Becca H.
A hundred things...
Jan 11, 2007
100 (Gay) Things About Me
1. The first woman I remember having a crush on is Jo from "The Facts of Life". I was about five when she rumbled into my life!
2. Or maybe it was Laura Ingalls.
3. Or Anne Murray.
4. I have five or six tattoos. I like them and consider them tasteful (read: they can all be covered with clothing).
5. I didn't 'get' Ani DiFranco when I first heard her; now I think she's brilliant. An acquired taste, tho.
6. I moved 23 times before I turned 13, and many times since.
7. I prefer sterling silver over gold.
8. I drive a white Ford Ranger.
9. My tongue, eyebrow, and ears are all pierced.
10. But I do not look like a circus freak.
11. My apologies to those working for the circus- no harm intended.
12. I like to laugh and to make people laugh.
13. I like writing.
14. I had lap-band surgery on 12-12-06.
15. I want a Bernese Mountain Dog.
16. I am a terrible speller.
17. I LOVE CAMPING.
18. I love to travel.
19. I worry way too much.
20. I am a very black/white thinker.
21. I need to work on that.
22. I got a kayak for my one year wedding anniversary.
23. Sometimes I stumble over the words "wife" and "partner" when I describe Amy to other people. I need and want to get over that.
24. I desperatly miss living in Grand Rapids.
25. I have been to Hawaii.
26. I was on tour with a choir while I was there.
27. I used to sing with the Grand Rapids Women's Chorus. www.grwc.org
28. I have a gay cousing living in Colorado.
29. I can still recite the long list of adverbs I learned in elementary school (has, have, had, is, was, were, am, can, will, do, did, does, may, might, must, should, shall, would, could, are, ought, be, being, been).
30. I can also still remember the lotto numbers my parents played each week when I was a kid (1-9-11-27-31-39).
31. To a large degree, I have a photographic memory. It helps me when I memorize music I'm learning.
32. I'm sort of an only child.
33. My dad was in Viet Nam.
34. My major is professional and technical writing, and my minor is biology.
35. I feel like I'm never gonna graduate.
I should be done in December 2007.
