Hey! I'm back! And mostly doing great, with the exception of a very sore belly. But they gave me some Oxycontin which has helped thus far, although I'm seriously considering not taking any more of it and seeing how much I could sell it for. :)
Surgery went well, but I had a very minor complication which required me to stay an extra night. Was on a morphine pump the first day and a half, then they switched me to liquid Vicodin.
While in hospital, I was surprinsingly uninterested in anything not involving myself and had no desire to even read a magazine, let alone ask Mr. Fantastic to bring Skippy in so I could get online. I had really expected to be bored out of my skull, but it turned out I was much more interested in sleeping than anything else. Plus I had nine thousand visitors, which, while I appreciated very much, completely wiped me out. So, sorry I didn't check in sooner to let you all know how I was doing.
Got home yesterday (instead of Friday as expected) and slept mostly. Today my dad and brother came over to visit and this is the first chance I've had to check e-mail. I've missed you all so much! ♥♥♥♥♥ Many, many graces and thanks to all of you who've posted your support and sent good karma my way. ♥♥♥♥♥ Keep it up, I've still got a lot of healing to do! In the mean time, here's an update on the state of me.
My new belly: Basically, they cut apart my stomach laparoscopically, separated a small pouch from the rest and rerouted some plumbing. The pouch is my new stomach, and for the next few weeks, holds only 1 oz. For comparison, most people's stomachs are about the size of a football and hold anywhere from 40-60 oz. Provided I treat it right, mine will stretch somewhat over time, ending up about 6-10 oz in about a year. For the next three weeks, I'm still on a clear liquid diet and must be vigilant about getting enough water and protein. Luckily, the protein drinks I've got (Isopure) are actually pretty good. It's $2-3 a bottle for 20 oz at my local GNC, but the cool thing is that since I'm basically drinking about an ounce of it every twenty minutes, one bottle lasts me all day. In a few weeks, I'll get to add solids in, like cottage cheese and refried beans and stuff.
The minor complication: was really very minor. Due to the fact that I bruise incredibly easily, there was some extra swelling around important bits of my innards that made it really hard for things to leave the bottom end of my new tiny tummy, which in turn made it really hard for me to put things in the top end of the new tiny tummy. Once the swelling went down enough it was smooth sailing and I was able to stay hydrated and "fed" and off the IV.
Surgical stuff: I've got six incisions, some longer than others - one's over an inch, which I didn't expect! Two of them are drain sites, the rest for the surgical tools. The drains I had are what's called a Penrose drain on the left, which is basically just an open-ended tube sticking out into the world, with the end covered by gauze. The other, which I still have, is a JP drain that is totally gross and includes a tube leading to a collection bulb that I get the pleasure of emptying and measuring and recording the output twice a day. Ick. Plus it hurts. Luckily, that gets taken out on Wednesday.
Pictures: Ugh, I had Mr. Fantastic take some full-length pics of me the night before surgery in a black tank top and boyshorts. He handed me the camera so I could look at them and I was mortifed by what I saw, exclaiming, "OMG, my ass!" He leaned over to look at them and I snatched the camera away and he laughed, saying, "Pooky, I think I already know what your ass looks like." Har har. Anyway, seeing those pictures, I was really, really horrified and gladder than ever I had made the decision for surgery. And I decided I wasn't going to put them up on the internets for all to see, because, seriously, they're gross. But you know what? I did this surgery mostly for my health, not my looks. You all know I'm a pretty self-confident girl, so I decided that if I put up those awful pictures of myself and some other overweight girl with no self-confidence sees them, maybe it'll help her in some way to see that it's not just about how you look, that people can and do look past your weight and see the cool chick inside. Maybe it'll help somebody in some way to see what another fat girl looks like in her skivvies. Because, seriously, how often does one fat girl get to see what another fat girl looks like underneath her clothes? Not often.
Plus, there'll be bonus pics of the surgery sites and the nasty brutalization of the right side of my neck where they put a PICC line in my jugular. Hooray! ;)
I have dutifully hidden my scale as instructed, so I have no idea what I weigh right now, but I'll find out at my follow-up on Wednesday and let you all know. I do know I lost 4 pounds from the 23rd to the 3rd, so the clear liquid diet I was on prolly had a big hand in that. I am thrilled to be home and especially to sleep in my own bed again. I sure did miss the bulk of Mr. Fantastic sleeping next to me.
Will post more soon. Again, thanks to all of you for your kind words and support. I can't tell you how much it's meant to me. ♥
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