bluberrybuddy

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Got up easily and on time this morning, and Im feeling better than I have thus far.  Had breakfast ie: two tablespoons of the most wonderfully delicious cottage cheese.  I know what your thinking cottage cheese? Wonderful?!?  But yes let me tell you it was one of the better things Ive had in awhile.  Most of the foods and drinks Ive been consuming are towards the sweet side of things.  I havent had anything savory for some time and the creamy saltiness of the cottage cheese was exactly what I wanted!  Might have the same for lunch.  It took me 20 minutes to eat it and after I was pleasantly satisfied and didnt feel the need to eat anymore.  That still blows me away!  In time I will be able to eat more but by that time Ill be excersizing more. 

I got up today and after breakfast I went to the treadmill and did a mile.  Nice easy pace to start with.  I think at this stage its important just to go the distance not to set a speed record.  Think I will go weigh in after I post this one and see what the loss Santa brought me...   362! Yess!  About to reenter the 350's.....havent seen them in a while!

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This is me the night before surgery...

I had something happen to me today that has never happened before.  Keeping the gory details to a minimum I found myself with a "blockage" and no way of relieving it. As the day wore on I hurt more and more untill I finally was able to get a ride to the drug store for some Milk of Magnesia.  I personally would like to put the inventor of that magical elixir up for a Nobel Prize.  I will have to make sure that I get some Benefiber in daily from now on.  Also great stuff you can put it in your water to ensure you get enough fiber and its tasteless .  The water will be only slightly thicker and trust me that aint no big deal.

So as I write this entry I am feeling as though I may actually live through this adjustment.  I wasnt so sure earlier today!  Just another lesson learned...

well I've lost 7 pounds since yesterday!  So I think we are officially off and running.  Getting up in the morning and weighing in is going to be like checking the Christmas tree to see if Santa has arrived yet! 

I was just sitting here looking at my pictures and hoping I get a chance to redo that picture with Tommy Chong.  Probably wont but you never know. 
Going to see how far I can walk today, still have some gas to work out.  For those of you who dont know when you undergo a laproscopic procedure like I did they pump your belly FULL of gas so they have room to work and can see what they need to see.  The majority of this gas is removed but it is impossible to get it all.  So.....you have to relieve yourself of what ever is left and this could take a while and it is painful in the meantime.  I have been told that walking is the best way to "work it out"  so that is my project for the day.

Just got back a half hour ago, first order of business was a SHOWER!!.  I feel nearly human again.  My stay in the hospital (what I can remember of it) was all in all pretty good.  I was having quite a bit of nausea but I think that was more about the dilaudid pump than anything else.  Once I got taken off of that and switched to a hydrocodone elixir  My nausea pretty much went away.

Dr Price came to see me this morning and asked if "it was as bad as I thought it would be"  I replied Its just about exactly what I thought it was going to be.  First 2 post op days were hell but when I woke up this morning I had minimal pain and nausea and felt so very much better.

Im very excited about seeing my scale start to turn in the other direction.

My lovely wife and her girlfriend brought me home and made sure I was allright then they took off to go get some of my supplies and prescriptions.  It's sooooo important to have good support at home and I have been blessed beyond that which I deserve.  Ive been with my wife for 22 years ow and she still takes my breath away!

Surgery was yesterday, still feeling like hell,  More to follow....

Well.....today is the day.  I woke up at 4:20 (no Im not kidding!) this morning after a fairly fitful sleep.  Was planning on getting up in about 10 minutes anyway.  Have to get packed.  Never was one for doing that early.  Just water from here on out.  That's ok though not really hungry at the moment for some reason.  The hospital has Wi-Fi so Im going to take my laptop and try to make some entries from my bed afterward.  You can also expect some pictures as well.  So everyone wish me luck and we will see you on the flip-flop....

I am a Paramedic by trade.  Not too long ago I was responding to a call of a diabetic emergency.  When we got there we found a patient lying on the floor barely concious and definately disoriented.  We know this person to be a diabetic and set about to fix the problem.  The patients frantic wife was standing by.

We checked the blood sugar level on this patient and found it to be 26.  Most people are comatose at this point and he was on his way to being so as well.  Had we not responded to this situation then he could've progressed to the point where he would've died.  The good news is this is an easy fix.  We checked his heart out to make sure that wasnt adding to  the problem and while my partner was doing that I started the IV and proceeded to give the patient a concentrated sugar solution which brought him back around in a matter of about a minute.

He was doing fine and his wife brought him a sandwich to sustain the boost in his blood sugar.  As I was sitting there filling out the paperwork on the call which is extensive, his wife took a look at me.  Now mind you that no "thank you" has been thrown our way for literally saving her husbands life.  Also mind you this lady is 75 years old or more.  She asked me "do you have troubles being that big?".  This is not the first time I have entertained questions like this.  I told her that yes I did but that it was all going to change soon as I was undergoing gastric bypass surgery.  Her response was "Oh thats soo terrible that you have to do that, cant you just eat less?"  I wont lie this is starting to piss me off but I maintain my composure.  I told her I have tried to do that but with limited success.  She asked me if my insurance would cover that.  I stated that our insurance did not cover that and I would be paying it out of my own pocket.  "How much?"  Twenty five thousand I replied frankly.  "Oh My!!  Well, maybe that will teach you a lesson!" then she began to laugh.

As absolutely heinous as this exchange was, I truly believe that she felt as though she was showing compassion for me.  I dont believe that malice was her intent.  But people think that they can say things like that to people like me and I will somehow glean encouragement from it.  Even though I will never understand that kind of thinking any more than they will ever understand what it is like to be us.

We finished up the call and told them to call us anytime there was a problem.  They still didnt thank us but assured us they would call us back next time.  We left and as we pulled away, within the privacy of my ambulance.....I flipped her off!  

Well!  here we are tomorrow is the big day.  After jumping through all of the hoops it is nearly upon me.  I am very excited!  Not so much for the surgery itself but for getting used to the new me and finding my way to make this tool work for me.  Im very excited about massive amounts of weight being easier to lose than it has been in the past. 

I tried my first protein "bullet" today this is one of the 45gram variety.  Peach Flavor!  It was pretty good actually!  It tasted better than the protein shakes by far, (but more on those in a minute).  I was surprised by the thickness of it.  I have less than 24 hours to my surgery so I have to be on clear liquids and that includes the protein so its slams and bullets for the next week.

I got something really cool, no pun intended, yesterday.  A Cuisinart ice cream maker.  I know what your saying "why would I buy such a contraption?".  Lemme tell ya, I take my protein shake mix (choc) I add two teaspoons of spenda and a couple drips of almond flavoring and it makes an very palatable high protein ice cream.  Anything to break up the monotany of this diet Im on.  Im looking forward to trying different flavor combinations as well.

 ok so I slipped off the wagon yesterday a little bit and ate something....not alot but it wasnt a protein shake by any means! (it was actually GOOD!)  Im not going to beat myself up about it Im simply resolving to get back on the liquid diet.(ick!!) and make the most of the last few days before surgery!  Hey if I had infallable willpower...I wouldnt be here!