Sunday, October 31, 2010

Out of my haze

Last night I had a terrible time trying to fall asleep! I just can't get comfortable on my back for long periods of time (haha, snicker snicker). M came in and rearranged the pillows so many times, finally we just decided to take out the pain med pump so at least I would have more mobility with my left arm. After rearranging the pillows a couple more times, I finally managed to fall asleep.

This morning I think I'm feeling the lack of constant pain relief. I've got a lot of pain in my chest, but maybe it's just gas. I hope I'll feel better once I take a shower and walk around a bit more, but writing in this blog (even if nobody's reading!) is just so... soothing.

Alright, gotta get moving and making broth for my soups. I'll post some pictures later.

Surreal

It's a bit surreal... I don't really feel like I've been "banded" yet... I just feel bloated and sore :( Hopefully this will change tomorrow once I've taken out the pain pump and can eat food with more substance. *crossing my fingers*

So far, so good

Well, I was worried that I'd be starving having just water and broth to eat yesterday and today, but I think it really must just be a mental thing [why so many say they're starving]. Whenever I think I should be hungry, I just drink a half a cup of broth and I'm good :) Tomorrow I get to start mushy food, so I'm going to make some yummy soups. I'm trying to avoid mashed potatoes, even though they're my fav.

I wonder what pureed tacos taste like? Just might have to give that a whirl too...
Saturday, October 30, 2010

Officially Banded

Well, folks, it's done. I'm officially banded, a bandster, whatever you want to call it :) I was tempted to stay at the hospital overnight, but I chose to make the trip back to Daegu. Unfortunately, every time I tried to get up to start getting dressed, the nurses injected me with something else that ended up making me nauseous and I would have to lie down for another hour. I eventually was able to leave the clinic around 5:30pm and we were home by 9pm.

When I got home I immediately took 2 Gas-X (luckily I brought them from the US) because the pains in my shoulder and chest were NOT fun. I also heated up some vegetable broth and added some leeks for flavor and had about 1/2 cup of that. I took a pain pill and got in bed around 10:15. Of course, then I realized I couldn't actually sleep flat on my back, so M brought in a blanket to help elevate my pillows. It was much easier to sleep after that.

My experience at Yedain (여다인) Clinic was really great. When I got to the clinic at 8:45am, they took me to my room (very homey with 2 beds, pink quilts, flowers, yadda yadda) where I was able to change into my pajamas for the day (also pink). Then they took me to the operating room where I laid down on the table and Dr. Kwon took my hand, said "We're starting anesthesia," and I was out. Next thing I remember is waking up to see M next to me. People kept talking to me, but I don't really remember anything. I know I felt very uncomfortable and it was difficult to breathe deep breaths, so this one machine kept beeping because my oxygen saturation or whatever was low.

When I was more alert they took me to my room again and I went to sleep. I slept a lot. As it turns out, Dr. Kwon wasn't able to stay at the clinic all day, so he called one of his former patients (she had problems with the band and had to have it removed, but she's getting rebanded again soon) who speaks great English and she came to act as my translator with the nurses. While the nurses speak a little English, I think it was easier to have someone who could really translate what we were trying to say. She also translated the post-op instruction paper for me.

M was able to hang out with me in the room; since there weren't any other surgical patients that day, he got to nap and lounge around in the other bed. They also ordered in lunch and dinner for him.

I was worried they wouldn't give me any pain medicine, as I've heard stories about this, but as soon as I mentioned having pain after the surgery, someone came and put something in my IV that made me feel all warm and fuzzy all over :) They also sent me home with lots of pain pills, as well a little pain medicine pump called an Accufuser. It's attached to me through a little needle and constantly delivers pain medicine. The medicine is inside a little balloon, and as it gets used up the balloon shrinks. When it's all the way down I just take out the needle.

I also have a compression band that I wear around my midsection. It's to help keep the port from flipping during healing. It's crazy uncomfortable though, especially with this gas pain. I'm also hella constipated. I ate Outback the night before surgery and I'm a bit worried that my body hasn't gotten rid of all that waste yet. Oh well. They said I'd be this was for a few days, so I'm not really worried.

All in all, I think it went well. I don't feel great, but I'm not totally miserable either. If I think about it, I'll try to take some photos later of me and my Accufuser :)
Thursday, October 28, 2010

Countdown to a new me!

Hm, by this time tomorrow, I will have started the journey to change my life. We're taking the 6:08am KTX (high-speed train) to Seoul to be at the surgeon's clinic by 8:45am. My surgery is at 9am. I'm totally excited but not sure if I really have everything I need. I've got broth in the freezer (need to take that out) and I'll buy some veggies to spruce it up a bit. I need protein! Sometimes it's so hard living here.

I have a terrible cold now, but the doctor said as long as I don't have a fever or severe sore throat, I'll be okay for surgery. Now I'm just worried about the pain of coughing after surgery though. I read that I should hug a pillow when I cough and that should help to ease the pain.

Ahhh! I can't believe this is really happening! I need to take some "before" photos before I forget.

Gotta go take a shower and go to Costco and see what I can buy.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010

All you can eat tacos, my ass.

So I've got a surgery date--October 30th. I'm a bit nervous, as I don't have to see a nutritionist or have a prolonged liquid diet or anything like that. I keep wanted to clean out my cabinets, but then I remember that there's not really anything I CAN'T eat (once I'm able to eat solid food again). While Dr. Kwon doesn't require protein shakes, I think I'm going drink one every day anyway, because from what I've been reading it seems like they really help with the weight loss. 

I really wish my mom was alive now. She always had such an interest in whatever I did; I know it annoyed me sometimes, but I really did appreciate it alot of times. Now though, I feel like no one is really that interested. I sent my dad a huge long email telling him all about the surgery and everything the doctor said, with a little blurb at the end about something unrelated. When he responded, he only mentioned the unrelated bit--not one word about the whole rest of the email. 

Tonight I went out with my husband and some friends to all-you-can-eat taco night. Well, the restaurant's tacos aren't what you would expect. There's one tortilla on a plate, cut into four triangles, with a little pile of meat, cheese, and lettuce on each one. So really, each plate is just ONE taco. A little disappointed, but it was still good nonetheless. I was a bit sad when I thought about not being able to indulge in all-you-can-eat taco night again, but it's worth it. The tacos really weren't even that great. I make better ones at home.

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Am I really ready for this?

Well, my consult was scheduled for October 14th, but the doctor's nurse called me and said they had to cancel. It was rescheduled for November 2nd. It's okay though, I wasn't too worried about it. Then she called a couple of days later and apparently the surgeon just QUIT the clinic and he was opening a new clinic but wouldn't be able to take any new patients until the beginning of December. WHAT??!?!?

That's when I said ENOUGH. I found another doctor in Seoul (thanks to lapbandtalk.com), sent him an email on a Saturday and he responded on Sunday saying to come in on October 23rd. Hallelujah! I really feel good about this one; I don't think he's as popular, so I think it will be much easier to go on Saturdays--rather than getting up at the asscrack of dawn to go during the week.

I'm so ready for this. I never wanted WLS, but everything just came to a head I guess. We really wanted to have a baby this year, but after about 9 months of trying with no success I went to the doctor and learned I had PCOS. The doctor wouldn't even think about giving me Clomid or anything until I lost 5kg. Not a lot, but at the rate I seem to lose weight, it would have taken 6 months. Desperate times call for desperate measures, and I didn't want to be unhealthy anymore. I want to have a healthy pregnancy and a long, healthy life. Having a BMI of 40.2 just doesn't cut it.

The more realize that this is actually going to happen, the more nervous I feel. What if I can't do it? What if I fail?
 

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