36. I got kicked out of my first college when they found out I'm a dyke.
37. I prefer the term dyke when describing myself.
38. I brought one cat into this household. His name is Mayhem and at one time he weighed 19 lbs.
39. I check Rosie ODonnell's website every day.
40. One of my tattoos is scenes from "The Missing Piece Meets the Big O".
41. I am a very, very good judge of character.
42. I want my next vehicle to be a Toyota Tacoma.
43. Or a Nissan Murano. I could probably haul kids around more easily in the Nissan.
44. Today for breakfast I had a chef salad. I made it with my own two hands.
45. I miss my friends in GR.
46. I work at a hospital, but I'm not a doctor. I just play one on t.v.
47. I have pretty good gaydar.
48. I want to play guitar better.
49. I enjoy bluegrass music.
50. I like David Letterman and Craig Ferguson. Not so much Jay Leno and definately not Conan.
51. I work midnights and afternoons. It's kind of hard on my body sometimes.
52. I found out that my bike has some messed up spokes yesterday. That makes me very unhappy.
53. Amy is the love of my life.
54. I need a massage because my shoulder has been hurting for over a week.
55. I am wearing a blue polo shirt.
56. The shorter my hair is, the better I like it.
57. I can be kind of feminine, but I don't like to let people know it.
58. I have big plans for Spring Break!
59. A stitch worked it's way out of one of my incisions last night.
60. I like Melissa Ferrick.
61. The Indigo Girls are probably my favorite band.
62. I've seen the Rolling Stones in concert from the 6th row.
63. I could eat tomatos at every single meal.
64. And for snacks between meals. But wait! I don't snack anymore.
65. My aunt used to be a foster parent.
66. I miss my Aunt Viola and Uncle Doug, both of whom have passed away.
67. My first vehicle was a Geo Metro. It was blue.
68. Jody Graves is a personal hero of mine.
69. I hope to adopt a child some day.
70. I hope to give birth some day.
71. I want to visit Ireland, Australia, and the Grand Canyon. Lots of other places, too.
72. I have a camoflague skirt and I like the way I feel when I've got it on.
73. My friends lovingly harrass me when I wear it.
74. My mom and I work at the same place.
75. I have a gap between my front teeth.
76. I chew my nails.
77. My legs are hairy right now.
78. I've lost 31 lbs. since the beginning of December.
79. I worry about my half-sister Shotsie.
80. My aunt Edna is very important to me.
81. I hate George Bush.
82. I have a history of liking older women.
83. I wish I wasn't afraid of riding motorcycles.
84. I wish riding motorcycles were safer.
85. I have a lot of errands to run today. They all involve giving other people my money.
86. I get my first fill on Jan. 25th.
87. I'm craving chocolate and pop.
88. I'm throwing a SUper Bowl party.
89. I've never been healthier in my life than I am now.
90. I would like to teach piano again someday.
91. My refrigerator is covered in magnets, photos, and sundry other things.
92. I don't like clutter, but I do kind of like it on the fridge.
93. There's magnetic poetry on my fridge, too.
94. I have written many comments about my fridge.
95. I am becoming a good cook.
96. I want to learn to grill.
97. I want to be able to consistantly make a good campfire.
98. I believe in ghosts.
99. I want to go see the Detroit Red Wings.
100. I hope Hillary wins in 2008.
1. The first woman I remember having a crush on is Jo from "The Facts of Life". I was about five when she rumbled into my life!
2. Or maybe it was Laura Ingalls.
3. Or Anne Murray.
4. I have five or six tattoos. I like them and consider them tasteful (read: they can all be covered with clothing).
5. I didn't 'get' Ani DiFranco when I first heard her; now I think she's brilliant. An acquired taste, tho.
6. I moved 23 times before I turned 13, and many times since.
7. I prefer sterling silver over gold.
8. I drive a white Ford Ranger.
9. My tongue, eyebrow, and ears are all pierced.
10. But I do not look like a circus freak.
11. My apologies to those working for the circus- no harm intended.
12. I like to laugh and to make people laugh.
13. I like writing.
14. I had lap-band surgery on 12-12-06.
15. I want a Bernese Mountain Dog.
16. I am a terrible speller.
17. I LOVE CAMPING.
18. I love to travel.
19. I worry way too much.
20. I am a very black/white thinker.
21. I need to work on that.
22. I got a kayak for my one year wedding anniversary.
23. Sometimes I stumble over the words "wife" and "partner" when I describe Amy to other people. I need and want to get over that.
24. I desperatly miss living in Grand Rapids.
25. I have been to Hawaii.
26. I was on tour with a choir while I was there.
27. I used to sing with the Grand Rapids Women's Chorus. www.grwc.org
28. I have a gay cousing living in Colorado.
29. I can still recite the long list of adverbs I learned in elementary school (has, have, had, is, was, were, am, can, will, do, did, does, may, might, must, should, shall, would, could, are, ought, be, being, been).
30. I can also still remember the lotto numbers my parents played each week when I was a kid (1-9-11-27-31-39).
31. To a large degree, I have a photographic memory. It helps me when I memorize music I'm learning.
32. I'm sort of an only child.
33. My dad was in Viet Nam.
34. My major is professional and technical writing, and my minor is biology.
35. I feel like I'm never gonna graduate.
I should be done in December 2007.
