friday, during my pre-op visit to the surgeon I weighed 413 pounds. This morning, on my scale, I weighed 400 pounds. I couldn't use my scale before because it only went up to 400. So this is good that I have an at home base weight. The scale I use is a high quality digital so I trust it, but I took my weight before I ate breakfast and without clothes so it is going to be a bit off. But, it is my base lien and I will try to take my weight under the same conditions each time.

Yesterday afternoon to evening the five incisions really hurt, but none were extra red and hot so I don't think that they are infected. I have to keep an eye on that. The first day I drank three 12oz bottles of Boost protein drink, but I was only supposed to drink one cup at a time which is 8oz so yesterday I only drank two of the bottles. I can definitely feel the funnel effect, but nothing has gotten stuck or backed up yet.

If I stick to the rules, backups or clogs shouldn't happen. If they do, I should first give it time to melt or slip through. Maybe a small sip of water and if those things don't work, I'll just spit it up. You don't want to get into the habit of spitting up because it can make the band slip out of place and, if it becomes common, then your teeth enamel will start wearing down and you can quickly develop tooth decay and gingivitis.

Yesterday my stomach muscles were also sore and it started raining, so I let my grocery shopping trip be my exercise. Today I will take a walk and maybe go to the Douglas County Fair where my cousin Bobby is working.

I received the New Life chew-able cherry flavored bariatric lap band vitamins and they taste horrible. For now on I'm going to chew them lightly and swallow as fast as I can. I'll also keep something good to drink to cut the nasty. I also received a bottle of probiotics for digestion and good pooping. I haven't pooped since Tuesday, but it's not that big of a deal yet since my body is still trying to figure out where the food is. I also got a sample bottle of hair and nail supplements. One of the biggest complaints about the surgery is that you lose hair for about three months while your body adjusts. I think these packets will help avoid that all together. They also sent a sample protein peanut butter bar and some easy to chew baked potato chips and a dry protein mix in a fill-able bottle if you find yourself away from your normal food supply

Day one after my surgery

My silly sons

I'll try to explain in detail about how I feel. I slept great last night. I started out sleeping on my back and then rolled to the side. Once I was there I got comfortable. Each of the incision points are sore, but my stomach muscles are the sorest so things like sitting up and bending down hurt, but it's not unbearable. I am on oxycodon so the pain is moderated. I am taking 5 mg about every four hours so I'm not all tanked up.

Last night I couldn't even feel any obstruction in my stomach, but I didn't chance it anyway. I took slow sips of my Boost protein drink and water. I was able to pee easier as the night went on. My walk down the block was uneventful. I didn't have any more pain than I do sitting down. I was able to take my medications without breaking them up. That was probably one of my biggest anxieties, but their rule about nothing bigger than a peanut is holding up.

Fat Man. No not me, the atomic bomb. Los Alamos NM

This morning when I woke I noted considerable bruising around the incisions, particularly the longest one on my right side. But no oozing or blood on my sheets this morning. Moving around is still easy. My bedroom is downstairs so I have to use them a lot and I haven't had any trouble. I did reach down and picked  up my nearly two year old niece without thinking. She's 28 pounds and I'm not supposed to lift anything over 25 pounds for two weeks.

Perhaps it the swelling, but I can now feel cold water slowing down before the lapband. I was once again able to take all of my morning meds without incident. I can feel the lapband when I swallow water or my morning Boost drink, but it seems to be completely bearable. I also don't feel real hungry like I did before. I've heard that the third and fourth week can be a bitch as far as feeling hungry, but then it goes away.

Realize Band

The lapband feels like a funnel at the base of my ribs. I have yet to venture with a large gulp so I haven't had any back up or any problems with the band. I don't think it's going to be as hard as I thought. I even sit with the family during meals and it's not a big deal watching them eat. Since I had been eating light over the weekend and having been on a liquid diet since Tuesday, I can already feel some of the bloating going down. I hate the feeling of being stuffed and I will never have to worry about that again. I feel pretty good in general this morning. I will be driving around a bit today and I will take the dogs for a much longer walk today.

Post operation video of myself in the recovery room!

Hello,
In case you didn't catch my post-op details, they are on the previous blog post. I am posting these from my home computer. Amazing surgical procedure. Surgery in the morning, home by 2:30pm. Awesome. After I upload this video I'm going to walk around the block.

I'M HOME!!!! The surgery went GREAT!!!

Just a short note because I want to go through all of the details later. And I made a video of myself in the recovery room. You are not going to believe it. The nurse that helped with the surgery is a patient herself. She had the lapband surgery two years ago and she's lost 175 POUNDS. She looked awesome!

My surgery started at exactly 7:30am as scheduled. I'm not completely sure how long it lasted, but I was in and out in the recovery room for about two and a half hours. I was supposed to be out an hour earlier, but I was taking a great nap! I went into the next recovery room where my wife was and stayed in bed for another hour.

