Friday, August 3, 2012

Updates, Updates and More Updates (One Week Post Surgery)





I apologize for no written posts in the past week, but I have been in the inner depths of hell (slight exaggeration). To say my pain on days 2 and 3 was excruciating would be an understatement. It was so bad! Not only did my incisions hurt, I had really bad gas pains in my chest and back. The nausea I experienced was also really bad and I was petrified of throwing up because I didn't want to make my stomach hurt any further. Luckily I was able to use relaxational breathing to stop myself from being sick to my stomach. Here are some updates from my week:


Pain
Like I said above, my pain has been really really bad. I thought that day one would be the worst of it, and I would be lying if I said I wasn't feeling a little smug day one thinking "if this is the worst of it, I am flying high!".  Trust me, it wasn't the worst of it. I have had several kinds of pain (listed below): 


1) Incision pain: I had five different incisions during surgery (all on my stomach) including one large incision and four small incisions. For some reason, these have been burning and itching like crazy, causing me to feel a slight bit nauseous every time I look down to make sure they are okay. 


2) Gas pain: To be honest, the gas pains I have experienced (mostly in my shoulder, chest and back) haven't been as bad as I thought they would be. They are uncomfortable, making my chest feel a lot of pressure, but with a little gas-x and a hiccup like burp (apparently people with the lap band need to re-learn how to burp...what?!), they are easily made better. 


3) Muscular pain: This has definitely been the worst kind of pain. While I know that the doctors didn't cut any of my stomach muscles, it certainly feels that way. On days 2 and 3, I was unable to lift myself up from a lying to seating position because I didn't have any strength in my stomach muscles. This caused a lot of screaming, crying, moaning, etc. 


4) Fibromyalgia pain: Unfortunately this surgery has caused my fibromyalgia to flare up. My back has been extremely painful, and unlike the other pain that can be somewhat helped with heavy pain medication (I have been trying not to take much, however), the fibro pain is constant and doesn't go away. 


Eating
The first week consisted of full fluids, which to be honest is just fine with me. I haven't been very hungry, and have actually experienced a fair bit of nausea every time I have something to eat. My favourites during this week have been cranberry juice, popsicles, unsweeted passion tea over ice,  and Yop (a yogurt drink). Today, I move onto to the pureed (or mushy) phase which includes things like apple sauce, scrambled eggs, low fat pudding, yogurt and cottage cheese. I am really excited to be able to eat some 'real food' again, but am also really nervous to see how these foods will go down (and if they will stay down). 


Weight
I am happy to say that as of yesterday I am down 14lbs (since the start of my pre-op diet). The weight seems to be melting off at the moment,  until yesterday (when I somehow gained 3lbs). My mom thinks I should stop weighing myself daily, so I am going to try and start weighing myself on a weekly basis, so I am not upset by any random gaining. 


Hospital Visit
Unfortunately on Wednesday, I had a bit of a scare. My sister and I were out on a quick shopping trip (my first real attempt at getting out of the house), when I started feeling like I couldn't breathe properly. My chest was extremely painful and tight, making it hard to catch my breath. We went to the emergency room, where they got me a bed right away, gave me some pain medication (morphine is my new best friend), and did some blood work and x-rays. When the doctor came back to the room to tell me I tested positive for blood clots, I was freaking out. Luckily, he gave me a shot of blood thinners (in my stomach), and ordered some tests for the next day. I am happy to say that after two different tests yesterday, there are no blood clots the doctors can physically see (I don't know if my test was a false positive or if I did have some clots and the blood thinners diluted them), and I was able to go home. 


TMI
I posted a video of my hospital experience yesterday (including a call I made to my parents when I wasn't able to breathe very well). I realize that some people think this is too personal, and question why I would post such a video on the internet. Here is my answer: From day one, I decided I would be completely open about this process. I want to share both the bad and good with my subscribers/viewers for a number of reasons: 1) I am an open book and it is easier to show what is going on with my life, than to hide it like some really big secret. 2) I know the majority of people who read this blog, aren't planning on having weight loss surgery, but for those who might be considering it, I want them to know the good, the bad and the ugly so that they can make a more informed decision. 3) When I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia, I kept everything to myself. I didn't think any of my friends would understand what was going on with me, and I didn't want to bore anyone with the details. Needless to say, I lost A LOT of friends, and became extremely unhappy. I don't want to lose friends because I am keeping every bad thing that happens to me to myself. The lap band is going to be a huge part of my life forever, and it would be weird for me to talk about everything else in my life, and not share the details of my surgery/recovery. I know not everyone will agree with my approach, but I have never forced anyone to read this blog or watch my daily videos. This is who I am, and that is not going to change


Regret
To say that I have regretted this surgery every single day would be an understatement. At this point, the pain has been so bad, I really wish I had not gone through with it. With that said, I know that will not be the case in a couple of months. Every single person I have spoken with about the surgery (or heard speak about the surgery), has said they have absolutely no regrets, despite the fact that they have had a variety of complications. 


It is my hope that week two will go a little more smoothly and I will be fancy free and flying high very soon. As always, thanks for all of your support. 


xx
Alicia



1 comment:

  1. Good on you! I feel if you want to share the experience so others can know what you're going through you should....Just read the other update and it's great to see you are feeling a little better!

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