36. I got kicked out of my first college when they found out I'm a dyke.
37. I prefer the term dyke when describing myself.
38. I brought one cat into this household. His name is Mayhem and at one time he weighed 19 lbs.
39. I check Rosie ODonnell's website every day.
40. One of my tattoos is scenes from "The Missing Piece Meets the Big O".
41. I am a very, very good judge of character.
42. I want my next vehicle to be a Toyota Tacoma.
43. Or a Nissan Murano. I could probably haul kids around more easily in the Nissan.
44. Today for breakfast I had a chef salad. I made it with my own two hands.
45. I miss my friends in GR.
46. I work at a hospital, but I'm not a doctor. I just play one on t.v.
47. I have pretty good gaydar.
48. I want to play guitar better.
49. I enjoy bluegrass music.
50. I like David Letterman and Craig Ferguson. Not so much Jay Leno and definately not Conan.
51. I work midnights and afternoons. It's kind of hard on my body sometimes.
52. I found out that my bike has some messed up spokes yesterday. That makes me very unhappy.
53. Amy is the love of my life.
54. I need a massage because my shoulder has been hurting for over a week.
55. I am wearing a blue polo shirt.
56. The shorter my hair is, the better I like it.
57. I can be kind of feminine, but I don't like to let people know it.
58. I have big plans for Spring Break!
59. A stitch worked it's way out of one of my incisions last night.
60. I like Melissa Ferrick.
61. The Indigo Girls are probably my favorite band.
62. I've seen the Rolling Stones in concert from the 6th row.
63. I could eat tomatos at every single meal.
64. And for snacks between meals. But wait! I don't snack anymore.
65. My aunt used to be a foster parent.
66. I miss my Aunt Viola and Uncle Doug, both of whom have passed away.
67. My first vehicle was a Geo Metro. It was blue.
68. Jody Graves is a personal hero of mine.
69. I hope to adopt a child some day.
70. I hope to give birth some day.
71. I want to visit Ireland, Australia, and the Grand Canyon. Lots of other places, too.
72. I have a camoflague skirt and I like the way I feel when I've got it on.
73. My friends lovingly harrass me when I wear it.
74. My mom and I work at the same place.
75. I have a gap between my front teeth.
76. I chew my nails.
77. My legs are hairy right now.
78. I've lost 31 lbs. since the beginning of December.
79. I worry about my half-sister Shotsie.
80. My aunt Edna is very important to me.
81. I hate George Bush.
82. I have a history of liking older women.
83. I wish I wasn't afraid of riding motorcycles.
84. I wish riding motorcycles were safer.
85. I have a lot of errands to run today. They all involve giving other people my money.
86. I get my first fill on Jan. 25th.
87. I'm craving chocolate and pop.
88. I'm throwing a SUper Bowl party.
89. I've never been healthier in my life than I am now.
90. I would like to teach piano again someday.
91. My refrigerator is covered in magnets, photos, and sundry other things.
92. I don't like clutter, but I do kind of like it on the fridge.
93. There's magnetic poetry on my fridge, too.
94. I have written many comments about my fridge.
95. I am becoming a good cook.
96. I want to learn to grill.
97. I want to be able to consistantly make a good campfire.
98. I believe in ghosts.
99. I want to go see the Detroit Red Wings.
100. I hope Hillary wins in 2008.
Three More Pounds
Jan 09, 2007
I lost three more pounds! Hooray! I go for my first fill on Jan. 25th., and I'm a little nervous about that but I guess that's normal. Anyway, three more pounds is gone and one of my old pairs of jeans is fitting looser!
I almost forgot...
Jan 05, 2007
I almost forgot to tell you... I worked out on our eliptical today! We got it on New Year's Day and today I did my first workout on it! I only did it for ten minutes, but it's a start and I was able to do that for the whole time without stopping. :)
Munchies
Jan 05, 2007
I have the munchies. I miss snacking.
I've been craving Reeses pb mini cups like a mutha'! I haven't given in and I'm proud of myself. I've also been craving salty-crunchy stuff, too, like Chex mix and pretzels. I have noticed that my cravings are much, much stronger when I'm bored. But I admit, drinking water does help during those times. Often I just need something to do with my mouth. But that craving for Reeses mini's... man, I can't shake it.
So, tonight I noticed some swelling at the end of my port incision. The swelling was along about the last 1/8 inch of the incision, and I squeezed on it a little and this gross puss came out. Naturally, it was at like, 5:15pm, just after the doctor's office had closed, so I had to get ahold of the oncall doc. I don't remember her name, but the on-call got right back with me and she said that most likely it's the tied off end of a stitch working it's way outta me. She said that the stitches disolve, but sometimes when they're tied, like they are on the end, that our bodies "don't like that" and push those ends out. She said that in the next 24 hours I could expect to see a little piece of thread come out of my incision! Freaky! Anyway, I'm just glad it's no big deal, since it's the spot where my port's at. Don't want THAT getting infected, especially this close to a fill.