I felt fine and my wounds looked great so they let me walk around and then they discharged me. I believe I got home around 2:30pm I was able to walk around including stairs with only a little bit of discomfort. The most painful spot was where they installed the fill port because it goes between skin and muscle and it was on TOP of my spleen!

I am just taking Oxycodone, but twice as much as I normally take. I had trouble urinating for about a half hour and then I went to sleep in my own bed. I slept for another two hours and then was woken up by a surprise visit from my in-laws who live in Booneville, Arkansas. And I was able to urinate.

As I write I am drinking a "Boost" chocolate protein drink very slowly and I will take another pain pill because I am a bit uncomfortable and I don't want to be "a lot" uncomfortable later. That's it for now. Thanks for visiting and pass my info to friends and family that are curious about the lapbad. I will also make a short entry onto the new website www.lose250.com .

Leaving to the hospital

It's 4:30am in Colorado and it's time to go to the hospital. I'm not really nervous. I'm still excited. It's been a long road. I'll try to get my wife to tape me in the recovery room. I do wonder what the appliance will feel like. Will it feel like a lump in my throat? Will I feel it a all? I'm sure I'll notice it when I start eating ice chips. I think the hardest part will be swallowing water. I like the to guzzle ice water. Time.

New companion website launched today!

I thought I needed a companion website to this blog to post daily post surgical stats and an easier way to find important information about bariatric surgery and bipolar disorder. It can be found at www.lose250.com I'll add information as time goes on.

Day of surgery instructions

Tomorrow is the day of my surgery. Today I feel as if I have been waiting in line for two hours to get on a roller coaster ride. As the coaster pulls into the loading area, butterflies prevail and I am wondering how this coaster stays on the tracks. If I were afraid of flying which I am not, it be would be as if I were about to take off. I'm really more excited than scared. Actually, I don't feel scared at all. Maybe I should be, but I am not. 

I will be at the hospital at 5am; precisely 2 1/2 hours before surgery (7:30am). Today I am on a liquid only diet; not a clear liquid diet so I can drink instant breakfast drinks or products like Ensure up until mid-night, but I will try to only have three today. The rest of the day will be clear liquids by choice. Between 12am and 3am I may drink clear liquids. Absolutely nothing four hours before surgery. I will take my morning dosages of my normal medication around mid-night. 

According to the directions from my anesthesiologist, on the day of the surgery, I am not supposed to take any medications that require food or milk; no oral diabetic meds; glucophage?; diuretics (water pills), OR anticoagulants. The only one of these restrictions that even applies to me is the water pills and I took one today so I won't need one tomorrow anyway. I AM supposed to take my other meds, particularly my pain meds (Oxycodone).

"Sleeping man" by Ron Mueck

When I arrive at 5am an IV will be placed and... I'm not sure why I have to be there two and a half hours early. I have already had my pre-admittance and pre-op appointment on Friday, but it seems to be normal procedure. Again, the surgery will take one to one and a half hours if they don't have any complications. After the surgery I will be in the recovery room for another one and a half hours. I will be allowed to eat ice chips and I should be able to walk around the hall before they discharge me. I'm sure that I will sleep most of the rest of the day after I get into my own bed.

Quick note about daily medication: After surgery I can only take medication that is less than the size of a peanut which means I will either get the liquid forms or split or crush them. Due to the limitations on drinking capacity, it may take me a long time to take all of my pills. 

Comparable chart: Bariatric vs. regular vitamin supplements

	Gastric Bypass / Gastric Sleeve Vitamins
	ASMBS Recommended	New Life chew-able Vitamins	Centrum once daily Vitamins
Cost Per Month	Vitamin Supplementation	$25.50	?
# Tablets/Day		6 tablets/2 scoops powder	1 tablet
Vitamin A	10,000 IU	10,000 IU	3500 IU
Vitamin C	120 mg	120 mg	60 mg
Vitamin D	800 IU	1600 IU	400 mg
Vitamin E	60 IU	200 IU	30 IU
Vitamin K	160 mcg	240 mcg	25 mcg
Thiamin	3 mg	6 mg	1.5 mg
Riboflavin	3.4 mg	8 mg	1.7 mg
Niacin	40 mg	40 mg	20 mg
B 6	4	8 mg	2 mg
Folic Acid	800	800 mcg	400 mcg
B12	350-500 mcg	600mcg	6 mcg
Biotin	600	600 mcg	30 mcg
Pantothenic Acid	20	40 mg	10 mg
Calcium	1500 - 2000 mg	2000 mg	200 mg
Iron	18-27 mg	36 mg	18 mg
Magnesium	800 mg	800 mg	50 mg
Zinc	15 mg	30 mg	11 mg
Selenium	110 mcg	140 mcg	55 mcg
Copper	4 mg	4 mg	.5 mg
Manganese	3.6 mg	4 mg	2.3 mcg
Chromium	240 mcg	240 mcg	35 mcg
Molybdenum	150 mcg	200 mcg	45 mcg
Potassium
Phosphorus
Iodine		300mcg