My wife is having a hard time lately because she feels like her body is falling apart. She found out she has a severe herniation of her #5 disc and that some of the ones above it are degenerating. Also, she found out she has a hilateal (sp) hernia, which the doc says he can fix during her lap band. The biggest thing for her, I think, is that she's realizing that the carefree days of high school when she felt invincible are behind her. I know it's hard for her to come to this realization because those were the best days of her life. But I hope that someday she can look back and see these days as some of the best of her life. It's hard letting go of youth, or maybe more accurately, owning up to our transgressions and the toll they've taken on our physical and emotional selves. I love her and I wish there was something I could do to ease this transition for her, but she doesn't like to talk so much when she's hurting and can't see any solution. She just tries to push things out of her mind and get on with life. We are definately wired differently. Which is what makes us so strong, ya know?
I've been craving Reeses pb mini cups like a mutha'! I haven't given in and I'm proud of myself. I've also been craving salty-crunchy stuff, too, like Chex mix and pretzels. I have noticed that my cravings are much, much stronger when I'm bored. But I admit, drinking water does help during those times. Often I just need something to do with my mouth. But that craving for Reeses mini's... man, I can't shake it.
So, tonight I noticed some swelling at the end of my port incision. The swelling was along about the last 1/8 inch of the incision, and I squeezed on it a little and this gross puss came out. Naturally, it was at like, 5:15pm, just after the doctor's office had closed, so I had to get ahold of the oncall doc. I don't remember her name, but the on-call got right back with me and she said that most likely it's the tied off end of a stitch working it's way outta me. She said that the stitches disolve, but sometimes when they're tied, like they are on the end, that our bodies "don't like that" and push those ends out. She said that in the next 24 hours I could expect to see a little piece of thread come out of my incision! Freaky! Anyway, I'm just glad it's no big deal, since it's the spot where my port's at. Don't want THAT getting infected, especially this close to a fill.
My wife is having a hard time lately because she feels like her body is falling apart. She found out she has a severe herniation of her #5 disc and that some of the ones above it are degenerating. Also, she found out she has a hilateal (sp) hernia, which the doc says he can fix during her lap band. The biggest thing for her, I think, is that she's realizing that the carefree days of high school when she felt invincible are behind her. I know it's hard for her to come to this realization because those were the best days of her life. But I hope that someday she can look back and see these days as some of the best of her life. It's hard letting go of youth, or maybe more accurately, owning up to our transgressions and the toll they've taken on our physical and emotional selves. I love her and I wish there was something I could do to ease this transition for her, but she doesn't like to talk so much when she's hurting and can't see any solution. She just tries to push things out of her mind and get on with life. We are definately wired differently. Which is what makes us so strong, ya know?
New Year's Day
Jan 01, 2007
We spent last night over at Becky and Von's house. It was a quite party, but it was fun. I played about five games of euchure and Amy played foosball. They all opened gifts and bought some for us, which we weren't expecting and didn't know about, so we hadn't brought anything for anyone. We felt like big jerks! We'll know for next year, anyway. Still, it was really nice of them. We left their place at about 3am and got home safely.
I'm down to 275 lbs, at least by our scales at home! I'm way excited about that! That means 28 lbs lost so far! I am a little disappointed in myself because I have advanced the post-surgery diet a little faster than my surgeon recommends. I feel like it's hard to know what to eat in each of these stages, though, and I don't feel like the stages make sense. For instance, I can have toast now, but not crackers. Things like that make it confusing and hard for me to do this "right". I wish I had done this a little better from the beginning, but I guess I'm only human and I can only do my best.
I'm down to 275 lbs, at least by our scales at home! I'm way excited about that! That means 28 lbs lost so far! I am a little disappointed in myself because I have advanced the post-surgery diet a little faster than my surgeon recommends. I feel like it's hard to know what to eat in each of these stages, though, and I don't feel like the stages make sense. For instance, I can have toast now, but not crackers. Things like that make it confusing and hard for me to do this "right". I wish I had done this a little better from the beginning, but I guess I'm only human and I can only do my best.
Hi Ken!
Dec 28, 2006
I've been hungry a lot lately. I'm only eating a little bit at my meals, and trying not to snack, but I find I'm getting hungry about every three hours. I push it to four hours before I eat, but by then I'm really starving. Amy thinks I need to eat more during my meals, but I'm afraid of missing my "full signal" or stretching out my stoma. I'm going to try to make some adjustments today, see if I can get a little better nourishment and not be hungry quite so often. Right now a meal consists of about 3/4 cup of scrambled eggs with a piece of cheese melted on it and maybe one or two tablespoons of cottage cheese. And I feel satisfied with that kind of meal, but I just get hungry quickly (like three hours later). Today I'm supposed to start being able to eat things like toast and crackers, and I'm going to search the OH boards to see what other meals ideas work for stage five.
I've noticed that since I"ve lost some weight, I'm sleeping LOTS better! What a welcome side effect!
So, I'm starting to freak out a little bit over what I'm going to look like when I've lost all my weight. My skin is starting to get really loose all over my body, and I'm so afraid it's not going to snap back into shape. I mean, so far it's not! My boobs we like, really firm before and now they're all jiggly and I have like, old lady skin on them! WTF!! I am really afraid of getting plastic surgery... it's so barbaric!!! I was watching an operation on ORLive, and it's just scary to me. Plus, it's like, they're cutting away your BODY... your body... your person. It freaks me out. Amy's says I don't need to get it... that she loves me and thinks I'm beautiful and will always think that no matter what... and I believe her... but I want to be HOT. The plastic surgery thing, though, just freaks me out. I am going to research alternatives to going under the knife and see what I can find.
Something that's surprised me about this whole surgery/diet/lifestyle change is how tiresome it gets trying to figure out things you can eat while you're healing. Maybe it's just me, but I get anxious and aggrevated trying to do the right thing... My stress level has been kind of high lately. I haven't been taking my meds, which I know is a big deal and I know that I need to be. I just hate taking them, and even more so now that I've been banded! It's weird, and I don't get it, but now I dread taking them more than I ever did before. I've been paying for being off them, though, so last night I started back up on half-doses and I'm going to get myself back on track. I got really sick from taking them, though. My stomach was upset all night and a couple times I was really worried I was going to throw up. I need to pull up my ever-loosening granny panties and just take the sonsabitches.
Well, I guess that's it for now. This is a long post. Time to go find some lunch.
I've noticed that since I"ve lost some weight, I'm sleeping LOTS better! What a welcome side effect!
So, I'm starting to freak out a little bit over what I'm going to look like when I've lost all my weight. My skin is starting to get really loose all over my body, and I'm so afraid it's not going to snap back into shape. I mean, so far it's not! My boobs we like, really firm before and now they're all jiggly and I have like, old lady skin on them! WTF!! I am really afraid of getting plastic surgery... it's so barbaric!!! I was watching an operation on ORLive, and it's just scary to me. Plus, it's like, they're cutting away your BODY... your body... your person. It freaks me out. Amy's says I don't need to get it... that she loves me and thinks I'm beautiful and will always think that no matter what... and I believe her... but I want to be HOT. The plastic surgery thing, though, just freaks me out. I am going to research alternatives to going under the knife and see what I can find.
Something that's surprised me about this whole surgery/diet/lifestyle change is how tiresome it gets trying to figure out things you can eat while you're healing. Maybe it's just me, but I get anxious and aggrevated trying to do the right thing... My stress level has been kind of high lately. I haven't been taking my meds, which I know is a big deal and I know that I need to be. I just hate taking them, and even more so now that I've been banded! It's weird, and I don't get it, but now I dread taking them more than I ever did before. I've been paying for being off them, though, so last night I started back up on half-doses and I'm going to get myself back on track. I got really sick from taking them, though. My stomach was upset all night and a couple times I was really worried I was going to throw up. I need to pull up my ever-loosening granny panties and just take the sonsabitches.
Well, I guess that's it for now. This is a long post. Time to go find some lunch.
Attitude Adjustment
Dec 22, 2006
Hi All...
So, I've had a bit of a change of heart about what I'm eating now. I thought I was gonna eat whatever I deemed "soft enough, damnit!" But after a long, hard look at things, I decided I better be running everything through the blender, or not eating it in the first place. So, I'm back to eating cream soups, and like, pureed clam chowder or chili or stuff like that. The only "bad" things I've been eating are cottage cheese and the one day I had two scrambled eggs, but I'm gonna do this right and wait till the official end of this stage (stage 4) before I try that stuff again. It's not that I had any problems with those foods, I just really want to make sure everything heals properly so I minimize my chance for problems in the future.
The steri-strips are just about all off, and I gotta say, the incisions are healing up great. I'm gonna have very minimal scaring, if any. I noticed that today my port site hurts much less than it has so far. Mostly, I didn't even notice it today. One of the things I've had the most difficult time adjusting to is the drinking restriction. Not being able to drink with a meal and for an hour after has been tough. Hopefully I will get used to this and it will get easier, but right now I'm pretty much timing my last bite till I can take my first swig of water.
So, the good news is that this time next week, I'll have moved on to stage five, which includes things like eggs, cottage cheese, toast, white meat like turkey and chicken (if it's pureed, which grosses me out, so I probably won't have any, but still.... ). It will be really nice to have a slice of bread and an egg for breakfast. **I just had an idea. I could puree some chicken and mashed potatoes together, then I'd get protein in, plus I'd get the taste of chicken, and it would be mostly like eating just mashed potatoes, not disgusting pureed chicken. Back to your regularly scheduled program** By the time I have Christmas at my mom's house, I should be on regular food!! That's so cool! I'll be able to have noodles if she makes them! (hint, hint!)
So, I've had a bit of a change of heart about what I'm eating now. I thought I was gonna eat whatever I deemed "soft enough, damnit!" But after a long, hard look at things, I decided I better be running everything through the blender, or not eating it in the first place. So, I'm back to eating cream soups, and like, pureed clam chowder or chili or stuff like that. The only "bad" things I've been eating are cottage cheese and the one day I had two scrambled eggs, but I'm gonna do this right and wait till the official end of this stage (stage 4) before I try that stuff again. It's not that I had any problems with those foods, I just really want to make sure everything heals properly so I minimize my chance for problems in the future.
The steri-strips are just about all off, and I gotta say, the incisions are healing up great. I'm gonna have very minimal scaring, if any. I noticed that today my port site hurts much less than it has so far. Mostly, I didn't even notice it today. One of the things I've had the most difficult time adjusting to is the drinking restriction. Not being able to drink with a meal and for an hour after has been tough. Hopefully I will get used to this and it will get easier, but right now I'm pretty much timing my last bite till I can take my first swig of water.
So, the good news is that this time next week, I'll have moved on to stage five, which includes things like eggs, cottage cheese, toast, white meat like turkey and chicken (if it's pureed, which grosses me out, so I probably won't have any, but still.... ). It will be really nice to have a slice of bread and an egg for breakfast. **I just had an idea. I could puree some chicken and mashed potatoes together, then I'd get protein in, plus I'd get the taste of chicken, and it would be mostly like eating just mashed potatoes, not disgusting pureed chicken. Back to your regularly scheduled program** By the time I have Christmas at my mom's house, I should be on regular food!! That's so cool! I'll be able to have noodles if she makes them! (hint, hint!)
Bring on the Mushy Food!!!
Dec 20, 2006
This morning I had my surgical follow-up appt. with Dr. Cudjoe. I climbed up on the scale, and I'm down to 280 lbs... for a grand total of 23 lbs lost!!!! I am so excited!!! I am starting to feel and see the difference in my body... my "basket" is starting to like, break up, and the skin on my abdomen and other areas is starting to loosen up. Amy says that one of the rolls on my belly is disappearing! Sweet!
So, since I had my post-op check up, today I can begin eating mushy foods! Let me tell ya, after eight days of an nearly all liquid diet, some cottage cheese and scrambled eggs might just as well have been a juicy steak! The part of the diet I'm in now is stage 4, or what a lot of people refer to as "mushies". It's SUPPOSED to be pureed stuff only, but the way I'm going to go about it is this: if a baby with no teeth could eat it, it's probably safe for me. I am going to avoid meats unless maybe it's finely ground up tuna fish, I'm not going to eat veggies unless they're cooked enough to completely mash them and they don't have pods, stringers, hulls, etc. I'm not going to try any bread yet. Also, no pasta yet.
My first fill is scheduled for late in January. The girls in the office say it's a piece of cake. I hope so. They say I don't need a driver or anything, I just go in, they numb the spot, inject me, and I'm done. I gotta make sure to get to Pietro's before my first fill!
Hmm... what else. Steri-strips are beginning to come off. So far, the incisions look good. Dr. Cudjoe didn't have much to say about them today. OH!!! Last night I tried laying on my belly for the first time (because I was super bloated and I needed Amy to pat my back to get the gas moving... yes, just like a lil' baby... ) and anyway, I CAN FEEL MY PORT UNDER MY SKIN!!! I'm sure it's just because I still have some swelling there, but it's kinda creepy all the same!!!
I really can't believe how far I've come. It's been a couple years since I weighed 280 lbs. I'm proud of myself for sticking the liquid diet out, but I never could have done this if Amy hadn't pushed me and been, once again, my ROCK.
So, since I had my post-op check up, today I can begin eating mushy foods! Let me tell ya, after eight days of an nearly all liquid diet, some cottage cheese and scrambled eggs might just as well have been a juicy steak! The part of the diet I'm in now is stage 4, or what a lot of people refer to as "mushies". It's SUPPOSED to be pureed stuff only, but the way I'm going to go about it is this: if a baby with no teeth could eat it, it's probably safe for me. I am going to avoid meats unless maybe it's finely ground up tuna fish, I'm not going to eat veggies unless they're cooked enough to completely mash them and they don't have pods, stringers, hulls, etc. I'm not going to try any bread yet. Also, no pasta yet.
My first fill is scheduled for late in January. The girls in the office say it's a piece of cake. I hope so. They say I don't need a driver or anything, I just go in, they numb the spot, inject me, and I'm done. I gotta make sure to get to Pietro's before my first fill!
Hmm... what else. Steri-strips are beginning to come off. So far, the incisions look good. Dr. Cudjoe didn't have much to say about them today. OH!!! Last night I tried laying on my belly for the first time (because I was super bloated and I needed Amy to pat my back to get the gas moving... yes, just like a lil' baby... ) and anyway, I CAN FEEL MY PORT UNDER MY SKIN!!! I'm sure it's just because I still have some swelling there, but it's kinda creepy all the same!!!
I really can't believe how far I've come. It's been a couple years since I weighed 280 lbs. I'm proud of myself for sticking the liquid diet out, but I never could have done this if Amy hadn't pushed me and been, once again, my ROCK.
Update
Dec 17, 2006
So, this is day six after surgery. The hunger's really been getting to me. Yesterday, I allowed myself to have some low-fat cottage cheese. I have not been drinking the protien shakes like I am supposed to. In fact, I haven't been drinking as much as I'm supposed to in general. The reason why is because my stomach has felt really uncomfortable up until now. I mean, my stomach itself is swollen from surgery. Then, my abdomen is filled up with gas. Even with GasX, I'm not passing it as much or as well as I think I should be. So, when I was drinking and having the protien shakes, my stomach just felt very "sloshy" and all that more uncomfortable... you know how it is when you drink a whole bunch of water or tea or something... you get a gut ache... well, that's how it felt to take in too much in the way of fluids. For some reason, my stomach has started feeling better. I think the swelling has gone down in my stomach, and my abdomen isn't nearly as bloated as it was. I've been drinking a lot yesterday and today, lots of water. Some people don't really agree with my decision to eat the cottage cheese, and today I also had some very mashed up refried beans and guacamole. I don't want to feel guilty for eating. I think feeling guilty about eating those things has the potential to be more harmful than actually eating them. Anyway, I ate a few very mushy items in very, very small amounts (I had 3 servings of cottage cheese over two days and each of those servings was 2-3 teaspoons in size, and I didn't even finish them) and the guac and beans combined today was MAYBE two teaspoons. I guess I need to listen to my body as well as my surgeon. Besides, people were telling me I seemed to be doing better, like that I had more energy and better color and was less "puffy" looking.
Today I was feeling down for just a second thinking that I can't eat the way I used to. Like, it's not an option any more. I can't just set down and eat a big plate of nachos or a Whopper or whatever. I'm not sure why that feels like a loss, but in some ways, it does. It's so weird. I AM A WEIRDO!!! lol Maybe once I get a chance to eat regular food again, I won't be so obsessed about not being able to eat like I used to. Oh... and speaking about being obsessed... I've been dreaming about food, food, food for the past three nights or so!!! What a pain!
Today I was feeling down for just a second thinking that I can't eat the way I used to. Like, it's not an option any more. I can't just set down and eat a big plate of nachos or a Whopper or whatever. I'm not sure why that feels like a loss, but in some ways, it does. It's so weird. I AM A WEIRDO!!! lol Maybe once I get a chance to eat regular food again, I won't be so obsessed about not being able to eat like I used to. Oh... and speaking about being obsessed... I've been dreaming about food, food, food for the past three nights or so!!! What a pain!
Home Again
Dec 13, 2006
Well, I'm home. Surgery's over and I'm back here resting, sipping chicken broth and doing my breathing exercises. The staff at the hospital was excellent... can't say enough good things about them. The only unpleasant thing that happened the whole time I was there was right at the beginning when it took them four, count 'em FOUR, tries to get an I.V. in. I will admit that that sucked big time. Otherwise, though, everything was great.
So, about the pain factor. The pain is a lot different than I expected it to be. I don't hurt internally, like I expected I would. I hurt on my skin, if that makes sense. It feels like when you have a really, really bad bruise. Tender on the surface, but not deep inside. Like, I can cough without problems... I would have though for sure that all those muscles would be really sore. What hurts, though, is the "wrinkling up" of my belly when I try to sit up or bend down.
Tomorrow I get to remove the bandages and take a shower. I have six incisions, and I'm still kind of freaked out about how high the one is. It's directly under my sternum, and I just wasn't expecting that. It makes sense though. I mean, the top of your stomach is right there. I was just thinking that they went at it from a different angle. Oh well... enough rambling about that....
I guess that's it for now. In a nutshell, I'm sore, but not as sore as I thought I'd be, and in a different way. The hospital staff was great, my wife has been awesome, and I'm just taking it easy.
Later...
So, about the pain factor. The pain is a lot different than I expected it to be. I don't hurt internally, like I expected I would. I hurt on my skin, if that makes sense. It feels like when you have a really, really bad bruise. Tender on the surface, but not deep inside. Like, I can cough without problems... I would have though for sure that all those muscles would be really sore. What hurts, though, is the "wrinkling up" of my belly when I try to sit up or bend down.
Tomorrow I get to remove the bandages and take a shower. I have six incisions, and I'm still kind of freaked out about how high the one is. It's directly under my sternum, and I just wasn't expecting that. It makes sense though. I mean, the top of your stomach is right there. I was just thinking that they went at it from a different angle. Oh well... enough rambling about that....
I guess that's it for now. In a nutshell, I'm sore, but not as sore as I thought I'd be, and in a different way. The hospital staff was great, my wife has been awesome, and I'm just taking it easy.
Later...
